#irving x little x tozer

[lieutenant-catboy-little]

please enjoy my offerings for the p!atc server's valentines fest, now that i've finished all of them *checks watch* almost two months late :> monsterfucker ned featuring horsecock

some sweet nedving (and hodge!) qpr goodness

it's ned's turn with the costume trunk dress gender

trans ned finally gets what he deserves (well-fucked)

[leadandblood]

Ships that fascinate me, please keep talking

I like other, more popular ships! But they're not on this list, because there's you know... Enough spotlight on them already (Hickey/Gibson, Crozier/Fitzjames, ... you know) I just wanted to make a list for myself of the ones that I don't see that much of, but find interesting to think about. If any of you make stuff for these ships please let me know so I can follow you <33

Literally anything involving Tozer but e.g.

Tozer/Irving (read this👀)

Tozer/Armitage

Goodsir/Stanley

McDonald/Stanley

Anything with Jopson in it but specifically

Jopson/Little

Jopson/Tozer

Little/Crozier

Hickey/Irving

Des Voeux/Stanley

Crozier/Franklin or

Fitzjames/Franklin (I want to study your brain but do keep talking)

The Liuetenant polycule (+/- Jopson)

Anything with Hodgson really

Anything with Tom Hartnell

Cracroft/Hartnell (this one confuses me but do tell me more-)

Any and all throuples, please give me more throuples, I'm begging for more throuples, there's never enough throuples-

Fitzjames/Crozier/Jopson

Hodgson/Irving/Little (I want to see the intricate autism x autism x autism courting rituals)

[goldfishgrahamcracker]

Franklin's lost expedition crew

I was looking at posts about AMC's The Terror and I kept getting confused by the use of first names, so I wanted to see how many of the characters had the same names. Arranging the crew in alphabetical order, I got:

1 x Abraham (Seeley)

4 x Alexander (Berry, McDonald, Paterson, Wilson)

5 x Charles (Best, Coombs, Des Voeux, Johnson, Osmer)

1 x Cornelius (Hickey)

2 x Daniel (Arthur, Bryant)

3 x David (Leys, Macdonald, Young) + Bonus: Bryant in the show but most historical sources I found list him as Daniel

1 x Edmund (Hoar)

3 x Edward (Couch, Genge, Little)

2 x Edwin (Helpman, Lawrence)

3 x Francis (Crozier, Dunn, Pocock)

1 x Frederick (Hornby) + Bonus: Des Voeux, whom I have seen referred to as Frederick rather than Charles on occasion

6 x George (Cann, Chambers, Hodgson, Kinnaird, Thompson, Williams)

1 x Gillies (MacBean)

1 x Graham (Gore)

7 x Henry/Harry (Collins, Goodsir, Le Vesconte, Lloyd, Peglar, Sait, Wilkes)

10 x James (Brown, Daly, Elliot, Fairholme, Fitzjames, Hart, Reid, Ridgen, Thompson, Walker) + Bonus: Ross, who was not part of the expedition but appears in the show

23 x John (Bailey, Bates, Bridgens, Brown, Cowie, Diggle, Downing, Franklin, Gregory, Hammond, Handford, Hartnell, Irving, Kenley, Lane, Morfin, Murray, Peddie, Strickland, Sullivan, Torrington, Weekes, Wilson)

2 x Joseph (Andrews, Healey)

1 x Josephus (Geater)

1 x Luke (Smith)

1 x Magnus (Manson)

1 x Philip (Reddington)

1 x Reuben (Male)

2 x Richard (Aylmore, Wall)

8 x Robert (Carr, Ferrier, Golding, Hopcraft, Johns, Sargent, Sinclair, Thomas)

3 x Samuel (Brown, Crispe, Honey)

1 x Solomon (Tozer)

16 x Thomas (Armitage, Blanky, Burt, Darlington, Evans, Farr, Hartnell, Honey, Johnson, Jopson, McConvey, Plater, Tadman, Terry, Watson, Work)

22 x William (Aitken, Bell, Braine, Clossan, Fowler, Gibson, Goddard, Heather, Hedges, Jerry, Johnson, Mark, Orren, Pilkington, Read, Rhodes, Shanks, Sims, Sinclair, Smith, Strong, Wentzall)

[nomilkinmyteaplease]

The Terror’s New Year Resolutions

James Fitzjames - to finally make 2024 the year he goes beyond page 1 of “How to be a Good Listener” 

Harry Goodsir- to stop stopping s*x in the middle in order to make diagrammes and take notes, shouting "Imagine"!

Edward Little - to sign up to a standup comedy club 

Francis Crozier - to give gin a go with an open mind 

Dr Stanley - to find if his daughter likes birds 

Henry Collins - to finally tackle his arkoudaphobia

William Gibson - to perfect his popping dance skills

George Hodgson - to publish his memoir "How I Looked Inside Myself and What I Found" (spoiler: 300 pages to figure out he found not much)

John Irving - to actually learn watercolors instead of just recommending them to everyone left, right and centre

Sir John- to stop pulling people’s legs

Solomon Tozer- well, he tried Veganuary, but failed on day 1

[areyougonnabe]

what ANTARCTICA SHIPS you would like, based on your favorite TERROR SHIPS

a very important post for those interested in dipping a toe into heroic age polar explorer fandom.

If you like ROSSIER, try SHACKLETON/WILD -Loyalty kink -Oh my god he was his trusted second in command

If you like HODGVING and/or ARMITOZER, try CHERRY/WILSON -Rich boy x religious boy -Puppy love and devotion

If you like JOPZIER try SHACKLETON/HURLEY -Securing daddy’s M&Ms

If you like HICKEY/TOZER try EVANS/CREAN(/LASHLY) -Size difference -Horrible little man in over his head

If you like GRIME ERA FITZIER, try SCOTT/SHACKLETON -Delicious hatesex

If you like LOVE ERA FITZIER try SCOTT/WILSON -Heartwarming soulmates

If you like GOODSIR/MCDONALD try CHERRY/ATCH -Sweet boy x hot doc 

If you like CROZIER/BLANKY try SHACKLETON/WORSLEY -Captain and his devoted skipper

If you like HICKEY/CROZIER try AMUNDSEN/DE GERLACHE -Stepping on your captain’s dick because he sucks

If you like TOZER/IRVING try RACOVITZA/LECOINTE -Large boy x rules boy 

And if none of these appeal to you try COOK/AMUNDSEN which has a flavor utterly incomparable to any ship in any other medium.

if you are interested in any of the above ships and would like to learn more (e.g. which source material you should read/watch) please apply at the ask boxes of me, @strikerbacks, @simplyirenic, or @zevons 😌

[stovepiperat]

TERROR & EREBUS PUB QUIZ NIGHT: EACH TEAM’S WORST QUESTION

(teams from original post and follow up. PLEASE click those links i just reread the memes for the first time in like a month and there are tears in my eyes i laughed so hard i scared my roommate. all questions from freepubquiz.co.uk for realism)

Lieuts (Little, Irving, Hodgson) - What is the smallest unit of memory? (they spent a long time debating if a jiffy or a twinkling was the shortest unit of time possible to remember and the answer was “kilobite”)

Stewards (Jopson, Bridgens, Gibson) - In football, which team has won the Champions League, formerly the European Cup, the most? (they don’t know this.) 

Formidables (Stanley, Sophia, Lady Jane) - What is the stage name of the rapper born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr.? (with clenched jaws Stanley and Lady Jane disagree strongly trying to reverse engineer the rap name from the birth name which does not work because the answer is “snoop dogg” (dogg father, snoop rock etc would have also been accepted. I think actually this one goes to the Lieuts who for some reason know that he briefly went by “Snoop Lion”)

Franklingore (Sir John, Gore) - (sorry i could not come up with a fun category name for them lmao. The Drew Barrymores?) Who was the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song? (i don’t believe either of these men have heard a kate bush song in their lives)

Women Want Me Fish Fear Me Club (Crozier, Blanky, Silna) - One Direction is known for being the runners-up in The X Factor in 2010, but who came first? (I can’t decide if this or the BTS question feels meaner. either way they’re not going to get it)

Nice Boys (Goodsir, Hartnell, McDonald) - Spell “millennium.” (Goodsir and Hartnell panic and cannot do this, McDonald claims he got it but his handwriting is so bad they don’t get the point anyway)

Fitzvoeuxconte (Fitzjames, Des Voeux, Dundy) - Which nationality was the polar explorer Roald Amundsen? (i don’t think any of them could find norway on a map)

Headache Squad (Heather, Collins, Morfin) - True or false: Edinburgh is further east than Carlisle. (by the time the true-false round is reached, headache squad has already gone home to lie down with a cool cloth on their faces)

Hickeytozer plus adult adopted child (Hickey, Tozer, David Young) - Who discovered penicillin? (a very standard easy piece of trivia which they ought to know but do not. Hickey very confidently guesses that the answer is “Irish luminary Robert Penicillin” and then tries to gaslight the judge into thinking that’s correct (which also does not work))

[daincrediblegg]

get to know your fanfic writer

tagged by @kittensmctavish (thankies my friend)

When did you post your first ever fanfic?

in the mid 00's... to fucking quizilla. may she rest in peace.

First Character(s) you wrote?

Oh god... that fuckin guy played by Michael Palin from A Fish Called Wanda and an oc I created (I was 13. so as you can see I have fucking always been like this about pathetic old men.)

Main Character(s) you’re currently writing?

Lady Terror and Francis Crozier (first and easily foremost. honestly I've written more shit for him in the last 8 months than I have for anyone in the last several years. it's a little ridiculous), Valery Legasov, Hari Seldon.

Character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan to write about soon?

I have been meaning to give some extra thought into certain crewmember's perspectives on Lady Terror and their interactions with her that I've been meaning to flesh out- the top 3 of those for me are Tozer, Hickey, and Irving/Hodge (I see them as part of the Lieutenant unit tbh), and some of the other men on Erebus as well. But also there are a few OC's within the Lady Terror family tree that I want to get to writing, as well as some from Crozier's family as well (who I've been faceclaim casting for months lmao).

Fandom(s) you’re currently writing?

Everyone under the beautiful Jared Harris umbrella, tbh. Primarily The Terror and Chernobyl with a little Foundation sprinkled in for flavor. Tomorrow? Who knows...

Platonic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

Oh loads. I've been writing lots of interactions between lady terror and a big list of folks from the terror (mainly: Thomas Blanky, Silna, Jopson, Goodsir, JFJ, and many many others), but also lots of interpersonal stuff between others on the ships as well.

Romantic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

(sing it with me if you know it) CROZIER X LADY TERROR!!! Going on like 8 months strong.

Your top AO3 tags?

Fluff, Angst, and Smut (and god damn if that doesn't sum me up)

Current platform you use for posting?

Tumblr primarily but if something feels fleshed-out enough I'll throw it up on Ao3 as well.

Snippet of the WIP you are currently working on?

hmmm... since I wanna try and get out the first section of one warm line out for tomorrow's crozier birthday celebrations... how about I tease some vampire stuff hm?

The Lady made short work of curling against Francis’ leg, leaning her head gently against his thigh and nuzzling at his knee as her arm snaked around his calf. She pressed a small kiss to the bony space there, and sighed at the feel of his hand when he reached out to brush through her hair gently, reclining at their mutual touches. But then her kisses grew in frequency, dotting further and further up his thigh. Francis chuckled. “You seem in want of something, Love.” he sighed, low, a smile in his voice as he tangled his fingers in her dark tresses. “Should I call Jopson?” “I’m not hungry,” she replied, pressing another kiss to the delicate skin near his hip, where she paused, dark eyes blown over black gazing up at him with a desire from under her eyelashes, “... not in that way.” Francis chuckled to himself at the prospect. It had been a moment since she’d had her way with him. And if she wanted this, he was certainly in no state to refuse her. “I see, ” he replied, leaning a little forward as his gaze softened. “What is it you crave, then, hm?”

Hmm... now who to tag...

@prismatica-the-strange @ashton-slashton @gaunt-and-hungry @jokerownsmysoul @charismat1c-megafauna... and anyone else who feels such a desire to do so? yeah.

[solomon-tozer]

can we get a Tozer/Irving kiss pls? <3

*two days ago* oh my god tumblr can you NOT hide notifications from me please???? And yes, you absolutely can!

Little kisses: Tozer/Irving

It's something in the way Sergeant Tozer thanks him, standing close and holding his gaze as he hands the telescope back, that makes him do it. Tozer's grip doesn't quite let go, his eyes full of warmth as he watches John, and in a moment of weakness John leans in and closes the distance. Tozer's lips are damp from his breath, the scruff of his beard grazing against John's, and his nose still cold from outside. He makes a soft noise too, something between laughter and surprise, and John freezes, realising what he's done. He pulls back slowly, still not quite sure what's really happened, watching Tozer carefully.

The way Tozer's expression has softened, a smile tugging at his lips, makes something within John relax, even as he feels himself flush. He looks down, to where Tozer has finally let go of his telescope, and carefully thanks him.

When Tozer's hand moves to hold his waist instead, John doesn't fight it.

More kisses ~ request a kiss

[hickeys-dickey]

Pls share your thoughts about the gays in THAT scene… I would love to read them!

Ahh you are too kind, I am but a little swiss cheese brain but I'll try my best to sum up my thoughts, I have too many! I wanted a chance to grab some screenshots too! I'm going to put a read more because this is a long one buckle up lads.

So obviously the whole punishment for Hickey is designed to humiliate him (I would imagine this is one of the reasons his punishment isn't explained to him, because if Hickey truly was a naval petty officer he would know, and I think it's another way for Crozier to essentially say "I see you" and not in a good way). The fact we're not shown the other whippings shows the importance lies in the scene with Hickey.

I've seen a bit of discussion about his charge of "dirtiness", which isn't listed initially when we see him being questioned by the Captains, and whether or not it alludes to homosexuality but on a quick cursory search it does seem to have been used as a euphemism where an outright accusation of sodomy would mean a death sentence. The way Crozier throws it out there, no doubt to heap the humiliation onto Hickey and add crimes to the list to cover the fact he added lashes on to the punishment essentially for a bruised ego (but that's another matter), suggests a whole lot of venom to the accusation. Hickey's pointed look at Irving and Irving's quick shift of his gaze down suggests they both know exactly why Crozier has listed this among Hickey's list of crimes, and Hickey looks furious for it.

But I think this is also ultimately where the panic begins to set in. Again, there are far greater minds than me who have made excellent posts about queer coded characters in the terror, and I think it's no surprise that most of them are the faces that are focused on in this scence. It is clear long before this moment that Crozier's leadership is lacking, and people have already begun to voice concerns fairly loudly. Tozer for one is livid in the wake of Heather being injured, and the marines have clearly started distancing themselves from both the officers and the men. I feel like this scene, for a lot of characters is a point of major shift in either allegiences or character.

Tozer and the Captains are the first faces that are panned to in this scene and I think the expressions speak for themselves.

Tozer is visibly upset/concerned after the first lash. I do think guilt probably has a part to play, in that is was him whole told Hickey where Silna was, and presumably approved enough of the plan to not rat him out to anyone. Again, very probably part of Tozer's anger at Heather being injured due to what he sees is Crozier's poor management. Fitzjames is stoney faced, but is also the only one looking. As a man who many have noted pushes himself to pick emotional scabs, I think it would make sense for someone who is also notably queer coded and stuggles with trauma to make himself look directly at someone being whipped for a crime he himself might commit. Crozier isn't even looking, whether out of suddenly doubting his harshness or simply triggering something in his own memory it's not clear. I think the end of this shot also speaks for itself.

(Fig 1. Three Concerned (very likely not straight) men contemplate)

The lads at the back behind Mr. Johnson are all looking Directly At the whipping as it is taking place. Interestingly none of the men at the front near the table are looking. This is the stewards, officers, and marines. Whether out of respect or also Concern at their own skins (I think every one of these characters has been addressed as being queer coded at some point, minus the marines who are all, except Tozer, fairly nameless characters).

I'm not a gifmaker which is unfortunate for this section, though this is what is gifed in the beautiful gifset by sashneeka I reblogged (x). Tommy is also visibly upset, whether because he knows Tozer was involved in the plot to kidnap Silna and is concerned for him and any of the rest of the crew who had assisted in someway or voiced support. Billy interestingly does look briefly, and sets his jaw after in a way that suggests he's trying to fight the guilt of being the one to tell Irving about the whole affair with Hickey to paint himself in a better light. It could just as easily be Billy there on that table being lashed, but he somehow rationalises it in his head (probably because Hickey is a little bastard) that he was right in what he did. He does look down fairly guiltily after this, so maybe he hasn't quite settled on an opinion. Jopson also looks incredibly concerned/unsettled, and interestingly looks at Hickey right up until the whip hits where he flinches, and not for the only time in this scene. From what we know about Jopson's past, though not at this point, it may well be he is remembering similar punishment/mistreatment and like Fitzjames looks enough to pick the scab open and flinch from his own trauma.

The closeup of Hickey shows the full extent of his rage and humiliation building, and as I think Adam himself said, they whipped something out of Hickey that day and let him reach this potential that lay inside him (to become an even bigger bastard). He's fully severed all ties and feelings of loyalty after this and it becomes full on train to manipulation station from this point. I have a lot of Thoughts about Hickey also (which I am sure you are all aware of) but I think there was some semblance of Hickey attempting to start afresh on this journey, or at the very least keep his head down and go unnoticed. The trouble is, he notices Crozier as a flawed man, and one not from the upper classes like himself, and his ego can't help but think we're not so different, that could be me with the right connections. Well surprise lads, its murder time now and he's gonna make this old man pay for not recognising initiative but punishing it. I do wonder if Crozier wasn't booze sick and rattled from losing even more men under his command, would he not have come down so harshly for someone clearly defying the Articles to do what he thinks is right and save the men (a la Crozier and his fuck you I'm directly contradicting an order and leading this rescue party myself).

Tozer gets another wee closeup here and again looks like he has resolved something in his head too. Most likely that he thinks Crozier an unfit leader, and admiring Hickey for having the balls to do what he did (Hickey also never reveals anyone else who came with him, and when he talks about Hartnell and Mason's part in taking Silna it highlights their skill and bravery and (he thinks) commends them to the Captain. It's probably the only time we see him building up and applauding others). He looks dead ahead here and seems to have a very steely gaze, like yep fuck it looks like I'm going it alone now. It is interesting that Tozer goes from this to notably disliking Hickey (both at the start and when they are packing up - "you've just given me an excuse to give a big shove". This might be anger at Hickey having caused all the issues with Silna after the fact when Heather gets killed at Carnivale), but still follows him in the end. Hickey has the ability to kill, manipulate, steal, basically do whatever needed for their group to get ahead, which means Tozer can be part of the group and not have to dirty his own hands. I think Tozer probably has a complicated relationship with Hickey, but he does fall for the charm hook, line, and sinker, and the fact he seems concerned for him here suggests how easily he is sympathetic to those he sees as being wronged.

Gibby getting Hickey's blood on his hand (ayy) seems to visibly make him blanch, and I do find it interesting that the shot then pans to Tommy as though they are looking at each other when they are stood side by side. The similarities between them maybe? (I've seen and reblogged a lot of discourse about Tommy loving Tozer, maybe another nod to no one being so different to the man on the table?) Irving doesn't get much of a close up in the rest of this scene but bless him he looks equal parts terrified and guilty (another man who has been noted as having a list of many things to distract from the Gay Thoughts like why do you need to distract from Gay Thoughts Irving?). He also has the Far Off Look of trauma about him, probably because he too could just as easily be on that table.

I have many many thoughts about the way Hickey turns to look (and fucking smile???) at Crozier next, which is when Crozier is looking directly at him and Fitzjames looks at him. Like if I were Crozier I think my fucking blood would chill, look at this man. Being humiliated and lashed still hasn't broken him, if anything he has just become fully unhinged and looks at Crozier as though to say "did you really think this would work?". I would also say, this man has fairly quite for someone who is at this stage something like 22 lashes in? Like what the actual fuck Hickey?? I fully belive Hickey to be a psycopath, and most of what he does in the beginning of the series is an attempt to stay hidden until they get to Hawaii and he can ditch the crew, but I think it is fairly safe to say he isn't hiding it any more.

And he knows this is going to make the men doubt Crozier - I can't do a proper search because I am using my work laptop atm, but I seem to remember reading that a punishment greater than 12 lashes required a court martial (probably why Little steps in to say so when Crozier orders his punishment as well as them technically being lost at sea), which would be another strike against him as a Captain. Not only that, but Crozier does seem to grant him some mercy in letting him only be lashed I think 23 or so times? Probably because the tension is fucking palpable in this whole scene and Crozier can either choose to claw back some sense of control on the matter, or deal with the consequences of many people admiring Hickey for what he has done for the crew and start a mutiny. I think this is the first time Fitzjames sees the damage Crozier is doing to himself with his choices as Captain, and is probably just as concerned at the look Hickey is giving him. He knows this has unleashed something in this tiny rat bastard too, and that he will become the physical manifestation of Crozier's self-destructive tendancies. Crozier perpetually comes to everything just a fraction too late to change anything - he never saves any of the men, only comforts them as they die, and a lot of this has to do with his own ego and bad decision making, and I think this is the first example here of the fact his actions are having an effect on others to the point it will be his downfall.

Anyway, to round it off, I think this scene really epitomises the notion that Hickey is a mirror to the rest of the men, and they see their flaws in him. Those who have questioned Crozier's captaincy look concernced knowing they too could be being lashed. They too would have tried to get Silna to stop the Tuunbaq hunting them. Those who are queer or queer coded know they too could be being lashed for it. Crozier himself sees his unwillingness to follow the Articles in him, sees his own insubordination, and feels what Sir John meant when he said his position afforded him deference. Hickey may as well be a metaphor for all the men being lashed, theres not one among them who haven't voiced wanting to do what he has done. Let them without sin and all that. This is make or break for who holds loyalty to the Captain, and the turning point for who is going where. I think everyone except Jopson, Irving and Fitzjames ends up in the mutineers camp, and Irving ends up killed and mutilated by Hickey and Fitzjames is scavanged by them. Theres not one of them that isn't haunted by what happened in this scene, and Hickey would end up being the death of every single one of them. The only one who remains loyal after this is Jopson, who thinks his care and duty to the Captain can outweigh his other sins. Fitzjames and Crozier have a stronger relationship once he recovers from his withdrawal, yes, but Fitzjames also keeps him in check now (I'm thinking of Edward Little being threatened with flogging again because of course I am), and it is another step too late for Crozier's self-destruction. I've seen a Hickey/Fitzjames Christ analogy on here before too, so I hope you'll forgive me in comparing them, but Hickey in this scene really does get punished for everyone else's crimes in this scene, and becomes a sort of Christ-like figure, reborn as a complete version of the worst of himself from the pain of being lashed. They whipped something out of him!! Anyway, that about sums it up!

[lieutenant-catboy-little]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Terror (TV 2018) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Irving/Edward Little/Solomon Tozer, John Irving (1815-c.1848)/Edward Little (1811-c.1848), Edward Little/Solomon Tozer, John Irving/Solomon Tozer Characters: Edward Little (1811-c.1848), Solomon Tozer, John Irving (1815-c.1848) Additional Tags: the erebus lieuts and hodge are also there but only a bit, Asexual Edward Little, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Anxiety, but au where ed has had a lot of therapy yk, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Open Relationships Series: Part 1 of ace edward little Summary:

Edward thinks he's getting pretty good at this open relationship-thing, but he's still not quite sure what the protocol is when his boyfriend's hook-up ends up spending the night. Thankfully, it all works out better than expected.

(Technically for the prompt "lust" for Terror Rarepair Week 2022)

[annecoulmanross]

The premise: AMC’s The Terror (2018) is almost perfectly set up to be a structured as a classical Greek tragedy, or, ideally, a series of three tragedies.

Three requirements of a classical Greek tragedy:

The play is performed by only three actors and a chorus.

The three actors perform all of the dialogue roles between them.

All of the action of the play takes place on a single day (in the space of no more than twenty-four hours), and always in the same physical place.

Obviously this last requirement is the hardest to achieve with the events of the show sprawling over two years or more, but with a trilogy of three tragedies, you could narrow the action down to three key days: (1) Franklin’s death, (2) Carnevale, and (3) The day the mutineers lure the Tuunbaq and everyone but Crozier dies. I could focus on the structural elements that would allow for these three days of “action” but I’m more interested in the implications of the first two requirements: basically, can you stage a version of The Terror with only three actors? The answer is that – barring action sequences which would never be staged in a Greek tragedy anyway, because all true action happens off-stage – yes, yes you can. So, let’s talk about logistics.

Core Casting Divisions:

ACTOR 1 = Franklin (also: Goodsir, Blanky, Little, Bridgens, Tozer, etc.)

ACTOR 2 = Fitzjames (also: Lady Silence, Hickey, Jopson, Peglar, Stanley, etc.)

ACTOR 3 = Crozier (also: Collins, MacDonald, Hodgson, Gibson, etc.)

Beneath the cut: how this casting breaks down, scene by scene; and the implications of these casting divisions, complete with a lot of rambling thoughts about – among other things – gender, masculinity, and (amusingly) Rome.

(Also, I want to thank my dear friends, fellow terror-classicists, and everyone who has so patiently talked terror-meta and terror-thoughts with me, including, but in no way limited to, @kaserl, @catilinas, @rhavewellyarnbag, @paramaline, and @endofvanity – your wonderful thoughts about this show have been enormously helpful as I’ve played with the narrative mechanics here!) 

+

Casting, Scene-by-Scene

A basic outlay of all major dialogue scenes in every episode (a “major dialogue scene” is a scene with more than one character, minus “fight scenes” because action never happens on stage in a Greek tragedy), with the roles of the three actors listed in 1-2-3 order, and an “x” to mark when an actor doesn’t appear in a scene.

01x01 – “Go for Broke”

Franklin – Fitzjames – Collins [Discussing the ice]

Blanky – x – Crozier [Crozier complains, part 1]

x – Jopson – Crozier [Crozier complains, part 2]

Strong – Hickey – Young [Young’s illness revealed]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Crozier [Fitzjames’ storytelling]

Goodsir – Stanley – Young [Treating Young’s illness]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Collins [Collins’s dive]

Goodsir – Stanley – Young [Young’s autopsy]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Crozier [Franklin’s decision]

Tozer – Hickey – Manson [Burying Young]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Gore [The pack has arrived]

(Notes: This is an incredibly cleanly written episode, and the casting is correspondingly clean. Franklin and Fitzjames almost always appear together, as do Goodsir and Stanley; both pairs are “leader and subordinate,” but the roles shift, with Actor 1 as Franklin and Goodsir, and Actor 2 as Fitzjames and Stanley. Actor 3, meanwhile, plays three characters with foresight: Crozier, who foretells the pack ice through his knowledge and by listening to Blanky; and Collins and Young, through their more supernatural visions.)

01x02 – “Gore”

Franklin – Fitzjames – Gregory [Checking the engine]

Bridgens – Peglar – x [“Here comes the lending library”]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Gore [Gore’s sledge party departs]

Goodsir – Peglar – Gore [Gore’s sledge party]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Crozier [“Repairing bonds”]

Irving – Hickey – Gibson [Irving’s discovery]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Hodgson [Hodgson’s sledge party returns]

Blanky – x – Crozier [Remembering Parry’s expedition]

Irving – Hickey – Crozier [A shared drink]

Goodsir – Lady Silence – Crozier [The death of Silence’s father]

Goodsir – Fitzjames – Crozier [Goodsir explains how Gore died]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Crozier [Franklin discusses how Gore died]

Blanky – Lady Silence – Crozier [Lady Silence’s warning]

(Notes: As the show adds complexity, so does the casting. Irving appears as a new role for Actor 1, paralleling Franklin in his religiosity; Gibson appears as a new role for Actor 3, paralleling Crozier in being a person with whom Hickey.... uh, flirts.)

01x03 – “The Ladder”

Hartnell – Morfin – Weekes [Preparing Lady Silence’s father, part 1]

Goodsir – Morfin – Weekes [Preparing Lady Silence’s father, part 2]

Hartnell – Lady Silence – Hodgson [Returning the totems to Lady Silence]

Goodsir – x – Des Voeux [“Burying” Lady Silence’s father]

Little – Jopson – Crozier [Little’s worries about the Inuit]

Irving – Hickey – Gibson [Gibson asks for Irving’s counsel]

Franklin – Fitzjames – Crozier [The sledge rescue party proposal]

Blanky – x – Crozier [Crozier’s mutiny plan]

Irving – Hickey – x [Irving’s warning]

x – Hickey – Gibson [The break-up]

(Note: The sequence in the hunting blind is nigh-impossible within this casting, since it features predominantly three separate characters all played by Actor 1 – Franklin, Goodsir, and Tozer. Imagined poetically, one could say that this is an omen of the violence so soon to come in the physical space of the hunting blind, since violence cannot be depicted on stage in a Greek tragedy. Conceived practically, one might argue that this is because the hunting blind is a hotbed of toxic masculinity, where the masculine Tozer baits the patriarchal Franklin into remaining with the marines, and teases Goodsir for his “feminine” caution.)

Franklin – Fitzjames – Crozier [The death of Franklin]

Chambers – Morfin – Weekes [“Silver swan”]

Blanky – Fitzjames – Crozier [“It’s technically not mutiny if I’m in charge”]

(Notes: This episode mainly functions to round out the first third of the show’s narrative, so the main parallels are familiar. We do, however, have a range of important sequences featuring the new-to-us characters Morfin and Weekes; we begin to get to know more of the men, rather than just officers. Morfin is played by Actor 2, which could be evidence to argue that Morfin was once lashed was for sodomy – cf. “Actor 2,” below for more.)

01x04 – “Punished as a Boy”

x – Jopson – Crozier [“You hear everything, Jopson”]

x – Fitzjames – Crozier [“Does not one bring one’s habits to Terror?”]

Goodsir – Stanley – MacDonald [Tending to Heather]

Tozer – Hickey – x [The idea to kidnap Lady Silence develops]

Little – Fitzjames – Crozier [The plan to “get” Lady Silence develops]

Hartnell – Hickey – Crozier [Questioning the kidnappers]

Johnson – Hickey – Crozier [The lashing]

x – Hickey – MacDonald [After the lashing]

Goodsir – Morfin – x [Morfin’s headaches]

(Note: The scene “Morfin’s headaches” is really interesting to me, because it causes overlap problems all over the place: Morfin MUST be played by Actor 2, because his death scene must have Goodsir (1) and Crozier (3) in it, but Actor 2 also plays Fitzjames and Stanley, both of whom are also in this scene; this is the scene in which Fitzjames and Stanley have their one significant conversation, in fact, which it hurt me desperately to lose. I think there’s something in this scene about thwarted connections – Morfin reaching out to Goodsir, Stanley reaching out to Fitzjames – and that may be why it all tangles up here, why the casting system breaks down and fails here, as it does.)

Irving – x – Crozier [Men shifting to Erebus]

Goodsir – Lady Silence – Des Voeux [Feeding Lady Silence]

(Note: Goodsir sure does have a lot of scenes with Des Voeux in these early episodes. I’d never noticed this, and I’m not sure what to make of it.)

01x05 – “First Shot a Winner Lads”

Little – Fitzjames – x [Sending Lady Silence to Terror]

Goodsir – Stanley – Des Voeux [Goodsir asks leave to go to Terror]

x – Fitzjames – Collins [The requisition of spirits]

Goodsir – Hickey – x [Hickey’s wounds]

Little – x – Crozier [“How fares the raft of the Medusa?”]

(Note: Little and Blanky almost never interact, so the fact that they are both Actor 1 rarely causes problems. Losing Blanky in this scene is tragic, though, BUT this does create an interesting parallel between Crozier’s failure at being a mentor for Little, and MacDonald’s greater success(?) at being a mentor for Goodsir, below, since both are Actor 1 as mentee & Actor 3 as mentor scenes. )

Goodsir – Hickey – x [“Does that really work with anyone?”]

Goodsir – x – MacDonald [Doctors bonding over teeth exploding]

x – Hickey – Gibson [The proposal]

Irving – Hickey – Manson [Storing Hornby’s body]

Goodsir – Lady Silence – Crozier [Interviewing Lady Silence]

Blanky – Fitzjames – Crozier [The punch]

Blanky – Jopson – Crozier [Blanky’s amputation]

(Note: Jopson is holding Blanky’s hand during the amputation. That’s my justification for having him here. I just like it, that’s all.)

Little – Jopson – Crozier [Crozier’s detox plan]

(Note: Obviously, there are additional important people in the “Crozier’s detox plan” scene, and one is loath to ignore Fitzjames, for example. But this is the beginning of Jopson’s core arc, so he takes priority, and Little receiving Crozier’s gun is weighty.)

01x06 – “A Mercy”

Irving – Fitzjames – MacDonald [The provisions remaining]

Blanky – Fitzjames – x [The Fury Beach™ Scene]

x – Jopson – Crozier [Tending to Crozier, with Jopson’s backstory]

Hartnell – Hickey – x [Hartnell’s new charter]

Little – Fitzjames – x [Carnevale as a “last hurrah” before the walk-out]

x – Stanley – Collins [“Flurried thoughts”]

Bridgens – Peglar – x [Xenophon’s Anabasis]

Goodsir – Stanley – x [Goodsir’s discovery re: the tinned goods]

x – Jopson – Crozier [Going to Carnevale]

(Note: We’ve just had seven (7!) entire 2-person scenes of either (a) Actors 1 and 2, or (b) Actors 2 and 3, bouncing back and forth – this would keep Actor 2 very, VERY busy. Actor 2 also plays no less that five (5!) different characters in here, almost their entire core repertoire of Fitzjames, Hickey, Jopson, Stanley, and Peglar, omitting only Lady Silence, who will also show up later in this episode. There’s a lot more to be said here, but I’ll just note that we start and end with scenes of Jopson caring for Crozier – a classical ring structure – with Stanley failing to care for Collins placed at the center.)

Blanky – Jopson – Crozier [Crozier arrives at Carnevale]

x – Hickey – Des Voeux [“Unless you want that ripped off?”]

Little – Fitzjames – Crozier [Crozier’s speech at Carnevale]

Goodsir – Lady Silence – Crozier [Lady Silence returns]

x – Stanley – Crozier [The fire begins]

x – Hickey – MacDonald [MacDonald’s death]

Goodsir – Fitzjames – Crozier [After Carnevale]

01x07 – “Horrible from Supper”

x – Fitzjames – Crozier [What the men have packed]

Tozer – Hickey – Gibson [The mutiny plot begins]

Goodsir – Morfin – Collins [Morfin stumbles]

Blanky – Jopson – Crozier [Goodbye to Terror]

Goodsir – x – Collins [“Terrible from supper”]

Goodsir – x – Crozier [Goodsir wants hunting parties]

Tozer – Morfin – Crozier [Finding Fairholme’s fate]

(Note: For casting reasons, Fitzjames doesn’t appear here, though he’s very much present in the show’s version of the discovery of Fairholme’s remains. One might derive some AU scenarios for this (what if Fitzjames didn’t know about the destruction of Fairholme’s rescue party?) or one might contemplate what it means for Fitzjames to be present or not, when, notably, the numbers of how many men have died that Fitzjames writes on the Victory Point Note addendum in the next episode ONLY tally if Fitzjames forgets – or purposely omits – Fairholme and the men of his sledge party.)  

x – Fitzjames – Crozier [The Hand Touch™ Scene]

Little – x – Crozier [“The men deserve every gold thing there is.” ]

(Note: Crozier and Little will have to also discuss Tozer’s recommendation to arm the men as a past event, since Tozer can’t be in this scene with Little already there, when they’re both Actor 1; more on this in the next episode.)

Goodsir – Morfin – Crozier [Morfin’s death]

Goodsir – Lady Silence – x [Goodsir gets comfort-cuddles]

Hartnell – Jopson – Crozier [Hartnell is a good boy.jpeg and so is Jopson]

Little – Jopson – Crozier [Jopson’s promotion]  

Tozer – Hickey – Hodgson [Bringing Hodgson into the mutiny]

Irving – Hickey – Koveyook [Asking for help]

01x08 – “Terror Camp Clear”

x – Fitzjames – Crozier [Victory Point Note addendum]

(Note: The scene where Crozier questions Hodgson poses some problems, since both are Actor 3. The details may simply have to be elided into other scenes. This episode has several such issues, including, tragically, Hickey and Jopson’s scenes (Actor 2), and, unfortunately, Little and Tozer’s scenes (Actor 1). What this does show us is some new dynamics in the overlaps – Hickey and Jopson are Crozier’s “prodigal son” and the obedient elder son, respectively; Little and Tozer are what happens when leadership goes wrong, in two very different ways.)

Goodsir – Lady Silence – Crozier [Discussing Irving’s mutilation]

Little – Fitzjames – Crozier [Leaving Little in charge]

Bridgens – Peglar – Collins [Bridgens the doctor]

Blanky – Hickey – Crozier [Interrogation at the scene of the crime]

Goodsir – Lady Silence – x [Mourning friends]

Tozer – x – Des Voeux [Noises in the fog]

Little – x – Hodgson [Hodgson’s worries about the Inuit]

Blanky – Fitzjames – Crozier [Realizing the camp is armed]

Goodsir – Lady Silence – Crozier [Sending Lady Silence away to safety]

x – Hickey – Gibson [Mutiny planning]

Little – Fitzjames – Crozier [Arresting Hickey]

Little – Hickey – Crozier [The hanging]

Diggle – Hickey – Gibson [The mutiny sledge leaves]

Tozer – x – Collins [Collins’ death]

(Note: Even before Goodsir is kidnapped by the mutineers, like Penelope ambushed by the suitors, this episode gives us none of the Goodsir – Fitzjames – Crozier dynamic that stabilized the end of Carnevale; Bridgens has, in many ways, already taken over for Goodsir in becoming the “doctor” for the crew, and he will bloom into having two vitally important and devastating Bridgens – Fitzjames – Crozier scenes in the next episode. For now, Goodsir has three major scenes with Lady Silence: the last they will ever have together.)

01x09 – “The C the C the Open C”

Bridgens – Fitzjames – Crozier ["Blank pages now”]

x – Fitzjames – Crozier [“More than god loves them,” part 2]

Tozer – Hickey – Hodgson [Hodgson joins the mutiny]  

x – Fitzjames – Crozier [Fitzjames falls]

x – Hickey – Hodgson [“Veal Cutlets Tomata”]  

Goodsir – Hickey – Gibson [“(Tr)eating” Gibson]

Little – Jopson – Crozier [Little proposes leaving the sick behind]

(Note: The last time we saw these three together, it was Jopson’s promotion, and the time before that, it was “Crozier’s detox plan,” and Jopson was promising “I got you” to his captain; now it’s the other way around. Little acts as a pivot around which circumstances turn, rather than an agent in and of himself in many ways. Like fellow Actor 1 character Franklin, Little is thrust into a position of leadership for which he isn’t truly ready, and then his choices are slowly cut off from him – but where Franklin’s choices are cut off by fate, and the ice, Little’s are largely cut off by the opposition of others: first his captain, in vetoing the plan to leave the sick behind, and then by the men, in voting to leave the captain in Hickey’s clutches.)  

Inuit Leader – Lady Silence – x [Not enough food to share]

Bridgens – Fitzjames – Crozier [The end]

Little – Golding – Crozier [The funeral]

Blanky – x – Crozier [Forks]

Bridgens – Peglar – x [“Can we sleep?”]

Tozer – Hickey – Armitage [Making mutiny camp]

Goodsir – Hickey – Hodgson [Feeding mutiny camp]

(Note: So technically Tozer is visibly in this scene, and Hodgson’s not, but in a Greek tragedy he would be visibly on stage, so I’m calling that fair play.)

Goodsir – x – Hodgson [Hodgson’s Eucharist monologue]

Tozer – Hickey – x [Tozer’s plan to return to the ships]

Bridgens – Peglar – x [The C the C the open C]

Tozer – Pilkington – Armitage [Discontented mutineers]

x – Jopson – Crozier [Foley’s cow]

Little – Golding – Crozier [A false report]

Hartnell – x – Crozier [“Go be with your brother now”]

Little – x – Crozier [“We will live”]

01x10 – “We Are Gone”

x – Hickey – Crozier [A Wednesday]

Little – x – Le Vesconte [A vote]

(Note: For you Dundy fans, this is literally the first time I’ve found a place for him; I could perhaps have gone back and put in the short “benjo” scene, but alas, some things aren’t meant to be – the primary people listening to that announcement are Hickey (2) and Gibson (3) and Le Vesconte clearly can’t be Actor 1, since this, his star scene, is with Little (1). Dundy really does come out of nowhere, narratively speaking, even more so than Hodgson in many ways.)

Goodsir – x – Crozier [“This place is beautiful to me”]

x – Hickey – Crozier [“I forgive all of them”]

Diggle – x – Crozier [Escape plans]

Tozer – Hickey – Crozier [A doctor a day keeps the doctor… well]

Tozer – Hickey – Des Voeux [Next steps forward]

Tozer – Hickey – Crozier [“You could have just joined up”]

Little – Lady Silence – Crozier [Captains losing ship and crew]

Inuit Leader – Lady Silence – Crozier [“Silna”]

Inuit Leader – Translator – James Clark Ross [“Aglooka”]

(Note: Working chronologically such that James Clark Ross appears only at the end but not also at the beginning, as per the rules of Greek drama, our Actor 2 ends the story in the role of the Translator. Something very poetic about that.)

+

Implications of the Casting System

Basically, my argument here is that, in a pinch, you can retell the narrative of AMC’s The Terror (2018) using only three actors, with relatively minimal problems of overlap, and that’s FASCINATING.

In part, these core casting divisions (Actors 1, 2, and 3) are purely pragmatic – we have scenes that require, e.g., Franklin and Fitzjames and Crozier to all make important statements, so those three have to be played by different actors. And it fractals out from there – e.g., Blanky and Crozier have numerous significant scenes, so they can’t be the same actor, and you can’t lose the “Sir John Ross Never Knew How Close He Came” Fury Beach scene, so Blanky and Fitzjames can’t be the same actor, which means Blanky and Franklin MUST be. But sometimes these spiraling casting necessities make for very cool accidental overlaps as a result of the pragmatic necessities of so small a cast. 

(Also, for the classicists in the room, I first mapped this out while watching a production of the Bacchae, so that tells you something about my headspace.)

So, interesting things about what parallels these actors might play out:

– Actor 1 predominantly plays very masculine men in very traditional masculine roles (Franklin, the paternal leader; Blanky, so rugged and grounded in himself; Little, the stoic with depressive tendencies who’s bottling up his emotions; Tozer, who is, um, Tozer). The exception in many ways is Goodsir. The thing is, Goodsir is one of most feminized men in this show, given his role as a medical care provider, his warm softness, his initial apparent lack of physical courage (it’s an abundance of reasonable caution, Tozer!), and his Penelope-like role in later the Odyssey narrative. But Goodsir has to be played by a different actor than most of the other characters in this show with a dubious relationship to Victorian British masculinity (Actor 2, see below), because he shares scenes with them! Goodsir and Hickey MUST be played by different actors (not to mention Lady Silence). So here we are, with Goodsir amongst the “manly men.” Even Bridgens is fairly traditionally masculine, if only in his physical appearance and his classical education.

Other interesting parallels: If I had to give a real, classical answer to the “why is Goodsir with this bunch” question, I think it has to do with the shift from the Franklin & Fitzjames & Crozier “First Triumvirate” of the early episodes (brief Roman digression, but the Roman “First Triumvirate” would be Franklin = Pompey, Fitzjames = Crassus (well… Cicero), Crozier = Caesar? …hilarious) to the Goodsir & Hickey & Crozier “Second Triumvirate” of the later episodes (Goodsir = Lepidus (I’m SORRY), Hickey = Antony, Crozier = Augustus). Basically, Goodsir has to take Sir John’s place as the representative of (or spokesperson for) the brittle British empire and its hapless inadequacies, once Franklin is gone (more on this is “Actor 2.”)

Also, you know, re: Blanky and Sir John, both men lose a leg. Do with that what you will. (“Good one leg man” and “Bad one leg man” indeed.)

– Actor 2 predominantly plays figures whose masculinity is either queered, problematized, or non-existent. (Fitzjames, who crossdresses, who carries his legacy like a woman’s beauty – easily lost over time; Lady Silence, who is rarely if ever treated like a woman within the narrative, but, in fact, is one; Hickey, whose queerness and violence are intertwined; and Jopson, whose life is defined by dedication to a career that places him in feminized roles.) Peglar, despite his sexuality, is one of the more traditionally masculine characters this actor plays, but what can I say, Peglar is fragments, and fragments, as we know, are gay-coded. Stanley is also, on first glance, a more masculine outsider, but the gender binary of live men and dead men prevails in this show, and Stanley’s been dead inside since long before he ever set foot on Erebus. This is also where one might argue that the flogging to which Morfin alludes is a punishment for sodomy, and that mentioning it to Goodsir is a specific attempt to find a kindred soul, and/or an attempt to flirt. 

Other interesting parallels: Fitzjames and his masks, both literal and metaphorical, and how those masks are desecrated by Hickey along with Fitzjames’ body and boots; Hickey and Jopson as the opposite ends of the spectrum for father/son relationships with Crozier (I know this means we can’t have that Hickey & Jopson scene – I can’t account for it, I’m sorry too!). But back to Fitzjames and Hickey, this parallel also makes interesting sense re: the two “triumvirates” in show (Franklin & Fitzjames & Crozier and later Hickey & Goodsir & Crozier) because, in contrast to Franklin and Goodsir who are representatives of the British empire, Fitzjames and Hickey are places where the British empire is most visibly broken, Fitzjames because of the lies he’s had to tell about his origins, and Hickey because he’s the eternal outsider, literally trapped outside the tent. (Well, and the lies Hickey’s also had to tell about his origins! Though that’s his own damn fault in many ways.) Also, Fitzjames is technically “Crassus” in his triumvirate, and he does play on tropes of wealth and privilege and inane military campaigns in the east, but he’s mostly, actually Cicero, mutilated by Hickey/Antony, who also steals his mask – aka boots/severed head – to prove his cruelty and co-opt power.

This actor has to do A LOT of work, as a friend of mine once said. But also they play all three of my favorite characters, so I adore them.

– Actor 3 predominantly plays Crozier. (Crozier is the main character of this narrative, we can’t avoid that; he’s part of both triumvirates, and a vast number  of the significant scenes include him, so his actor is stuck playing just Crozier much of the time.) Apart from that, however, I love that one of the natural overlaps is for this same actor to play Collins, whose connection with dreams and visions parallels so interestingly with Crozier’s foresight and foreknowledge.

Note: Because of the tragic structural limitation of “one setting only.” I’ve not included any of the characters back in England, apart from James Clark Ross, since he does eventually make his way out to the Arctic. If I were to include the contemporary England scenes (omitting the flashback scenes), it would have basically this set up:

ACTOR 1 (overlaps with Franklin) = Lady Jane, Barrow Jr.

ACTOR 2 (overlaps with Fitzjames) = Sophia Cracroft

ACTOR 3 (overlaps with Crozier) = John Ross, James Clark Ross, Dickens

Actor 3 is potentially the most interesting of these, because Crozier doubles with James Clark Ross re: life experience (Antarctic hand tremors!) and with John Ross re: being a harbinger of things to come. Actor 1 is intriguing also, though – less, I think, for doubling Lady Jane with her husband, which I do ultimately like quite a lot, but also for the other parallels offered, e.g. Lady Jane and Goodsir. (Did you know Lady Jane once dissected a giant squid? Goodsir would have loved it!) 

This has been your “a Terror-obsessed classical scholar tries to make a tv show into a Greek tragedy” hour – thank you for joining me! 

[ussporcupine]

inspired by @paramaline​ who called #edward the millenial victorian

Terror characters as generational vibes

Boomer Crozier Fitzjames Le Vesconte (right on the knife’s edge between boomer and x tho) Sir John Franklin Sir John Ross Stanley

Gen X James Clark Ross Blanky Bridgens Fairholme (unsupervised latchkey child) Lady Jane MacDonald Peddie (no one ever let him talk) Des Voeux (unfortunately)

Millennial Little Tozer Collins Goodsir Gibson Sophia Irving Hodgson Silna

Gen Z Peglar Hickey Hartnell Manson Gore Jopson Tuunbaq

[boilyerheid]

14 (kissing each other breathless) or 26 (giggling while kissing) for ftagh!joplittle? thank you!

14. kissing each other breathless/ 26. giggling while kissing

Tom doesn't take part in their kickabouts very often - he's open about not giving a fuck about sport in general and won't be drawn into following a team even in name - but when he does he's... competitive.

He's also not remotely good at football. For all his dexterity and competence in other areas, the bloke has two left feet and has tripped over the ball more than once during his attempts to actually keep possession without immediately passing it off (and grass stains on his jeans aren't an incentive to play more). He and Sol refuse to play on the same team, because they're as arsey about winning as each other, so in this particular instance it's fallen down couples lines: Tom and Ed vs Sol and John, while Dundy keeps score from his picnic blanket with Collins snoring beside him.

They're 1-1 and almost at the end of their pre-agreed time limit (Irving's got something wrong with his knee these days, so they don't play hard for too long) when a miracle happens: Tom gets the ball on a fluke, and Sol is too far away to dive in and hack at his ankles like usual. He punts it between the jumper goal posts right before Dundy whistles to end the game, and turns to Ed with arms raised in shocked delight.

Ed runs over and scoops him into his arms, twirling them stupidly in celebration with Tom's legs wrapped around his waist while they both make far too much noise about it for a silly park kickabout. They're both out of breath and giggling when they finally meet for a kiss, ignoring Sol's call of gaaaaaaaaay from across the field.

They don't play for anything, obviously, but Ed's got his prize right here.

[charlesdesvoeux]

top five terror ships?

sorry it took me a while to answer! I wanted to offer some fic recs as well so it took me some time to put it together (MIND THE WARNINGS IN EACH FIC, SOME OF THEM DEAL WITH VERY HEAVY SUBJECT MATTER), but here it goes:

-> Stanvoeux: yeah. hmmm. only 1 canon interaction yadda yadda but the POTENTIAL. the 2 nastiest guys on the expedition. stanley the perfect sadist and des voeux the perfect masochist. to borrow a phrase @favouritefi applied to a whole different ship they're having the kind of sex that increases the defcon level.

favorite fics: Panic at the Fun-Plex (1980s AU, both hot and heartbreaking), Keyed Up and of course To Have and Have Not (aka the atticwife au)

-> Armitozer: i'm forever thankful to the people who first excavated the tozer/armitage love story out of the dephts of the show because it is REAL TO ME. idk man i think there's potential for "do i want him or do i want to be him?" what with tommy's whole yearning to be a marine, and just. the way he followed him into mutiny, into complete ruin, saw him become a shell of the man he once was- and yet he kept loving him... makes me crazy.

favorite fics: a gunner good (kinda monsterfuckery au which i love dearly), damn your wife i'd be your mistress... (armisolving, a lovely work) and my love is on the high seas.

-> Joplittle: i must admit i was not a joplittle girlie but i've read some incredible fics and now i'm a convert. i like it best when they're very tender. lots and lots of yearning and not knowing what the other is feeling until that climactic moment when it all comes spilling out. of course in canon they share in the burden of caring for Crozier and keeping his secrets as he's drying out. and little's smile when jopson is made lieutenant!!! and the angst potential as jopson is left behind and dies. amazing stuff.

favorite fics: the vinegar and pearl-ash series, the maternal instincts series, and the comforts of home

-> Hickeygibson: there is just. so much love there, the real genuine thing, even if it manifests as this weird game of cat and mouse (in which they alternate the roles), so much need. everyone is so easy to read and figure out, except for Billy. everyone is so boring and predictable, except for Cornelius. there's this lorde lyric that reminds me of them- "they'll talk about us and discover how we kissed then killed each other" which yeah. that's them.

favorite fics: Three-Time, Meditations Made While Standing Upon the Shale of King William's Land (a poem, and really heartbreaking), Kissing with Tongue

-> Irving x Malcolm: please bear with me. this is uhhh. verging on RPF but to be clear although William Elphinstone Malcolm isn't mentioned in any point of AMC The Terror I just choose to believe that he also exists in that universe and that he shares that very close friendship with John that their real life counterparts had (speaking of the real life guys go read their letters right now). the idea of John having fallen deeply in love with his best friend and just not allowing himself to dwell on these feelings, feeling both joy and shame whenever he gets a letter, maybe not even fully realizing that he's in love??? it makes me CRAZY. so yeah. (disclaimer: i make no claims as to the nature of irl!irving's attachment to malcolm, these people are long dead and this is probably impossible to ascertain, the version I ship is within the showverse).

favorite fics: there are only 12 :-( my favorites are Live for Yesterday; if not, in the next; and the soft animal of your body series (primarily hartnell/irving, but with some great irving/malcolm bits)