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iguessthisismenow · 14 days

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Lighting round! TTPD+A Songs, their public meanings and their actual meanings (red text means im unsure):

Fortnight - Matty - Taylor's public and private personas

TTPD - Matty/maybe Joe - Taylor from Karlie's perspective

My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys - Joe breaking Taylor's heart - Joe acting like a child and ruining their bearding contract that started off really good

Down Bad - probably Matty, maybe Joe - Taylor hating bearding and loving Karlie and hating how distant she and Karlie have to be

So Long London - Toe breakup - Taylor being terrified of the power toe held over her relationship(???)

But Daddy I Love Him - Loving Matty (maybe travis?) despite the public hearing him - loving women/karlie despite public opinion that its wrong/mocking the heteronormative ideals she's been slotted into (you should see your faces!!)

Fresh Out The Slammer - idek what the public are supposed to think. Maybe this idea that she was dating Joe while in love with matty?? Who knows. - Her bearding relationships being like prison while she steals as much time with Karlie as she can

Florida - escaping from the drama of her life for a bit - same. Maybe from karlies perspective

Guilty as Sin? - emotionally cheating on Joe with matty - being queer in a society where it's seen as sinful

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me - taylor vs her haters within the entertainment industry

I can fix him (no really I can) - matty?? Maybe travis - another bearding song, this time about Taylor taming a difficult beard / maybe just a fun song she wrote

loml - Joe - maybe karlie and the way they both struggled with bearding

I can do it with a broken heart - taylor performing in one of the biggest tours ever during a breakup - Taylor's betrayal when her masters were sold, her being able to rerecord her albums with stunning success

Smallest man who ever lived - joe / matty - her trust of the man who sold her masters

The Alchemy - Travis - Karlie at the Eras tour

Clara Bow - how women are treated in the music industry

The Black Dog - Joe - no clue

imgonnagetyouback - Joe??? Matty??? - potentially laying the groundwork for getting back together with karlie

The Albatross - Taylor's reputation - the open secret of taylor being queer in the music industry and how that's frowned upon / potentially taylor coming out soon

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus - Taylor being in love with Matty for 10 years or something - Karlie and Taylor beading and both loathing it / potential set up for kaylor reunion

How did it end? - Taylor being angry at people being nosey over her relationship ending - almost coming out during lover only to be forced back in the closet

So High School - Being in love with travis - openly mocking travis and even the idea that she loves him

I Hate It Here - hating the public eye / rebounding from Joe with matty - hating the public eye / hating bearding

thanK you aIMee - hating Kim K - maybe hating KK, maybe others who are more homophobic

I look in people's windows - losing joe/matty - having to be separate from karlie for bearding / potential kaylor reunion set up

The Prophecy - Taylor wondering if she will ever find love - her wanting to find a place in her career where she can finally come out

Cassandra - the kimye drama - taylor worrying about coming out

Peter - a kid she loved when she was also a kid - the failed coming out

The Bolter - Taylor not being able to commit ?? - not sure, maybe setting up for a kaylor reunion

Robin - THEY HAVE NO IDEA. THEY HAVE NO CLUE. THEY CANNOT EXPLAIN IT. I'VE SEEN PEOPLE SAY ITS ABOUT HER FREAKING CAT - her son! her eldest SON! there is NO other explanation!

The Manuscript - Joe/Matty/maybe Joe Jonas or one of Taylor's old boyfriends who were much older than her - Karlie bearding with Josh

LMK if you want credit for a theory, I'm not sure how a lot of them started :)

#kaylor

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lesbianlenas · 19 days

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ok i lied i’m going to listen to the rest rn i’m just going to skip thru them a little bc i have to go to bed maybe i will give them a second listen in a few days or smth but anyway.

the black dog: ok hold on perhaps i like this one the way the music went when she said screaming ok…..smth interesting taylor??? this one was pretty good better than most of the songs on the og album lmfao 8/10

imgonnagetyouback: this sounds exactly like some other taylor swift song but it’s not bad it actually like has character to it and is enjoyable to listen to 😩 7/10

the albatross: this song is just ok but what i like abt it vs the songs on the og album that were slower is that she is not doing the breathy vocals and is actually singing w her whole voice so it’s immediately more engaging 6/10

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus: feel similar abt this as i did to the last one. again way better than the slow songs in the original. 6/10

how did it end: i like the use of the piano in this song not a big fan of the song itself but i like the use of a different sound here. otherwise kind of boring 4/10

so high school: oh god she’s doing the breathy voice again 😭 i was like oh an interesting sound? and then the vocals i’m like ok 😩 i just think this sounds like so many of her other songs 5/10

i hate it here: this is ok i might like this better if i listened to it while looking at the lyrics but yeah 4/10

thank you aimee: funny of her to make a kim k diss track so many yrs after the incident lol look what you made me do is vastly superior maybe that’s controversial to say….i do like that this is smth much different lyrically and there is some nice variation in it 7.5/10

i look in people’s windows: ok back to the breathy singing 😔 i skipped thru like this whole song it sounds like so many of the other ones i heard this already 3/10

the prophecy: this is whatever. not very interesting maybe i would like it better if i was reading the lyrics 4/10

cassandra: here’s the thing. cassandra by florence + the machine is one of my favorite songs of all time so the fact that she ft her on the album and then called a song this is immediately going to make me compare them and it isn’t going to compare bc taylor is not on the same level artistically as florence is 😩 yeah this is not cassandra by florence for sure lmfao. i don’t hate it tho it’s nice actually. i feel like she could have done smth more interesting musically w this one tho. 7/10

peter: this sounds like so many other of her songs 😩 like girl you can’t just make so many songs w the same sounds 😭 i like the use of the piano on this one also tho and the bridge is nice and is really good vocally from her 4/10

the bolter: this again sounds like a lot of her other songs but it’s at least p engaging and the bridge and the chorus are nice 6/10

robin: too slow for me but she sounds really good vocally on this one vs the songs where she is very breathy so i like that. also liked the ending. again would be better if i was looking at the lyrics probably. if i was objective i’d probably give this one a higher rating but i’m not 5/10

the manuscript: i like the opening of this w the piano keys….i do not like this lyrically tbh. these lyrics are like why are you reiterating a convo like this. it’s like she’s reading a diary entry to music or smth i just think it’s kind of clunky. despite it being slow if i didn’t dislike the lyrics i would give this a way higher rating i think the music on this one is beautiful. if it was better lyrically i prob would have loved this. 4/10

final thoughts: these songs were way more varied than the original songs i wouldn’t say any of these sounded like another one of these despite several of them sounding like other songs of hers these definitely weren’t like you could splice these all together into one song. i think some of these def should have been on the og album instead. but the same issues from what i said before still stand holistically. anyway goodnight.

#michelle speaks #liked the additional songs better than a lot of the songs on the main album……#maybe it’s better than midnights at this point….i didn’t really listen to midnights in depth tho i don’t remember it very well.#i think she still has the same issue where she writes some terrible lyrics & no one says hey. this isn’t good.#like she needs someone to edit her……but yeah. overall just too slow for me which is just a personal thing.#i am no tswift expert anyway i am just giving my opinion lol. i don’t even know most of her music 😩

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bestworstcase · 4 years

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Since Gilbert took over Corona in the latest chapter, I wanted to know like, what is his relationship with his brothers? Do he and Frederic usually get along? Is it a kind of "I was supposed to inherent the throne" kind of deal? Also how does he feel about Arianna, Punzel, and Eugene?

alrighty so!!

gilbert is the middle sibling; fred’s older, ludolf is younger. i don’t think he has much, if anything, in the way of ambition to rule—he’s very much a traditionalist and that includes buying into the system of monarchy and frederic having the “right” to rule as the eldest son.

however he absolutely is not the kind of person who could loaf around being a rich prince all his life, and since the temple didn’t appeal to him (too boring) and neither did diplomacy (too delicate), as a young man he enlisted in ingvarr’s battalion and served as an officer in the hvassjarn war, which was a fairly significant war ~20 years ago involving, primarily, a territorial dispute between ingvarr and seland, with their respective allies getting dragged into the mix (and quintonia stuck in the middle like “god damn it, guys, again?).

and that is an environment in which gilbert definitely thrived. he always has a very black and white, us-vs-them mentality that suited him well for war; he liked the military camaraderie of the battalion, the physical and mental challenges of battle, and the... simplicity? of the whole conflict. i think any political nuances that existed were entirely lost on him and in his mind it was a very straightforward... we (the seven kingdoms) are the good guys, we want the land, seland/the hĺessian alliance doesn’t want to give us the land, therefore they are bad and we’re fighting them.

buuut then the war ended, and he retired with honors from the battalion and returned home to corona, where... there was really nothing for him to do except advise frederic and involve himself with the king’s watch, which is the closest thing corona has to a standing army. and i think he found that sort of boring and unfulfilling / ended up being to restless to ever... like start a family of his own.

i figure in the last 20 or so years he’s been in and out of corona a fair amount for diplomatic reasons, and he doesn’t... enjoy that, but it’s something he can do to Serve Corona, which he’s very keen to do. because he’s very patriotic. but like, in general, he isn’t a man who... can exist without an enemy, if that makes sense? he needs a them to be in opposition against, and in times of peace there’s really not. a clear cut them

and then of course in this same time frame his baby niece was kidnapped and he was heartbroken about that and dealt with that heartbreak by, even moreso than frederic did, looking for someone to blame...

...which is where his hatred of saporians really started to boil over. like he was never not bigoted against them, but when he was a younger man i think it really was more just the average... thoughtless dismissal / distaste and casual distrust of saporian culture that Most Coronans have. but after rapunzel was kidnapped gilbert a) looked at the exploding popularity of saporian separatism and went “clearly Those People stole, and probably killed, my infant niece,” and then b) generalized separatism to all saporians and entrenched himself further and further in that bigotry until he got to... where he is today, which is something goes wrong and his knee-jerk reaction is to be like “the saporians did this somehow”

when the saporians / the coalition between the separatists and the syconium started actually seriously laying the groundwork for a rebellion, gilbert was already mentally primed to jump straight to saporians are the enemy and we need to treat this like a war...

...which frederic repeatedly refused to do. and gilbert was legitimately distressed about this, because in his mind, saporians are The Enemy/not coronan, and they’re a dire threat to corona, and he can see very clearly that they’re going to become a worse threat if something isn’t done, and... frederic is doing nothing about it. [what fred is actually doing is applying moderation and recognizing that saporians are part of corona too, but that. doesn’t register as doing anything, in gilbert’s brain]

so gilbert is like UH??? because it feels to him like he’s the only sane person left in the room and everyone else is just sitting on their butts with their heads in the sand. and he really doesn’t know what to do about it other than loudly and insistently asking fred to Do Something, but that keeps... not... working...

and then the saporians steal the journal of herz der sonne. this compromises herzingen’s security in a MAJOR way, and gilbert is able to wring a couple concessions out of it... but it’s nowhere near what he feels is enough, in his mind the task force (under sir peter’s command, not his) is a token gesture at best. it’s not going to fix anything.

and then his niece gets kidnapped AGAIN! and STILL nothing changes! the witch who kidnapped and hurt her gets coddled [this is how gilbert interprets sir peter chewing out the guards he catches roughing her up] and lackadaisical security allows her to not just escape but also murder a guard on the way out. and still nothing changes except for a handful of arrests and interrogations that don’t really go anywhere.

so gilbert is getting very frustrated and uneasy and upset, and he feels like the only person taking this huge burgeoning crisis seriously...

...and that’s where he’s at when cass dips and leaves her note confessing to stealing the journal, and gilbert is like. HOLY SHIT. THIS HAS GOTTA CHANGE THINGS. and he pushes very very hard for more stringent measures, and for the most part he gets them, but that ends up being, in his mind, too little too late, because just a couple weeks later socona revolts and almost thirty coronan guards die. (and there’s also the report from falke that two of the guards stationed in socona were traitors lol)

and then in the scene with him and sir peter in the hospital in artois, gilbert very much sees that... sir peter is not going to emotionally be able to handle a war where cassandra is on the other side, so he’s like. weighing up the odds he can get frederic to remove sir peter from the commandership and he’s like... Doubt.

so that’s the point at which gilbert commits himself to a coup, because he is at his wit’s end and in his mind it’s either... a leader who is better prepared for war steps up to steer corona through this, or the saporians destroy corona forever, and as much as he doesn’t want it to come to forcibly removing frederic from power he feels like it’s his only choice, because frederic is too soft and sir peter is too emotionally compromised by. everything.

and then it’s uh. about a month, give or take a bit, for gilbert to actually put the coup together—which is a FAST turn around, but he’s able to pull it off because a lot of the king’s watch is very unhappy about how sir peter has been handling the whole “saporians keep killing guards” and “cassandra was a traitor” situations, and it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to get enough of them on his side for a coup to be possible. and then he waits until the next opportunity presents itself and rolls in with a plan and the backing of corona’s closest thing to an army at his back and strong-arms frederic into abdicating to facilitate a “peaceful” transfer of power. and now frederic and arianna are under a soft house arrest rip them

*deep breath*

anyway all of that is a long winded way of saying in gilbert’s mind, he’s 100% the Virtuous Underdog Hero who is Selflessly Stepping Up to save corona from its Well Meaning But Incompetent Leaders in a Time of Dire Consequence. so that’s where he was coming from.

as for his relationships with his family:

- he loves frederic but does not respect him very much, because the events of benighted / fred completely losing any semblance of control he had over the separatists eroded gilbert’s respect for him pretty signifcantly. (prior to benighted, i think gilbert felt pretty favorably about frederic’s leadership; he approved heartily of the crackdown, though he kept trying to nudge fred to go even harder to clean up those last few hotspots of separatism in southern corona)

- he also loves ludolf but ludolf confuses him because ludolf is perfectly content with his life as a rector and gilbert is just kinda like. but isn’t it boring. but he keeps that thought to himself because gilbert is a fairly devout man and he respects ludolf’s decision to devote his life to the temple quite a bit even if he absolutely does not get it. he does however think that ludolf, and the whole temple really, is Too Soft and Too Idealistic to function in reality

- he clashes with arianna a lot on political grounds because they have almost no common ground in their opinions on the direction corona should go, but he likes her as a person and thinks she’s generally a good fit for frederic / he’s pleased to have her as a sister in law. they just. have a no politics at the dinner table sort of agreement. because otherwise they Will fight.

- he was firmly, if silently, convinced that rapunzel was dead until she strolled back into herzingen. after that he was delighted to be wrong, and very happy for fred and ari’s sake in addition to just happy to have his niece back / for the chance to get to know her. i think a lot of his pushing and some of the desperation he has in benighted comes in part from a desire to protect rapunzel, though he sorta conflates her safety with the safety of corona as a whole in a way that frederic doesn’t.

- he... did not like eugene at all at first, and still doesn’t like him very much. he thinks eugene is a rude, ignorant layabout who is taking advantage of frederic’s and arianna’s gratitude and he does not like that rapunzel is involved with him and he was PISSED after the botched proposal. i think fred and ari had to tag team him to get him not to just like. explode at eugene, and that only worked because gilbert knew other people were chewing eugene out for the whole thing. he has warmed up to eugene very slightly since then, because eugene started to get his act together and stopped acting so lazy. but he still is definitely like, hoping rapunzel will dump him and kick him out of the palace soon lbjkskdjlfjksd

- he’s very big on the Idea of family, even though he was never able/ready to start a family of his own (which i think... is something that bothers him a bit, though not something he dwells on). so the coup is something he genuinely didn’t want to do to frederic, but he did it because he felt it was for the greater good / he had to put his personal feelings aside to do the Right Thing. and in general he wants and tries to have good personal relationships with his family.

#bitter snow #Anonymous

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hoarding-stories · 4 years

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Alrighty, I’m starting the Penumbra Podcast! I’m just gonna put all of my thoughts here for the first couple of episodes (warning, it’s real big)

Murderous Mask pt1

The intro for the Penumbra started...I heard that first sound effect... I went “ah an umbrella, no wait damnit, an elevator!” great start.

Juno said “Hyperion city” and I was instantly ready for a mechanism’s album to start. :/

Rita! she sounds exactly like I thought she would

yes, that does sound like your problem

Sasha Wire,,, I’ve seen that name I think

spook suit?

Grimpo Thuthis that’s a funny name

...most of his son?

what is the creaking, is it Juno’s chair?

I love Rita’s laugh

Wait. Is this Peter. I don’t know what I was expecting him to sound like, but this isn’t it. He’s a smug bastard isn’t he

savvy rabbits... noseys

a ghost??

I don’t think this is a real ghost. whoms’t

Cassandra! serrated teeth? inchresting

A bump? in a tomb

what do you mean the noise can wait

terrible description of the case, that’s disgusting

ugh

wait. have i heard a clip of that moment before? I just had a feeling of deja vu

I love the contrast of how “Rex Glass” reacts to stuff vs Juno

“I’ll just... bring the mask over here then” *various sounds of investigating*

which broken- *thud*

*the longest door creak ever*

was that flirting??

he memorized the floor plan. That’s,,, very prepared

So there is an actual creature, I thought it would just be sounds

“Rex” sure is laying it on thick

I actually looked up what Rex meant before this... I wanted to see if the name had a funny meaning

cameras? “it might be what?”

wait. Man with a camera for a head?!!? On the ceiling?!?

Cameramen are predators?

“Hit me” “Are you kidding me that was nothing” Juno! stop getting punched!

That scared the shit out of me. torture chairs aren’t fun

This a mess. I love it

Murderous Mask pt 2

I have popcorn now. this should be good

That’s a lot of boos

Makeup?!?! Yes please

Adamantium maidens

Lip stain with a buzz?

“Coliseum 2, we gave the lion a gun and you won’t believe what happens next” I would watch that

Cecil seems interesting. He’s crazy, but interesting

1st mention of Juno’s brother! 38 year tragedy?

“a hell of a haircut!” fantastic

oh dang it, he cut “Rex”

Ah! “Rex” having a ton of stuff in his back pockets is canonical, not a goof!

The plasma cutter getting through the chain scared the shit out of me! and again!

Lots of zingers

Oh no! Juno why are you always getting hit!

Did no one tell Cecil?!? That’s kinda terrible, I feel a little bad for him

Second closest friend? Cecil is a bit sympathetic now

Oh him and Cassandra are twins!

Yeah Juno you’re hurt!

“You got a nice smell” “never tried eating cologne” jesus

I love Rita

He didn’t think the topic of Juno’s brother would be personal?

Ruh-roh

This got interesting fast

papers? a will maybe?

hmmm, I’m suspicious. It’s too perfect. And I don’t trust Min (?)

Juno looking into “Rex’s” eyes...

…Did the dude kill himself? My theory

Ok they got the gun

Super don’t like Min

defective locks?

So it was an accident

Why’s Juno laughing. Detective is about to detective

theoretically, I mean

Hate her

“You wouldn’t want to show me someplace warmer, would you?” Oh my god

that “oh”

““we all survived, if you don’t count my poor hand.” Juno got punched like 5 times...

“Rex”, my god.

It’s HAPPENING!!!

Hahahahahahaha what a line

oh he tried to steal the mask. He’s probably going to end up actually getting it

“I don’t tell anyone my name” hmmmmmm

Oh man this is amazing, “run away with me”, my heart.

He’s such a fucking flirt, “your better half” you guys spent an afternoon together

THAT’S how you pronounce his last name! Nur-rey-ev

Of course he escaped. And got the mask

poor Juno

I’ll end this post here since it’s an ungodly length and make a new one for The Prince of Mars!

#the penumbra podcast #tpp #my words #tpp spoilers #penumbra blogging #this is definitely a podcast I need to fully focus on #it's easy to lose track of what's being said #I'm really liking this so far #Juno and 'Rex' are so dramatic

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knightotoc · 4 years

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Higher Ground Blogging 9

- a.k.a. The Good Place final season is finally on Netflix, but it doesn’t have any Star Wars people in it so priority #1 is this 20-year-old teen angst + Canadian outdoor adventure show

HGB 1 (eps 1-3), 2 (4), 3 (5-7), 4 (8-9), 5 (10), 6 (11-13), 7 (14-16), bonus content: sleepy hayden, 8 (17-18)

Last time on HGB: SHELBY!!!!!!!!!!!

ep 19: scott: *staring at the rain* daisy: i miss her too. scott: she’ll be okay, right? ... she’s tough... she’ll be okay. daisy: *... holds his hand* *other characters start talking but you can still hear scott saying “she owed me that much, it’s not a lot to ask!” in the background lol what an asshole*

- shelby: “i’m home. i’m back in the nightmare, and i don’t know how i’m gonna get through it again” NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! - she got her coffee but at what cost - scott and shelby doing the dishes but miles and miles apart - scott: “i can’t believe peter let her go home!” -- ahhhh there it is!!! cue Battle of Heroes!!!!!! - peter-bi-wan, how can you go to Tibet at a time like this?!?!?!?! into the garbage chute mountain boy!!!!!!!! - it’s so weird that peter-bi-wan’s actor is an executive producer of this show and the whole thing is so clearly this man’s strange vanity project and yet his character is more dislikable than piper chapman. also his last name is lando which is quite funny - juliette and auggie are actually more interesting than scott and shelby, just not as va-va-voom - hello gatorade product placement - this ot3 letters subplot is sublime - hey angels, shut up! the chosen one is praying, pay attention - SHELBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ep 20: - peter-bi-wan fell asleep on the keyboard but it was the x-key, not the z-key, so they didn’t even do the joke right

tfw Shelby - daisy vs scott = cassandra vs eugene but emo - oh auggie is so nice😭😭😭 - scott playing piano again!!! what a cool little song! - “you’re getting mean, you know that?” -- juliette watching the clone wars

- his real mom is here!!! - omg they keep talking about peter-bi-wan ending up in “the gutter in Seattle,” it’s so funny to me - lol ezra and daisy are haunting peter-bi-wan’s nightmares😂 a sign that you’re the weird kids in class - “all those curls, he was just so cute. the light just seemed to come right from his face” -- scott’s mom talking about scott when he was a baby😭😭😭

“Gee, I’ve broken the buddy code. I’ve been a bad, bad Cliffhanger.” - his voice is all growly and he’s ranting about being cursed I LOVE IT!!!!!! - this peter-bi-wan subplot is THEEE WOOORRRSSTTT

shmi’s wish come true - “you’ve gotten taller. you look really healthy. i like your hair a little longer, it makes it more curly” -- scott’s mom going from AotC to RotS - “I bet I know what you’re gonna order.” “what?” “bacon cheeseburger” 😭😭😭😭 that’s what i always ordered when i was a teenager too!!!! - ok now peter-bi-wan is having a vision that he’s getting beat up by a cop...?

daisy: don’t you just hate a happy ending? juliette: no! daisy: like ‘em sappy, huh? juliette: i didn’t say sappy, I just don’t see anything wrong with happy. why’s everything have to be so heavy with you all the time? auggie: you go, jules! you tell her!

scott: *strolls in looking sad and PO’d as usual* daisy: so? how did it go? scott: ............... *victoriously* i had a bacon cheeseburger ezra: could you gloat any more about it auggie: hey man. it’s good to see your face back in the circle. scott: hhh *eye-contact avoid-y laugh-exhale thing*

- SHELBY’S BACK - wowowow scott is KILLING it on the piano!!!!!!! he’s so talented😭

darth piano (look at his eyelashes as;fjksdjf)

hark!

#higher ground #higher ground blogging #hayden christensen #dear god i know i always say this but the adults in this show SUCK and make me miserable but the kids are AMAZING #and this was truer than ever in ep 20 #shelby is the greatest character ever written

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thehappyscavenger · 4 years

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Books read in September-October-November-December 2019

I was in a massive slump and was barely reading anything longform for most of these months. I don’t even know why, I actually really enjoyed all these books so who knows why they took me so long to finish.

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

I really liked American Marriage so I picked up Tayari Jones’s first mainstream “hit” Silver Sparrow. It’s a good book with an awesome concept. It’s told from the pov of two teenage girls who are the same age and who have the same father but different mothers. One girl grows up knowing she is the product of an affair and the other grows up in total innocence thinking her parents have a loving wonderful marriage and she’s an only child.

Jones’s writing is as wonderful as in American Marriage but I felt like the final third was rushed and stumbled a lot just as it became interesting. Still worth the read and between this and AM I think that Jones is a really great writer on the verge of being a genius she just hasn’t quite nailed down THE book. I will definitely be checking out more of her work though (she has two other books).

During the Reign of the Queen of Persia by Joan Chase

So this was an NYRB Classics book I just picked up because I love the quality of the books they choose (they only reprint previously published books that have fallen out of print or have never been published in English so the quality is always high).

So this took me awhile to get into because I read it blind and I thought it was going to be like an Iranian fairytale and it was about Ohio farmwomen. ALSO the book uses the first person plural (I think that’s right?) and is narrated by “us” so that took some getting used to. It’s divided into 5 novella/short story like sections that take place over roughly 60 or so years and is about a matriarchy of women living in Ohio: the “queen of Persia” who is a housewife who fell into wealth and was therefore able to provide a steady home for her daughters and grandchildren to seek refuge in even as they suffered through abusive marriages and disappointments. I ended up really loving it (books about female solidarity are my jam!) Also I 100% would bet that Jeffrey Euginides read this at some point and lifted stuff from The Virgin Suicides from it (a lot of people reviewing the reprint made the VS connections but DtRotQoP came out a decade or so earlier so it’s 100% possible he did rip from it). Also reminded me of a Malick movie a bit in the way it’s so nostalgic about mid-century life. Found it so much better than those two works though (maybe because it’s by and about women).

Really tragic that this ever fell out of print. It won a literary prize when it came out and it is so beautifully written. 100% recommend.

Promising Young Woman

Haven’t reviewed a script here in so long! I read this after the trailer came out and I was all excited and someone hooked me up with the script.

*SPOILERS*

So I actually read this script because the trailer makes it look like it’s about a woman who pretends to be drunk and goes out to clubs and gets picked up by men who try to rape her and she’s not actually drunk and gets retribution on them. That sooooort of happens in the script but not really. It is a rape revenge story but she never actually kills or hurts her would be rapists (talk about a disappointment). Instead it’s about a woman named Cassie (Cassandra! Do you get it) living a miserable life, picking up these men. Years ago her medical school education was derailed by a rape. Not her own though (a twist I appreciated) but that of her best friend who later killed herself after what happened. When she runs into a former classmate she learns that the rapist who got away is living a great life and is about to be married and she decides to hunt him down and kill him.

The script is written really tightly and has a few twists that I saw coming but which the script really earned. It was suuuuper depressing even though it’s a sort of tragi-comedy. I will also say I was really disappointed by the “hook” of Cassie going home with all these men came to nothing. Like she ends up admitting she just does it to “scare” them and thinks they’ll think twice about potentially raping another woman again. Like what? Just go all the way and have her kill these dudes, honestly. I think there are going to be a lot of disappointed women who watch this after the way the trailer makes it seem.

Also the end twist... I’m not going to spoil it any further but it was SUPER disappointing and ended it in a way that... I guess is closer to how it would end in real life, but goddamnit can’t women ever have a fantasy happy ending?

*END SPOILERS*

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

My friend recommended this to me in high school and I always meant to read it and never did. Saw her again and finally got it together enough to read it. It’s a lovely, sweet fantasy tale. I get the hype.

#currently reading #The Last Unicorn #An American Marriage #Promising Young Woman #During the reign of the queen of persia

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ty-talks-comics · 5 years

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Best of DC: Week of March 27th, 2019

Best of this Week: Detective Comics #1000 - Various Writers and Artists

Possibly more controversial than I'm thinking it'll be, I'm glad Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo did the job of reintroducing Slam Bradley into the DC Universe. Slam Bradley, of course the way I choose to remember him, was one of DC's first characters and the precursor design to modern day Superman. He was a 1930s dick (detective in this case) who made his name in infamy with racist depictions of Chinese people being swung by their braids with toothy grins. He's likely the reason DC won't reprint some of the early Detective Comics works in a compendium.

This is without a doubt, a great celebration for one of the greatest comic book characters of all time, if not THE greatest. The difficulty in reviewing something like this, much like Action Comics #1000 (if I reviewed that one, I don't remember) is that so many stories have their ups and downs, hits or misses and there's so much ground. But some of these were so good that this book is getting an entry all on it's own this week.

He's been made better in recent years with a badass run as a side character in Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke's Catwoman (2001) as a cool former police officer with a son by the name of Slam Jr. on the force. He was probably some of the best parts of his short time there and was very compelling in interactions with Selina.

Kevin Smith and Jim Lee have arguably done some of the best and WORST Batman projects ever, but through the good and the bad, both have immense talent and their tale “Manufacture for Use” added a beautiful layer to the significance of the metal plate that his emblem is made out of.

The book is simple enough, a montage of Batman fighting his greatest villains shows in the background while his alter ego, Matches Malone, has a conversation with a merchant peddling in the various pieces of gear left by villains. He has Harley hammers, crazy quilts and even freeze guns, but there's only one weapon Malone is interested in; The Gun belonging to Joe Chill. The weapon that killed The Wayne Family.

He and others had been leaving Batman clues since his first days as a hero to have him join a guild of detectives, solving unsolvable or very difficult cases and knowing that Slam is one of the detectives along with Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, The Question, Detective Chimp, Elongated Man and his wife, Sue Dibny is relieving and fantastic.

I'm glad DC hasn't shied away from him given his past history. Even his inclusion in Superman of China based on his former character, warts and all, seemed like DC was kinda ashamed of it, but here he is, as awesome as he was later in life!

Upon seeing it, Alfred questions why Bruce would keep it as a trophy, nothing the ridiculousness of The Penny and the Dinosaur, he sees the gun as strange or even perverse. Batman, however, wishes to never see it cause anyone pain again, melting and forming it into an oval adorned with the symbol of a Bat.

Batman has dedicated his life to stopping crime in Gotham at all costs, but not everyone see his methods as being right or just. Doctor Leslie Thompkins has been looking over Bruce since his parent’s murder and oped that he would take his pain and do something productive with it, actually fix Gotham, but instead she sees how vengeance has consumed him, turning him into something of a violent monster himself and she’s not wrong. They meet each other on the anniversary of his parent’s murder in Crime Alley and are beset upon by a group of teenagers whom Batman viciously slaps the hell out of. Dr. Thompkins stops him out of fear and Batman looks like the real villain here.

If that isn't chilling...

Brian Michael Bendis is a GREAT Batman writer. Checking out his 15 pages in the Batman Walmart 100 Page Giants, much like Daredevil, Batman is a character that is PERFECT for him. “I Know” drawn by frequent Bendis collaborator, Alex Maleev, is amazing. Penguin started becoming disillusioned with the meetings put together by villains like The Joker on how to finally get rid of The Batman, Penguin begins to muse about who had the money to fund Batman. I believe he proposed the idea to the others, but they all shot him down, citing times Batman showed up when Bruce was a hostage or how he “blubbered like a baby.”

Penguin didn’t let it go, however, and prepared Suicide Bomb Penguins to attack Wayne Manor while Bruce was hosting a ton of high profile Gothamites. It would have been the end of Bruce Wayne.

Warren Ellis writes some very character driven stories, but when he has to get technical, he is a master as good as any. In “The Batman’s Design” he goes over Batman’s methodology when taking on criminals, treating things like a chess game that he’s already won. He leads the criminals to a trap and plays them like a fiddle, setting off an explosion that knock out or send some flying, determining a sniper’s location and just being so terrifying that the leader just hands him a bomb switch before his ass gets destroyed.

Becky Cloonan does a great job of alternating between cool and warm tones for when Batman is in the shadows vs contending with explosions he’s setting off. Batman looks slim, but imposing regardless. This is definitely some of her best art so far!

Now… if you ask any of my friends from when I was in The Navy, they’ll tell you about how I waited in line for Batman: The Arkham Knight. I was excited. I was elated. The conclusion to an amazing trilogy of games that shaped a newfound love for the character for me! And it bloody sucked. I HATE Arkham Knight with a passion. If it’s not The Batmobile, it’s the Joker, if not the Joker, it’s the Knight himself, if not him, then Scarecrow as the shitty final villain.

I really loved the noir tone that was set by Elizabeth Breitweiser’s colors over Steve Epting’s art. Things are very dark and cool. Batman is shrouded in shadow and Doctor Thompkins acts as a small light by comparison. There is great contrast when action happens with warm tones as Batman slaps the teens and Batman standing in the shadows as Leslie and the kids are under the one light is powerful.

Suffice to say, I was not pleased when it was said that The Arkham Knight would finally be appearing in comics different than his video game counterpart, but… I dunno, I kinda like him here.

His characterization seems to be that of someone who has lived in Gotham and has seen Batman’s methods of treating the poor citizens, the weak and the sick. He sees Batman as a cancer, a darkness that needs to be exterminated for Gotham to truly thrive. The best thing, there’s precedent for this kind of character.

One of the first few arcs for Detective Comics involved a cool set of villains known as The Victim Syndicate, people who have been hurt or grievously injured in Batman’s relentless pursuit of crime. These guys put Batman’s team through the ringer, almost turning Stephanie Brown against him completely as Tim Drake had been presumed dead at the time. Another casualty of war. If I remember right, The First Victim noted that there was someone or something coming for Batman soon and if that’s the Arkham KNight, then I am excited.

The Victim Syndicate was one of James Tynion IV’s best ideas during his run and I really hope whoever the creative team is for Detective Comics thus forth lives up to the quality. Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke are both amazing, so I have high hopes if its them.

But Penguin had an epiphany. Ending Bruce Wayne would not end Batman. Batman would become focused. Driven. Possibly to the point of killing. Bruce Wayne is the only thing keeping these villains alive, so Penguin relents and never reveals what he believes he knows, until years later when Bruce is old and mute… but who says that Bruce has lost a step? He zaps Penguin who is taken away as Bruce tells him that he knew, pretty much calling him a “coward ass bitch” as he’s taken away.

Overall, while there were few misses, this collection of stories had great ideas, great characterization, heart and was just fantastic. Looking forward to another 80 years!

This one was just cute. The Batfamily interacts with each other and take a FANTASTIC family photo drawn by Tony S. Daniel. Starring, Batman, Alfred, Nightwing, Batgirl, “Robin” Damian Wayne, Red Hood, Batwoman, Catwoman, “(Red) Robin” Tim Drake, Spoiler, The Signal, Cassandra Cain Ace the Bathound and Huntress. It’s a well put together double splash page and everyone, even Bruce seems happy.

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aresaphrodites · 6 years

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Hey but sorry to bother u but could give me those book recs? Relying on u girl

of course!! sorry bout the long wait, dear x

you said you preferred trilogies or series’ (which i don’t read much of tbh) so here are a few of my favorites: (( some of these will have full on summaries and some… not so much, i got lazy lol ))

The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout : Meet Katy and Daemon! Katy is a funny, down-to-earth book blogger who has just moved to West Virginia. And Daemon? Well, he’s her hot and arrogant next-door neighbor. He’s also an alien. This one is cheesy, yeah, but it’s so FUN! Follow along as Katy and Daemon try to figure out what they mean to each other while trying not to get killed by the Arum; the Lumen’s enemy. In this world, the DOD is well aware that aliens exist and that they live on Earth. However, they are unaware that the aliens known as Luxen actually possess powers that make them.. well… powerful beyond means. This isn’t just a romance story; it focuses on family and friendships and it has a bunch of kick ass action and the entire plot with the DOD is so interesting.

The Pine Deep Series by Jonathan Maberry ; I’m only on the first book but this one is a bit more mature in terms of horror and things like that. If you like scary books or feel like being spooky in time for Halloween, you should definitely check this one out!

The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare : I’m sure you know about this one, but if you don’t! Angels, demons, warlocks, vampires, faeries, werewolves? What more could you want? When Clary Fray discovers she’s actually a Shadowhunter; an appointed warrior of the Angel Raziel and has angel blood coursing through her veins, her life is about to change forever. Join her and the rest of the Shadowhunter gang (and even a few others) as they team up to rescue her mom and stop an all out war from happening.

The Darkest Minds Series by Alexandra Bracken ; I’m only on the first book but I absolutely love it! It’s an intense read that has me on the edge of my seat constantly. I adore Ruby and she’s easily become one of my favorite female characters of all time.

Dorothy Must Die Series by Danielle Paige ; Okay. I know, I know. Really? Dorothy Must Die? Hear me out! This book is FUN. Trashy? Perhaps, but fun! The first book is really fast paced and honestly? I am living for a world where Dorothy is evil. So basically our main character is named Amy and she is the other girl from Kansas. She’s sent to Oz to save it from Dorothy Gale who has become power hungry and is now pure evil along with the Tin-Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow. The rest of the series doesn’t really live up to the first book, but I would say you should read the first one anyway. It’s a lot of fun.

Did I Mention I Love You Series by Estelle Maskame: Sixteen-year-old Eden Munro decides to spend the summer with her father in Santa Monica as her parents are divorced now. Once there, she meets her father’s new family and that includes Tyler Bruce; her new asshole step brother with a short temper and a huge ego but as she gets to learn more about him, she finds herself falling for him. This trope isn’t for everyone and I know the whole step sibling thing is super taboo but this series is awesome and I read it during a huge reading slump and it really helped me get though it.

Perfect Chemistry Series by Simone Elkeles: When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for―her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. (Each book in this series focuses on a different Fuentes brother.)

Fighting to Be Free Series by Kirsty Moseley: Jamie Cole has just been released from juvenile detention. Determined to go straight, he tries to cut ties with crime boss Brett Reyes - but Brett has no intention of letting him go. Jamie’s life is already more complicated than it needs to be, yet it’s when he meets a beautiful stranger at a bar that Jamie knows he’s really in over his head. Ellie Pearce has just come out of a terrible relationship and isn’t looking for anything serious; until she meets Jamie. Their attraction is overwhelming and intense - she can’t seem to shake her growing feelings for him, even though she’s trying to keep it casual. But when fate goes horribly wrong and Jamie’s family is faced with ruin, he’s forced to strike a deal with Brett. Despite his struggles, he wants nothing more than a future with Ellie. That’s until Ellie finds out that he’s been hiding more from her than she could ever imagine.

Mind if I drop in a few stand alone’s? I’m trying to read more series’ but I’ve always been more of a stand alone kind of girl, so here are some of my current favs:

#MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil : WELCOME TO THE NEAR FUTURE, where good and honest citizens can enjoy watching the executions of society’s most infamous convicted felons, streaming live on The Postman app from the suburbanized prison island Alcatraz 2.0. When seventeen-year-old Dee Guerrera wakes up in a haze, lying on the ground of a dimly lit warehouse, she realizes she’s about to be the next victim of the app. Knowing hardened criminals are getting a taste of their own medicine in this place is one thing, but Dee refuses to roll over and die for a heinous crime she didn’t commit. Can Dee and her newly formed posse, the Death Row Breakfast Club, prove she’s innocent before she ends up wrongfully murdered for the world to see? Or will The Postman’s cast of executioners kill them off one by one?

One Small Thing by Erin Watt : Meet Beth and Chase. Beth is entering her senior year and is still trying to move on from the death of her older sister three years ago. In a small town with parents who have suddenly become her wardens; that seems nearly impossible. And then she meets the mysterious and hot Chase who immediately draws her in. Their attraction is instant and he’s the first person who makes her feel like Beth Jones and not Lizzie; the young girl who lost a sister and is somehow broken by it. But as she falls harder for Chase, she’s hit with the reality of the part he played in her sister’s death. It’s about forgiveness, love, and moving on. It’s sad and sweet and such a fun, quick read. Definitely good for trying to get out of a slump!

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren : Fangirl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this funny and poignant coming-of-age novel from New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren about two boys who fall in love in a writing class—one from a progressive family and the other from a conservative religious community. If you read one book off of this list, PLEASE let it be this one. This book is so… amazing. It’s been months and I still think about it constantly.

Fault Line by C. Desir : Trigger WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS A RAPE. It is not shown, but it’s the main conflict in the book. Over the years I have struggled with if I liked this book because it was good or if I liked it because of how much it fucked me up. I read this book in one sitting and when I finished, I sat in my bed for a good hour and just…. didn’t move or do anything. You will NOT be rooting for the main couple. The narrator is unlikable and you will HATE all the characters in this book. The ending is NOT happy and I don’t know why I’m recommending this but GOD. This book, after so many years, just stuck with me because of how fucked up it was. It deals with the whole “recovery” process in such a dark way that we normally don’t see in YA fiction and I think that’s what makes it stand out so much. If you want something darker, read this. But read it with caution. If this isn’t something you like then please, don’t bother reading it. It’s not happy and it’s sure as shit not fluffy. Summary : Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl—sarcastic free-spirit Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want. But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone. Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame? Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero : If you like Scooby-Doo or Archie’s Weird Mysteries this book is probably for you. 1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club are all grown up and haven’t seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, is twenty-five and on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she’s got Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the team. Nate, the horror nerd, has spent the last thirteen years in and out of mental health institutions, and currently resides in an asylum in Arhkam, Massachusetts. The only friend he still sees is Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star. The problem is, Peter’s been dead for years.The time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began in 1977. This time, it better not be a man in a mask. The real monsters are waiting.

Fatal Throne by Candace Fleming ; A book about Henry VIII and his six wives. If you like historical fiction then this book might be for you! It’s told through the perspective of his six wives (and even Henry himself) and it’s a really fascinating read.

Okay, I think I’m going to stop here. Let me know if none of these speak to you and I’ll give you some more recs! I didn’t know what kind of genres you liked, so I tried to throw in a little bit of everything.

#books n tings

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spynotebook · 7 years

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The idealist in me has long wanted to believe that labels don’t matter, but if you address me in the wrong way too many times? It becomes clear to me that labels are important. Labels help define us and our role in the world. This helps us connect to others—it gives us a sense of purpose and belonging. But labels aren’t static. How we identify changes over time. Children become adults; students become teachers; daughters become mothers; etc. But does that change who we are?

In many ways, we are ever evolving. While we only have a single lifetime, the events of our lives sometimes make portions seem wholly separate. That often leaves us feeling like the Doctor from Doctor Who. Where we would say something seemed like it happened a lifetime ago, that may be true for the Doctor. The Doctor’s longevity and ability to regenerate has given them the chance to live many lifetimes. Each time, they are a different person and live a different life than the one before, carrying with them all the memories and many of the attributes of their previous incarnations.

“But wait…” you must be thinking, “they? Isn’t the Doctor a ‘he?’”

On Sunday, July 16th, 2017, the BBC announced that the Doctor’s next regeneration will be female. Jodie Whittaker, best known for her role as Beth Latimer in Broadchurch, will take up the role and regenerate into the Doctor when Peter Capaldi departs the show in the upcoming Christmas special, Twice Upon a Time. This will be the first time in the show’s 54-year history that the Doctor will be a woman.

We’ve seen the Doctor speak as a woman in the past. In “New Earth,” the first episode of series two, the Lady Cassandra jumped into the Doctor’s body. However, that didn’t make her the Doctor. She was simply a woman trapped in a man’s body. So what does it mean now that the Doctor will be played by a woman? Does this change her?

In today’s society, we recognize that the labels that have been assigned to us are not always correct. Thankfully, increasing awareness of this has more and more people asking each other how to they prefer to be addressed and how they identify. Now as we move from a male to a female Doctor, we must consider the implications of what it means to be a Time Lord. Or a Time Lady. Is there a difference? Which is correct?

I was recently a guest on BBC’s Newshour, discussing the Doctor being played by a woman. At the end of the segment, I was asked if the Doctor, as played by Jodie Whittaker, will be a Time Lord or a Time Lady. I didn’t think twice—I said that Time Lord is a race, and thus she would still be a Time Lord.

Well, in reviewing references from both the Classic Who and New Who, the results are mixed. Time Lord and Time Lady have both been used to refer to women. Romana was called a Time Lady in “City of Death” from the 17th season of the classic series, and Missy specially requests to be referred to as a Time Lady in Dark Water in the 8th season of the new series. However, the Academy on Gallifrey is referred to as the Time Lord Academy in several instances, and Rassilon addresses the Senate (men and women) as “Time Lords of Gallifrey” in The Day of the Doctor in New Who. There does not appear to be a clear answer.

We’ve already run into a language issue. Is Time Lord a race? A species? A title in a caste system? In my incorrect estimation, I had previously considered being a Time Lord vs. being a Gallifreyan like whether you would call yourself a human or a Terran. Humans are a Terran humanoid species. However, not all Gallifreyans become Time Lords. Gallifreyans who become Time Lords are from ruling houses called The Chapters of Gallifrey. This sort of caste system determines who rules by bloodline, but being a Time Lord is more than who you’re related to.

Ten seems to reference this in “The Doctor’s Doctor” in series four. In this episode, the Doctor is cloned. The clone, Jenny, is a young woman, and Donna asks, “Does that mean she’s a … what do you call a female Time Lord?” Jenny asks what a Time Lord is and if she is one. The Doctor responds, “You’re an echo, that’s all. A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge, a code, shared history, shared suffering.” While the Doctor was likely speaking out over his hurt about the past, his point is made. There is a sum of knowledge gained through the Academy.

How important is the Academy? Children were taken from their families at the age of eight to look into the Untempered Schism of Time, according to the Doctor in “The Sound of Drums.” This did not always end well. Neither does it seem to be a strict necessity, as humans were admitted to the academy for some time. It is unclear if they would ever finish, though. According to the comics, individuals spent centuries at the Academy. Does this mean looking into the Untempered Schism makes this possible? Does it change your genes?

We know there is a genetic component. In Doctor Who Confidential, it’s stated that Jenny, who was cloned from the Doctor, is “another member of that race, or something closely akin to it.” We also look to River Song. In series six, River’s genetics is explained in “A Good Man Goes to War.” Being conceived in the time vortex gifted River with Time Lord DNA in addition to her human DNA. There are few that would not consider River a female Time Lord, given her ability to regenerate.

So as a species or a race, being a Time Lord is like being a Trill from Star Trek. The Trill are a joined species–a host and a symbiont. While Trill have the potential to join with a symbiont, not all do, and you must take part in extensive training. Much like the Trill and joining, it is only after going to the academy that one becomes a Time Lord. There are both genetic and learned components of each group.

Each Doctor is a new person, carrying on bits of their former selves much like the symbiont carrying the memories of the past to the new Trill they join with. We cannot simply say that the way they thought of and referred themselves previously is the same way they will in the future. Even in people, we understand that we grow and change. Our labels change.

Jodie Whittaker comes to the role of the Doctor at a disadvantage not applicable previously. She is fighting against the notion that the Doctor is necessarily a man. Even actors who previously played the Doctor have stated they are unsure of a woman playing the role. “If I feel any doubts, it’s the loss of a role model for boys, who I think Doctor Who is vitally important for. So, I feel a bit sad about that, but I understand the argument that you need to open it up,” Peter Davison, the fifth Doctor, told The Guardian.

Not everyone agrees. Colin Baker, otherwise known as the sixth Doctor, stated on Twitter, “Change my dears and not a moment too soon–she IS the Doctor, whether you like it or not!” And as Merriam Webster so kindly reminded us, the word ‘doctor’ has no gender in English. There is nothing inherent in the character or even in the name the Doctor chose for themself. That’s a big part of where the Doctor differs from the Missy/the Master. Missy has been a female and a male. Missy changed her name and requested that she be referred to as a Time Lady.

Frankly, the phrase Time Lady makes my skin crawl. Perhaps it’s the association with Missy that does it, or maybe it’s the history Doctor Who has with female characters. It comes across being demeaning and diminutive, as if the Doctor will be subservient to men. The character should in no way be diminished or appear subservient because they will now be a woman.

I informally polled my friends through Facebook and Twitter; it seems I’m not alone in preferring Time Lord continue to be used (we ran about 80/20, Time Lord to Time Lady). While more gender-neutral options where suggested, including Time Being and Time Folk, most preferred to use Time Lord as a gender-neutral option. Some even argued that “lord” is a gender-neutral word. Rather than using the definition that a lord is “a man of rank or high position–a feudal tenant whose right or title comes directly from the king,” they argued that a lord is “one who has power and authority over others, and is a ruler by hereditary right or preeminence to whom service and obedience are due.”

There is a difference in usage in how we use lord and lady in regular conversation. While you think of a lord as someone powerful, a lady can merely be the polite way to refer to any woman. Lady can also bring up less savory feelings. It can be used to indicate a particular code of conduct—acting ladylike, which again brings up the idea of being subservient to men. It also brings up thoughts Jerry Lewis shouting, “Hey lady,” or any trilby-wearing bro calling you, “milady,” their voice dripping with condescension.

In the end, how we refer to the Doctor should be the Doctor’s choice. There is power in claiming an identity. There is power in her name. There is power in her history as a Time Lord. Let’s hope the writers recognize that and craft a scene where the Doctor is definitive in embracing her identity and remembering that she is who she has always been—a Time Lord.

(image: BBC)

Holly Christine is a geek girl with a sick love of Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, and all things sci-fi. She helps head up @NerdVice and @CirclePlus_ where you can listen to her on the podcast, “Late Night with Bisexuals.” Listen to her gush about her nerdy pursuits, adventure games, and everything cute on Twitter @gookygox.

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