blacknedsoul-blog

[blacknedsoul-blog]

When Annabel agreed to be part of the plan when Lenore came looking for her and when she refused to believe what the Deans told her. Now (and this I realized after I wrote it. Lesson learned: don't answer shit while I'm at work because I'll leave important little details in the inkwell: this is how I think Lenore is going to see the situation, rather than how it really is.

Like, yeah, that in theory is true. But we readers know that in practice it's not exactly true because there's a lot of things operating in the whole thing ranging from the fact that Annabel doesn't do those things just because she loves Lenore so much (she hated that social game per se and good equipped to know that something weird is going on with the Deans), going by Lenore's character traits (she moves on actions and Annabel's definitely don't say anything good, she can make the attempt to trust anyway, but come on, from where she's standing this is an impossibility) added to the whole shitty context they're in (they're stuck in a post-mortem battle royal where they've even had their identities taken away from them by wiping their memories). But all this will neither make Lenore feel better, nor will all this chaos hurt the people she loves any less.

The most immoral thing that anyone has done in Nevermore at any point is Lenore betraying Annabel Lee like that.

#nevermore webtoon #lenore nevermore #annabel lee nevermore #white raven #annabel lee whitlock #lenore vandernacht #annabel lee x lenore #lennabel #nevermore webcomic #duke nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

This is one of the shits that come back to give me a bitch from time to time. The revolvers have six bullets. Okay, let's assume one ended up in Annabel's chest and one in Lenore's head

Where are the other four?

Did Lenore discharge them into Annabel's attacker as you say? If Lenore was the one who killed Annabel, perhaps she missed those other five shots? Was that revolver even loaded when she carried it? And if so, why would you carry an unloaded gun? Did that revolver have a single bullet that Lenore intended to use on herself if Annabel refused to participate in this?

There are many alternatives and, for now, no more clues. The kind of thing it's interesting to put a pin on.

You ever think that maybe the deans removed the bullets from Lenore's gun when they took her luggage in the first few chapters? I've been wondering about it. They've messed with Annabel's head what's stopping them from messing with students' belongings?

Well that would imply that the deans didn't want the students to have weapons, and that's clearly not the case. Montresor has a machete.

While a gun is more dangerous, the problem with them in scenarios like these is the limited amount of ammo.

On to of that I don't think the deans would mess with a students belongings. In episode five, after Lenore attacks them, they give her back her scissors, even though they have all the reason not to.

What I think happened is that she might have unloaded her gun into whoever killed Annabel. Then after the anger faded away, she was left with this immense grief, and also feeling responsible for Annabel's death. Had Annabel hadn't agreed to the plan, then she wouldn't be dead.

Content warning: mention of suicide

And because it's Lenore, she likely believed she didn't deserve to live because of what happened. Coupled with the immense grief, it's likely she did not want to live. Annabel was to one who "brought her back to life" with out Annabel, what did she have left? She would likely be sent to prison or put in an asylum for what she's done. The life that awaited her was not one she'd want to live, so she loaded one bullet in to the gun and shot herself in the head.

That's why I think the gun has no bullets.

#nevermore webtoon #leonore nevermore #tw suicide mention

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Oh, absolutely. Like, Lenore and Annabel are in this twisted game made by the Deans, one that is carefully designed to make things screwed up for everyone involved.

I think that happens because we're too used to pointing out the surface of the problem: yes, they have communication problems. But the thing here is why. And the reason is because the context has changed, but they haven't.

This is where I think an analysis I did a long time ago is now obsolete: I used to think that the problem is that they were both acting on the person they remember rather than the people they are seeing now. That they didn't really know each other, now I think it's the other way around: they know each other well and haven't changed at all. But the context has.

Of course Lenore gets frustrated with Annabel's bullshit, Lenore has always been there for her, she's been her shoulder, her rock, she's never done anything that would make Annabel doubt that she could be vulnerable with her. But suddenly Annabel has all these avoidant attitudes that make no sense to Lenore. Because before, Annabel was moving in a context she knew perfectly, now she has no fucking clue what's going on and is scared shitless of what might happen if she shares this information that only she knows. Lenore knows this is weird about Annabel and she can't help but be bothered by it.

On the other side, Annabel knows how devoted, daring and brave Lenore can be. But there's no way she's ever seen her as scared and desperate as she is right now, so she has no idea how unfair the crap she's asking of her by keeping her so short on information.

They know each other so well that they can't but be confused in this situation.

Hell, we still don't know what their couple dynamic was like, but let's be honest, it's hardly relevant to this: it doesn't matter if it was the healthiest relationship in the world. And it wouldn't matter if Annabel and Lenore were two super stable people without any trauma; in the situation they're in, there's no emotional stability or communication tools that will put up with this shit.

The most immoral thing that anyone has done in Nevermore at any point is Lenore betraying Annabel Lee like that.

#nevermore webtoon #annabel lee nevermore #lenore nevermore #white raven #annabel lee whitlock #lenore vandernacht #annabel lee x lenore #lennabel #nevermore webcomic #duke nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Hmmmm, I have a sincere question: is it an "oh, you have no idea how wrong ypu are" add-on or a "you hit the nail on the head you have no idea how painful it is" add-on?

...

The most immoral thing that anyone has done in Nevermore at any point is Lenore betraying Annabel Lee like that.

#nevermore webtoon #annabel lee nevermore #lenore nevermore #white raven #annabel lee whitlock #lenore vandernacht #annabel lee x lenore #lennabel #nevermore webcomic #duke nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Uhm...I partly agree with you. But none of this is what I said at all. I don't think Annabel is right in the slightest, in the same way that I think Lenore is screwing up to the hilt. And that's fine, we'd be in a really boring story if the characters did everything right. But I digress, let me explain my opinion further.

Leaving aside the morality of fictional characters (which is a matter I couldn't care less about) when I say Lenore is stubborn, impulsive and selfish; I'm not belittling her enormous altruism, bravery, cunning and devotion. On the contrary, I think it is her flaws that make her fascinating and that make her a complex character whose story I want to follow. Otherwise, I would find her sincerely boring.

That said, I think it's also fair to say that Lenore has never had any real intentions of going along with Annabel's plan and has kept things from her: she agreed to the charade, but never agreed that only they would escape, she didn't tell her about the raven, at the widow's tower she made the situation objectively worse for both of them because it was what she wanted, she hasn't listened to Annabel's incessant pleas evidently trying to divert attention from something she apparently can't tell her and while she wasn't the one who tried to kill her, I don't know exactly what Lenore expected to happen after telling her two trusted people, for whom this bitch is a homicidal and dangerous psychopath, that "there was no truce because Annabel is impossible to reason with".

All this I have said does not make Lenore dumb, nor evil. They make her interesting. Because all this is logical and consistent with both her character and the situation she is in.

Of course after being deprived of her freedom Lenore doesn't want to listen to what anyone has to tell her, she wants so much to save these people that she unwittingly ends up going over their heads. She doesn't know any other alternative. This is bullshit, it's unfair, it's tragic.

And where we - the readers - can extend to Lenore that pity for her actions - because we see them from the outside, because we see how unfair and terrible this situation is - that's a pity she's not going to extend to herself. Add to that that we readers are also in Annabel's head, so we can see that she not only went along with the insanity Lenore was proposing out of love, but because she hated this whole ridiculous social game and Lenore offered her hope for a way out. We know that she refuses to believe the Deans' nonsense because Annabel is someone who trusts that everyone does things for a reason and it doesn't make any sense that they would tell her that Lenore killed her because they care about her, but because they have a more sinister plan in the works.

But that won't make this all hurt any less for either of them. Neither will it for the Misfists.

And about the other thing, I'm afraid I must disagree.

Because if you're Annabel, you love Lenore. You love Lenore so much that you wouldn't let her go headlong into saving her friend against a guy whose idea of a sleepover is to put someone behind a wall. Because you want to protect her, you want to protect her at any cost and if she does that, you won't be able to protect her. And that means you're not going to tell her what Nyarlathotep tumblrsexymen told you either because you know it will tear her apart. But also, because you're Annabel, you feel like you owe this to her. Because Lenore is extraordinary and has given her all for you, so you have to be able to do this little thing for her. Because all you are is a lying little shit with a pretty face and if you can't even keep your allies under your thumb, then she doesn't need you. And if she doesn't need you, you've lost her. You've lost the only thing that ever made you happy.

In the same way that if you're Lenore, you love Annabel. You love Annabel so much that you're horrified at the idea that she wants to play queen or become this vicious monster because one of the few things you remember about her is how others have used her as a kind of fun toy, displayed almost like a pageant poodle, a pretty prop before a person. And the last thing you want is to feel like you're the cause why she should keep doing this. Also, because you love Annabel, you want her by your side, because by your side is the only place you can protect her, but she insists on leaving and no matter how hard you try to get her to tell you what's going on, your complaints fall on deaf ears, why can't she ever make things easy for you? But because you're Lenore, you suck it up until you explode, because you love Annabel and you want to believe in her. Because you don't want to fail her like everyone in her life has failed her. Which doesn't mean you're not terrified because you know what happened the last time someone in your life was willing to watch over you. And you couldn't bear for that to happen again.

The tragedy here is that Annabel and Lenore are putting each other in an impossible situation where they condemn each other to failure. Because for Annabel and Lenore, to love is to protect, it's to be the shield that will be there so that the other doesn't have to go through it again after others have hurt her in terrible ways.

It's tragic because they love each other. They love so much that they have to try to save each other.

They love each other so much that they can't save each other.

The most immoral thing that anyone has done in Nevermore at any point is Lenore betraying Annabel Lee like that.

#nevermore webtoon #annabel lee nevermore #lenore nevermore #white raven #annabel lee whitlock #lenore vandernacht #annabel lee x lenore #lennabel #nevermore webcomic #duke nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

What makes this issue interesting is that there are two alternatives and both are going to be a fucking blow to her relationship with Annabel:

1) Lenore intends to go without her, leaving her behind. This would be, as you say, the biggest betrayal ever committed by a person on Nevernore.

2) She intends to go looking for her to escape with her friends. This is a problem anyway because it would imply revealing the truth to the Misfists and I don't think Annabel would take it well at all after Lenore witnessed how she preferred Duke to throw her into the void rather than allow her to reveal the truth. Hell, even if Lenore found some way to do it without revealing, this wasn't part of the plan and she never informed her.

Personally, this is something that has me pretty into it because I think this is the arc where Lenore's flaws blow up in her face: yes, she's a person whose heart bleeds for others impressively, but she's also incredibly stubborn, impulsive, and -paradoxically- really selfish. Here you have what she wants and she won't listen to anything different.

This will definitely damage her relationship with the Misfists and, as much as Annabel is a huge simp, she has to have limits. And I think it's hard for me to gauge how devastated Lenore will be when she realizes an incredibly sad reality: when Annabel had to make an impossible leap of faith for her, she did it. Without hesitation. Twice. Lenore hasn't been able to do it even once.

The most immoral thing that anyone has done in Nevermore at any point is Lenore betraying Annabel Lee like that.

#nevermore #nevermore webtoon #lenore #lenore nevermore #lenore vandernacht

[blacknedsoul-blog]

You know, it's funny how this tag caught me like this:

Because among all the shit I have in the inkwell is this:

I have like...60% of the analysis done and this has made me remember that it exists lol

Yayyy finally a confessions account! <333 Ok so I genuinely like Montressor as a character. Not just "like to hate" and not only because he's sexy. Maybe I'm delulu and resting on hcs but there's things about him that I even think are relatable?? And I don't think I'm the only one either. A lot of people pretend that they hate him when they actually love him, but they're just scared of gettin hate for it. Or it could be that I'm coping.

The deeper we get into the story, the more I like Montresor. Or, I guess, I love to hate him, too.

@blacknedsoul-blog has a wonderful analysis of Monty being White Raven's "bad ending," but they also include a fantastic section on Montresor's character. I recommend it, there's a lot of beautiful insight.

Here's my short tidbit of commentary:

Montressor is the shining example of the cycle of abuse.

In Chapter 87, we see the brunt of it — Monty has severe religious trauma. This is highlighted by the phrase, "You've had the devil inside you since the day you were born," told to him by his own mother. His. Mother.

Monty was a victim nearly his entire life by the religious community that raised him; they called him the devil from the start — so, he became one. Self-fullfilling prophecy.

What a rotten man. What a God-fearin' devil.

#nevermore confessions #nevermore #nevermore webtoon #nevermore montresor #montresor nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Another "both are switches" team around here. Beyond what has already been said (things I agree with), I would like to add something else.

To me this makes sense because it feels like moving things from their usual dynamic to the bedroom.

Like, I can see why Lenore would enjoy feeling that she is a partner capable of being accommodating to Annabel's desires, add to that that everything she has loved has been taken away from her in some way (her brother, her freedom, Annabel at some point) and feeling that Annabel is there, with her, possibly helps calm her fear that she's going to leave. But we've also seen that Lenore needs to feel that Annabel cares about her, so I can see why she would like attention from her in that sense.

On the other side, I can see why Annabel - someone who has always had an insane amount of expectations placed on her- would love to feel like she can be vulnerable in Lenore's arms. But on the other, we've seen everything she's gone through in order to protect Lenore and how hard she tries to let her, in spite of everything, let Lenore know how much she loves her. Indulging her in that way sounds like a good way to remind her.

Lenore is a bottom, go argue with a wall

[This is your NSFW/Sensitive Content Warning]

You know what? I'll bite.

One thing about sapphic and queer ships that I notice is that someone's always the "top" or "bottom." Actually, verses are more common in the community, to my knowledge!

In my silly brain, they're both verses that enjoy every bit of what the other has to offer. That makes the most sense to me.

...You did see that, "That's a good girl," panel, right? And how Annabel Lee looks at Lenore? My truth is loud yet unspoken.

I was waiting for this submission.

#nevermore webtoon #lenore nevermore #white raven #lennabel #annabel lee nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Random Thought of the Day (VIII)

So, posh besties are finally canon, yay! Congratulations Annabel, you only had to die, get divorced, survive an assassination attempt and have about 4 or 5 mental breakdowns to make one (1) friend, that is progress! Hopefully the next one will take less effort.

That said, there are two things I want to dwell on here.

I should like to by your friend and Could we be friends?

This is not the first time we've seen Annabel ask or tell someone outright that she wants to be friends. It's the second.

Yes, Lenore is not only Annabel's wife, but -possibly- her first proper friend. And it's really interesting because these scenes show you two really different sides of her, even though it's a similar situation.

When she meets Lenore, Annabel comes across as a very confident person, full of confidence and absolutely charming. She is formal but approachable and straightforward about her intentions: "We can help each other".

On the other hand, at this point, Annabel is keeping the reasons she wants this friendship to herself, she seems nervous -even a little uncomfortable- and behaves much more awkwardly. She hesitates, chokes on words, doesn't quite know if what she's doing is appropriate.

If I had to think of reasons for this contrast, there are two.

First: Annabel when she has time to plan vs. when she has to improvise. She went looking for Lenore, probably had at least an entire night to think about what kind of person this mysterious woman locked in the attic might be and how to approach this conversation. On the other hand, this conversation with Prospero had to be pulled out of her sleeve after a lot of emotionally complicated moments, maybe it didn't occur to her that this conversation could actually happen, and she has no plan B if Prospero rejects the offer.

On top of that, Annabel knows better than anyone the risks of getting attached to someone in Nevermore.

Second, that the scene with Prospero functions in some way as a reflection of Annabel's feelings when she first meets Lenore: there's no reason to believe she was any better equipped to enter into a relationship with anyone at that point in her life than she is now. But in this scene, we -and Lenore- see what Annabel wants to show, the parts of herself that she may find most attractive or pleasing. Here, Prospero gets a glimpse of her awkward and uncomfortable side, and I'd bet that awkwardness was present in that first meeting with Lenore, it's just that she had a chance to think about it, rehearse it, and thus hide those sides of her character as well.

The thing that makes me think of it that way is this:

Annabel's first gesture to Lenore is to shake her hand, which she also mentions here:

She still doesn't remember doing it, but the idea behind it is more or less the same: Annabel associates this kind of formality with friendly or amicable gestures; a mixture of business dealings and affectionate promises.

Again, the same intention, but with a very different performance. One that makes me wonder what exactly her thoughs when she went to see Lenore.

The Introvert Who Adopts and the Extrovert Who Is Adopted

Another thing that got me thinking about this whole thing is that so far we've seen Annabel -a very introverted person- be the one to take the first step in getting into a relationship with someone: she's the one who asks the question.

The funny thing is that even though Lenore is an extrovert, it was the other way around, she never took the initiative to start a relationship with anyone: Annabel came to see her, Morella is her assigned roommate, Duke came to talk to her, Pluto was won in a Pokémon swap (and she didn't choose him, Ada threw him under the bus), and Eulalie and Bernice approached her first.

I can see why this would happen from Annabel's side; she's a person who moves in the shadows, someone who lives by appearances and isn't afraid to manipulate or deceive to get her way. Under this premise, explicitly telling the people she cares about that this is an honest relationship feels like something even necessary for the sake of the relationship and her own mental health.

But in thinking about why this is happening to Lenore, and going back and reading chapter 22 to do this little analysis, I remembered this scene:

And…I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to pin this one. For now.

#nevermore webtoon #annabel lee nevermore #lenore nevermore #white raven #annabel lee whitlock #lenore vandernacht #Prospero Nevermore #posh besties #I like to think that Lenore found the traits Annabel wanted to show attractive #but fell in love with her silly and awkward side #the one Annabel wants to hide

[blacknedsoul-blog]

As a person who also does not have fastpass, I declare that I still do not have enough suffering. You can always have more of that delicious drama >:3

The worst part about fast passing is that sometimes something happens that recontextualizes every thing. Then you see poor takes about the thing that was recontextualized and you can't fucking say anything.

#Anyway I clarify that I was joking

[blacknedsoul-blog]

You can always post an "actually" meme and say nothing. Just post the meme and run away. To make them anxious

The worst part about fast passing is that sometimes something happens that recontextualizes every thing. Then you see poor takes about the thing that was recontextualized and you can't fucking say anything.

#nevermore webtoon

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Or alternatively: that she uses it at a time when she believes Annabel is dead. Let her hold the pendulum between her fingers as she waits in terror for an answer, thinking that Annabel said she would always answer, promised her she would answer. And Annabel is someone who always keeps her promises, right?

I don't know about you, but I want to see Lenore using that fickung pendolum. I don't care. I just want to see it. Will she be in danger in the future and will risk dying? GREAT.

I mean, no.

BUT I WANT TO SEE ANNABEL COME TO THE RESCUE. LENORE CALLING HER WITH THE PENDELUM. ANNABEL LEE COMING AS FAST AS SHE CAN TO SAVE HER. ANNEBEL LEE RISKYING HER LIFE FOR LENORE.

THAT'S WHANT I WANT.

THANK YOU.

#nevermore webtoon #annabel lee nevermore #annabel lee whitlock #lenore vandernacht #lenore nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

It makes me laugh to think of this in the mansion test, like: imagine surviving a girl with a sword and a bastard with hordes of human-eating rats only to be wiped out by a bitch attacking with flower petals

Everybody with their spectres: **Having deadly abilities and fight face to face**

Annabel lee ,with the withered peonies: HERE COMES THE HURRICANE,BITCH!

#annabel lee whitlock #lady in white nevermore #annabel lee nevermore #nevermore webtoon #Shaka de virgo still taught us that you have to be afraid of characters that use flowers

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Lenore, coming out of the hideout after discussing with her friends about this chaotic and strange thing that is going on:

-B: where are you going, boss?

-L: to ask Annabel

-P: and why are you going to talk to her?

-L: experience. If something is going on, there seems to be one of two options, she's already figured it out and has an idea of how to get to the heart of the matter or this is her fault. Either way, asking her saves me a lot of time.

(Complete and utter chaos in background)

Lenore: What happened?!

Annabel: Why do you always look at me when you ask that?!

Lenore: Because I know you.

Lenore: . . . Sorry.

Lenore: (turns to montresor) What happened?

Montresor: Don’t look at me! She did it! It was her idea!!

Lenore:

Annabel: I did.

#nevermore webcomic #nevermore #nevermore webtoon #lenore nevermore #lenore vandernacht #annabel lee nevermore #annabel lee #annabel lee whitlock #montresor nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

I remember when I first read the comic and saw the closet scene (where the height difference between Annabel and Lenore is VERY noticeable) I thought Annabel was a short queen, you know, something like 5,2. Then I found out that no, Annabel is not short, Lenore is a fucking giant.

I forget how tall some Nevermore characters are sometimes. Since Lenore's the main POV character I don't fully notice because I sorta subconsciously use her as the default to compare everyone else against but she's 6ft. This means Duke would be around 6'3ish, Prospero and Montresor somewhere around 6ft and the deans are like 7ft.They're all so tall like when I was first reading I thought Pluto was super short but no, he's not that short bro just hangs with a bunch of giraffes. They all need to stop with all this school and spectre nonsense and just start trying for the Lakers honestly.

#nevermore #nevermore webtoon #lenore nevermore #duke nevermore #pluto nevermore #prospero nevermore #montresor nevermore #deans nevermore

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Please, someone go to Lenore with the gossip that Annabel saw Montresor's dick because Prospero took the towel XD

(Edited to add because it occurred to me later)

- Lenore: (with the iron bar) gentlemen, today we are going to go "tease" the love birds

-Pluto: Montresor and Prospero? Sure, but why

-Lenore: because they deserve it. And because we can, come on

Montresor out of his monthly shower.

But of course, it just HAD to be interrupted by Annabel, because her group meetings are oh so important.. hashtag cringe.

#nevermore