Ecdysis by Julianna Baggott
My rating: 4/5 cats
Longing ages keenly and what sung inside of me was sharp.
i was thrilled to see another free tor short from julianna baggott just months after The Virtual Swallows of Hog Island was posted. both of them are similar in tone—sad, angry, nostalgic, and they’re both sort of like where therapy meets SFF, which is an interesting combo.
at its most basic, it’s about the protective layers we build around ourselves, how we change with our experiences, and the outward forms we present to the world as life shapes us. it’s about abuse, shame, perspective, painful transitions, and forgiveness; the specific frustration of being born with the wrong set of genitals and not being seen for the person within, but also how this frustration is universal—how we assess people based on appearance or behavior without knowing what experiences caused the behavior, what ‘bear-wolf’ even the most despicable people have tried to run from. the simple truth of the statement: “My journeys have defined me.”
it’s really powerful, even though i’m not sure i understand the avatar-peeling sequence—whether that situation was meant to be a rehabilitation facility or something more or less horrible. but the rest of it is really excellent and has that jonathan carroll-ly vibe i like.
bonus points for teaching me a new word:
ecdysis
ec·dy·sis
/ˈekdəsəs/
noun: ZOOLOGY
the process of shedding the old skin (in reptiles) or casting off the outer cuticle (in insects and other arthropods).
more free tor shorts from you, please, ms. baggott!
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/2017/03/22/ecdysis/
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