a small thing I find fun and subversive about the illuminae files is james mcnulty. specifically, his death (sorry). i feel like usually when men die in fiction, it’s their bravery, their strength, their selflessness that’s highlighted. it’s usually a feminine death that highlights how tragic it is that she never got to be a mother, or that she left x number of kids behind, etc etc. and she typically goes in fear, whether that be screaming or crying or shaking or anything else. but when james dies gets left behind, the main part about it is what a great father he would have made. and in the message he records of his death, he expresses fear. it was just a nice, pleasant subversion of gender norms that i didn’t even realise were so pervasive until i noticed how unusual james’ death felt to me