hannie

I think their father, Navid died years ago. I think he was very much a hardass, especially to the women in the family, and especially his wife. He wasn't psychically abusive but the way Moafi describes him I've inferred that he was probably neglectful and even emotionally volatile at times towards his wife, Salma.

in my head Hiam Abbas is the perfect Salma.

I think she was forced into the role of homemaker and forced to ignore her passions/degree. While I feel that Navid was not the stereotypical, often actually Islamphobic Iranian patriarch (that often is used as a justification for US intervention in Iran, and its bombing of the aforementioned country) I do think that he expected that of Salma, and because it was typical of that time, she did so.

I think if they were born generations later they would probably have a better relationship and would've treated their children better. I also think Elmas (the oldest), Leila (the second oldest), and Baran (third oldest here) having seen this behaviour, and the way he treated their mother and the way she treated them in turn would have meant even in memory they have pretty negative opinions of him. After his death, Salma I think idolises him in a way that rubs them especially the wrong way (ie she'll say things to Elmas like "your father would be so proud :)" and he literally grimaces).

She has taken this burden out on her children and often enforces the same expectations that were forced onto her as a young woman - Zahra (the youngest), Leila (the second oldest), Baran and Mona (the second youngest) have felt the brunt of this pressure.

Arian Moyad is who I picture as Elmas (45), (which means 'diamond' in Farsi a pretty accurate description for how Salma sees him as the oldest)

He's pretty normal all things considered and is close with Baran and Leila. Kian (fourth oldest, second son) pisses him off sometimes but Kian pisses everyone off except Salma. Finance guy. Has a daughter and such a girl dad. He loves his wife Maryam but Salma antagonizes her except when she compares her to Mona's parter Heloise, Kian's various girlfriends and Zahra's longtime boyfriend Henry. He's a bit of a pushover when it comes to their mother however, seeing the brunt of it and thus often infantilises her which annoys Maryam, Leila and Baran all for different reasons.

I see May Calamwy as Maryam. I think she's kind of sarcastic and extroverted and open about her views which definitely rubs Salma the wrong way but is what Elmas loves most about her.

I picture Golshifteh Farahani as Leila (42), an academic at a Liberal Arts university. I think she'd be a disciple of Sara Ahmed, Edward Said, Eve Kosofsky-Sedgwick, etc. I think she has a longtime partner who she is deliberately elusive about. I also think she is a DSA member and has probably argued with Robby about Israel before ((In this world we r a crazzzzy future where Robby and Baran have been in a relationship) I think Robby would be a two-stater who argues for coexistence, although it took him until the recent assaults on Gaza and the settler violence in the West Bank to see Israel's crossing of the '68 boundaries as an illegal occupation. I think his support of Israel and Zionism is wrapped up in intergenerational trauma and paranoia like most support for Israel is, I think Baran might be a two-stater who sees one, democratic Palestinan state as "unrealistic" but is beginning to realise how unrealistic it would be to expect Israel not to continue their expanionist project. They both probably donate to Standing Together. Idk also these r my opinions... don't kill/crucify me).

She and Baran are probably the closet however Leila and Mona (the second youngest) have a great relationship too. I think Leila detests/is jealous of Elmas a little, the disparity in the way they were treated as eldest son/eldest daughter really upset her as a child and now, when retrospectively she is discovering that the way Salma and Navid treated her is not really her fault and was not indictative of any fundamental defect she has in her personality. She used to take this out on Elmas in a sometimes vindictive way but as adults they are closer and she facetimes her niece often.

She doesn't visit Salma and the family as much (I think they r from LA, and that Elmas still lives there, as well as Kian, Mona and Zahra (the former live at home whereas Zahra lives with her boyfriend) perhaps even lives overseas but makes it back home for the holidays because as much as she sometimes wants to disconnect completely she loves her siblings and their children and in spite of her better self, ultimately her mother (something she's def said to Baran: "I can analyse her like a character in a book, and be sympathetic as a result of such analysis... but I struggle to like her.")

Baran (40) is the third oldest here and she is closet to Elmas, Leila and Mona. Definitely overprotective of Zahra as she is the youngest and certainly hates her dirtbag puesdo-leftist #organic artsy annoying boyfriend.

....

I see Alia Shawkat as Mona, (37) the fourth oldest. She's funny and enthusatic and still lives with Salma - I think she's in the creative industry but often PAs/interns/does work within the indie scene in LA. She wants to write.

She was a very rambunctious child and difficult as well which led to Salma treating her quite awfully as she really didn't have any support. Has most of the issues Leila has with Salma but still relies on her and despite her better self still searches for her approval. She sees Leila more as a maternal figure and is definitely closet to her, but because her, Kian and Zahra are closet in age, she has more jokes/fun times with him. The trio don't really remember their father that well (he passed some years ago Zahra was born in like 1996).

She is also a lesbian and her partner is Heloise, a French painter by night and a hospo worker by day. Salma still keeps trying to set her up with random men whose mothers she meets at the Mosque/in the community, though.

I see Adele Haenel as Heloise.

Ramy Youssef to me is the perfecttttt Kian (35). He went to middle school during 9/11 and as a result is quiteee Americanised in the same way Zahra (who during middle and high school went by Zara) but it is mostly just a coping mechanism. Loves Drake and pisses off his siblings but is also the funniest so they like him too. The funny uncle to Elmas' daughter and Jahan, Baran's son. He is kind of evil in an Annoying Male Feminist way lowkey but he's lovable (he's literally just Ramy from Ramy besides the commiting cousin incest and cheating on his wife part). He is also kind of a manwhore who never dates a girl for more than like a month. He's kind of like Ramy in that he sees Muslim girls as 'virginal' whereas he will have sex with non-Muslim girls. The type of guy who says 'I'll marry one, but I won't date one'. Fetishic and kind of weird and Leila happily tells him this but it'll probs be a number of yrs before he analyses #this.

Marisa Abela IS Zahra. She is kind of like Yasmin from Industry except she is much more normal. She is a receptionist and HATES her job so muccccchhhhhhhhhh. Her, Mona and Kian to Robby r like the four horseman of the apololypse as they like annoying him and her boyfriend Henry who has beliefs such as "COVID-19 was spread by the government" and "HIV was spread by the gov to kill all the gay ppl" and "raw milk is better" and is DJ and calls himself a creative and asked her to open their relationship but when she sleeps w another guy he gets kind of volatile so she breaks up with him. Baran and Mona literally dance for joy when they find this out. She swears and her favourite is Cunt but around her mother she doesn't. She runs to Good Girls Gone Bad and feels the lyrics in her soul. She kind of knows her boyfriend is weird but honestly they had a two year lease so she was just waiting for it to finish. Salma thinks they sleep in seperate rooms and also share the house with another one of her friends... this friend does not exist. Zahra is also a professional liar and has sneaked out oft a time in her youth. She smokes only when she's drunk and like heaves when she does it sober but she will say after an argument "I need a cig to take the edge off"

Harris Dickinson is her boyfriend Henry. he probably either didn't vote in the 2020 elections which Robby thinks is tantamount to a crime or wrote in like Curtis Silwa. The most confusing politics ever. Either provoking Robby on purpose or is this stupid really (from @lovedandliked : "Hey man, did you know that raw milk is actually great for you? Bet they don't teach you that in med school, ha." Robby is literally red from anger and the only thing restraining him from beating his ass is the fact that Baran would be annoyed). Is anti vaccine but has one? Most contradictory politics ever would probably call himself a libertarian. All he knows is DJing, unemployment, polygamy and cheating.