i would have loved to see gibson haunting hickey. hickey hearing his voice just out of reach. the memory of a hand ghosting across his waist. seeing him in the distance, in the fog. gibson’s face appearing in the dark when he first wakes up. hickey haunted by the love he could have had in another life.

although i largely love terror/polar exploration fandom and think it's significantly more sensitive and thoughtful than most historically fixated spaces, there is also an undercurrent of subconscious racism and uncritical buy-in to the great man theory + belief that white men's stories no matter how relatively mundane/unremarkable are the center of everything. but then everyone thinks you're crazy for noticing it

and if reading this post makes you angry or upset or defensive i strongly recommend doing some self-reflection on why. what are the ways you yourself may be contributing to this undercurrent? are you someone who (even subconsciously) believes in great man theory and lets that bleed through how you write about history, franklin expedition or otherwise? if you are a contributor or possess these mindsets, you aren’t a bad person but it is your responsibility to reflect and unlearn. anti-racism and anti-colonialism is a constant ongoing process for all of us. these aren’t intrinsic virtues or labels you can slap on and call done. now stop making me read microaggressions on the app i downloaded to look at pictures of solomon tozer

an old man with a suspiciously erotic body