#the return of queequeg

[sleepyscully]

Given how much I hate bugs and cockroaches in large quantities I enjoy watching “war of the coprophages” a LOT

[binah-beloved]

tired. think about Sunshower Binah. and Outis. and Queequeg.

[spectre-ship]

genuinely nothing could have prepared me for how weird Moby-Dick is and I love every word of it

[lxgentlefolkcomic]

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Start reading Episode 1

Dialogue transcripts:

Panel 1

Ishmael:  How is he?

Jack:  Doing better.  He’s fast asleep, now.

Panel 2

Ishmael:  Do you need help getting him back to his room?

Jack:  … I think it may exacerbate the situation if he woke to someone carrying him.

Panel 3

Jack:  Harker?  …Jonathan?  It’s Dr. Seward.  

Jonathan:  Hnnh…Seward?  Where are we?

Panel 4

Jack:  In the Nautilus salon.  You had some sort of fit in your sleep.

Jonathan:  Oh…I’m so sorry. I must have woken you.

Panel 5

Jack:  Please, don’t apologize.  But if you’re ready, we’d best get back to bed. Are you ready to return to your room?

Jonathan:  I think so… If it’s not too much trouble, would you stay with me?  I can’t—I don’t think I should be alone, right now.

Panel 6

Godfrey:  Could you fellows bring our beds to Harker’s room?

Panel 7

Godfrey: I can help watch—and you need sleep too, Doctor.

Panel 8

Ishmael: A pair of beds to shift, Queequeg my dear, then we’ll return together to our own.

[desperateknot]

Chat should I talk about how Ahab told Queequeg to divorce her wife in the Gasharpoon boss fight?

Trick question. This isn't twitter. I am not bound by the word limit here.

In the literal sense, Ahab is telling Queequeg to sever the Knot. But what is the Knot to Queequeg? It's the bond between her and Ishmael.

On a visual sense, I think the ropes on Queequeg's body could correspond to the chains on the Middle's.

And, what does the Middle's chains represent?

We have this voiceline from Meursault's Middle ID.

We can infer that the ropes on Queequeg serve a similar purpose, but they aren't chain anymore. They are the ropes she purposefully tied on herself and Ishmael:

Not only in the scene where Queequeg took Ishmael out of the Whale oil, but also in the fact that Ishmael held onto Queequeg's rope to live and return to land.

The rope, the Knot, represents their connection to each other, but this is what Queequeg had to say in Canto V:

While Ishmael is desperately (puns intended) to hold onto their relationship, Queequeg already knew one of them is doomed. The rope is already cut. And she cut it on Ahab's order.

So yes. Ahab kind of widowed Queequeg, and when it turned out that her wife was alive, she ordered her to divorce. It is also reminisced of the Little Mermaid's sisters telling her to use the Sea Witch's dagger to kill the Prince to save herself.

By the way, her iconic: Rope. Grab tight. Or sink. is not about Ishmael most likely. It's about herself. It's about herself. She was the one who didn't grab tight onto the rope and sank. You can analyse it further by saying her not grabbing tight to the rope is akin to her letting go of their relationship and her own affection in Ahab's order.

Also, Queequeg has 2 main interactions with the rope: tying it or cutting it. Tying it is associated with Ishmael, loving her, having a future with her, rescuing her (twice). The act of cutting it is associated with loyalty(?) for Ahab, separation from Ishmael, and even the act of hurting herself, using the same dagger.

Oh right. Queecliff's third skill is called "Sever Knot", which is an envy skill and has more buffs with envy resonance :]

This is the perfect segue to Queequeg's sin analysis-

[offshore-brinicle]

Little personal Limbus theory that I've been working on for some time is that the Limbus Sinners' inciting indicents that led them down the path of joining the company, being the moment when their wish was born, all happened at the same time 3 years before the current story.

Thanks to some old leaks where people managed to dig up three of the Sinners' unobstructed profiles, we know Yi Sang and Sinclair's official ages are 29 and 20 respectively. Remove 3 years from that:

Yi Sang would have been 26, which is the age the narrator of The Wings claims to be, after leaving his wife behind once and for all and pressumably commiting suicide by jumping off the rooftop of a department store. 26 is the real Yi Sang's age at the time of his death as well, after his tuberculosis worsened imprisioned by the Japanese forces, so this means most likely he's left N Corp behind 3 years prior, avoiding such a fate, be it either death by his own hands in despair or torment at the hands of Hermann since she seems to threaten him with torture.

Sinclair on the other hand would have been 17 which aligns with him still being in high school when the incident with Kromer happened and also mentions in his observation log for Kromer that she has grown slightly taller since the last time they met, however what was of him and how he had survived for so long taking in count he woke up in the Backstreets after his family's murder is still a mystery.

Now recently, not only the Pequod crew speculate that they have been trapped inside The Whale for 3 years, but we get direct confirmation that Limbus!Heathcliff is from the Wuthering Heights timeskip thanks to his Queequeg ID.

The first one is pretty self-explenatory, they say it themselves, though it's dubious how true this is since they have no way of tell the passage of time inside the whale and even the woman who says this sounds somewhat unsure, and Pip who was a young child in Ishmael's memory still looks the same when we see him again in the present and it's difficult to say if this is a side effect of the Pallidfication. (on the other hand I am impressed at the growth rate of Ishmael's hair for being only 3 years)

On the other hand, Heathcliff's Queequeg ID mentions the event that led him to run away from Wuthering Heights in the original novel; he overhears Catherine saying to Nelly that marrying him would be "a disgrace to her", so driven by his anger and heartbreak he ran away, making his own fortune elsewhere so that he would return to the state seeking vengeance and to become someone who Catherine would be willing to marry. This had been implied before through his general behavior and his mugshot showing him still shabby and bruised as well as his N Corp story, but this leaves no room for questioning.

All of this means that if we go by the book, at least 3 years have passed since he left Wuthering Heights and Canto VI which is next and dedicated to him would correspond with Heathcliff's return to Wuthering Heights both in Limbus' story and in the book, meaning Catherine is most likely still alive, yet Heathcliff as a Sinner in Limbus Company is a far cry from the newly powerful version of Heatchliff that returns to the state in the book, so it's likely things will play out not quite the same.

Faust's line in the Walpurgisnacht cutscene says that the standard extraction timeline range is limited to 3 years between the past and future.

In this cutscene she also says that the extractions are powered by possibility itself, and the IDs that become available are also influenced by the Sinners' experiences at the company and how they come to reconsider themselves and each other, that's how for example we get N Corp. Sinclair and Spicebush Yi Sang after being faced with Kromer digging at Sinclair and telling him about the world where they work together, and then Yi Sang being so strongly affected internally by Dongbaek's death and ultimate fate, which would be the most intense story-focused examples so far, and if we eventually get a Captain Ahab ID for Ishmael, they had already established she was down the path of becoming another Ahab, and she herself did not realize this until they met again.

If all of the Sinners' great choices that led them down the path they are currently all happened 3 years ago and the initial extraction range is 3 years, it would make sense, since these would be the moments that weight on their mind most strongly, though there's also the case of Outis who has been on her own journey for at least 10 years going by the original Odyssey and how long ago The Smoke War was, same case for Gregor who's specific motives for joining are still unknown.

[ratlesshonret]

I've said this before but one of the things I don't like about Canto VI is how little involvement Ishmael has. And it's not just because I like her.

In Canto V, Heathcliff was so important to Ishmael and her story. He literally and metaphorically saves her. And they were even building the two up as a pair, with stuff like him getting the Queequeg ID, the person most important to Ishmael's past, and just generally having narrative parallels to her in the story.

In general, they seemed to be pushing Heathcliff and Ishmael as some kind of duo. And more broadly, Heathcliff + Ishmael + Don as some kind of trio who interact a lot.

And then we get to Canto VI. I was so excited to see how Ishmael would "return the favor" and reveal how much she actually does care about Heathcliff, just like Heathcliff did for her last Canto. Would she save his life? Would she snap him out of blind reverence for Catherine? Would she just straight up tell him that he isn't that bad during his moment of crisis?

Nope. Nothing. She's practically an irrelevant background character.

They do feed us a little. She has a couple lines during some of the more scary Heathcliff moments where she does seem concerned about him and his safety. But a few scattered lines does not a solid narrative make.

I honestly don't know if I would've preferred the mindless ship-bait approach to what we actually got. At least that one would provide some conclusion to what Canto V's ending started between the two.

And personally, I don't even ship them. I see them as close friends at most, maybe friends with benefits. But I also see the pair as a very important duo in the story, and their relationship as one of the most interesting and dynamic relationships between maybe any of the Sinners.

So it's a shame that they, at least for now, seem to have dropped it.

[tridenopmoth]

Fuck I wanted to do something normal and a little more but I’ve had the top three frames for a month now, so it’s better at least this way I adore this Heathcliff Id, it’s (for me) perfect in every way

Аe It’s difficult for me to describe everything that’s in my head, in terms of headcons about Ishmael and this ID. Like, she didn’t just turn a blind eye to this, she’s clearly feeling something about it. Perhaps hatred, that it was Heathcliff who got it or vice versa, begins to show a little more attention or simply avoids because this time Queequeg is definitely dead and Ishi is not very happy to see her again, as if she had not come to terms with the death of her partner. Here I showed more that she can do something about it, in terms of (as I remember) Ishi just watched as Qq cut out the tattoos, but here, since this is Heathcliff, she can be ruder with him and, for example, just fuck throw away the knife because she doesn’t want to see the past events or at least so that her friend doesn’t suffer. But at the same time, she showed him a little care, so to speak, returned the favor. And yes no paint today, sorry

[randomfoggytiger]

randomfoggytiger's Fictober Wrap Up, 2023

My first Fictober has concluded; and I decided to throw together my entries, thoughts, and acknowledgements into one post for posterity.

*****

Fictober Fics

"The Dead Are Everywhere, Scully"

Mulder and Scully reunite in the afterlife, two skeletons dancing in the rain and the mud.

"Regardless of His Actions Last Night"

Queequeg, alive and savage, joins Scully on her Chinga vacation.

"As Agent Mulder Says, There Are Many Different Kinds of Vampires" Part I

Mulder and Scully are attacked and turned into vampires by Ronnie Strickland. Scully's crisis begins when her faith seemingly rejects her.

"Time Passing in Moments"

Post Fight the Future Scully brings Halloween to Mulder, determined to give him a break while they wait and wait and wait for OPR.

"As Agent Mulder Says, There Are Many Different Kinds of Vampires" Part II

Mulder encourages Scully not to give up on her faith, both of them choosing to face potential death by holy fireball rather than letting her live in fearful limbo.

"There's Something Up There Mulder"

Scully realizes that Tooms is likely a distant relation of the Gender Bender Brethren (Amish hats are mentioned.)

"I Wonder If You Think It's Safe Enough to Indulge Yourself"

Metaphorical similarities between Mulder's supposed red-green colorblindness (which he does not have) and red-hot Phoebe Green.

"How Much You're Like Ahab"-- Mulder parallels his and Scully's crime scene eating habits to those of their cannibalistic pets.

"The Truth Is Out There-- But So Are Lies"-- Scully ruminates on her partner's ease with lying; and her ability to save him from Them and himself.

"Something Approaching a Normal Life"-- Mulder realizes Scully had invited him to (a disastrous) Thanksgiving to distract himself from the anniversary of his sister's abduction. He plans to return the favor.

"Preying on the Weak and Vainglorious"-- Post Sanguinarium Mulder ruminates on bad luck and bad ends; and Scully insists he's beautiful.

"Kids Today, Huh?"-- 2023 Mulder sinks into a slump after listening to a mopey song all day. Scully reasons him out of it.

"Is Being Made a Fool Of a Crime, Agent Mulder?"-- Mulder and Scully celebrate life, the dead, and all the Roadrunners and Wile E. Coyotes of the world. (My "happy birthday in a way, Mulder" fic.)

"We Need to Get Help"-- Mulder contemplates the glaring similarities between Gender Bender and Never Again and the new differences in his partner.

"We'll Think of Something"-- The Unnatural Scully grumbles over Mulder's tendency to run off into trouble. She goes, anyway.

"End of the Road"-- Mulder's peace after Closure.

"He Had Parents Who Loved Him"-- The Mulder family and baseball.

"I Think She Was Just Trying To Get Away"-- Scully reminisces on Mulder's distance and need for distraction post Monday.

"You Don't Know the First Thing About Me"-- Krycek has fixed opinions about the Syndicate, Mulder, Marita, and morals.

"My Religious Convictions Are Hardly the Issue Here"-- Scully and Mulder try to tackle her fears post All Souls.

"I'm Tired"-- Scully draws parallels between her Tithonus experience and Mulder's Sleepless and Demons one.

"Life’s Just a Path”-- If Melissa were alive post Fight the Future and Millennium, she'd never let her sister live it down.

"I Think He’s a Hard Kid to Love”-- Post Schizogeny Scully is sent on a case with Mulder to unofficially help Skinner's friends, one of which is a bear. (Prompts and artwork contributed by my two sisters.)

"Mulder Will Be Back”-- Jeffrey Spender sneers at Mulder's "hubris."

"Easy for You to Say”-- Post First Person Shooter Mulder is enamored with his little battle girlfriend.

"No More Paranormal than a Change of Wardrobe”-- Freshly-dating Mulder and Scully's lifestyles don't quite match yet; but the effort is worth it.

"What Must a Mother Go Through”-- Post Emily Mulder reasons Scully out of her Mrs. Peacock comparisons.

"Watch Over You Wherever You Go”-- One Breath Maggie remembers the many reinterpretations of her daughter's necklace.

"Your Ideas Are Weirder than Ours”-- The Lone Gunmen are woken by two very grumpy-with-each-other special agents.

"Doesn’t Make Him Less of a Miracle”-- AU Mulder tries to fight colonization and wrangle his "sea monster" child at the local ball pit.

"Sooner or Later a Man’s Gotta Face His Demons”-- Post Amor Fati Scully prods Mulder on a stakeout about his lack of Samhain hunting.

*****

My Thoughts

It's been a few years since I've committed to a daily creative project, but this month flew by. It was a joy to prove myself, in a way; and an even greater privilege to take other people's prompts and turn them into stories. I'm proud of the work I put in, proud of how they turned out, and proud that they entertained anyone who read them.

I did discover a personal writing flaw: grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Which, given that I write and "edit" everything in under an hour and that my brain autocorrects and rewrites while I'm actively writing, is understandable. There are multiple reblogged versions of my finalized fics because I would spot an error and edit after publication but not before the readers hit. And that's okay! (When my Ao3 submission goes through, I'll upload each fic "in its final form", so no sweat there.)

*****

Trivia

Each fic was named with a quote from The X-Files, mostly from Mulder and Scully but also by various side characters (Phoebe Green, Krycek, and Maggie, namely.)

I tackled Scully's religion a lot this month as a way to work out my frustrations with her episodes: her belief in the series has always been chocked up as "yes man" syndrome; and I believe it did a disservice to Scully, multi-layered character that she is. I hope it did her a little more justice.

In a way, I dedicate "The Dead Are Everywhere, Scully" to @enigmaticdrblockhead-- whose writing not only influenced that piece but also sticks with me to this day-- and @perpetually-weirdening-- whose interest in an immortal Scully breathed life into this idea.

In a way, I dedicate "The Truth is out There, But So Are Lies" to @suitablyaggrieved: the discussion we had (concerning Mulder's ability to lie quite well) rattled around in my head until I put it down "on paper."

In a way, I dedicate "Something Approaching a Normal Life" to Baroness Blixen, who is the master of weaving angst and fluff into her holiday fics.

In a way, I dedicate "I Wonder If You Think It's Safe Enough to Indulge Yourself" to @settle-down-frohike because it reads more meta than fic (while also reading as fic.)

In a way, I dedicate "He Had Parents Who Loved Him" to @television-overload, whose baseball fic inspired by Field of Dreams still takes up space in my noggin.

And I think that's all my thoughts for now~.

*****

Acknowledgements and Thanks

@baronessblixen for encouraging me to write this month-- another boost on the long list of encouragements you've given me~.

@agent-troi and @welsharcher (my Fox Mulder Singleton Club members) for their generous prompts. Truly touched by both of you: your loooooooong list, agent-troi; and your vibey suggestions, welsharcher.

@wexleresque for your vampire prompt (that was a fun fic challenge), and your "looking up at the sky" prompt (which challenged me to tackle older years Mulder and Scully.)

@stephy-gold for her Nessa Barrett song prompt (which I plugged into older years Mulder and Scully)-- I learned something new and tackled a genre that is not my favorite (songfic.)

@tossingmyglossymane for the post Monday prompt, which was more challenging to write than expected (and turned out great.)

@xxsksxxx for the prompt about Scully's cross necklace-- that was an initial struggle to nail down until I tied it back to Maggie; then it flowed~.

Anon for the prompt wanting Mulder to mull over Scully's words in Gender Bender (which tied, I thought, perfectly into his confusion in Never Again.)

Thank you to my sisters for the fall prompts that lead to Bernie the Bear (and another thank you to my younger sister who let me include her doodle for that day's Fictober entry.)

And thank you to everyone who engaged, liked, reblogged, and anything else! (I always like to dip in and out of the Notes section to see how each person responded differently to each fic-- a bonus game: make guesses and see if they're correct.) There are too many to count, so I'll just include a few off the top of my head: @dd-is-my-guiltypleasure, @amplifyme, @pianogirlxf, @scullys-scalpel, @teenie-xf, @agertiegirl, @improlificinsarcasm, @borogirl, @tofuttim, @mysteryness, @rosedyl, @spidey-is-tired, and others~!

*****

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

Tagging @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023 and @fictober-event

[saranilssonbooks]

Ishmael: *Spends about halft an hour at the Spouter Inn staring at and analyzing Bulkington*

Bulkington, to himself: That weird but cute sailor over there keeps making eyes at me. He's a total weirdo, but I guess it's still kinda flattering.

Bulkington: *Attempts to return gaze* Wait, why isn't he responing all of a sudden? Well have it your way then, tease! *Leaves in disappointment*

The following evening.

Bulkington: Fuck, I simply can't get that cute weirdo sailor off my mind. Guess I might as well head back just to have a peek if he's still there.

Bulkington: *Returns to the Spouter Inn and spots Ishmael and Queequeg* Noooooo!

Bulkington for the next couple of days, finally failing at denying his own sore heart* Ugh! Better not risk running into him again. Might as well head over to Nantucket, that should be just as good of a place to find a ship.

Bulkington: *Arrives in Nantucket and spots Ishmael and Queequeg* Noooooooooooo!!

Christmas Day

Bulkington, aboard the Pequod: Off to sea again, I guess. Everything back to usual. *Turns around and spots Ishmael and Queequeg* NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

And thus due to Bulkington's dedicated avoidance, this became the reason for him never being mentioned again.

[ambiggg]

Jan 1st 2025

let’s reread (chapters 1-5) 🐳

this description of flask is sending me

Etymology my beloved. I remember seeing this preface alongside the excerpts for the first time and feeling more eager for the contents.

(Humor me and tag your favorite excerpt/ tell me the word for whale in your native language)

here you’ll find the first mention of the word Leviathan, many more to go

Chapter 1

I forgot that he started the book with how suicidal (extremely) he was getting. Head first. Never change Ishmael. Also never kill yourself. Imagine if this book had never been written ! Dystopian.

All men want one thing, and it’s to walk into the ocean.

Page 2

page 3

Narcissus mentioned drowning in his own image, and with what we know I wonder whether or not Ahab and Fedallah are alluded to?

page 6

A whaling voyage described as The Invisible Police Office of the Fates huh?

whimsical little bastard

Classic free will vs determinism dilemma towards the end of the page, and a major dramatic framework

page 7

you whore

Chapter 2

Somebody missed their boat

pgs 8-10

Leviathan count : 12

He’s broke, (relatable)

he accidentally stumbles into and interrupts a church, smooth

At last he finds the Spouter Inn, but

Peter Coffin, you say?

Well at least it’s a good spot for pea coffee, which I hear goes exceptionally well with Beignets

Evidently the Spouter Inn has a gable roof lopsided by the euroclydon winds; aside from the marvelous visage I don’t know why he specified this roof type as it’s one of the most basic builds unless- OH, yep. it’s metaphor time

it’s actually one I’m quite fond of, Sylvia Plath my beloved (and countless others)

body= house metaphor go brr

Chapter 3

Oh look! A painting.

Ah it’s of an ‘exasperated whale purposing to spring clean over the craft’ you say ?

Ishmael spots various types of blades, harpoons, a sickle of which he ponders what kind of ‘monstrous cannibal’ could wield

so much foreshadowing, I don’t even know where to begin

13

We meet two folks here:

Little jonah the bartender/swindler in his whale bone arched bar

and our Landlord/ Love doctor

page 14

There was only one bed

page 15-16

Racist sentiment

extreme downbadness

buckle in, this is far from the last you’ll been seeing of either

Ishmael refers to men as bears, one of which is inevitably bulkington

we’re just offhandedly using the word orgies I guess

17

liar

21

trying on Queequeg’s clothing?!!? A very fascinating article at that, described as somewhat of a quilled poncho. I’ve seen this exact thing before- I’ll find it and get back to you

25-26

Their famous first encounter, here we are formally introduced To Queequeeg, the tattooed cannibal who sells shrunken heads

+ “Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian”

Queequeg was pretty reasonable considering the fact that this was all sprung on him last minute without any warning

suddenly Ishmael feels the need to add that he’s never slept better in his life

Chapter 4

not the bridegroom clasp!!

anything but the unbecomingness of hugging a fellow male in a matrimonial type style!!!

well, that’s about all I have to say about this chapter, aside from the interesting physical descriptions and the rather domesticated atmosphere compared to last night

also Queequeg shaves with his harpoon

Chapter 5

Ishmael accosts his landlord (relatable once again) then notices that the returned mariners have tans which get deeper corresponding with how long they’ve been away.

They have nothing on Queequeg he thinks, which reminds me of this.

Also Ishmael really likes calling burly men bears, this time referring to them as bashful bears .. :’) excellent

[mossy-green-aka-ferrythem]

I beat Queequeg. Then I wanted to take a break. I clicked return to Checkpoint instead of return to window. Now I have to do all that all over again.

Why the fuck is there no buffer to that.

Fuck this game.

[binah-beloved]

What if we saved queequee (I just finished canto 5 and I’m going to start crying/nsrs)

she needs time to rest. the Pallidification leaves deep scars even as it withers, hand grasping yours tightly to keep her from falling to her knees. a boat, a ship. how long has it been since she stood on the deck of a real ship, made of wood and rope instead of flesh and sinew? Queequeg looks down at your joined hands and rises them to her face. silently. a plea to be held, to be comforted and loved by you. she exhales slowly when you comply, cupping her cheeks in your palms, allowing her eyes to slip shut as she trembles, just barely. anyone else would think she's the same as ever. strong, quiet, unmoving. not breaking apart at the seams, the few tears that fall gently whisked away by your careful hands. she's so tired, and practically falls onto the bed you lead her to

but her hand doesn't loosen when you turn to leave, merely tugging you back and down onto the mattress. don't leave. she needs you here, or else this will all just be a blissful dream and she'll wake up corrupted and decaying under a madwoman again. Queequeg's lips twitch briefly upwards as she tucks you closer. your gaze is warm, awed, staring up at her and all her scars and tattoos. warmer than the quilt resting over her, than the pillows cradling her head. the harpooner's fingers caress your cheek gently, flexing and gripping in air to test the motion, no longer confined by pale tendrils. she pauses, hesitating. thinking for a moment. then leans in and gingerly brushes the tip of her nose against yours

you return the nuzzle, pressing your foreheads together, and Queequeg finally feels safe

[vickyvicarious]

I was the attendant or page of Queequeg, while busy at the mat. As I kept passing and repassing the filling or woof of marline between the long yarns of the warp, using my own hand for the shuttle, and as Queequeg, standing sideways, ever and anon slid his heavy oaken sword between the threads, and idly looking off upon the water, carelessly and unthinkingly drove home every yarn: I say so strange a dreaminess did there then reign all over the ship and all over the sea, only broken by the intermitting dull sound of the sword, that it seemed as if this were the Loom of Time, and I myself were a shuttle mechanically weaving and weaving away at the Fates. There lay the fixed threads of the warp subject to but one single, ever returning, unchanging vibration, and that vibration merely enough to admit of the crosswise interblending of other threads with its own. This warp seemed necessity; and here, thought I, with my own hand I ply my own shuttle and weave my own destiny into these unalterable threads. Meantime, Queequeg’s impulsive, indifferent sword, sometimes hitting the woof slantingly, or crookedly, or strongly, or weakly, as the case might be; and by this difference in the concluding blow producing a corresponding contrast in the final aspect of the completed fabric; this savage’s sword, thought I, which thus finally shapes and fashions both warp and woof; this easy, indifferent sword must be chance—aye, chance, free will, and necessity—nowise incompatible—all interweavingly working together. The straight warp of necessity, not to be swerved from its ultimate course—its every alternating vibration, indeed, only tending to that; free will still free to ply her shuttle between given threads; and chance, though restrained in its play within the right lines of necessity, and sideways in its motions directed by free will, though thus prescribed to by both, chance by turns rules either, and has the last featuring blow at events. Thus we were weaving and weaving away when I started at a sound so strange, long drawn, and musically wild and unearthly, that the ball of free will dropped from my hand, and I stood gazing up at the clouds whence that voice dropped like a wing.

So this passage is obviously referencing the Fates. The talk of fate while Ishmael and Queequeg are working on weaving the mat makes that pretty clear to me. I don't actually know enough about the process to definitively assign each of them a role though mostly they seem to be filling the role of Lachesis (measures thread/determines destiny). But of course it's not a direct comparison only, and the text itself is pretty clear about what metaphor is happening. Still, it's interesting to me that Ishmael is pretty firmly paired with unalterable destiny, while Queequeg is chance/free will/necessity, much more mutable stuff.

It just seems to echo and reinforce the sense of inevitability that has been building this whole time. Reminds me again of the script chapters and how that emphasized the status of "tragedy" in which the characters are trapped.

And yet, somewhat significantly perhaps, Queequeg is personified as separate from all of that here. He is free will itself, mere chance... It made me think back to the various ways Queequeg has had more agency so far, or at least less inevitability. He was looking for any new ship, and it was chance that Ishmael got put in his room at the inn, as well as that Ishmael suggested the Pequod to him. Ishmael was somewhat helpful in getting him a place on board, but once there he's more important. As an experienced whaler, he's definitely higher in the pecking order on the ship than Ishmael, and even in this scene Ishmael says he's acting as Queequeg's attendant or page. It's not like you can say Queequeg has been totally removed from all the ominous imagery or suggestions of inevitability, but maybe there's a case to be made that they come along with Ishmael more? I definitely found it interesting, at least.

Certainly here, Ishmael's fate seems to keep getting more and more 'sealed' in this sense of encroaching doom. At the end of the bit I quoted, free will literally drops out of his hand at the first encounter with a sperm whale. It's far too late to change things.

[theysteponyou]

"Dana Scully was born on February 23, 1964, to Margaret and William Scully, into a close-knit Catholic family. She has an older brother, William Jr., an older sister, Melissa, and a younger brother, Charles (also know as Charlie). Scully's father was a Captain in the United States Navy, who died of a heart attack in 1994. Dana Scully grew up in Annapolis, Maryland and later in San Diego, California. As a young girl, Scully's favorite book was Moby Dick and she came to nickname her father "Ahab" from the book, and in return, he called her "Starbuck", due to this she named her dog Queequeg.

Scully attended the University of Maryland, and in 1986, received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. Her undergraduate thesis was titled Einstein's Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation. Just out of medical school at Stanford University, she was recruited by the FBI; she accepted the agency's offer of employment because she felt she could distinguish herself there. After two years in the bureau, Section Chief Scott Blevins assigned her to work with agent Fox Mulder" (Wikipedia)

Happy 59th birthday MD. Dana Scully 🎂🥳

I hope she enjoys this time with Mulder and their 4.5-year-old daughter. William/Jackson, your nearly 21-year-old son is out there, I hope he's safe.

[desperateknot]

I swear this one has no right to make as much sense as it does.

Swap Ishqueg/LCB Queequeg AU.

La Manchaland's Fashionita ID Queequeg uptie story:

The child... didn't really have a choice. It was either becoming a mindless Bloodbag or becoming her Daughter.

For her, turning into a Bloodbag would be no better than turning into a Mermaid. That was why...to save herself...Just like back then...

Still, she managed to run. She managed to runaway from that mockery of an amusement park.

Now, it is time for her to return to her original quest.

That bastard has to be alive still. She'll find that crone, tear her heart into pieces, and then drink her blood.

Before that though, she'll have to get over this fear of water.

She feels as if she might be dying already. The water is lodging inside her hair, soaking her clothes, seeping through her skin. Soon, she would explode-

The child stopped that line of thought. She tried to remind herself that there was no real basis for her fear, yet she couldn't stop herself from trembling.

Whose fault is it that she has to suffer so much?

Her red eyes accidentally met the make-shift orange ring on her finger, before closing themselves shut.

Outis: Did you really think you can escape us?

The child had heard the sound of footsteps accompanied by scissors snippings from faraway, yet she found within herself no will to flee or fight.

Outis: The dress I especially made for you...Do you have any idea how much fabric I have to spend for that?

She would rather tear off her own throat before laying a finger on that woman. For, of course, she was her dear Mother.

Outis: Selfish child. Have you ever even spared a thought for your poor parent?

For reasons she can't seem to recall, the child knew what was about to happen next. As if it all had happened before.

Thus, she kept her eyes shut, waiting for the punishments to be over.

When she was dragged back home, that question still plagued her:

"Whose fault is it that I has to suffer so much?"

It would be so much simpler had she just obeyed her Parent.

Outis: Here in La Manchaland, there is no need for you to mourn.

Outis: You will never again have to confront the people who were hunting you! You won't need to avenge for those whose faces you have forgotten!

Outis: So be a good child, would you, Telema-? Your Parent always knows best.

Being a well-behaved and obedient child of the family, being a good sister is not at all a difficult task. In fact, for her, it is like second nature. It's almost as if she has done all of this before.

It's certainly much more pleasant than forcing herself to confront the fear of water.

Snip. Snip. She is trembling, but this time, it is of excitement. Finally, she has something to quench that familiar thirst. She can't help but suck on her thumb, thinking of the mouth feel of the fresh meat.

Once upon a time, she was a maggot fed on the rotten, filthy human flesh. Now, she finally has the privilege to sink her teeth into their still fresh bodies, tender skin and warm blood, listening intently to the faint breath that would soon cease.

Snip. Snip. Her body moved on its own. When she dons the mask, it is nigh impossible to control herself or remember who she is. But all that just feels natural.

Maybe, she was born for this. She mused as she danced with the mangled corpses.

Everything feels deeply familiar, almost as if she was just returning home.

And, if that was the case, things become significantly more straightforward.

Protect her home. That was what she was tasked to do. That was what she was born to do.

Born? Born. She was born.

Snip. Snip. She suddenly felt an uncomfortable sensation on her ring finger, as if something was actively tying her down.

It's the make-shift ring again. Now, fully dyed red of blood.

She could no longer remember why it was there, but surely, it couldn't be that important.

Snip. Snip.

When the strands of sunset scattered through the crimson red streets of La Manchaland, the child could swear she heard a stranger's voice.

???: Wrong question.

???: For whom. For whom do we suffer so much?

She mustn't let those things trouble her, though, lest she upset her dear family.

Still, there might just be one thing that she couldn't help but secretly complain to herself.

She couldn't see the sunset from here.

Was there something she was supposed to do? She couldn't remember anymore.

La Manchaland's Fashionita ID Queequeg voicelines:

Identity Obtained: Protect the family...huh.

Uptying: Aha. Ahahahaha. Cut it. Already cut it all!

Reasoning: The Bloodfiends are kind of like the Middle in the sense that they are a metaphor for a fucked up abusive family that Queequeg can't escape from. To be a Kindred is like to be born again. Themes of rebirth is already present in Canto V. So this is a rebirth for Queequeg, but it's twisted and fucked up.

Queequeg called herself a maggot before, surviving off people's deaths. Bloodfiend Queequeg makes this more literal by sucking on humans' blood to survive.

The Bloodbags, in a sense, are quite similar to Mermaids, something that Queequeg absolutely does not want to become.

Canon Queequeg always wears a mask when fighting for Ahab. Bloodfiend Queequeg conveniently has a mask made by the Barber too.

The Fashionitas' design has rose motifs, which is a red flower, which could be read as a reference to The Little Mermaid, one of Queequeg’s source materials. The Fashionitas' design conveniently has scissors to cut the rope (ring) that connected her to a certain special person that she could no longer recall, which is even more poignant when you remember how she can't go to the sea anymore, because Bloodfiends are afraid of water. Hence, she can no longer reunite with Ishmael.

Too bad that Bloodfiends aren't weak to sunlight, or it would be even more angsty. Imagine. Pacifying her. With the gentle sunset.

Bonus:

Moby Dick Queequeg is said to have been a cannibal before the events of the book and preferred rawer meat.

Vampires don't have reflections on silver mirrors. This is very elaborated, but I feel like it would be thematically fitting if Queequeg doesn't see a reflection of herself in mirrors because of her lack of individuality. It was only when she was with Ishmael that she had any real desire of her own. But right after that, her desire was overwritten with Ahab's.

Personal notes:

There is a reason why she is sucking on her thumbs on the uptie art 👍

Also, I think Bloodfiend's Queequeg uptie art is the best piece I have ever drawn for her. I like the quality of the colour and the fake linearts and everything. However, the pre-uptie Bloodfiend Queequeg art is the most Queequeging Queequeg I have ever drawn, even though she is in a pretty feminine dress. I have a tendency to make all the characters I draw look feminine, even the male characters. Queequeg is the most masc character I have ever been obsessed over, so it's a force of habit.

I actually made a YouTube video of Bloodfiend Queequeg uptie story too: https://youtu.be/56rG1v-0Lv4?si=RgzpvZsPkQ84myZf

By the way, I made almost the entire thing before Part 2 of Canto VII, so I didn't touch the main plot of Canto VII a whole lot. In this mirror world, Queequeg was still a Sister of the Middle, left and joined Pequod, and when Pequod crashed, she returned to land. She wandered in La Manchaland some times later after their 200 years quarantine and got turned into the Barber's Kindred. Now that Canto VII is done, I think Dulcinea would fit her a bit, too, at least superficially. They are both...purple princess (and yes, Queequeg is a princess).