#moby dick humor
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So, in "Ahab and Starbuck in the Cabin" the two of them bicker and the dear captain points a musket at Starbuck for not leaving him alone, upon which follows:
Now, the thing is that nowhere up until this moment has it been suggested that Starbuck ever sat down in the first place. I have chosen to assume that rather than rising from a seated position, he straightens. Why do I find this definition important? Because we're in Ahab's very small, very sparsely furnished, very private cabin and so where could he have placed his unwelcomed butt?
#moby dick#herman melville#obsession#literature#classic literature#book characters#captain ahab#first mate starbuck#whale weekly#doodle#snb art#my art#overthinking#plot holes#wtf#moby dick humor#moby dick art
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Thank you so much for sharing these!! 🤍 The bite one had me literally laugh so hard my belly hurt. 🤣 I love to see people's doodles, quick sketches, unfinished pieces... all that good stuff, and if it's Dick content, all the better! More (both in gray and color) please!
hey guys i love you. its my birthday in three days have some queeshmael (and other assorted stand-alone ishmaels and queequegs) moby dick fanarts that ive drawn over the course of like... several months that i never posted because i thought they looked like shit. and tbh i still do. but also theres beauty in everything and also also i need to lead by example of fearlessness in posting shitty ass fanart just for funsises. just because it makes me happy. some of these are outdated but idgaf. enjoy inconsistent character designs lol
its under the cut cause uh wow thats actually a lot more than i expected? whoops?
okay funny story i actually lied up there a little bit i drew this several months ago and was so madly in love with how it turned out that i never posted it because i didnt want the inevitable lack of attention to sour it for me. its a little outdated now but i still love it, i just want to put here so i never lose it. ishmael please go to therapy
newer art yet somehow even more outdated designs? i think i was trying to be a bit more experimental and didnt like how they came out. i still dont like the designs very much but looking back now i dont think the art itself is actually that bad.
never posted because i just couldnt get the anatomy quite right. i actually kind of miss when i colored grays like this idk how i forgot that actually wait i should start doing that again-
this one was for mermay, just pure silliness and cringe for the soul. more of that awesome gray shading line stuff that i need to start doing again, but i didnt like how queequeg's face looked. and also i think i felt a bit silly about this? like i thought it was too cringe or something? idk why tho its kinda cute to me now. best of wishes to ishmael in his goal to fuck that fish man
more inconsistent queequeg designs! i really liked this one when i first drew it, but i thought it was too small to post on its own, being just a itsy little doodle for shading practice. now i can post it :). wonder who it is thats talking to him?
another little drawing! this one i never posted because 1) i fucked up when drawing it and accidentally drew it way too small and 2) i accidentally made it waayy too similar to another moby dick fanart by another more popular user and i didnt want other ppl accusing me of copying or smthin... i jusr didnt think this piece was particularly worth the risk of that. i think its fine now tho.
incredibly shitty doodle i really only made for myself ft. incredibly innacurate drawing of a sperm whale. ngl i still think the joke is funny tho.
shhh dont tell the cringe police about this one but this is a queeshmael fankid i made. her name is rachael and she cannot make normal facial expressions to save her life. she loves listening to her dad infodump its interesting to her. she knows so many incorrect facts about whales! whoopie!
this might have been a valentines special? idk. i was gonna redraw it but then i forgor. let this be a lesson to you: finish your drawings, or else you'll only have the older version to show to people (its okay i still like this a little bit)
oh shit i ran out ok bye guys hope you liked your gay whalers peace and love on planet earth
#moby dick#alto art#firealpaca#not my art#moby dick art#ishmael#queequeg#serotonin#love it#queeshmael#moby dick humor
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In another universe, you and I ...
(But it's crack): PART 1
Summary: A short series in which the highly attractive sorcerers of JJK find themselves in an alternate universe with you (with a twist).
Part 1 includes:
Top Model! Gojo who meets you at a party. In spite of your instant chemistry, he harbours a dark secret ...
Naval Captain! Nanami, who has been hunted for years by his nemesis, the white leviathan who aims to show him his giant member. Will you stand by his side?
Genre: Humour, parody, crack
Warnings: sexual and suggestive content.
(I)
"You need a date."
"Mei Mei, I don't have a single free minute in my schedule at the -"
"Okay, let me rephrase that. You need to get fucked."
The coffee you've just taken a sip of diverts somewhere in the depths of your nasal passages, leaving you sputtering. Dabbing at your mouth with a napkin, you glance around the cafe while Mei Mei stirs her flat white, amused.
"Something wrong?"
"You know I'm not ... good at that kind of thing."
"A mystery, to be sure. You're an eyecatcher, even in that coat."
"What's wrong with my coat?"
"Listen." She leans forward, the crook of her lips conspiratorial. "I'm having a little get together at my new place. Kind of a housewarming. And I'm inviting some people I work with. You should come."
Mei Mei was an avante garde fashion photographer, known for her theatric sets. If she was hinting at what you thought she was, then ...
"You're telling me that you're inviting a ... bunch of models?"
"Some of my associates. So yes, models. And others. Just a relaxed little get together. What do you say?"
"I don't know ... I have to -"
"So you'll be there."
Her sly, red-lipped smile brooks no argument.
******
Tugging at the straps of the shimmering green dress Mei Mei had loaned you for the occasion, you took a breath before pressing the buzzer on the intercom that would give you access to the upscale compound. Mei Mei had pulled some strings to procure an apartment here, arranged by one of her well-connected clients in the fashion industry.
Gaining entry, you traversed the beautifully furnished foyer, with its black and white tiles and vintage lamps. The heels you wore were a lot higher than your usual choice, and you walked with the care of one who expected to twist their ankle at any given second. You hoped nobody noticed.
Mei Mei's get together was a relaxed, but lively affair, the buzz of conversation and the clink of glasses audible above the scent of various flowers her guests had brought her. She greeted you at the door and introduced you to a few of her colleagues.
Sipping champagne and appearing to listen intently to the lighting director who seemed to have an odd fixation on nipples under spotlights, the slow dawn of another's observation prickled against your skin.
You turned and surveyed the room, and you saw him. He was not exactly the kind of person you could miss. Tall, eerily beautiful, the ripple of lean muscle evident along the rangy lines of his body, his eyes capture you before anything else does. Blue as the most crystalline mountain lake, as clear, his pale lashes framing their illuminated surface, he is watching you with undisguised intrigue. The snowy hair, artfully disheveled, and the promise of a cheeky smile form a devastatingly handsome collection of features that blend together in a most pleasing fashion.
There was no mistaking it. This was the Gojo Satoru, one of the rising stars of the modeling world, a man who happened to look effortless in each and every one of his lauded photo shoots, many of which had already won awards.
And he was looking right at you.
Mei Mei had noticed his scrutiny of you, and she edged in, her soft introduction delivered with a smirk. She is gone faster than your eye can track, and now he's standing right opposite you, examining you with that laser-lit stare.
Clearing your throat, you swirl the remaining champagne in your glass.
"Gojo Satoru. I saw your cover on last week's Men's Wealth. It was ... really something."
He grins, pearly teeth catching the light of the chandeliers.
"Yeah? Which part of it did you like the most?"
"Which ... oh. The composition of the second photo was quite ..."
"Ahh, that one. Yeah. They just handed me the baby oil and told me to go to town. Didn't know it would be that slippery."
You choke slightly.
"So they don't give you ... more direction than that?"
"Oh no. I guess it's unique to me. I know what works best in my shoots and I get it done."
"Sounds like an interesting work ethic. I bet there aren't many models at your level who can say the same."
"Nah. I know I can be the best. I'm gonna be traveling to the New York Fashion Week tomorrow, and I barely know what's in store. They don't even bother telling me anymore."
His easy admission would sound arrogant from anyone else, but the confident assurance in his voice tells you that this man is simply stating facts. A frisson of something warm filters through you. As if his looks weren't already enough.
"Are you good at everything you put your hand to?"
Oh boy. The champagne had decided to assert its control over your mouth. Gojo doesn't seem to mind. If you're not mistaken, something is kindling in those fractured points of brilliance in his eyes too.
"I guess you could say that. I do have one vice, though. Something pretty incurable."
You lean forward, keen to hear this.
"A vice?"
"Yeah." His voice lowers to a secretive huskiness that turns the conditions in your underwear as humid as the Amazon rainforest.
"I kind of have ... a terrible sweet tooth. Can't get enough. I see something sweet, I want it right away."
He winks and sips from his glass, which you can see contains a cocktail with a fair amount of grenadine. You lick your lips, and his gaze follows the slick movement of your tongue.
"Oh? And what specific kinds of sweets do you like?"
"The classic kind."
He isn't touching you, but with the way his eyes rake over your form, he might as well be.
"I like spun sugar, light as air. The creaminess of a panna cotta. The burst of flavour on my tongue from a berry coulis. Give me some of that, and I'm yours, fair lady."
The upward quirk of his mouth is practically irresistible. It's what keeps you glued to his side for the rest of the night, while he, shockingly, seems to be thoroughly enjoying your company too. At times, you catch Mei Mei watching you both with discreet amusement and satisfaction.
At some point, she approaches and makes sure to thank Gojo for his assistance in obtaining this apartment. You glance over at him in surprise.
"Oh, Mei Mei did talk about that. I didn't know her contact was you."
"Sure was. I live just one floor up, actually. Put a word in with the owners and got her the place, no problem."
"So you own a place here too?"
He slides a hand into the pocket of his designer jeans, the glance he shoots you over his tinted glasses a clear invitation.
"Wanna come up and see the view?"
******
You had no idea how it had come to this. This wasn't you. And yet, here you were, in his apartment, the soft chatter of Mei Mei's party long forgotten in the frantic pace of your lips against his.
You both were barely in the door before his hands were on you, groping, caressing, mapping out every part of you sheathed in that increasingly cumbersome green dress. At the first opportunity, his fingers had stolen their way along the zipper and the material had slid down your legs.
You couldn't remember where your bra had been shed, probably somewhere just outside the bedroom.
He was surprisingly strong for someone with such a lean build. The corded sinew of his arms and back clearly weren't just for show. You found yourself tossed breathlessly onto the soft surface of the bed, as he surveyed you with a hunger that had your hands creeping south between your legs.
Satoru pauses, and suddenly there is a shift in the energy within the room. His face takes on a serious cast and his glance bends floorward. You sit up slightly.
"Satoru? Is everything - "
Eyes flitting briefly up to you, his throat bobs slightly as he swallows.
"Well. I guess this is a first for me. I don't usually do this, but ... I kinda want to see you again. After tonight, I mean."
You breathe out reverently. You certainly hadn't been expecting this level of vulnerability.
"And I want to see you again, too."
"So ... if that's the case then ... you need to see all of me. I can't hide this if we're going beyond a one night thing."
You're paying close attention now, reaching for him. He laces his fingers with yours.
What could this perfect man possibly be insecure about?
He takes a bracing breath before relinquishing your hand, stepping back from the bed and approaching the nightstand. Reaching into his mouth, he fiddles a little before plucking something away and placing it in a small container stored there. Turning back to face you, you see what he has been concealing.
The pearly teeth that had reflected such brilliant perfection in the light of Mei Mei's home were gone. In their place were a series of ill-formed, browning and misshapen stumps, many of them worn down completely. Your eyes snapped up to his, widening slightly.
"Satoru ... how - "
"I told you that I had a sweet tooth. I ... indulged myself as a child and my parents never stopped me. They spoiled me rotten in more ways than one! And now I'm ... I'm paying the price."
"That's ... but why didn't you - "
"I'm going to have surgery soon to ... permanently fix it. But even if I do, my sweet tooth won't go away! It'll be with me forever. I'm ... "
His shoulders slumped slightly.
"Caramel icing. Berry coulis. Soft serve and rock candy. Even liquorice! Toffee! I can't - "
His voice breaks and you find yourself lunging across the bed towards him, enfolding him in a tight embrace. His breath washes over you, the foul tang of decay now noticeable. You understand how he couldn't keep something like this concealed beyond a one night stand. Your voice, when you speak, is infinitely soft.
"Satoru ... all this time ... were you avoiding proper relationships because you ... "
"I - yes."
His arms come up slowly around you, as if he is unused to the gesture.
"I couldn't even ... make them breakfast if I wanted to. Because then ... we'd have to brush our teeth together and they'd see ... "
"Oh, Satoru."
You press your mouth fervently against his, undeterred, mapping out each stump and broken edge with your tongue. He tastes like old coffee, milk gone sour, the cloying overripe sweetness of a fruit gone bad. But this is irrelevant to you, because you're kissing him.
You break away from him, watching those magnificent features of his freeze in shock.
"Wait ... you still want to - "
"Of course I want to. Come here."
The merry tap of fork and knife and Mei Mei's self-satisfied smile on the floor below would escape the both of you, as wrapped up in each other you had become. You vowed to yourself, running your fingers through his incredibly soft hair, that every morning from now on, you'd stand beside him at the bathroom sink and brush your teeth together.
Satoru missed the New York Fashion Week, but gained something far, far sweeter.
(II)
They call you Ishizu.
It isn't your true name, but it's one you'd accepted when you joined this crew. As the ship's surgeon, armed with your family's repertoire of skills and remedies, you'd managed to earn some credibility in your field. You'd saved more than one sailor's life.
For the brave fishing crews that traversed the Sea of Ruin, the vast stretch of unchartered water between this continent and the next, populated by scores of deadly sea beasts and treacherous archipelagos, the sea was a perilous temptress. Those with the skill and courage, not to mention a healthy dash of insanity, could make a substantial profit within a short time before retiring.
Such was the nature of Nanami Kento, Captain of the Casse Croûte, one of the few living men who had sailed the seven oceanic planes in all three seasons.
The Captain was an enigmatic man, to be sure. He'd come across as cold initially, sticking to such rigid timings and sailing plans that you'd wondered how any of his crew liked him. And heavens, did they adore the man. He had the undying loyalty of every person on board, and whenever you'd asked about it, they'd simply smiled and told you that you'd see with time.
So you waited and observed. Gradually, you began to see the qualities the crew so prized in him. When the cabin boy, Yuuji, almost fell into the jaws of a large sea beast with grey, cross-stitch skin, the Captain had drawn his cleaver and struck such a heavy blow across its nose that the creature immediately lost interest in a fisherman-sized snack.
When Sailor Ino, eager to prove himself, had set forth on an expedition on an unchartered island, only to return covered in large insect bites and a raging fever, the Captain had stayed up with him every night until the fever had broken. You'd never seen such dedication to the welfare of the crew.
There were many other such instances, and slowly, you found yourself gravitating to the quiet, charismatic captain as much as the others did. He was also unmistakeably handsome, with his kind, tired gaze, gleaming blonde hair, tall, muscular frame and clean-cut profile. In spite of his injuries, a missing eye and the damaged hand, he was also a formidable man. You'd be lying if you'd claimed that this dangerously attractive man hadn't intruded on your nighttime musings more than once ...
And on one particular night, while the next watch took their positions at the bell and you sat in the small galley that adjoined your surgery, he'd come in, nursing a steaming coffee, and kept you company. Slowly, he'd opened up to you, speaking of his days as a sailor, before he'd become Captain of the Casse Croûte, and what came after.
Something heavier lay over the conversation, though, something he seemed on the verge of telling you. Eventually, you pried it out of him. As you'd suspected, it was to do with his terrible injuries.
"Have you ever heard of the white leviathan?"
Swirling the coffee in his cup, his single eye glances up at you under dark lashes.
"I ... have heard some tales, yes. He's a legend, according to some."
"A living legend."
Seeing your eyes widen, he nods.
"Made off with a portion of my arm, and I'll never watch the sunrise with this eye again."
You exhale heavily.
"Captain ... I had no idea you'd encountered such a creature. What ... exactly happened, if you don't mind me asking?"
"You should ask. After all, as long as I remain in command of this ship, he may yet make another appearance."
"What do you mean?"
"The white leviathan, also known as a Gojoverian Satorunus, is the strongest of its kind to be born in centuries. Normally, they keep to their distant isle, within the Lightning Archipelago, where few venture. He, however, roams the seas in an eternal quest."
"I've heard that legends call him the Meibi Dick. Is there ... a reason for that strange nickname?"
The Captain hisses through his teeth, one hand raising to his eyepatch, as if just the mention of that moniker has sunk a harpoon into his flesh. You hurry to apologise.
"Captain, I'm so - "
"Please. No need. Let me explain. That nickname ... was a direct result of my encounter with him."
"It was?"
"Indeed. It was a gloomy day, I remember. Rain was pelting down. We'd put out the sails, because the sea was quite still. At that time, we came upon a wreck, out at sea. The ship had washed up on a great reef, and there it hung, a spectre of former glory."
You were now hanging on to Nanami's words like a crow with carrion.
"And the white leviathan had caused this?"
"Indeed, although we didn't know it at the time. I ordered some of our skilled divers to check the wreck for any possible survivors. There were none, but one of the divers came back with something. A large piece of purified ambergris, said to smell and taste as good to leviathans as the sweetest nectar. Its call to them is so strong, that it may even drive them into heat, causing mating events in their population when they come across it. In my folly, I took it on board for its great value."
"And what happened then?"
"That night, the white leviathan, which had destroyed the other ship for the ambergris, came for us. The scent had laid such claim to the beast's mind that its mating mark had bloomed on the skin near its head, which it displayed to us."
"Its mating mark?"
Reaching into his pocket, Nanami drew out a small notebook and charcoal stick. He sketched something on one of the blank pages before passing the book over to you. Your eyes widened as you took in the drawing. It looked like a crude, stylized penis with the testicles sketched in just below.
"Is this ... "
"His frightful member. Indeed. He was attempting to show us his intention in order to lay claim to the ambergris."
"What did you do?"
"I knew we stood no chance against him. Foolishly, I thought to outrun him. It was futile. He boxed us in at every turn, his plaintive, terrible cry echoing across the water to us. Eventually, I ordered for the ambergris to be thrown overboard. It only served as a distraction. The beast consumed it and resumed his chase. Due to how long I'd evaded him, he'd come to associate this ship, and me, the Captain, with the ambergris."
"But Captain, that means ..."
He nods grimly, and you are sorely tempted to reach across the table and take his hand.
"He will hunt this vessel to the ends of the earth. Why do you think I plan every stage of our voyage so carefully? I'm always one step ahead of him, monitoring and studying the tides, the currents, the beast shoals. As long as we stick to the plan, we have the ability to outrun him."
Hope flares in your chest, in spite of your growing fear.
"I have faith in you, Captain. So does this crew. We'll be beside you, if the white leviathan ever makes an appearance."
This time, you do take his hand in your warm, tentative grasp, watching as his eyes drink in your countenance in the dim light of the galley. He squeezes your fingers in return.
**********
The seasons at sea come and go, and its a full seven months and three days before Captain Nanami's perfectly timed schedule is threatened. A storm, the likes of which you've never encountered before, strikes with unpredictable ferocity. The ship is blown completely off course, and although it will take a few days to rectify, Nanami's dire mood is palpable.
If you didn't have full faith in your Captain, you might have considered this an overreaction on his part. But you knew better. You knew that his concern came from long experience.
A well-founded concern, as it turned out. The white leviathan made an appearance a mere two days after the storm, spotted far to starboard by the lookout, and gaining fast.
Captain Nanami forbade any of the crew joining him in his task of slaying the beast, but this was one occasion where nobody would follow his instructions. You all loved him too well. Come hell or high water, you would all be by his side.
And the leviathan approached, its size alone boggling the mind. The waves slapped and beat against the hull, the slow rise and dip of the deck more and more pronounced as it came closer. Nanami stood on the prow, facing the creature, the large harpoon readied by Yuuji in one hand, his trusty cleaver in the other.
Then, you heard it. The terrible call of the creature, booming across the water to batter at your ears. The grotesquely formed words were difficult to make out, but to your astonishment, they formed distinct speech that you could understand.
"Naaanaaamiiiin, letttsssss .... gooooooo oouutttt."
The Captain gritted his teeth, his own reply loud on the wind.
"Never, you foul creature!"
"Sompppthin .... impooorrtant .... talkkkkk tooooo youuuuuu .... "
"You've been chasing me for years! There's nothing this important! Begone!"
"Iiiiiiii .... havvveeennn'tttt...... saiiiiddd nyythiiing ... "
"I refuse!"
That groaning, awful cry had come closer and closer, forcing you to your knees, hands clasped over your ears. The Captain stood firm, even as the giant, pale form broke the surface of the sea beside the ship, the giant, electric blue eye surveying the vessel with the glee of a long awaited victory.
"Naaaanaaaaminnnnn .... "
And then, you saw it. The mark the Captain had spoken of, the giant member and testicles that appeared as scrawled marks from beneath the skin of the beast. It had not forgotten! And now, as the beast called out again, it dawned upon you in a flash where it's dreaded nickname had come from.
"Naaaanaaaamiiinnnnnn ... maaaaayybbeeeee ... diiiiiiicckkkkkk?"
You lunged toward the Captain, grabbing at his leg to keep him steady as the deck pitched violently before the amorous leviathan. You saw Nanami looking down at you, that beautifully courageous gaze trained on your water-streaked face. He turned back to the monster.
"I will never accept your dick, you all-ruining, unambitious fish."
You grasped his leg harder, willing all of your strength into his good arm as his body uncoiled and the harpoon flew true through the eye of the storm.
Part 2:
Demon Lord! Geto and Fireman! Kusakabe
#jjk#jujutsu kaisen#jjk fanfic#jujutsu kaisen fanfic#nanami kento#kento nanami#jjk x reader#jjk x you#nanami x reader#nanami x you#kento nanami x reader#kento nanami x you#gojo satoru#satoru gojo#gojo x reader#gojo x you#satoru gojo x reader#satoru gojo x you#top model gojo#naval captain nanami#moby dick parody#jjk humor#jjk crack#jjk nanami#jjk gojo
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This was our risk assessment activity during training today.
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Me editing.
#writblr#writers on tumblr#writing community#writers of tumblr#writers on ao3#writerscommunity#editing#revision#writing#writing fanfic#novel writing#creative writing#writer stuff#writing life#writer life#writing humor#writing meme#writing memes#Moby Dick#Herman Melville#Gregory Peck#screenplay by Ray Bradbury#though Bradbury rewrote the line as “From Hell's dark heart I stab at thee” which I confess I like better#queue
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I love these so much!!
Moby-Dick Incorrect Quotes from the Perchance Incorrect Quote Generator (Part 3/?)
Ahab: Starbuck, my old friend! Starbuck: I think you tried to kill me at some point. Ahab: That was obviously just my way of getting to know you.
Starbuck: My only talent is being stress. Stubb: Don't you mean stressed? Starbuck: No.
Fleece: Here you go, Stubb, a nice hot cup of coffee! Stubb: It's cold. Fleece: A nice cup of coffee. Stubb: It's horrible! Fleece: Cup of coffee. Stubb: I'm not sure if this even IS coffee. Fleece: C U P.
Ishmael: The moon looks beautiful, doesn’t it? Tashtego, looking at Ishmael: Yeah… but do you know what’s more beautiful? Ishmael and Tashtego in unison: sighs Queequeg
Queequeg: You know what’s funny about Ishmael? They’re my best friend, and anyone who’d hurt them is someone I’d murder, probably.
Starbuck: Bitches be like “he’s my right hand man” JUST SAY HE’S YOUR BEST FRIEND. SAY IT. Stubb: Starbuck have you considered that maybe right hand man sounds cooler and has more homoerotic subtext? Starbuck: Starbuck has reconsidered. You’re right. Flask: Finally, an example of productive discourse and growth.
Pip: You saved me! Why? Stubb: People would think I murdered you if I didn't.
#moby dick#herman melville#moby dick humor#literary humor#ishmael#captain ahab#first mate starbuck#second mate stubb#queequeg#tashtego#pip moby dick#love it
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So I knew Moby Dick featured a veeery close male friendship, but this is much closer than I'd expected. It reads like a tacky (and racist) romance novel, albeit with nice prose. They don't even set sail on a whaling ship until a quarter of the way through.
Extremely heterosexual quotes below 👇
"Through all his unearthly tattooings, I thought I saw the traces of a simple honest heart; and in his large, deep eyes, fiery black and bold, there seemed tokens of a spirit that would dare a thousand devils."
...
"I began to be sensible of strange feelings. I felt a melting in me. No more my splintered heart and maddened hand were turned against the wolfish world. This soothing savage had redeemed it. There he sat, his very indifference speaking a nature in which there lurked no civilized hypocrisies and bland deceits. Wild he was; a very sight of sights to see; yet I began to feel myself mysteriously drawn towards him. And those same things that would have repelled most others, they were the very magnets that thus drew me."
...
"He seemed to take to me quite as naturally and unbiddenly as I to him; and when our smoke was over, he pressed his forehead against mine, clasped me round the waist, and said that henceforth we were married; meaning, in his country’s phrase, that we were bosom friends; he would gladly die for me, if need should be."
...
"How it is I know not; but there is no place like a bed for confidential disclosures between friends. Man and wife, they say, there open the very bottom of their souls to each other; and some old couples often lie and chat over old times till nearly morning. Thus, then, in our hearts’ honeymoon, lay I and Queequeg—a cosy, loving pair."
...
"We had lain thus in bed, chatting and napping at short intervals, and Queequeg now and then affectionately throwing his brown tattooed legs over mine, and then drawing them back; so entirely sociable and free and easy were we..."
I had a hunch that Herman Melville may not have been entirely straight. I decided to read a bit about his life and it seems he had something going on with Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author best known for The Scarlet Letter. Possibly unrequited on Hawthorne's side, but Melville was quite evidently enamored.
Here are excerpts from a letter from Melville to Hawthorne:
"Your heart beat in my ribs and mine in yours, and both in God’s… It is a strange feeling — no hopefulness is in it, no despair. Content — that is it; and irresponsibility; but without licentious inclination. I speak now of my profoundest sense of being, not of an incidental feeling.
"Whence come you, Hawthorne? By what right do you drink from my flagon of life? And when I put it to my lips — lo, they are yours and not mine. I feel that the Godhead is broken up like the bread at the Supper, and that we are the pieces.
...
"... I should write a thousand — a million — billion thoughts, all under the form of a letter to you. The divine magnet is in you, and my magnet responds. Which is the biggest? A foolish question — they are One."
Just (straight) guys being dudes (heterosexually).
#Queequeg is indisputably a racist depiction of a Polynesian man#and his idiosyncrasies/misunderstandings are definitely played for humor#but Melville is otherwise actually quite progressive (for his time) in his treatment of Queequeg thus far#Ishmael quickly sees past his biases and acknowledges Queequeg as a brave and knowledgeable man deserving of dignity#he even defends Queequeg's religion and champions his skill to get him a higher pay rate than his own upon the Pequod#moby dick#herman melville#no spoilers for this ~170+ year old novel. I'm only about 30 percent through
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#moby dick#herman melville#obsession#literature#classic literature#book characters#captain ahab#ishmael#moby dick humor#literary humor#i have no excuse
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Now all I can think of is Bildad's face when he recieves the news that his cash cow captain has stolen his ship and is using it to obtain incredible riches for himself. 🤣🤣🤣 My day is made!
With Whale Weekly coming to an end, I wanted to talk about something that's been bouncing around in head for awhile.
I've seen a lot of AU speculation about what would happen if Ahab gave up his pursuit of the White Whale, but what if in another universe he isn't doomed to failure? What if he succeeds in killing the White Whale? What then?
Does killing the allegory for God that caused him so much pain and obsession bring him peace and satisfaction? Or in the end is the whale just a whale after all, and Ahab is still left with all the hurt and anger and nothing to show for it but ruin?
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finally reading january 13’s moby dick chapter, and ishmael is just absolutely lost in the sperm sauce. just going to town squeezing out that sweet sweet whale sperm.
#wishing i read this on the 13th what a wonderful birthday gift moby dick has given me for a chapter opening lmao#personal bloggity#whale weekly#singull reads moby dick#that feel when books hit you with your middle school humor unintentionally
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"Chapter 119: The Candles" is one of the best in the entirety of moby dick. there's the impeccable drama of a violent, life threatening storm. ahab emerges from the shadows and introduces himself as old thunder as lightning strikes. there's an attempted mutiny that is put down singlehandedly with a flaming harpoon. the masts fucking catch fire. starbuck tells a man to kill himself for being annoying. nobody else is doing it like her
#my dash has been talking abt this chapter a lot lately so I'll post this thing from my notes#the gravitas of this chap is Essential to the humor#mossy speaks#moby dick#whale weekly spoilers
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I argue that The Ramadan is a downright romcom.
Hell yeah piece of shit Bildad!!
Another, personal fave: Ahab sneaking up on the mates and introducing himself from the shadows as Old Thunder during a thunder storm. No one can convince me that the man lacked humor.
Before I embark on a second read, here are all of the things which I enjoyed (and occasionally laughed raucously at) in Moby Dick
- “… tell him I've diddled him,” - Stubb
- calling dolphins huzzah porpoises
- queequeg jumping (and essentially crushing himself) under the bed to finish putting his boots on when Ishmael asked for privacy- as well as the confounded response which birthed this line ;
“… by no law of propriety that I ever heard of, is any man required to be private when putting on his boots”
Chapter 4 in general had me in stitches
- All of Ishmael’s endearing melodrama
he speaks with utter conviction at all times, life is either horrifying or magnificently lovely with absolutely zero half measures. He seems so fantastically out of place on this deck full of hardened mariners, and yet he’s hard not listen to, even when you know that he’s wrong.
-busting through the door to see queequeg
- Ishmael being perhaps the most flagrantly gay protagonist of any classic novel I’ve read to date
- queequeg swiftly putting people who mock them in their place
- albatross monologue
- pip.
-doughboy , flask
- the woman in the yellow dress at the try pots in
- Stubb in general, including Ahab’s fierce aversion to him
- Starbuck’s contemplation of a coup d’etat style homicide
- Ahab’s restless stargazing
- Ahab and Starbuck’s conversations, their strained kinship and the self evincing fact of a strong, confiding trust between them
- the mates and their philosophies
- the de facto marriage/ honeymoon between two men essentially right after they meet
- banter aboard
- Bildad. I liked that bible beating miser
#moby dick#captain ahab#first mate starbuck#second mate stubb#captain bildad#ishmael#queequeg#pip moby dick#moby dick humor
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yes, we are all in the belly of the whale
the sermon, dave malloy / belly of the whale, the newsboys / moyers & campbell interview / mariners revenge song, the decemberists / pinnocchio, disney / The Belly of the Whale and Positive Disintegrations, recio / stay young, go dancing, death cab for cutie
#whales#whales.#do you hear me do you understand#moby dick#dave malloy#heros journey#what conditions does it take to change someone. how does it feel to be eaten alive. what's worse; the sea or the beast?#AGHKJSHG IM SO NORMAL RIGHT NOW#sighs#my attempt at humor
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