#that's the dr. james barry book

[artemismatchalatte]

Bonus Books for the Pinterest reading challenge- more 2023 TBRs!

[mynamebringstyranny]

Does anyone know of a biography about Dr. James Barry that isn't transphobic? He clearly identified as a man, but many of the more popular books about him use she/her pronouns (one even refers to him as a woman in the title!) or try to insist that he was intersex (which is possible) while entirely refusing to acknowledge the possibility of him being a trans man. I just want to read about a talented and compassionate doctor without the author trying to invalidate his identity.

[variousqueerthings]

I think trans people should be less apologetic about how we trans historical people who’ve had dozens of books written about their gender outlawism as if it’s impossible to read in a transgender way, I think we should meet their mythologisation with our own

anyway, it’s not historically impossible for james barry to have gotten top surgery, I think dr james barry got top surgery

[alexpenname]

Y'all I just did this amazing Pride Tour one of the Edinburgh tourist traps is putting on and it was actually pretty good and anyway I just discovered that Dr. James Barry and I have something in common.

(Namely: he also came to this university and immediately transitioned to male while becoming a doctor, though his experience was, uh, clearly much more dire.)

Anyway now I'm looking for book recs: does anyone know of a biography that handles his gender identity respectfully? I'm not necessarily looking for "proof this person was trans" since I'm not a fan of that approach to historical figures, but an examination of facts under a modern queer lens would be amazing. Please, please nothing that portrays him as a girlboss.

Articles, adaptations, biographies-- anything. I'd really like to read more.

[oh2e]

Me: I should really finish reading this biography it’s been sat there for months

Me after reading less than four pages and ready to scream: I now remember why I haven’t finished the biography yet

[jealousofthetea]

OP is right to call out that book's shitty treatment of Barry's gender, and it's true that he was outed posthumously, against his will. I do want to note though (for people who dont know) that he was, literally, buried as a man. His death certificate recorded him as male, and his gravestone says 'Dr James Barry'

theres so few trans men in the past because theyre all fucking buried as women😐

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

Hey so like many of you, I saw that article about how people are going into college having read no classic books. And believe it or not, I've been pissed about this for years. Like the article revealed, a good chunk of American Schools don't require students to actually read books, rather they just give them an excerpt and tell them how to feel about it. Which is bullshit.

So like. As a positivity post, let's use this time to recommend actually good classic books that you've actually enjoyed reading! I know that Dracula Daily and Epic the Musical have wonderfully tricked y'all into reading Dracula and The Odyssey, and I've seen a resurgence of Picture of Dorian Gray readership out of spite for N-tflix, so let's keep the ball rolling!

My absolute favorite books of all time are The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Classic psychological horror books about unhinged women.

I adore The Bad Seed by William March. It's widely considered to be the first "creepy child" book in American literature, so reading it now you're like "wow that's kinda cliche- oh my god this is what started it. This was ground zero."

I remember the feelings of validation I got when people realized Dracula wasn't actually a love story. For further feelings of validation, please read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. There's a lot the more popular adaptations missed out on.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is an absolute gem of a book. It's a slow-build psychological study so it may not be for everyone, but damn do the plot twists hit. It's a really good book to go into blind, but I will say that its handling of abuse victims is actually insanely good for the time period it was written in.

Moving on from horror, you know people who say "I loved this book so much I couldn't put it down"? That was me as a kid reading A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Picked it up while bored at the library and was glued to it until I finished it.

Peter Pan and Wendy by JM Barrie was also a childhood favorite of mine. Next time someone bitches about Woke Casting, tell them that the original 1911 Peter Pan novel had canon nonbinary fairies.

Watership Down by Richard Adams is my sister Cori's favorite book period. If you were a Warrior Cats, Guardians of Ga'Hoole or Wings of Fire kid, you owe a metric fuckton to Watership Down and its "little animals on a big adventure" setup.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was a play and not a book first, but damn if it isn't a good fucking read. It was also named after a Langston Hughes poem, who's also an absolutely incredible author.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a book I absolutely adore and will defend until the day I die. It's so friggin good, y'all, I love it more than anything. You like people breaking out of fascist brainwashing? You like reading and value knowledge? You wanna see a guy basically predict the future of television back in 1953? Read Fahrenheit.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are considered required reading for a reason: they're both really good books about young white children unlearning the racial biases of their time. Huck Finn specifically has the main character being told that he will go to hell if he frees a slave, and deciding eternal damnation would be worth it.

As a sidenote, another Mark Twain book I was obsessed with as a kid was A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Exactly what it says on the tin, incredibly insane read.

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin is a heartbreaking but powerful book and a look at the racism of the time while still centering the love the two black protagonists feel for each other. Giovanni's Room by the same author is one that focuses on a MLM man struggling with his sexuality, and it's really important to see from the perspective of a queer man living in the 50s– as well as Baldwin's autobiographical novel, Go Tell it on the Mountain.

Agatha Christie mysteries are all still absolutely iconic, but Murder on the Orient Express is such a good read whether or not you know the end twist.

Maybe-controversial-maybe-not take: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is a good book if you have reading comprehension. No, you're not supposed to like the main character. He pretty much spells that out for you at the end ffs.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was another favorite of mine; it was written as an obvious metaphor for the rise of fascism in Russia at the time and boy does it hit even now.

And finally, please read Shakespeare plays. As soon as you get used to their way of talking, they're not as hard to understand as people will lead you to believe. My absolute favorite is Twelfth Night- crossdressing, bisexual love triangles, yellow stockings... it's all a joy.

and those are just the ones i thought of off the top of my head! What're your guys' favorite classic books? Let's make everyone a reading list!

[autistpride]

These books are written "geared towards" adults and older teens. I personally would let my teen read all of these, so I'm not gatekeeping literature, but use your own judgement on what you think is acceptable for your own kid to read.

Nonfictional Books for adults:

All the weight of our dreams by Lydia XZ Brown

Stim: an autistic anthology edited by Lizzie Huxley-Jones

Connecting with Autism by Casey Corner

Sincerely your Autistic child by AWNN

Uniquely human by Barry m prizant

Engaging autism by Stanley Greenspan

Raising human beings by Ross Greene

Beyond behaviours by Mona delahooke

The whole brain child by Dan Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson

Autism and gender by Jordynn Jack

It's your weirdness that makes you wonderful Kate Allan

Women and girls with autism spectrum disorder Sarah Hendrick

Worlds of Autism by Joyce davidson

Authoring autism by melanie yergeau

Nerdy Shy and Socially Inappropriate Cynthia Kim

Autistic disturbances by julie rodas

War on Autism by Annie McGuire

Rethinking autism diagnosis by kathenne Cole, Rebecca mallet, and sammy

Leaders all around me by Edlyn Vallejo Peña, PhD

Ido in autismland by Ido Kedar

Typed words loud voices by Amy Sequenzia & Elizabeth J. Grace

It's an autism thing by Emma Dalmayne

What Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew by Autism Women’s Network

Women on the Spectrum: A Handbook for Life by Emma Goodall and Yenn Purkis

Unmasking autism by Devon Price

Neurotribes by Steve Silberman

Love, Partnership or Singleton on the Autism Spectrum & Bittersweet on the Autism Spectrum, both edited by Luke Beardon and Dean Worton

Autism, Anxiety and Me: A Diary in Even Numbers by Emma Louise Bridge & Penelope Bridge

Autism: A New Introduction to Psychological Theory and Current Debate by Sue Fletcher-Watson and Francesca Happé

A Practical Guide to Happiness in Adults on the Autism Spectrum: A Positive Psychology Approach by Victoria Honeybourne

Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism by Eva A. Mendes and Meredith R. Maroney

The Guide to Good Mental Health on the Autism Spectrum by Jeanette Purkis, Dr. Emma Goodall and Dr. Jane Nugent

Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent's Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After by Chloe Hayden

Memoirs:

Odd Girl Out by Laura James

Uncomfortable Labels by Laura Kate Dale

Drama Queen by Sara Gibbs

The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

Fall down Seven Times Get Up Eight by Naoki Higashida

The Reason I Jump by Naomi Hashida

The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

Wintering by Katherine May

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

Explaining Humans by Dr. Camilla Pang

Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by Chris Packham

Adult Fiction:

Adult Virgins Anonymous by Amber Crewe

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

[jealousofthetea]

I would highly recommend the podcast Queer as Fact’s two-part episode on Dr Barry (part 1; part 2). It doesn’t require any pre-existing knowledge, because they give a good, fairly concise summary of his life. For this they rely almost entirely on du Preez and Dronfield’s biography of Barry BUT they are critical of various aspects of that book, including how it approaches (or fails to approach) the trans stuff.

(I love Queer as Fact, and trust them to have good discussions on historical trans stuff)

hi there. just wondering, have you read/do you rec any books about james barry?

james barry’s transgender identity has really only started to gain acceptance within the last decade or so, meaning that the majority of writings (and all biography books, to my knowledge) are either unintentionally or blatantly transphobic. i haven’t read any books yet because of that reason, but i can give you a few recs for articles and such

this article from gender variance, a site specifically dedicated to trans history, presents a trans affirming biography, and its works cited section contains the more notable books on barry if you don’t mind dealing with the misgendering in them

this article from the wild geese wavers back and forth on its gendering of barry, but it provides a pretty solid summary of his life

this article from the guardian that was written earlier this year talks about barry (finally) being commemorated as a trans man by england’s national historical registry

here’s their entry on the monument to him

and if you like podcasts, sawbones, in which a doctor and her husband explore wild and/or unique moments in medical history, has a whole positive episode about him

while i’m here, they also have an episode about the abbreviated history of gender affirming surgeries for trans women

i adore sawbones so much

[actualmermaid]

Today's queer saint of the day (originally posted to my ~spicy Christian memepage~) is Dr. James Barry: British Empire army surgeon, public health advocate, transgender man, and physical embodiment of "queer as in fuck you."

Dr. Barry's biography is available elsewhere, so I won't go into it too deeply here. If you want an entertaining look into his life and work, I recommend the Sawbones podcast episode #178. Instead, I'm going to use this post to situate Dr. Barry's life into the broad sweep of the Anglican tradition.

I've posted before about how the Anglican Church of the early 19th century was an insular and socially ineffective arm of the British aristocracy. Nevertheless, its rites and philosophies were an important part of public life, regardless of how individuals felt about God or the Church--especially for agents of the British Crown, which Dr. Barry was. Outright "atheism" was still rare.

In my research I was not able to find much about his personal religiosity, but Dr. Barry would have been familiar with the scriptures and the Book of Common Prayer. Besides this, he embodied the ideals of Enlightenment humanism, which remain inextricably intertwined with Anglicanism both in the past and continuing into the present.

Dr. Barry was ethnically Irish, and his family experienced anti-Irish and anti-Catholic discrimination. It was thanks to liberal-minded family friends that James was first able to become James, enter medical school, and become a commissioned officer in the British Army. Wherever he was posted, public health improved, because Dr. Barry was a tireless advocate for women, the poor, and enslaved people.

Dr. Barry was constantly getting into fights, and sometimes literal pistol duels, with people who challenged him. (This is a common theme in biographies of historical trans men.) He even got into a fight with Florence Nightingale, who is officially recognized as an Anglican saint for doing a lot of the same work that Dr. Barry did. Dr. Barry is also famous for being the first Westerner to perform a C-section in which the mother and child both survived. This was a procedure that had been successfully practiced in Africa for hundreds of years before colonization, and since Dr. Barry's procedure was performed in colonial South Africa, I don't think it's unlikely that he learned from African traditional medical practitioners as well as Western academic medicine. Coming from a colonized background himself, it may have been easier for him to respect colonized African people than it was for other British imperialists. He embodies what Anglicanism can be at its best: tolerant, curious, courageous, innovative, and orthopraxic. Even during the brutal height of the British Empire, these ideals shone through the darkness, and can be an example for us today.

Dr. Barry's story is also important in an age of resurgent British fascism, particularly the anti-trans sentiment that has earned it the nickname of "TERF Island." He was a trans man, not a "woman who disguised herself as a man in order to become a doctor." He lived as a man, wanted to die as a man, and is remembered as a man on his gravestone. To erase that reality is to erase trans people from the past, present, and future--which is exactly what fascists want. We must not allow that to happen.

[artemismatchalatte]

Hi! Just so you know it’s highly unlikely that photo you included in your book post on December 5th was Dr James Barry. According to Jeremy Dronfield and my own research, it’s of an Englishman called Joseph Barry who lived in the Cape around the same time as James. If you’re interested I’ve got a post discussing it linked in my pinned post. That aside, I hope you enjoyed/are enjoying the books you got! Female Husbands has been on my to read list for a while and I’d never heard of the Colonel so I’m interested to learn more about him

Oh, thanks for that! I think I saw other people citing that picture as Dr. Barry so I pulled from my memory to add to that post. I guess I'll add an amendment to the post since I can't unpost it?

Female Husbands was really good for information and to learn about hidden LGBT history but many of the stories were sad. I read it earlier this year and was very moved by the accounts in the book. Also Dr. James Barry is one of the people that Dr. Manion put in her study. He's briefly mentioned because he fell into her definition of female husband. The American Revolutionary War Hero Deborah Sampson too, notably, is also included. Their names were the only ones I recognized from somewhere else. The study includes female husbands from Ireland, The UK and The USA from the late 1700s until about WWI-ish. It was one of the best books I read this year honestly.

While I haven't read The Colonel's story yet- he's English, served in WWI and had a wife and a son. That's all I remember from the blurb. I hope to get to that book in 2023.

Good luck with your reading goals and research as well! :)

[kwebtv]

James Barrie Sikking (March 5, 1934 – July 13, 2024) Film and television actor, best known for his roles as Lt. Howard Hunter on the 1980s television series Hill Street Blues and Dr. David Howser on Doogie Howser, M.D.

From 1971–76, Sikking played Jim Hobart, an alcoholic surgeon, on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. He portrayed Geoffrey St. James on the NBC comedy series Turnabout and voiced General Gordon in Invasion America. He was sometimes credited as "James Sikking" or "Jim Sikking" in some of his earlier roles on film and television.

On the 1997 drama series Brooklyn South he portrayed Captain Stan Jonas, for which he won a People's Choice Award in 1998

Sikking starred in the 1992 television movie Doing Time on Maple Drive. He made guest appearances on many television series, including Perry Mason, Rawhide, The Fugitive, Bonanza, The Outer Limits, General Hospital, The Incredible Hulk, Here Come the Brides, Mannix, The Rockford Files, The Bob Newhart Show, Hogan's Heroes, M*A*S*H, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, Hunter, and Batman Beyond. (Wikipedia)

IMDb Listing

[ofliterarynature]

MAY 2024 WRAP UP

[loved liked ok nope dnf (reread) bookclub*]

(100 Cupboards) • The Brides of High Hill • Factfulness • Derring-Do for Beginners • Feed Them Silence* • The Murder of Mr. Ma • The Well of Loneliness • A Dreadful Splendor • Drowned Country • Arabella the Traitor of Mars • Silver in the Wood • The Warm Hands of Ghosts • Arabella and the Battle of Venus • Endpapers • Song of Blood & Stone

Arabella and the Battle of Venus/the Traitor of Mars (4.5/4 stars) - a great wrap up to the series! Since learning these are *not* actually YA, I do wish they had a bit more depth and complexity, but they moved quickly and were very fun to read. Traitor was perhaps not my favorite of the lot, but like, it's got space battles, it's got relationship drama, it was still fun. Also featuring a small reoccurring cameo by Dr James Barry!

The Warm Hands of Ghosts (5 stars) - I was very impressed by Arden's ability to write with her Winternight trilogy, even if I wouldn't call it a favorite. I was blown away by this! Is it because it plays to some of my interests? Yes, probably. I've been growing more interested in the turn of the century and WW1, and the way she incorporated the supernatural elements was just what I love, not to mention a well-earned, bittersweet ending. I might have to pick up a copy for myself.

Silver in the Wood (4.5 stars) - I liked it! I might have liked it more if it were longer, but definitely a good read. I think Drowned Country (4.5 stars) was also good in its own right, but not quite satisfying as a sequel. If this turned into a supernatural casebook-type series I'd have been delighted.

A Dreadful Splendor (4 stars) - on one hand, I would call this an excellent gothic novel on the grounds that it didn't irritate me and I enjoyed reading it. On the other, I do keep forgetting that I read it. Make of that what you will, but I'd recommend it if it sounds interesting to you!

The Well of Loneliness (4 stars) - I'll be honest, this only gets 4 stars on the strength of the fact that I did like the first part of it. Young Steven, who's odd and strange and confused about herself; a mother who's upset but oblivious to why; a father who understands exactly what's going on but is too afraid to tell his daughter. It was so compelling (and pushed me to tears, it's true). But the latter half...I just didn't understand adult Steven, I'll be honest, I found her very unlikable and I think I missed the point?

The Murder of Mr. Ma (4 stars) - a Sherlock-and-Watson-esq duo in the Chinese immigrant community of 1920's London, with a good helping of martial arts fighting to go along with it. This felt like a perfectly serviceable mystery that I had no problem reading, but I can't say if I found it particularly compelling. I'm not sure I'd be interested in reading further if this becomes a series.

Feed Them Silence (5 stars) - what a punch from such a small book! Even before I finished it (in tears I might add), I was so impressed, this was such a smart and clever book. And the main character, despite clearly being a mess and not the greatest person, was nonetheless incredibly sympathetic and compelling. Fully recommend, I might have to get myself a copy (and with definitely be checking out the author's other work).

Derring-Do for Beginners (5 stars) - wonderful! I'm mad at the brain weasels not cooperating so that it took me over a year to finally read this - any Victoria book is a lovely book (now I just need to tackle Bone Harp). I don't want to repeat the entire write-up I already posted, but wonderful, sweet, major Circle of Magic/Sandry's Book vibes. A good place for people new to Victoria's work to start.

Factfulness (4 stars) - this was regularly recommended by a podcast that, admittedly, I no longer listen to. But I'd already picked up a free copy, and not enjoying the podcast doesn't mean it's not an important book. First point, you should read this in print, it's chock-full of graphs and charts that will add to the experience. Second, there will be a poll/quiz near the beginning and you should take it and record your answers. I listened to this on audiobook and did neither of these things lmao, and it could have been a better experience. Overall, this seems like it could be a very important book for some people, but I'm not sure I'm the target audience - maybe I'm being overconfident, but I'm a generalist! I like patterns! I'm clinging on to the good in the world for dear life to stay sane! I don't think I found the info the authors shared quite as shocking as they seemed to think I should.

The Brides of High Hill (5 stars) - delightful as always! I really want to go back and reread the earlier Singing Hills books before the next one comes out. Maybe even buy my own copies :D

100 Cupboards (4 stars) - reread this for the first time since middle school! A little dated, but it hasn't aged too poorly! It was also so very rural mid/western america, it was amusing. I did find it a little bland, but it's probably fine for kids - I'll have to see how the rest of the series goes, because I absolutely don't remember.

DNF

Endpapers - this *sounds* cool (and has a fantastic cover), so I was thrilled when QLL added it on audio! Unfortunately I picked it up right after The Well of Loneliness and wasn't ready or willing to deal with another sad angsty queer book so soon.

Song of Blood and Stone - Honestly it seemed fine, just a bit more YA and focused on the romance than I was really interested in. Looking at the 3 further books in the series filled me with enough dread that I decided to not waste my time picking this one back up.

[quill-of-thoth]

Letters from Watson, catching up

Study In Scarlet part 1: 1880 I’ve been neglecting my correspondence (emails) and decided to start my Holmes reread today, with some good old fashioned deductive speculation and some context, in case anyone else is also reading along a month late. Please bear with me as I neglect to commit to either a Watsonian (these are real people who we can learn biographical data about) or a Doylist (remember this is just a book and we should just relax) point of view. If your mental image of Holmes and Watson are either Robert Downey Junior and Jude law, or Jeremy Brett and David Burke, you will probably be surprised at how young these two probably are.

Preliminary evidence: Our Friends’ ages

- Watson was wounded at the battle of Maiwand, fought July 27 1880, ill for months, plural, and the journey back to england took a month. At the very earliest he started looking for lodgings in November 1880 - He would have been at medical school for at least two, probably three years before finishing in 1878. It is unlikely, though not impossible, that he would have started his course of study significantly before reaching his twenties. For historical comparison, Dr. James Barry, also an army surgeon with a degree from a British medical school, started his course of study at the age of approximately twenty, and became an army surgeon at about 23. (Although Dr. Barry died in 1865 it’s unlikely that there would be a huge difference in how long their courses of study took.) People seem to have gone directly to medical school instead of doing other university courses first.  - While he could be older, could be slightly younger. Watson is probably around twenty five. - Holmes is still taking university courses, erratically, and although we don’t get any timeline of his studies, he’s probably not older than Stamford, who was a surgeon’s assistant when Watson worked with him at St. Bartholemew’s Hospital, and presumably still works there given how much he knows about Holmes’ use of the chemical labs. “Young” Stamford is likely a few years younger than Watson.  - Like Watson Holmes probably started his studies in his very late teens or early twenties. The age of getting a degree could and did vary during the 1800s from our current conception of who’s the right age to be in college (with people somewhat more likely to be sent off to secondary education slightly younger than seventeen or eighteen than they are now, and also plenty of instances of people starting college later than we usually expect from someone who is headed directly there after their childhood studies and before their first adult career) but the important thing here is that Holmes appears to be in charge of his own finances, and the age of majority for Victorian men was 21.  - Holmes has pretty much got to be somewhere between 20 and 25. My money is on him being 22-23 (because he does already have a reputation, as we shall see, he has completed at least a year of study during the time he was friends with Victor Trevor, and because he appears to complete, or give up, his coursework between the end of Study in Scarlet and any other case Watson witnesses) and on Watson being 24-26. - For context, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote this story at age 27 in 1886. It’s not unreasonable to assume that, despite timeline weirdness (He was born in 1859, as Holmes might have been, but he will obviously always set his writing in the past), Holmes and Watson are going to age more or less with him.  - I have only vague memories of the Baring-Gould chronology for this series but I think it agrees with me in that regard. Baring-Gould thinks Holmes is about two or three years older than I think Holmes is, though. 

Conclusion: My sympathies to Mrs. Hudson, these boys are going to be the death of a decent amount of your furniture. 

[littleoddwriter]

Rules, Guidelines, etc.:

[Used to be: ronaldrx]

I'm a hobby writer and mostly write (x Reader) FanFictions and Headcanons. But I am also working on my original story whenever I can, so that I’ll hopefully publish it as an actual book someday. My Ao3.

Here’s a link to my Ko-Fi, in case you want to support me financially. It would mean a lot to me! (Obviously no obligation whatsoever! You never have to pay for anything on my blog, it’s merely an option for donations.)

Also, here are my sideblogs if you’re interested:

Dead Poets Society

Horror

Raúl Esparza

The Simpsons

Only ask for the characters I’ve got listed, please. I’ve written down all of the ones I actually write for, and the list is being updated regularly, as I often find new (actors, whose) characters I write for! (And yes, I always write for every character, so don’t ever worry if you wanna ask for one I haven’t written for in a long time, or ever, it’s fine!) Please always be patient with me. If I haven’t outright declined your request, it’s definitely in the works; even if it has been weeks or months since you’ve sent it in! And only send your requests via ASKs. No DMs or comments, please.

If you have a request, send an Ask to my inbox.

NO sexual NSFW requests, please (more details further down).

Requests = CLOSED (Max. Limit: 10)

Current number of requests: 10

Last updated: October 29, 2023

Masterlists are linked with fandoms/actors/characters below. I WRITE FOR:

ALFRED MOLINA characters:

Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus

DAVID DASTMALCHIAN characters:

Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man

Bob Taylor

Denham

James Lewis

Johnson

Kurt Goreshter

Lonny Crane

Murdoc

Philippe/Abra Kadabra

Simon Lynch

Thomas Schiff

ETHAN HAWKE characters:

Arthur Harrow

Ellison Oswalt

Goodnight Robicheaux

James Sandin

EWAN MCGREGOR characters:

Alex Law

Catcher Block

Christopher Robin

Curt Wild

Dan Torrance

John Bishop

Mark Renton

Obi-Wan Kenobi 

Roman Sionis/Black Mask* (Birds of Prey - Masc!Reader only) [Any other version of Roman Sionis/Black Mask can be with a Gender Neutral/Female!Reader.]

HUGH DANCY characters:

Adam Raki

Cal Roberts

Luke Brandon

Executive ADA Nolan Price

Will Graham

KARL URBAN characters:

Billy Butcher

Black Hat

John Kennex

Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Markiplier EGOS:

Darkiplier

Illinois

Wilford Warfstache

Yancy

PAUL DANO characters:

Alex Jones/Barry Milland [Platonic only!]

Dwayne Hoover [Platonic only!]

Edward Nashton/The Riddler

Eli Sunday

Jay (Okja)

Joby Taylor

Klitz

PEDRO PASCAL characters:

Agent Whiskey

Dave York

Dio Morrissey

Eddie

Ezra

Francisco “Catfish” Morales

Marcus Moreno

Marcus Pike

Max Phillips

Maxwell Lord

Oberyn Martell

Ricky Hauk

RAÚL ESPARZA characters:

Bobby

Dr. Frederick Chilton*

Jackson Neill

Jonas Nightingale

Rafael Barba

Characters from 9-1-1 (Lone Star):

Carlos Reyes*

Eddie Diaz

Evan “Buck” Buckley

Howard “Chimney” Han

Josh Russo*

Mateo Chavez

Paul Strickland

Bobby Nash

Tim Rosewater

TK Strand*

Characters from Law and Order(: Special Victims Unit):

Detective/ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, Jr.

Sergeant Mike Dodds

Detective Nick Amaro

Executive ADA Nolan Price

ADA Peter Stone

ADA Rafael Barba

Deputy Chief William Dodds

Little Miss Sunshine:

Dwayne Hoover [Platonic only!]

Frank*

Our Flag Means Death:

Edward Teach/Blackbeard*

Frenchie

Izzy Hands

Stede Bonnet*

Prisoners (2013):

Alex Jones/Barry Milland [Platonic only!]

Bob Taylor

Detective David Loki

Renfield (2023):

Count Dracula

Robert Montague Renfield

Tedward “Teddy” Lobo

SLASHERS/Horror Film Characters:

Asa Emory/The Collector

Ash J. Williams [I will usually default to Ash from the TV show, unless requested otherwise!]

Billy Lenz (1974)

Billy Loomis

Bo Sinclair

Brahms Heelshire

Bubba Sawyer/Leatherface (TCM 1974 and TCM 2)

Charles Lee Ray/Chucky

Chop Top Sawyer

Corey Cunningham

Dewey Riley

Drayton Sawyer

Herbert West*

Jesse Cromeans/Chromeskull

Lawrence Gordon

Lester Sinclair

Luigi Largo

Mark Hoffman  

Nubbins Sawyer

Pavi Largo

Stu Macher  

Vincent Sinclair

William Easton

Star Wars:

Anakin Skywalker

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Qui-Gon Jinn

The Girl Next Door:

Klitz

Eli

Characters from The Simpsons:

Cecil Terwilliger*

Fat Tony

Frankie the Squealer

Grady*

Jack Lassen

Johnny Tightlips

Julio*

Legs

Louie

Moe Szyslak

Ned Flanders

Otto Mann

Seymour Skinner

Sideshow Bob

Sideshow Mel

Snake Jailbird

Timothy Lovejoy

Waylon Smithers*

What We Do in the Shadows:

Anton (Movie)

Deacon

Guillermo de la Cruz*

Laszlo Cravensworth

Nandor the Relentless

Viago

Vladislav

* Please note that an asterisk (*) means that these characters are Male/Masc/GenderNeutral!Reader only (including non-binary, of course). Platonic relationships with Female!Reader are possible, but no romantic ones.

If it’s a character that is open to all Readers, and you do not specify in your request what you want, I’ll usually opt for a Gender Neutral Reader by default.

SHIPS, such as:

BlackBonnet (OFMD)

SteddyHands (OFMD)

Black Pete x Lucius Spriggs (OFMD)

Buck x Josh Russo (9-1-1)

Dracfield (Renfield 2023)

Buddie (9-1-1)

Eli x Klitz (The Girl Next Door)

Nandermo (WWDITS)

Herbert West x Dan Cain (Re-Animator)

McKirk (Star Trek: AOS)

Oluwande x Jim Jimenez (OFMD)

Barisi (Law & Order SVU) 

Renfield x Teddy Lobo (Renfield 2023)

Sickrent (Trainspotting/T2)

Stobotnik (Sonic Movie)

Tarlos (9-1-1: Lone Star)

AnderPerry (Dead Poets Society)

ZsaszMask (Birds of Prey)

Lastly, I would like to add things I will NOT write (about):

Sexual NSFW fics/headcanons (I used to write those as you can see in my Masterlists, but I have my reasons for not writing them anymore. Any hints at sexual topics are fine).

Anything related to death as the main subject (this includes deadly diseases, anything fatal, really, etc.).

Anything that romanticizes Mental Illness (my Vent Fics about my own disorders obviously do not romanticize any of it and I do not stand for that).

(Recreational) Drug Use

Extreme Possessive Behaviour and/or Jealousy

Yandere

If you have something you would like me to write for, but you do not see it listed anywhere, please ask me before requesting it, so we can talk about it. I hope you enjoy yourself on my blog and have a good time!

My Asks and DMs are always open for any questions or simply to talk!

- Jesse

[variousqueerthings]

also, to be that guy who's obsessed with the mythologisation of dr james barry for a second (it's been awhile on this blog I feel), I was interested in how casanova the tv show felt like a deliberate play with myth through the framing and the anachronisms and the lighting and the blocking and and and -- and how casanova himself is a heavily mythologised person, to the point that my partner asked me if he was real before we started

I feel like there's a similarity in ideas in dr james barry and casanova -- they were both adored and reviled, talked up and talked down depending on the agendas of whoever was spreading their tale, both with larger-than-life personas and adventures that seemed to teeter out in the later years as the traits that served them in youth (brashness, stubbornness, laissez-faire attitude around money, very specific ideas around how to live that didn't mesh with the laws and morals of society around them, a genius that in youth is considered prodigy-like... etcetc) (the details, of course, are different) became something that others were embarrassed about/didn't respond to as they aged and lost their connections

(also this is tv-show, so I don't know until I read the diaries, but they both seemingly had a manservant with whom they were very close/came with them on their various journeys)

casanova has the distinction of having a set of diaries that allow one to peruse primary material at ones leisure, so despite being someone whom one might only know from a particular re-telling or history book or even just as an idea, there is some power in being the main teller of his own story

which dr james barry of course doesn't really have. I feel like I read somewhere that he had more private letters that were lost at sea (which whenever I have that memory of having read that, I squint and wonder if I'm not participating in the mythologisation myself), but certainly the majority of what we think we know about him is either from others' opinions of him or just plain wrong/written after his death

in my head though, I think out of the many many biography-type movies and tv shows I've seen, the casanova show might be the closest to something I'd imagine for barry -- not for the same story, of course (the years of their lives also barely overlapped, but my special interest brain did note that early napoleonic and post-napoleonic era), but for the presentation. the idea of indulging in the fantasy, of the playing with anachronism, of an interaction with present (our present) and past. and mostly of fun

I think in a lot of the narratives around barry, it's often hard for me to see someone I think would live the life that he lived -- who had fun, who made deliberate, conscious choices that he enjoyed making, who was very passionate about his ideals and medicine and who -- like casanova -- was very much his own man. they're so often so preoccupied with ideas of deception and being found out and imagined projected cisgender anxieties. they often lack fun, and when they do insert their modern lens (in whatever time whatever thing about him was created), it's not to bridge the gap between us and him, to imagine who he'd potentially be if he lived now, it's to inject their personal ideas about what is morally correct to them onto a symbol

and yeah, at this point dr barry is more figure than man, as happens generally to historical people, especially those we remember for Highly Specific Things (like casanova, like barry), and I think it'd be interesting to really engage with that, to go deep into the world barry lived in, and to make him a figure who was cognizant of that world and the structures he was defying, who felt good about the choices he made

there's a certain idk... thematic overlap between the two figures. and that was something I really really enjoyed while watching this