aneurin barnard & they/them / agender ‷ watch out , brynmor evans-llewellyn has crash-landed into roswell !! they look thirty-five years old and celebrate their birthday on december thirty-first . they are from salem, oregon, reside in neptune avenue, and are currently working as a mortician and owner of eternal rest funeral home. one thing you should know about them is that they were granted ownership of the funeral home before the passing of the previous owner, because they were more trusted than the family.‷
content warning: death; mention of AIDS pandemic; alcohol
Full name: Brynmor Taliesin Evans-Llewellyn
Nicknames: Bryn; tiny Hot Topic bitch; funky little goth bitch; Brynnie Bee (strictly by his parents)
Gender & pronouns: agender, they/them
Romantic/sexual orientation: homoromantic, homosexual
DOB: 31 December 1986
Place of birth: Salem, Oregon
Occupation: Mortician (other accepted terms being funeral director and undertaker) and owner of Eternal Rest Funeral Home. As a licensed funeral director, they are also licensed in embalming and cremation; they prepare decedents for viewing and burial, and guide families in planning memorial services
Education: Certificate in Accounting and Associate of Arts in Business Administration, both earned at Eastern New Mexico University--Roswell; Associate of Science in Mortuary Science and Bachelor of Science in Funeral Service, both earned at Cypress College, in Cypress, California
Languages: Welsh (first/native, taught to them by their parents before English); English; ASL
Family: Siân Evans-Llewellyn (mother, gestational carrier); Efa Evans-Llewellyn (mother, though not legally so until 2004); Jonathan Geller (biological father/”donor”); Zeke Moore (paternal cousin)
Hobbies: drinking box wine out of expensive glasses; continuing to wear his goth style even in the desert heat; freebasing caffeine; eating nothing but cereal for days; watching literally whatever is on TV at the time; collecting nice-smelling candles; new wave karaoke, at home, alone; watching lord of the rings whenever it's on tv even though he owns the movies on DVD and blu-ray; looking spooky at parties; drawing and occasional painting; having the best Halloween decorations on the block; tailoring and modifying his own clothes; playing piano
biography
Two young ladies born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, find each other and fall madly in love. They’re both eccentrics, but typically seen in a quirky, delightful way. It’s the 1980s and the world is much bigger than little Wales, and Siân Evans and Efa Llewelyn are both spontaneous, and they decide to move to the United States together, content enough in their love for one another that they don’t foresee finding anyone else.
It’s the 1980s and they can’t get married, but they live as blissfully wed wife and wife regardless, falling into step with the LGBT scene in the Salem-Portland area, finding fast friends in a community that is hurting and desperately needs support during the ongoing AIDS pandemic. They open their doors to those in need of family and visit lonely patients in the hospitals when they can; and they attend funerals when friends’ and community members’ families won’t.
Siân and Efa want to become parents, which isn’t exactly easy for two lesbians in the 1980s; but the plan becomes smoother when a friend, a gay man by the name of Jon Geller, volunteers to help. He’s lost his own partner to the pandemic but has found some comfort in his friends and community in the past few years since. He is not expecting custodial rights, but would like to be in the child’s life in some capacity. When an agreement is reached, the old “turkey baster” method is used so that Siân may carry the baby, the little blessing that would become Brynmor Taliesin.
Being born to foreign lesbians who were bound in spirit by a neopagan ceremony and who regularly attend funerals of friends and strangers alike mean that Brynmor isn’t really expected to be a totally normal kid. He’s happy and spirited and social, and very very brave. The small baby, who grows to be a small child, is a light in many people’s lives who have spent so much time mourning lives lost. He has many aunts and uncles, including his “Uncle” Jon who can’t be prouder of him. His moms also emphasize the importance of culture and keeping it alive, speaking Welsh in the home and peppering in some beliefs of Celtic neopaganism.
The dust settles around the pandemic by the mid-to-late 1990s, and that’s when Siân and Efa decide to pack up their little family and move elsewhere in the United States. Having always been eccentrics, they are charmed by the idea around Roswell; and Bryn is 9 when they move in. He’s already always been one of the weird kids just for having two moms and no dad in a time when it isn’t very common; but he’s also just kind of weird in his own ways. He has a strong stomach and is willing to complete dares without much cajoling, and is always happy to share his answers and ideas in class. He’s seen as strange, but his sense of humor is enough to prevent many kids from drawing away.
In middle school, Bryn adopts a darker, gothic style that’s becoming more popular around the time. He doesn’t go so far as to wear makeup, but he begins to favor wearing lots of dark clothes. His small stature is further diminished by him wearing so much black, a color that people wear to look slimmer, a color people avoid painting rooms because it makes the room looks smaller. In spite of his obvious style, he’s never particularly anti-social or sullen; he maintains a great sense of humor, even if it is a bit dark at times, and doesn’t really shy away from social situations. Teenagers are mean and he’s called creepy many times to his face, among a slew of other harsh names; but he takes them in stride, even enjoying some of the epithets he hears. He’ll always have his sense of humor.
During high school, the ‘what do you want to do with your life?’ deadline approaches quicker than Bryn would like, as he’s never put much thought into it. His moms have been stable pillars in the community, working with charities and non-profits, and he doesn’t know if he necessarily wants a part of that. He applies to the Eastern New Mexico University campus in Roswell, the local community college, just to do something until he knows what to do with his adult life. When he begins the Associate of Arts in Business Administration program at ENMUR, he picks up a job at Eternal Rest Funeral Home. He thinks it’s just a job, but it turns out to save his life. It’s also around the time that he graduates high school, that his non-biological mom, Efa, is permitted to adopt her son as the second parent. In celebration, Bryn changes his name legally to reflect it, tacking on Llewellyn onto the formerly lonely Evans
Initially, only being a high school graduate at the time, there isn’t much Bryn can do; but he is involved with transporting bodies, being a gofer around the home, and other tasks like being a stand-in pallbearer. Quickly he becomes interested in the death industry. He’s always had a strong stomach, and being around the deceased--in many stages of decomp--doesn’t particularly bother him. The owner, Harvey Goodwin, takes the young man under his wing after Bryn proves himself to be a reliable employee; and old Harv shows him the ins and outs of the actual planning, and even gets him involved in the embalming process where possible. Also important is seeing the balance between the decedent’s wishes for their rites, versus what the decedent’s family insisted upon. Bryn’s moms still attend the funerals of gay and trans decedents--some don’t have families around, others have families that don’t respect them--so some of the conflicts in the meeting rooms at the funeral home hit him somewhere deep.
By the time he’s done with his business admin degree, Bryn is thinking about going to mortuary school himself. His moms are initially a little surprised, but then they remember how close the young man has been to death his entire life. Mr. Goodwin is extremely encouraging, seeing Bryn as his new protegee. When the decision is made that he’ll go, Bryn has to make the temporary move to Orange County, California, to go to the school of his choice--it’s known in the industry that no mortuary school is really “better” than another, that they all simply prepare you to pass a test to get yourself licensed. He passes GO, collects $200 in the form of another associate’s degree, and eventually finds himself with a bachelor’s degree, hoping to be duly prepared to impress.
Mr. Harvey Goodwin is very proud to see his protegee return for good with the right kind of training done, and gives the 25-year-old Bryn plenty of responsibility with an actual funeral director role at the funeral home. It’s initially overwhelming, but not for very long. Bryn has learned to reel in his sense of humor with guests and families and be respectful at the right times. In a small town there aren’t many options when you are looking to memorialize a loved one who has passed away, but regardless it’s still important to offer exceptional service to make the grieving process go a little smoother.
The old boss, Mr. Goodwin, becomes extremely ill, placing many duties in the hands of Bryn, whom he deeply trusts, while he’s busy being treated for his illness. In the process, the old man decides to update his will. His own living family have never been extremely invested in keeping the funeral home afloat as a family business, as it seems they would sell it to a large corporation. The only ones who seem to care about keeping it in the family aren’t equipped to run the place. The next best thing--or really, the best option--is very clearly Bryn. And so, at age 32, ownership of the establishment is given to Bryn, which is extremely bothersome to much of Mr. Goodwin’s family. The kid isn’t one of us! they say; and the old man, staying steadfast even through his weakness says, He isn’t a kid, he’s family to me and my best asset.
That little associate’s degree in business admin turns out to be a little helpful. Harvey Goodwin soon passes away, and Brynmor T. Evans-Llewellyn becomes the big boss in full capacity, beginning with embalming his late boss himself and making sure the funeral goes smoothly--even if old Harv’s family doesn’t want him there. As the boss, and as a funeral director in his own right, Bryn remains firm in respecting the wishes and identity of decedents. Gay decedents must have their spouses identified as such; trans decedents must be presented as their true gender; and every service must be welcoming towards decedents’ found families.
The stoic and respectful figure present to plan and direct funerals becomes the embalmer in the very back room, decked in scrubs--usually black--as he sings along to tunes by Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure, Tears For Fears, and more, often singing directly to the body he’s preparing, and talking to them like they’re just a person listening. He likes to drink--he has a high tolerance--and is known to make an appearance at Planet 7 on occasion, as he can be real fun at parties. There’s an apartment above the funeral home; and though Bryn lives in his own house, the apartment is handy sometimes when he’s been ‘on call’ and busy through the night. He often smells somewhat strongly of cologne, and burns candles and incense all the time at home, to help get the ‘smells’ out of his nose. His occupation is frightening and/or morbid to many so it’s been difficult to settle down with a long-term partner like his moms want him to do.
