#you look him up and both his parents have wikipedia pages

[difeisheng]

the unfortunate reality of being a fang duobing stan is that i know i would find him cute but otherwise incurably and utterly insufferable at best if i saw him on campus irl. modern fang duobing was driving at the very least a bmw on his learners' license. he has a designer sneaker collection with a special shelf for it in his walk-in closet. he's the mf dropping $1200 or more on a single item of clothing as an impulse buy. his family owns a house in at least 5 major cities and he's never known anything less than business class to travel to any one of them. i love him i really do but i'm glad i'll never need to meet him in this universe

[morganbritton132]

I absolutely love every time other people find something out about Steve and are just like ???

I wonder if any of his student’s parents are fans of Eddie’s but have no idea their kid’s teacher is married to him (perhaps finding out at career day 👀)

I love the thought of some rock n roll dad (aka: the guy in the minivan blaring Rage Against the Machine during morning drop off (aka: aka: my dad)) meeting his kid’s teacher during open house and seeing a picture on his desk of him and guitar legend, Eddie Munson.

Steve’s in the middle of explaining the curriculum for the year when Rock N Roll Dad points to a picture of him and Eddie backstage at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame last year when Eddie presented like, “You like that guy?”

Steve looks from Rock N Roll Dad to the picture and then back, “Yeah, you could say that.”

Then he goes back to talking about what they should expect in terms of homework and that was that until parent/teacher conferences.

The first thing Rock N Roll Dad clocks in the new picture on Steve’s desk. It replaced the Eddie Munson one with a new one of the two of them in the parking lot after a local show. Steve’s got his arm thrown around Eddie’s neck, both of them smiling wide, and Gareth is in the background giving them bunny ears.

Rock N Roll Dad points to the framed picture like, “Pretty cool to have met ‘em.”  

“Yeah,” Steve nods. “It’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

Rock N Roll Dad is not gay himself but he is not one of those ultra straight Corroded Coffin fans that liked to pretend that half the band isn’t queer. He was actually watching the MTV Music Awards show that Eddie publicly came out at by declaring his love for some guy named Steve, and actually.

Rock N Roll Dad thought it made a lot of sense that Eddie Munson was gay because well. A lot of his songs were… phallic.

So, he knows.

He knows that Eddie Munson is gay and that he’s married to some guy whose name isn’t even listed on his Wikipedia page, and he knows that he lives in Chicago, but what he doesn’t know is why he never put two and two together and got Steve Harrington.

There’s a different picture of Eddie Munson on Mr. Harrington’s desk when Rock N Roll Dad goes to talk to him after his kid gets detention for being a little shithead. There is framed original concept art for CC’s first album on the wall behind Steve when Rock N Roll Dad checks in on his kid during a zoom study session.

Hell, Rock N Roll Dad follows Eddie on Tiktok.

He has seen the ass shots that Eddie has posted of his husband in his running shorts, and he did think, yeah, that’s a great ass. He didn’t know he was thinking that about his kid’s math teacher!!

It’s not even Career Day when he discovers it. It’s the day before when they can set up their booths in the gym because Rock N Roll Dad may be a heavy metal fan always, but he’s also an accountant from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday thru Friday.

 He’s struggling to keep his poster board up when in walks guitar legend, Eddie Munson. He’s carrying a box, following behind a guy carrying an iguana.

Rock N Roll Dad abandons everything and walks over to the booth across the way. He can hear the two bickering with each other but before he can say anything, Steve Harrington is there and he is distressed, “Why do you have that?!”

“Her name is Leia, Steve,” Dustin says, “and she has separation anxiety.”

Steve opens his mouth like he wants to complain but doesn’t even know where to begin so he just accepts it, “Is she going to eat somebody?”

“That happened one time!”

Eddie Munson, infamous guitarist that lived on Rock N Roll Dad’s walls as a teenager, uses the opportunity to slide up next to Mr. Harrington and wrap an arm around him. He kisses his cheek, “Baby, we’re here to help.”

“You’re here to guilt me into letting you be a part of Career Day.”

“I can multitask, babe,” Eddie grinned, still so close to Steve that his smile touches his cheek. Steve just sags against him and Rock N Roll Dad thinks, oh. He thinks, oh, shit.

“You have a fan,” Steve mumbles, pulling away a little. It takes Rock N Roll Dad a second to realize that they’re talking about him and then he thinks, fuck.

“Hey – Hi. Uh.” He stops, thinks about lying and saying he needs tape or something, but settles on, “I didn’t know my kid’s teacher married you.”

“Technically, I married him.”

“Technically, I married both of you,” Dustin pointed out. “I officiated the wedding.”

“Ah,” Rock N Roll Dad says because what else is there to say. “Big fan.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

[campyvillain]

*sees youre alone in a corner in a party and comes up to you * hey man you hear that new johnathan mcjeepers album . youve never heard of johnathan mcjeepers ? ?? ? oh man its like feralcore eeee fuckinggg guitarwave shoefuck rabid girl villain music like evil arc unaliving people liminal space core bakcgrouums core aucostic indie tunes. the name of the album is Dropped My Poop Grapes and iits supposed to be ironic like the name is so funny because its ironic and subversive and its got this crazy cover where its a blurred out picture of the guys mugshot from when he got arrested for drunk driving in a school zone i really like the song My Blood Comes From The Heart where he does thsi thing where he sings mary had a little lamb but its mary killed a little lamb and its sooooo raw . man . its soo cool . what do you listen to You listen to rap ? uhhh ew that is not gentlebro flowercore of you . what the fuck manWait are you looking him up . ARE You looking Johnathan Mcjeepers u- oh god please dont go to his wikipedia page um . yeah i dont know why th efuck both of his parents names are highlighted in blue  .  . leave me alone ok . fu ck um .i have to go now

[alterundying]

Sometimes you are going through an article and something so silly in it pops up that you question the validity of everything else in that article.

Such was my experience today. Oh yeah, this is a nerd fight but no hate to anyone involved, mistakes happen.

So What did I read? Someone actually said Zatanna Zatara is a rip-off of the Scarlet Witch.

Okay so let's start unpacking this, let's take a look at the article itself.

Okay, so this is a very aggressive start, DC and Marvel have a history of taking ideas from one another, including a whole team in Marvel that are basically a parody of the Justice League.

So I come in this article to number 12.

Special Note: I tried to find this article not on my phone, but it isn't easily found on the website's desktop page. So what does this say about Zatanna?

This is an interesting way of saying she makes things happen by saying them backwards, which seems a little misleading. At this point, one might give the benefit of the doubt and say the writer just isn't that familiar with the character.

The way this article is structured it's likely attempting to take Zatanna's base description and make her sound like the Scarlet Witch. So time to do some unpacking. Talking about Homo Magi sounds like they are comparing Zatanna being a Homo Magi to Wanda being a Mutant. These two were introduced in the 60s. According to the Superfriends Wiki the concept of Homo Magi was introduced to comics in the 80s.

So Zatanna being a Homo Magi can't be a rip-off of Wanda being a mutant. Now maybe the implication is that because Zatanna has the same powers as her father it's the same as Wanda having her powers from being a mutant and Magneto being her father. This is very odd since inheriting traits from someone's parents seems like a pretty broad concept and not one that could be considered a rip-off.

But I will admit I am unable to confirm Wanda is the originator of the trope of a child inheriting superpowers from a parent in comics.

Next, we have the implied claim that being able to use mystical powers is what Zatanna is taking from Wanda, but this is an odd claim since when Wanda first showed up in comics her powers weren't magic-based, they were probability manipulation. Mutant powers, not magic.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about when Wanda's powers became magic.

So Wanda's Powers likely became magical in the 70s, remember these two debuted in the 60s.

But the Article does keep going on about these two, so what does it say?

Okay, so, the claims. Hypnotic Beauty? What Comic Book woman in the 60s wasn't beautiful? Ma Hunkel existed in the 30s so I am not going to discount it, Maybe it's something about their costumes or character designs being similar? Of course, the claim is that Zatanna is a Rip-off of Wanda so we need to look at what they looked at in their orinal costumes.

So Scarlet Witch has a head piece, and Zatanna has a tophat. Scarlet Witch has a cape, Zatanna does not. Wanda has opera gloves, Zatanna has bare hands. Scarlet Witch is wearing a full-body leopard in pink, while Zatanna has fishnets. These two costumes have more differences but just look at these two designs. MAYBE you can point out they both have black curly hair, but most pictures I see of Wanda's first appearance have her with brown-red hair, NOT black.

So the next claim is them having a Dramatic Flair. Now I think there is a much more logical reason for Zatanna having a Dramatic flair.

Zatanna is a stage magician, a literal performer.

Her not having a Dramatic Flair would be extremely odd. But where did Zatanna's inspiration come from?

Her father Giovanni Zatara who is a Golden Age character. His first appearance was in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), which means he predates the Scarlet Witch by 26 years.

She has the same powers as him, she is a stage performer like him. Her look mimics his, but with a feminine flair a stage performer would have.

Maybe I am too much of a comics nerd, but I believe calling Zatanna a Scarlet Witch rip-off really undermines Zatanna's impact as a legacy hero who has surpassed her father in the public consciousness.

And the conversation about comic companies wanting to get their own versions of various titles is really interesting so it's sad to see it handled this poorly.

There is speculation the original Doom Patrol was created because DC Comics wanted their own Fantastic Four, and rumours are that the X-Men were created because of leaked information about what Doom Patrol would be.

From what I understand, The Fantastic Four was originally based on horror Comics and concepts, making them a body horror comic.

The Fantastic Four is one of the first comics to tackle superpowers as disabilities, with Doom Patrol picking up the concept and making it more blatant. The X-men then took this concept making it about marginalization and disability.

Anyways this massive rant is over I hope you enjoyed this nerd fight.

[tarotoftheendless]

Waiting For Forever, Research, Review, Character Analysis... + FanFic Talk

In the past 6+ months I have probably seen the 2010/2011 indie "romance" drama film Waiting for Forever at least 20+ times. To say I am obsessed with Tom Sturridge is an understatement, but this film, mainly the character of Will Donner/Willie Pajamas, has completely won my heart.

Disclaimer: I have ADHD and I suck at planning out what I write, so, this may be all over the place, so I will try to stick to the points as much as possible. No promises though, lolz.

This film is a lot of things, but good is not exactly one of them. There are many reviews of this film from over the years that yes, cover how clunky this film is. And I might bring up some of the same points but I think it's deeper that everyone first thought it was.

Firstly, this film was written by a man named Steve Adams. Yes, a man wrote the story, which explains why Will's character is the only fleshed out character in the film, even though they tried to go back and forth between Will's POV and then Emma's POV. But if the past reviewers had done their research on the writer, maybe it would make more sense why that is the case.

As you can see, Steve's early life surprisingly mirrors Willie's own early life. Waiting for Forever is almost auto-biographical. That both explains why Willie's character is the most fleshed out and why the script stayed fairly the same without many rewrites, as both Sturridge and Bilson have stated in interviews for this film. Willie is Steve and Steve is Willie.

One of the biggest complaints of this film is the casual acceptance of stalking... though the film both calls it out and then rewards it, seemingly. Though I have many thoughts on the ending, how both Sturridge and Bilson talk about the ending doesn't make me think it is rewarded completely, just open-ended. I don't think Emma chose Willie in the end purely based on what Sturridge and Bilson have to say about it:

My personal opinion of this is that I am glad that Emma likely did not return Willie's affections as that would make me dislike Emma even more than I already do. If she chose Willie, the message would be clear; stalking unrequited love is rewarded by getting the girl you want even though Emma was right; he does not know her, but also Emma would be choosing Willie as a last resort after her father died and her fiancé finally got arrested for murder. If I was Willie (which I will actually talk about later), I would feel pretty insulted by that, but that's just me.

But the thing is that I think what the author intended and how the actors portrayed their characters and story don't exactly match up.

I believe that Adams very much intended for Emma to choose Willie in the end, and the proof of his life mirroring Willie's in the story he wrote is proof of that.

There is not much out there about Adams, trust me, I tried to look for even more than just his Wikipedia page, but other than a Twitter account and his penname and couple novels out there, there isn't much about Adams that is known.

Adams did move to Massachusetts after both his parents died 2 days apart from one another; father died in a train wreck and then his mother died of cancer. And him and his siblings moved to MA after.

Now, I couldn't find where Adams grew up before that, but it is likely Pennsylvania.

It's funny, when doing research for Fan Fiction plans, I found that this film was mostly filmed in Utah. Main proof of that is the name of the appliance store that Willie's friends Joey and Dolores work at/own; Smith-Crown Co. which is a real place... in Utah... and there is only one, so...

And it struck me a strange; why be insistent that the film takes place in Pennsylvania? Why not just have it take place in Utah if that is where it was filmed? Answer is likely I am correct and Waiting For Forever is auto-biographical of the writer of the story; Steve Adams.

I am going to make many assumptions going forward though I have already with assuming based on the limited evidence that this film is auto-biographical.

I do think Adams meant for Emma to choose Willie in the end. If the story is auto-biographical, and Adams was born in 1947, which means he's in his 80's now, was in his 60's around the time the film came out. But I suspect the criticism of stalking was added only for 2008/2011 sensibilities to the topic. I say that because of a recent trend of TikTok, yes, Tiktok, I know, of many folks coming forward with stories about their grandmother's "love stories" and the amount of stalking that was acceptable in the 1960's-1980's when Adams would have been in his 20's to 40's. So, I think this was Adams' way of normalizing the cuteness of his own love story with his own wife.

I am purely talking about Adams and not Willie as I do think how Sturridge portrayed Willie is different than how Adams intended the character to be.

During the 1990's and early 2000's stories about The Manic Pixie Dream Girl was rampant in indie rom com dramas. I have made a playlist with videos that I think really go over the trope in it's entirety and I will list it below, but the main take away is that characters that are autistic coded, often portrayed as quirky, weird and a bit wild get paired with characters that are bland and have lost a love for life but only through the pairing with the MPDG will that bland character find their love for life again, usually at the expense of the MPDG. This is of course an oversimplification and I will list my playlist below:

Willie firmly falls into being a Manic Pixie Dream Boy and Emma is the Stale White Wonder Bread Girl.

A few clues into this is that Willie is very much neurodivergent, likely was before his parents' accident, but the accident traumatized Willie more than I think even Willie knows. His whole thing with Emma isn't even love, it's a trauma bond. Even Sturridge confirms this to an extent:

Willie enjoys the feelings that Emma has given him and he is chasing that high again because he doesn't want to feel the pain of his reality.

And Emma even says in the film that Willie doesn't know her, and that is true, he doesn't. Even his "good love letter" he still shows that he doesn't know her at all. He is content with the version of her that he has in his head.

Now I have said that Willie is the Manic Pixie Dream Boy and Emma is the Stale White Wonder Bread Girl, but something that is key with the original trope (Manic Pixie Dream Girl, etc) is that the guy never fully sees the MPDG as human, hence the pixie-ification. But the problem with Waiting for Forever is that neither Willie or Emma see each other as human. Willie has put Emma on such a pedestal that even when she admits to being a cheater that he makes excuses for her actions and then Emma infantilizes Willie, calling him a little boy at least once if not a couple times in the film.

Mental health is such a big deal in this film it isn't even funny. And it sucks that it came out in 2010/2011 and was filmed in 2008 be cause the stigma towards mental health issues is riddled throughout this film. When it came out the biggest trend was the "Don't Label It" trend cuz people thought that was somehow limiting and put people in boxes and as such giving folks excuses for being mentally ill. This trend was and is ultimately very harmful because it gave people, and Jimbo in the film, the right and excuse to call folks crazy without feeling the need to understand and research what was actually going on.

As someone that has ADHD and autism, labels are so helpful. It explains so much of our experiences, both similar and not as it is all a spectrum. I have learned so much about my own experience and the experiences of others because of the labels we have. And I wish that Waiting for Forever was not so afraid at the time to really give Willie's mental health issues a name. Many of us, me included, do relate to him so intensely it's not funny. Representation is such a big deal, especially when it is very close to real experiences that folks have gone through.

Before I get back to some of my more critical critiques of the film, I do want to share a bit of why I deeply relate to Willie.

As I have stated, I have ADHD and autism as well, and I will be honest, I have done very similar things that Willie has done. I have had unrequited love, gone to the places that that person would likely be just for the off chance of seeing them and or trying to catch up with them to talk to them. And I did not exactly know what I was doing was likely stalking. The reason why I think Sturridge's portrayal and Adams' original vison differ is because Sturridge's Willie genuinely does not understand what he is doing is harmful. I didn't either. I had no emotional regulation to be able to handle the rejection that inevitably happened later on too. That does not excuse my or Willie's behavior, but it does give it some understanding and clarity.

Now, I have never traveled across the country to follow someone, but I do get where Willie is coming from. He meant no harm, he truly did not understand what he was doing would hurt Emma.

But I do think Adams knew better, hence the adding into the story that stalking is seen as a bad thing. And if he intended that the story be read as Emma choosing Willie in the end, and the story is auto-biographical, then that puts of a bit of a more sinister twist on the story.

Willie is a Manic Pixie Dream Boy that is autistic/has ADHD and likely PSTD induced talking to people that aren't there to cope with his trauma. Willie was written by a man that was seemingly trying to self insert, and so all other characters and story beats suffered from that. Not only is Emma the Stale White Wonder Bread Girl, but she just is unlikeable and is basically a piece of carboard for Willie to put all his hopes and dreams onto. And if after everything, if Adams vison is what is more true than Sturridge's and Bilson's portrayals, Emma chooses Willie, that is basically rewarding Willie for his efforts that were toxic through the lens of not understanding his mental health issues (though even with understanding them they should not be rewarded). That rewards Willie's fantasies about Emma, it rewards him not really knowing her. And that my friends, is the pipeline to Incel culture.

Incels have a need for the fantasies to be fulfilled by their idea of the ideal woman. They don't care who she is, the less personality the better, as long as she is hot to them and they want her, it does not matter. What the Incel fantasizes about a woman in his head is all that matters.

Do I think Willie is an incel? No, I don't. But I think Adams may be and or intended for Willie to be...

So, with the perpetuation of The Manic Pixie Dream Boy trope while also having Willie put Emma on a pedestal as if she was actually interesting when she isn't (men should stop trying to write women, I swear), I don't think this is as cute of a story as Adams intended it to seem. It almost feels like he was looking for validation for his own real life choices if this film was indeed auto-biographical.

There are many interviews, video and written, as well as reviews that go over actual story points and all that, but that was not my main focus for this review of mine. I will list all the resources below so ya'll can check them out.

So, I have covered my speculations on the writer of the story, what I think the writer was trying to convey, Willie's possible mental health diagnosis, the perpetuation of the Manic Pixie Dream Boy trope while still having the male character treat the fem character as if she is more than human while not really knowing who she is at all.... That makes it sound like I don't like Willie. That can't be further from the truth. I love Willie. I firmly believe Sturridge's portrayal is different than what Adams wanted to put out there.

Yes, Willie has autism and ADHD as well as PTSD with the possibility of trauma coping induced talking to people that aren't there. Willie genuinely does not understand why what he is doing is wrong, and it isn't incompetence, like he really doesn't know.

Strangely, Emma's mother Miranda and Willie have a lot in common when it comes to their characterizations; neither one can, or wants to, admit the harshness of reality. Now, Willie may or may not be doing that on purpose, because both in the beginning of the film with the couple that pick him up and then in the car with his brother at the end of the film, Willie does show that he knows what happened to his and Jimbo's parents. But I don't think Willie is playing stupid, I really don't think he can cope with the reality of it, hence the talking to his parents off to the side and his trauma bond with Emma.

Willie also struggles with anxiety/panic attacks, which I really wish had been correctly identified in the film, but oh well.

He is also very nostalgic and sentimental; the tree house scene and then the scene at the soda shop turned bar where he gets excited to see that they kept the same stools.

As for his pajamas, Tom puts it best:

That leads me to sexuality. Willie is a hopeful romantic. I do think that Willie is a sexual person, but I really think he is more focused on romance that it takes up more of his thoughts and energy than sex does. Also, with how long Willie has carried this infatuation with Emma for, I speculate that he is a virgin. Which I think both fits him well and is very sweet, as far as Sturridge portrayed.

I have written about Willie and Waiting For Forever in the past on past posts, so I will post those snippets and links below.

Personally, I do plan on writing a bit of a fix-it/add a character to the story fanfic as well as lead into a sequel story.

I don't think Emma chose Will at the end, not with how Bilson and Sturridge talk about it in interviews. It took me a while to come to that conclusion, but it is the only one that makes sense with the film we got.

Willie's first love was also unrequited. It is my hope that I, or even others cuz hell I am only gonna write what I wish I could read instead, can write Willie both an epic love that is his true love.

He needs someone that matches his energy. The only time The Manic Pixie Dream Person trope works is if the couple has both folks fit the Manic Pixie Dream Person trope, aka they are both neurodivergent as fuck.

The one film that comes to mind that fits this idea to a T is Watching The Detectives with Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu as the couple. If you haven't seen the film, please watch it, it is worth it. But both Murphy's character in the film and Liu's character match each other's energy throughout the film and that is why their characters work.

So, if Willie is going to find his true love it is someone that is going to understand him and get him completely and vice versa. And they both should challenge one another positively to encourage growth. Willie would have never gotten that with Emma. Not only does Willie not know Emma, but she would have never been able to live up to his fantasy of her.

So, Willie needs a partner that is his match in every way.

I will say that if folks are trying to place the timeline of when the film takes place, likely between end of September 2008 and then a screen shot I took has the date set October 8th 2008, the day Willie finally talked to Emma.

But that is purely for folks that would like to write fanfics that are accurate for when it takes/took place.

Films that I take inspiration with the idea of Willie finding his match is the 2007 film Stardust, specifically Yvaine's confession and then Tristan later confessing he heard everything and that his "true love was right in front of him the whole time".

And then the other film that I would say kind of fit the idea of both characters being MPDP would be Drew Barrymore's Ever After. Yes, Danielle as a character is more of a MPDG than Prince Henry being a MPDB, but I do think that Prince Henry is not exactly a Stale White Wonder Bread Boy either as he does match Danielle's energy more than not. Though if I am wrong about this, let me know.

In fact, I am not sure if I was able to get more points fully across cuz of ADHD and yeah, I never plan out what I am gonna write, so if there are flaws or things I missed, please let me know. I would love to discuss this with ya'll.

In the meantime, here is a link to the first fanfic that has ever been written for this film, and it is smutty, so if you are under 18, don't read it.

And I have made a playlist of music that remind me of Willie, Waiting For Forever and just some music that are likely going to fit story beats in the fanfic I want to write. Also, the film itself needed better music. Some of the 1980's and 1990's music in my playlist should have been in the film instead, in my opinion.

Well, I think I said I want to say for now. If I need to go back and clarify some talking points, let me know in the comments and we can discuss.

Personally, I would marry Willie in a heartbeat, I mean look at him and just the way Tom Sturridge portrayed this character? Regardless of Adams intentions, though important to keep in mind, Tom made Willie his own deserving of love cinnamon roll that must be protected at all costs.

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

The Great OC Alphabet Caper: (Updated) Glass Edition

(Credit to @sleepyowlwrites for this idea)

For characters introduced in the other books, see these posts: The Unfortunate Moth • Houses Full of Deceit • Mine Eyes Dazzle • There Stands a Spectre • The Tempest and the Night

Updated information about the characters in Silver Glass, in alphabetical order:

Davit

Name: Davit Altounian (Դավիթ Ալթունեան) (real name), David Eames (Anglicised name + his adoptive parents' surname)

Age/Pronouns: 19, he/him

Brief physical description: Average height, black hair, dark brown eyes.

Brief list of defining traits: Has the most traumatic of traumatic backstories. Has done nothing wrong ever. Married to Alec.

Excerpt:

"I'm searching all the male servants' rooms," Yo-han said. He studied Eames' face. "Are you quite well?" Eames drew in a shaky breath. "McCullagh brought in some rabbits to make stew. Seeing him skin them… It reminded me of… I can't stand blood. It makes me feel sick." He certainly looked sick. He crossed the room and practically collapsed into the armchair. "Look anywhere you want," he said. His voice was muffled because he buried his head in his hands. He was trembling. Yo-han looked at him thoughtfully. He looked especially at his arms and hands. Eames was slightly-built, yes. But unlike Lennox he showed no signs of under-eating, so this was probably his natural physique. He was two or three inches taller than Yo-han. Could he have hit Mrs. Lennox with an oar hard enough to break her skull with a single blow? Eames had certainly hated her. It would be hard to find anyone in the household who didn't hate her. But Yo-han found it hard to picture him being strong enough for such a violent murder.

Trivia:

His adopted surname is a reference to John Eames from The Small House at Allington. (There are a lot of Anthony Trollope references in Silver Glass. More on that later…)

His real surname is borrowed from the Altounyan family (who inspired the Swallows and Amazons series). I chose this partly because Glass is set beside a river, and mainly because Wikipedia says Altounian/Altounyan is a common Armenian surname, and I wanted to avoid using a name generator (which might have produced a really unusual surname)

The denouement, where Phil and Co. vote on Davit’s innocence, is inspired by the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of Abbey Grange

He doesn't appear in Houses Full of Deceit, but he's mentioned. He probably will appear in Uneasy Money

Dzovig

Name: Dzovig Altounian (Ծովիկ Ալթունեան)

Age/Pronouns: 20, she/her

Brief physical description: Average height, black hair, brown eyes. Has a scar that twists up part of her lip.

Brief list of defining traits: A very important character, but she only appears in the flashback.

Excerpt:

Davit meets Dzovig in a park one morning. They stare at each other. He doesn't recognise her. She has a scar at her mouth, twisting up her lip to reveal some of her teeth. She had no such scar in the orphanage. He can see she doesn't recognise him — at first. Then she makes a noise like a wounded animal. "What's wrong?" he asks in Armenian, slow and stilted from disuse. He hasn't spoken Armenian since 1911. Dzovig stares at him. "Don't you know how much you look like Mother?"

Trivia:

Originally she was supposed to appear in the main story and would have been present during the denouement. This didn’t happen because I couldn’t figure out a way to introduce her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe in the second draft?

Another thing I couldn’t work into the story except for a throwaway line: she mutilates Çelik Bey’s body as revenge for the mutilation of Armenian women. This is inspired by a horrific photograph on Wikipedia’s page about the Adana massacre

She works for an organisation which is loosely inspired by Operation Nemesis

It's never explained how or when she got her scar

A detail that didn't make it into the first draft: she and Davit both grew up speaking Western Armenian, but she moved to Yerevan and switched to Eastern Armenian in the years they were apart. The reason this got cut: I need to do more research on the differences between the dialects

Çelik Bey

Name: Çelik Bey (Turkey didn't have surnames at the time, so this is just his personal name and title)

Age/Pronouns: 26, he/him

Brief physical description: Tall, black hair, brown eyes

Brief list of defining traits: Gwladys’s boyfriend. A politician’s son.

Excerpt:

Çelik Bey stared at Lennox, then at Yo-han. Yo-han had no idea what his own expression was — mainly because he had no idea what to make of the unfolding drama — but Çelik Bey didn't like it. He forced a laugh. "This guy's crazy. He should be locked up in a padded cell. You aren't here because you believe that story he told you?" Yo-han looked at him levelly. "What story?" He let Çelik Bey squirm for a moment before he added, "We share an interest in photography." There was no doubt about it: Çelik Bey looked relieved. "Then you're not here as a detective?" "Is there some reason I should be?" Yo-han asked. The silence that followed was the most awkward one yet.

Trivia:

He was originally supposed to play a bigger role; in the outline he was conspiring with Gwladys to murder Alec. This got cut, but might make it into the second draft

Louis

Name: (The Honourable) Louis Gresham

Age/Pronouns: 21, he/him

Appears in: Silver Glass (flashback and epilogue only), Houses Full of Deceit

Brief physical description: Average height, brown hair, brown eyes

Brief list of defining traits: Unwitting instigator of doom™. Davit’s friend. Briefly had a crush on Alec and a relationship with Leo. Provides helpful information when Yo-han is investigating the Hastings murders.

Excerpt:

The Honourable Louis Gresham was many things. According to his parents he was a hopeless spendthrift, according to his brother he was next door to an imbecile, and according to his boss he was the worst worker the foreign office had ever employed. He was, however, loyal to his friends. And when his old friend David Eames wrote to him to say he and Alexander Lennox were going to Armenia, Louis obligingly pulled a few strings to get their passports approved in record time. Why exactly two otherwise sane people wanted to travel to the middle of nowhere was beyond Louis' comprehension, but he was damned if he didn't help out.

Trivia:

Remember those Anthony Trollope references I mentioned? Most of them are around Louis. His first name is borrowed from Sir Louis Scatcherd and his surname from Frank Gresham (Doctor Thorne), his parents live in Framley Manor (Framley Parsonage), and his and Davit’s teacher is Reverend Grantley (Barchester Towers; I forgot the Trollope character’s surname is spelt Grantly and now I can’t be bothered to correct it)

He also provides a crossover with the works of P. G. Wodehouse: he's a member of the Drones Club, knows Bertie Wooster, and is probably a distant cousin of Lord Emsworth

He pronounces his name Lewis instead of Louie

Might reappear in Uneasy Money

Alec

Name: Alexander Lennox (Lord Kilskeery; technically his full title is The Right Honourable The Viscount Kilskeery, but no one has the patience to say that)

Age: 23, he/him

Brief physical description: Average height, brown hair, blue eyes

Brief list of defining traits: Is having a very bad time. Married to Davit (and Gwladys, unfortunately).

Excerpt:

Two cribs were placed side-by-side against the wall. A low armchair stood beside them. Alexander Lennox sat in it, reading aloud to two small babies. In the minute before he noticed Yo-han's presence, Yo-han observed the three of them closely. The babies, probably twins, were very young. He thought of his half-siblings as babies and decided these ones were less than a year old. They wore identical blue baby-grows. Both had brown hair. One was asleep. The other peered owlishly up at their father. Lennox was still abnormally thin, but he looked as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders. He did not look like a man whose wife had just been violently murdered. Yo-han looked at him and tried to imagine him swinging an oar at his wife's head. "'Then the magician brewed a powerful potion out of nine sorts of herbs which he had gathered himself all alone by moonlight, and he gave the youth nine spoonfuls of it daily for three days, which made him able to understand the language of birds. "'At parting the magician said…'" Lennox stopped. He looked up at Yo-han. There was no fear or hostility in his eyes. He smiled, the first smile Yo-han had seen from him that didn't have a bitter edge.

Trivia:

He was the first character I created for Silver Glass, and the rest of the story grew up around him

So what was up with his illness? Well, according to the outline Gwladys was poisoning him. I changed my mind half-way through the book, so now it’s ambiguous ¯\(ツ)/¯

He and Gwladys have twin sons. Their names are Walter and Theodore, though this is never mentioned in the book

As of Houses Full of Deceit, he and Davit and the twins are in Armenia

Will reappear in Uneasy Money. Helena the First and Lucy are his cousins

Gwladys

Name: Gwladys Lennox (née Whare) (Lady Kilskeery, not that anyone ever calls her this)

Age/Pronouns: 26, she/her

Brief physical description: Average height, dyed blonde hair, brown eyes

Brief list of defining traits: The Worst. The surprise isn’t that she’s murdered, it’s that it took so long for someone to kill her.

Excerpt:

With one of her fake giggles Mrs. Lennox said, "We both know what I mean. How much will he ask to keep those photos hidden?" Phil did some very quick deductions of her own. Fact: Mr. Seo had seen something incriminating last night. Fact: Mrs. Lennox believed he had taken pictures. Fact: she believed he was going to blackmail her. The situation was so absurd that she couldn't help laughing. Mrs. Lennox misinterpreted her reaction. "He's already given them to Lennox?" She ground her teeth and said a few words that were better-suited to a barroom than a drawing room. "Let me be perfectly honest, dear: my husband is a disgusting… Well. I'm too delicate to say the word. But he is still a viscount, and I'm not going to let him divorce me. If he tries to ruin me I can ruin him. But if he has photos? That's a different story." Phil made a note to ask Mr. Seo if there was any truth in the vague accusation. Lord Kilskeery had struck her as nothing but a very ill man. After five minutes with his wife she thought she knew the cause of his illness. "You're completely wrong," she said. "Mr. Seo has no photographs of you and he isn't a blackmailer. Your husband hired him…" because he thinks you're poisoning him "…to solve a mystery."

Trivia:

Originally she was meant to be a relatively innocent bystander who was killed because she witnessed the murder. Then I began to write, and she turned out to be Rachael 2.0.

Adding the general Case-files taglist: @akindofmagictoo, @sam-glade, @sarahlizziewrites, @oh-no-another-idea, @cljordan-imperium,

@mrbexwrites, @lightgriffinsect (Let me know if you want to be added/removed!)

[brightmalcolm]

I'm so happy I found your blog! This show has been my hyper-fixation ever since it came out and it's nice to find people who still talk about the show :)

ANYWAYS, I just started reading The Count of Monte Cristo (for totally normal reasons, and not so I can deeply analyze S1E13 "Wait & Hope") and I wanted to know your thoughts on the fact that The Count of Monte Cristo was Malcolm's favorite story growing up. Because this book, like said in the episode, is about a man murdering for revenge (take this with a grain of salt I'm on page 73). And I can't help but think about Martins though process of reading this story about murder to Malcolm. Because in the episode, We get a flashback of Martin reading the story to Malcolm, and He's acting out a scene from the book where I think the Count kills one of the men who betrayed him (again I'm only on page 73 I'm not completely sure). And he makes the act of murder seen fantastical, fun, and light-hearted. Which makes me think that when he reads this story to Malcolm, not only to get Malcolm used to the idea of murder, but to also prematurely downplay his crimes. So when Malcolm found out that Martin's a Serial Killer as a kid, Martin could then say, "Well you didn't have a problem with it when I read those crimes to you, why do you have a problem with it now?" And we see the adult version of this when Malcolm is an adult, Martin brings up the fact the he never killed anyone on his operating table, he only killed people when off the clock. Which of course means that his crimes aren't as bad as they really are because he could have done so much worse!

AND THE WAY MALCOLM WOULD HAVE LOOKED BACK AND THOUGHT HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BECAUSE OF THE BOOK!!

because of course Martin the Murder would read a murder book instead of a normal Fairytale, of course Martin would only act out the murder scenes from the book. It just gets the trauma ball rolling, like give my guy a break please he's had enough.

hi omg it's nice to hear from you!

so obligatory I have not read the count of monte cristo so take everything I say with a big grain of salt bc I am just going off the wikipedia page and conversations I've had with people who have read it. I like to think everything (or at least most things) with this show are intentional so I enjoy looking in to these kind of details to see what they might mean. I think one way to look at it is the writers trying to do a short hand for malcolm being an intelligent and precocious child and a bit kind of like "ha ha of course malcolm's favorite childhood book was an old french classic about revenge and not like the magic tree house bc he's so eccentric and pretentious." also it ties nicely into a murder investigation that they can base on the story to give malcolm more reasons to know a bunch of random info to help with the case.

but when it comes I think with martin basically anything can be used as a tool for manipulation, even if in another context it wouldn't be by someone else. like the count of monte cristo doesn't seem like something super out of left field for a parent to read their child in my opinion, yeah it involves murder but a lot of books involve heavy subject matter and are still read at any age. so I don't want to imply it's like bad or odd for a child or their parent to read something like that, I was reading things like the outsiders and the hunger games around malcolm's age which are both kids/young adult books but also contain death and violence. BUT I think with martin he definitely could have had some more ulterior motives and again, the show deliberately made reading the book a memory malcolm had with his dad so I think the writers definitely had intent behind details like that.

so yes I get what you're saying and could 100% see it being used that way in martin and malcolm's dynamic. I think it's in the vein of how malcolm collects murder weapons in that it demonstrates how death and murder kind of consume his life even in to his interests and hobbies and how martin's shadow is always there (again, not saying reading about murder or being interested in it mean you're a serial killer obviously but in the context of like themes in the story, a reoccurring one is malcolm's preoccupation with death and how it relates to his trauma from his father). like the example you gave, martin is very good at justifying what he has done, especially and specifically to malcolm bc he knows his son is already traumatized by his actions and desperate for some logical reasoning behind them when there just really isn't one. the way martin acts out the story is also an interesting point. again, not trying to imply this is like inherently something bad or problematic but specifically in the context of this show and this relationship it definitely shows how martin kind of presents murder to malcolm. like it's all about the larger context for me; what does this mean with the information we already know by episode 13 and what conclusions should we draw from it. and I think it makes sense how you interpret the episode!

anyway TLDR the way martin talks about murder with his son is a vital part of their dynamic. martin knows malcolm wants to understand his seemingly incomprehensible actions and he uses this multiple times in the show to try and manipulate him in to thinking different ways about them, whether that is by telling malcolm he is somehow responsible for him murdering people (see 1x02) or that he saved more people than he hurt (see 1x07) or that he has changed completely (see 2x13) ect. ALSO I just remembered how interested I am in how this show portrays the concept of monstrosity and wow this TLDR is getting long specifically in the episode you referenced eye of the needle 1x14 and how martin says something along the lines of "I'm the monster, so vanquish me" as if simplifying the concept down to that of a storybook, like he's a dragon to be slain and how he tells malcolm there's no such thing as monsters in the pilot, conjuring the image of like a child who thinks there's a monster under their bed or in their closet. so the lines kind of get blurred and martin will ultimately use every tool in his disposal to manipulate malcolm in different ways, even using things that are innocuous on their own or in a different context. would love to hear everyone else's thoughts especially if you've read the book :)

[gyllenhaalstories]

Hi there! Love your blog 💕 How and when did you get into Jake? What was your first film with him? The film that made you become a fan? Thanks!☺️

hiiiii! thank you, i'm happy to know you enjoy it! oh my god, you're giving me another opportunity to ramble? you're too generous! 🥰❤️ short answer: i started mostly around 2019 and the movie that did it for me is demolition. long answer? this novel i wrote below!

my first jake movie had to be prince of persia although i have no memory of watching it as a kid. i just know i did because my dad played the video game and this sounds like a movie he'd watch too. when prisoners came out on dvd in 2013, i asked my parents to rent the movie because i liked hugh jackman as wolverine. if wolverine is funny, that means prisoners will be funny too, right? WRONG. i was so wrong. i spent almost the entire movie hidden under a blanket, i remember the stares my parents gave me. i was so embarrassed. but i also remember that one good looking man on the screen, wink wink (or well, blink blink) the only jake movies i watched after that were love & other drugs and brokeback mountain. both made me cry, so i loved them. i would stay up late (back in the day when i thought midnight was late) and watch them on television. other than that, my life used to be a sad dark lonely gyllenvoid.

ah, the glorious day when i saw the poster for spider-man far from home. i took a photo, i made sure to crop the guy with the cape, i didn't care for him. pff. i wanted spider-man! i kept telling myself that there was this one dude in the trailer that reminded me of someone, but i couldn't replace him. until i connected the dots!!! that hello quentin / yeah hi honey scene had me shaking in my seat. i came home, i tried googling his name in five different spellings until i got it right. i asked a friend at the time if she knew about jake because i had this new crush on him and she was like "this crush isn't new, you just forgot he existed" (i was juggling with other famous hot men who are double my age, i was busy). so apparently i was into him and i didn't even know about it! anyway! i started looking through jake's tag for gifs and photos, then for fics, then i thought it'd be nice to make a blog to appreciate and reblog the fics (this is when i became a fan of nat and maria from afar! and now they're my friends and i love them so much). a few months after that, i was like sure why not maybe i can write my own stories too. i made this blog at the end of 2019 and here i am, five years later!!! my obsession for jake is stronger than ever.

i stuck to mysterio and jake fics for a while, his filmography was intimidating and it lacked in barbie movies so i was not THAT motivated to get through it at first. i kept an eye on movies that played on television for something he could be in and i found one: enemy. i know jake recently suggested enemy as one of the first movies of his to start with but i could not disagree more. the spiders? yeah no. enemy was my enemy. i saw that it played on a different channel, in english this time, so i gave it a shot. i was intrigued... i went to his wikipedia page and picked one of the shortest movies in his register: demolition. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i loved demolition so much that i watched it twice in the same evening. demolition is the movie that got me hooked. i couldn't understand how underrated it used to be, people barely brought it up! it almost made me forget the spider debacle of enemy, i just wanted to see more of jake.

i'm almost through with his entire filmography now! it's taken me a long time, but i'm proud of myself for watching so many movies that are out of my usual taste. it made me discover so many sides of jake's talent and so many characters that live rent free in my mind. if i could go back in time, i would still choose demolition as the great leap into the jake gyllenhaal multiverse. you didn't ask for all this rambling but shhhh details. i'm curious to know your answer to this question too!!! thank you again, anon! 💖💖💖

[oblivious-melodies]

I'm particularly happy to know how well Hyder has been received - he's probably my favourite character in the game. And you're right - Hyder does draw inspiration from real-life histories of Anglo-Indian encounters. There's a painting, specifically one from I think 1807, of a biracial family in India with a child, which I think specifically sparked the idea for his character (though he isn't designed to be from one singular real-world nation)! In writing about empire and race, I'm aware I'm necessarily dealing with a large white hegemony - but I also wanted to show that Regency society was not without its diverse aspects, and that should be more of a feature as the narrative progresses. I'm not a person of colour myself, so to hear that you've found something meaningful and resonant about his character is really good to hear - I want to make sure my depiction is respectful, but also nuanced and memorable at the same time!

That’s interesting, do you have a link to the painting?

I forgot to mention this before, but although I don’t know the full extent of Hyder’s background yet, it reminded me of the movie Belle (based on a real historical figure, a mixed race girl Dido who was brought up with her white family in 1700s Britain) and The Long Song (a miniseries based on a book about a black slave on a plantation in Jamaica).

Both of which made me wonder about what really happened with Hyder’s mother and how she would tell this story…Was she ok giving up her son never to see or speak to him again? Were things as tender and romantic with Hyder’s father as Hyder was told (yet his father never told him the name of this woman he supposedly loved and considered a wife)? I just looked at the wikipedia page and apparently Dido’s mother was 14 at the time of conception, and it’s noted that it was unlikely to be consensual.

I’m really happy Artemisia could ask Hyder about his mother (and his reaction was really interesting), and I have no idea if it’s within the scope of this story, but I’d love to meet and speak to her in-game.

I tried to have a look for the image but unfortunately I don't think it's been digitised! And yes, in part the story of Dido Belle Lindsay did influence the depiction of Hyder's introduction to Angria and relationship with his parents. I was also interested in the painter Tilly Kettle, famous for introducing European portraiture to the Indian subcontinent, who travelled extensively (largely due to avoiding his debtors) and had families in England, Ireland, and India.

(Tilly Kettle, 'Muhammad Ali Khan, Nawab of Arcot', c. 1772-1776, Victoria & Albert Museum.)

The name of his Indian mistress, the mother of Kettle's two daughters, has not been recorded. Unfortunately these figures tend to be elusive from the historical record, and that's reflected here with Hyder's disconnect from his own mother. There will be more detail on Hyder's past and sense of identity later, don't worry ! - but the reality of what transpired between his parents is, as you'll find, a difficult thing for him to approach. Much as the Horne siblings have their own idea of how their childhoods played out, he has his own ways of understanding his origins that aren't necessarily true to fact. As much as he isn't the main character I'm really hoping I'll be able to find ways to really explore his interiority in future chapters!

[apollotronica]

I WANNA KNOW ABOUT BUWAN!!!!!! -⚡️

OMG OKAY BUWAN MY BELOVED im gonna split this up into like .. a wikipedia page sort of . so like early life how he got his talent etc etc :3 but fun facts come first.

fun facts!

likes: cats, whales, sleeping, people, eating, late night walks, sour-tasting things, trash tv, singing and dancing, dark, muted colors

dislikes: eggs, doctors and hospitals, loud sudden noises, being alone, expensive things, waking up early, paperwork, dogs

ethnicity: filipino !!

relatives: mother (deceased), father, brother (miko, 2 years younger)

early life!! (tw for child abuse/neglect, suicide, ableism)

buwan was very hyper-sensitive and imaginative as a child and was homeschooled until he was about 9, so he didnt get much social interaction aside from his brother who often didn't have the time to hang out with him, but his brother was very supportive and patient unlike their parents. their mother was immunocompromized and schizophrenic so she was bedridden most of the time. their father seemed to only care about his wife and paid little attention to the kids unless it was for chores for their mother. miko grew distant from their parents very early on but buwan kept trying to find ways to cheer his mother up (nothing worked, by the way. their conversations would usually end with a book being thrown at buwan or an uncomfortable silence). around when buwan was put into public school he started to have very vivid hallucinations and delusions, none of which were directly harmful or distressing for him, but when his mother found out she was enraged (you know, parents hate when their kids have the same "flaws" as them) and would call him into her room every day for lectures he didnt understand. when he could help it, though, after school he went to a friend's house (her name was mary!) for snacks and tea. along with miko, mary was one of the only people that supported and understood buwan. they gave eachother nicknames! buwan was "balyena" and mary was "tulipan" !!! though buwan's hallucinations weren't distressing for him, every time he went to bed he had a recurring nightmare of his mother killing herself and blaming him. they got to the point where he would wake up screaming and crying outside his mother's room without knowing how he got there. so every night he would stay up and meet with mary and they would vent their frustrations out by a small creek. he invited miko a couple times but he was too focused on schoolwork. on a day where miko was on a field trip and their father was on a business trip, buwan had gone to school like normal. mary wasn't there that day, but it was okay, because she was probably just sick, right? he had some spare change and would stop at the convenience store on the way to her house to buy her something sweet. when he got to her house, her mother answered the door with a panicked, crazed look on her face. she shook buwan, yelling in his face asking where mary was, what he did with her, she knew something was off about buwan, just look at the way he talks to himself! but buwan didn't really care about anything she was saying, because if mary wasn't at home sick, something was off. he shook her off and dropped off what he bought by the doorstep and started sprinting (or as close to sprinting as he could, every step he took he was heaving and coughing) to that small creek they meet up at every night. it was far from both buwan's and mary's house, so by the time he got there it was already dark. the creek was small, but there were certain parts which were deeper than one would expect--mary and buwan avoided those spots very carefully. in one of those spots was mary's body tied down to something at the bottom, probably a rock. there was a note by one of the drier spots, saying that she had done it herself and that as much as she liked hanging out with buwan, it was too much. but buwan barely processed any of that before he passed out due to overexertion, exhaustion, shock, you get it. it was still dark when he got back up, mary's body still floating (but slightly more decomposed) in front of him. he turned around and sprinted home because he had to tell someone, anyone, what happened. maybe his mother would finally sympathize with him, comfort him and tell him how good he was dealing with everything (he knew this was a stupid thought to think, but he thought about it nonetheless). when he got home, the only sound in the house was his dry heaving and relentless coughing. he searched the house for anyone, hoping that miko and his father had returned earlier than suspected, but he was alone.

guilt probed his chest when he remembered he was supposed to take care of his mother for the few days everyone else was gone, and he prepared himself for the lecture he was going to get as he opened the door to his mother's room. the tv was on--muted, but on--and it served as the only light source in the room. books, papers, medical equipment, and the like were scattered and trashed around the room. but buwan wasn't focused on any of that, because in the center of the room was his mother, arm bleeding (it seemed she ripped her IV out) and frail body suspended mid-air via a chord that buwan could only guess was for one of many medical machines in the room. buwan stood there, stunned and shaking, taking in the scene. what was he going to tell miko? his father? buwan was lightheaded and dizzy, his ears ringing so loud in his head he could barely hear himself scream as he dropped to the floor, his legs finally giving out under invisible pressure. he doesn't remember much, nor for how long he was screaming, but when he was shoved aside by who he could only assume was his father, it was midday. after that, he wouldn't talk at all (he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would just start screaming again) and his hallucinations disappeared. buwan's father admitted him into a psychiatric hospital miles away (the town they lived in was too small for a real one, the only "hospital" there was a check-up clinic) where he stayed for two years until he was 14. buwan remembers close to none of it, as the medicine they prescribed him made him spacey and disoriented. he wondered if this was how his mother felt, but the thought made him nauseous. buwan vaguely remembered miko coming to visit (never his father, why would he visit?), but he never remembered what he said to him. it only occurred to him what miko said every time he came to visit when he was suddenly discharged with miko hurriedly wheeling him out. buwan cried the entire ride home.

career!

most people thought of buwan as a dunce, slow, idiotic, stupid, so nobody ever gave him a chance to find something he was passionate about. everyone, save for miko and mary, thought buwan was going to end up exactly like his mother (except his mother had her masters in biochemistry, so he didn't know why people were comparing an idiot like himself to her). one day, when buwan was 15 and a dropout, he complained to miko about being bored. miko, knowing buwan better than anyone else (even himself, because buwan never had the time for self-exploration), suggested he take up studying a topic of his choice. buwan was confused at first, because nobody had ever suggested something like that to him (because knowledge was wasted on him, right?). it took a couple weeks of brainstorming, trying out random things (and immediately deciding they were boring, a waste of time, and/or too complicated. miko got a little irritated when buwan said it was too complicated, because miko knows buwan is capable of doing it. it just wasn't in his interest), and self-exploration before buwan brought up the topic of dreams. it was miko's turn to be confused, because buwan had so much trouble with dreams of his own that he wasn't sure it would work out for buwan. but buwan was oddly persistent (something miko wasn't used to seeing in buwan), so with some extra cash their father sent them, buwan enrolled himself into a course on the study of dreams.

fun facts part 2!!

buwan is a mean drunk and a lightweight

he hates eggs because one time his father made everyone scrambled eggs and some shell got in and cut buwan's mouth. also they smell bad

he eats a shit ton. like it doesnt matter if he just had a full course meal he could go for 5 more

his eyesight is horrible but he refuses to get glasses

the only thing that can make him cry nowadays is shitty slice of life romance anime

his name means moon !!!

hes 6'0" (183cm)

hes banned from at least 5 aquariums because he keeps falling asleep in them and tries to get into the tanks (he cant swim)

he talks very silly with a lot of vocal stims! ex: "i'm buwan parungao, prryon! i have a masters in neuroscience, prryon, and i specialize in oneirology! in fact, buwan is the best in his field, tick-tock!" he also says "sing-song" "tete" and "meow" (a lot of animal noises honestly.)

THANK YOU FOR READING !!!!!!!!

[thedawningofthehour]

Oh my god, Mikeyyyy my little orange boy. You deserve better.

As soon as Leo heard that there is a possibility that Donnie might not get his memories back he became the representation of almost every reader; I hear you Leo, but please listen to Mikey! I just hope, HOPE, that nothing the fam does ruins Mikey's progress.

Who knew Donnie's autistic teenage brain would be the key to Draxum's downfall. Although does that mean the idea of Donnie getting his memories back through a super emotional rock ballad is out of the question?

Xever, please stop being transphobic.

Poor Tigerclaw, hopefully his affection will carry over when Donnie gets his memories back. I wonder, what did he do in this continuity to make Alopex hate him? In the show, Alopex blames Tigerclaw because he always made the decisions saying he knew what was best for both of them, besides killing their parents. If Alopex ever appears in the fic I can easily see her helping the fam, and hating Draxum because of his arguments that he knows best.

You mean like with Pearl in the SU movie? I mean, that's not how it's gonna go, but that song is iconic.

I kind of saw it as more misogynistic than anything. Would Xever be transphobic? 'Googles some stuff about gay rights in Brazil' Oh, they're actually at the top of the list when it comes to LGBT rights. Good for them!

But, and I'm just reading from the Wikipedia page, it seems like this extends more just to the LGB part, and a lot of transgender people end up in the sex industry because they can't get work elsewhere. Attitudes have been changing in the last few years, but it's 2020 in the story and Xever has been living in the U.S. for a few years, so he wouldn't have been around for that. The murder rate for LGBT individuals is very high in Brazil-but the murder rate in Brazil is high in general right now, so that's probably more of a reflection of the political unrest going on right now than attitudes towards gay people.

Now I'm really thinking about Xever's backstory and how it would have influenced his perceptions. He grew up poor, mostly out on the streets getting involved in crime and gang activity from a young age, and while he's definitely smart he's very undereducated. How progressive are Brazilian gangs? Would he feel some sort of kinship and mutual respect for trans people selling themselves on the street, because he's also doing what he needs to do to survive? Or would he look down on them because "at least I didn't stoop to that."

And he has lived in the U.S. for a bit-but again, he's mostly hung around gangs. And I am so totally here for women's wrongs and queer mob bosses, but gangs in the U.S. are generally pretty misogynistic and homophobic. Not that people can't break out of the mindsets they've been immersed in most of their lives, but like-people need resources to do that. Xever has like a sixth grade education that was probably not very good to begin with (impoverished school with low budget, crowded unruly classes, poor attendance and didn't pay much attention when he did go because he was a hungry kid who had bigger priorities) and he's lived life in survival mode for a long, long time. He probably doesn't think about that kind of stuff and doesn't really have the tools to refute what he's been indoctrinated with. This is why cutting education is fascism 101, by the way-it makes it way easier to indoctrinate people with bullshit.

(fuck, this got off the rails)

I still haven't made a concrete decision on Alopex. I'm pretty sure she's going to appear, but I haven't nailed down a definite backstory for them yet and I haven't decided if they'll reconcile. He didn't kill their parents here though-he never returned home after they were kidnapped. He didn't know if his family was still alive or if they would accept him, and he decided that he would rather just never know.

[nopefer-art-tu]

i had talked abt this on my twt a few weeks back but lately ive rly been thinking abt the potential to read ennis as aromantic and like. yeah idk i just think its a really intriguing reading into the character

like i personally see both ennis and jack as homosexual for a variety of reasons, mostly bc a. that was the frame of reference that annie proulx was writing under when she had the idea for brokeback mountain (i.e. what would life be like for a ranch hand who was gay?) and b. the book that was given to both heath and jake to prepare for their roles was a compilation of memoirs written by real gay midwestern farmers

BUT. all that aside, i think that an aspec/arospec reading of ennis' character is one of the interesting ways in which we can use the visibility of previously "lesser known" queer identities to analyze this story under a modern lens

cause like, ive mentioned this before but i kinda went insane for awhile and so for the first half of this year i went deep in on brokeback mountain. like, i read every article and listened to every movie podcast about this story that i could get my hands on, and a common debate surrounding the story (so much so that theres a whole section on its wikipedia page dedicated to it) is the debate around whether jack and ennis are gay men or bisexual men

and like...sure, okay, theres definitely valid readings in both of them. I just think that, since our understandings of romantic and sexual attraction and our vocabulary to describe these different experiences has expanded in the 17 years since the movie's release and the 25 years since the short story's initial publishing, we can take a look at these charas under new lenses with which to analyze them with

i think you can make a very valid argument that ennis is a gray-area aromantic who falls in love with the one person in his life who hes able to open up, relate to, and create a super close bond with, especially if you consider ennis' extreme loneliness throughout his entire life. it only really hit me the other day, when i was rly thinking deep about this, how hard it must have been for someone in his circumstances to meet people and make friends around his age, considering the fact that he dropped out of high school as a freshman in order to work to support him and his siblings after his parents died.

couple that w this sort of stoic, distant personality type that the hard, rough, small town american west sort of breeds into men from a young age, and like. i dunno, it makes perfect sense to me that an aromantic ennis would fall in love with the one person who hes forced to spend an extended amount of time with, who he later finds out has also grown up a poor, drop-out ranch hand with a hard home life. especially since jack also made an early effort to get to know ennis, i just think it was all the prime circumstances for him to end up falling in love.

i also think it tracks w both heath and jake's mentality when approaching these characters? cause in interviews they gave at the time, they both kinda maintained this belief that ennis anc jack were both "straight" men who just so happened to fall in love w another man

and like. setting aside the fact that that was a VERY 2005 thing to say, lol, i think the idea of someone like ennis by chance falling in love w a man still tracks if you read him as arospec. like it still comes w all the trials and tribulations of him being invested in this homosexual love affair, as well as all the internal tension he must be feeling (i.e. why am i in love with him? shouldnt i be feeling this way about Alma? what is wrong with me?). like thats very much a universal queer struggle that you can read into his character regardless of what sexual orientation you see him as

anyways tl;dr the conversations around the sexuality of the characters in brokeback mountain is rly fascinating and i think that we can look back with our expanded knowledge of sexuality and see these characters in a lot of interesting ways

[pregnant-javert]

Tell me an unpopular opinion you have about all the SP main characters if you have time

BESTIE YOU ASKED AND I WILL DELIVER i'm prolly gonna put this shit under a cut in case I ramble lol. I wasn't sure like,,,what you meant by main characters? So I just picked all the characters under "main" on the Wikipedia page.

Under the cut! Please don't shade me <3 no disrespect if you like the characters or disagree with what i say <3

Melanie: The show got better when she was away for most of it. That's when the writers had to make the train and the other characters stand on their own two feets and it made the show even better when she came back.

Layton: What can I say about this man that others have not said? I think neither of his canon love interests deserve him and why does Till love him so much?

Till: I feel like sometimes her soft uwu lesbianness crosses the line into infantilisation/immaturity and I don't like that. S2 was her best moments and then in S3 as soon as Audrey came back it was like she reverted to S1 in a bad way. I also don't think the writers know how they want to retroactively look back on Till either. If that makes sense.

Ruth: Her endless fucking cuddling up to Melanie got annoying when it was pretty apparent that Melanie didn't ever treat her that well. I dislike characters with little self-respect. Get a better mentor/friend, Ruth - and I say that with love! She's a great character but her constant going back to Melanie annoyed me. I was glad she put her foot down in S3.

Audrey: She should have died in S3. And I don't know why Till went back for her.

Bennett: Maybe if he banged Wilford five ways to Sunday they'd both calm down

Jinju: She would have been a great S2/S3 character. And I think it was right of her to lie to Till considering Till was just. A bit too idealistic in S1 lol.

Josie: If developed properly, her relo with Bennett could really take off. Both of them are similar in that they pine after people who just. categorically put other people/the train ahead of them. It could be a nice bonding moment.

Osweiller: I don't like the way the show tried to make him into this uwu boyfriend character.

Zarah: I take her side in the argument she had with Layton about giving the cold-resistance genes to Liana. Layton fucked off for six months, so he's not exactly an active parent, and what parent wouldn't want to protect their kid from the cold? The whole 'you stamped her with Wilford' was a low blow, man.

Javi: He's way too well-adjusted in S3. I needed to see him sobbing more.

Roche: I'm not sure why they made him so like...unsympathetic to his own daughter late S3? I didn't get the progression there.

LJ: The way she died was fucking hilarious. Perfect way for her to go.

Miles: He's way WAY too nice and buddy buddy with Melanie considering what she did to his birth family, to Layton, to Josie, to the Tail. Like. Come on.

Pike: He looked so much better clean shaven in S3.

Alex: She was kinda annoying at the beginning of S3.

Wilford: Literally anything I've ever said about him ever. He needs to faint and throw up next season. Ben needs to give him some dick too. <3

Sykes: She doesn't really stand out though I think her and Javi's relationship was a big missed opportunity to bridge the gap between the Big Alice and Snowpiercer ways of life.

Asha: Unnecessary! We didn't need her if she was just going to fall off the face of the earth in the way she did, and also they have those new people in S4 so like. WHY?

[husheduphistory]

Hammersmith: A Haunting, A Hoax, and a Tragic Hunt

The calendar page had barely turned over to the new year and twenty-nine-year-old Francis Smith was experiencing one of the worst times of his life. He sat before the court positively morose for what he had done. On that awful night of January 3rd 1804 he immediately surrendered to the constable, deeply regretting how it all unfolded. Now all he could do was plead for mercy and understanding. After all, at that moment he truly believed he was acting on behalf of the entire borough when he shot the gun.

Over the course of twelve months the West London district of Hammersmith fell into a state of apprehension and deep fear. It all began when a man committed suicide by slashing his own throat and, in a move that went against all rule and beliefs, he was buried in the consecrated ground of the churchyard ensuring that his soul would never find peace. It was after this controversial burial that people began to report seeing a figure, draped in a white shroud, appearing throughout Hammersmith. Surely this had to be the tormented spirit of the man who committed suicide and was then committed to sacred ground. What other explanation could there be? If the incidents remained as ghostly sightings it may have never progressed beyond a simple haunted tale, but the encounters got violent, and then people allegedly began to die. A brewer’s servant named Thomas Broom later told how he was walking through the churchyard with a friend one night when he was suddenly grabbed violently by the throat. It was only when his friend turned to see what happened that he claimed the specter “gave me a twist round, and I saw nothing; I gave a bit of a push out with my fist, and felt something soft, like a great coat.” Another pair of stories alleged that an elderly woman and a pregnant woman both encountered the malevolent spirit on separate occasions near the churchyard and they were both so terrified that when they returned home they could not leave their beds, dying there a few days later. 

An image of the Hammersmith Ghost attacking a woman. Image via  The Newgate Calendar, Part III (1826), http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ngconts.htm.

The people of Hammersmith were scared but some were also skeptical, believing this was not a ghost, but a cruel and devious human being. Ghost or human, either way their reign of terror had to be stopped. At this point Hammersmith did not have a formal police force so in order to protect the people some of its own citizens began patrolling the streets after dark. One of these men guarding the night was Francis Smith, armed with a shotgun, and another was night watchman William Girdler. On the night of January 3rd at approximately 10:30pm Girdler ran into Smith and told him that later that night he would meet up with him and they would look for the ghost together. Girdler knew what he was looking for after all, only a few days earlier on December 29thhe  saw the ghost and chased him down but the figure disappeared into the darkness.

Engraving of the Hammersmith Ghost appearing in  Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum circa 1804. Image via Wikipedia.

Another man walking the streets that night was thirty-two year old bricklayer Thomas Millwood. He was visiting with his sister, mother, and father and as the clock moved closer to 11pm he stood up, said goodnight to his parents, and prepared to head back home for the evening. His sister Anne watched him walk away from the door. She wished he had listened to her and worn something over his work clothes of linen pants, a waistcoat, and an apron. They were recently washed and glowed bright white in the darkness. He had already been mistaken for the notorious Hammersmith Ghost at least twice before but he met any accusation with a scoff.

Within minutes she heard the voice, “Damn you. Who are you and what do you want? I’ll shoot you if you don’t speak.” Then she heard the gunshot.

Anne ran out into the dark and before long she made the horrifying discovery of her brother laying in the road, dead in a pool of blood, with his face mauled by a bullet. She was not alone with her brother, already with his body was nearby wine merchant John Locke, William Girdler, and Francis Smith. What happened spilled out of their mouths and fell into place quickly. Locke heard the gunshot and soon afterwards Smith rushed up to him, severely distressed, and told him he had just shot a man and asked him to go back to the scene with him. After they got back to Millwood’s body they were quickly joined by Girdler and Anne Millwood. When the constable arrived at the scene Smith accepted full responsibility for what happened. He was taken to Newgate Prison to await trial and the body of Thomas Millwood was taken to Black Lion Inn where it was examined by a surgeon who determined that the bullet went through his jaw and hit his spinal cord killing him instantly.

Smith’s trial began one week later and it might have seemed like a fairly straightforward case. He did admit to shooting Millwood, but it was not that simple. Despite taking responsibility for Millwood’s death, Smith entered a plea of Not Guilty based on his account that he felt he was not hunting an actual ghost, but a person acting as a ghost and terrorizing Hammersmith. When he saw the white figure he knew he was facing a man and he called out to him twice, telling him to name himself. When he did not stop or speak Smith said he became fearful for his life because the figure kept approaching him. He shot, but did not aim to kill, it was just an all around unfortunate accident. There were no witnesses to the crime so heavy reliance was placed on the few who arrived at the scene. Locke stated that when Smith met him and asked him to accompany him back to Millwood he was genuinely distraught and horrified at what happened. Several others testified about Smith’s honesty, integrity, and all-around good character. The only voice that spoke of any faults came from Anne Millwood who told the court that Smith shot so quickly after calling out for her brother’s name that there was no way he could have responded in time.

Illustration of the encounter between Smith and Millwood. Image via crimemagazine.com.

Smith had people vouching for him, but the judge Lord Chief Baron Macdonald was hearing none of it. He addressed his jury and plainly explained that there was no gray area here, that it was either murder or it was not. Smith went out into the night carrying a gun which spoke to his intent to harm someone. Millwood was simply walking home when he met his end. In the judge’s eyes this was not self-defense and Millwood was doing nothing to warrant Smith shooting his gun. According to him, it did not matter who Smith intended to hunt down. It also did not matter if Millwood was deliberately dressed as a ghost to scare the residents of Hammersmith, that offence did not deserve being shot. According to the judge no matter how the situation was spun, it occurred because of malice and this was why Smith must be found guilty of murder.  

Surprisingly, the jury did not go along with the judge’s advice and when they returned it was with a verdict of guilty, but guilty of manslaughter. This was not accepted by Lord Chief Baron Macdonald and his fellow judges once again reminded the jury that they could not find Smith guilty of manslaughter, because it was not a possible outcome when the choices were either guilty of murder or acquitted of murder. Once again the jury consulted with each other and finding no other option, they returned with their verdict: Francis Smith was guilty of murder.

With the verdict came the sentence. Smith was sentenced to death by hanging followed by dissection the following Monday. Inconsolable, Smith had to be held up and carried from the court.

However, as hard-lined as Lord Chief Baron Macdonald was he was well aware of the public opinion that Smith did not deserve to be sentenced as a cold blooded killer. He added “The case gentlemen shall be referred to His Majesty immediately” to his judgement. This gave Smith one more chance, when a case was brought before the King he had the ultimate power to override and change the sentence. For Smith, those few words from Lord Chief Baron Macdonald saved his life. Before the sun rose the next morning his sentence was reduced to one year imprisonment with hard labor.

The Black Lion Inn, where Thomas Millwood’s body was taken and where Smith allegedly spent time before the shooting. Image via Wikipedia.

The Hammersmith Ghost, the terrifying being who attacked innocent citizens and was allegedly responsible for suffering, turmoil, and even death, was never heard from again. This is because two days after the death of Thomas Millwood the ghost came forward. A local shoemaker named John Graham admitted that he was the Hammersmith Ghost and that he had been dressing up as the specter to scare his apprentices as an act of revenge because they had been scaring his children with ghost stories. Graham surrendered to the authorities, but because there was no clear legal guidance on this situation he was set free on bail and all traces of him disappeared from record.

Francis Smith was given a full pardon on July 14th 1804.

While the haunting hoax promptly ended, the Hammersmith Ghost trial had far reaching implications when it exposed that there was very little defined in law when it came to people who acted out in a scenario where they believed action was required and carried out under good intentions or when the person acting out misread the situation. Did mistaken belief warrant a criminal charge? Smith was responsible for the death of Millwood, but he believed he was acting against someone who was bringing terror to the people of Hammersmith. The scenario would be brought up in a number of legal cases until it was finally settled in 1983 with the case of Regina v Williams during which the Court of Appeal finally clarified that:

“In a case of self-defence, where self-defence or the prevention of crime is concerned, if the jury came to the conclusion that the defendant believed, or may have believed, that he was being attacked or that a crime was being committed, and that force was necessary to protect himself or to prevent the crime, then the prosecution have not proved their case. If however the defendant’s alleged belief was mistaken and if the mistake was an unreasonable one, that may be a peaceful reason for coming to the conclusion that the belief was not honestly held and should be rejected. Even if the jury come to the conclusion that the mistake was an unreasonable one, if the defendant may genuinely have been labouring under it, he is entitled to rely upon it.”

In 1804 the people of Hammersmith were living in fear of a supernatural entity. This ghost story is still told, but not in front of campfires or on gloomy nights when the veil feels thin. The Hammersmith Ghost died in the same moment as Tom Millwood and today it is carried on not as a spine-chilling story about West London, but as a cautionary tale and a legal precedent that hung over the courts and haunted law practitioners for almost two centuries before it was finally laid to rest.

*******************************************************************************************

Sources:

The Case of the Murdered Ghost 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3364467.stm

The Hammersmith Ghost and the Strange Death of Thomas Millwood by Martin Baggoley http://www.crimemagazine.com/hammersmith-ghost-and-strange-death-thomas-millwood

The Case of a Ghost Haunted England for Over Two Hundred Years by Kelly Buchanan https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/10/the-case-of-a-ghost-haunted-england-for-over-two-hundred-years/

The Time Someone Shot A Ghost Dead In Hammersmith by Jane Alexander https://londonist.com/london/features/hammersmith-ghost-story-murder

[coinandcandle]

Apollo Deity Guide

The Romans knew him as either Apollo or Phoebus, he is the god of the sun, art, and music.

Who is Apollo?

Apollo was also worshipped as god of healing and medicine as well as prophecy and divination.

Unlike his more introverted twin sister, Apollo kept the company of many beings from deities to mortals.

Parents and Siblings

Zeus is his father, his mother is Leto

Artemis is his only full sibling.

Ares

Dionysus

Hermes

Hephaestus

Heracles

Minos

Perseus

Rhadamanthus

Athena

Persephone

Eileithyia

Hebe

Eris

Helen of Troy

The Graces

The Muses

Moirae

Lovers or Partners

Apollo had lovers of both the male and female variety!

Female Lovers include: Hecuba, Ourea, Arsinoe, Coronis, Creusa, Cyrene, Rhoeo, Evadne, Thero, Dryope and The Muses.

Male Lovers include: Cyparissus, Branchus, Admetus, Adonis, Atymnius, Boreas, Helenus, Hippolytus, Hymenaios, Hyacinth, Lapis, Phorbas

Apollo also had many one-sided loves such as Daphne, Hyrie/Thyrie, and Melia.

Children

He had many children including, Asclepius, Orpheus, Ion, Aristaeus, Amphiaraus, Troilus and Scylla. Look here for a bigger list of Apollo's children and their mothers.

Epithets

Paean

Apollon

Phoebus Apollo, or just Pheobus

Loxias” (referring to the god’s ambiguous oracles, called loxia)

“Lyceus” (a word that simultaneously evokes light, wolves, and the region of Lycia) (Mythopedia)

Apollo Daphnephoros

He is often conflated with Helios, the personification of the sun.

Holy Days/Festivals

The Pythian Games

The Delia

Celebrated in Athens, The Boedromia, Metageitnia, and Pyanepsia

Thargelia.) - Apollo’s Birthday, the day after Artemis’, would be the 7th day of Thargelion, which is roughly May 25th in the Gregorian calendar.

The Carneia and Hyacinthia were celebrated in Sparta

The Daphnephoria was celebrated every nine years in Thebes

Notes

From literature we know that the twins didn’t immediately start out as deities of the moon and sun respectively.

The most important temple dedicated to Apollo is the temple and Oracle at Delphi. The priestess Pythia would listen to and deliver Apollo’s prohocies and words. The story says that Pythia had breathed in vapors that rose from a spring underneath the temple.

Modern Deity Work

Correspondences

Disclaimer - Not all of these are traditional or historic correspondences nor do they need to be. However, any correspondence that can be considered traditional will be marked with a (T).

Rocks/Stone/Crystals

Sunstone

Gold

Tiger’s eye jasper

Citrine

Herbs/Plants

Laurel (T)

Hyacinth (T)

Palm tree (T)

Larkspur (T)

Sunflowers

Marigolds (Calendula)

Animals

Swans (T)

Cicadas

Ravens and crows (T)

Wolves/Dogs

Dolphins

Deer (T)

Hawks (T)

Snakes

Mice

Lions

Symbols

Lyre/Harp (T)

Curved Bow (T)

The Sun (T)

Plectrum (pick)

Sword

Laurel Crown (T)

Offerings

Any of the items listed above, or iconography of the items

Art of or that reminds you of Apollo (T)

Signs of the Sun

Honey (T)

Baked goods

Fruits and nuts (T)

Sun water

Wine (T)

Olives, olive oil, olive branch (T)

Oranges

Acts of Devotion

Celebrate the Olympics

Take up a sport

Dance

Read hymns of Apollo (T)

Watch and appreciate the sunrise and sunset

Bask in the sunlight (use sunscreen if you plan on doing this for longer than a few minutes!)

Practice divination (T)

Study philosophy, medicine, and pursue knowledge!

Write or read poetry and songs written for Apollo (T)

Keep in mind that these are only some ideas for offerings and correspondences! Items and activities that connect you to her in a more personal way are just as good, and often better, than those you find on the internet. As with any relationship, feel it out, ask questions, and be attentive and receptive!

References and Further Reading

Apollo - Mythopedia

Mythopedia has huge lists on either page for further reading on both Artemis and Apollo.

Apollo - Wikipedia

Apollo - Theoi Project

More Epithets here

Apollo - Greekmythology.com

Myths of Greece and Rome; Apollo (Phoebus) By Jane Harrison (Via Sacred-Texts)

Fun fact about Coin: I have a tattoo inspired by Apollo, with an arrow going through the roman numeral XIII and a minimalist sun overlaying the middle of the number in honor of my own twin who has the same tattoo but with a moon instead of a sun.

[useless-englandfacts]

I don’t know if you’ll be able to help out, but I support BLM and want to learn more about black people in the UK but most of the stuff out there is about America. Do you have any recommendations about British black people? Books or documentaries or resources?

I'd be happy to help out! I agree the US tends to dominate conversations about race, but happily there are quite a few British books out there too! Disclaimer that these are just off the top of my head so if anyone wants to add more then please go ahead!

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga! He's a prominent Black historian and has also done multiple documentaries which aim to expand traditional narratives of British history to include people of colour who are so often written out. You can find a full list on his Wikipedia page of course, though I'm unsure as to how many are on iPlayer and such! There's a child-friendly version of Black and British here too for any parents/teachers who are interested!

Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch is a more autobiographical book about Hirsch's experiences growing up as a mixed race woman in Britain. Hirsch attended Oxford University and works at the BBC, so it’s offers a good insight into what it's like for POC to exist in spaces that have traditionally been saved for rich white people. She's a journalist too so there are various articles of hers floating about covering a range of issues, some of which relate to race. She's also done a few documentaries that are worth checking out, including The Battle for Britain's Heroes which questions whether some of our 'heroes' (e.g. Churchill, Nelson) should really be honoured, and (not British but) African Renaissance which looks at Black culture in Ethiopia, Senegal and Kenya - maybe the first time I've seen African culture shown on its own terms.

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala is another half autobiographical work, covering stuff like the far right in Britain, policing and education. It does a great job of cutting through the squeamishness I think Brits often have when talking about race.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge has become a sort of classic of its genre but I think it's totally worthy of all the praise it's received! It looks at how lots of white people in Britain (and more generally) equate racism with full-on hate crimes, meaning they don't consider themselves racist despite regularly committing micro-aggressions/other unintentional acts. Also an absolutely stellar insight into intersectionality throughout the book! Cannot recommend enough!

Feminism, Interrupted: Disrupting Power by Lola Olufemi is a must-read for feminists! It discusses modern-day feminism and how it needs to remove itself from that girlboss capitalist yuckiness, and should instead focus on marginalised issues within feminism such as transmisogyny, sex work, and - of course - racism. Has been praised by Angela Davis so that's a huge plus!

The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla is a collection of essays by POC from across Britain sharing experiences of racism and immigration, and what it feels like to be constantly regarded as an 'other' or as an ambassador for your race.

Literally anything by Paul Gilroy! His work is slightly older and some of it is very ~academic~ but I don't want to suggest that it's therefore totally inaccessible. He talks a lot more about British national identity and our role in the world and how that has affected views on race and immigration. He's written lots (I recommend Googling him and having a better look yourself!) but There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack and After Empire: Melancholia or Convivial Culture are both fab.

If you're feeling brave then you could look at anything by Marxist darling Stuart Hall? Some of his writing is very difficult to penetrate imo, but it's worth it if you can. He's written a lot so I would recommend browsing his Wikipedia page first and seeing if there's anything that grabs you. Even if you don't feel up to reading his stuff cover to cover, he's still someone who every antiracist in Britain should know!

Honourary mention to Thinking Black: Britain, 1964-1985 by Rob Waters just because he taught me at university hehe! Obviously more of an academic history book, but again pretty accessible and a good insight into more radical Black politics in Britain in the era.

I haven't read it myself as I believe it's only just come out but David Harewood has a book called Maybe I Don't Belong Here: A Memoir of Race, Identity, Breakdown and Recovery which looks worth checking out! Foreword by our beloved David Olusoga too!

If you're still looking for more then a good tip with any of the academic books listed here is that you can browse the footnotes and/or bibliography to find further reading there!

If you're looking for documentaries then on the BBC you can browse for Black History Month stuff, (fictional) shows that centre Black British characters and narratives, and documentaries that do the same. There has been quite a lot done in the past year about all sorts of stuff - from Black people in the NHS, what it's like being Black in the church, more specific stuff on Stephen Lawrence, Windrush, the Newcross Fire, and even specials on Black celebrities such as Lenny Henry. There's also a Black and Proud section on Channel 4's website that does something similar (side note: cannot believe they've put Hollyoaks on there that's so funny).

I don't read much fiction myself, but it is important not just to see Black Britons as victims of racism, but also as… you know… complicated and fully rounded human beings who are able to experience the full spectrum of human emotion like everyone else. Like black people just… existing. Looking to others who do read fiction to help flesh out this section in particular but a couple again off the top of my head:

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola (I know this isn’t about Britain per se, but she's a Black British writer so I think it counts).

This is probably more than you asked for and you can likely tell that my academic background is in history so it is skewed towards that but I hope this helps! And again, if anyone wants to add anything then feel free!

- Dominique