#implied crozier

[irvingcoded]

terror textposts continued... (mostly irving edition)

↳ 3/??

[stigmatajames]

Robert Frost + Francis Crozier. for @fcrozier

[tgtbata]

Gauss's conversation turned to chance, the enemy of all knowledge, and the thing he had always wished to overcome. Viewed from up close, one could detect the infinite fineness of the web of causality behind every event. Step back and the larger patterns appeared: Freedom and Chance were a question of distance, a point of view. Did he understand?

the terror x measuring the world

[hesbianspock]

ok francis rawdon moira crozier post: everyone’s always (rightly) repeating the “irish and middle born” line but i really don’t see talk about it beyond that — except maybe having him spit some irish gaelic while he fucks fitzjames in a fic, and i guarantee you that man would not have been a fluent irish speaker (see: efforts from both the english and from irish communities to prevent people from speaking irish). and as part of that i’d like to see more discussion of francis’ betrayal of who he is and where he comes from.

he is irish. the famine has just begun. he spends his life attempting to rise through the ranks of, to be a successful arm of, the empire that has ensured his status as a second class citizen, his inability to speak his ancestral language, the genocide of his countrymen. francis has his assertive personality and his vocal objections and his challenges, but ultimately he’s betrayed the very essence of who he is and only does it further upon destroying himself with alcohol — because to the empire, what else would an irishman do?

and he has so little genuine self awareness about it. deep inside himself, in his subconscious, i’m sure he knows. but he could never begin to Truly know it within the conscious or to actually vocalize it. bc how do you even begin to acknowledge or make sense of this about your ENTIRE LIFE?

and ofc this parallels with james and with hickey. pretending to be something you’re not, betraying the very essence of what you are. hiding. he doesn’t know it but THAT is the basis of his initial resentment of those two: they’re betraying themselves.

because to him, at first, hickey is an irishman who has so fully committed to the betrayal he won’t even speak in a way that implies his origin. hickey thinks this double deception makes them comrades, but in reality, would francis really have had hickey punished As A Boy if not for their first exchange? would hickey have mocked francis’ irishness from the gallows if not for the failure of that disguise, this betrayal of a perceived countryman?

the full extent of james’ betrayal is hidden to francis until the cairn but he still sees it, and he sees himself in it. the obedience, the obsequience, the ambition, the admiration, (the queerness,)

so when james confesses his bastardry, his non englishness, his deception, even if francis did not now love him, how could he ever hold it against him? he’s done worse.

and, perhaps most significantly, paralleling that with silna. francis helping the empire to colonize and imperialize other places as ireland was. silna avoiding and almost rejecting her duty for nearly the entirety of the show, seeking shelter with and in some cases allying with the interlopers she despises and who have ruined her life. Tuunbaq Is Dead.

[talenlee]

Hanamusa, Explained

There is a nonzero chance if you follow me on tumblr, you’ve seen the term ‘Hanamusa’ attached to something I shared. It’s probably also some super cute art of Delia Ketchum and Jessie Teamrocket, and you may wonder what is going on and also, why is there so much good art of this.

Hanamusa as a term derives from the Japanese names of the characters – Hanako and Musashi. If you’re into shipping name structures, Hana-Musa implies that Hanako is the seme and Musashi the uke, but I don’t think that holds for all use cases of the type of terminology. It’s a ship. It’s an AU ship, as in an ‘alternate universe’ ship, where the two characters are presented in a context outside of the normal context of the anime presentation of them.

The Hanamusa ship as I understand it is set at some point after Jessie and James stop chasing Ash around, and Jessie settles down into a relationship with Delia. There’s tension about her history with Ash and the confusion about finding Your Personal Villain dating your mom, but mostly it’s about showing a sweet domestic life between two characters you know very well in a format I kind of see as like, Comedy-Sabot Romantic 4koma. Like, Hanamusa content is funny (and it is VERY funny) but it doesn’t need to be funny, because the main thing it’s about is showing these two characters and their relationship as they do cute things together.

It’s why people watch shows like K-On basically.

As for where this idea comes from, (EDIT: Slightly wonky wording here, I should have phrased 'this current fandom push' - I don't have any reason to believe Mai INVENTED the ship, just that when you go looking you'll wind up at her work) it seems to have its genesis with the work of one Kiana Mai, who developed this ship some time ago. Kiana Mai is also an extremely skilled artist, and one of those skills seems to be focus, creating these extremely clean-line excellently structured scene vignettes with no unnecessary content in them but also no need to rocket along. It’s amazing, engaging work that uses every part of the small format amazingly well. Which makes sense because one of the things Kiana Mai does is storyboarding work for Disney animated TV shows, a task at which I am sure she no doubt excels.

What I think is the most interesting aspect of Hanamusa, to me specifically, is that it manages to combine three things I don’t actually care about, in a way that doesn’t interfere with something I have unexpectedly strong opinions on. I do not watch Pokemon, and I have not shed a tear for Team Rocket and Ash Ketchum wandering into the sunset. That is a show that is not for or about my interests and that is okay. Indeed, imagining that it should be about what interests me is baffling. I think if I stopped watching a show twenty years ago, I have lost all right to act like I’m entitled to expect it remain the way it was all the way back then.

But I do have opinions on Jessie and James’ character voice. Not their voice acting – I mean, I know for a fact they’ve had to change over time and no voice actor should be obligated to kick it in the same role for what could be their entire career. I mean the way they talk about things and the words they use and kind of emphasis they put on words when they talk. About the way they voice their ideas, or the way they express who they are in the way they talk to one another, that stuff. It’s about affordances and persona, about the kind of people you project being by what words you choose to use and the affect when using them.

It’s why when, if a picture of a character is underneath it, you can read some dril posts as being ‘appropriately’ voiced by a character, even if it’s describing a candle situation that Francis Crozier did not have opinions on.

Jessie has a voice.

Jessie, in my head, is someone capable of moments of tenderness and friendship that is normally overwhelmed by an incredible confidence in ability she does not have and mere reality will never be given permission to infringe on it. Jessie is unassailably unstoppably sure of herself, thoughtlessly stupid in a way that doesn’t mean she is stupid, but which exists in a context of someone who has relentlessly pursued excellence in her job which is also the equivalent of being a late night 7/11 manager. She is the Girlboss that is Gaslighting herself into thinking she has something to Gatekeep.

Delia Ketchum by comparison is a very nice piece of wallpaper. Every appearance of her in my mind is someone Very Nice who is Very Patient and Very Supportive and has managed to keep literally all emotionally challenging conversations from happening around Ash, which can be perhaps easier when you remember that he, too, is an idiot. I don’t know how Delia Ketchum talks, but I do know that there are ways that Delia Ketchum does not talk.

This is interesting! It’s interesting because it presents a character where I am very sure I know what she does do when she does it, and a character about whom I can only be sure wouldn’t do some things. It creates a character space, and it creates expectations of affect and performance within that space. Ash and other characters show up as well, but because they get to interact with this already-defined space, you get treated to this really lovely kind of resonance. Would Ash call Jessie ‘dad’? Maybe, to bug her. He was good at being a twerp. Wasn’t he? I mean I remember it that way, he seems to work out that way, but… how would I know?

I know more of this AU where Jessie is studying to be a Pokemon Doctor and Ash wears glasses than I do of the source material any more. And if you’re wondering ‘hey, do Jessie and Delia ever meet in the source material?’ Like, yeah, for a few seconds. What, the point is creating something new.

If you want to check out Hanamusa stuff and read the comics, I recommend going and clicking on the hashtag on tumblr.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Anime #Media

[amanitaphalloides]

what is the jopkey manifesto. if you can share it for those of us not in the gc 🥺

anon thank you for asking this question i have been trying and trying to bait someone into asking. here is it copy and pasted

Jopkey: A Manifesto

Jopkey in Brief

Jopkey refers to the romantic/erotic pairing of Thomas Jopson and Cornelius Hickey, a couple of guys who actually existed in real life and have been twisted into something beyond recognition by Dan Simmons, AMC, and now random people online such as us. Jopkey is commonly referred to as “the thinking person’s Terror ship” due to it kinda making you think.

Arguments For Jopkey

Let us review the nuanced and delicate appeal of Jopkey.

Potential Dynamics

Two tops fight to the death. In this formulation, Jopson and Hickey fight (mentally or physically) for dominance until one of them is (mentally or physically) dead. And they’re both tops. Credit Hannah @groundwater for being insistent about this final point.

Daddy’s candy babies. A popular (loose definition of the word) dynamic in which Jopson and Hickey are equally devoted to pursuing Francis Crozier’s attentions. But in doing so they find themselves irrevocably drawn to their freakass competitor…

Realizing potential. Jopson and Hickey recognize, in each other, great untapped potential—perhaps to be annoying and evil, but perhaps also to be intriguing, exciting, and to live life to the fullest. Whether intentionally or otherwise, they spur each other to explore all life has to offer them. Which given the circumstances isn’t that much.

Situations in Which Jopkey Could Happen

Hatefucking at any time.

Everyone else dies and they have to repopulate the ships.

Angry grief sex after Crozier dies. Perhaps over his casket?

Hickey happens upon Jopson’s half-dead form and attempts to eat him. Jopson simply responds, eat this.

Pertinent Jopkey Moments

“I’ll be there in a minute, Jopson.” Hickey refuses to call him lieutenant. Hot!

Jopson’s mouth twitches while watching Hickey be punished as a boy. Glee, eroticism, or simply an expression of sympathetic pain? Perhaps all three. 

When Hickey picks up Neptune's turd he says "Sorry sir the dog relieved himself before I could call Mr Jopson." This implies he has watched Jopson pick up dog shit before and would feel comfortable calling Jopson for help. Hickey doing a task that he thinks should be Jopson's = they have so much in common.

This is also an early indication of their dynamic wherein they see their respective relationships to Crozier overlap. See "Daddy's candy babies" under Potential Dynamics above.

Jopson guards Hickey while he’s on tent arrest. Hickey teases Jopson about his shooting abilities with his hand down his pants, Jopson brags about all the critters he used to kill and eat and says “My aim’s just fine Mr. Hickey” sexily. Implies Hickey is also a critter to be skinned and devoured! Okay!

During this scene Hickey is touching his own penis and Jopson puts his hand in his own mouth. Through the transference property this means that they have had oral sex.

They appear next to one another in the list of Terror crew members in a published book in the gift shop of the National Maritime Museum as pictured here (ie they are cuddling):

Arguments Against Jopkey

Despite the cold hard facts/group delusion depending on your perspective, some people are anti-Jopkey. Let’s take a look at the common reasons behind this unfortunate sentiment and resolve them one by one.

Anti-Jopkey Arguments and Resolutions

"Jopson simply does not think of Hickey."

Fortunately this is easily disputed. Jopson is constantly looking at Hickey like ARGH. Also we use our little imaginations. Sooooo.

The anti-Jopkey contingency argues "that’s just Liam Garrigan’s face" (re. point 2 in the above).

A typical argument and quite a simple one to dispel! We only need apply the “say yes to the text” ethos—by which we understand that everything present in the text is there to be explored and enjoyed, quite separate from the circumstances of its creation. Jopkey is not so weak as to be dependent upon the actors’ intentions. Regardless of whether or not AMC’s The Terror was filmed with the specific and singular intention of breathing life into Jopkey (which it was), all that truly matters is the effect. And ultimately the effect of Liam Garrigan’s face is eroticism, glee, intrigue, sympathy, and perhaps even romance.

The truth is there will never be consensus in the group chat or in the world, and Jopkey will never be true or untrue. It will remain Schrodinger’s Jopkey, and by offering insight into our psyches and groupthink dynamics, it is actually a vital and beautiful step towards world peace.

Jopkey Bangers

I Fucking Hate You - Godsmack

Since You’ve Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson

I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift

Jopkey Mood Board

Affirmations for Jopkeyers

I am so smart for shipping Jopkey.

My phone knows the word Jopkey. It knows that I am not typing about Jockey.

I understand British accents perfectly. Every word Jopkey says is comprehensible to me.

My words and actions honor Jopkey and my Jopkeyer compatriots.

I can think completely secret erotic Jopkey thoughts on this bus; my brain is closed to psychic attacks from the bus driver and other passengers.

I know who these characters are; I can tell them apart from other light-haired and dark-haired men who appear onscreen together. I can recognize their interactions as unequivocally Jopkey.

The Jopkey Anthem

O Jopkey Jopkey! Of thee I sing!

With Jopkey I can do anything!

Jopkey helps me laugh and play

So I ship Jopkey every day! 

Thomas Jopson — You always wow!

I know who you are by now

When first I watched I couldn't see

But you're not just Muttonchops #3

And Hickey lad with your sly grin

Reminiscent of delicious sin

Could you really be so wrong?

Not according to my Jopkey song!

[alternate hickey apologist verse] And Hickey — the perfect man!

Through thick and thin we’ll always stan

You’ve never done nothin’ wrong

And so to you we sing this song !

I pray this ship will never sink

Lest we approach the mental brink

May Jopkey sail forevermore

And far outlive Lieutenant Gore.

[stars-and-clouds]

How to Curse Like an Ishgardian

I was coming up with ways to make my ishgardian characters swear and exclaim for my upcoming story and decided to share it =)

Some of these are my own, some are from the game itself and others are from others relevant media.

I read somewhere that when thinking of how to make curses and prayers think of what each culture values most and values the least. Whatever they value the most will be their prayer and the thing they least value will be their curses.

In Ishgard family name, religion and valor is valued the most. So, instantly, nameless people, bastard, orphans, heretics, rebels and cowardly people are looked down upon. This logic should help you make your own curses. You can also add some racist slurs against non-elezen and sometimes non-hyurian people. They also hate dragons, so pre-dragonsong war, a lot of dragon cursing would be common.

Small warning, some really foul language follows ahead. I will keep updating this list whenever I find new curses or come up with them.

1. Prayers, Exclamations and Blessings:

Halone, have mercy

Fury, save me

Halone, grant me strength

Halone's blessings be upon you

Halone/Fury, preserve me

Fury, guide me

Halone, shield me

Spear me, Halone!

Halone be praised!

By the Fury's fire!

By Her Lance!

By the Fury!

2. Insults:

Use these as an insult or add injury to another insult. For example, 'frostbitten whore,' or combine two insults like, 'nameless brume runt.'

frostbitten [insult]

'Greystone' in general can be used as an insult as bastards are really looked down upon. Haurchefant was very lucky to have a father like Edmont.

spoon ears; used against hyurs

Insults used against AuRi as superstitious Ishgardians believe them to be related to dragons:

wyrm fucker

scaled [insult]

dragonspawn

Mixed race couples are looked down upon in Ishgard so, their children face racism and bullying:

weakblood

mongrel

half-breed; all can be used to describe mixed blood.

knife ears; (stolen from Dragon Age) used against elezen

brume runt

street rat

highling; can be used to insult a highborn by a lowborn.

-your grandiosity; can be used to insult a highborn by a lowborn. You can be creative with these!

heretic

nameless [insult]; this is to imply that they do not belong to any house, not even a small one.

[ruling house name] leech; for example, a person sworn to house Durendaire to misuse their power, they can be called a 'Durendaire leech.')

[any house name] bootlicker; anyone who flatters and sucks up to nobles and those in power for their own benefit.

3. Exclamations and curses:

Shiva be damned!

voidspawn

Halone's tits!

Thordan's balls!

Fury strike you!

Holy Crozier!

wolves take you!

dragons take you!

Twelve curses upon you!

Fury's curses upon you!

Nophica be damned! ; Nophica and Halone didn't get along according to myth.

Godsdamnit!

Halone's cunt!

Please feel free to use them in your works! Happy writing! =D

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Want a fun weathering detail? This belt buckle wear line doesn't appear until the crew is well into the walkout, implying that this is how much weight Crozier has been losing. Isn't that neat? 🙃

[supersecretmetalocalypseblog]

Wondering what you guys think about this, but like... is the Metal Masked Assassin like... a real assassin? He's shown torturing people and stuff, so I guess he could've been paid/told to do that, but it sorta seems like he's fucking around for the most part. And, when General Crozier approaches him, he doesn't offer compensation, he offers revenge. And as far as I can tell that's the closest thing we're ever shown as like a transaction or whatever. So is he really an assassin or just a serial killer who just so happened to be called an assassin? Cause I don't even know if it's implied he does any of this as "work". Even if he did it for free, even if he just liked killing people or whatever, he would still have to do it for someone else for him to be an assassin right? In Doomstar Requim or whatever, it's just him and his brother trained to kill like literally anyone so were they just "training" on their own? just killing people? or did they like... apprentice under another assassin? Is that a thing? Like I have so many MMA lore questions that are just NEVER gonna get answered, this one is just the tip of the iceberg for me.

or wait like..... do they ever call him metal masked assassin in the show? Or is that just an us thing? like us the viewers get to call him that, because right now all I can think of is "man with the silver face" like IS HE REALLY AN ASSASSIN??????

[daincrediblegg]

Oh my gosh okay I've seen you tag things with 'Lady Terror' and please please please I have to know more . Is it what I think? (The Terror in human form *o*) I'm so interested .

LMAO OK SO!!! funny story because, actually, even though she's definitely more human and grounded in reality now (and if you should wish to hear a little more about her backstory- knowing that she's a self insert for sure that I'm using to fuck francis crozier silly, I have a Bio for her HERE that may entice you ahead of the impending fic I have been writing about her and francis- the gothic austen romance of my fucking dreams, and I've also got a couple of mini fics and a fic preview on my masterlist should you like to read them) SHE ACTUALLY did kinda start out as the terror in human form, because at around the time I did my re-watch of the terror that LED to this whole year-long adventure, I was also watching 1899 on netflix and mourning the loss of its second season (added to netflix's list of heinous crimes), and the whole endeavor was partially inspired by the concept behind that show (no spoilers. but it's very cool), and some of the principal characters that absolutely have some kinda romance going on (yes I'm fully invested in maura/eyk and they are definitely a blueprint for whatever the hell francis and lady terror have going on)

but even though the dynamics have changed since I first came up with her and the nickname, I feel like there's a lot playing into that name that makes it a really fascinating moniker for her as a character now. the disambiguation from complete personhood that the name implies (similar to how Lady Silence for Silna operates), meanwhile having binding to both the ship (double-edged, as it implies something illicit in being the "lady of terror"- which is how she earned that nickname in the story in the first place- since she is supposed to be stationed on Erebus, but spends enough of her time on Terror to garner that reputation... but also something horrific and to be feared- as it's also what they call the Tuunbaq as well), and something then also in the way that it commands some level of power... but then also, for Francis especially, becomes something that he can embrace... in all her (and the nickname's) facets. Not something he could ever claim, but someone he can respect... feel affection for. perhaps even find some comfort and levity in... and by god do I love those implications and you'll pry them out of my cold dead hands at this point.

And so, to all, Lady Terror she remains.

[saints-who-never-existed]

That latest script has me thinking again about the Crozier and Little’s relationship (although in all fairness, I’m never not thinking about it in some capacity). 

We get to see several lovely moments of Capable and Competent Little in the background, of course, already getting on with managing the actual day-to-day running of the ship. He knows Crozier and his bullshit so well at this point that it’s he who asks Jopson to find out whether said bullshit is going to postpone their command meeting (which implies that it has in the past). And he’s already considering and making plans to move Terrors over to berth on Erebus - if I remember correctly, in fact, that entire plot point happens without a single bit of direct input from Crozier. 

What I’m living for most though is that tiny little omitted scene where he’s just that wee bit sassy and defiant right to Crozier’s face. The unsuccessful search/rescue parties are returning to the ship when Little informs Crozier that Fitzjames has come aboard in his absence. Crozier is so churlish and so wrapped up in his own hatred and pettiness and inferiority complex that his first response genuinely is to ask why Fitzjames didn’t come out to help them search!

Like, seriously?!  And Little agrees! He replies to Crozier saying that, for his information, Fitzjames actually did offer to go out searching (because of course he did), and that it was Little who took charge and told him not to! That “It was I who told him we shouldn’t risk both captains”.

I love that confidence so much and dearly wish we’d gotten to see it more often and more explicitly! Because it’s so above and beyond too - he’s not only having to do Crozier’s job for him already but he’s also now having to wrangle Fitzjames’ worst, most heroic tendencies. He’s doing the job of not one but two captains in that moment and he’s not bloody happy about it! I’m going to articulate some better thoughts about this and how it pertains to their wider relationship in the future but for now just wanted to express my appreciation for this little titbit. 

[clove-pinks]

Today for Eighteen-Forties Friday: I purchase and review this goofy-ass Franklin Expedition graphic novel so you don't have to!

The Vanished Northwest Passage Arctic Expedition by Lisa M. Bolt Simons, with illustrations by Eugene Smith, is part of a series called DEADLY EXPEDITIONS with a polar focus; and if I was 11 years old again I would probably love them to death.

From the preview pages alone, I could see that... questionable choices were made, e.g. the portrayal of Jane Franklin as some kind of unaging vampire who is still wearing the dress from her 1816 portrait in 1845.

Franklin's officers are referenced from their daguerreotypes (more or less), and we get a nice Fitzjames and Stanley (the latter with with his authentic 1840s juvenile delinquent haircut), as well as a flashback Crozier as the world's most mature 13-year-old.

Not every officer with a daguerreotype makes an appearance, and I was very annoyed that this book doesn't have any Henry Le Vesconte. We DO, however, get the Beechey Trio of John Hartnell, John Torrington, and William Braine—who inexplicably go on a mission together and wacky hijinks ensue.

That is a cute Torrington, @entwinedmoon! Although I think @radiojamming will agree with me that the real John Hartnell was more handsome.

Oh yes—and their tragic ends. It's implied that they all catch colds and die instantly in these sequential panels which, God help me, made me laugh out loud.

Way to strip all of the pathos and tragedy from their deaths. If only they had changed into dry underwear!

There is a character who looks just like Ian Hart as Thomas Blanky in the AMC Terror TV show, and the cold weather gear worn worn by the crew also resembles the TV show costuming (which was inspired by Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration gear).

There is a brief mention of lead poisoning as a contributing factor to the expedition's demise in one panel, but it's otherwise absent—making this book like the opposite of classic kids' Franklin Expedition book Buried in Ice by Owen Beattie, John Geiger, and Shelley Tanaka, which strongly implies that the whole crew is going bonkers from lead poisoning starting in 1846.

[afterthefeast]

i think it’s interesting that fitzjames’ justification to crozier for eating his body after he dies is to say “i am not christ”, ie his body is not sacred and after death is merely meat that is sorely needed by the crew, in contrast to hodgson explicitly invoking the eucharist in relation to eating gibson’s body. obviously what makes any potential cannibalism of fitzjames potentially justified would be his prior giving of consent, in contrast to gibson dying with no idea what hickey intended to do with his body, but what’s more interesting is the fact that what renders fitzjames’ body as possibly sacred, in the sense of having a meaning and importance beyond its material reality as meat, is crozier’s insistence that his friend’s body be left alone.

in contrast, if you interpret the eucharist monologue as being to do with hodgson’s recent consumption of human flesh (which i do think is the most useful interpretation at any rate), gibson’s body is only sacred once it has been consumed, in direct opposition to how fitzjames’ is given greater meaning by not being eaten. in both of these contexts what gives the body a potential sacredness is the external meaning imposed upon it, but while hickey does try to present cannibalism as having a sacramental quality, it’s obvious that at the end of the day gibson is merely meat.

crucially, this is ultimately also true of fitzjames, despite crozier’s best efforts, because his body ends up possibly eaten and definitely looted anyway. hodgson’s speech has no real meaning beyond futilely trying to justify what he’s done. he finishes the monologue with the only thing that really matters - “i’m so hungry”. moral concerns have no weight in the face of such an immediate material reality, and the body itself does not really have any importance beyond its own materiality - instead what is sacred are the bonds it once had. i think crozier’s refusal of fitzjames’ offer is still important, less so for its effect, but more because it marks the persistence of his love for his friend regardless of other concerns. if anything is sacred in the terror, it’s that.

this emphasises the show’s overall emphasis on the importance of human dignity and fellowship in the face of utter ruin. despite the above, i think the terror is overall ambivalent on the direct moral question of eating human flesh, and it does not really encourage the viewer to judge any of the men who actually engage in cannibalism beyond pitying them. the whole mantra of “god wants you to live”/characters encouraging each other to survive suggests that cannibalism might be justified in that context, but that the disrespect shown to those who end up cannibalised in the show is what renders the act explicitly immoral.

aside from crozier, no one survives the terror, regardless of whether they abstain from cannibalism or not. refusing to butcher gibson would not have saved goodsir, and doing so did not save hodgson; little’s group would not have survived even if they stayed with jopson. crozier’s best efforts did not prevent hickey from finding fitzjames’ grave. but precisely because there is no greater meaning in death and its aftermath, the way the crew treated each other in life is more important, because really that’s all there is.

for little and dundy, the moral event horizon is not when they eventually succumb to cannibalism long after they’ve kept walking, but when they abandon jopson and the other sick men - this is a line they toe in the previous episode when they suggest abandoning fitzjames, but crozier doesn’t let that happen. crozier has also eaten human flesh (the fact that it’s goodsir, who in crozier’s view is “clean” is another fascinating element i’m not bothered to untangle here), and in that respect he’s equal to little, but his refusal to abandon his friends affords him, at the end of the show, his own dignity, best expressed through survival. i don’t mean to imply he has the moral high ground in a reductive sense, nor do i think his survival has really any greater meaning than the fact that he’s the protagonist (by my own logic any of goodsir, jopson, blanky, or fitzjames could still be standing at the end). but i do think the show presents certain actions as ones you cannot go back from with your own dignity or self-respect intact, and these are primarily based on the ability to recognise humanity in your fellow man regardless of circumstance (be that deprivation, illness, or cultural difference).

fitzjames was correct - he is not christ, and hodgson’s attempts to justify his cannibalism through the eucharist are revealed as just that, empty attempts. nonetheless, while there is nothing sacred about the body in death, there is something almost transcendental about the bonds it had in life.

[alittletoosmarttobestraight]

*he’s not going to strangle Crozier that’s out of character

*and why imply he somehow cheated to get to his position

*when we see him work hard and earn it

*not to be like my interpretation of this character is right and other people are wrong

*but sometimes I don’t understand the paths of logic people have

*I like the part about imagining the food he used to serve but couldn’t eat

*and pushing it away anyway because he wants Crozier

It’s not deep I just want to save these tags as I didn’t post them.

I’m not here to start anything, I just didn’t want OP to have to see this in the tags. Think of this as me talking to myself.

[lewis-winters]

There’s something about the fact that Fitzjames asks for the crew to use his body for food and Crozier deciding to deny him and bury him instead, vs. Goodsir poisoning and killing himself to poison the mutineers that he knows will eat him whether he wanted them to or not… Idk what it is exactly but it feels like a heck of parallel

hhhhmmmm something something the different shades of salvation hnnngghhhh something something is it salvation or is it rot hhhuurrrgghhhgglleeee something something james fitzjames was poisoned too and the mutineers are implied to have eaten him despite crozier's efforts anyway did he help bring salvation through death too aaaaaaaAAAAHHHHH something something did they BOTH bring about salvation, in the end??? in their own way? huh???? DID THEY?????

[medicus-mortem]

ikkaku-of-heart: @ikkaku-of-heart

"Those rumors are bullshit because that would require you to actually eat breakfast,” Ikkaku countered without hesitation. Her sass had been coming out more in the past few weeks after that reassuring talk she and Law had had under the stars. She was definitely willing and able to point out the bad habits he had that he would have instantly scolded the crew over, like not getting proper nutrition.  Still, his assurance that he wouldn’t make her eat a human heart or anything allowed her to relax just a little bit. Not entirely, though. She absolutely believed that he still had something up his sleeve. She just hoped it wouldn’t be anything disgusting. She already felt gross enough, having to play her part as “one of the guys” and not getting to wash her hair properly or use flowery soap.  It was a small price to pay for acceptance, though. It hadn’t been easy, sacrificing all of her more feminine habits, but it would help her fit in. Help her maintain some respect. She was slowly gaining it from her shipmates. Law had shown he accepted her before she’d even stepped onto the ship by destroying the Arkham doctors statue. She and Bepo had overcome their initially rocky first meeting. Penguin had been welcoming and taken her under his wing to help her find her way around the winding corridors of the submarine. Darter’s weirdness could be off-putting but he was genuinely friendly. And Crozier had even been learning how to play a few songs from Joras on the guitar to make her feel less homesick. The only one she felt unwelcomed by was Shachi. His sharp-toothed smile always seemed more hostile than friendly when he’d tease her about what hazing rituals Law was sure to put her through. Penguin had told him off a few times for it, but he’d also warned her that Shachi’s behavior was due to the Bepo incident. So clearly, she’d fucked up, and Ikkaku hoped that whatever this third part of her initiation was, it would be enough to earn her the forgiveness and acceptance from the Man-at-Arms. She’d let Law terrify her a thousand times a day and Darter cut off all of her toes if it meant the crew accepted her.  “Could you at least give me a hint?” she asked Law, feeling nervous. “Like, will I have to bathe in blood? That shit takes forever to get out of my hair. Or...well, Shachi also implied I’d have to fight everyone in hand-to-hand combat at once. Or that I’m not officially part of the crew until you’ve given me an anatomy lesson with my own organs. He...says a lot of things on what it’ll take to make me a Heart.” Realizing she sounded like she was tattling on a senior officer, Ikkaku forced a laugh and a grin. “That’s probably just him making sure I’m ready for anything, though! So, nevermind that hint thing. Don’t wanna spoil the surprise!”

   “Careful now,” Law says, giving Ikkaku a small smile even as he flinches a little at the truth in her snark. “Pointin’ out my bad eating habits could be considered insubordination.”

   It’s clear in his tone that he isn’t serious. He’s accustomed to his crew pointing out his shitty self-care. Sometimes he takes it in good humour, sometimes he doesn’t. Depends on his mood. Right now, he’s in a relatively good one. Made all the better as he watches Ikkaku get more and more integrated with the crew. Her reaction to Bepo made things rocky but he gets it, given her grandfather’s experiences and what she’s grown up with. The two seemed to have moved past that though and Bepo seems to really like her. He’s happier and not withdrawn like he was with that other racist engineer. Law won’t ever forgive himself for that, even if the asshole has long been eaten alive by sea birds.

   Ikkaku is opening up more. Seemingly less awkward and becoming more comfortable, but Law has decided to learn from his mistakes and pay more attention to his crew. In this case that means watching closer to see how his new engineer is getting on with the crew and watching her own emotional state, as much as someone like him can. Law has noted she doesn’t seem perfectly comfortable. He hasn’t pinpointed what it is yet but something isn’t genuine here. Like, Ikkaku needs to hold back something about herself. Law understands that, his whole deal is secrets and keeping people at arm’s length, but he doesn’t want that for his crew, his family, and Ikkaku is now part of that.

   She continues, sounding nervous as she asks for a hint. She almost sounds afraid. Law quickly grimaces at the suggestion that he makes her bathe in blood. A protest is almost out of his lips but Ikkaku keeps going and her words give him pause. Shachi has always been a prankster and trouble maker but these suggestions sound uncharacteristically cruel. Like he’s trying to scare her or intimidate her off the ship. Law’s eyes narrow, his jaw tightening. Head lowers, shadowing his eyes from view as he thinks on this revelation. Is Shachi bullying Ikkaku because of her reaction to Bepo? Seems like this captain might need to have a little chat with his Man-At-Arms. Get him to get his head out of his own ass for a bit.

   “Don’t listen to Shachi,” Law says, standing straighter as some determination settles in. “He’s a dick head. We do have a fighting tournament every now and again to keep our skills sharp but I wouldn’t make you take on everyone at once, not unless I think you could handle it. Bathing in blood would be fucking disgusting and so damn unhygienic. Not happenin’, ever. The anatomy lesson only applies to anyone joinin’ my medical team. So, not a you thing.

   “Now,” he continues, frowning at Ikkaku. “Since you mentioned your hair. It’s looking a bit greasy. Don’t know much about curls but pretty sure that much engine grease in any hair isn’t good for it.” Was that rude? Maybe, but given Ikkaku’s reaction to the idea of blood in her hair Law suspects this level of dishevelment in those curls isn’t normal. Maybe Shachi’s bullshit and Ikkaku’s nerves are affecting her own self-care habits.