#raven is unhinged

[swampstew]

10, 13, and 23!

@yamat0 thank you for being brave to ask about my weird ass<3

10. are you good at hiding your feelings? - ok, have you heard of masking? I'm literally the picture in the psychology text book. I am so good as masking my feelings I have gotten very good at fooling even myself.

13. how do you feel right now? - rn, I feel pretty good (being dead honest). joined a fun OP discord server (@nickiminajlov3), I stole my partner's uneaten pizza and my boss praised my work ethic (my work ethic is work for 1 hour and bill them for 8 but that's between you and me)

23. fear(s) - ok. my biggest fear is waking up to a bed full of spiders. spiders all up on my face, body, on my mouth. I gag. I just vomited on myself. I have to go.

[thesarosperiod]

god that realization that karna was already living on borrowed time. that description of her body rotting as she reaches out with her last spell. the fact that one of the last things she did was save deli's life. she told him to run and in the end he did and that ended up being the reason all of them lived... if it weren't for that silvery barbs, i wonder if they could've cleared that tunnel. i don't think she knew it (i hope she might've, though) but by saving deli, she saved their lives too. the world doesn't know who karna was but you'd better believe those three survivors are never ever going to forget her

[halcyonfawn]

okay. i was confused during this one scene because i felt like the background music was way too familiar for me.

and then it hit me. i've watched season 9 god knows how many times.

so...

WHY DID THEY PUT "FACE THE RAVEN" FROM SERIES 9 IN HERE? is it important? should i start theorising? somebody hold me, i might do something crazy-

edit: there was no one to hold me in contain so i wrote a huge post about this moment.

[doorp]

Lenore: I like women who can and WILL kill me

[ghostselkie]

Okay so I think there is something weird going on with Lenore

And it's not what you think. Well I'm not sure what I'm even thinking; tbh it feels like I'm pulling on a thread that's not meant to be puled yet but well hear we are.

So I think there is something about Lenore that is fundamentally different than the other students, and it's not just the prior bond she has with Annabel. It seems like, and this is going to sound completely insane, that she has some connection to nevermore, or something about her is closer to the entities that inhabit it.

Hear me out.

Warning: this is unhinged.

Upon entering the grounds of the academy she had that weird eldritch vision.

A vision Annabel didn't seem to have.

A vision the Deans knew she had.

And then there it the thing with the orbs. In chapter 45 Poppet stats them to be insentient, but they don't seem to act that way. They talk, and even try to protect Lenore.

Now it's unclear weather Annabel can hear what they are saying, as this feels like it's from Lenore's pov but I wanted to include it any way. These orbs feal sentient to me, maybe not sapient, but it feels like a weird thing for a teacher, do get wrong, or knowingly mislead us with.

And then there is the Raven. The mother fucking Raven. He is the first character we see Lenore with.

He states that the only reason that he talks to her is that she addressed him first. Something that no other student has done.

And then there is this.

Why would his curiosity about Lenore be destructive!? Like, Lenore is the person he'd said he would eat if she tried to escape. It cant be Merry and Mourn that pose a threat to him since he's snooped around the academy grounds before.

Now what I'm going to say next is going to enter thumb tacks and string territory but...

I think Lenore and the Raven have some weird connection.

First off, there's the obvious, Lenore has a bird motif, ravens specifically, and well she befriends a raven.

Then there is their mutual association with the color red. Lenore with her, well, everything, and the bird with his speech bubbles. And said speech bubbles seem unique. At first glance they seem like the speech bubbles we see with characters specters, but something about them seems different, and it's not just the colors. They seem more blotchy.

Now this is what character thoughts normaly look like

White text, with a colored gradient around them. But you wanna know what Lenore's thought's look like after she talks with the raven for the second time?

Red and blotchy, just like the ravens speech bubbles.

Now this is the only time her thoughts appear like this but I still felt like mentioning it.

Also you wanna who Lenore and the Raven's dynamic kinda reminds me of?

Merry and Mourn!

But like a Merry and Mourn that don't know each other well yet.

There is something going on here, but I have no clue what it is.

@blacknedsoul-blog Look you're one of the best meta writers in the nevermore fandom, and I feel like I'm going insane. HELP!

[identifyallen]

Garfield: Do you guys ever imagine stabbing yourself?

Rachel: No, Gar…I haven’t. Who would even think that?

Wally: I occasionally do.

Dick: I do too.

Garth: Same here. It ultimately depends on my mood.

Roy: Sometimes I think of stabbing myself just to spite Oliver. He’s always on my ass because he’s my ‘father.’

Kory: In planet Tamer-

Donna: What the hell is wrong with you guys?

[squash1]

every now and then i remember that an actual real quote from the raven cycle is piper greenmantle saying “go be short somewhere else” to blue sargent.

[incorrect-nevermore]

Its been a while since we’ve had Annabel maddeningly declare her love for Lenore in an unhinged, but true and alarmingly dependent manner. I miss that

[fibrefox]

[palmettoshitposts]

[swampstew]

Boutta drop an entire post on what I believe Kid's ambition as King of the Pirates is

it relates to my fic that I began posting over the summer

it contains sbs canon content that helps further prove my points

This is the disclaimer post for anyone who cares enough about my tinfoil hat theories and/or fics to want to read my nonsense. I'm having high big brain moment and my momentum is unstoppable

[cryinglookingatsoulages]

one of my favourite things about gansey is that he was like what is your name? blue? not anymore.

[bright-and-burning]

let it be known that This is the Vision that came to me the second i saw the gifs from today (gif from @argentinagp here)

[halcyonfawn]

the meaning behind "face the raven" theme in "wild blue yonder" and more

a continuation of this post. i need to talk about this otherwise i'll explode.

some people have also said that this theme is playing in "last christmas" and "hell bent" (thank you for pointing that out, i'm going to die) which makes it all even worse (better). therefore, this post is, more or less, destined to turn into capaldi's era brainrot. but not all of it, i promise.

you've been warned.

first of all, allow me to refresh your memory. let's look into the context of the scenes where we heard this music theme before.

"last christmas"

according to series 8 official soundtrack, this theme is a part of "every christmas is last christmas" and is heard quite clearly two times. they're both important scenes for the doctor and clara.

too late.

a moment full of regrets and nostalgia. the doctor thinking he's lost clara again, wishing he would have come back sooner. clara reminicing her life without the doctor in it.

"so no one matched up to danny, eh?" "there was one other man, but that would never have worked out." "why not?" "he was impossible."

it is (heavily) implied that "one other man" is the doctor. does the doctor himself realise that she's talking about him? open for interpretation. but what this small exchange truly does is showing a game of saying something without actually saying it.

"can you really see no difference in me?" "clara oswald, you will never look any different to me."

yet another way of dancing around words. there's something special and touching about this last line. it is sort of a confession of unconditional love. but the word itself - love - is never spoken out loud.

then again, twelfth might be face blind.

second chances.

now, this scene is a complete opposite of the one mentioned above. it's full of hope, anticipation, happiness. a beginning of a new arc. he is given a second chance and he takes it. the doctor asks clara to run away with him once again. and she says "yes" without hesitation, takes his hand, kisses him on the cheek.

conclusion? these two scenes are focused entirely on the doctor and clara's relationship. it is there to show their strong connection, how much they mean to one another. utter devastation at the thought of their time ending and the absolute joy of reuniting after being separated. a chance at a happy ending. which also makes the music that plays on the background their theme.

"face the raven"

"every christmas is last christmas" is now turned into "face the raven" and is asocciated with clara's death. it also makes the previous name even more heartwrenching since last christmas was literally clara and doctor's last hurrah. we can hear this piece of music appear in two scenes as well.

clara's monologue about facing the raven.

"if danny pink can do it so can i. die right. die like i mean it, face the raven. maybe this is what i wanted. maybe this is it. maybe this is why i kept running. maybe this is why i kept taking all those stupid risks, kept pushing it."

she's accepting her fate and aknowleges her recklesness all the way throught the season 9. it was meant to be. there wasn't enough space for two doctors in the tardis.

"i let you get reckless" "why? why shouldn't i be reckless? you're reckless all the bloody time! why can't i be like you?" "clara, there's nothing special about me. i'm nothing but less breakable than you. i should've taken care of you."

this scene is also about how a human life can be so very short compared to the time lord's and how easily it can end. it's fragile. and it's the doctor's curse: bearing the pain of losing his loved ones.

clara meeting her fate.

as she approaches the raven, ever so brave, the doctor watches her. he hears clara scream, then witness her collapsing onto the ground. it is extremely painful, but this is, i repeat, the doctor's curse: watching his companions leave. there's no use in running away from that pain, it haunts him every step of the way.

"hell bent"

next time, "face the raven" theme can be heard during the memory wipe sequence. there is no name given for the background music in this particular moment, but it's quite obvious it represents loss and... letting go?

the doctor is about to make clara forget their time together (does that ring a bell, anyone?).

it is worth pointing out that the music becomes the loudest at the exact moment the doctor says:

"look how far i went for fear of losing you. this has to stop. one of us has to go."

it is the culmination of their relationship. companions that push each other to extremes. together they might destroy the whole universe in order to keep each other safe. there's no other way but to separate. they've formed such a strong connection than one is ought to forget the other.

even though at first the doctor is determined to wipe clara's memories, he then admits she is right: it is unfair to take away all that wonderful time they had from her. so he gives her a choice. or, more like, an offer to play a russian roulette. it's either you or me. i'm not going to press that button. we will do this together.

to summarise: all of these moments featured a strong connection between clara and the doctor. it also tells us a story about how hard it is to lose someone you care about deeply, especially for the doctor.

how is it all connected to the doctor and donna?

memory wipe

the doctor has to make donna and clara forget about him in order to keep them safe. expect that he doesn't give donna a choice, wiping her memory almost instantly, without saying a proper goodbye to her. obviously, he didn't have enough time to think of a better way to solve the problem since donna wouldn't have lasted long. however, it is still a decision he regrets making.

from "the star beast":

"i'm so glad you're back, donna. it killed me, it killed me, it killed me."

if we take a look at clara's situation, it's a bit different. i've already mentioned it above: at first, the doctor wants to do the same thing to clara that he did to donna. make her forget. expect, this time he is confronted for doing so (even threatened, at some point).

"these have been the best years of my life and they're mine."

i think this line triggers something in the doctor. because this is when he realises that this is not the right thing to do. not exactly. he'd already done it once and he regretted it. so this time, he offers a slightly different solution. someone still has to forget, but they'll press that button together. it's a mutual choice.

now, i know it's not entirely related to the dialogue in "wild blue yonder", but i think it's worth mentioning that donna and clara's stories are somewhat similar. i'm sure it's been said before, but it's still important.

donna's story was incomplete because she wasn't given a choice. now, that she remembers, 14th doctor makes sure their time together is worth-while. a second chance just like in "last christams".

too alike

another similarity between these two stories is that clara and donna are not entirely humans. not anymore.

donna's half timelord. even though her head is still not big enough to fit all the doctor's memories, she still has a part of the doctor in her.

clara's frozen in time, that makes her practically immortal. she risks her life, she reverses the polarity of the neuroblock, she gets her own tardis, she's even reffered to as "clara who" at the end of "hell bent". she has become the doctor in a sense.

but there can only be one doctor. so where's the story heading to at this point, i wonder? but we'll come back to this question later.

"but what really happened?"

before i say anything, it is obvious that the doctor's silence before and after he says "a lot" is him reminicing all that'd happened to him during the 11th, 12th and 13th reincarnations. all of the loss and pain he went through.

but why "face the raven" theme of all things? it could be a general theme of grief/nostalgia/painful memories, nothing else implied.

but please let me be delusional for a bit longer!

just as that scene in "hell bent" brought the doctor back to the moment he made donna forget him, could it be that bringing back his best friend's memories in a whole universe that "he absolutely loves", also reminded him of another important person in his life with similar story? just like "hell bent" mirrored "the journey's end", "wild blue younder" gave us a reference to "hell bent".

this is where we get back to the question about the current story direction.

foreshadowing?

donna's story is not over. and there are a lot of possibilities how it can end.

say, there is a connection to clara's story here, i wonder if that's where the plot's heading. in one of the trailers, the doctor does say "i'm not sure if i can save you this time" to donna. and it worries me. then again, maybe they're just tricking us into thinking something bad will happen (oh the drama).

i'd say it's unlikely donna's going to die because that would be absolutely devastating after just bringing her back. at the very least, the ending wouldn't be completely "happily ever after". perhaps, sacrifices will be made in order to prevent something truly horrible from happening.

why did this face come back?

in "the girl who died" twelfth doctor finally realises why he got his face. it is a call-back to "the fires of pompei" (don't even get me started on its being the episode with 10th and donna).

the message the doctor was giving to himself turned out to be:

"i'm the doctor and i save people!"

but what is 14th trying to tell himself?

i think it's about donna and more.

he's fixing his mistake of erasing her memories and depriving her of the right to remember amazing things that'd happened to her.

it's a reminder to actually tell people how much they mean to him. as we can see, 14th's more open with his feelings and constantly shows signs of affection towards his loved ones, even breaking the "never say i love you" rule.

it's about being honest and open with people because they deserve to hear it from him and he deserves to hear it back. because "things happen and then it's too late".

again, take 12th doctor, for instance. he constantly represses his feelings. but in my humble opinion, the reason why he's changed by season 10 was clara. she pulled him out of the dark place. and even though her death almost threw him back to that state again, he is still a better man by season 10.

but there were things left unsaid. love and care were always there but it was never said out loud. kind of the same thing happened with 13th.

i strongly believe that donna is that person for 14th. they're best friends who love each other deeply. and after the doctor lost her and got a second chance to fix everything, he does, he's being affectione. he's finally open with his feelings.

conslusion: why did you make us read all fo this?

to answer the question in the title: it's all tied with how memories are important and priceless, fixing past mistakes, moving on and learning to treasure every moment with people you care about like it's your last.

it can also be a foreshadowing for something terrible, but i choose to hope for the better.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

aaaand that is the end of my doctor who rant. thank you for getting this far, if you did!

my feelings about all of this can be described with this one meme:

[mermianar]

i am unknowable

[essektheylyss]

The group chat is demanding I answer to having called Raphaniel a babygirl at the start of this season, and instead I am DOUBLING DOWN. This ancient withering radish bolted buck-naked with his nonexistent ass out to commune with some fungus in pursuit of untold power. There has never BEEN more of a babygirl.