#polstead
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Every adult ever: "Omg how come Lyra is such an insolent brat who lies all the times?" Every adult ever: "Hey by the way your aloof uncle ? He's your dad. And that mysterious rich lady ? That's your mom. And the Master of the university you grew in as a refugee from a socio-political scandal that we've hid from you ? He knows a prophecy about you and DESTINY !!! And Ma Costa ? Yeah she breast fed you. And you're boring teacher Malcolm ? He KILLED a man who threathened you when he was a kid and also a fairy breat fed you also lol during the deluge that almost sank Brytain. And God is a little angel bitch. Yeah. Good luck kiddo"
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“If that monkey had a name, it might be Malice.” (La Belle Sauvage chapter 14.)
The monkey in question:

#mrs coulter#malcolm polstead#the golden monkey#marisa coulter#his dark materials#hdm#la belle sauvage#the book of dust
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I love Phillip Pullman but by far the WORST part of the post dark materials trilogy is Malcom falling in love with Lyra. Not to say I know him better than the author but my boy would NOT carnally desire the child 12 years his junior he rescued as an infant and taught as a professor. He simply would Not he would see her as a little sister
#listen maybe it’s just me being entirely wrong abt his character that’s possible for sure#but I still don’t like it.#PLUS I HATE how everyone he talks to says hmmm Malcom you are in love with your former student#and Malcom says 😖😖😖😖#and they all say nonono I’m not judging u it’s fine girl she’s an adult this is totally appropriate just be careful of your heart or whateve#hate that too#Malcom polstead#the secret commonwealth#secret commonwealth spoilers#Lyra silvertongue#his dark materials#eben talks
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im going to finish the secret commonwealth, and likely the third book when its released, if not to be able to say ive read all the hdm universe books then at least to be able to give a proper examination into why the second trilogy is so fucking bad? but after what is fucking happening in tsc right now Jesus christ this is so fucking gross and we should kill philip pullman
#on one hand i Could be like 'oh well maybe its going to be presented in a light that shows how gross this is even if malcolm was previously#an endearing character'#but i simply dont have confidence that philip pullman can approach this topic with that level of nuance after how it was initially presented#like. yeah its from malcolms pov so theres certainly bias to be had but. i dont think im in the wrong for not trusting an old man to handle#an inherently predatory and disgusting infatuation with any amount of considerstion to the character who is objectively a victim#i Want to be able to have that faith that it isnt going to presented in a way that protrays it as normal and fine#but i simply do not have that grace within me for philip pullman 🤷♀️#would love to be wrong about this but i also have a suspicion im not#anyways because i realize this is vague#tw for grooming/bordering on pedophilai/just really gross shit in general:#in the secret commonwealth. malcolm polstead who is a 31 year old doctor is pretty much in love with the main character lyra. who like#just turned 20#and i say that this is reslly gross not just because of that age gap. but also because he met her when she was a BABY and he was ELEVEN#and he was her TEACHER#and the narration for this is like 'well its been 4 years since he was her teacher so maybe its not gross now'#while also implying that he Was attracted to her 4 years ago. So Again. extremely fucking gross#so yeah i just simply do not have the confidence that philip pullman will actually treat the topic of this predatory attraction as. yknow.#predatory.#sorry for going on a tangent i just need to articulate this in some way
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In The Secret Commonwealth Malcolm is constantly described as large, hefty, bulky, and so on. I am curious, just how large do you imagine Malcom being?
I mean, I imagine he is very tall and has broad shoulders, definitely has some strength going on about him. If I were to drawn him, I'd use rectangles and squares because that's sort of the vibes he gives me. He's definitely a heavy man, which also boggles my mind, because he is often described as agile or something like it, but I strongly disagree with that. I see him as Strength based kind of man, if that makes any sense hahah
Think maybe Toby Stephens in Black Sail (or even in And Then There Were None) kind of build. He's not very muscly? But very broad features, he definitely fills a room, as we see him do many times in TSC (and he's very aware of it and uncomfortable about it). He's the very opposite of lanky, I think. He's definitely a large man imo
#asks#hdm meta: malcolm polstead#thank u for the ask#if i were to fancast him i'd go with will poulter which is funny bc he doesn't fit the body visuals at all#but something about his face just screams mal to me
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me reading TBOD 3 if it ever gets published lol
Addams Family Values (1993) dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
#the book of dust#the book of sus#philip pullman#malcolm polstead#fuck malcolm polstead all my homies hate malcolm polstead#red herring ass mf#philip pullman survivors anonymous#the secret commonwealth#la belle sauvage#his dark materials#hdm
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Who should be the King of England? That is the question this elaborate medieval diagram dares to answer. Created during the War of the Roses, when the Houses of Lancaster and York were engaged in a bitter fight for the English throne, this multi-page chart enlivened with bright colors and gold leaf lands emphatically on Edward IV and the House of York. With efficiency and bravado, it places Edward within world history, tracing his lineage back to Adam and Eve and linking him to the great rulers of history including King David, Alexander the Great, King Arthur, and William the Conqueror. How could Henry VI, Edward’s bitter rival, possibly compete?
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The Grades of Separation
The Grades of Separation is an idea I thought of a while ago and thought I might as well share. It is numbered from 0 to 4, with 0 being full unity between human and daemon and 4 being total separation. This concept was originally just for the development of my own daemon philosophy, daemointus, but I see no reason why it can't be used by fans of His Dark Materials or by daemians if one so chooses.
Grade 0: Complete or near-complete unity between human and daemon, characterized by a lack of knowledge or serious acknowledgment of one's daemon. Communication or projection incredibly unlikely. Most common grade in our world.
Grade 1: Slight separation between human and daemon, but little to no outer-body presentation. Characterized by an awareness of one's daemon and some level of autonomy, but one may not identify their daemon as such. If the daemon is properly identified, they may be given a name or their species identified if settled. Communication may be possible but unlikely.
Grade 2: Significant separation between human and daemon, but link still intact. Daemon is entirely outside of human's physical body with their own set of subtle bodies and is fully autonomous and sapient with their own personality, wants, and needs. Communication is almost guaranteed at this grade. Daemon may be observed by their human and those capable of seeing subtle substance. This is the most common grade seen in His Dark Materials.
Grade 3: Slightly greater separation between human and daemon than Grade 2 with link still intact but loosened significantly. Daemon can travel away from their human without causing harm or suffering, and is able to keep their subtle bodies sustained separately from their human. The witches from His Dark Materials, along with Lyra Silvertongue, Will Parry, Malcolm Polstead, and Anthony Hassall are all examples of this grade.
Grade 4: Total separation between human and daemon, usually resulting in death. This usually happens due to the practice of intercision, but brute force has also been referenced as causing this separation. Those who survive this separation usually suffer greatly as a result of such severe separation, though exactly why isn't clear. Both human and daemon seem to appear lifeless and apathetic, and in the Subtle Knife a big point is made about them being fearless and therefore making terrifying soldiers.
Grades 3 and 4 are noticeably close, with both being achieved through forceful separation in some way or another. The only noticeable difference as that all cases of Grade 3 separation is willful on at least one side, while there's no evidence of this for Grade 4 separation that doesn't involve intercision.
Advancement in grades isn't linear either. Will Parry, for example, jumped from Grade 0 to Grade 3 instantly. And most cases of Grade 4 do not go through Grade 3 first. Regression from Grade 1 to Grade 0 is probably also possible, though beyond that it's hard to imagine regression as being possible.
If there's anything I missed or could add to this idea please let me know, input is always grealy appreciated.
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welcome to london, LORD ASRIEL BELACQUA! did anyone ever tell you that you look just like JAMES MCAVOY? well, no matter, we hear that you are 43 and working as a/an EXPLORER. we also hear that you currently HAVE your memories from HIS DARK MATERIALS and have a tendency to be ADVENTUROUS as well as VINDICTIVE.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Name: Asriel Belacqua Relatives: Marisa Coulter(Lover); Lyra Silvertongue (daughter) Occupation: Explorer Birthday: December 16th Age: 43 Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Moral Alignment: Chaotic Evil Memory Status: Intact Dæmon: Stelmaria a snow leopard
BACKGROUND
Lord Asriel was a highly respected member of the Brytish aristocracy. He was an explorer and did work in experimental theology, through which he acquired much power, land, and money. This all changed when he had an affair with Marisa Coulter which resulted in a child in 1985. Asriel hid the child in one of his own estates, trusting her to Ma Costa and Marisa pretended the baby had died. However, Marisa's husband, Edward Coulter, came after Asriel. He turned the cottage looking for the baby before starting towards the main estate. Just as he was about to open the closet where Ma Costa was hiding with Lyra, Asriel challenged Edward to a duel. Edward had a gun which he shot, missing, Asriel took it off him before turning it on Edward, shooting and killing him. However, as a consequence, Asriel was taken to court and subsequently lost most of his money and property and, along with it, his power for killing a man as, even in self-defense, Edward was revenging his wife. With these events, she was abandoned by her mother, and her father wasn't allowed to go within 50 miles of her so Lyra was eventually sent to a convent by the court, However, since Asriel despised the Holy Church, he would take Lyra to Jordan College with him instead in 1986. Malcolm Polstead, who worked at The Trout Inn, opposite the priory in which Lyra was being kept, took Lyra in his canoe to Lord Asriel who was in London during the floods. At Jordan, she was raised by Lord Asriel as his niece. Asriel, pretending to go and visit the King of Lapland, went on an expedition to the North in which he took photograms of Dust and of Cittàgazze, a city in another world, seen through the Aurora. It would be here where he would also meet the explorer known as Stanislaus Grumman. When he returned to his alma mater to present his findings to his fellow scholars at Jordan in the Retiring Room, Dr Carne, the Master of Jordan College, attempted to kill him by poisoning a bottle of Tokay when no one was around. Lyra, who ended up hiding in the wardrobe in the room to avoid getting caught while exploring, saved Asriel's life by warning him not to drink it. Asriel ordered Lyra to go back into the wardrobe, and presented his findings to the scholars, including showing them what they took as Stanislaus's skull. He asked the scholars for money and, after being shocked by his photograms of Dust and of the Aurora, they granted him the funds. More can be found here
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So, Malcolm... is in love with Lyra... but also is when she was 16 he was 26 and he was in love with her... hey yo Malcolm Polstead let's talk i promise i won't kill you (i will tho)
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Am I the only one who feels like The Secret Commonwealth ended really abruptly?
#the secret commonwealth#the book of dust#philip pullman#lyra silvertongue#lyra belacqua#malcolm polstead#pantalaimon#his dark materials#hdm
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Actually same,, you have a talent to put into words a lot of thoughts I personally have and Express it in a way I can never even though I sat on wording this previous ask for almost an hour. I guess my mind is just scrambled cause I talk about topics people don't want me to bring up so they hide most of the information.
Taking existence in already existing stories and tales, establishing yourself in it and twisting it to fit your vision.. It was roughly what i did for the majority of the time.
Omg the golden wish fish,, of the old fisherman and his cruel entitled wife.. you just gave me a vision into my childhood that I completely forgot about,, genuinely thank you I am going to shelf it for later pondering.
I was a kid who didn't have a lot of interests as a kid, aside of reading and Sitting in her own mind. I hated social interactions because I recognized I wasn't as them all, not to mention I couldn't really tell anyone about this unique imaginary friend of mine who would always be here for me and told me to keep him a secret.
So most of my adventures varied on existing tales like disney (that's how I came to know of alice's tale,, which became my 2th most favorite comfort because I found so many associations between her tale and my own life. I have a Google doc somewhere where I stated the exact associations and likenesses)
Or on some popular books I read as a kid, such as the secret garden (a place which existed in our innerworld for a time), a little princess, and little women. I always liked classical literature.
I also became a fan of multiple books that were our earliest alters after the original group, like nathan byrn from the half bad trilogy which was a very powerful protector and the somewhat physical manifestation of our nonverbality (still exist and appear even to this day), or malcolm polstead from the book of dust trilogy who was the first variation of our scouts, and lead with the curiosity only an 11 year old boy who ran from the law and discovered the world with his canoe can do (his traces disappeared, I can only assume he is fused but maybe Luna know more than I do about it).
Yes we had a group I personally call "the original group" (you could view it on SP). They were the first to become. The first Introjects. The first alters. After me and E. At least. They came from the media that became my ultimate #1 favorite comfort media which I derived my name from.
But the reason I never associated them with the media was because their stories, their background, their history and adventure, became so different from it that I believed I just made my own universe of it.
Like yeah brain I get I was severely bullied and ostracized at school and home also wasn't perfect, but why would a group of severely traumatized kids sent to a distant world to save it from destruction Help me in any way?? They're all way more unstable than me if we go to the low blow of comparing trauma :/
. . . Ok now that I think about it a moment more I guess I get why, beyond the "you're autistic and it was your comfort media and special interest".
That's actually something that I take a lot of interest in personally, and a project of mine.
Which I can explain if you want
- Digi
I completely understand that, actually. At least through the lens of my own experiences. Many of my fictive headmates especially are arguably way more trauma of a much more severe caliber than I do, but I think that's why I latched onto them enough for them to become alters.
Definitely because Special Interest type reasons, but also because, you know... if someone's been through worse than me it means they already know how to handle what I've been through, right? That was the thinking as a kid, at least. If you've had to patch a shattered leg so many times then helping me with the cut on my arm will be nothing. And there was probably an aspect of "if we have a caretaker or a protector modeled after someone the host is more likely to want to listen to when it's important, they'll be more effective at their job.
That's my understanding of it, in simpler terms, but I would be really interested to hear how that works for you!
Also, thank you for the compliment! I actually take a lot of pride in my phrasing, even though it's not always consistent. Sometimes I could regale you with the most eloquent of tales regarding the happenstances of my livelihood, and other times words stupid I want not that because what is happening, right? )=<
In any case I'm glad I've been able to express some concepts for you that aren't always easy to understand or put into words. I hope that's helped!
-Lizzy
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i want the third book to be good but i know it wont be. theres no world where it could be. philip pullman is not actually going to write about malcolm grooming lyra and is instead writing this as a Romance and i feel sick to my stomach every time i remember. like it would already be really bad and disgusting if it was just "he was her teacher when she was ~16 and now shes 20 and hes in love with her But Also the book says he Used to be in love with her when she was 16 he just didnt act on it!!!!" BUT THEN THERES THE FACT THAT HE LITERALLY MET HER AS A BABY. LIKE. THERE IS AN ENTIRE BOOK ABOUT 11 YEAR OLD MALCOLM PROTECTING LYRA AS A NEWBORN BABY. THERE ARE 464 PAGES ABOUT IT. i hope malcolm polstead dies so badly in this book i hope they fucking kill him But They Wont. alice should shove him in front of a train But She Wont......... so instead we must kill philip pullmam
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thinking thoughts and will poulter would be a good Malcolm Polstead. He has The Vibes
#effie speaks#hdm fancast: malcolm polstead#i do wonder if i can make it work with his wdtae footage
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September 12,2024
September 12, 2024Book Review: Phillip Pullman’s Book of Dust Vol. 1 La Belle Savage By Traci Dowe/KenworthAmazon’s Review:Philip Pullman returns to the parallel world of His Dark Materials to expand on the story of Lyra, “one of fantasy’s most indelible heroines” (The New York Times Magazine).Don’t miss Volume II of The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth!Malcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta,…
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GOD Alice and Malcolm are adorable. Babies <33
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