Ishmael/Story

Overview

Story

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"Wait!"

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"Ah... no way!"

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Backstory

Ishmael was originally a desk worker for U Corp.'s Nest, in Marlin Port, having studied and struggled for a long time in order to find a stable job as a member of a Wing. The job left Ishmael unsatisfied and depressed, yearning for a great change in her life, which led her to quit and find a new place to start, with the thought on her mind that she would've liked to die near a body of water. That was when Ishmael met Ahab: she became deeply fascinated by the Captain's resolve and confidence, and decided to join her Whaling crew, obtaining a Grade 9 Fixer license.

"And my dearest friend's hollow coffin was the only thing keeping me afloat on that whirling Lake."

In her time at sea, Ishmael became familiar with the Great Lake, its environment and rules. During the Pequod's hunt for the Pallid Whale, one of the five Calamities of the Lake, Ishmael worked as a sailor and a harpooner, with her duties ranging from oil-bucketing to active combat. Atop the Pequod, Ishmael grew close to the crew, and all of them, strongly inspired by Ahab's words and trusting in their ability to hunt the Whale, started planning for their future once the voyage was over.

However, their wishes would not come to pass: around three years before the events of Canto V, in 981, the Pequod was attacked by the Pallid Whale and sunk with most of its crew. Only Ishmael, who managed to hang on to the coffin Queequeg had built for herself, survived, staying afloat until the Whale disappeared in the depths of the Lake once more.

After the wreckage, Ishmael would spend the next three years working as a Fixer, taking odd jobs, with the final goal of one day finding Ahab, whom she believed to have survived the attack, and killing her.

Developments

Some time before January 984, Ishmael would sign a contract with Limbus Company, and go on to join the LCB crew as Sinner #8. Ishmael adapted quickly to the work of Limbus Company, her combat capability and previous expertise with Fixer work and dealing with firms proving useful to the LCB in several occasions.

During May 984, the LCB would head for the U Corp. Backstreets, to prepare for their next mission in the Lobotomy Corp. Branch of U Corp., located on a drilling ship in the middle of the Great Lake. This would be Ishmael's first time returning to her home District after the wreckage. As a result, she was under great stress during the two months that led to the start of the mission, being doubtful of the LCB's ability to survive in the Lake. This led to her openly criticizing Dante's management and Vergilius' guidance, before clashing violently with Heathcliff. Following the altercation, Ishmael decided to refuse collaborating with the LCB unless ordered to, shutting herself off from the rest of the Sinners.

During the mission, the LCB's search for the Golden Bough led the Sinners to the L Corp. branch of U Corp., which had been swallowed by the Pallid Whale, and with the help of the Color Fixer The Indigo Elder, they were able to locate the Calamity. The prospect of facing the Whale again caused a deep shift in Ishmael's state of mind, as she began to act more and more like her old Captain, consumed by her desire for revenge.

Within the belly of the Whale, Ishmael would find the wreakage of the Pequod, and learn that its crew lived still: she reunited with her old friend Queequeg, her crewmates Starbuck and Pip, but most importantly with Captain Ahab, who would reveal to Ishmael the location of the Golden Bough: the very heart of the Whale. Ahab proposed a deal: the LCB would sail with her crew towards the heart, where they would let Ahab slay the Whale, allowing everybody to escape, while she would allow the LCB to take the Golden Bough. Ishmael was unsatisfied with the idea, until Ahab offered her her own heart in exchange. With the prospect of being able to finally kill the Captain, the one goal she'd been chasing for many years, Ishmael agreed to the proposition, and the LCB began sailing through the Whale's body, accompanied by Queequeg.

Upon reaching the heart of the Whale, Ishmael met with the Captain. After Ahab's reveal that she had sacrificed most of her crew to reach the heart, and her request that the Sinners do the same with Dante to allow everyone to survive the Pallidification, Ishmael refused to succumb to the Captain's will again, and combat ensued. During the Sinners' battle with Ahab, Starbuck and Queequeg, Ahab manifested her E.G.O, and proceeded to absorb the surviving members of her crew into her body, to be used as weapons. Ishmael then watched her old friends fall one by one; as Queequeg was slowly devoured by the Pallidification, Ishmael fell into despair, with the membrane starting to take her over as well, until Heathcliff helped her out of the cocoon, and Dante's words reminded her of her right path.

Standing up once more before her Captain, Ishmael instead drove her harpoon through the Whale's heart, slaying the Calamity and allowing her companions to escape its interior. After returning to the safety of the surface and the Limbus Company boat, Ishmael recognizes Dante as her new Captain, and states her desire to keep traveling together with the LCB, while still planning to stay true to herself and one day leave for a voyage of her own.

During the events of Canto VI, Ishmael's behavior reflects this new determination of hers, with her once again confronting Vergilius about his role as a guide, this time explaining her need for answers and clarity comes from her desire to fully trust him and Limbus Company.

Relations

Ahab

“ Then you are my definition of evil. ”

—Ishmael, standing up to her Captain

Ishmael's encounter with Captain Ahab marked a moment of great change for Ishmael. She was profoundly moved by the Captain's words, who promised something different from the squallid monotony her Nest life had turned into. While working on top of the Pequod proved to be very challenging at times, Ahab always managed to motivate the crew, and Ishmael followed her to the very end- into the jaws of the Pallid Whale.

Ishmael would later describe Ahab's influence over her and the crew as that of a Whale over its Mermaids, devouring and overwriting others' sense of self with its own thoughts and beliefs.

Queequeg

“ ... I thought you didn't like the outside world? ”

“ Sunset, always warm. Wherever it sets. ”

—Queequeg, revealing she has always yearned to reunite with Ishmael

Queequeg was Ishmael's cabin-mate and closest friend atop the Pequod.

Limbus Company

Ever since the start, Ishmael appears as a dependable and active member of the team.

As the events of Canto V close, Ishmael calls Dante her new compass, and decides to happily embark on new adventures together with them and the Company, certain that she will not lose her will to keep on traveling.