You Guys Should Never Ever Ever Ever EVER Breakup

The divorce of the White Raven was the chronicle of a foretold death

Now that the White Raven divorce officially begins tomorrow. I wanted to do a little review of why I've been looking forward to this moment for over 40 chapters and the delicious drama to come. 

The chapters of Annabel and Lenore talking in the greenhouse are wonderful for many reasons, but mainly because they lay the groundwork for what the conflicts in their relationship will be from now on, simply put: these two just aren't on the same page. 

Annabel wants to save them both, Lenore wants to save everyone.

Annabel calls Lenore "my favorite," "my darling," and "my petal"; Lenore understands "my companion animal" (and Annabel doesn't bother to clarify). 

Lenore says they are friends; Annabel clearly knows they were a couple.

Annabel tries to kiss her goodbye on the lips; Lenore kisses her hand. 

As the comic progresses -and especially with the last chapter released by the Freepass- the more fundamental root of this problem becomes more apparent: the White Raven don't really know each other, they think they do and, incidentally, insist on not listening to each other.

The Annabel Lenore Knows

The "disappointment rooms" are a Victorian myth (I say "myth" because there is no evidence that they were a widespread practice, although there are cases like Blanche Monnier's, they did not seem to be particularly common. But they exist in this comic, so they will be treated as real in this essay) were isolated rooms where a family member with a mental illness or physical deformity was kept isolated from the world, making him or her an outcast. 

We don't know the real reasons why Annabel wanted to get close to Lenore (this scene make it clear that it was of her own free will, something Lenore knows), but anyway, this was extremely strange at the time, the kind of thing that could severely damage someone's reputation if it became public.

In other words, for Lenore, Annabel not only pulled her out of the spiral of madness she was in, made her feel alive again, and treated her like a person (something that hadn't happened since Theo's death); she also put her reputation on the line to get closer to "the crazy woman in the attic". 

Add to that the fact that Annabel, like Lenore, is someone with an extremely protective personality, albeit in a much more subtle way: containing Lenore's outbursts by trying to distract her, complimenting her when she doubts herself, trying to give her a sense of purpose by asking her to write her a song, and automatically containing her own panic attack when she sees Lenore's horrified expression. 

To Lenore, Annabel is someone who would rather destroy something that makes her happy and be hated than let Lenore suffer for her absence.

This is a gigantic contrast to the Annabel readers know, yes, the basics are there: she is seen to genuinely care about Prospero, and gratuitous violence against someone who cannot defend himself infuriates her. But Lenore does not dimension how Annabel's methods of survival (shaped by her trauma of not being heard, reasons why she machines her way through people) make her a Machiavellian, manipulative and cold-blooded person. 

The last time Lenore saw Annabel in a situation where she could do nothing, she saw her give up. But readers know that this time, Annabel is willing to burn absolutely everything down to get them both out of it.

That is why the Duke affair takes her by surprise. Never mind that Annabel has said she's willing to destroy or trample anyone to get out of Nevermore. The Annabel Lenore knows would not be capable of that.

The Lenore Annabel knows

This part is more difficult to analyze, because unfortunately Annabel's memories are tied to big mysteries within the plot. On the plus side, this comic is excellent at dropping large amounts of information at the point of detail. 

The most obvious: Annabel is carrying around the ring Lenore had when she burned down her house, in other words, "Leo's" charade worked so well that the two of them got engaged. In other words: Annabel has seen this woman burn down a family home (perhaps with servants inside), fake her own death, steal, take a continental trip, change her identity and pose as a man, all to save her from an arranged marriage. 

A very "you and me against the world" situation. A scenario Lenore made possible by lying to basically everyone, even Annabel herself, who must have spent at least a few months believing Lenore was dead until "Leo" knocked on her door. 

Add to that these two scenes: in the first, Annabel seems pretty convinced that Lenore has a good idea of what's going on here...

And in this one, Annabel thinks Lenore is doing this out of guilt.

Again, this is a huge contrast to the Lenore we readers have seen throughout the comic: a person who desperately wants to show others the affection and security that no one (except Theo and Annabel) has given her. A mix of a naturally vivacious and caring personality with traumas from which her need for control stems from anxiety and a terrible fear of abandonment. 

In this light, Annabel putting Duke in danger to keep Montressor away from Lenore was something that was informed, known, and something that Lenore would agree with, because the Lenore she knows would be willing to sacrifice anything to achieve her goal. 

In that sense, that scene is foreshadowing. Not only did Lenore trick her into using a memory that Annabel does not have, but it comes right after Annabel confidently says that "no one knows Lenore better than she does.

The masks

One of the most painful tragedies of the White Raven relationship (besides the fact that it ended with both of them dead) is that one of the two has had to wear a mask on both sides of it: Annabel pretending that this relationship isn't as deeply ingrained in her as it really is, and then Lenore doing the whole "Leo" thing to be "the perfect fiancé" in everyone else's eyes.

Their divorce is imminent because both of them (especially Annabel) are projecting onto the other the expectations they have that are a product of the few memories they have been able to recover, rather than really looking at the person in front of them. 

I'm going to enjoy all the beautiful character development that comes from here on out, because they both have a lot of unpacking to do separately from this divorce arc. And, I hope that, when they can finally reconcile, we also get to see how, for the first time in the history of their relationship, Annabel and Lenore can actually see eye to eye.

@alyssachos @samanthagardens @00st4rs @xx-midnight-candy-goblin-xx @virto-the-weirdo @formallake

This one too🔪

……

Something about me— I never started learning how to draw because I thought I just would be too impatient for it. Even tho I thought it would be fun.

On an unrelated note, I recently started anti depressants.

On another unrelated note, I can’t find fanart for a thing. *cough* baby & solo *cough*

On ANOTHER COMPLETELY UNRELATED NOTE, I seem to have the desire to make fanart for a certain thing. Along with maybe more things. Despite not having time. Or patience. Or art skills. Or the ability to be ok with not being good at something right off the bat.

Ha. Hahahahaha. Ha. Depression, huh?

PREACH!

Jackson's diary preview Chapter 18:

(Changed this series name because yes)

We left off at:

https://www.tumblr.com/loo011/755474519500718080/so-i-have-a-theory-that-jacksons-diary-is-less-of?source=share

PS:much easier if you read the chapter after or while reading these notes

•honestly if we didn't know exer's being a manipulative ass it would've been nice and understandable of him to tell his friends to give Jackson space but we know the truth; he's only saying that so Jackson doesn't join the reds.

•crazy how exer and Pamela's relationship turned into when it's awfully clear he held no remorse whatsoever for what he's done to her. Quite the opposite he seems as annoyed by her existence -maybe even more- as he is with Jackson.

•once again exer's acting skills are Top Notch! He genuinely looks shocked I can almost believe it

hey can you force ado to make an NJ song next please

HEY @xx-midnight-candy-goblin-xx WRITE NJ SONG RN

So I have a theory that Jackson's Diary is less of a supernatural and more of a story about two mentally ill people with magic involved and I decided to reread it and keep notes on anything and everything that supports that theory

PS:much easier if you read the chapter after or while reading these notes

Chp2 notes:

•on the car panel David had a scratched out 'heeeeeyyyy' while exer delivered a smooth line, this is a sign of having an affable approach later on when he walks through the halls he displays strong cordial behavior as well. Brenda displays a similar behavior and that could be a reason why exer was drawn to her

•exer saying 'let's go' to David to help the girl but it's in a strong tone like he's giving out a command without sugarcoating it then his smug look when Rick and Morty make fun of him before he shifts it instantly to seem warning fully aware they won't listen before he returns the smug and spelling out the word respect, this is all a tactic to get Rick and Morty to bow to him and stay in line

•Exer quite literally playing Rick Morty and even David for fools when he says that it's strange they trapped like this before turning around and noticing Jackson and like last chapter hold his gaze- this is a sign of suspicious that Jackson saw through him then when Jackson said he thought he saw green exer was generally in disbelief

•the notes on exer are much MUCH less than Jackson's and not until the very end did we finally get exer's thoughts which are a total of literally 3 thoughts this is massively different compared to Jackson and I don't think it's really a coincidence as it seems that knowing how the gears in exer's head turn is gonna make his narrative massively easier to understand in comparison to Jackson whose constantly self sabotage

I have joined the devious gang

Welcome

Our numbers grow every day😈

Reblog if you didn’t write My Immortal

We’re going to find the author by process of elimination.

I am every day growing more and more irrationally sick of the jd fandom massively downplaying Jackson and exer's relationship.

They're BOTH the main characters (Jackson more but still). They're the face of the webtoon. Their relationship is the most important thing in the plot IF it's not the whole plot.

And yet most readers just don't care and it's REALLY getting on my nerves.