#episode: in the forest of the night

[tardxsblues]

[xomnus]

Avatar: The Last Airbender THE BLUE SPIRIT - June 17, 2005

[cupids-stimboards]

day 3; penball (penny fitzgerald x gumball watterson)

🐱 🌌 🎊 / x 🌲 x / 🎮 🌌 🕊️

[helphowdoiusethis]

When will you admit you are wrong?

It's not often that Edwin and Charles find themselves in the situation where a fight had been so petty that it created the need to apologise in quite a way that warranted a dance that the pair created five years into their thirty year existence after one case that left Edwin rather pissed off with the other.

"Do you not understand how completely stupid you are Charles! In these five years have you not learned, your impulsive actions will end with" but Charles had cut him off like he was fed up with the constant bringing up of hell; at least when not asked.

"One of us getting taken by death, I know Edwin, I know mate." Charles groans and flops onto their relatively newly acquired sofa thankfully not through the thing, not that Charles had a direct date of when it was gotten he lost count of the days about four months into his first year with Edwin when the lines of days and nights had blurred.

Edwin has frowned, it’s not alright for Charles to just know! Charles is not the one going back to hell if Death catches them; he had been sure to inform the younger just how terrible hell was at every inquirer that the not long dead ghost had looked for.

Charles sighs and looks up at the older boy and with a slight eye roll, he speaks “What? Do you want me to say I was wrong for protecting us?”

Edwin only simply nodded and tagged on a quite simple statement of, “and do a little dance while you're at it”

And that, that was how the ‘I was wrong’ dance was formed.

It was at the time a better way for the pair to communicate the dislike for their new found friend putting themselves in danger during cases for the other; it was mates worrying about mates after all. Anytime after the twentieth year that they had been partners, the reason for the dance changed it went from being consumed about the other with the introduction of communication; albeit limited but communication no less it had shifted to a petty more ridiculous nuance of change throughout the further years.

When Crystal and the journey to Port Townsend had taken place, Edwin had been the first to do the dance on the roof of the tongue and tail butchers, expertly doing the splits half way through the designed choreography which had been added about 4 years prior; that Edwin himself inputted after Charles had complained about the ease in which he was able to follow the choreography now after so long. When Edwin looked up through his thick eyelashes into Charles’s eyes and he had seen the familiar smirk that Charles wore now many times over the years. Charles had gone after; he had possessed a witch after all and while nothing had happened Edwin was still very mad. Both the dead boys with something they were willing to admit that they were wrong over and it wasn’t like Edwin ever tired hearing that he was right not when Charles has to of his own fruition bow down further than necessary with a “you were right” echoing out into the space between the pair.

The second instance of the dance whilst in port Townsend came not even twenty four hours later after saving Niko from the spirits. Edwin had of course done the dance for the fact that he had felt so much guilt over the ‘’wrong’’ action for performing magic on a cat and scaring Charles very very much when he had been taken by the Cat King for hours. Charles had danced for the sake of breaking the vessel in a successful attempt to save Edwin from a skeleton and Crystal had added after she had seen Edwin dance; that Charles had almost let the spirits possess her despite the many apologies that Charles had given after the fact.

Crystal and Niko had been privy to seeing the dance that time as Charles had addressed the reason but not the reason for why the dance existed at all or how in everyone’s name that Edwin did the splits and why Charles himself had bowing over more than necessary for two best-mates to see; that was waved off with a laugh and a pat to Edwin’s back.

After the Devlin house no dance was done much to Charles’s chagrin, he had been wrong for attempting to hit Mr. Devlin and getting trapped in the loop, losing his cool was something Charles did not do often not in the way that the Devlin house had made him mad and touched too raw nerves that hadn’t been viewed or even thought of since his death all those years ago.

Charles had sounded more devastated when he spoke, something that Edwin had consciously decided to ignore the sad, wounded look that had afflicted the normally sunshine smiling boy’s face.

“You need not apologise Charles. Anyone would have had that reaction if their father was..” Old British sensibility taking hold and reigning over the way that he wanted to explain that Charles need not apologise or do that ridiculous dance that they had made for not apologising and avoiding the actual issues at hand, not communicating in a healthy way. Charles did not need to apologise for this, for the fact that he had lost his cool in response to trauma - not when Edwin had done the same at Crystal three days prior and had been doing so whenever the risk of Death taking them away was an issue.

Charles had a rebuttal “but I almost got us taken by Death, mate” ignoring his trauma over, well his father.

“You did nothing of the sort Charles, you do not need to do the dance. So leave it at that, okay?” Edwin had been quick to stop Charles’s spiral; into his wrong thought about everything had taken place. This was something the younger had done before, not in a while but he had done this before the older knew that.

Charles had at that moment, slumped over slightly before correcting his posture in the most rigid way that the Edwardian ghost had seen, before Charles had gone back to normal with his sunshine smile plastered back in place.

It had been difficult after the Night Nurse had gone over the cliff after Charles had kicked her over. Charles had been ahead of the group from the moment that they had begun to return to the tongue and tail butchers from the lighthouse, silent in a way that had even Niko avoidant in checking in on Charles apart for glancing at him before at Edwin. Crystal and Edwin had spoken in silence almost in a way that seemed too odd for the pair but as the worry that Charles had spiked over the last two days, caused their banter to become more easy and those glances to be able to be passed.

The dance hadn’t been done, not when the group had returned to the butcher shop and separated into pairs, the girls with the boys after quick reassurances of trust had been shared between the boys and Edwin had stared at Charles before following Niko through the door and Charles and Crystal had shared kisses in an attempt to forget the day.

There was nothing wrong, nothing to ‘’apologise’’ for nothing that the boys had felt was due at the time.

The case of the two dead dragons, it had taken too much out of both Charles and Edwin those boy’s had ruined peoples lives just like how they had had their lives ruined at their deaths. Edwin had apologised; after returning from his rather awkward way that his conversation had ended with Monty and the new level of understanding that his feelings had taken on around Charles, about the tackles way in which he asked Charles to leave from the grave yard that day but not for asking Charles leave no that to him was the best choice with the ghost and the days prior.

When Charles had admitted that he was wrong for the way in which he had put on edge Edwin; apologising to Crystal while Edwin had been out. The almost sinful way in which Charles had looked up at the Edwardian ghost through his eyelashes with a “you were right..” whispered out into the air Edwin had almost lost composure in that instant, looking back and down on Charles, saying less through sarcasm and more through a wave of heavy ‘joy’.

Based on a post by @idliketobeatree

[al-norton]

‘The world is really beautiful, you know’

[queerstudiesnatural]

i think my brain should be studied i'm being fr

[yahoo201027]

Day in Fandom History: October 25…

The City of London and the Rest of the World become one, huge forest, taking over everything one morning and it's up to The Doctor, alongside Clara, Danny, and some Schoolchildren on a field trip to turn everything back to normal. “In the Forest of the Night” premiered on this day, 10 Years Ago.

[wlw-cryptid]

If you were to live anywhere with complete access for your disability, would you rather live somewhere urban or rural?

ohhh thats such a good question. but my heart belongs to wherever i can see trees. lots of trees. where you can see rabbits and deer come out at dusk every so often if youre lucky

[lycanthian]

in a weird emotion rn

[dandelionjack]

twelve dropping that lowkey antinatalist comment about humanity’s ability to forget times of immense pain and struggle. he’s a socialist too. and he’s encountered countless cosmic horrors over his long lifespan. what i’m saying is do you think he reads thomas ligotti

[tardxsblues]

Well, you know what, Doctor? This time, the human race is saving you.

[variousqueerthings]

Do you think that’s how Spring begins? With a group message on tree facebook?

it's the last of our non-finale episodes and we are watching "In The Forest Of The Night." do you get the feeling that Clara is maybe... kind of unhinged? (I say currently watching the next episode, but also there were hints)

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): 10/10

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): 7/10

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): 5/10

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): 5/10

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): 8/10

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): 7/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 6/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 65/100 (if I can count….)

for an episode with so many child-actors in it, I don't haaate it. it's certainly giving more hope than many this season. I also note that this season has a lot of episodes with the main thread being "the Doctor misjudges the situation."

Into the Dalek the Doctor is compelled to "turn the Dalek Good Again," Robot of Sherwood and Robin is not a robot, Listen and the Doctor is making a whole bunch of misconceptions, Time Heist and it's the Doctor's heist, Kill the Moon and he misreads Clara, Flatline and he's hoping the creatures are good, and now this... the main point is that many of these misjudgements last for almost a whole episode

I feel like that's interesting, and done enough to be on purpose

OBJECTIFICATION: seriously, are we free of this? at last???

PLOT-POINT: Clara makes a choice to leave the Doctor to die along with the rest of humanity, and also there's a lot of her and Danny's relationship in this and Is Danny Ill-Used By Clara? I don't mean that as a "is Clara #Problematic" (because as we'll see next episode and have had hinted all season, Clara is a bit unhinged actually)," but more "is Danny's relationship with Clara something where she sees him as an extension of herself, rather than as his own person, and does she play games where she can keep control of every situation, which has been said in other episodes about her"

when Danny calls out that she's been lying to him, when she tries to compel Danny onto the Tardis, when he ends up giving her another chance to explain herself on her terms, etcetc. that's the real 👀👀👀 of the episode

because the "I don't want to be the last of my species" is eh, whatever, seriously if you genuinely think the earth is about to end you bundle those pre-teens onto that spaceship and deal with the trauma of losing their parents later as far as I'm concerned

COMPLEXITY: I like trees. trees like us. ignore the CGI animals. good trees. gosh I'm tired. trees. there's a bit of silliness about how trees feature in all your scaaaary fairytales, which wasn't really necessary in my opinion, and is this thing that happens so often in M*ffat era of trying to make everything into a story within a story, even when it definitely Is Not, but apart from that

trees

it does have a whole thing about a kid who hears voices and it turns out it's her disappeared sister who maybe got briefly swallowed by the trees but then comes back at the end? unclear, may have been silly not to notice what was going on there, but fairly sure this wasn't entirely explained

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: the Doctor's hearts grew three sizes that day, because he was schooled by some kids (genuinely enjoyed that)

the Doctor also is seeing that Clara genuinely really likes Danny... I know the word "love" has been bandied around, I'm not sure they're quite there in my head, but fuckit, they've had episodes that show them places. they went on a date. there's clearly stuff happening beyond what we see. I'll take it

and seeing that Danny ain't all bad

also Clara... may be unhinged. more on that next time!

Missy was there again... I was saying "Missy" until this point because ooooh who could it be -- but from now on we're going Master, fuck this noise. The Master. none of that "Missy" nonsense. The Master is there being like oooh interesting

COMPANIONS MATTER: this one's really about the kids doing stuff, and that's fine. I... am a grouch about kids in this era, because there's a lot of episodes with kids in the Tardis and this is fully a show for kids, but so often they're just not well-written and there's definitely some Stuff like that in here, but for the most part this lot are chill

I have a question about how this particular school is going to have a bunch of kids convinced they've been in a spaceship and what that'll do to them (like how Love & Monsters is about a man who met the Doctor as a kid and it changed his whole damn life), but eh

Clara is there. as a teacher. she sort of does some teachery things. neither her nor Danny initially notice that they're missing a kid which is wild, but I'll let it slide

Clara makes a very particular choice about "not wanting to live without her species" where it's all about saving the Doctor, because the kids would rather see their parents than... not die, which goes on the list of frankly bonkers things this show has had Clara do. Really Clara? as their current caregiver, you'd not save them from heat death because they'd be sad about their parents? is that... hmmm.....

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: the Doctor gets it all wrong in this one and then the episode kind of ends

this is a bit of the downside of this style of writing -- the Doctor isn't particularly proactive in a couple of these episodes. the balance is a little off. I would have liked to have seen a bit more idk. we've communicated with the trees or something

make the trees more central as characters in a way, drop the CGI wolves and have there be more of an investigation. a lot of this episode was a bit passive

thiiiiis episode though has the Doctor echoing words in Kill The Moon, and rephrasing them: "This is my earth too, I walk your earth, I breath your air" -- I don't think we've had real development between these episodes for the Doctor to reach this conclusion, but I like it on its own. I think that's a wider issue with season 8 which is that the overarching character development of it is... poor. but that's not this episode's issue, so much as an overarching problem

maybe should make a season recap...

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: there's not much in this one. stands alone. Idk I kind of think this one could have benefited from a bit of connection, there's something very flee-floating about this episode, where it's sort of talking about ostensibly grand themes of survival of humanity, but you're sitting there the whole time going "yeah but earth's not really threatened and it's not quite... about anything"

and I think if it had somehow given some more context, given it a bit more grounding in the lore, so the free-floating stuff wasn't totally on its own, it would have worked better

“SEXINESS”: SERIOUSLY ARE WE FINALLY FREE!!!?? there's this one suspect line where a kid is like (paraphrased) "of course Mr Pink and Ms Oswald like each other they keep arguing," which made me squint. Oh kids, don't take in that alloromantic, het nonsense!

INTERNAL WORLD: listen, a Doctor Who episode going "and then everybody will forget" is fine enough I guess. better than just letting "and then the earth was covered in trees" hang there, although if one were to be pedantic (watch me) one might point out that suddenly appearing trees would have done some wild things to places that would have gotten people killed, and so I don't think it would be quite so possible to just... forget

it's very much a fairytale in that it doesn't explain much on purpose, but it doooes have a bit of cop out, especially since M*ffat era uses this as an excuse to undermine the lore in his own era constantly. this episode feels a bit more like it's intentionally a fairytale, but... it's been a looong M*ffat era and there's still more to come

POLITICS: this episode has an odd thing about a girl who "sees" things and "has fits," and it's actually for a scifi reason, which doesn't age greaaat as a concept -- he basically says that if a child is speaking, you should listen, which is great, I see the purpose of it, but also is one of those tropes of "psychopathy/hallucinations are actually the universe telling you things" which, I mean, I get how it got there on this show, hopefully is aged out now

it does have stuff about please be nice to trees, because trees are great! but also again, this is a very free-floating episode, and while it is for kids, I think it needed to just. have some kind of grounding somewhere

gosh I love trees though

FULL RATING: 65/100 (if I can count….)

I feel a bit inverse about this one to "Flatline" in that the more I think about it, the more holes poke out and the less it works as a story. It's a bit unformed, a bit rambling, and while I like the idea of there being no threat, except the one humanity creates, it's kind of undercut by other episodes in which there is very much a threat! also the trees could have felt like characters, but didn't really

it scans a bit like a last minute entry, kinda like how Fear Her back in s2 has good moments, but is soooo unpolished

I mean, I don't hate it. I don't think it totally works, but as you see in this rating it's not making me foam at the mouth or anything

and that puts us... at finale time! of s8!

[a-sentient-cup]

TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

They are us

[nounpolycule]

Propaganda/Explanation below the cut:

Rose Tyler and Clara Oswald are exes:

[Image description: "To be clear when I say that Rose and Clara are exes I don’t mean I think they were in love at any point. I don’t mean that I think they even got along that well. Honestly, I don’t even mean that they dated. But there was definitely a Thing and they did not speak of it and they eventually stopped speaking to each other and when Jackie asked whatever happened to that friend of Rose’s? Clara? Rose just shrugged and brushed it off but years later Jack Harkness would hear about it in detail one night while Rose was drunk." End image description.]

I think I've already said all I need to say about this in this post (pictured above).

Series 8 of New Who is (mostly) good, actually:

Picture this. You turn on series 8. You skip Kill the Moon except for the last scene. You skip The Caretaker. You watch just the chunk of Forest of the Night that sets up Clara calling Danny at the start of Dark Water. You haven't actually watched a single second of the show that was less than "pretty good".

[poeticjackalope]

i meditate instead of smoking weed when i want to kill myself

find me pressed against the bed frame, closed into the almost-silence of my room with my back straight, “as if someone is pulling the top of your head by a string.” no one ever tells you that proper posture hurts like a bitch when you’re perpetually slouched. 

take your place next to me, shuffling against the carpet until we’ve found the correct position, my hand finds yours and two things become one. before you came in, one of those guided meditation audios was playing, you know the one– voiced by some thirty something who sounds like they have their shit together.

now we fall into it with only the rise and fall of our chests as a guide. ‘close your eyes’ i say, ‘i have something to show you’.

in the empty space between my consciousness and unconsciousness rests the stump of a tree. the clean cut reveals decades of rings of a life that learned to exist ungrudgingly. 

stories are written in the wood grain of each uneven line. it’s best to acknowledge the drought when you look at the layers made thin by the flickering led’s of every bathroom stall we became acquainted with. between years are scorches of black scabbed bark, burnt from nights spent in the fold of our own thoughts. it’s easy to indulge the sorrow when you linger on them for too long, but you can’t ignore that the tree keeps growing. 

as we look on, each layer grows thicker, reminding us– insisting even– that we are real and alive, that there are roots anchored in, like veins. we’ve made this place our home, no matter how much we hate to love it.

you reach out to trace the life lived in the lines, and the stump, because all things must end, unfurls. wood recycles into an old-new shape, the past stands towering above us.

in one blink, it’s a pine. it’s flesh is soft and forgiving. in the next, it’s an elm, strong and reliable bark that gives selflessly.

time moves in between the clench of our fingers, grass growing thick and dancing under the civil dawn sky. moss winds up our legs while birds find their home here, there’s music weaving through the leaves. change is gradual, but it brings something close to peace with it, it almost feels like permission to rest. ‘i’m ready to go’ you say, ‘thank you’.

we surface from the dream with hands still clasped on a lifeline. i pluck out the leaves tangled in your hair and press them between the pages of a book, and despite the irony, i’m finally convinced that everything is okay in the end.

[sheliesshattered]

the trouble with trying to rewrite this particular episode is that the episode, as aired, is just so bad that it's physically painful to rewatch