#.// go with the floe (blanky) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

brassandblue · 4 months

Note

Who are your muses best friends?

Arthur's best friends are: @bertievi's George VI; @admiraltyspride's Lord Nelson; @ageofxail's Daniel/America (husband!!!), Noel/England & Royal Navy; my Jack/London; & @xbasilrp's Toni/Spain (spicy boyfriend).

Not quite besties but very close platonically (unless otherwise noted) are @terrorcaptain's Crozier (very father-son tbh); Thera at @therapardalis; Mycroft at @governmentofficial (also husband!); @hope-on-hope-ever's John Franklin (friends/colleagues in general but also estranged father and bastard son in THAT ONE AU); endearingly fond of @imprvdente's Fish; & Pris at @herstoriies

@honorhearted gets an honorable (ha!) mention because of how complicated Ben and Art's relationship is. Arthur admires Ben but also wants to punch him in the nose. Arthur enjoys punching things though, so take that with a whole spoon of salt. He genuinely wants the Americans to win and believes Ben to be a properly good man--part of the reason he razzes Ben like he does is because there's really no other way (in Art's opinion) to try and shake Ben out of seeing the war as a largely black and white problem. He sees a lot of himself in Ben--they are both educated, stubborn, hot-headed, and courageous in stupid ways, and they both have a heart. Arthur doesn't want to see America get its start as a country with all of the kindness burned out of all its founders. They are... complicated.

I don't like to go godmode people, but Art's "default" is that he is besties with Portugal, France, India, U.S. America. However, I handle that on a case-by-case basis because, again, it would be shitty of me to force that decision on other writers.

Goodsir's besties are: The Henry Collins that lives in my head; @tooxldtorememxer's John Irving; @herstoriies' Priscilla (big fat crush on her too tbh!!!!!); @therapardalis; @terrorcaptain; Silna at @tatteredxsails; @bertievi of course; he's also pretty close with @ageofxail's Noel; & @imprvdente's Fish; & he has........ complicated feelings about @honorhearted's Ben.

Thomas Blanky's besties are: @wantsusdead's Francis (I mean we just started threading but LISTEN-); oh also @terrorcaptain's Francis (+ husband); he's also super fond of @admiraltyspride too; can't forget about the Sidebear, thank u @tatteredxsails; & if I get my way he's going to continue to 'Dad' at @imprvdente!!!!!

The Railroad Man has no besties because he's an abject piece of sh oh wow, Moriarty actually!! @multipleoccupancy

#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#.// ruled the waves (arthur)#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// schrodinger’s doctor (goodsir)#.// lupus in fabula (trm)#.// no frigate like a book (headcanons)

11 notes · View notes

saints-who-never-existed · 3 months

Text

Rereading The Terror

Chapter Forty-Nine: Crozier

The southward journey continues, or at least tries to...

Whether asleep or awake, Crozier is beset on all sides by nightmares. In the few minutes of sleep he can catch, he has visions of his Memo Moira sending him up to receive the Eucharist from a giant, dripping Tuunbaq-like priest who rises up out of the floor and reeks of blood. "He knows that his life will never be the same after receiving the Papist Eucharist. And he also knows that his life will end if he does not receive it." And in his waking hours, he and the men are subjected to the constant, terrifying feeling that the ice beneath them is breaking up to swallow them whole, as well as the news from Goodsir that their constant ice-slicked, sweat-dampened state is ruining the men's feet, rotting them gangrenously away and necessitating amputations.

Those unimaginably awful conditions are one thing I do feel the book captures better than the show often is able to (for obvious practical reasons, but still...). "The Holland tents were soaked and never dried. The sleeping bags...were soaked and frozen inside and out and never dried. When the men awoke in the morning after a few stolen minutes of fitful sleep - no amount of shivering could make one warmer..." Like, just the mental toll of being that cold for that long alone is bad enough! :(((

They're constantly trying to hunt but are constantly unsuccessful. They've shot at a few seals on the ice floes but the animals have always managed to escape down into the water to die before the men can reach them. ("Sometimes the hunters knelt on the ice to lap at the blood.")

One bright spot in all the darkness is the legendary Mr Diggle, who somehow manages to remain "the same energetic, obscene, efficient, bellowing, and somehow reassuring figure he had been for three years at his post... aboard HMS Terror." "...always the optimist...", Diggle has even cobbled together a crude seal-oil stove so as to be ready in the event that one of the hunting parties finally sees some success.

Still, even that optimism isn't enough and Crozier's thoughts grow darker... He reasons that the only thing that would really help them now would be to finally manage to kill Tuunbaq, who continues to stalk them. He still believes Tuunbaq to be a real animal of flesh and blood (unlike the rest of the men who believe it a wrathful god) and can't help but think not only of the feast Tuunbaq's body would provide but of the morale boost too. "So they would eat well for many week if they did manage to murder their murderer. And with every bite, Crozier knew, even eating the thing-flesh as they were the salt pork while on the march, there would be the pleasure of revenge, even if it had to be a dish best served cold."

The lengths he contemplates going to in order to accomplish this almost don't bear thinking about. First, he considers using himself as bait: "If it would work, Francis Crozier knew he would set himself out onto the ice as bait. If it would work. If it would save and feed even a few of his men."

Then, he thinks about bodies... He remembers Private Wilkes, who was pulled from the water just before the ice closed back over the drowned Marines, but who died from the cold shortly afterwards anyway. He thinks of how they just his left his body out on the ice when they moved on when they could've used it for bait. And he thinks of David Leys now - the man who's lain catatonic and useless since Tuunbaq's attack on Blanky. Not even the likes of Hickey and Aylmore seem to have thought of leaving Leys behind (or worse) but Crozier has... "But everyone must have had the same thought..." "Eat them." "Eat Leys first, then the others when they die." "Francis Crozier was so hungry that he could imagine eating human flesh. He would not kill a man in order to devour him - not yet - but once dead, why should all that meat be left behind to rot in the arctic summer sun?"

Crozier thinks briefly of the whaling ship Essex, the one famously sunk by a sperm whale in 1820, leaving her crew to drift and descend into cannibalism and almost all perish in their tiny whaleboats in the Pacific. Hard to tell whether it comes from Simmons himself, or is more on Crozier's part as a character but there's a bit that strikes me as amusing. Crozier recalls that the Essex's crew made landfall on Henderson Island but quickly found that the animals and plant life there would not be enough to sustain them. Conveniently left out is the fact that there wasn't enough animal and plant life because the crew went absolutely fuckin' hog-wild and burnt through it all, depleting all of the island's natural resources in the space of barely a fuckin' week! Like, God love them the poor bugger's were starving, but even still, they were the reason there wasn't enough food to last on that island!

Back in colder climes, the Expedition's men continue to drift, the ice being too weirdly broken up for them to row/sail/haul with any kind of purpose. Crozier maps their position as best he can and eventually realises just where they are: "We're in the strait. And since we have to be north of the Adelaide Peninsula, we've completed the goal of the Sir John Franklin Expedition. This is the North-West Passage. By God, you've done it." "There was a weak cheer followed by some coughing."

And finally, a short while later, they're able to make landfall again. The men are so exhausted that they don't even put up tents or pull out sleeping bags, just collapsed and sleep in piles on the bare rocks with only their mate's bodies for warmth. Crozier doesn't assign a watch - "If the thing wanted them tonight, it could have them." He checks their position once more, figures out that they're still 900 miles from Great Slave Lake, and throws himself down on the ground to sleep too and dream again of Memo Moira - "Crozier closed his eyes and extended his tongue to receive the Body of Christ."

#The Terror #The Terror AMC #Observations #Random Observations #Meta #Rereading the Terror #Terror Spoilers #Pain again #Pure unadulterated pain as always!#Francis Crozier #John Diggle though #What a legend #Absolute MVP #And I'm always a sucker for the religion/cannibalism parallels #'He knows his life will never be the same if he consumes the Body of Christ'#'But he also knows he'll die if he doesn't consume it'#Ooft #Outstanding stuff

12 notes · View notes

laissezferre · 3 years

Text

2020 fanfic in review

i was tagged by @pianodoesterror (thank you!!) i actually got to write fanfic for an entire year so that’s neat.

fics written this year:

fitzier

put your dagger down - fellas, it’s sad

A Mid-Polar Night's Dream - no carnivales here, just theatre. oh, and original verse

At Furthest South - my magnum opus (so far)

Blanky v. Dundy: Ultimate Matchmaker - what’s a little matchmaking for a bit of fun

you carbo my nara - alas, the ba test kitchen au that did not age well, screenplay format

Waistcoats! or, Life Before the Passage - my (previous) magnum opus

close - tent shenanigans, in blank verse

negotiations - a short fic featuring pillow warfare

and the years come and go - snippets of a full life lived

loved you first - part 2 of a hair ritual series that i might continue

rossier, ross&crozier

our ardent hearts - a week before the wedding, anne and francis become friends

leave no floe unturned - prequel steampunk au

gen fic

hey old friends - crozier, ross, and bird as bffs

peace, old mariner - before he dies, jcr meets three ghosts

what’s coming in 2021:

honestly, i have a page worth of prompts and little scenarios that i’ve yet to incorporate into a fic--who know what i’ll choose to write next? there’s that fic where the ships disappear not bc they were beset, but bc they crossed an open window to lyra silvertongue’s world. and there’s a meet-cute where nep goes to the vet. and there’s a newspaper au which i’m sure i can write pretty convincingly. there’s just no plot yet.

how you grew as a writer this year:

seeing as i hadn’t written anything since 2014, there’s a significant improvement, brought on by reading more books and getting more exposure. a better grasp of english and period-speak, i think, and an adventurism for trying out other formats like screenplays, epistolary, and verse. i think dabbling in different formats may be a direction i want to pursue. oh, and a sure milestone is having a beta and accepting feedback. try out betas, folks. it works wonders.

most surprising fic you wrote this year:

definitely At Furthest South for sheer word length. i mostly deal with one-offs. i didn’t think i could ever produce a multi-chapter fic that long. it was draining, for sure, but also a lot of fun. one of the perks of doing a single project over an extended period of time is you get to discover things that you hadn’t intended and then follow that train of plot.

takeaways from reflecting on your kick-ass writing, or kick-ass lack of writing, during a year more focused on survival than perhaps any other:

writing truly is a form of solace (and distraction). it kept my mind occupied, and churning something out every month or so certainly helped in getting that feeling of accomplishment and validation in a truly shitty time in the world. establishing a habit helps a lot, but i always balance between arbitrarily made deadlines and necessary rest. i don’t do simultaneous wips. my policy is to focus on one, publish, then wait two weeks before considering writing another. it’s worked for me so far, especially in alloting time for nourishment, i.e. reading books, for creative output.

i am tagging @fighting-naturalist @itsevidentvery @jouissants if you are up to it!

#thoughts #meme #fanfic

11 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 4 months

Text

@tatteredxsails replied to your post “Who are your muses best friends?”:

Gotta love the sidebear

If anyone could without losing sanity, it's Blanky

#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// (crack)

2 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 4 months

Note

Idk why but I need to hear Blanky's thoughts on cabbage

He thinks it's serviceable if you can get your hands on it fresh, and he wouldn't turn down a batch of sauerkraut as long as bread, beer, and sausage were also present.

he's spent so much of his life at sea, he'll go for most fresh veg if he can get it tbh!!

#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// no frigate like a book (headcanons)#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)

2 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 1 year

Note

Thomas and Francis in their immortal verses :)

Here you go! The immortal old husbands and their happy life. <3

#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// air so keen & strange (visuals)#.// (gifs)#terrorcaptain #.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)

17 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 1 year

Video

youtube

The legend, the icon, the girlboss.

The acting in this scene--hell, this whole show--is superb.

#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#.// (videos)

12 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 1 year

Note

🌞 - Thomas ✨

<3 <3 <3

#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#.// air so keen & strange (visuals)#bertievi

7 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 2 years

Photo

ICEMASTER THOMAS BLANKY // INTEREST TRACKER

MUSE STATUS: PRIMARY

(By liking this post, you are indicating interest in plotting with this character, and are OK with me sending memes/prompts to your inbox!)

NAME: Thomas Blanky

ALT NAMES: Ice Master (HMS Terror)

SEX/GENDER/PRONOUNS: Male, he/him

SEXUALITY: Bisexual

FACECLAIM: Ian Hart

AGE: 49-51

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: English / caucasian, white

HEIGHT: 5′8″

BUILD/BODY TYPE: Aged, sturdy, fit

HAIR: Brown/greying

EYES: Blue

PINTEREST BOARD

ALL ABOUT THOMAS:

Thomas Blanky is an old weathered sailor of 49-51, a lifelong Navy man from Whitby, England.

Thomas is a deceptively simple man who’s spent most of his life at sea from a young age. He could be mistaken for a quiet, no-nonsense sailor, either as a First Mate or a Ship’s Master, but give it ten minutes--he is as wild and dynamic as the waves on which he’s spent so many years. He is a bit rough around the edges and a hearty fellow, brave, unafraid to laugh and joke and find warmth where he can.

He’s also intelligent, perceptive, and knows there is a time to speak up and a time to shut one’s mouth and both of those things are well-practiced skills. Like any lifelong sailor, there’s a bit of madness up in his head and in his heart, but it’s of a methodical, controlled sort. Nothing has stopped him from being excited to go exploring, to get out and see the world and he will absolutely revel and cheer at the thrill of it, even at his age. He’s an explorer and a learner, able to speak multiple languages to some degree, and is a thoughtful man aware of the variety of cultures, peoples, walks of life out there in the world.

Thomas is exceedingly loyal and would do anything for his captain, hs crew, and those he holds dear--whether that’s climbing a foremast in a -60F blizzard to lure a terrifying creature away from the rest of the crew so they can fire on it, or offering to risk his life and career to head a rescue team out of the Arctic in place of his captain.

He has a good head on his shoulders and a good, caring heart in his chest. He is a leader who knows how to look after his crew and his ship, and he values competency, fairness, and loyalty above rank and station. He has little to no patience for the politics of the Royal Navy and would prefer to look after his men than to rise rank for glory. There is no better way to lose his respect and patience than to be in a position of leadership and abuse that authority to the detriment of those under one’s charge. (Scene here.) He would never ask someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself, and he isn’t afraid to put his foot down when challenged on this.

WARNINGS: RPing with this character will involve sensitive topics such as mental illness/depression/PTSD, violence/gore/injuries, crude/early surgical and medical topics, amputation, racism/colonialism/imperialism/nationalism, socio-economic issues past & present, homophobia past & present, discussions of cannibalism & murder.

By liking this post and indicating your interest to engage in RP with this character, you are accepting the above warnings and have read the rules posted here on this blog.

#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#.// a formal feeling comes (character pages)#.// go with the floe (blanky)

13 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 1 year

Note

🎼 - Thomas and Francis

Our muses' ship song!

Oh, oh oh oh, At the End of the Earth by The Dear Hunter, hands down, it hurts my heart every time.

#bertievi #terrorcaptain #.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#.// admiring the admiralty (shippy tag)

2 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 1 year

Text

Modern Day Blanky likes to tell people something different every time they ask about how he lost his leg:

- Hungry turtle while on holiday

- What Do You Mean I’ve Lost My Leg

- To be honest, it ran off with a girl’s leg when I was visiting Bristol and I haven’t seen him since

- Run over! If you can believe it. There’s a reason they stopped using stone wheels

- Lost it while hiking. Stumbled over a log and the bloody thing popped off and fell into a ravine! Never could get it back...

Shamelessly stolen idea from @majorxmaggiexboy

#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#.// no frigate like a book (headcanons)#.// go with the floe (blanky)

4 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 1 year

Text

I’m having An Anxiety so here are some assorted Blorbo headcanons:

- Nation!Arthur got mauled by the Tuunbaq during that one night where Tuun was running around causing a ruckus and was like /points at eyes, points at Hickey/. You know which part I mean. It left Arthur alive but just barely; it knows what he is. And no mortal could survive having half their face and a chunk of their shoulder sliced off.

- Human!Arthur requested to transfer from Erebus to Terror after the lead parties were sent out, as he’d been an idiot and disclosed to Sir John his parentage and it didn’t go well. He spends the rest of the time with the ships on Terror.

- Ben tried to be a Lieutenant on Erebus but ended up on Terror with the other anxious weirdos with daddy issues.

- Ben has a massive crush on Fitzjames and his hair.

- Goodsir is bisexual (that’s why he blends in to backgrounds so well)

- Blanky has a soft spot for all the other Thomases

- Blanky would split someone’s head open with a boat axe, if it actually came down to it. But they’d have to really deserve it. The thing about that though is he’d have to be pushed pretty far, and the thing that warranted such ire to Ross was the utter disregard for the men under his command. For Thomas, the only sin that’s worse than mutiny is when a captain ceases to care about the well being of his crew. A captain may make a stupid decision, but that is within the realm of unintentional results. The moment a leader would willingly abandon their men to death is the moment Thomas Blanky’s mind is made up about the kind of person that leader really is. Which is to say, a job for the axe.

#.// no frigate like a book (headcanons)#.// schrodinger's doctor (goodsir)#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// ruled the waves (arthur)#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#violence cw #murder cw #injury cw #death mention cw #death cw

5 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 1 year

Note

Do you happen to have any opinion on what type of creature the Iconic Icemaster or Good Doctor would be if they were anything but human?

Iconic Icemaster B: Hmmmm. Werewolf, werebear, or perhaps one of those shapeshifters that just turns into one specific animal, or like...

... I don't know, my brain just said "cozy frost wizard" and I'm not sure I can top that.

Goodsir Poodle Practitioner: Daywalker Vampire but I would also accept World's Nicest And Curliest Werewolf.

#.// schrodinger's doctor (goodsir)#.// go with the floe (blanky)#.// hope perches in the soul (ooc)#majorxmaggiexboy

5 notes · View notes

brassandblue · 2 years

Text