#Gallifrey Map

[intuitive-revelations]

One pretty funny thing about deeply overanalysing Doctor Who's CGI for mapping projects is starting to see the gaps where the VFX artists took shortcuts.

For example, I've previously pointed out that in the TV Movie intro, Skaro's surface is actually half a texture that's been mirrored (which was a bit irritating when trying to use that as a source):

However turns out New Who isn't above it either!

I've been reviewing my mapping of the Lungbarrow barn/Drylands area, stiching together the surroundings from the Hell Bent location filming to try and reconcile it with the DotD version, plus some new info I discovered in the novelisation. Check out these two shots stitched together:

Notice the clouds? When the VFX artists did the sky replacement, they clearly just used the same texture/rendering and flipped it for these two shots!

I suspect they did so elsewhere too (which can be justifiable if the camera is pointing approx. the same way and the sky is unmirrored), but it was most obvious here, with these two mirrored shots right next to each other. Obviously it's nothing awful, just a funny discovery.

By the way, if you're wondering what the full analysis looks like at the moment, since I'm probably not going to post it seperately:

[thienvaldram]

Ok look I just found this from like years back and am maddened by the fact the Continent of Endless Philosophy is literally Pangaea.

Not knocking it, neat trick to create a continent shape.

But still I can't unsee it, hazards of staring at Paleomaps often I guess

I noticed the discussion earlier about Gallifrey and thought I’d share this little gem I found a while back. From what I know, it’s pretty accurate (or as accurate as can be possible given what there is to work with) based upon the descriptions in the books and comics and what little information the tv show has to offer. Some of it is creative licensing though.

It was found here. More updated versions of the Compendium can be found on the artist’s Deviant gallery here (but is sadly missing these pages).

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

🤔🧩How do Gallifreyan Houses influence abilities and traits?

Forget the sorting hat, Gallifrey's got its own system for pigeonholing their kids. Each House shapes its members' abilities and traits through their distinct genetic Loom cores, mapping out their general talents when they're born.

Prydon Academy: Strategists and Linguists - Houses aligned with Prydon focus on developing strategic minds and language skills. Their Loom cores likely enhance brain regions for critical thinking and linguistic prowess, making them natural politicians and diplomats.

Arcal Academy: Scientists and Engineers - Arcal-affiliated Houses produce logical thinkers and scientific minds. Their genetic templates are tuned for analytical skills and technical understanding, perfect for those who love to unravel the mysteries of the universe.

Patrex Academy: Creative and Philosophical Minds - Houses from Patrex are all about creativity and deep thinking. They might have genetic enhancements for artistic abilities and telepathic skills, fostering a community of artists and philosophers.

Cerulean Academy: Environmental Guardians - Houses aligned with Cerulean nurture a connection with nature. Their Loom cores could instil empathy for ecosystems and a keen understanding of environmental sciences, creating guardians of Gallifrey's natural world.

Drome Academy: Social Advocates - Drome-focused Houses emphasise social awareness and empathy. Their genetic makeup might promote emotional intelligence and a strong sense of social justice, producing advocates for equality and democracy.

Scendeles Academy: The Versatile and Adaptive - Houses linked with Scendeles encourage a broad range of talents. Their Loom cores might be more diverse, allowing for adaptability and a wide array of skills, from innovative thinkers to practical problem-solvers.

So this leaves us with a fun reason for a poll. You might be a Hufflepuff, but ...

Gallifreyan Biology for Tuesday by GIL

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[gotyouanyway]

aforementioned post about what's going on with ransom's mental state and character in general !

so for context first we have to look at the agent who would later become ransom, who i'm going to call Agent. because even though agent never existed, ransom is still partially a product of his existence. and agent was basically on top of the world until the incident that got him oublietted. he had a thriving career, close friends, and broad life experiences on and off gallifrey. he was friendly, a bit brash, and existentially very relaxed. kind of untouchable.

but of course he wasn't any of those things, which is why we have ransom. what ransom has left of agent is a kind of muscle memory and nothing more. pre-programmed patterns of behaviour that have lost all context and have no meaning to them (until they're later given context by other time lords). e.g. they speak gallifreyan and tend to use an informal register, but wouldn't notice it's informal until someone pointed it out.

likewise they have impulses to behave in certain ways, react and feel certain ways about things, with NO IDEA why that's their impulse and KNOWING that there actually is no cause. it's being adrift in a way that even amnesiacs aren't - there is no context to be found out, so they can't even delve into it, they just have to live with these echoes of the person they allegedly could have been.

so of course this is bad and weird for them. frustrating and uncomfortable beyond belief. BUT! like i said, agent wasn't prone to existential dread at all. so ransom really isn't either? they almost get more distressed at how calm they are than about anything else, because the context they're given by other says "you should be freaking out" but their own impulse is to say "it is what it is."

UP TO A POINT. because now they're building NEW context and a NEW personality (by observing others, pushing boundaries, re-mapping their place in the world by trial and error and experimentation. their freak era<3). so part of that new context is realizing they're not their impulses and they're allowed to build their own new personality and they SHOULD be pretty freaked out, actually. and they have their moments:

RANSOM: Do you know what they call people like me, in the CIA archives? Neverperson. Never loomed, never lived, never named, never grew up. Never breathed air, never drank water, never had a thought or feeling or cast a bloody shadow! I’m not- [Pause, catching their breath, deflating completely.] But here I am, anyway, right? …Here I am.

but largely, they follow that impulse to let it be what it is, more as a defence mechanism than anything. they have a "go with the flow and blend in" instinct too which is pretty strong, and they play their cards close to their chest until they know they're safe. in the beginning, when they've been alive for about 2 weeks only, they PERFORM their personality (i.e. those little impulses they feel) in order to do this, but it's disconnected from whatever they're actually thinking/feeling, which is very little because, like, they're nobody. if that makes sense.

later in the story (as i've outlined it so far), they let their guard down a little and let some of the dread creep in, but quickly deflect it into building their new identity. this is when they become totally cia-brained, because it's an identity and continuity to cling to that makes sense.

so in general, they don't dwell on it too much, which is a way of being chill about it, i guess. i'd love to say they're deeply cut up about it inside and hiding it, but they're really not. they have their moments, and then they move on.

some lingering weirdness is inherent though and fun to play with. like i said, they're figuring out who they can be now by pushing boundaries, acting out, following impulses and analyzing the results. this comes across as erratic, goofy, manipulative, or even cruel, depending on the context. their feelings about it are a thing to be analyzed rather than felt, because without context the emotions are so distant (this part goes away as they build new context).

they also don't eat. that's kind of the final thing here. they're disconnected from their body in a way they really don't ever think about and will not think about. they've never eaten before and the idea of it is uncomfortable - food is so full of context (cultural, emotional, social) that it's just. too much to deal with. ration tablets are enough. they also don't decorate their rooms or wear anything other than cia uniform unless it's handed to them by someone else. they avoid pretty much all personal expression along those lines for a looong time.

[tremastersweb]

(OOC: I'm putting this under a read more, bcs it's long. S o r r y the Doctor thinks a l o t)

Like Alice, the Doctor always tried to believe three impossible things before breakfast.

The first, an immovable statement in his daily practice, was that good would always pervail. The impossibility was in the word "always". Still, it kept him going - the Universe had kindness in it, in spite of the numerous heart wrenching displays of cruelty he had gotten well accustomed with in his travels. There were trillions of marvels to smile about, such as people who had lost it all, in the direst of situations, spreading hope within their little found communities with the sweetest of gestures. He had seen it countless times, in fact he had participated. A single spark could often cause a chain reaction, if people's hearts were in the right place.

Right, that's the start of a smile. He incorporated from the wooden floor he unfortunately had fallen asleep at, after who knows how many days of sleep deprivation, supporting himself on the old console. He stared at the screen, he had managed to rearrange the TARDIS' architectural configuration almost in its entirety. The radar was still somewhat unreliable, yet it informed him that everyone was alive and, in fact, in this dimension. He didn't want to risk anyone becoming trapped in time, completely disintegrating, or worse.

Loss.

He wondered what had been of the people he had met on Gallifrey, his friends, his colleagues, his family. If the war had devastated the planet in its entirety... the odds of survival were grim. He chose to believe, for his second impossibility, that, somehow, at least some of them escaped, just like Vera, that they'd be safe, that...

He took a deep breath and shook his head. He didn't need to question it, or think it too much, just believe it. If he hoped hard enough, perhaps it would come true, besides, there wasn't much he could do, not at the moment. He examined the TARDIS' status. She seemed to be feeling better, the source of this improvement was unknown to him, but her energy was evenly distributed now save for the excess in the main console room. Hopefully that meant that most of the damage had been undone, that she was not suffering anymore, but he'd only make sure once he could take a look at the main console. The Doctor hadn't heard any more drumming, so he deducted the Master must have stopped messing with them. Perhaps, only perhaps, they had helped him attend to reason... he swallowed, tension fast returning to his body. He wrote a few more lines of code, making sure the design was stable, protected, not easily disrupted by the Master, and let go of the console. He drew a map on an old sheet of paper, it would be rather tragic to get lost with the correct arrangement.

He started walking towards the main console room, the image of the Master attacking him invading his mind, then Vera, oh Vera, yes the Magister was with her, so she should be safe... He was aware of the reassuring effect his presence had on her, and that he truly, deeply cared about her. The Magister would never let her get hurt if it was in his power, and he seemed rather determined before he left. He had shown her compassion, offered her protection, and demonstrated genuine, loving amiability, qualities he had long thought gone on him, and yet...

The third impossible thing he would attempt to believe in today was that, despite it all, the Master still had this part in him, that it could be recovered if nurtured enough. That, perhaps, he could for once, truly help him.

The shy smile that had formed on his face twitched, as he struggled to believe. Not too long after, he arrived at some familiar corridors. Yes, that was A- ...That room, and the kitchen was nearby. He peeked inside, noticing a familiar silhouette.

"...Magister, is that you?"

[princess-varan-of-gin-seng]

The Political Manifesto of Gin-Seng Liberation Party

The Gin-Seng Liberation Party does not only stand for Gin-Seng but for the peoples of ally Gallifrey. We stand for truth and for civilisation and well as equality between the two sister races of Gallifrey. Once more as in the days of the Pythia the Cats and the Shobogan will stand United as citizens of our great Homeworld.

Education Policies

The Gin-Seng Liberation Party promises this:

That all off world Citizens will, be allowed to continue to take part in education at the Academy.

That the so called Tike Lord Academy will be formally Renamed the Gallifrayan Academy.

And increased focus on the more civilised subjects such as philosophy and art, as well as that as telepathic and psychic training.

We also promise that the barbaric subjects taught in the academy will be retained as we of Gin-Seng respect our Shobogan cousins.

The arrogant title of Time Lord will also be abolished with graduation from the academy leading you to hold a certificate in all your subjects and the title of Lord of Gallifrey.

Economic Policies

The Gin-Seng Liberation Party promises:

That the post scarcity policy that the Citidel has enjoyed for many a year will now be spread to all Gallifrey the technology of the Shobogan combined with the great and intelligence Power off the Cats will allow this to pass.

That all of world trade will be reopened with the other Time Active Powers.

Attempt to open up trade lanes with the Posthuman era to gain increased amounts of Praxis and HEM a both of which are found in far more abundance beyond the Frontier in Time.

Foreign Policy

The Gin-Seng Liberation Party promises:

To increase Diplomatic relations with Phidon and to help them develop more human ways of interacting with the physical world.

To engage in a technological exchange with the Monan Host World

To send diplomats beyond the frontier in time to seek out allies in the Posthuman era

To increase observation on the Ghost point on earth in 2001 relative date

To increase diplomatic relations with our sister world of Karn and to allow the sister to resettle on Gallifrey should they wish

Politcal Policy

The Gin-Seng Liberation Party promises:

To Democratise Gallifrey with elections every 40 years for the Head of The Goverment

To Replace the title of President, a title which has lead to many poor decisions, with the title of Pythia

To grant Cats Equal status to the currently ruling Shobogan race.

Scientific Policy

The Gin-Seng Liberation Party promises:

To probe the Caldera and come to a better understanding of the crude device known as the Web of Time.

To completely map the Frontier in Time.

Military Policy

The Gin-Seng Liberation Party promises:

To increase the power and size of the Military of Gallifrey in preparation for the War that the Cats have foreseen.

To develop new offensive and defensive technologies for the protection of Gallifrey

To Take direct control of the Government of Drornid

To Reactivate the Bowships, the War and Battle TARDIS’s and the N-Forms

The commencement the type 100 project to create humanoid TARDIS’s capable of infiltrating enemy bases and to aid in improved pilot/ship communication.

To maintain constant and permanent surveillance on Earth in its 21st century

A Vote of Gin-Seng is a vote for safety and civilisation!

A Pythian Gallifrey is a Safe Gallifrey!

[wolfblood-of-anubis]

HOA Among Us Gameplay

Seasons Greetings! Are you a House of Anubis fan? Do you find yourself wanting a chance to experience being the characters themselves? Did you play the Among Us game at some point in your life? Do you want to unite with your fellow HOA fans and accuse them of murder?

Well, this is the place for you!

Listen, as Sibuna followers we’re on top of anything spooky and creepy. Let’s put ourselves to the test and have a nice gameplay of Among Us. Maybe three rounds, maybe more depending how we’re feeling after.

We play as characters, try to be in character for as long as possible. If you’re Fabian or Nina, be super sleuthy. If you’re Patricia never stop accusing people or causing fights. If you’re Jerome… you’re probably the impostor.

When?

On December 27th, on 5PM AST (time is a default and available to change if contacted) we shall connect and play a rousing game of Among Us, dress up and name ourselves after our chosen HOA character and figure out the two imposters among us. You heard that right, folks! Two imposters.

I will be posting the game entry code 10 minutes before we begin so everyone can get settled.

Which Among Us map will we explore?

Map will be The Airship (it has a very Anubis House vibe to it). But since it’s also larger than most, I suggest practice playing it solo. For more information, please DM me and I can teach you how. If not, the map can always go back to the original setting: The Skeld.

Now, who are you going to be?

There are 15 slots for a full Among Us gameplay and if we have more than 15 people interested, I suggest to repeat the activity with the others the next day on Dec. 23rd. Anyone interested in replaying can do so as well if there are slots available for the next day.

Until then, the characters provided are listed below. Please write in the replies if you are interested and which character you would like to play as! Remember that this is a commitment for December 22nd!

characters not available will be crossed off

Nina Martin - @incorrectsibunaquotes

Fabian Rutter - @fakeosirian

Patricia Williamson

Amber Millington - @find-y0ur-j0y

Alfie Lewis - @wolfblood-of-anubis

Jerome Clarke

Joy Mercer - @katexxr

Eddie Miller

KT Rush

Mara Jaffray

Willow Jenks

Mick Campbell

Trudy Rehmann

Victor Rodenmarr Jr.

Whoever picks this spot gets to choose from the rest of the many side characters/recurring characters over the years. Examples include but not limited to:

Poppy

Piper

Rufus

Sarah

Vera

Mr. Sweet

Mrs. Andrews

Benji

Evil RFS

Caroline Denby

Harriet Denby

Letdown

Chat option ideas:

- we can stick to the Among Us chat box

- or we can make a Discord call and all chat on it during voting and emergency meetings. Another fun thing about Discord is you can just type your message rather than speak if you don’t want to.

let’s explore the chaos of anubis house, shall we?

also, big thanks to @yackers for the hoa gifs, excellent as always!

@find-y0ur-j0y @frobisher-smythe @frobitcher-smythe @incorrectsibunaquotes @thechosenanubis @fakeosirian @joysmercer @joymercerssecretgf @tess-or-no @lialovesstuff @katexxr @dreaming-of-galaxies-and-stars @whispers-of-gallifrey @inseacure-possum @thereofrin @almostlikequake @sibunaaanubis @sibunator

[intuitive-revelations]

Hey! So, following up on that last post, remember that Tolkien-style "Map of Central Gallifrey" I've posted in the past, mapping out the Capitol and Prydonia carefully based on analysing CGI screenshots, expanded universe quotes, extrapolating from tiny details etc.?

I made an updated and expanded version! It'll be available in @galliversary: "Pride and Politics" as a two-page spread within the zine, as well as a full print!

Along with some updates based on new sources (eg. DW: Flux), the map features new locations from the Gallifrey audio series like the Camp of the True Lords (Annihilation), the Anomaly Vault (Fractures), even House Witforge (Transference).

The new map also expands the mapped region to include more of Mancipia and the Lune Forest, as well as bits of Gin-Seng and Fettaris, along with an extra mini world map! This was similarly pulled together from all sorts of sources, ranging from Day of the Doctor CGI breakdowns, to the Seasons of War anthologies, to Eighth Doctor Time War audios, to that one book page in Good Omens.

Make sure to check it out! Preorders open in March.

[ssaalexblake]

weird take, but a a bunch of comments abt 13 make it clear that some people are confusing a consequence of the Point of the stories as the central focus of the plot, rather than recognising that that is not the point at all?

Like, the onus of the plot was Not reaching a goal where Gallifrey is nuked. Gallifrey being nuked was not the Aim of the plot or the sum goal of the writing, it was a consequence of it. The timeless child story did not exist as a justification to blow up the citadel when the master had too many feelings. The point isn't the nuking, it's the feelings that led to him doing it in the first place.

He is not the central point of that plot, 13 is, but if we're discussing Him then the point is his feelings and the ethics of the history of Gallifrey (and societies that we can draw parallels with from this story. So like. Our society), not the violence that stemmed from them, the violence is merely a consequence. The point is to examine the reaction in context, What about finding that out disturbed him so much that it drove him to do all those things? What was so terrible about it that drove him to genocide (... they're not the hardest person in the universe to drive to genocide, but it's still extreme as a reaction.)

It's like with Nine. Him nuking Gallifrey was a consequence of Other factors that are incredibly important in examining his motives and the plot. The destruction was a narrative coming to a horrible, terrible conclusion. But was gallifrey being wiped off the map the goal of the plot that was just made up as a reason to get rid of it, or was it an examination of trauma and ethics (or lack thereof) in a war of collateral damage? And many other things, as well.

I guess my point is. Gallifrey being blown to hell was not the sum of that plot and that's Not the important part, at all. In either example above, really.

[variousqueerthings]

Just the old favourites...

AND IT'S THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR! there's four "of the doctor" titles in a row at the end of this, which I will forgive, because the specials back in what 2008? 2009? were also basically about the Doctor, and this is the end of Eleven's era (one episode left after this and we meet Twelve!!!) so yeah, go on, make it a bit Doctor-centric I gueeeess (but maybe a little less?)

anyway, how do we do with the whole... Doctor thing?

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 6/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 3/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 5/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 10/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 4/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 2/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 5/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 4/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 5/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 3/10

FULL RATING: 48/100 (if I can count….)

it's got... some points. I am a big fan of Gallifrey being back on the map! I am really into the final bit from Tom Baker appearing until the last little speech. but I don't think most of this hangs together as a coherent narrative, as such. let us peruse

OBJECTIFICATION: considering how many female characters are in this episode, Osgood, Clara, Kate Stewart, Bad Wolf Interface, and Queen Elizabeth, it does remarkably well for a M*ffat penned episode. however. you can guess who suffers a bit -- surprisingly not as much as I'd remember: It's Queen Liz of course (although actually her issues come up more related to this eras ongoing Stuff around authority, and how she interacts with the Doctor)

Elizabeth, you see, is in Looooove with the Doctor, which is the thing that's going to be the single most annoying pervasive plotpoint in RTD's era. she's kind of ditzy about it, even though she's actually capable elsewhere in the episode, and she's introduced in this sort of romantic outing with the Doctor (who's doing it to out her as an alien, which she isn't)

it's not the worst, considering how this character has been described throughout nu!who, but it's also very eye-rollery

BUT WAIT! there's also the Bad Wolf Interface, played by Billie Piper, whom I'd technically be happy to see, and who does pretty well with what she's given, but...

The War Doctor, burning his hand: The interface, it’s hot Bad Wolf Interface: Well I do my best

this isn't massive, I know I know. and technically this is neither Rose nor The Bad Wolf, however... never were these characters portrayed doing this kind of dialogue. the Bad Wolf is kind of a manic pixie dream girl at times, and it irks a bit. it's not massive. but it irks.

PLOT-POINT: Clara is doing plot shit, and not much else. Queen Liz is a joke B-plot point really. Kate Stewart, noooow ok she's got some opinions on things, some things I want to circle back to, but not on this point (but the main gist is, to what extent is Kate Stewart actually an antagonist). Osgood, I'd say, comes out of this the best, she's got a neat little arc with her Zygon self, which I believe carries on into later episodes

and then there's the Bad Wolf/Moment. I quite like the Moment, actually. I think the Moment as a being + a weapon is interesting. Dunno if that much is done with it on the whole (but that's the next point down). I acknowledge that because the Interface has the face of Rose Tyler/The Bad Wolf, I'm treating it like a female character, which may be flawed thinking, but fuckit, onwards, the Moment is a plot device/Macguffin type, because the Moment has no motivations, it just is, and was introduced in this episode in order to give an object around which the Doctor could make choices. and happens to look like the Bad Wolf, but strangely even that doesn't really matter (we'll get to that)

COMPLEXITY: sOOOooo this plot is kind of a series of best-ofs smooshed together. remember the Queen Liz jokes? well, here's the story behind that. remember the fez? Allons-y, Geronimo, making fun of appearances and quirks, check check, Tom Baker (being fabulous), Billie Piper, and... it's a 50th anniversary, it's fine, I get it, but I wish it wasn't so "this happens and then this happens because this is what we need to happen and then this happens..."

and I do like the ending, even though getting to it is very messy

I kind of wish a few elements had been stripped back or entirely away, so one could zero in on some emotional depth, because while there are some great moments (Ten being the Doctor who's always counting deaths, and Eleven being the Doctor who refuses to look at them is a highlight), it moves too fast for you to breathe and take a lot of it in

take, the Moment as Bad Wolf, love it, and they do timey-wimey handwavey you'll forget all of this, so it doesn't totally fuck around with Rose just being an ordinary girl that the Doctor met, but there's this bit where The War Doctor says "oh bad wolf girl I could kiss you!" and she says something to the effect of "you're going to" and Ten goes something like "I'm sorry did you say Bad Wolf!????"... and then we move on

not that this is Ten's episode, but you brought back Billie Piper and not a single little emotional beat of Ten realising that the Bad Wolf in some way is still looking out for them (or hell, Eleven having that beat too, it's not like they're not the same character)

the Time War is the big sufferer of this though. I know it's described in books in a truly terrifying time-fucked-up Eldritch Gods type way, and what we get is a handful of scenes of explosions and screaming citizens (are they Time Lords or just locals? I don't know enough lore to know the details on how many were Time Lords), and this recurring shot of laughing kids around a maypole. what's with the maypole, idk, it's like a symbol for childhood innocence or something in this

if it had made a choice to not actually show details of the Time War, for example, a lot of that could have been left to the imagination and there could have been a different - more affecting - way of portraying the Doctor's Choice. I'm a big fan of the counting the dead as concept, for example, it says something about both Ten and Eleven

also not sold on every single Doctor suddenly beaming away Gallifrey, it's doing a lot of heavy lifting without much explanation about why it should work. a lot of rushedness to get to one single point

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: ohhh well this is the gamechanger for the plot, the shift in gears. no longer a story about someone who carries the guilt of an entire dead civilisation, it's now the story of someone trying to find their way home

it's very much a Doctor story, the Doctor interacting with the Doctor

however there is also UNIT. we've reintroduced UNIT this season with Kate Stewart (daughter of Lethbridge-Stewart), and a "science first" approach. IIIII am not so sure about it all, considering she was ready to Blow Up London, and yeah, that was halted for a second, but for now there's been no follow-up on that first intention

since I'm watching Classic!Who next to it, I notice that the Third Doctor isn't working with UNIT so much as he needs to be there, because there's nowhere else to go, and is frequently trying to curb their worst instinct, and the Brigadier is frequently the face of conservative reactions to the unknown. the Doctor at this point likes him (and also insults him), and I'm sure they'll be going through some relationship stuff in the future

but crucially UNIT's a delicate balance, and maybe kiiiind of in this iteration to, considering Kate Stewart's "blowing shit up" plan. I'm kind of wary of UNIT as uncomplicated good guys, which they weren't at that point, and could be delved into much more. also UNIT feels very... British, in a colonialist sense. there's discomfort there

COMPANIONS MATTER: Clara helps them out a couple of times, but she takes a backseat in this one, untiiiil she basically drives the moment to change Time War History. I feel so bad for her as actress playing a character, because we're given so little, but she's presented as 1. knowing all of Doctor history due to being in their timestream and being "born to save him" and 2. saving Gallifrey from destruction by talking the Doctor out of it???? it's so left-field and not really connected to who she is in the narrative (that is, the narrative struggles to place her in it unless it suddenly needs her). I really like Clara, I don't like what the narrative does with her

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: this has soooooo much handwavey "the Doctor does stuff because the Doctor can," and in a way it's something I'm like "fine because I also want that narrative of returning to Gallifrey and everything that comes with it" but... I do think there's a version of this story that could have done more to complicate the Doctor, but of course that's a lot to ask of a M*ffat type of Doctor Who

the depictions of Time Lord society are also... look I just don't think M*ffat knows how to do epic particularly well. he tries and it's mostly a bit silly. lot of talking and "trust me this is so cool"

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: oof, this one is... hard to parse. some of this is great. some of this annoys the hell out of me, it really depends on where you land on super special girl of all time the Doctor <- when portrayed as such -- I personally wish that something would complicate this story a little bit, and not just pull classic!who back in order to recontextualise it for new canon that I'm not sure is good enough for it

I really liked the Tom Baker cameo, but I just am not a fan of making previous Doctor Who actually about this Doctor Who. it's a thin thin line to cross over, and not one that can be done by smashing it with a hammer, and M*ffat is a hammer-smasher

that being said that last speech, with all the Doctors, big fan!

ALSO they played both Rose's theme and Martha's for some reason. why would you do me like this???!

“SEXINESS”: well, you know what everyone really missed with Ten? it was a woman grabbing his face and kissing him without his consent, because it's very funny and he's clearly uncomfortable. this happens Three times with the same character (queen Elizabeth)

also a bunch of hints from Eleven at Ten that this is all so very sexy and the like bla bla

there's also a screwdriver-comparing dick joke between Ten and Eleven.... Ten I'm sorry you would never!

INTERNAL WORLD: eehhh bit all over the place, but not as much as has been in M*ffat stuff before, which may just be that most of it has been set up before. there's UNIT, there's the Time War/Gallifrey (if very simplistically portrayed), and Elizabethan Timez. could be worse, could be better

POLITICS: Someone! Take! Authority! Figures! Away! From! Doctor! Who! by this I mean the continued glorification of Monarchy and Churchill and military we've had throughout this era, fuckn stop!

make these stories about people that matter! I note in this episode how little of it focuses on people doing shit, and is just about so-called Important People Doing Shit. the most we get to an ordinary person with real stakes in this is Osgood, who is also UNIT (and has Kate Stewart's phone no-less). yes Clara is... there, but she's there to witness the important shit

it takes the Doctor away from the sphere where we actually relate to them, and into the "actually I only worry about the hobnobs and the important things, the little picture the little person is not the Point"

I think that's what this episode suffers from the most. it's floating away in a balloon with nary a character, setting, or Theme to properly ground it, with the exception of that final bit: "At last I know where I’m going, where I’ve always been going. Home, the long way around."

FULL RATING: 48/100 (if I can count….)

and here we are, one episode from the end of Eleven's era, and it's an average M*ffat rating. bit of a mess, but with an actual good teaser at the end there for once!

I like Osgood, think UNIT has the promise to be compelling if handled correctly, and of course I'm into the Classic!Doctors fanservice. I think Ten is written somewhat to the left of actual Ten, there's some bullshit political stuff as a continuation from M*ffat's bullshit political stuff, and the Time War is presented as a bit... simple on the whole

gosh I didn't even mention John Hurt??? JOHN HURT!!!!! he's really good actually, he sells the weariness excellently and brings the Doctor down a peg from All Awe-Inspiring Heroic Being to just some guy in a bad position. John Hurt also had two of my favourite lines, first mistaking Ten and Eleven for companions (they get younger all the time lol) and then when realising they're the Doctor: "You’re my future selves? Am I having a midlife crisis?"

the interaction between the three Doctors is often very good. Eleven about Ten's Tardis: "It’s his grunge phase. He grows out of it"

ANYWAY

we're nearly there folks!

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Is there still something, someone or some role like the Visionary on Gallifrey? ~ A very curious human :)

Do they still have visionaries on Gallifrey?

Indeed, they do.

🏺 The Ancient Visionaries

In the Bright Past, visionaries were fairly common. They were all women Shobogans affected by Odic energy and granted pre-cognitive abilities. Those who weren't catatonic wandered from town to town subsisting on an exclusive diet of fish tongues.

The most important oracle of them all, though, was the Pythia. The Pythia and her Sisterhood ruled Gallifrey using prophecy and riddles for thousands of years. Then Rassilon showed up, decided that math was better than mysticism, and overthrew them.

🔮 The Modern Visionaries

Even after the Pythia's fall, prophecy refused to go away. Every so often, a Gallifreyan would stare into the Untempered Schism, and instead of being 'inspired' or 'running away,' they just never come back quite right. These individuals, called Visionaries, are permanently connected to the Vortex. This gives them terrifyingly accurate prophetic abilities, but at the cost of their sanity.

Most families quietly lock them away in institutions and places like the Quantum of Solace. There, they spend their days muttering to themselves, drawing incomprehensible maps on the walls, and generally being deeply unsettling at dinner parties.

🚨 Then the Time War Happened

When the Last Great Time War started rewriting reality on a daily basis, the Time Lords suddenly changed their minds about prophecy as they suddenly found it useful.

Visionaries were dragged out of their padded rooms, assigned official Minders, and forced to deliver prophecies on demand. Their ravings became military intelligence.

But now with Gallifrey's fate uncertain, it's unclear if Visionaries are still acknowledged in any official capacity. If Gallifreyans are still being born and still facing the Schism, then Visionaries likely still exist. The only question is whether anyone is still listening to them.

🏫 So…

Yes, Gallifrey probably still has seers. But their usefulness depends entirely on context. Before Rassilon, they ruled. Under the Time Lords, they were dismissed. During the War, they were weaponised. Now, they're probably back to being ignored. Until the next major crisis.

Related:

💬|👥🧬Would a hybrid on Gallifrey experience prejudice due to the Prophecy of the Hybrid?: The extraneous factors of public perception of hybrids.

💬|🏺🧙What do Shobogans look like, and how are they different from modern Gallifreyans?: Various biological difference between Gallifreyans and their ancestors.

💬|⚔️⌛How did the Time War start?: The complicated origins of the Time War.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[synthient]

I think this show is actually doing some pretty interesting things with the way that Missy's genderswap recontextualizes our understanding of the doctor/master relationship.

The Doctor's reactions to saxon-master and Missy are pretty much the same. But the way he treats the Master as having a certain intrinsic vulnerable/sympathetic quality, no matter how many atrocities they commit, maps more intuitively onto our cultural conceptions of white womanhood. And so does the automatic guilt he seems to feel for fighting back against the Master at all ("hitting a woman"). If both of them seem to believe that the Doctor was the one who originally wronged the Master, then that feels more plausible as a "who was probably the wronged party in this man and woman's messy breakup" calculation. And if we feel a certain measure of "okay, it is a little girlboss slay when she vaporizes people," then maybe the Doctor does too - implying that maybe the Master wasn't the most enfranchised person on gallifrey (though we don't seem to have a particularly clear sense of why, beyond maybe that bit of ableism/sanism from the president). Maybe there's some sort of unspoken alien power dynamic between them that we can't quite comprehend, but for which gender makes a convenient enough metaphor

Though it does also feel plenty plausible that time lords just Have Sexism Despite It All, and they've just always both kind of related to the Master as the "girl in the relationship"

[alyona11]

Just a thought but I kinda like this idea, but would anyone be interested in drawing Gallifrey MAP for the anniversary? For the song I thought about The Oh Hello's Grow.

For context, MAP is like a collective animatic/animation video where different artists draw different parts of the song.

I'm not saying it's happening but I'm kinda interested how many people would like to get involved in theory.

[freyfall]

I have come across an old warrior cats MAP and am wondering if artist:gallifreyanpariah is you? The artstyle is rather different but the video is almost 8 years old.

It's the All-Star-Smash Mouth starkit's prophecy MAP.

nope lol that's not me. "gallifrey" is a planet from doctor who, hence "gallifreyan" as a reference to doctor who in my original username (I've only used gallifreyanchild and gallifreyanpal). I don't have sole ownership of that name lmao

[the-better-phoenix256]

Ruby: So where do you come from?

15: Gallifrey. Or, at least, that's where I was raised.

Ruby, pulling up Google maps: Whereabouts in Scotland is that?

i know we won't but GOD i hope he never tells her he's an alien i hope we have a whole series of ruby thinking he's just a time travelling human until he gets hurt and is like ohhhhhh ruby love can you check my pulses and she's like check your fucking what now

[intuitive-revelations]

Hey, so remember my discussion of the "blue/red past/future" Doppler effect thing that we see in the RTD era (and arguably early Moffat era) time vortex and how a similar reference appears in Lungbarrow of all places (and how it can potentially link the Gate of the Past/Future to the Untempered Schism)?

Today I learned that an even more explicit example appears in The Infinity Doctors:

The Magistrate hesitated, perhaps because he realised that he could see the Station in which he was standing on the display, a tiny mote surrounded by raging energies. The history of the universe was represented by a long, spiralling line running up the screen. The past was marked in blue, the present and known future in green, the unknown in red. At this scale, the blue could hardly be seen, the green didn’t even register, and the red line accounted for over ninety‐nine percent of the total length. ‘Time moves in circles,’ the President noted. It was an old Gallifreyan proverb, one that was literally and metaphorically true. The display showed the time spiral, the map of time. Usually, the Time Lords only concerned themselves with the first few hundred coils of the helix.

Granted, this may just be a scientific display, but the implications are pretty wild. We've known for some time that Gallifrey's lording over time typically only extends so far (see noospheres, Utopia etc.), so the idea of an "unknown" future isn't that surprising.

But it's pretty notable that in seeing the time vortex in the new series, while we do see bits of green in the mix of red, it's less a single length of the vortex fully understood by the Time Lords and more just scattered remnants among the unknown.

Really just further sells the idea that the Time Lords' control of history / the Web of Time was completely shattered across the War in Heaven and Time War, the green being all that was left unaltered, which much more of the universe's future history now being up in the air and open to change.