OMG BUSH/HORNBLOWER *________________________*

[quigonejinn]

Theoretically, I should start a new LJ for this, but everyone I know who enjoys Hornblower follows this LJ. I also suspect that I'm notgoing to be able to be nearly as invested in HH as I am in SW because holy God, is the canon imposing or what? Not only are the movies so, so, so good and rich and involving, but I've started reading the books, and adlkjg;lkdjf;alsidhg;ladkjf. OMG.



General ship lifenotes

- Young midshipmen get caned if they don't behave/mess up. Heavy punishment: 12 and 12, will cause screaming. Manlier to take them on the legs, but can be administered on the ass, then be taunted about it by the captain, etc. Even worse/more humiliating: being bent over a cannon and having it done to you. Known as "kissing the gunner's daughter." *_* Note, too, the rigging punishment from the first movie/book -- Horatio spread-eagled on the rigging and hanging there until let down.

- Sleep deprivation as punishment. Being woken every hour or being made to stand double watches instead of sleep.

- Service on deck three Sundays a week, remaining Sunday -- no service, instead, a reading of the Articles of War. Article 19 deals with mutiny. Catchall mutiny clause -- if you don't get nailed for acts of mutiny under the previous things, well, anything not caught by the is CAUGHT IN THIS ONE.

Horatio characterization

p.4:

"How are you going to get the men to work [Mr. Hobbs] if you sulk? Get for'rard and see to it."

Hornblower was leaning a little forward as he spoke; the hands which he clasped behind him erved apparently to balance the jutting chin,but his attitude was negligent compared with the fierce intensity with which he spoke even though he was speaking in an undertone inaduible to all except the three of them.

"Aye aye, sir," said Hobbs, turning to go forward again.

Bush was making a mental note that this Hornblower was a firebrand when he met his glance and saw to his surprise a ghost of at winkle in their melancholy depths. In a flash of insight he realized that this fierce youg lieutenantwas not fierce at all, and that the intensity with which he spoke was entirely sasumed -- it was almost as if Hornblower had been exercising himself in a foreign language.

"If they one start sulking you can't do anythign with 'em," explained Hornblower, "and Hobbs is the worst of 'em -- acting gunner, and no good. Lazy as they mak e'em."

"I see," said Bush.

The duplicity -- play acting -- of the young lieutenant aroused a momentary duspicion in Bush's mind. A man who could asusme an appearance of wrath and abandon it again with so much facility was not to be trusted. Then, with an inevitable reaction, the twinkle in the brown eyes called up a responsive twinkle in Bush's frank blue eyes, and he felt a friendly impulse towards Hornblower, but Bush was innately cautious and checked the impulse at once, for there was a long voyage ahead of htem and plenty of time for a more considered judgment.

- Horatio's mathematical gifts. The notion of math being incomprehensible to him is, itself, incomprehensible.

p. 80:

A flying fish broke the surface and went skimming along, leaving a transient, momentary furrow behind it like a groove in enamel.

"Look at that!" exclaimed Hornblower to Bush.

"A flying fish," said Bush, indifferently.

"Yes! There's another!"

Hornblower leaned over to get a better view.

"You'll see plenty of them before this voyage is over," said Bush.

"But I've never seen one before."

The play of expression on Hornblower's face was curious. One moment he was full fo eager interest; the next he assumed an appearance of stolid indifference as a man might pull on a glove. His service at sea so far, varied htough it might be, had been confined to European waters; years of dangersou activity on the French and Spanish coasts in a frigate, two yearsin the Renown on the Channel fleet, and he had been eagerly looking forward to the novelties he woudl encounter in tropical waters. But he was talking to a man to whom these things were no novelty, and who evinced no excitement at the sight of the first flying fish of the voyage. Hornblower was nto going to be outdone in stolidity and self-control; if the wonders of the deep failed to move Bush they were not going to evoke any childish excite in Hornblower, at least any apparent excitement if Hornblower could suppress it. He was a veteran, and he was not going to appear like a raw hand.

- Horatio's seasicknes

- Horatio's burning, burning ambition.

- Horatio taking bath in cold seawater. :D Naked Horatio! And his odd fancies.

- how difficult it is to figure out what Horatio is feeling from the way he acts.

- Horatio turning away from Bush and shouting out an order so that Bush has a moment ot compose himself when the ship runs aground. The importance of composure to Horatio.

- Hornblower and his plotting, thinking, restless brain. Hornblower the "active subordinate."

- p. 119:

Any officer would want to go, of course, would yearn tobe given an opportunity to distinguish himself, but actuatingHornblower was some motive more urgent than this. Hornblower's hands were at his sides, in the "attention" postiion, but Bush noticed how the long fingers tapped against his thights, restrained themselves,and then tapped again uncontrollably. It was not cool judgment thatfinally brought Bush to his decision, but something quite otherwise. It might be called kindliness; it might be called affection. He had grown fond of this volatile, versatileyoung man, and he had no doubtsnow as to his physical courage.

"I'd like Mr. Hornblower to come with me, sir," he said; it seemed almost without his volitoin that the words come from his mouth; a softhearted elder brother might have said much the same thing, burdening himself with the presence of a much younger brother out of kindness of heart hwen contemplating some pleasant day's activities.

And as he spoke he received a glance in return from Hornblower that stifled atbirth any regrets he may have felt at allowing his sentiments to influence his judgment. There was so much relief, os much of gratitude, in the way Hornblower looked at him that HOrnblower experienced a kindly glow of magnamity; he felt a bigger and better man for what he had done. Naturally he did not for a moment see anything incongruous about Horblower's being grateful for a decision that would put him in peril of his life.

- p. 146:

He had not been able to spare a moment for anything like that, with the whole defence of the fort to be organised. But he could bear fatigue and hunger and thirst, nad he doubted if Hornblower could.

I'll get a drink of water at the well, sir," said Hornblower.

As he said the words, and the full import came to him, a chance in his expression was quite obvious. He ran the tip of his tongue over his lips; Bush could see that the lips were cracked and prached and that the tongue could do notion gto relieve them. The man had drunk nothing since he had landed twelve hours ago.-- twelve hours of desperate exertion in a tropical climate.

- p. 147:

[A]s Bush decsended from the platform he saw Hornblower organising other working parties, snapping out orders with quick gestures. At the sight of Bush he turned guilty and walked over to the well. A marine was winding up the bucket, and Horn blower seized it. He raised the bucket to his lips, leaning back to balance the weight; and he drank and drank, water slopping in quantities over his chest as he drnk, water pouring over his face, until the bucket was empty, and then he putit down with a grin at Bush, his face still dripping with water. The very sight of him was enough to make Bush, hwo had already had one drink from the well, feel consumed with thirst all again.

p. 222:

A lob-lolly boy -- sick berth attendant -- came in with a tray that bore a jug and a glass. He poured out a glassful of liquid and with an arm supporting Bush's neck he held it to Bush's lips. At the couch of the cool liquid, and as its refreshing scent reached his nose, Bush suddenly realized he was horribly thirsty, and he drank eagerly, draining the glass.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Lemonade, sir, with Mr. Hornblower's respects."

"Mr. Hornblower?"

"Yes sir. There' sa bumboat alongisde an' Mr. Hornblower bought some lemons an' told me to squeeze 'em for you."

"My thanks to Mr. Hornblower."

"Aye aye, sir. Another glass, sir

"Yes.

p. 250:

They shook hands and parted; it says much for Bush's feelings towards Hornblower htat in the grey dawn next morning he rolled out of his cot and went up on deck to watch the Retribution, ghostlike under her topsails, and with the lad going in the chains, steal out round the point, wafted along by the land breeze. Bush watcher her go; life in the ervice meant many partings. Meanwhile there was war to be waged against bedbugs.

Comments

YET MORE HORATIO/BUSH. BECAUSE I NEED SOME VENT.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

If his queer Commodore [Hornblower] chose to be in a bad mood it was best to leave him to it —- Bush was better than a wife, thought Hornblower, his acute perceptions noting the gesture.

DYING OVER HERE. DYING. WHILE THEY ARE SITTING AT BREAKFAST TOGETHER. IT IS YEARS AND YEARS AFTER LOYALTY/DUTY SO THERE HAS BEEN PLENTY OF TIME FOR THIS TRUST TO BE BUILT UP AND HOLY GOD IT FILLS ME WITH THE SQUEE.

There is a bit in the book just previous about them holding hands in carriage, and adjkg;lkdjf. I don't care if I can never muster up an image of them making out or having sex or even how they'd ever get together. I will be entirely happy with canon descriptions of crazy crazy crazy Horatio reaching across the carriage to grip Bush's hand in the dark and how Bush caresses Horatio's hand like he would a woman's.

And you're absolutely dead-on about what the saddest part of the Bloody Maria Mess is. I hadn't thought of it nearly as clearly as you did, but you're exactly right. There's something painful about how much Horatio has changed from the good, generous boy that we saw in Examination or the Archie episodes -- he did his duty back then, too, but man. It really, really got me that we find out about the death of Horatio's father indirectly, y'know?

Also painful to see how hard it was for Horatio to catch very much that Pellew insinuated outside of the standard technical shop talk or political stuff. He could catch the Bonaparte stuff perfectly well, but oh, let Pellew make a suggestion about family or women or something that involves Horatio at his heart, and you're practically guaranteed a stupefied face for at least a couple seconds.

Pellew, on the other hand, has a picture of a woman on his work desk. :/
By the way. Did you get an e-mail from me on the books? I tried to send it through LJ, but *pokes lack of competence with gmail and the general contrariness of LJ these days*

Re: YET MORE HORATIO/BUSH. BECAUSE I NEED SOME VENT.

[randomalia.livejournal.com]

My head will explode if I try to reconcile H/A and H/B, and movieverse-bookverse. :/ They both work but I have a limited brain, clearly. @ <-- limited brain. The slash - the commitment and reliance - seem very clear, very poignant and gorgeous from what you've said about the books. I mean, man, curtains and hand-holding and all.

In some ways, I think it's more powerful an image that you know they *could* have gotten together in some way, but the most important and cherished part of their relationship was the loyalty and the trust inherent in allowing that NOT to happen. That may not make sense, I'm tired. XD But them getting together in a sexual relationship would be crossing lines, and I just have this idea of that devotion being limited by social/command structures and Horatio's issues, but at the same time transcending those things because it doesn't matter. It is the most important relationship of his life (Archie would have to be added there for movie-Horatio; can't help it, I love Archie. XD). It's such intimacy as Horatio would never have with a wife. Sex wouldn't make it moreso. And isn't it kind of amazing that Bush knows he will never be let all the way in to Horatio's life, and yet he gives so much of himself to it anyway?

Horatio's obliviousness to Pellew talking about women was kind of painful. And I really loved the exchange when Maria wanted to understand what his life was like and he got angry and said his life wasn't 'stories'. How could he feel a sense of connection or kinship with someone who hadn't lived the same life he had, been in the Navy, when the Navy is his whole (mental, emotional) existence?

And, hmm, I haven't had an email from you, but you could try sending it directly to random_alia at hotmail .com? :)