#yoss

Been meaning to make one of these for a while, so here we go. All my clone OCs in one spot with a few quick reference facts.

Steady (tag) Grey aro, bi, polyamorus, he/him Either a sergeant or lieutenant depending on where in my timeline the story is set. Quartermaster Has been in the war since First Geonosis. Got his name because he always seems to have his shit together. Specializes in dealing with shinies. Dad friend. Has the name of every clone who died under his command tattooed on his back. Doesn’t really like to cook, but likes to eat, so has learned to cook. Was vaguely scandalized to find out he has a reputation for being promiscuous. In an open relationship with Sten.

Tadhg (tag) gay, didn’t realize he was polyam until he was in a triad, he/him rank ranges from trooper to sergeant, Quartermaster’s assistant Name is pronounced Taig. Horrible romantic, but is startlingly bad at reading other people’s emotions if they aren’t being direct about how they feel. Loves poetry. Deals with anxiety by organizing everything into submission. Got badly burned in an explosion and lost a significant portion of his sense of smell which also lead to his sense of taste being deadened. He tends to compensate by covering food with hot sauce. It also left his voice damaged and raspy. In a relationship with Brass and Hawke

Brass (tag) gay, poly, he/him LAAT/i co-pilot Has never done anything by half measures in his life. Very direct, very honest, galaxy’s worst poker face. Genuinely curious about everything. Carpes the fuck out of the diem. Can’t pass a written exam to save his life, but has an abundance of mechanical aptitude. In a relationship with Tadhg and Hawke.

Yoss (tag) Bi, he/him Made it all the way up to captain in the bomb squad before getting demoted and shipped off to a remote relay station where he works on the security team Grumpy trash man. Hates the war and everything to do with the war. Everyone is trying to kill him, from droids he’s never seen before who try and shoot at him to commanding officers who order him out onto battlefields to get shot at. He’s acerbic and self absorbed, but he’s mellowed out some since getting stationed to the speck. Remarkably loyal once you earn his trust. In a relationship with Shepard.

Heart - deceased (tag) Bi, he/him trooper Nervous new recruit who fell madly in love with Steady. Dragged him out of his comfort zone and into his first real relationship. Died in battle nine days later.

Lockdown (tag) Aromantic, bi, he/him Advanced Reconnaissance Commando Confirmed bachelor who parties a bit harder than he really should. Hyper competent in battle, disaster in his personal life. Has a fearless streak that’s as much self destructive tendencies as it is bravery. Very protective of his best friend, Steady. Get’s bored easily.

Let me preface this by saying, Chris Chibnall is doing an AMAZING job. I have not felt this connected to the Doctor and the show in general for SEVERAL years. That being said, it is so wonderful to say that, so far, there have been minimal issues with writing, until episode 5.

Sooo... I finally got around to watching “The Tsuranga Conundrum.” I waited a week because I was under the impression that it ended on a cliffhanger (obviously didn’t). It was certainly a very high stakes episode with lots of low and high parts that make Doctor Who what it is. The only issue I really had was about Yoss and his baby.

Those of you who have taken the time to read my personal posts, I am adopted. I was adopted by birth, and it was an open adoption, so I knew my biological mother growing up. She was 19 and homeless when she had me, so it was not logical for her to keep me. I’m saying all of this to ultimately get to the idea that Chris Chibnall (and many, many, MANY other TV show and movie writers) handled the concept of adoption and birth in not the best way.

The first thing: Yoss repeatedly said that he was not fit to be a father. He gave several reasons why, and it takes a lot of courage to admit that to yourself. In talking with my biological mother, she only wanted the best for me. She knew she was not fit to be a mother at that point in her life, and that was ok. It’s still ok. Now, I know that this is not the case for many children, but it was in this episode of Doctor Who. Ryan, however, was actively trying to convince Yoss that he should keep the baby. I know Ryan has father issues, and I get why he might have been saying that, but I don’t think it was ok for Chris Chibnall to write Graham or Malbi in such a way that they didn’t jump in and say “This is Yoss’ decision.” If Yoss believed that it was the right decision for his child, then that’s what should happen. There are no take-backs (maybe in the Gifftan culture there is, idk), but there are open-adoption plans, where the adoptive parents make an effort to include the biological parents in their kid’s life (like me).

The second thing: the wording that was used for adoption was akin to “giving up the baby” or “giving away the baby” (I don’t remember the exact wording). You give away clothes that don’t fit anymore; you give away books; hell, depending on your outlook on pets, you give away a dog (not saying that’s my phrasing, but it is for others). You don’t give away a person. You adopt them out, or set up an adoption plan. There are many people who “give away” their kids because they are just not interested. This point, however, is just me being picky with word choice.

Adoption is such a stigmatized topic and adopted kids are a demographic that is completely skipped over because of how uncomfortable the topic might seem to other people. This is why it’s reduced to jokes (i.e., “you’re adopted”, meaning to say, you are different and don’t really fit in or belong in this family). Adoption can be a FANTASTIC solution for some people. Some people are very open about their adoption (I am literally an open book about it), but some people are not for this precise reason. For whatever reason, society has decided that adoption is not as good as having your own kids. In fact, I was told by my former youth pastor’s wife that “If you can’t have kids naturally, then that is God saying that you were not meant to have children.” She knew I was adopted and that my parents could not have kids. This stigma is unacceptable, and it needs to start changing with TV show and movie portrayals.

tl;dr Doctor Who added yet another blow to the stigma behind the concept of adoption and I think that’s wrong.