#oc uss jenks

[greatwesternway]

What kind of personalities do the destroyers have? We already know Pope is emo…

Been busy preparing for the movers to come so I hope you don't mind if I just dug up some chatlogs rather than write an essay. A lot of this is involves the non-canon event in which the capturing party attends U-505's dedication ceremony in 1954, but the point is the interpersonal stuff is still true whether the events illustrating them happen or not.

Ray: Yeah all the little ships were destroyer escorts, no specialty skills among them. Although Pillsbury was later refitted into a radar picket and used to detect incoming enemy aircraft in the Pacific theatre of the war. Pope continued to serve with Guadalcanal and actually sunk another U-boat before the war ended.

During the U-505 hunt, Flaherty screened for Guadalcanal which meant she was a defensive presence rather than an offensive one.

DJ: Maybe she's the one who knows German and is wary of getting too sympathetic to U-505 and Jenks (as one of the two ships tasked with rescuing survivors) just agrees with her.

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DJ: Maybe Jenks is still the one who's like, "okay, you need to leave that submarine alone" about it. Flaherty isn't comfortable being called over so often to translate, but she doesn't push back on it because she doesn't want to let on that she worries she could be compromised this way. She's acting in a purely defensive capacity on this mission; she should be defensive! Jenks already is sympathizing with U-505 on how weird Guadalcanal is making it and that's quite close enough for his liking. But Guadalcanal does not explain what he's looking for with his questions and statements to either of them because they are both still destroyer escorts. Doesn't think they'll get the value in his approach since they're always so worried about him.

Ray: Aw! Jenks looking out for Flaherty too.

DJ: He is but he's also not making it about that 'cause, you know, they're war machines. Doesn't want to undermine her by making it about her concerns. Especially since he's got the same ones. Instead makes it about Guadalcanal's behavior being questionable. And ironically that treating U-505 this kindly is actually more demeaning than treating him like the POW he is.

Ray: Guadalcanal like "Why does no one here trust me to do my job?" 

Can Do is doing the Gallery thing like, "This hasn't happened in over 100 years! A little breach in protocol isn't just to be expected, it's practically required! But he doesn't have to explain that to them because they're but wee.

Like he's taking the long view, it's about the submarine but it's also what's going to happen to the submarine in future, and if they're all on the same page about it no one has to go to the bottom of the ocean before time.

DJ: It's hard to look at the long view when you're a war machine. You might only have today! Flaherty is also the only one besides Guadalcanal who understands that being preserved at the MSI is not a reward.

Ray: Yes. Pope probably does too but I feel like he is staying the hell away from all'a this discourse. It's Jenks and Chatelain and maybe Pillsbury if they can talk her into siding with them, but she hardly counts because she's not going to even approach questioning his authority. She's like, "I feel like he's just doing what he thinks is best!" and doesn't know what that is. She would like it if everyone would stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. This is plane behavior, and she would know.

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Ray: Chatelain wants to do makeover night and Pillsbury and Flaherty are like "no ❤️"

DJ: Chatelain desperately wishes they'd permit red lipstick on the uniform.

Ray: She would look so good in it, but alas it is not regulation and Guadalcanal will reprimand her for it.

DJ: He lets her get away with a little eyeliner. Men can't tell when women are wearing makeup unless its red lipstick anyway. As long as it's not egregious, he lets these little boats get away with a lot. It's their own fault if so many of them are so by-the-book.

Ray: Yeah, he's a softie <3 He likes his little boats, best escort he's had.

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Guadalcanal: Is that hair ribbon regulation? 🤔

Flaherty: No. 😌

Guadalcanal: Right, carry on.

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DJ: At the MSI, U-505 speaks to Flaherty specifically. They ask her what he says. "He says he would like to thank you, Guadalcanal, for your kindness and hospitality during his capture." And Guadalcanal starts gettin' an "What'd I tell you?" face about it so U-505 says something more, that actually makes Flaherty almost laugh. "And he wishes to thank the rest of us for trying to stop you." Everybody laughs and Guadalcanal rather regrets that U-505 doesn't speak English because it sounds like he might be funny.

Ray: God, they're so cute.

DJ: Flaherty thinking she was absolutely right to be concerned about being too friendly with him. But now it's 1954 so it doesn't matter if they laugh about it.

Ray: Flaherty knows that he's entirely too charming by half. She's glad to be the one doing the translating actually, because it means she can control (to a degree) what Guadalcanal hears. It didn't help but y'know.

DJ: Like a redaction office blacking out his mail. Most of U-505's sarcastic little barbs didn't make it to Guadalcanal in their original state because she knew he'd just be encouraged and more intent if he thought U-505 was playing with them. He wasn't very charming at the time, but much as she (and Jenks) hate to agree with an enemy, she thought he was right to be standoffish. Would have preferred that she could too.

Ray: Aw, I just thought about Pillsbury being there and playing with the planes.

DJ: Oh! Yeah, the little planes probably like Pillsbury a lot. You can play rough with her.

Ray: Yeah! And she's very complimentary of Spitfire because she doesn't have a lot of experience with British planes. She thinks he's very cute (and he is!).

DJ: She's nice and solid too, not like Jenny and Texaco. You can barrel right into her and bounce right off.

Ray: Stuka likes her well enough until she elbow drops him and he pops back up with little hearts circling around his head. "I didn't forget about you ❤️ bonk" and she says it with the sweetest look on her face. It's easy to underestimate her because she looks kind of dopey but she knocks them both down like it's nothing. And she knows plane stuff! Very exciting visit for them.

DJ: Yeah, Stuka's already excited because this big U-boat is here and he thinks he's gonna have a new friend (which is not really how it goes, but) and a bunch of boats came to see this guy too and this one is really fun and wants to play with them AND she can play with them. Good day for the little warplanes!

Ray: All the Task Group members keep jokingly asking if the MSI is accepting any more boats.

DJ: lol, I wonder if they have the boat exhibit by then. I think they might have. But they are all too big. Those are model boats.

Ray: And the boats don't actually want to be preserved anyway, but it's a cute jab at the ones that seem to be having a lot of fun here. I think most of them probably did not know what to expect. But coming here… it's nice! Not too nice, because the submarine doesn't deserve that, but it's nicer than they expected.

God, I wish 727 were there. She'd love this.

DJ: They don't really care about whether his conditions are too good for him or not. It's more just that if anyone is going to be set up as a monument to lost American seamen, it should probably be one of them and not a boat that was responsible for some of those lost seamen. If any of them had been offered the job, they'd be happy to take it. It's more service.

But Guadalcanal and Flaherty are the ones that have to point out that the job would only be like that for them, since they won. For U-505, he's being made a permanent trophy. When you recognize that, he's taking it like a real champ. Being very gracious about it, especially since he thought he was this 🤏close to finally being dismissed.

Ray: Guadalcanal gets to point out that any boat that served in the war could be a monument to the lost seamen, but the fact that it's an enemy ship is a testament to their specific prowess. It's a flex, one they got to play a part in. That his exhibit will bear their names for all time is its own kind of preservation.

DJ: Yeah, if it's basically a thing of, if you're indignant that U-505's getting put up at a museum and not one of us, know that he's probably not that happy about it either no matter how well he seems to be taking to it (and I mean, if anyone has practice being a gracious loser, it's U-505). And he's gonna spend the rest of forever being a gracious loser so if you're still holding onto old wartime feelings about it, you can go to the scrapyard knowing that. Covers everyone's various feelings and shuts them up about it.

[greatwesternway]

Hey, new friends, have you seen these boats? Maybe you can spend the time I am busy packing hassling Ray to draw the last one in the task group.

actually wait everyone look at my boats