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Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part II: Supernatural Brides

I had set out to finish this saga of essays before Nevermore came back. And then I realized that all the fucking references I have on hand were going to require at least one essay for each. Which means a total of…at least four parts.

So I made it my goal to finish at least one. And since we're talking about tragedy, it seemed logical to continue with the gothic novel.

Before I start, I have to make a little disclaimer: most of my sources come from Spanish material that I'm not sure I have an English translation because they are loose essays I have from my college days and prologues to books from different publishers that are dedicated to publishing gothic novels. If you understand Spanish, I'll be happy to pass the material on to you if this interests you. But if you only understand English, I'm afraid I only have two sources for you: Supernatural Horror in Literature, an essay by H.P. Lovecraft on the foundations of cosmic horror that reviews the history of horror in fiction and The gothic quest a book of about 400 pages that describes in detail the history of the gothic novel, I hope the density of that work compensates for not being able to deliver more finished information.

Brief (seriously VERY brief) history of the gothic novel

Here is something a bit tangled, because the Gothic novel goes hand in hand with many of the topics of the literature of romanticism (literary movement with which it shares time) and it is also necessary to understand some historical and architectural issues.

Let's go by part: Romanticism is a literary and artistic movement that formally emerged in the second half of the eighteenth century (it is estimated that the first works of the same are dated from 1770, approximately) consisting of three parts: the so-called pre-romanticism, romanticism as such and late romanticism.

Anyway, even from its beginnings, this movement emerges as a series of anti-classical ideas that sought to recover folkloric and medieval elements, were obsessed with the inviduality of creativity, nostalgia for nature (something that would later become nostalgia for the time before the industrial revolution), considered passion and sentimentality as the creative axis and in general were looking to Greek tragedies and other fantastic tales as a source of inspiration.

This clashed with the strong Christian values of the time and the rise of technological advances. A contradiction that is present in the works of this literary movement.

Another important historical fact that is necessary to understand is that this kind of novel gets its name directly from Gothic architecture. These works were intended to take place in castles, monasteries, mansions belonging to ancient families and medieval cemeteries. The reason is simple: the Goths were considered shitty architects and many of these buildings had been abandoned for decades if not centuries by 1700, so you could walk down a path and simply find an ominous monastery or the remains of a mansion and if you asked someone where it had come from, they would probably tell you about 15 different versions, but all involving dead people and ghosts living there. As you may have gathered from the above, the writers of this period were eating this stuff up with fries.

It is with the convergence of all these elements that Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto was published in 1764. A text born from a nightmare that this man had in the castle of Strawberry Hill, a neo-Gothic property that belonged to him. The novel is mediocre at best, but it lays all the groundwork needed going forward: ominous ancient places full of legends where the crumbling architecture is a reflection of the moral and emotional corruption of the characters.

Feminine entities

One thing in which the Romantics differ from the Gothics is their view of love. In this era, love is perceived as a kind of force that is above the characters, something so beautiful that it is capable of making them completely lose their minds (this is tied to the concept of the sublime. And where the romantics embrace this concept as something beautiful, the goths say “this is fucking disturbing”.

For this reason many gothic stories are up to their necks in supernatural brides: beautiful ghosts dressed in white, beings that we consider references to nymphs who only need to whisper in the ears of their victims to become obsessed with them and, above all, vampires. Vampires whose description you will have in detail because the narrators of these stories spare no words to point out how beautiful they are.

Because these supernatural brides are there for one thing and one thing only: to make our sad male hero lose his mind with the power of their impractically long eyelashes. Sometimes they love them honestly and deeply, sometimes they are insidious, evil and lying; on more than one occasion both alternatives are true at the same time. But the reality of things is that, in the end, the love of these supernatural brides ends up completely destroying the unfortunate object of their affection.

If this seems a bit sexist to you, that's because it is. There's no argument here and it's not worth delving into any further.

I've talked about Annabel as a vampire before, but this time I want to talk more in detail about two issues: how supernatural brides work and the consequences for the protagonist of having a relationship with her and the similarities this story presents to a particular job.

Love and death

What is a ghost? A terrible event doomed to repeat itself over and over again. An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead that seems at times still alive. A feeling, suspended in time, like a blurred photograph, like an insect trapped in amber. El espinazo del diablo, Guillermo del Toro (original quote in Spanish)

One interesting thing about this whole thing is, too, that while the attitudes of many of these supernatural brides may remind you of variations of a succubus (you know, a female entity that is there for and to seduce), the reality is that the gothic novel is steeped in religious puritanism, so these ladies (most of the time) don't usually need to be sexual with their love interest/victim to get their attention. They usually only need a single glance.

If you think I'm exaggerating:

Never gaze upon a woman, and walk abroad only with eyes ever fixed upon the ground; for however chaste and watchful one may be, the error of a single moment is enough to make one lose eternity. 

The dead women in love, Théophile Gautier

Another thing is that these supernatural brides are usually here at just the right time to skillfully grope the weaknesses of their beloved lover and victim: Are you a feisty guy who thinks he's not afraid of anything? Well, the spirit of the water that will end up bewitching you dwells in a mysterious fountain that no one dares to visit out of fear (Ojos Verdes, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer ESP/ENG), Have you just obtained eternal life by making a pact with the devil but are a little terrified of what might await you in the solitude of immortality? The beautiful young girl just revived by your own hand has opened her eyes and both you and she know in this one look that you will spend eternity together (The Skeleton Count, or The Vampire Mistress, Elizabeth Caroline Grey), Have you just moved here from Naples and are feeling incredibly lonely? Well, it turns out you have a beautiful neighbor who also seems interested in you. By the way, she's practically a poisonous plant (Rappaccini's Daughter, Nathaniel Hawthorne).

Examples like these are plentiful and most end in three ways for the victim of their affections:

Death.

Madness.

Or eternal mourning for having lost her despite having been a victim of deceit or manipulation.

In Lenore's case, her “supernatural bride” appears after the incident in which she rips the wallpaper off the wall: if flowers symbolize feeling alive, she doesn't need them. There is no need for flowers because she is irreversibly withering away.

And when all seems lost, she receives a visitor.

Annabel is a ghost in Lenore's life. The fuzzy silhouette that represents the one thing that made her happy during her confinement, her last glimmer of sanity in a situation where she could no longer hold on without breaking. A specter whose shadow Lenore has been obsessively chasing since a previous life. And every time she manages to reach her, something snatches her away: Annabel goes back to a place where Lenore cannot reach her with her hands.

This is the sad fate of supernatural bride lovers. Because for the gothic novel, when love transcends death it is not a reason to rejoice: the character's life has been permanently disrupted and all that remains is a feeling that is beyond reason. Love becomes the cruelest and most terrible of punishments.

Carmilla

If you're still here with me and you haven't read Carmilla yet, I highly recommend that you do because if you like goth lesbians, this is exactly your shit.

But just so we're on the same page: Carmilla is a short vampire novel published in 1872 by Sheridan Le Fanu in his collection In a Glass Darkly. The plot is about Laura, a young woman who lives in a proper gothic castle located in Austria and her life will be disrupted with the arrival of a beautiful young woman her age named Carmilla.

Both Lenore and Laura live in almost complete isolation barely accompanied by maids (And, in Laura's case, her father) in a huge estate that is surrounded by an appropriately dense and slightly terrifying forest. Now, the reason they are both here is different: where Lenore is locked up against her will, Laura simply lives in a place that is difficult to access.

But let's make a slightly insidious reading here.

One of the first things we know about Laura is that the maids she lives with, despite being fond of her, consider her “a bit touched in the head” and the incident where Carmilla enters the room when Laura is a little girl is completely dismissed for this reason.

Laura is 19 years old when all this happens and at no point in the play is it mentioned that she has any suitors or intentions of getting married, a bit strange for the time in which it occurs. One would assume that the reason for keeping her so isolated is precisely that Laura's father doesn't think his daughter is particularly sane in the head.

As does Lenore.

Add to that the fact that they are both grieving. Lenore for Theo's death and, in Laura's case, for learning that the daughter of a dear friend of her father's has died in strange circumstances and, although she did not get to know her, this fact affected her a lot.

Anyway, sooner rather than later this almost supernaturally beautiful young lady of her own age shows up and kicks in the door saying she wants to be friends. Carmilla through a carriage “accident” near the property and Annabel requesting a meeting to get to know her.

In both cases, the dynamic established is the same.

On the one hand, we have a young lady who looks completely ecstatic at this pompous and definitely somewhat deranged creature. Laura spares no words in explaining to the reader how fucking beautiful Carmilla is, how important she is to her and how much she loves her. And Lenore, well, Lenore does this:

On the other side, the supernatural (girl)friend returns her affection with the subtlety of a kick in the teeth:

Annabel is a little more subtle than Carmilla was before she and Lenore were a thing, but we still see her get super physically close (something she doesn't usually do with other characters in Nevermore, so this is something she only does with Lenore).

Fun fact: that gesture with the fan means “I'm shy, but I'm interested.”

Unfortunately for our comphet-filled protagonist (because she watches THIS and still thinks they're “good friends”) her days in the company of this girl end in tragedy. Carmilla is eventually unveiled as a vampire and killed, while Lenore sees Annabel leave and, taking into account that they are both in Nevermore, subsequently sees her die.

In both cases, the protagonist's life has been scarred by her supernatural (girl)friend: neither a year-long trip abroad nor a new group of friends can take Laura or Lenore away from the memory of those happy days that are now irretrievably tainted.

Conclusions

I think one thing that has happened to me writing this now that I seriously pulled the rug out from under me regarding the amount of references in this comic and it has been non-stop bullshit. They're all still framed within the genres of tragedy and gothic novel, but even with this essay I've fallen short on some topics.

I don't know when I'll continue with this saga because it really involves going through an awful lot of material, but I can at least say one thing for sure: the amount of detail it has is, honestly, quite impressive.

I think the Deans are fucking Lovecraftian gods

If you're a regular reader of my nonsense, you may have noticed that on more than one occasion I've referred to the Deans as "Nyarlathotep Tumblrsexymen": no, I didn't have a stroke on the keyboard, this is a reference to an entity that appears in the stories of Howard Phillip Lovecraft. A writer who is widely known because there were even people who thought that the Necronomicon, a fictional text part of his work, actually existed (and because he was such a recalcitrant racist that it has become a meme about how extremely racist he was).

And since I'm still going through my pile of papers on Gothic fiction, let me take a moment to talk about Lovecraft's work, why I have reason to believe that the Deans have something in common with these creatures, and what that might mean for the development of Nevermore.

A Little About Lovecraft's Gods

To understand a little bit about the kind of creatures we are talking about, I have to stop at a brief (seriously brief) description of cosmic horror: This is a type of horror that takes elements from the scientific publications of the time (which makes it close to science fiction) to give it verisimilitude, it has at its core a deep nihilism, the breaking of scientific canons, the fragility of the human mind and societies contrasted with the vastness of the universe, an enormous fear of "the unknown" for the white man (fed by his racist paranoia), and seasoned with tentacles and creatures that remind us of sea creatures, because Lovecraft had an enormous fear of the sea.

The gods in these stories represent, on a symbolic level, the vastness of the universe, the terror of the unknown, and the fragility of the human mind: they are entities older than time itself, contact with them tends to shatter the mind, and humanity must be very, very grateful that most of them are locked away or incapacitated in some way. Also, the way to access them is through very specific rituals that have been lost over time, so thankfully they're not very easy to contact either.

Similarities with the Deans

Let's start with the most obvious: the Deans, like the Lovecraftian gods, seem to operate in their own plane of existence, beyond what humans understand as "life" and "death": Nevermore is a kind of limbo, but we know, thanks to the Raven, that these guys came from another place and had enough power to kick the crap out of psychopomps without any problem.

However, just like Lovecraft's gods, these enormous powers don't make them able to do whatever they want; as I said, these entities are usually locked up or incapacitated in some way and can only have contact with humans under certain circumstances (like being summoned in rituals), and getting out of their prisons usually requires vague events like astral alignments that are completely out of their control.

The Deans, like Lovecraft's gods, seem to be subject to rules that are above them, and while they can bend them a bit to achieve their goals, it's not like they can do much about it.

Another thing they have in common with Lovecraft's gods is the ability to create servants that function as extensions of them to fulfill their designs. There are many creatures that follow this line in the stories that speak of The Myths, but the best known are the Shoggoth that appear in the novel At the Mountains of Madness: artificial beings created by the Old Ones to rule the Earth, described as amphibious, amorphous masses similar to amoebas.

Although the Deans prefer their minions in the form of animated dolls. I suspect this decision is based on the story The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffman. I have no proof, but no doubt.

Now for the joke that brings this essay to life: the creature in Lovecraft's universe that most resembles the Deans is a being called Nyarlathotep. This creature belongs to the category of "Other Gods" (not the old ones like Cthulhu) and gets very nice nicknames like "Crawling Chaos".

Nyarlathotep is a being who enjoys causing chaos, death and madness wherever they go. They can communicate with humans, which they use to psychologically torture them and make them lose their minds. Something they seem to enjoy quite a bit. In the same way that the Deans view this sadistic battle royale, they have set up a fun game.

Then there is the ability to manipulate and alter the human mind, which is called into question in stories like Nyarlathotep and The Rats in the Walls (where it is apparently Nyarlathotep who messes with the protagonist's mind so that he tries to kill his friend).

This is something we've seen manifest in Nevermore in two different ways: the ability to trigger or unlock memories.

And the ability to change them. While we can't know if what was shown to Annabel is 100% real, we do know that showing her the end of her life caused a permanent change in the way she retrieves her memories: from the end backwards. If this memory is somehow altered, we also know that the Deans are capable of photoshopping people's memories.

Finally, Nyarlathotep has the ability to shape-shift, which allows them to appear as humanoids in several stories, such as The Oniric Quest of the Unknown Kadath or Dreams in the Witch's House. His human form is considered "unnatural", "strange" and "disturbing" by those who see it (remember that Lovecraft was extremely racist, so he always presents himself as a black man). As a pharaoh in the Randolph Carter cycle and as a charcoal humanoid figure in the second story cited).

Here, the human form of whatever the Deans are is also quite atypical: not only are they ridiculously tall (7 feet), they have heterochromia with a white-colored eye (which I would venture to say may be a reference to the cataract eye mentioned in the story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe), and their synchronized movements are amusing on paper, but possibly strange to look at for the characters.

Otherwise, there are two other entities in Lovecraft's universe whose descriptions can be loosely associated with the Deans: Yogg-Sothoth and Azathoth. Both are beings of dual nature.

The former is an entity associated with omniscience and appears in stories such as The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward and The Dunwich Horror. and is described as "the key and the door".

Azathoth represents omnipotence, is the center of the universe, and is described as "the beginning and the end" or "the alpha and the omega.

Implications for the comic

The fact that the Deans have elements in common with Nyarlathotep brings up an interesting point: although Nyarlathotep has far greater freedom than other beings, they is a servant of Azathoth. In other words, them powers are subservient to a more powerful being whose plans they must follow. They may amuse themselves in the process, but they is still essentially a butler.

On the other hand, the Azathoth connection might be vague, since this creature is a lobotomized god, so he can't do much. But if the reference is to Yogg-Sothoth, it gets a little more interesting, because that entity is the one who is supposed to release the original gods when the time is right.

And I don't know about you, but these references have me wondering if the Deans are working for something much more messed up than they are, or if they're using the souls of the students to bring back something much more sinister.

Montresor (and Willtresor) are the Bad Ending of White Raven III: now it is personal

Well, after realizing that I have like (check the list) two unfinished "sagas" of essays, I remembered that I had this 80% done and I told myself that maybe it was an excellent time to get on with this shit to keep kicking the archetypes and gothic tragedy essay under the rug

When I thought about this ("hey, if Montresor has so many similarities to Lenore and Annabel, where does that leave Will?"), my first thought was that the parallel would be this:

We have a charming blondie charlatan who arrives just in time to offer their "friendship" (wink, wink) to a poor individual who couldn't be hungrier for affection and validation. A deal sealed with a handshake, otherwise.

Here the parallel between Will and Lenore is drawn in that they are both rather reactive people: they don't take the initiative to do things, they react to things that happen around them. For example, Will wasn't the one who came up with the idea of putting Duke behind the wall, just as Lenore didn't come up with this whole fake rivalry scheme.

But neither of them refuse to participate, either because they think they can get away with it, or because they don't stop to think about the consequences of the things they get into. And, in general, they tend to panic when things don't go their way and immediately back off (even when that's not possible).

But this is where the parallel ends, because their personalities and approaches are completely different: Will tends to curl up in a ball and look for excuses not to get hurt, while Lenore is an extremely blunt weapon capable of taking whatever is thrown at her.

So you can imagine the look on my face when, after thinking it over, I realized that the person Will has the most in common with is not Lenore.

It's Annabel.

Because if we had a nickel for every time we saw a character in Nevermore…

Be willing to tolerate physical harm to protect an object of affection whose game has backfired.

Idealizing that object of affection to obsessive levels.

Taking harmful attitudes out of a desire to be accommodating because they think that's what that person expects of them.

And putting up with it even though it is tearing them apart inside...

We would have two nickels. It's not much, but it's interesting that it happened twice.

With that, I could up the ante and point out something else that Annabel and Will have in common: they're both invisible people. Will is someone no one gives a second glance to, while Annabel is seen more as an object or an idea than an individual (a pretty accessory in life, an unbeatable queen in death). They don't really matter to anyone.

Except for one person. One person for whom they are willing to give absolutely everything. Their lives, their physical integrity, their identity.

This creates an enormous fear of being abandoned by that person, when they have given them such an important part of their self-construction, who are they without them?

Then there is the particular way in which they both understand relationships. Annabel has openly stated that she sees social relationships as commercial exchanges. It is not known whether Will has a similar view, but in practice he behaves much like Annabel in this respect: they see themselves as important to the extent that they can be useful to their particular person. Tools to be used, rather than individuals deserving some form of appreciation, care, or even affection for simply being them.

Under that premise, it's to be expected that Montresor or Lenore will discard them the moment something more useful or better comes along, because that's what you do with tools. If some of them end up in the trash, it's because Annabel or Will have failed to remain useful, and they need to make amends for their mistakes in order to be considered worthy of a second look.

Which makes it tremendously ironic that Lenore says this to Will…

When in the midst of a panic attack, this is one of the first concerns Annabel has to express.

At this point, the difference between the two situations jumps out: Lenore cares about Annabel. Where Montresor is more than happy to use Will's complexes to keep him chained to him, Lenore is far from being comfortable with all that crap. Again, what draws the lines in the end is that there are people who have their hearts in the right place and there are people who don't.

But I think there's one thing that's a little darker: please watch Montresor's face when he realizes that the person he's choking is Will.

And watch his complete lack of reaction when Lenore pulls it out of his face.

I think the fucked up thing about the situation is that Montresor seems to care about Will. At least enough to feel a certain amount of remorse. But in a world where there are winners and losers (a perspective he shares with Annabel), where it doesn't pay to care about the losers if you're a winner, Montresor doesn't have the resources to treat Will any better. Even if he wanted to, he's too deep into toxic patterns of behavior to show him any degree of kindness, because the only way this man is able to relate is through abuse, control, and manipulation.

This is extremely fucked up when you consider that this is the fuzzy line that separates Lenore and Montresor in the roles they have within the relationship with Annabel and Will.

At the end of the day, the Willtresor is a dark reflection of the White Raven, because that's the consequence of instrumentalizing the relationship in this way: you have one party who benefits from what the other is willing to do for them -and no matter how much they care, it still relegates them to the role of tools- and another person desperately picking up crumbs of validation because they don't think they deserve any better.

Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part I: Classical and Shakespearean Tragedy

This essay assumes that you've read the first season of Nevermore. If you haven't, you'll be eating spoilers.

First of all, a disclaimer: you won't find the term "Gothic tragedy" in theory books, because I just pulled it out of my sleeve. But it seemed appropriate to put it in those terms because, hey, beyond theoretical structuring, genres are also used as a guide to content, and that's kind of what I want to express with this.

Partly because I've noticed that I've called this comic a tragedy on more than one occasion, and talked at length about Lenore and Annabel as gothic characters, but never bothered to delve into these matters, and with the hiatus until (possibly) October, I think it's time to rectify that situation.

But also because I think there are a lot of things in this story that fall into place if you read it under the logic of those genres.

Originally, this was going to be a single essay, but it turns out it took over 2000 fucking words just to explain why it's a fucking tragedy, so I'm going to split this shit in two because I don't want to burn anyone's eyes out.

Tragedy and Types of Tragedy

This is the ridiculously abridged version because this is a really long story, if you want more information on the subject I highly recommend reading Aristotle's Poetics, Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy or watching this OSP video for a more proper introduction. If you're interested in Shakespearean tragedy, The Cambridge Shakespeare is a amazing compilation, and here's the essay that talks specifically about what the hell Shakespearean tragedy is.

Tragedy has been linked to the origins of theater as such, found in the festivals dedicated to Dionysus (if you want to know more about the cult of Dionysus, you can watch this video to start), where poetry contests were held, specifically of dithyrambs: lyric compositions dedicated specifically to Dionysus. This later led to the inclusion of an increasingly sophisticated chorus using masks. This was no longer poetry, but the first expressions of theater as we understand it in modern times, at least for Europe and the countries colonized by Europeans.

Nietzsche also points out that tragedy condenses within itself two opposing impulses represented in the gods Apollo and Dionysus, expressed in the terms "Apollonian" and "Dionysian": order, mathematics and music (understood by the Greeks as science) vs. party, debauchery and chaos. The clash between the beautiful and the grotesque (understanding that the "beautiful" can be disturbing and the "grotesque" can be strangely beautiful). This description is not entirely literal, of course, but it must be kept in mind that in order to have the fundamentals of a tragedy, one must have these two elements: order and chaos. A synchronized waltz between the rigid structures and the rupturing.

Yes, those two are enough.

Step by step, I think it is important to point out what are the transversal elements to tragedy - classical or Shakespearean - that are present in the comic.

The first important concept that appears on this page is Amarthia. The tragic mistake, the first domino that topples the whole stack, is the specific event that sets tragedy in motion, and we spectators of tragedy can only stare in horror at the situation, knowing that everything that follows will go terribly wrong.

At least as far as its protagonists are concerned, Annabel and Lenore's Amarthia has been said but not seen: the dinner party where Annabel will wear pearls, indicating to Lenore that she is in on the charade. From then on, every step they take will bring them closer to the fate we know: the arrival of both of them in Nevermore. This story ends with them both dead.

And if I had to point out the Amarthia of the comic's topicality, I would dare to say that this is it:

And this:

Annabel refuses to explain to Lenore why the plan has to be the way it is, while Lenore agrees to be part of it (the fact that she disagrees with the whole situation is a plus).

The interesting thing about this is that the roles are reversed: before, Annabel sealed the tragic fate of both of them by accepting Lenore's proposal, while in Nevermore, Lenore sealed the tragic fate of both of them by accepting Annabel's plan.

Another important term that comes up here is hybris. While it is true that hybris represents ego, this does not necessarily mean that the hero is self-centered in a personality sense; hybris is the tragic hero's (misguided, of course) belief that they can turn their terrible situation around. And, well…

That ends badly in tragedies. Very, very badly.

At this point, it is necessary to start pointing out the elements of each type of tragedy, because something interesting is happening: within the ancient walls of the purgatory that is Nevermore, a classical tragedy is taking place, while in the past, Annabel and Lenore were the protagonists of a Shakespearean tragedy.

Classical Tragedy

One thing to understand about classical tragedy is that these are stories of humanity versus divinity. The predestined fate that comes upon mortals at the hands of beings superior to them, even if those beings do not appear directly. The external forces superior to the characters do not intervene directly (at least not in most cases), but they put all the pieces in place for the tragic hero to fall headlong into his terrible fate "by their own hand". Yeah, that shit is so unfair.

In Nevermore, fate is represented by these two bastards: The Deans act as the ominous shadow of divinity that sets the rules of this battle royale. For all intents and purposes, this pair of bastards represents the tragic fate of the characters: only one will survive to have a second life. And there is (theoretically) no way to escape.

This is where we start to get into thorny issues. If I had to point out the classical tragedy that Nevermore most resembles, I think I'd get a smile out of Hadestown fans: Orpheo and Eurydice.

Okay, let's review: Orpheo is a highly talented musician who, after losing his beloved, goes to the underworld to find her. Hades and Persephone give him a chance to get her back if he doesn't turn around to see her until they leave the place, he does so at the last second, she returns to the underworld, and Orpheus spends the rest of his life in misery mourning her.

That's the thing, the story of Orpheo and Euridice is a tragedy for the most depressing reason of all: love. What seems like a generous gift from Hades and Persephone is actually a condemnation, because they ask Orpheus to do the one thing he could never do: stop looking at his beloved. In some versions of the story, he can't even hear her as they walk; will she really be her, or has he been tricked? Will she be frightened on this journey and he will not be there to comfort her? What if she has trouble on the road or an accident and Orpheus has left her behind? Orpheus loves Eurydice so much that he cannot save her under these circumstances because he cannot stop watching over her long enough to get her out of here.

Now let's go to Annabel and Lenore, the same thing is happening here, these two idiots love each other. It's probably the only thing they know for sure in this bullshit game. And for Annabel and Lenore, to love is to protect, it's to be the shield that will be there to defend their beloved in the face of adversity, she's been hurt in a terrible way and they will do anything to stop anyone from hurting her again.

But tragic fate, represented by the Deans, has set things in motion for this to quickly go to hell:

For Lenore to understand Annabel's actions, she would have to tell her that's why she's so afraid, why they shouldn't get attached to anyone, why she thinks it's necessary to pretend they don't remember each other. But Lenore can't be okay with Annabel carrying everything alone, because she sees how it hurts her, because Annabel is clearly hurting. She goes to great lengths to confide in Annabel, but she can't come up with a plausible explanation for all this crap either.

For Annabel, becoming a villain and enduring all this pain is slightly less horrible than dragging Lenore into the Deans' psychotic game. But Lenore just loves her too much to let her do that. Lenore could protect her if Annabel were by her side, so why does she keep leaving? She was hurt the first time, why do it to her a second time?

The feeling of not being heard, the frustration that the other just won't listen to her pleas and won't stop what she's doing to allow her to be cared for, runs through both of them because it's the exact same situation, "Why won't you let me do this for you?"

The answer is that Annabel and Lenore are asking the other to do the one thing she could never stop doing: stop trying to protect her. That's why they fight.

This relationship has become a power game that neither can win because they are both exactly the same. A tug-of-war that will only be resolved when something breaks. Hopefully not irreparably.

And speaking of the P-word, let's talk Shakespeare, people.

Shakespearean Tragedy

The good Bard took classical tragedy and brought it back, but changed enough elements of it that it had to be renamed because some of its fundamentals were rewritten. The most notorious of these is that while Shakespeare does not ignore the presence of higher forces or supernatural entities, the fundamental basis of Shakespearean tragedy is not the conflict between humanity and the Fates/Gods.

It is power.

Those who wield power, those who are corrupted by it, and those who crave it. These tragedies speak of moral corruption, the victims of power, and those who sink under the responsibility that power brings.

This is the reason why Shakespeare's tragic heroes belong to the nobility, come from opulent families, or hold important positions. In this case, we have as protagonists two women who were born in a cradle of gold: Lenore apparently comes from a family of old money, and while we do not know if Annabel also comes from a family of old money, we do know that there is no shortage of coins around here.

But status cannot protect Shakespeare's protagonists from the society in which they live, whose agency is sometimes literally represented by people with power. This puts them in a situation from which they cannot escape and which screws them from the start (in other cases the Shakespearean protagonist is the figure of power and seals his own fate). Here, the odds are stacked against them from the start because they are women and, as if that were not enough, lesbians.

I think it's no surprise to anyone that the Shakespearean tragedy most similar to Nevermore is Romeo and Juliet.

Let's review: Romeo and Juliet are two young people who meet at a party and fall madly in love. Their families hate each other, so they cannot be together. The two secretly marry, but after an argument Romeo kills a man and is banished, despite a plan hatched by a priest friend so they can run away together, things go terribly wrong and they both end up committing suicide.

This follows a similar logic to Orpheus and Eurydice: the tragedy here is that these two are in love. But where classical tragedy says, "They love each other so much they can't save themselves," Romeo and Juliet, like Annabel and Lenore, works with two layers of conflict.

The first is the social and political. These young people's families hate each other, so they can't be together. In the same way, Annabel and Lenore can't be together because they're both women.

This is also a reference to one of the central themes of Romeo and Juliet: the clash between tradition and modernity. I think if you squint hard enough, you can see the relationship between these two as Victorian conservatism and homophobia screwing up their lives in the same way that tradition screws up Romeo and Juliet's.

The other layer of the problem is the one that has to do with love: Romeo and Juliet love each other so much that they cannot live without each other. This is what drives them both to suicide, even when they are given the opportunity to continue their lives separately. They love each other so much that they cannot live without each other. Just as Annabel and Lenore desperately want to be together, this is what starts the engine of tragedy when circumstances prevent them from doing so.

Another thing it takes from Romeo and Juliet is the role of the parents as a representation of the power that oppresses the characters. In Romeo and Juliet, the Montague and Capulet lords pull the strings of their children's lives, and it is their resentment that creates the barrier between the lovers. In the case of Nevermore, Ira and Thaddeus are the personal jailers of their respective daughters: Ira wants to get Annabel into an arranged marriage by hook or by crook, and Thaddeus first gets Lenore a fiancé and then keeps her locked up in the fucking attic.

Finally, a tragedy that can be read as a reference to Nevermore, though more subtly, is Macbeth.

The plot is simple: a trio of witches tell Duke Macbeth that he and his descendants will one day be kings. This leads him to murder his cousin, King Duncan, and everything goes downhill from there, because Duncan's murder didn't even amuse the prince.

Yes, at first glance it doesn't seem to make much sense, but that's because it's referring to a specific moment. Specifically, the most discussed and controversial scene in the play: the dialog where Lady Macbeth and Macbeth discuss killing Duncan.

This scene has kept the Bard's fans arguing for centuries: is she manipulating her husband so that she can be queen, or is she just verbalizing Macbeth's wishes that he be allowed to commit the crime, and saying that she will support him in it? Impossible to know unless someone gets a working Ouija board.

This is the same logic that follows the flashback scene where Lenore talks to Annabel about the plan. The important thing here is that the comic decides that the answer is: it depends on who you ask.

Given Annabel's attitude toward Lenore, we can interpret that she does not think she was manipulated or anything. Lenore is not a devious woman who put things in her head, it was her knight in shining armor who came to save her from a marriage she didn't want. Yes, she may have had her doubts, but she definitely liked her chances, enough to accept them.

On the other hand, what this tells me is that Lenore thinks the opposite: that she convinced Annabel to be part of this hoax that ended with both of them dead. A crazy woman who dragged the only person she cared about into a dangerous game that cost them their lives, she considers herself as guilty as the perpetrating hand of the crime.

Conclusion

I think the first time I decided to do a review under this particular lens was when I started to notice where Annabel and Lenore's arcs seemed to be going.

On the one hand, given how things are going, it seems that Lenore has to start taking off the blindfold to realize that things aren't as simple as she thinks, and stop letting others make the hard decisions for her because it hurts everyone.

On Annabel's side, you have a character arc that seems to be aimed at being honest with other people, not letting her fears stop her from making risky decisions, and not dealing with all the bullshit herself.

If what I just said leaves a bad taste in your mouth, that's normal. Because it's fucking unfair.

That Lenore should be the one to stand firm - not out of guilt, but out of responsibility - for her actions feels like shit after everything the poor girl has been through. The same thing happens on Annabel's side, that she has to give in to a situation where it makes so much sense for her to shut down, where it makes sense, even without her background, for her to behave that way.

But that sense of injustice is one of the foundations of tragedies. The feeling that, in her situation, it is practically impossible to think that anything different could be done is the basis of catharsis: the pity felt for the character, the fear generated by identifying with their terrible situation.

The expiation of these emotions, which are produced in the spectator by the fall of the tragic hero.

Now, it is interesting to ask how the fall of Annabel and Lenore will be. The simple answer from a tragic point of view is death, a thing we know has already happened once, why not a second time? After all, that's what awaits tragic heroes. Unless you're Medea.

It's impossible to know how the comic will develop, but it seems to me that this is as far as the tragedy goes. For the next part, I want to talk about gothic novels, female vampires, the female writers of the period, and the last gothic. Believe me, buddies, there is no more obsessive romantic bond than that between a Poe protagonist and their dead bride.

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.

PREACH!

Feels kinda nice to finally put a name on well

This

Hello Auto Brewery Syndrome

Yesterday I read the best jd fanfict EVER and I'm in love

[Chapter 106] Exer: Although I think it'd be best if you and my dad kept to yourselves, it'd be awkward if you kept in touch without the thearpy link....I gotta talk with his about this first, you know? this was really tough for him too.

[Chapter 111] Exer: He was glad to see you again too you know?

Jackson: Really?

Exer: Yeah, it sucks he's no longer your therapist but.... it's not like you'll never see him again? I mean, he is my dad. You can always come over and talk to him, if you'd like?

Jackson: Hmm...maybe? I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do.

Exer: we could give it a try.

[Chapter 118] Harry: But I kinda wonder if...you are mad at me.

Exer: Me? Why?

Harry: We never really talked after you found out Jackson was my patient. I feel I let you down.

_______________________________

Uhhhh yea I want more exer's pov. Like, what is he doing???

I theorized Jackson has BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) SO HARD I'll be damned if it's not canon

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

Chap17 notes:

•exer stopping just to glare at Pamela before following David and ron, this is like the glare he gave jack when he saw him talk to Brenda, he's threatening Pamela and unlike Jackson she got the message

•exer has all the cards on the palm of his hand, he first set up jack with the skirt accident then after it got solved and he found out the skirt was Pam's and after David suggested they go to the record store which he seems to know pamela works in so he purposely made jack hallucinate an angry pamela while keeping his eyes out of Jack's(and our) vision every time it happens then not making him hallucinate in the store once the real pam appears so jack believes she's not real and mess up

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

Chap16 notes:

°very impressed with how exer cover his tracks when he made Jackson hallucinate at the start of the chapter and later on. Also worried for what that means in the later seasons. Maybe keep that in mind too

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

Chap15 notes:

•this is probably where Jackson's people pleasing behavior really shine, he found it weird that Ron and David were already cool with him but he seems to be just going along with them being nice all of a sudden. he also repeatedly point the blame on himself.

•exer closing his eyes while using it on Jackson could be so Jackson doesn't see his green eyes

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

Chap14 notes:

•Jackson cutting exer off and giving him an angry look is a sign he knows that exer is on to ruin things for him, also that and the screaming feel like previous hints at what jack could be like when he's actually angry but here he's still holding it together unlike when exer told him the truth and Jack pieced things together

•the look up at exer glaring as jack explains after cutting him off and holding his glare afterwards, this is tied back to the previous note that exer is infact fully aware jack didn't do anything wrong but he still want to set him up as the bad guy, I also think exer is mad that Jackson can infact defend himself even when he's antagonized. Exer will keep glaring at jack until the end of the chapter

•Jackson forgiving the reds and even saying it was his fault anyway, this here was the first big sign on his people pleaser's behavior as nobody would forgive someone like this after being wronged

About the last chapter!

the dark meaning of the color Green is greed, possessiveness and envy

the dark meaning of the color White is coldness, isolation and emptiness

I feel like we should remember this since the negative symbols of the color green had already applied to Exer, the negative symbols of the color white seem to also be implied to apply to Jackson because of that dream

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

Chap11-13 notes:

°there are no notes here but i want to point out that unless exer's magic is going out of his control and he's hiding it really well, it seems like exer doesn't need to know where someone or something is to use his magic on them, I wouldn't be surprised if this changed later on because it does seem too overpowered but i think it's still worth keeping in mind just in case

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

Chap10 notes:

•exer smirk when they hear Jackson scream, clearly he's proud of himself for getting Jackson into that kind of situation- he looks a bit surprised at the skirt and then mad at jack when assuming it's Brenda's. he could be very much pretending though as we saw he has incredible abilities and control over his facial expressions though he stumbles a bit because of jack, remember he had time to collect his expression while David tied the skirt to Brenda, it helps there's some genuine anger for Brenda

•exer going as far as to stick his tongues out in annoyance while jack tells them he's only trying to return the skirt and David is blinded by pure anger? yea he probably knows what's going on and that Jackson did nothing wrong

°keep in mind that later on when jack explains himself and David and ron actually listen exer is again annoyed because he knows jack did nothing wrong but he still wants to sabotage him without care or regard to how much harm this causes to Jack's life

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

Chap9 notes:

•Jackson being able to pull himself together that quickly is really impressive we can see his mental health boosting itself in the matter of minutes and even David said that Jack looks better today than yesterday, which is true, he's not better but he looks like he's better- until exer comes along and scares him which causes his act to break and he looks bad again. I'd say that supports my claim from the past episode that exer is now more aware of Jack's mental health and is using it against him

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

Chap8 notes:

•notice how Jackson in these two episodes went from literally freezing in his place to being nervous and running away (fight or flight mode) to getting back home and being angry then sad when remembering his mom, he's having mood swings which are a very telling sign of BPD

•the fact exer literally put the wet floor sign in Jackson's room? he seems to have figured out that Jackson isn't in the best mental state and realized that putting the wet floor sign would trigger him. looks like a sign he have no problem ruining someone's mental health if he sees it as a means to an end- just like what he did with Pamela which makes me personally feel more like his whole redemption arc thing wasn't as with innocent intentions as it look like and he still lie alot in s3 which is a sign that exer is still manipulative regardless if his lies are harmful or not

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

Chap7 notes:

•exer being driven mad by Jackson is actually understandable, it's only been a few days and Jack already got the whole school to pay attention to him and ignore exer. which is yes unintentional but to anyone else this looks like Jackson is doing it internationally, this also shows just how good at manipulation Jackson really is- albeit he mostly doesn't even realize he's being manipulative

•exer being annoyed with David suggesting Jackson join them is probably caused by wary that letting Jack into the cool kids gang would help Jackson taking over exer's place as the popular most loved guy

•Jackson quite literally having the rag pulled from under his legs and freezing because of it reminds me in s3 when he froze after exer told him about David. it seems like Jackson have a very strong response to losing control suddenly like a deer in headlights, it also looks like this might be the first time this kind of thing happened to him which is the reason why he's confused by his own reaction

•by the end of the chapter exer seems to have just started catching on to Jackson's mental state through analyzing his reaction to the hallucinations

°keep the last note in mind when looking at how exer treats Jackson after they become friends and until the very last available ep of s3, as much as I doubt his actions as a master maniplutor- it's actually looks like an appropriate way to treat a patient of BPD IF my theory is right, if not then that's that

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

Chp6 notes:

•exer starting a conversation with Jackson with the questions game and Jackson looking a but uncomfortable telling exer, he knows what exer is doing and he refuses to play along by not asking questions back. Jackson switching back to his facade once someone approach him to get his number, bet he was thankful to the girl for cutting exer off

•exer being literally ignored by the girl asking Jackson for his number then David brushing him physically aside to talk to Jackson and even call him Mr perfection as Jackson denies it and exer gives him a 'really now?' look then we instantly get Jackson repeatedly shining- which ngl for a people pleaser he's showing off alot and without giving chances to anyone else and basking in compliment while claiming to not being that great but loving the attention

•the fact Jackson even get along with Brenda who's showing clear signs of having a crush on him? I'd say for someone who's showing signs of egocentric behavior as shocking as that sounds exer is actually being extremely patient with Jackson

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

Chp5 notes:

•i can tell Jackson's aunt is doing her best but it feels like she's not giving him space to talk out his thoughts and her insisting he's tired because it's only nerves pushes Jackson to push down his emotions

•David forgetting Jackson's name while both exer remembered Jackson's name and Jackson remembered David's and exer's names is a sign both have good memories and are using it to remember everything about everyone

•Jackson tries to be friendly to exer and keeping his good kid facade despite hinted at having nightmares because of him while exer looks annoyed at Jackson's attempt, could be that exer knows Jackson isn't really sincere and hates his fake behavior towards him, maniplutors love fooling others but hate it when someone tries to do the same. Also Jackson's look at exer when he gets a cold response to his friendliness, Jackson starts seeing that his friendly behavior isn't working on exer

•Jackson thinking about his tio&tia words while climbing up the ladder, seems like he's dead set on making them proud despite them saying they already are. maybe deep down Jackson feels like if he doesn't shine his adopted parents won't love him as much

•exer being absolutely p*ssed off that Jackson beat him is the first real sign of his egocentric behavior, everything before that seemed more like him liking himself and it wasn't really bad

•exer literally going as far as needing to be held back by David from how pissed he is and then calling Jackson pathetic compare his behavior to the previous chapters and you'd see these are signs of his mask breaking in half and his ugly side showing more publicly

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

Chp4 notes:

•exer continues proving himself as a master maniplutor. Jackson casually get everyone mesmerized with him from his first day, I can see that exer hatred for him is more than just a fight over his ex, it's hard for two maniplutors to be in the same room as it is they were set to crash with or without Brenda. top it off with David-the guy who's literally following after exer commands- taking a liking to Jackson, exer is losing control to Jackson and that's making his nice facade fall

•the way exer was able to tell that Jackson's aunt is Colombian and David saying that Jackson should get used to this because exer can basically read everyone's minds before Jackson looks wary and exer gives a very forced smile. yep Jackson already knows exer is a master maniplutor and exer knows that Jackson knows

•exer looking at Jackson to see what he thinks after Rick and Morty appear, then going to use his powers as the panel is close to Jackson's face, exer is experimenting to see if Jackson can actually see his magic

•it's very weird that Jackson think this whole mess is his doing, especially when it's not his doing but it's caused by exer BECAUSE of him seeing the magic

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

Chp3 notes:

•exer's reaction to Jackson at the start of the chapter shows just how good he is at manipulation and controlling his facial expressions to a massively strong extent it's actually pretty scary and it tells us the readers that unless we have his inner thoughts we won't know what he's thinking about for sure

•the way Jackson pulled himself out of the shock of what he saw proves he too got great control over his facial expressions and nerves

•exer look at David when he tells Jackson exer will walk him is giving off a vibe he's annoyed that David gives him commands, probably feel like his orders should be listened to and he shouldn't be the one given orders

•for someone like exer him leaving Jackson seems like a rebellious act against what David told him to do, at the same time he stopped and looked back at Jackson as a sign that while he is rebelling against David he's also letting Jackson get to his class as long as he follows behind exer

•exer giving Jackson a cold stare after talking to Brenda, that's actually another emotional manipulation tactic and an indirect warning, exer was trying to manipulate Jackson away from Brenda through scaring him with his vibe. Jackson's reaction to exer's manipulation is a sign that Jackson's own manipulation style is subconscious and without thinking unlike exer who knows what he's doing

•exer using his magic to splash water on Rick and Morty while Jackson's own eyes have green glow and mind you- I bet Jackson would've loved for this to happen like in the last ep where Jackson generally wanted Rick and Morty to pay only for exer to do exactly what he wanted but at the same time when exer used his magic to make it seem like Jackson spilled the principal coffee there was no green glow in Jackson's eyes

•exer appearing with Jackson's map which he mostly took and Jackson thinking it's a nice gesture before looking at exer's eyes and realizing it's really not as exer's eyes glow strong green

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

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

Chap1 notes:

•notice how cheery baby Jackson is and acting too understanding and good for a child so young like him but when his mom leaves his eyes start to tear up right away. he's repulsing his negative emotions to gain his mom's love and attention through being a good boy despite being seemingly left alone quite alot

•Jackson being formal with his adopted parents despite later on learning they have adopted him since he was a child sounds like a sign on previous negative things

•Jackson being frustrated by being called cute is a positive sign that he feels allowed to be frustrated. also notice how his (and maybe exer's) theme seem to be the sky and stars

•Jackson having eye bugs tells you he haven't been sleeping all that much and his comments about how ever since they moved he have been haunted by these nightmares about his mom tells that the whole town seem to be trigger for his trauma

•his words about himself being a sad little kid lost in the middle of nowhere is acknowledging he wasn't happy in his childhood, he will later on in s3 say the exact opposite and call himself a happy child with creative imagination

•his tio&tia seem to think they're doing the right thing but they're unaware that being here is hurting Jackson inside and Jackson himself seem to be hiding this from them

•'I just need to get out of my head' this sounds very innocent at first but once considering his repulsed behavior it sounds like a very subtle way to tell himself to pretend the negativity away

•the way Jackson looked at exer when he looked beside him and his expression tells that he might have sensed something strange in exer's behavior and the way he carrys himself to others but he decided to brush it away right after exer got out of his eye sight because knowing what's up with exer could very much make it harder for him to act

•Jackson stopping at his track before it looks like exer and David will handle it but staying to see how it will go before thinking that Rick and Morty need to pay for the way they're acting- Jackson had green on the close-up to his eyes panel before exer uses his own magic- it's not clear but personally talking I feel like they were thinking the exact same thing at that moment and it's why Jackson had green

•Jackson's reaction to the shoes but not the green is a sign he couldn't see the color of the magic then it's only when exer looks him in the eyes and holds his gaze that he shows sign of seeing it even more there's green in his eyes too- that could be a sign that they're both seeing right through each other's facades and that caused Jackson to see the green

I find it kind of ironic that the fandom mischaracterizes Dazai in the same ways that he tends to get viewed in the series itself. For some reason, he's either just an eccentric man with a penchant for suicide, nothing more than a silly little detective who happens to also be a murderer, who cares about his friends and is always considerate towards them. or he's a demon, an awful human being with hardly any redeemable qualities and does everything for some ulterior motive, uses everyone as a pawn and cares for no one (except maybe Oda), and will never ever change. I just feel like these extremes are literally how he's viewed by different characters in the series, and I find it interesting how often I see people take one side or the other, and one of the saddest parts about his character in the series itself is that so many people don't truly understand him, and I see it so much in the fandom itself.

Reading this Kel analysis hurts and this may be just me getting overly emotional at 3am but it made me realize how we need to talk about the probability of Kel being a glass child. See, you'd think by the name that it's a term that would describe someone as fragile, but it's quite the opposite. It refers to a sibling of someone who has special needs (usually someone with a disabiliy or someone incapable of taking care of themselves). The glass metaphor represents how the sibling is "transparent" in how their needs and emotions may be overlooked due to the attention and resources being focused on the sibling with greater challenges.

And while we all known about the favoritism from Kel's parents through hints in the game like Hero being refered as the most perfect, golden and charming mama's boy (and also through this post from the official OMORI GAME twitter account), it's still hard to see discussion about how Hero's depression may have exarcebated this habit Kel has of putting his own feelings and thoughts on the backburner as to keep things moving forward. Additionally, the "glass" metaphor from glass child can also signify that they may feel pressure in attracting less attention to themselves as possible to avoid adding stress to the family in difficult times. And guess who also expresses in game this fear of making things worse by interfering and showing a coping mechanism of staying distant since no one gave him guidance on how to deal with the situation?

Yeah. Some food for thought. Because that's the thing about Kel's grief, he had to deal with all of that alone. Of course, Aubrey may claim he made new friends in the past 4 years, but it's not something shown outfront like her connection to the hooligans, and you take just one look at Cris and Jay, the few examples of Kel's "new friendships" and you can easily see how they aren't nearly as close to having the connection Kel had with his old friends.

In fact, the first thing you LEARN about real world Kel before even opening the door to him is through a dialogue of Sunny's mom on the phone, where she mentions Kel's desperation to get Sunny out of the house and how he seems lonely. Statement that's later reinforced by Kel's father in his dialogue at the park in the evening of the last day in Faraway Town, his only frame of reference on how to deal with Mari's death was to keep on because that's what she would've wanted, right? Despite Kel being considered the "acceptance" stage of grief by many who play game, just taking a deeper look shows he's not completely over what happened, especially considering how the aftermath of Mari's death changed the type of relationship he had with his own brother and completely cut all of Kel's best friends from his life in a single hit. Notice how Hero is not aware of Aubrey's status as a bully, how her appearance has changed and how her relationship with Sunny, Basil and Kel changed. Or how Basil was being bullied and seemed to be isolating himself, and how out of all the real world protagonists, he's the only one in the group that doesn't acknowledge even once how Sunny hadn't left his house for 4 years, and how he only knows that Sunny's moving because his mom told him about it just before he found and rescued the gang at the lake, or even how Kel and Aubrey haven't had a civilized conversation in almost 4 years and Hero's first instinct is to brush it off as "another typical Aubrey and Kel fight" and urge them to make up already? At first you may think it's because he's been away at college and wouldn't be there to see it, so he logically wouldn't be aware of how bad things are. But Kel is so talkative, and these are people that both brothers always cared about, so wouldn't it make sense that Kel told Hero about these things? Even just mentioning how bitter Aubrey had become lately or how he misses Sunny! But there's none of that.

One time I saw this reddit post on r/OMORI that was something along the lines "What type of things do you guys think were said in Hero and Kel's fight?", and one particular commentor stated that they didn't see the need to elaborate on the topic, as all that's important is that what Kel said was the wrong thing to say in that situation and Hero lashed out in response. And I found myself puzzled because while I DO think it's important to consider how Hero's words may have affected Kel's behavior moving forward, that type of thought collaborates with how Kel's struggles are portrayed in the game. Something that's not the focus, that you only know it's there because you were paying attention. Something unimportant. And it saddens me a lot, because in a game all about the death of this one girl and how it impacted the ones left behind, one of the protagonists with most screentime does not show his grief even once. The only known about his dynamic with Mari being the single Headspace interaction where Mari indulges in Kel's playfulness. And that's it, all we get of them are these scraps. It makes me wonder if Kel allowed himself to properly acknowledge his grief, or if he just want through the motions because he thought it was unimportant, that he wasn't deserving of it. Forever stuck in the Helper's Pardox, afterall... To Mari, Basil was a dear friend, someone who's just as empathetic as her that she felt comfortable to borrow his camera and do flower crowns with.

To Mari, Aubrey was her sister in everything but blood, someone she would take care of and planned to even dye her hair with. To Mari, Hero was the love of her life, the one she knew had stolen her heart by pure charm and she could never think of it getting back.

To Mari, Sunny was her dearest little brother, someone she loved so deeply. But what was Kel to Mari besides her little brothers friend, or even, what was Kel to Mari besides being Hero's annoying little brother? But he's fine. He's just silly! That's all trust guys /j

uh oh sisters! I’m back with more Kel Angst… but more like a Kel Character Study.

I’m sure Kel appreciators are already familiar with my analysis of how Kel thinks people value Mari’s theoretical opinions more than his real ones. But since that was at the end of a longer post which was just a “List of Fun Kel Facts :)” I think I didn’t really get to touch on the fact of why this has come to be.

Someone in the tags of that post wrote that Hero does this too, that the two brothers were raised to be people-pleasers and naturally tend to ignore their own feelings. And I absolutely 100% agree with this!!! But consider now: Kel was the little troublemaker, and Hero was the responsible one. To some degree, I think you can also make an argument as to how Hero’s role as the responsible one allowed Kel to be the troublemaker, and vice versa; whether it was by their own will or not, Kel traded positive attention for more freedom, and Hero did the opposite.

Hero is the one to handle responsibility first, and he’s older, too—so it goes that, inherently, Hero has made the better suggestions of the two of them during their childhood, from hangout ideas to problem solving. Kel is the one that makes the silly suggestions, the one that’s a little less realistic, the one that’s still filled with childish fantasies of Captain Spaceboy and renegade stories.

Until he isn’t. Until he’s grown up a little, until he’s slapped in the face by a tragic death, by a despondent, unresponsive brother—by nobody else knowing what to do any better than him.

So he tries—

“Hey Aubrey! Do you want to come to my birthday party? I know we haven’t really talked, this past year, but—”

“Helloooo, Sunny? It’s time for school, and I heard we’re gonna play basketball during gym! You don’t have to play, I can just shoot hoops and you can watch! I’m getting real good at it, I swear—”

“Morning, Basil! Did you need any help doing gardening stuff? I just wanted to see if anyone was free to hang out, but—”

“Hey Hero. Are you… feeling a bit better today? I was just wondering… if you wanted to go get Gino’s with me. Because I’m hungry, and I think it’d be fun if we went together—”

—and he fails.

“—you want to hold a birthday party? Are you- Are you serious?! Tomorrow’s the day she- and you- I- Did she mean nothing to you?!” (He wanted to distract Aubrey from it. But of course she wouldn’t forget.)

“—oh, Kel, good morning! I’m sorry, but I don’t think Sunny can come see you right now… We’re thinking of homeschooling, but… I’m sure he’ll come out to see you one day.” (School was just an excuse to ask for Sunny. Now what is he supposed to do?)

“—ah, um- I’m- I’m okay! I have to… to, um, check on the m-more delicate plants today so, um— m-maybe not today… I-I’m sorry.” (If he were better at not being clumsy, would Basil still have turned him away?)

“—I’m not hungry, Kel… Not today. It’s late anyway.” (He’s never hungry when Kel asks.)

Kel tries to handle things on his own, and it fails. He is confronted with the fact that, on his own, his ideas really are as stupid as Aubrey used to call them, and as silly as Basil and Sunny used to say they were, and as unrealistic as Hero used to tell him.

And Mari…

“—Hi, Mari. Sorry I couldn’t make it last week. But, uh… I was just wondering… if you… if you could maybe… tell me this is all a bad joke…? Because- they all said you- you did it on purpose, but… but I don’t think you would have wanted this, right…?”

(“Well, Kel! You’ve just made a very convincing point. Now I don’t know who to believe!”)

…

The only person who believed in him, the only one who bothered to indulge his ideas even a little bit, is gone.

And yet, just like when they were younger, the one time things work is—

“Mari wouldn’t have wanted to see you like this, Hero…”

—when Mari steps in.

“…what?”

And again.

“I can’t just leave here knowing that this is the person you’ve become. I mean… What would Mari think?”

“Why do you keep bringing her up?”

Granted, the reactions are always a bit rough. But it’s what makes people react, it’s what gets things to change.

So… yeah. Kel’s opinions don’t matter. They’re not supposed to—they’re supposed to make people laugh, or deadpan, or call him stupid so that he can start bantering and bickering, because it’s familiar, because it’s normal. It makes things a bit difficult if he wants to be all serious, but as always, Mari is there for him when his mind comes up blank.

Until she isn’t. Until Sunny says something, and Basil corroborates it. Until every little success he’s been able to achieve with Mari’s help dissipates like the cheap discount foamer in Sally’s bubble baths. Until Kel isn’t sure what Mari would have wanted.

Until Kel is left with only himself. Mari would have wanted—

—he wants—

—everyone to be happy. Everyone to stick together this time. Everyone to help him figure out what the hell he’s feeling right now. Everyone to help him figure out how to stay together when all he wants is to run. Everyone to come back to the room so they can talk, before they split apart again. Again. Not again. Not again.

But how will he do it without Mari?

Imo this is good writing of a flawed older sibling trying not to repeat his father's mistakes but making new ones. We see that Robins value the solidarity between robins in the form of treating each other like equals and keeping each other informed. Because they all have a deep need for personal freedom and are all control freaks to some extent. Bruce's only action to show he cared or in their eyes to punish them for a "miss", was to take away their means to "fix that miss", leading to them freaking out over a loss of control.

It's giving a child the respect and autonomy they want vs doing what is necessary for them even if they can't see it. And the biggest problem with these two options is that neither involve the adult following the rules they set. Batman will not stay back from vigilantism for the injuries a Robin would be benched for and so any rules set are inherently seen as demeaning and proof of a lack of trust in the Robin.

Difference between Bruce and Dick as Batman.

So I know that there's a lot of temptation to compare Bruce as Batman to Dick or Damian, and Dick as Batman to Damian, often with a "oh well obviously Bruce was meaner/Dick was nicer", but I do think they have a neat contrast that fandom often overlooks (as well as some parallels).

Robin: Year One #3

Batmatn #408

Batman and Robin #6

Dick and Bruce both will deal with whatever current threat exists, before fully helping wounded Robin, getting a verbal "I'm fine" confirmation. They clearly do care about Robin. But they also have an obligation to protect people Bruce tries to physically stop joker. Jason's not fighting Dick, but he is trying to talk him down and talk him into getting help, like he did in Battle for the Cowl. The characters also generally avoid a wounded Robin -- it's just easier to see for Bruce, because Leslie calls Bruce out on it "you're leaving (to go deal with this?)" whereas no one questions Dick leaving Damian once he's got medical care and doing his own mission to revive zombie bruce. I imagine this is partially from guilt (we do see Bruce blaming himself for Dick's close call, and Dick framing Damian as his responsibility in Battle for the Cowl) and also possible due to the whole 'batman has a job, robin's physically OK now so time to help protect people' thing.

A strong difference is after the character's get injured and treated. Bruce becomes overprotective, and continues being emotionally distant, which understandably upsets Dick. He is so overprotective he benches Dick each time he is wounded seriously, and that creates friction between them.

Robin: Year One

Batman #408

Contrast this to Dick's general lack of protectiveness. Nothing changes when Damian gets wounded as Robin. Which works well (emotionally) for Damian and it works for the conventions of the genre.

Dick is generally not portrayed as very emotionally overprotective when Damian is injured, and when Damian is captured, he often expresses more verbal concern for the people who captured Damian than Damian himself.

Batman and Robin #9 - Damian, with a new metal spine, got thrown off a building by the zombie batman dick accidentally revived.

Batman and Robin #13

Detective comics annual #11

I should note: I think it would be uncharitable to assume that Dick expressing more verbal concern that Damian will hurt the supervillains who have him kidnapped means Dick doesn't care about Damian. We see in Batman and Robin some of Dick being worried when Damian is shot, and we see Dick telling Azrael they need to find a quicker way to get to Damian when Azrael is talking about how to find the guys who took him. And also, you know. I just don't think Dick would care more about the supervillains that Damian. But Damian is regarded as a tough kid, he'll be fine no matter what, and he represents a threat to other people (interestingly, something I've seen fans accuse... Bruce of doing to damian? Even though Bruce was much more protective and wasn't worried about Damian killing Nobody when Damian was going with Nobody, or Damian killing the Saturn Club guys when Damian let himself by kidnapped by the Saturn club guys to find civilians to rescue)

But I am analyzing here the actions he does and the words that he says, and what the writer dedicates panel time to. I think it's interesting that Bruce and Dick's similarities with regards to Robin getting injured involve emotionally removing themselves from the situation and focusing on cases, and then their differences are in the follow up. Dick often maintains a status quo, which is satisfying to the Robin character (he does not feel like he's being fired or judged) and fits with the conventions of the genre. Bruce often becomes overprotective to a degree where the Robin character feels estranged from him, and is excluded, resulting in alienation from robin and coming across as the "bad guy".

I find it very interesting that Dick avoids repeating mistakes of the past that Bruce made (becoming overprotective of Robin to an alienating degree and firing him) by doing things that would be read as callous or uncaring to the reader if he wasn't Dick, I guess.

P.S. I know some people say this is why they regard Morrison's Dick as OOC, but I didn't have any place to fit that acknowledgement in the above paragraphs, but I think it's important to note that this was not just Morrison's Dick. In general Dick as Batman era was way different than Nightwing Rebirth era Dick or even post 2011 Dick.

I thought Leo always chose to make sacrifices for his brothers and protect them? Sorry I am trying to understand the must I always suffer in your place line. Like didn’t he always choose to do that? He didn’t have to do anything for them. Then again I am a middle child so I guess I don’t get it.

In the 2003 iteration, Leonardo’s role as the eldest and leader is deeply tied to self-sacrifice. Throughout the series, it’s shown and even outright stated that he carries a heavier burden than his brothers. He’s held to a higher standard by both his master and himself, pushing him to train harder, expect more from himself, and make decisions that prioritize his family above all else. In the series, this responsibility is something he accepts willingly—he views it as his duty and his way of protecting his clan.

For the story, however, I wanted to explore what happens when that unwavering sense of duty is pushed too far. Being resurrected as a flesh-eating monster by his own brother becomes a breaking point for him. It’s not just the horror of what he’s become, but the deeper betrayal of his own values—sacrificing his humanity to save his brother.

The line “But now, it seems like for so much of our lives, I must suffer in your place” reflects that shift. It’s Leonardo recognizing how often he’s had to endure pain, not just for the sake of his family but in place of them. This moment of clarity is not about resenting his brothers but realizing the toll of always being the one to bear the burden, the consequences, or the suffering so they don’t have to. In this particular context, it cuts even deeper because his younger brother’s decision to resurrect him—despite knowing there would be consequences—was ultimately driven by not wanting to endure his own suffering.

I hope this helps clarify the meaning behind the line and the emotions it’s meant to convey! Thank you so much for the ask—it’s always wonderful to dive deeper into these moments!