The Welsh Red Dragon, Kurt Vonnegut, and Social Activism
The inspiration behind Shepardās pins
(original post with full artwork here.)
So, I spent A LOT of time thinking about the kind of pins our good friend Shepard (from Omaha, NE) would have on his denim jacket. Like a lot. Like an obsessive amount of time. I made a list, which seemed appropriate for this fandom. And because Iām a nerd and this sort of thing really interests me, and Iām proud of what I came up with, and because I think some of these items open up the possibility for some good, good literary analysis, I decided to make a whole post dedicated to Shepardās pins. Youāre welcome.
First, a little bit about my thought process. How did I decide what kind of pins to give Shepard? Well, heās a guy full of stories. Stories that he canāt wait to tell anyone and everyone. And stories that others (mostly Maybes) have told him, once heās earned their confidence. So, I wanted his pins to tell a story, his story in particular. What is the story that Shepard wants to tell about himself? More precisely, what is the story he wants to tell his new magickal friends on a disastrous summer holiday? The story is that of his own magickal credibility. His journey to magic (his come to Crowley moment, perhaps?) (Iād apologize, but Iām not sorryā¦) and his trustworthiness as evidenced by all of the Maybes heās met along the way. Heās gotten drunk off dandelion wine with a creek dryad, given a toothbrush to a Sasquatch. spilled the tea with a jackalope, midwifed a centaur foal. Shepās journey is just as impressive as Simonās, and while Simon has been collecting notches on his dead dark creature bedpost (thatās a weird fucking metaphorā¦) (and now Iām thinking about dark creatures and Simonās bedpostsā¦so, youāre welcome, Basilton), Shepās been collecting notches of the friendly variety. (Shoutout to @adamarks who did some super lovely analysis on Simon and Shep as mirrors here: https://adamarks.tumblr.com/post/188046272067/ok-so-when-shepard-said-he-was-cursed-the-first). So, I decided that I wanted to use Shepās pins as a way to show the notches on his bedpost, so to speak. (Okay, Iām really losing this metaphor, but I think youāre still with me.)
(Iām working my way down one side of his jacket at a time, for those following along at home.)
Welsh Dragon:
I made this one very large, and easy to spot on his right shoulder. Of all of his accoutrements, this one felt like the most important. Mainly, because of Simon. Simon is, after all, half-Welsh. (The Mage, may he rest in pain, came to Watford from Wales.) And, of course, Simon, just like the Welsh Dragon, is a red dragon. (Or in the process of becoming one? Or a half-dragon? Or a dragon kitten?ā¦) And the dragon that Simon and Baz fought on the Watford lawn, when they first worked together, and first shared magic, was a red dragon. Of course, the actual dragon in question here is Margaret. Shepard would absolutely have a pin to commemorate his friendship with her. And since I was going to give him a pin with a dragon, I knew I was going to have to use the Welsh Dragon because it would perfectly capture his burgeoning friendship with Simon, as well. Now, I want to go on a slight detour here (this blog post will be its own Odyssey) and talk more about the Welsh Red Dragon. I took the design for the pin from the Welsh flag, which is the thing that first made me think more about Simonās Welsh connection. Iām not really making a point here, I just think itās fascinating! Thereās a lot of Welsh lore about the Red Dragon (and Margaret herself calls Simon āGreat Redā - that āRā is capitalized, by the way, so this seems to be a proper name for the kind of dragon that she thinks Simon is). Full disclosure, I am not Welsh and I am not a scholar on any of this by any means. That being said, a cursory, and super academic, perusal of the Wikipedia article on the Welsh Dragon led me to a few different history websites that linked the symbol of the red dragon with Merlin and King Arthur (son of Uther Pendragon, literally dragon head). Merlin, one of the most well-known magical figures and Arthur, one of the most well-known Chosen One figures in literary tradition. I know very little about Arthurian legend, and Welsh history, and dragon lore, though, so Iām going to just say, do a little research on your own when youāre bored and feeling nerdy!
Resist!:
Shep is a young black man (and reasonable human being) living in the U.S. during the [redacted] Administration. I should hope this one is self-explanatory.
Hoover Dam:
At some point in his visits to see Blue, Iām sure Shepard stopped off at the gift shop and bought himself a souvenir pin to mark the incredible experience he had making friends with an actual river. (This pin design is based on an actual souvenir pin of the Hoover Dam I found on Google Imagesāalong with most of the other pin designs. I think itās vintage, which just felt even more like Shepard to me, because heās the kind of guy who would appreciate stuff thatās got a past.)
Deathly Hallows:
I mean, IF the Harry Potter books/movies exist in the Simon Snow universe (which hasnāt been confirmed, as far as I know, by our Queen) Iām sure Shepard would have been totally into it as a kid, and probably would have found greater significance in its magical lore once he discovered that ACTUAL MAGIC EXISTS! So, he would have a pin to show his belief in the magickal world, and maybe also as a nostalgic reminder of when magic was still just something fictional he could turn to for escapism (and not something that would result in being cursed by a demonā¦).
The Truth is Out There:
So, I know virtually nothing about The X-Files (my sister was obsessed with it to the point that she wanted to become a FBI agent for a few years, but I never watched it), but Iām sure Shepard is a fan. If nothing else, the sentiment is awfully apropos.
So It Goes:
This one is very hard to see. It sort of looks like a black teardrop with a bar on top of it (itās supposed to look like a bomb). The pin I based this off of reads āSo It Goesā, which from my very superficial research, is a line repeated in Vonnegutās anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five every time someone dies. I donāt know anything more about it, other than that it is a Kurt Vonnegut-inspired pin available for purchase on Etsy, and Shep mentions that he wanted to get a Vonnegut quote tattoo, even though āeverybody has those.ā
Green Alien Head:
You will never be able to convince me that Shepard does not 10,000% believe in the existence of aliens. If he were still in the U.S. during the Area 51 Raid, Iām sure he would have stopped by, just, you know, for scienceā¦(Iām thinking he was probably still in the UK, but I guess weāll see in AWTWB.)
Centaur:
This one is also hard to see, but I took the design from a pin I found of one of the centaurs (the blue-haired, blue-bodied one, if that rings a bell for you) from Disneyās Fantasia. (Fun fact: I was super into Fantasia as a littlun, and I attribute my lifelong love for classical music in large part to the centaur sequence and my latent lesbianismāI mean, it was ludicrously erotic. Watch it sometime and tell me it would not make an impression on a sapphic three-year-old.) Midwifing a centaur foal was probably a very emotional and formative experience for Shepard. Buying this pin would be his way of remembering that experience, and the excitement and gratitude he likely felt to have been entrusted with that kind of acceptance from the centaur(s).
Jackalope:
It doesnāt help that this pin is almost the same color as Shepardās jacket, but itās based off a design of a jackalopeās head that, again, I found on Google Image search (honestly, I donāt know how I ever made art without it). We know that Shepard once got some gossip from a jackalope, who vented to him about magicians calling āthemselves āmagiciansāā, like ātheyāre the only ones with magicā. (This is totally irrelevant, but I always think of Americans when I read this. I am an American, by the way. America is a continent, but those of us living in the U.S. calls ourselves Americans, like everyone else living in America doesnāt matter.) Anyway, the jackalope offered Shepard some valuable insight into the political workings of the magickal world, so it gets its own pin.
Pansexual Pride Flag Pin:
I mean, technically, canonically, we donāt know what Shepardās sexuality (or asexuality) is, but I just get some vibes from him. Plus, if we take him as a mirror for Simon (who is somewhere on the bi-plus spectrum), itās not a far cry to imagine he also identifies somewhere on that spectrum.
Pentagram:
This is another symbol that I chose based on my interpretation of Shepardās character, and not so much on a Maybe or a story that he mentioned. The pentagram, or pentacle, is typically associated with the occult and witchcraft, which is something that could potentially also be said of Shep.
Sasquatch:
You donāt go backpackingāor not backpackingāand introduce a Sasquatch to the benefits of dental hygiene without getting yourself a souvenir of the hike.
I [heart] Mystery Spot:
The Mystery Spot is a weird sort of phenomenon in California (my home state). Itās a place outside the beach town of Santa Cruz that boasts of a āgravitational anomalyā on its website. I went once, years ago, and while youāre there, it can feel pretty convincing. (Also, I was probably like 10, soā¦) People outside of California will likely never have heard of this place, but driving around here (at least in the Bay Area, where I am, which isnāt that far from Santa Cruz) youāll see yellow Mystery Spot bumper stickers on cars everywhere. Iām not really sure what the thing is with the bumper stickers. Like, Iām sure not that many people actually think itās legit, and maybe itās like one of those things that Californians just do (like freak out and forget how to drive when we feel water falling from the sky). But yeah, these bumper stickers are everywhere. Anyway, Shepard drives around a lot. He knows about the Vampires of Las Vegas (how is that not an indie rock band?) and the Katherine Hotel, and the Next Blood. So, heās probably made it past Nevada and into California before. And while he was there, itās not a great stretch of the imagination that someone who chases after magic wouldnāt wind up at a place called the Mystery Spot and get himself a pin while he was there. (And maybe even a bumper sticker.)
Black Power Fist:
Unfortunately, this one is also hard to see, because the fist is black and I didnāt have anything to go over the outlines of the fingers with, which I sort of didnāt think about when I colored it. This one also feels self-explanatory. Shepard is black. Blackness has long been treated in itself as a crime by non-black members of law enforcement, and just the general racist population of the U.S. Young black men are especially vulnerable to racially motivated violence. Iām sure Shep, who drives all over the country by himself and gets into high speed chases at night in the middle of nowhere Nebraska while hunting super shifty rando Maybes has had a run-in or two. Stay safe, Shep!
Every Pronoun Belongs Here [Trans Pride Flag background]:
Also, super hard to see because the letters are too small to read. I found this exact pin in a basket by the register at my local bookshop. (Support local bookshops, people!) They were being sold as a fundraiser for a LGBTQ club at one of the high schools, and I loved the idea that I could help them raise money and add this pin to my own growing collection to show off my support for trans rights. (Support trans rights and trans people, people!) I decided to give Shepard this same pin, because I could imagine him having an almost identical book buying experience in a dozen other towns that heās probably visited. And I love the simplicity of the message, because itās one of belonging, which EVERYONE is desperately seeking, no matter who they are or how they identify, and Shepard, and every character in this picture, is no exception. (Plus, it seemed like a cool way to connect my pin collection with Shepās. Maybe I should have mentioned the fact that Iām also a pin person at the beginning? I walk to work and on my lunch breaks, so I carry all of my stuff in a backpack. And I proudly display my random pin collection on my backpack. Including several Simon Snow-related pins.)
Donāt Panic:
This was based off a Hitchhikerās Guide to the Galaxy pin. I donāt really know anything about the Hitchhikerās Guide to the Galaxy (including if itās okay to abbreviate it as HGG? THGTTG? whatever), even though I did watch the movie years back when it was on TV and I still lived with my parents who had a TV. But the sentiment felt appropriate, and Shepard is a sort of magickal hitchhiker. Apart from managing to hold down a job at Dick Blick, he appears to lead a somewhat nomadic lifestyle. He tells Penny, āthe road is my teacherā, and if thatās not a hitchhiker slogan, I donāt know what is. (Ass, gas, or grass?)
Black Lives Matter:
They do. Just sayinā.
Magic Troll Doll:
When I was growing up, the Troll doll was all the (nightmare-inducing) rage. Trolls are one of those magickal creatures that are continually mentioned in the series. Shepard talks about lonely trolls under bridges. Simon talks about killing trolls. Agatha would rather kiss a troll. And Baz was kidnapped by numpties, who are sort of like trolls. I couldnāt not include a troll. And the Troll doll specifically felt perfect, because the full name was Magic Troll Doll. You can bet if Shepard had to pick a troll-related pin, it would be a magic(k)al one.
[Asshole]:
This is another Kurt Vonnegut pin. It looks like a messily drawn asterisk (*), but itās actually meant to be an asshole (taken from the preface of Vonnegutās novel Breakfast of Champions, and drawn by Vonnegut himself). I just thought, why the fuck not? So, here. Have an asshole pin. (I should have put it on a buttonholeā¦)
Shepardās Phone Case:
Remember that line I quoted earlier, about Shep wanting to get a Vonnegut quote tattoo? Well, when I was trying to figure out what to put on his phone case, I thought that seemed like a reasonable place to start. So, I googled Vonnegut quotes, to see if I could find one that I thought Shepard would like. Hereās the quote: āa purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.ā I just loved that for Shepard.
