owldalek

[owldalek]

Hey y’all, I decided to write my final essay about disability representation in the newest season of Doctor Who. I’m linking my essay below, please read it and let me know what you think. Throughout all of the discourse about the newest season and RTD’s writing I haven’t seen much about the major disabled storylines and characters we got, and I think this is a discussion that we need to have.

[owldalek]

No this actually felt so special to me and I cried. It’s like they were forgiving each other for their failures and really showing the kindness which the fandom didn’t give them.

I loved that we finally got some type of interaction between the 13th and the 15th doctors during The Reality War 💜💙

While I love David Tennant as The Doctor, there was so much hype around Ncuti being cast as the next doctor that Tennant suddenly showing up just to have a few more episodes really overshadowed 13th's final moments & left a shadow that the 15th then had to fill. It didn't help that the 2 seasons he was in were each shorter than the 1 season that Eccleston was in. These two doctors are probably going to be underappreciated, and it's really not even their fault.

[owldalek]

I 100% agree. I’ve seen so much discourse on how this season “isn’t enough of an entry point for new fans” why does it have to be? Since when have we ever cared about a season being a new entry point? I’ve also really enjoyed this season and yeah why do we seem so fucking determined to tear down this piece of media that we supposedly love so much. I think it’s great that RTD is bringing back all these classic characters. It’s like he’s trying to encourage people to watch classic who. I definitely don’t think it’s perfect, but it’s like every single episode is a chance to slander him when literally a few years ago we were praising the ground he walked on because we thought Chibnall was shit. I don’t think y’all will ever be satisfied with anything this show does because you can’t go back and watch it with the eyes of a child anymore. Where’s your fucking whimsy?

IDK man, as someone who actually has quite enjoyed the Davies/Gatwa years to date, there's just something so fucking exhausting about the way people talk about it, and it's really flared up this season. The sheer level of contemptuous glee with which some people seem to welcome the possibility of cancellation is just really, truly getting me down. I'm not even talking about the people who are being tiresomely racist, because they're just an extension of the same people who have been being tiresomely sexist for nearly seven years now.

But just, like... I dunno, man, there's a level of vicious meanness to fandom's present discourse that's really been bad for my mental health all around, and has honestly played a big part in my slowing down my writing, because any time I want to write something earnest and heartfelt about how a given piece of media affected me I end up second-guessing myself because I feel like nobody wants to read anything like that. Instead they'd much rather just pounce on the latest rumour drummed up by vile publications like the Sun, where like... even if the cancellation goes through, do you really want to be on the side of the Sun?

I think the hatred of Wish World broke something in me, because I really liked it, I thought it was a surprisingly barbed little number that picked at nostalgia and conservatism. Plus, like a lot of RTD2 its earnest engagement with what it means to be queer genuinely means a lot to me as someone who started realising they were queer right as The Star Beast hit (and eventually ended up realising they were trans) and who has been grappling with a lot of fear and uncertainty as a result.

So, y'know, going online and just seeing everyone be all "Oh it sucks," "It's garbage," "RTD L," "Wow they really betrayed the character integrity of the Rani" (what the fuck are you even talking about with that one, what character integrity did the Rani ever have, for Christ's sake?). My point is never that one should just be a blind, mindless consumer. Far from it. If anything, I would rather people actually pause to think "Hmm maybe this piece of media is trying to say something." And I mean I get if it doesn't resonate with you. I get if you think it's crashingly unsubtle, or if there are aspects of its commentary that you find lacking. I've had some criticisms of the Gatwa Era as well, and I can acknowledge them.

But on the whole, I've had a great time, and I dunno, it just... makes me feel like shit to see so many people so violently disagreeing and dismissing any possibility that any of these stories could have any kind of resonance with people.

[owldalek]

I know we’re all going to say it’s trash, but do you know who liked the episode? Me! I enjoyed it! I loved everything about it! And everyone else can shut the fuck up. Who is Wish World catering to? Me 😌

[owldalek]

Say what you will about Steven Universe, but I really do quote it for advice almost all the time.

[owldalek]

Why am I just learning that Ncuti Gatwa’s family escaped the Rwandan genocide and that’s why they moved to Britain??

[owldalek]

RTD: *holding the entire fandom at gun point* Every time someone complains about Woke Doctor WHO it will be woker! I am not above making Belinda trans, and having Muslims on screen!

[owldalek]

SPOILERS FOR DOCTOR WHO////

1. I have to imagine the Doctor heartbroken after Dot and Bubble. This is the first time he could not save someone because of how he looked. 13 still made sure that there was respect by virtue of her name despite her woman, but this racism was new. Ruby probably tried to comfort, but she couldn’t. Not in a way that matters. The Doctor is always alone as the last timelord, but now he was isolated even amongst humanity whom he loved so much. The TARDIS lands in Nigeria, because she knows when the Doctor is sad and always takes him where he needs to be, and after this devastating loss he is welcomed with open arms. Welcomed as family though no one had seen him before. Ruby doesn’t quite understand it, how can she, but she smiles, happy for him.

2. This is totally a analogy for African exploitation. “I just want credit for my work” how all the gods named were white except for Anansi. African labor created all the Western world has and it still does. But where is the credit to them? Where is the credit to the kids of the DRC who are responsible for our phones, our diamonds, or chocolate? Where is the credit to Egypt for being the birth of civilization? Where is the credit to African American slaves who built the wealthiest nation in the world? This was a celebration of African futurism.

3. Sapphic Black women!!!

4. I genuinely don’t think Belinda is a mystery. I don’t think she’s significant in a Bad Wolf or Impossible Girl kind of way. I think, just as the Doctor said, the ordinary is the richest story. He wants Belinda to be special so badly. But in his want for her to be special he is creating the environment for her to be special. He’s placing her on a pedestal and creating his own mystery for her. She is special. Her being herself is what makes her special, but I don’t think he’s going to let her leave very easily. He needs her too much for a mystery that is not there.

5. This man still hasn’t caught on to Mrs. Flood, and low key I love that for her.

[owldalek]

Having seen more posts about this episode I think I just need to boost this post a little bit more.

that and COVID denialism, obviously, which i somehow managed to miss despite *this* plot point below

UNIT aren’t always cops. they’re a nebulous enough fictional organisation that they can be whatever the show wants them to represent. in Lucky Day, they’re the NHS, the WHO, and they’re climatologists.

[owldalek]

Hey y’all, I’m doing a project on fan work and race for a class and I was wondering if anyone could explain to me why the Magnus Archives fandom has near collectively decided that Jonathan Sims, the archivist, is South Asian.

I am a huge fan of TMA, but I joined the fandom pretty late so this concept was already well introduced when I got tumblr. To my knowledge (and various listen throughs of the series) there is nothing in TMA to indicate any race for this character.

Does anyone know when this idea was introduced and why it has stuck around as the predominant depiction of Jonathan Sims?

[owldalek]

I love her i fear

[owldalek]

Belinda Chandra you beautiful beautiful soul

DOCTOR WHO — THE ROBOT REVOLUTION (S41E01) ››› Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra ››› Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor

[owldalek]

SPOILERS FOR DOCTOR WHO

Belinda Chandra my beloved. She is like a mix between Teagan, Clara, Donna and Martha and I am sooooo here for it. She fucking owned the entire episode. The power and strength that she conveyed by taking initiative to sacrifice herself without question and without hesitation. The way that she put the Doctor in his place immediately upon entering the TARDIS. She cares so deeply for people. I admire her so much. I’ve only had her for a day, and if anything happens to her I’ll kill everyone and then myself. But the thing is I know something has to happen to her. Idk if it’s going to be like Teagan who just witnessed too much death, or Clara who did end up sacrificing herself, but I know that when the time comes for her to leave I will be weeping.

Acting phenomenal, character writing? Phenomenal. Hotel? Trivago

[owldalek]

Grian cosplay ideas

[owldalek]

Okay, I have spent hours scrolling through every app looking for this, but does anyone have the post that was like “when you start peeling an orange for yourself but you end up feeding every last slice to your partner”?? Or!!! Does someone have a post about the significance of kissing someone’s palm and the inherent intimate love of that action??

Please I’ve finally found someone I’d do those things for and I want to prove to him that I’m not crazy for my actions

[owldalek]

The Owl House and Wicked have the same plot

[owldalek]

SPOILERS FOR CREATURE COMMANDOS SEASON FINALE

I’ve been thinking about creature commandos in relation to Mathilda. If you didn’t notice, The Bride picks up the book Mathilda by Mary Shelly while she is talking to Princess Ilana. One of the main things about Mathilda is that is is about this girl, Mathilda, on her death bed explaining to her only friend how she was severely traumatized by her father who abandoned her, came back into her her life only to confess that he had incestuous feelings for her and then killed himself. It also discusses the lasting impact that all this shit had on her. However, an important detail is that unlike every other character in the story her father is completely unnamed because he isn’t actually important; is is how his actions affected her that are important.

I think that James Gunn draws parallels to this story and that is why Eric and The Bride’s confrontation feels anticlimactic. Eric is very important to understanding who The Bride is and how she relates to her present day circumstances and understandings of herself, but he himself is unimportant to the present story. Similarly, Rick Flag is not important to the finale, but he is important in understanding the set up to the main conflict. They themselves aren’t really important but their impact on the rest of the characters, particularly on The Bride, are.