#ada nevermore analysis

[ketterdamskaelishprince]

ada's spectre, and why i'll likely always feel sad about it

here is the promised analysis/talk about ada's spectre. going to preface this by saying i obviously don't know the true intent behind everything and her design, i just like to look, giggle and then make sad little observations which just help me love this silly webcomic even more. so if you disagree with me on something– totally ok! i love to learn and i love to see different interpretations.

there's also a few bits i missed out because i wrote this all last night in a bit of a haze, and i cannot be bothered to expand on some of my ideas, especially when it's just stuff like "BROS SO PARANOID AND RAW RIGHT NOW".

anyways, here we go :) @mugcereal this one's for u pookie <3

so i think with ada's spectre, we first need to look at the instance as to how she gets it, because that always makes things way more sad!

to specify, she turns into her spectre at episode 69, and i think it's really sad how she does it. she basically gets a string of roasts from prospero that go along the lines of calling her "conceited" "twadry" and "... and stupid!" – effectively throwing back in ada's face what she believes everyone thinks of her.

(obviously, as a very big and glaring sidenote, i believe prospero is aro/ace or just aromantic so OBVIOUSLY i am not bashing him for this. bros told her so many times that he doesn't want to be with her, let alone to be touched. that is a flaw in ada's character and is a reminder to us on the importance of boundaries!!!!)

so, ada is basically there, collapsed on the floor in a robe– effectively showing the most intimate and private part of herself as an insecure and lonely girl. and that's when she transforms.

i think it's interesting to understand how this most likely links to her life and how she died. so we know she was killed with an axe, most likely by the man she fell in love with and worked for, and how prospero's words in this situation, hurt her just the same as the words before her death. why?

because they remind ada of what she knows and fears she is: just a stupid, fake and cheap person who will never have the same status and respect as the people she pretends to be and surrounds herself by.

i think it's also interesting that she's clutching her stomach/torso here, and correct me if i'm wrong but that could be a potential signal to the part of her that was axed to death (?). no idea if that's a good shout or not but it's what i first thought!

anyways! now we move onto her spectre design!

first of all, her spectre design eats. like just a personal side note, i love it. it's just so gorgeous and i don't care if she's terrifying to some because to ME? to me, she's my gorgeous little pookie who can scream and show people their worst fears and she looks amazing whilst she does it <3

ok anyways, actual design.

to first understand her design, i thought i'd show you what banshee's traditionally in folklore look like!

typically, they are described in two ways. the first way is a youthful women with long black hair, blue eyes and just super pale. this description could also lose the blue eyes and just keep the black hair– either way the first depiction of a banshee is a super young woman.

this is not the one we're focussing on today folks!

we're going to focus on the second depiction. a hag/ old woman, with red cheeks, a grey cloak and a green dress, often seen to be combing her hair. banshee's throughout folklore are known to wail, scream and cry when a family member had died. to most, the banshee was a sign that death was coming to your household and they are known in myths and folklore as a predictor of death.

now, hold onto the green dress and look at ada's design real quick for me.

here we see a lot of green, which yay! definitely shows signs it comes from the second depiction. i think, on top of it being a nod to the second depiction, i think it could also be an allusion to something else: jealousy.

green symbolism in media can often vary, from meaning new life, luck and also jealousy. and i think if we take in the things ada screams whilst in her spectre form, such as this from episode 82:

you see there definitely is some sort of jealousy there, but this isn't something i necessarily want to focus on, it's just an observation i made that may or may not be true!

anyways, to continue, i want to look at ada's outfit when she's a banshee. i'm going to basically be making my notes i took last night look nicer.

(keep in mind that when i wrote these, my ideas were literally bouncing off my brain and sometimes they're a bit contradictory, but i think that's the beauty of my crack theory analysis!)

i think the act of almost showing her bones to the outside, there's a level of rawness to ada we don't usually see. her spectre form essentially gives her the power to scream out her anger, and by seeing her bones it's almost as if to say this is the ada she doesn't show people. this is the ada that she keeps to herself because god forbid anybody love her (because in life and death it's become abundantly apparent to her that nobody does seem to love that ada).

but then, what i thought was also a super cool thing as how the bones almost act like a corset!

then i got sad because i looked at the bows, and because something dawned on me and it made me start to frown. there was a sad realization to me as i looked at ada's spectre design that even in this all powerful form, she hasn't lost her insecurities, they just become more prevellant. because for all of the traditional wrinkles, hag-like appearance a banshee is meant to have, ada barely has any.

obviously this could be in part to character design and stuff, and yeah probably– but let me be sad!

because ada carries her frills and bows from life here because she doesn't want to be ugly, she doesn't want to be this creeping monster who rips apart people. because if she's not got her intelligence or status or anything going for her, she has her appearance and by god she's not going to let that go to waste. so here her spectre form is, a banshee.

so what must ada do? she must takes her frills and keep her insecurities, her fears and her crippling need to be loved.

another aspect which is super interesting is the stitching on her body. one one hand, it could be an allusion to her violent death, suggesting the man she fell in love with didn't just stop at axing her once, but just kept on fucking going (which, you know: fuck you, whoever you are).

but on the other hand, it could be a metaphor for ada's thinly veiled facade she puts on of being a prim and proper lady (which we actually, interestingly enough, see she looses a lot the more time she spends with montresor– opting to take parts of his language like "ain't" and "beggin'". this sort of leads on from previous ideas people have made of ada willing to change herself to be loved. she swaps civility for the wild wild west all for a bit of love).

ada offers up parts of herself in this metaphor. that's what she always does. she offers herself to the rich man she fell in love with, she offers herself up to prospero (again, look at the. side note. bro wasn't wrong for rejecting her he literally can't like her) and she offers herself up to the acolytes and she fucking barks for them (because i'm not over that).

piece by piece, she strips away everything she is until she literally is just skin and bone. and once she's torn herself apart, she needs to stitch herself back together– because it's against the facade she's put on to look so broken and messy. and so she repeats the cycle again, giving more and more until she is literally hanging on by a thread.

her powers are also super cool. traditionally, as i said, banshees wail when a family member is soon to die/has died, and is often like an omen/predictor of death. so yeah, ada having a banshee scream makes sense. but the whole 'fear itself' is also super cool. i kind of like that she has this– because its sort of satisfying for her, the girl who's been pushed over but still comes running back, to watch as people become paralysed with fear. idk, retribution or whatever.

i'm going to leave you with this not very profound thing i wrote last night (and then just some other mumblings):

i think that although spectres are super powerful and also just a very fantastic concept, they're also fragile. spectres are quite literally the monster inside of you. yet here ada's monster is, and with all her bows and revamped dress of a banshee (or potentially an allusion to her life as a maid) she tries desperately to be anything but that. because to here it's ugly and it's too much of her on display. and with some much of you on display comes the very fear that if you are hated, disliked or something repulsive, you no longer have anything to blame on anybody else. you just have yourself to blame.

(as morella says here in episode 88).

i'm not saying ada isn't deeply flawed, because she is. she has so much fucking baggage and insecurities that they literally forbid her from doing the right thing sometimes. i don't think she's a good person, but i also think that she has the opportunity to be a good person/ do a semi-good/ non-bad thing, and all she has to do is take it. but i also think it's nice how that's shown in her spectre design.

and, you know, if none of this makes sense, that's also fine!

anyways, yeah. somebody tell me never to make a random analysis at night again because it's a bit of a bitch to translate in the morning.

[loo011]

We're always talking about Annabel's crazy devotion but not half as much of Ada who is also helplessly devoted;

Ada was a maid who fell inlove with a man who couldn't care less for her and she knew it

And yet? She still fell inlove with this man; enough to fall for the first guy who resembles him even though she didn't have her memories

Even though he doesn't like her at all; not even in a sexual way like Thomas did

And when she does get some of her memories back?

She all too easily fall for Montresor who -unlike Prospero- acts so much like Thomas did

Shot out to @lovelyn06 post

So Ada is still inlove with Thomas

The man who killed her (and maybe her unborn baby if she was actually pregnant like another theory -which I don't know where the source of is- suggested)

The man who mercilessly cut her to pieces like Lovelyn06 came to the conclusion of

And she died deep down hopelessly praying he'd come back for her

After everything she still wanted that scum of a man to come back for her. Despite what he's done to her; despite him cutting her to pieces and taking her life

She still wanted him then; and she still wants him now

It's dumb and awfully so very tragic

Ada isn't just helplessly devoted like Annabel; she might just be more devoted than her!

And isn't it ironic that she doesn't have any idea that her queen is not too different from her?

Both of them are so inlove with the very same people who ended up killing them

Hell, perhaps that's the reason on why Annabel both belittled and saved Ada in the chapters 71 and 113; Because she understands what Ada feels all too well

In conclusion: Ada is more devoted than Annabel to a shitty man who brutally killed her and would never give a fuck about her and it makes me feel almost like crying

[dontevenpmodarlin]

Ada’s idea of love is tied to power, validation and stability, rather than real genuine connections. And with that I don’t mean that she cannot love normally or anything, but that her idea of love is heavily influenced by rather specific experiences she has had in life before she even meet Thomas

She fixates on powerful men bcus they represent an ideal of power, strength, control or/and protection.

Her constant shifting in personality- as in acting posh to fit in with lee’s and around Prospero- and then more chill when in Montrio may suggest she doesn’t have a strong sense of self (Ik it’s Will’s thing but she kinda gives that vibe)

We know her self esteem is at an all times low with how she speaks of herself when rejected by Prospero. We already knew that her pretending to be all posh and better than others was one of those simple and hardly rare in life methods for her to feel better about herself, to fit in, and try to push the image of who’d she’d like to be seen as onto others.

Whatever grants validation, kinda.

At core, what Ada wants the most is truly just what anyone in life wants, love, understanding, and validation. Whatever has had happened in her life must’ve make her believe that she doesn’t deserve any of it, we saw how when she broke down she called herself stupid and ugly but in that sad way of asking “why?”

None of these things make her stupid or silly.

She’s build her entire identity around being desirable. Accepting that her approach to love isn’t right would destroy her.

Her manifesting was caused by Prospero’s harsh rejection in which ‘I could never love someone like you’ is what shatters her fully.

And when it switches to Tommy flashback, and we see her being betrayed, she asks why, and he answers that it’s because she gave him no choice, putting all the blame onto her. And in the latest flashbacks we see what kind of self centered and egoistical twat he is.

What she screams in her banshee form is “Do you think I’m stupid?” Which are her self doubts and projections.

The interesting thing is that a part of her abilities is ‘Fear itself’ which we see in how she uses it against Prospero and Annabel and later on Monty, where she makes them see their worst fears. The fact that she possesses such an ability is genius. Throwing people in a trance where they spiral paranoid into their worst fears?

And what breaks her out of it? Annabel uses her fear against her to instead force Ada into her self loathing circle, forcing her to leave Annabel alone and out of her fears. She forced Ada into her fears. Because when Ada falls into them they’re like a trance.

“A wounded little girl, throwing a fit, because she didn’t get what she wanted.”

She’s putting the blame on her (I’m not saying she isn’t to blame, but this is said harshly in ways to trivialize Ada’s feelings, reducing her emotions to something meaningless, twisting the blame onto her and making her question her reality. Smart of Annie to say, but very hurtful.)

“And I pity you, Ada.”

Which no one wants to be, that’s opposite of respect.

“No one will take you seriously again.”

Whilst Annabel has a right to these words (we ain’t hating on her, she’s smart, kinda stupid as well in her own beliefs, cruel but smart)

“Unless you cease this hideous display at once.”

Giving her an ultimatum, calling what she truly is (their forms do lowkey reflect on who they r after all) hideous.

What it took to break Ada out from her spectre? What does she fear the most after not being lovable? Stuff that prevent her from being loved ofc. That her feelings are invalid, she’s just throwing a fit, she’s hideous and ugly and no one will ever respect her or take her seriously.

“H-hideous” Moss babe says, looking at her hand.

She has built a fragile illusion around herself that keeps her from falling apart. The stuff that let her feel on the surface that’s she’s beautiful, desirable and worthy of love are dependent on outside forces: such as men🙄 (lmao, bbg let me treat you better on the wlw side-🧑🏻‍🦰) ((Morella stfu)) and since it’s dependent on other people, which are moving and changing forces, it’s fragile.

Y’all shocked she gets with Montresor when they both depend on people on the outside for self validation. If she and William were to make out aggressively when Monty dies in episode 184, y’all still would be shocked.

Anyway, self doubt starts to creep, and what she always feared- that’s she’s hideous, unworthy of love, unlovable over all- that all men who used her, treated her like nothing, were right. As Thomas said, she gave him no choice.

She breaks down apologizing and crying and telling everyone she didn’t mean it and promising that she’s a real lady, a proper lady- since that is what makes her worthy and lovable in her head.

It’s no wonder that she rejects Morella when she tries to help her. She’s self loathing rn, accepting that someone may care about her just for how he is, and even in this state, is unacceptable to her, because she herself cannot love herself in this state. So others must be simply lying.

She lashes out because she can’t bear to let anyone see her like this, raw and exposed. The shame, the fear, and the realization that maybe she’s been fooling herself all along, it’s too much. So she pushes everyone away before they can confirm what she dreads the most

Beautiful thing here is the rhythm of her words, her hitting herself, and Montresor taking steps down the stairs all fitting into one scene that is delightful to imagine. The visual aspect of her hitting herself and the devil nearing, his steps closing in with every self hating comment she makes, and with her guard being lowered down to hopelessness, is mastery in writing and drawing so props for that besties.

Ada at core has beliefs of being stupid, mean and ugly.

Stupid as in not posh-manipulating-lying smart and fitting in I’d guess. Idk what she sees as smart.

Mean, as in rejecting Morella, or being mean to people to impress others even tho she knows it’s wrong - cut to the “Pissing all by thy self, handsome?” Scene-

BRAND NEW NEWS, ADA IS NOT STUPID CONFIRMED THREE YEARS AGO.

Be a darling and try to focus on how Ada is self aware, knows why she acted the way she did, but even if she knew that it was wrong of her when she did it, she had no self control then. She needs someone, she needs to matter the most to anyone in any way.

No shock she doesn’t react well to

“Nothing you say will make you good enough.” -Prospero.

She feels silly, she apologizes, she explains how she felt and apologizes fr for being cruel for ‘no reason’ Girl woke up in a life death game and found out her roomie has a crazy goth bestie that is willing to cause drama and public embarrassment to make sure Ada’s roomie is ok. Duh girl felt vulnerable n left out.

So when Monty appears with “I think you’re pretty.” It’s no shock she says “That’s not funny.”

But then he pulls his face card and a serious voice seeing honest asf telling her that he wasn’t trying to be funny.

He, opposite to Morella, finds her when she’s not in anger any more but in hopelessness and in pieces. He feeds her delusions rather than simply offering what Morella wanted to give. Since Ada can’t allow herself to be loved unconditionally (even if that’s what she wishes the most, girlie doesn’t realize she puts conditions in her head herself on when and in what form she’d be allowed to be loved in such way, making it impossible for others to love her in that way) She would rather accept someone loving her like this.

And how does a Montresor ‘love’ her? Surprise of the day is that the things he says to her don’t even necessarily have to be lies in any sort of way. He is a meddling guy, people that are the most dangerous in life, (very much the same way the most dangerous beliefs we can have) are the ones who mix truth with lies in order to shift perception of the reality.

He can appreciate stuff about her, the lacing she gave Prospero and him being fortunate to be above the snakes.

Him telling her that it was beautiful, and that she’s beautiful doesn’t have to be a lie in any way. He doesn’t need to think of her ugly, he just needs to see what she wants to be seen as the most, and no matter if he thinks that she’s hot for nearly killing the prettiest boy in school, he is going to let her know that, because that lets him manipulate her.

Y’all shocked and thinking she’s silly for falling into this, or stupid. Well, good morning to you too, imagine your worst fears being let out under from all the illusions you keep daily, and some hot blond guy comes and tells you say your lowest that hey babe we can totally keep those illusions up, I’ll lie whenever dw abt that you won’t even know, you’ll feel worthy and will be able to avoid all your GREATEST fears (pls remember that everyone now days avoid what they fear the most, and that in mf 1930’s you wouldn’t hold up anyone to a standard of facing their worst fears cuz it’s ‘healthy’ for em) and also feel all the things you want to feel the most.

He offers her a quick escape of her own hell, back into the world that she has built and wants to live in. He is the boulder her self worth is propped on, he knows how this works because he himself most probably has lived through such things when young, and sees it as the way of being. You’re either strong and decide or weak and serve others. He needs a cute squad to survive this game, so he needs a hello kitty pants girl to his cat boi if he wants to be the true alpha daddy.

Episode 113 I cite

“I did something stupid…. I’m stupid~.” - Ada dying.

“My hero! I knew you’d come back for me. You make me so happy… Honey.”

“O-oh sorry I got mixed up. I remember now. You said No. I’m not… good enough… for you.”

This either proves that it doesn’t specifically matter in her head who is it that loves her, but that there’s a figure that does, and she just mixes it up as in thinking that Prospero is taking up the role of being that. Or she thought it was Yeehaw. Or god knows, maybe Twatmas.

Anyway she needs someone to fulfill that role for her to feel stable and to be able to act, the way everyone in life needs some sort of stability, but most of the thing- well I’m optimistic- we find it in ourselves, not in the outer world on which we have oh so little power over, compared to the amount of control we can manage to maintain without ourselves.

What emotion was it that triggered her flashbacks whilst doin’ rodeo on the stag? I’d guess holding on, the way she tried to hold onto Thomas, emotionally or physically- whatever.

Anyway what I wanted to say with all of this, is that Ada is not stupid, silly, or anything. It’s normal to see her actions and facepalm because we feel the sting of ‘oh no darling, this isn’t the way’ cuz we all hate going in circles and we know how annoying it is to realize you’re in one, and seeing other ppl or characters be in such can either throw you into a fit of empathy or annoyance, depending on how you feel about yourself when you notice yourself living in such ways and experiencing such things.

Her behavior may be driven by unresolved childhood trauma or repression.

Her ID aka primal desires crave love, security, and validation. She throws herself at powerful divas cuz they represent control and protection.

Her super ego aka moral conscience shaped by social expectations, tells her that she must be desirable an perfect to be loved “a proper lady” she suppresses any feelings of insecurity by kinda forcing herself to believe in her beauty and worth ig?

Her ego aka the balancing force, struggles to reconcile these forces, so she builds a false self, a persona, to attract love and hide her deepest fears. Which as usually in life just brings her closer to her fears and makes everyone see who she is.

Because unlike Montresor who is good at lying, Ada isn’t. She is closer to finding who she is because of that, whilst he is closer to doom.

By Freud (don’t grill me) he’d call this repetition trauma I think, repetition compulsion.

She keeps pursuing Divas who reject or use her, she’s unconsciously recreating past traumas hoping to “fix” them, perhaps?

She uses denial & defense mechanism. She uses denial to avoid confrontation with her self hatred. Her reaction to rejection is to outwardly act confident to suppress the deep belief that she’s hideous. Aka Reaction formation (“Reaction Formation happens when an individual exhibits behaviors opposite to their actual feelings” - google)

Her outbursts with “STOPP lookin at me Jason! 🥺” are projections, she pushes people away because she believes that they see her the way she secretly sees herself.

Also why she pushed Morella away, right after Annabel told her that she pitied her?. Maybe in her mind that’s what Morella did, pitied her. After all she accuses her of lying.

Ada doesn’t love those all random guys perhaps, but the idea of them and what they provide for her, which Ik ive said like three times alr but protection, power, security and validation. She chases an ideal, not a real connection.

She projects her desire for love onto men mistaking their coldness for strength and indifference for being mysterious.

She needs to reach a point where she will be forced to face herself, and idk when that will happen, maybe soon since she is dissolving into atoms. Anyway Lenada when?

[muzetrigger]

In celebration of Nevermore S2, I feel the need to explain why I’m hoping for more Ada page time/development and why she’s my absolute favorite character, despite the series being absolutely stuffed with quality.

Oh and also why MorellAda is peak. I WILL TAKE NO ARGUMENTS ON THIS POINT.

So yeah, MAJOR SPOILERS Y’ALL

Okay, so when we’re first introduced Ada, she’s a minor antagonist, not just in the sense that she’s not the main villain, but that literally, she’s just kind of an annoyance to both Lenore and Prospero. That being said, shortly after the Labyrinth arc, we see her genuinely impressed with Lenore and trying to make amends.

Now at that point, there’s no real reason for us to believe that Ada is telling the truth. Yeah, she seems like she’s being genuine, but so far, we also know that she’s been playing some social games to get ahead.

That’s where we get this first piece of insight into her character (not actually the first piece but whatever):

Ada chooses caviar as her last meal, despite not liking it, or ever having had it before. She is the only student who doesn’t enjoy her final meal, and that tells us that one, Ada doesn’t know what’s good for her; two, that she probably comes from a lower class background that never would have had access to caviar; and three, that she aspires to that upper class position. She is exactly what Morella would call a “phony” but while her phoniness impacts her social behavior in the ways that Morella criticizes, she’s also lying to herself without even realizing it.

Okay, but that’s a bit of subtle character development, so Red and Flynn hit us with this:

(In case you didn’t hate Montressor already)

This moment is so critical to understanding Ada because it shows that she has absolutely no limits when it comes to proving her worth to other people. Why? Because Ada has no sense of self-worth. She is completely dependent on other people’s thoughts to feel adequate. That’s why she clings so hard to Prospero and Annabel Lee, which makes this preceding exchange even more brutal.

Ada reaches out to Annabel for support, and Annabel ignores her.

Annabel BETRAYS her, and this is going to become something of a running theme for Ada.

Now, of course, Annabel has problems, but this is COLD.

So cold even Prospero is surprised, and this sets up why Ada crumbles so easily, because the one person she thought was her friend at this school, literally her roommate (and we know what happens when you’re not on good terms with your roommate), the person who gave her (fake) love advice, just left her out in the rain.

No one is on her side, not Annabel who’s ignoring her, not Prospero (who is rightly) annoyed with her clinginess, not Will who is supporting Montresor, and certainly not Montresor who is verbally abusing her.

The only person by Ada’s side is Morella, partly because she’s being targeted too, but also because Morella is trying to protect Ada.

(Look at that hug. That is a small puppy trying to cheer up her depressed friend.)

Chapter 39-40 firmly cemented Ada as my favorite character because we get a deconstruction of this preppy, pompous, phony personality into someone with crippling self-worth issues, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I relate HARD to those feelings of inadequacy and needing external validation. Will might be the doppelgänger, but Ada is the one with Imposter Syndrome.

Anyway, now we’re going to have to skip a few chapters, because while the haunted house arc is great, it doesn’t really do much with Ada’s character. We do learn that Ada was almost definitely a servant in her past life because she’s able to navigate the house’s secret passages, and we learn that yes, she’s a romantic who clearly doesn’t understand TPO (time, place, and occasion).

Those details are important to understanding Ada, because they help contextualize why her confidence is so abysmal (servants aren’t to be seen or heard) and why she clings so strongly to ideas of ladyhood and romance (the women she served would certainly have appeared to be more comfortable than her, though I’m sure Lenore and Annabel would disagree).

We also get this feast for the MorellAda shippers:

At this point, it’s implied that Morella has stonewalled dozens of students into Prospero’s death trap, but she makes one exception that she will not stand for, and it’s Ada.

At first, I thought this was a little weird, because why wouldn’t Morella protect Lenore? I mean, she’s the protagonist and clearly treats Morella better, but looking back, it’s telling that Ada is the one who Morella chooses.

Morella’s whole deal is that she wants to protect people, and Lenore isn’t vulnerable, Ada is.

Red and Flynn do a lot of excellent foil work in Nevermore, most prominently with Lenore and Annabel, but the contrast between Ada’s dependence on what other people think of her and Morella’s dependence on what she can do for other people is just another reason why I think MorellAda is so good.

But the real interesting events happen post-house.

Prospero has had it.

Now, was Ada being clingy? Yes.

Was she being totally oblivious to all of Prospero’s signals? Yes.

Did she deserve to be told directly that Prospero was just not that into her? Hell. Yes.

But did she deserve THAT much of a verbal beat down? Probably not, especially keeping in mind that Annabel told her this:

So now that I’ve thrown Annabel under the bus for her hand in this disaster, I want to look at one line from Prospero in particular:

“Nothing you say will make you good enough.”

It’s not the final line of Prospero’s diatribe, but it’s definitely the one that hits the hardest for Ada. She is trying SO hard to play the part of a lady in order to be loved, and she is being told that at a fundamental level, she is inadequate.

And she takes that about as well as someone who’s had this happen to them could:

A hatchet to the stomach’s going to ruin anyone’s day, but we can reasonably infer that the person who axe’d Ada was probably the young master she was serving and was having an affair with, and that he aimed for her stomach to abort any kind of child she might have carried.

Again, we see this theme of betrayal and rejection. Ada might not have been able to be a lady, but in an affair, she might been able to pretend that she genuinely had her master’s affection, even though she was just there at his convenience.

This was foreshadowed all the way back with Ada’s first confrontation with Montressor and it’s a great example of how thoroughly planned Red and Flynn’s writing is (Annabel Lee’s panic attack at Lenore’s death in the Labyrinth and the House Fire is another amazing example).

But, it’s also super traumatic which means we finally get Ada’s Spectre!

First, let me gush about how AMAZING this design is. Just aesthetically, it’s great. But it’s also amazing because of how it showcases so much of Ada’s identity. If you look at the spectre’s skirt, you’ll notice it has two distinct parts, a larger back that mimics a lady’s hoop skirt, and a pleated miniskirt, which wouldn’t be out of place in a skimpy maid costume. In her spectre form, we can clearly see Ada attempting to match a lady’s silhouette but upon closer inspection, we can also see the part of Ada that might have sparked her fatal affair, this symbol of risqué servantile behavior.

It’s also worth mentioning what ISN’T in the Banshee’s design, her abdomen. Obviously, this might be a reference to the fact that she was killed by a hatchet to the gut, but if we get dark with it (and it’s Nevermore, we can’t not get dark with it), what men traditionally (and unfortunately still do if the 2024 US elections are anything to go by…) value in a woman, her reproductive ability, is absent.

Ada, who places so much importance on what others think of her, is literally is worthless to them. (I want to clarify, I DON’T personally believe that, but from a 19th-20th century male perspective, that tracks.)

We could also read her abdomen’s absence as another attempt for Ada to play into feminine expectations. Because she’s missing her stomach, she has a tight hourglass figure. I don’t personally believe Ada has an eating disorder, but as the last dinner scene clearly indicates, she has a complicated relationship with food and what stigmas are attached to specific cuisines, and unfortunately many people do metaphorically throw away their stomachs to pursue beauty goals like Ada’s spectre does literally.

Stepping away from design, I also love how Ada acts immediately after getting the slightest bit of power.

She is PETTY.

She taunts Prospero (and let’s face it, you cheered. Don’t lie to me!), which I find so interesting because suddenly, Ada is the one giving opinions.

Ada is finally allowed to express herself.

Here, she takes it out on Annabel, which makes total sense. Annabel abandoned her and is the embodiment of what Ada craves outwardly. But Ada also recognizes that she herself is a servant who was forced to serve people like Annabel and denied their comforts because of her status. If Ada hadn’t been a maid, if maybe she had been a noble or a “true lady”, maybe should would have been allowed a romance or allowed to keep her child or at least allowed to live.

The Banshee is such a perfect moment, because until this scene, Ada has bottled up her insecurities and played the part of a loyal lackey and been this “phony”. As a servant, her entire livelihood would have revolved around keeping up appearances (or disappearances) around her masters, but as a ghost, Ada is more genuine than she has ever been.

And that’s so wonderfully displayed by how Annabel defuses the situation:

To the very end, we see Ada being vulnerable. Annabel takes advantage of her insecurities, and as the Banshee, Ada doesn’t try to hide the fact that it devastates her.

If the Montressor moment didn’t guarantee a place in my heart for Ada, Episode 71 definitely did. I’m not going to argue that characters in Nevermore haven’t experienced worse, but I will argue that no character in season one ever gets close to how pathetic and distraught Ada is here.

And what’s so heart-wrenching about this for me is that Ada is aware of how pathetic she is. She knows she’s been acting like an idiot and throwing a tantrum like a child, which is a surprising amount of insight and maturity for someone we have been led to believe is quite frankly an idiot. And yeah, I relate to those feelings of self-loathing and not knowing what to do or even where to start triaging a disaster I made myself.

Now, Montressor takes advantage of this like the abuser he is by swooping in and wooing Ada, but before that, I’m going to rewind like the shipper I am to replay this:

Again, we see Morella trying to help Ada! And obviously, that’s not what Ada needs at that moment, but it’s worth keeping in mind that out of everyone in the lecture hall then, Morella is the first and really only one to reach out to Ada. (Montressor is a manipulator. He doesn’t count.)

Last time skip, I promise!

The end of the Wall arc doesn’t quite reach the highs (or is it lows?) of Ada’s character development, but I’m so excited for what it sets up in season two.

So, Lenore and the gang find where Montressor has Cask of Amantillado’d Duke and they dig their favorite French man out while beating the shit out of our cowboy(?). There’s a ton of great moments (hell yeah, Pluto! Get him!) but the battle really swings in the misfits’ favor when Duke hypnotizes Ada to traumatize Montresor.

One, this is just an amazing display of Duke’s spectre, two, it shows that Montressor has reasons (maybe not great reasons but at least they’re reasons) for being such an asshole, and three, it shows us that mental spectre powers are straight up busted.

We already knew from Prospero that Ada’s fear factor could trap a person inside a vision of their own trauma so realistic they can feel the physical effects of it, but she can also send a man with a broken Fibula into a full blown frenzy, AND Duke’s hypnosis is something even he can’t dispel.

(Does this look like the face of a man who has things under control?)

It also sets up this exchange:

Morella is able to break through Duke’s hypnosis, and she does it without attacking Ada’s insecurities like Annabel did. Now, I’m a hopeless MorellAda shipper, so of course I reading into this, but even then, it showcases how important Morella is to Ada. After all, Morella is basically the only person who has stuck by Ada’s side this whole time.

…At least until this happens:

Morella has had enough of Ada’s excuses, and just like Prospero basically tells her to shove off.

But the painfully ironic part about this is, Ada is telling the truth. This ONE time, it really isn’t her fault. It’s Duke’s.

But Morella won’t let her get a word in and I love how Flynn drew Ada’s face. It’s a different kind of fear than when Ada was groveling in front of Montresor or reeling from Prospero’s rejection. Here, she isn’t afraid of being abandoned by Morella; she’s afraid of losing Morella.

I know that difference might sound REALLY contrived to some people, but in this case, Ada has a way to keep Morella in her life that doesn’t involve debasing herself and believes that Morella will listen to her. For the first time ever, Ada thinks she has a little control over the situation together with a friend, not an enemy. They can talk things out, and that really shows how close her connection with Morella is and how that connection can be the catalyst for Ada to start developing some self-respect.

Except Morella totally shuts her down.

Of course, I’m disappointed that there’s this “divorce arc” but it makes sense in context and it’s healthier for Morella to make a clean break from the posh crew (even though Ada clearly needs her wife more than ever, like come on, don’t leave her in Monstresor’s clutches!)

Speaking of which, I’m much more disappointed with how Ada immediately crawls back to Montresor and Annabel after being chastised. If there’s one thing I have on my season two checklist, it’s Ada learning to have some confidence in herself (and maybe tossing Montresor to the Hunt).

And I really want an apology from Morella and Duke to Ada. Now THAT’S delusional, and I might be the only one who thinks Ada deserves those apologies, because let’s face it, Ada is a wreck, but it would be nice, especially if she gives out the several dozen apologies she owes the misfit crew too, so that she can hang with them and spend more time with her wife Morella.

Anyway, yeah.

I really like Nevermore.

And I really like Ada. I think she’s severely underrated.

Of course I love Lenore and Annabel, and Morella is a precious and badass cinnamon roll, and Duke is so SO cool, and Pluto is cute as hell, and Eulalie is basically manga-Orihime (which is amazing), but there’s something so HUMAN about Ada.

I empathize with her in ways that I just can’t with the rest of the cast because… they’re just too awesome. I have difficulty believing Lenore or Annabel will ever feel something as fundamentally devastating as Ada has. At their core, they’re just stronger people. Ada is someone who needs more support and it’s nice to see those weaker characters treated with the same amount of care as a protagonist who we typically see stumble a lot but ultimately succeed. With side characters, there’s a genuine chance that they fail permanently and that adds so much to Ada’s stakes.

And honestly? I’ll say it. I think a lot of the students had alright lives or even good lives, they just happened to be cut short traumatically. Exceptions for Lenore (obviously) and Pluto (baby, you deserved so much better than your deadbeat dad), possibly Eulalie for having to live through WWII, but you’re not going to tell me that Montresor didn’t have a good run being awful, Duke didn’t have a successful performance career, and Prospero wasn’t a wealthy bastard. But who knows? We haven’t delved too much into the others’ backstories, so I could be very wrong.

Anyway, I guess this was just a very long-winded way of me saying I love Ada because I’m a total girl-failure and also I’m super excited for season two.

[banana-can-do-art]

(Spoilers for recent Nevermore update) I’m really sad that Ada died (or double died I guess, or technically it could still be fakeout and she might be good as the people in my comments have reminded me) before we got to really explore her as a foil to Will. Like I want to see her scream at him at the top of her lungs and hit him over the head with a chair for what he said in the nurse’s office scene and then I want them to become besties. Because even though they absolutely hate each other, Ada and Will have so much in common. Hence why they’re all over Monty. First off, Ada and Will are both absolute kiss ups. That’s shown pretty obviously by their behavior. However, they differ in the fact that Ada is kiss ups for her own gain. She mooches off of whoever has the most power in the room and then she ditches them when they’ve served their use to her. However, the whole ordeal also requires her to sacrifice her dignity. This is why she is able to dump Monty. However, Will on the other hand is not a kiss ups for manipulative purposes, he doesn’t kiss up to multiple people either, he has one specific person that he obsesses over and does the bidding of, that person of course being Monty. He doesn’t do it for his own gain, he does it because he forms a codependent bond with someone who has power over him. However, both Ada and Will do this for similar reasons, that most likely being their trauma. We have a lot more to go off of as far as Ada’s backstory. Ada was a maid and she was taken advantage of by the people she served. Being needed made her feel special even though at the end of the day she was disposable. It is implied that his death was via some kind of betrayal. This is why she is a mooch and constantly trying to make her self useful to whoever the current object of her affection is. Will’s traumatic backstory is a bit more tricky because as of right now we pretty much know nothing. However, it is a clear theme within the story that even if the characters can’t remember what happened to them in life, they still carry the emotional weight of their trauma and it effects how they interact with others in death. There is no way that when we find out whatever Will’s backstory is that it won’t have anything to do with him being codependent with someone and being taken advantage of just like Ada. The way that Will behaves in the story absolutely implies this with his nervousness and undying loyalty to Monty who is a person who does nothing but hurt him. Also I wouldn’t be surprised if his queer identity comes into play here as well. Homophobia is a theme explored with the main girlies, Annabelle and Lenore, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they use Will’s backstory to parallel their’s as well. Especially since we know that Will hates women because he as a man is expected to like them and he doesn’t understand why he doesn’t. Which is played as a joke but it is clear that he has crafted some elaborate narrative in his head about why women are evil rather than just except the fact that he isn’t attracted to them because he doesn’t want to come to terms with the fact that he’s gay. (Self hating gay misogynist man, so Ada will never put him in his place :(). Actually though, this does make me wonder if he had some sort of unresolved jealousy about a girl that took whoever he was having a codependent gay pining friendship with from him and he’s projecting his feeling about that girl onto Ada without even realizing it. Either way, these two are both extremely codependent due to trauma and have been taken advantage of and used by Monty and they totally could have learned to bond over it and now they never will and I’m mad about it!

[whitlxcke]

nevermore art analysis

just a disclaimer that this is all speculation and may be a stretch!!

regarding the character angles, morella is turned away from annabel because she has excluded herself out of annabels group. eulalie isnt angled in between berenice and pluto as they both favour eulalie. duke is angled towards lenore because hes her right hand man while still having his arm interlocked with plutos to show their friendship.

ada is turned away from lenore because shes been forbid from befriending her while turned towards monty, who is turned away from ada. montys turned away from ada because he doesnt actually love her the way she loves him. rather, hes turned towards will and will's turned towards monty because, of course, the two are close though having a complicated relationship. as for prospero, he isnt angled at all unlike morella which may be because he takes a neutral stance on annabel/has only just begun forming a friendship with her.

of course the main pair are reaching for eachother and are also the only ones awake. ive gathered that this may be because annabel and lenore are the only ones aware that nevermore may potentially be a dream , as one of the 1st things annabel tells lenore is that theyre dreaming. the others are oblivious to this theory which is why theyre asleep.

okay im done yapping

[nevermorgue]

Nevermore Character Song Matchup #1

"It Should've Been Me" R.I.P ft. SOLARIA for Ada Spoilers for Ada's lore and in general Nevermore plot points. I'm going to go through the lyrics and talk about how they relate to her!

Not too loud Not too quiet Don’t be proud

Don’t be shy It’s rude to stare Oh, do I dare?

(Ada wants to be seen a certain way. More elegant and refined than she is, to the point where she wants to hang around certain people to look better herself. She doesn't seem entirely self aware, given her history with Prospero + her nature to be a bit overbearing, but she knows that she wants to be perceived as a lady, and that she needs to look and act a certain way to achieve this.)

Keep it bold Don’t be timid Not too slow

Make it quick It’s so unfair I’m almost there (Leaning into more headcanon territory here. Perhaps she has felt the need to stick out, needing to be over the top and the center of attention to avoid being sidelined. She is desperate to be seen the way she believes Annabel Lee is, and was probably bitter in life that she was stuck as a housemaid rather than being waited on. "I'm almost there" could also refer to her affair in life. She was so close to getting her happy ending the life she knew she was made for.)

Lost in a fantasy My very own pandora’s box Swarmed by my jealousy I hope that it doesn’t show

Ire dipped in flattery Nobody’s been as close as me I spilled my guts And all for what? (The fantasy being her love for Prospero. Her pandora's box referring to her outburst and spectre manifestation. Her jealousy of Annabel Lee's "perfection". Spilling her guts is especially evil, considering that she quite literally did in death. She died at the hands of the man she loved, and she was "so close" to becoming a true lady.)

It should’ve been me you should have picked me from the start And after everything I’ve done for you You don’t think it’s bizarre?

It should’ve been me Where do you think I got my spark? I chiseled down my personality 'Til it's a work of art (This could refer to either her frustration with Prospero OR her affair partner. The man that murdered her indeed, did not pick her. He chose everything else over their affair. Ada feels betrayed and hurt that the man she thought was in love with her was so quick to get rid of her. Imagine all of the things she did for his sake, only to die. Her pining was probably similar to how she treated Prospero pre Monty era, and he was most likely sick of it. And while she does not entirely change who she is like Will does, I believe her actions can be influenced easily as we see with Montresor. Will wants to be useful in general, and Ada wants to be what the person she loves wants her to be. She will be mean spirited and a bit crueler if that is what Montresor wants. Notice how she isn't as worried about 'being a lady' once she stops fawning over Prospero.)

There you are Can’t they see it? I’m in awe

Could it be? It’s rude to stare Yes, I’m aware! (Very Ada @ Prospero. The last part just in general reminds me of her brash nature, being naturally outspoken and not afraid to do as she pleases like I am getting Ada during ring the bell vibes here)

What a sight Nearly perfect You alright?

Does it hurt? I will be there You know I care! (The sight could be either herself or who she's affectionate for. Quite literally how she was viewing herself during Ring the Bell once she was in that gown. Second part could be her fawning over Montresor's injuries. I feel the need to point out 'You know I care' in particular. She is rather affectionate with her words, perhaps she feels like she isn't enough, so she has to overstate her feelings to make up for it.)

Caught in my fantasies Don’t look inside pandora’s box Push down the jealousy No, nobody needs to know (Back to her first manifestation. 'Caught in her fantasies' being rejected in front of everyone. The pandora's box here being the 'hideous display' Annabel Lee claims says she is showing them all. Her jealousy once again referring to Annabel Lee.)

Please don’t think less of me! I’m but a lonely soul, you see Oh, what a shame I’ve gone insane (How she felt, weeping and alone after she drops her spectre form.)

It should’ve been me I oughta be there by your side Just think of all the possibilities that we could bring to life

It should’ve been me I think I need you to survive So now it’s your responsibility to make me stay alive (Once again, this could be either to Prospero or her affair partner. She is desperate to be loved, desperate for that warmth and attention. She wishes she could be someone's first choice. And when she finally does get this (With Montresor) she is completely attached, feeling as if she cannot live without him. Extreme attachment despite the short amount of time, as she is in fact that desperate and tired of being nobody's choice.)

Trapped in this travesty You’ve opened up pandora’s box Struck by reality It’s time to wrap up the show

Yes, it is how it seems I’m full of animosity And here I am Where do you stand? (The show can be referring to her entire crush on Prospero. Perhaps deep down she knew it would never happen, but the feelings it brought her made her feel good. She wanted to hang onto them for as long as she could. "It's time to wrap up the show" could be when she is finally harshly rejected, the denial finally fading away as she accepts that it was all her fantasy. And she was quite literally filled with animosity after that rejection.)

It could’ve been me Although I’m better than the rest My polarizing rationality just couldn’t pass the test (Ada WANTS to be better than the rest. I think she acts like she is, but deep deep down knows that is not the case. 'Polarizing rationality" = Black and white thinking. I think Ada definitely could be perceived as having this sort of mindset. 'If this person doesn't love me, I am worthless' type deal.)

It could’ve been me But I’m unsure of my intent Surely my fragile hospitality would shatter from the stress! (I'm sure in that moment between Prospero's rejection and Montresor stepping in, she was confused and vulnerable. Second guessing her intentions, second guessing everything she felt up until that point as she sits there, unloved and nothing. The last line reminds me of her acting more 'posh' than she really is. Like 'Oh surely a lady like me would blah blah!' type vibe. She considers herself a lady, and a woman such as herself could not handle such a stressful situation! Ohoho, ara! You get it?)

It shouldn’t be me And here I thought I was above But now it’s clear to me you saw that I’m unworthy of your love (Of course, she realizes this but not in the same way of this song. Rather than her putting herself down and claiming Prospero is not good enough for her, she thinks she was too good for him. Well, she only thinks this later on as Montresor continues to dig his claws in.)

It shouldn’t be me And I’m okay with that because I truly only want the best for you And I am not the one (Again, nah. Maybe in another world where they're all alive and getting through this relationship nightmare in a normal setting, but Ada does not get along with Prospero now, and I doubt she would 'want the best' for the affair partner if she were forced to watch him and his actual lover live on happily ever after. But it would be bittersweet if Ada actually did mature from this and treat Prospero kindly. Would it hurt more?)

It couldn’t be me It should’ve been me (It could've never been her. Should it have been? She was never an option for either of them; never anyone's first choice. At least, not until Montresor came along. But this song is a lament of her past feelings for the most part, so pretend she is reminiscing on what could've been; in life and death.) This was a very fun song to do. I connect this song to Ada (and Will on a lesser degree) to a heavy extent. I would love to hear thoughts, and maybe other people will do this to songs too...mayhaps

[ironscorpion]

Prospero's Time Period Analysis

Spoilers for Nevermore Episodes 112-113

I'm back at it again analyzing another backstory to see if I can pinpoint when exactly Prospero died. This episode is finally out so I can post this! I had previously analyzed Pluto's possible year of death, which can be read here

So for those who don't wanna read my lengthy analysis about the two most recent episodes, I narrowed down Prospero's year of death to roughly 1903-1919. This of course is a theory and absolutely nothing concrete.

Now getting onto how I came to this conclusion:

My first assumption was that he was treating the bubonic plague due to the whole plague doctor getup he has with his specter. However, he definitely treated tuberculosis as sanatoriums were not used to treat the bubonic plague. TB lines up with how the family member described his family dying. This also lines up with the description of the illness in Masque of The Red Death.

It's unlikely his backstory took place in Italy, his family are likely immigrants who went to the United States. This is mainly assumed due to the slur used against Prospero. Historically the slur was primarily used in the United States and Australia in the early 20th century (1900's). However this is not a definitive indication of where he was currently living. Aside from that, the United States was also just one of the main countries that Sicilians had immigrated to.

Now there is concrete evidence that he died in the 1900's due to the fact his last meal included espresso, which wasn't introduced until 1901.

The espresso machine was optimized and patented in 1901, however production of the machines did not occur until 1903

We can assume that espresso was either an already popularized drink by the time he had died, or a new invention that he wished to try. His last meal doesn't mean that it was something he already had before, as we can see with Ada and assumedly Duke's final meal.

We know he worked in a sanatorium, however it's unknown exactly what sanatorium he could have worked at especially if he was a US immigrant, as there was a large number of them in the early 1900's. I am almost convinced the sanatorium we see was not a 1:1 recreation of any real place, because I could not find any sanatorium in the US that had a funicular for transportation.

Note: Funiculars are like trams but on an incline.

Because he most likely treated tuberculosis, this means he absolutely could not have died any later than 1943. This is due to the belief that the disease he was treating was incurable. Antibiotics for TB wasn't founded until 1943.

However I can narrow down this very large timeframe of 1903-1943 even further!

Surprisingly, the background characters give a big indication of what time period this backstory takes place in. Particularly taking a look at this page. Starting with Prospero, we can see he's most likely wearing an Ulster coat. These were popular in the late 1800's to early 1900's, especially 1903

I can narrow this down even further by taking a look at the women's clothing and hairstyles, which were mostly popular during the Edwardian Era. The hairstyles seem to heavily resemble those that were popular during this era. The clothing we see these women also seem to share a strong resemblance to something the women of that time period may have been wearing.

The Edwardian style was popular from 1901-1919. I can even further support the fact Prospero couldn't have died any later than 1920 due to the fact that no one is wearing a Langsdorf necktie (modern necktie). These weren't popularized until the 1920's. The fact there is not a single character wearing one could be indicative of the fact that the style of tie wasn't popular yet.

This puts Prospero's year of death anywhere from:

1903-1919

[ketterdamskaelishprince]

ada the mirrorball/chameleon, a very vague and weird conversation on her character (ep 37-40)

going to off the bat make this abundantly clear that I JUST LIKE TO TALK!! if you think anything is outrageously wrong that's ok :)

anyways, this stems from me rereading nevermore and just, with hindsight, feeling a bit silly for my first opinions on ada. when i first read nevermore, i felt this overwhelming annoyance for her, and at times definitely hated her. especially at the beginning. she was a nuisance. but, i think like many others, as i continued, i just began to feel bad for her. and on my reread, i think that's just more prominent than ever.

i'm going to just be talking about general stuff from episodes 37-40, because if i talked about anything else i could probably talk until my jaw fell off. especially about her spectre, but let know if you want any rambles about that or not!

for this, i'm very much just going to ramble and then show you little pictures of where i picked this up!

so in episode 37, which as a quick summary is when ada is talking to lenore in the bathroom which can be summarised by this webtoon comment:

anyways, so as covered they have a big conversation in the bathroom where ada basically says to lenore that maybe she misjudged her and maybe they should team up/be tentative friends. it's part genuine from what i can tell and also part manipulative. but what's interesting about the conversation in the bathroom is what ada does.

take this for example:

i have absolutely no idea why that was the first thought that poked out to me, but here we are! the more i looked at it, the more i thought it was odd.

at first, i thought of it like a teen girl desperate to make friends, the same urge you get to sit beside your friend and just paint each others nails and the yearn for the closeness of a friendship where you swap clothes and stuff. girlhood and sisterhood. you know, that stuff.

but then i thought about it a bit more (and you know, could be reading a bit too much into this so excuse me if i am) and i thought about what we know about ada. obviously, this doesn't come in these episodes, but later in the series we're shown (i think) that ada fell in love with a rich man basically, and was murdered by him (i think!! correct me if i am wrong !!!) and we know she wasn't of the same class as him, something we become even more aware of in the next few episodes.

anyways, i thought about it, and then i thought about lenore and then i was like "oh is this something to do with class" and after reading too much into it i can conclude IT DOES HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH CLASS!

i think, if we look into it, ada's conversation could also suggest that ada wants to be lenore– not in the emo sad lesbian who's divorced sense but more she wants to have the life lenore has and wants the attention. i think ada sees lenore and maybe thinks subconsciously about the way she speaks and walks and assumes she's of high social standing. and since we're aware she isn't (especially with the way she says certain fancy words wrong) i think ada latches onto this and in the act of asking for trading blazers, i think she essentially is saying she wants the respect and status lenore has.

because what's one thing we definitely know about ada? she wants to be loved, she basically admits this to lenore as well in this episode.

and we already see lenore and annabel's little back and forth and the fact that people "flock" to lenore. so, i dunno guys, maybe this is ada saying she wants that? she wants that respect and she wants to be adored, loved and seen. but as herself, she doesn't get it.

again, me looking too closely into it.

but i dunno, there's something to be said about this whole scene in itself and the things ada does.

like here she's curling her hair with her fingers, something annabel literally does all the time. in that way, she tries to use people the same way annabel does, or what we see annabel do later. she curls her hair, tries to act all coy and tries to act like what she knows lenore is susceptible to. she does it i think not totally out of malice, but a place of insecurity because she wants to gain validation from her own little group. but it's funny because, even in this act, ada still fails to embody annabel. a wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf, and ada is still ada even if she desperately tries to act like somebody else.

then there's also the dinner scene in episode 38. we know that each of their meals is based on what they would've wanted as their last meal. and what's ada's?

beluga caviar and champagne. both items that are absolutely rooted in the upper class. beluga caviar, fun fact, is also the most expensive type of caviar! ada's whole meal is a need and a want to be like the upper class and the obscenely large bowl of caviar just shows it. also, this whole scene (i think) is our first hint that ada isn't as, i dunno, posh (?) as she claims she is. of course, that's if you ignore when she doesn't pronounce things right.

then, if you look to episode 39, you kind of see more of ada's character and how she acts.

here you see ada only pipes in when she's gotten confirmation that there's something behind it. ada is the type to stand behind anything so long as she has support– something so deeply rooted in her insecurities. take this and then take the fact girl barks like a dog in ep 40 into account, and you see something so overwhelmingly sad about her character. rereading this just made me pity ada even more.

i think, as a side note, i see a lot of people in webtoon comments and then some on tumblr make connections to morella and ada being similar, almost like two sides of the coin. and to an extent i agree with that. i think the different lies how in how they react to montresor in this episode.

you see here that morella practically pleads with montresor to stop, but ada just blindly listens. she becomes, almost, a bit pathetic here. and also, sidenote, i cannot reread this episode with having to put my phone down and take a lap because this baffles me every single time. but i read it because wow yummy artstyle. ANYWAY.

you see ada truly desperate here. desperate to be loved, desperate to be accepted, desperate to be finally seen as somebody who has worth and value and desperate to be adored by them all and most of all: to be seen by annabel as a worthy friend or pawn, whichever she can get.

i think this is truly heartbreaking when you read it, because ada just wants to be loved and she'll do anything for it. i think in that way, morella and her differ. because morella is completely different to ada in the fact that even if she wants to make friends and to please people, she has a level of respect for herself and an overwhelming sense of empathy which trumps any insecurity. ada is the complete opposite in that aspect. her need to be loved and her insecurities trump her morals and her decision making skills.

and idk, i think there's something so sad about humiliating yourself and knowing you are humiliating yourself just so you can get somebody to notice you. i think it's just so fucking sad, and i can't look at ada and think she deserves to be hated anymore.

she might be a brat, but guys she's a brat with trauma and crippling insecurities and i think in some twisted way i love her.

anyways yeah, that's the end of my ramble!

[blacknedsoul-blog]

The master post of my Nevermore analysis

This post has links to all the extensive reviews I've written about Nevermore (webtoon) so it doesn't get lost in the depths of the internet. I'll update it as I write more and I'm going to try to maintain some degree of order in this mess.

Another detail: if you see that some of these reviews contradict each other or are not entirely consistent with each other, it is because I write them as the comic progresses, so it is very possible that one or more of them end up being outdated, but anyway I think it's worth keeping them.

An unnecessarily detailed analysis

These are practically vignette by vignette revisions of certain scenes or moments of the comic.

An incessantly detailed analysis of the (re)encounter between Annabel and "Leo"

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of the (re)encounter between Annabel and "Leo" (part II)

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of Lenore's face when she realizes how gay she is

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of the alcoholic beverages at the last meal

Literary analysis

Reviews of Nevermore from the perspective of literary theory.

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

Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part II: Supernatural Brides

I think the Deans are fucking Lovecraftian gods

Character Study

These are character analyses. Some of them could fit in the previous category, but I decided to leave them aside because they are much more specific.

Annabel Lee Whitlock: The Hypocrite, the Vampire and the Femme Fatale. A review of archetypes

Lenore Vandernatch: the rogue, the gothic heroine and the courtly knight. A review of archetypes

Montresor is the Bad Ending of White Raven

Montresor is the Bad Ending of White Raven II: Electric Bogaloo

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

Montresor (and Willtresor) is the Bad Ending of the White Raven IV: the saga continues

Social climbers and the relationship with power: Ada's tragedy

Nevermore themed cocktails

Fun fact: I'm a cocktail/mixology aficionado, here are some cocktail recipes based on Nevermore.

Note: the knowledge required for the preparation of mocktails is very different from the knowledge required for the preparation of cocktails. Therefore, while I may occasionally upload non-alcoholic versions of these cocktails, I may not always have the skills to make the transfer from one to the other.

Harlequin

Posh Besties

Stolen Moments

Stolen Moments (mocktail version)

Love at first sight

Bouquet of flowers (I didn't think there would be flowers again)

The box of cookies (which has no cookies)

Here's basically whatever nonsense I've burned more time on than I should and don't want it to go to waste.

A detailed explanation from my headcanon that Annabel has ADHD

Medical information about Lenore's hips (mentions of NSFW topics)

[majosullivan]

Works in Progress and Writing Ideas

At the moment, I have a bunch of different writing ideas that have been building up in my notes. Some are new, some are older, but they are piling up and I want to make an attempt to get through them. Problem is: I haven’t been the best at consistently working through them and need an additional source of motivation to help me get through them. As a result, I’ve decided to make a post listing all my ideas, since from my experiences, putting something solid out there can help me lightly bully myself into working since ‘you have already put it out there that you’re working on these, you’re going to feel real stupid for you don’t do anything’. Mostly importantly, I would love to hear people’s ideas and thoughts, both since I have been stuck on certain points, so hearing some outside thoughts would be beneficial , and being able to talk with people and possibly answer some questions people are curious about would also help with motivation.

So, feel free to talk about or add on anything you’d like! Whether it’s in replies, reblogs or my asks, I don’t mind

Castle Swimmer Ideas

-Theory post on the season 3 finale (currently in the works)

-Siren and Mono having a talk about relationships after Siren inadvertently finds out that Mono has a big old crush on Galoo

-Monoloo, with Galoo thinking back to a conversation she had with Shoal where Susca was brought up

-Playing around with Susca and Shoal’s potential dynamic before they got married because they make me feel things

-Mono, Neth and an exploration of their relationship with Mucku and each other after Labbu’s attack

-Vampire/Supernatural au that has been plaguing my brain for far too long

-Hades (game) au that has also been plaguing my brain for a while

Nevermore Ideas

-Reeking Rememberance (Working title)

Featuring: A main focus on two characters, some exploration into the experiences the Nevermore students must be going through with their missing memories and how well they’re coping with it all

(I am currently in the middle of working on this one. As a result, I won’t be going into the characters involved. This is so when I hopefully finish it (and it doesn’t end up stuck in WIP jail), it can be a surprise)

-Exploration with Duke and his use of names, both with names connected to himself, and more centrally to this work, his continuous use nicknames for everyone. It’s all fun and games for him until the man he’s been calling ‘Mon minou’ playfully calls him Fortunato a singular (1) time, and while external he’s mostly holding face, the same can’t be said internally because ohhhh this fucker is GONE

-Interpretation of what happened with Berenice and Eulalie before they met the others (spoiler alert: the sapphics will be sapphicing a little)

-Analysis into Annabel and her similarities with the misfits (main focus on similarities with Duke and Pluto) along with a possible series of one shots where I could have fun with those dynamics

-The time between Lenore’s and Annabel’s first meeting to Annabel having to leave from Annabel’s perspective, using inspiration from Absence by Rio Romeo

-Exploring the dynamic between Annabel and Ada, with Ada asking Annabel about her engagement

-Misfit polycule shenanigans in a modern au, with a focus on Lenore as she slowly discovers the relationships that have literally been right in front of her

-Life is Strange au that I’ve been slowly trying to cook up

[muzetrigger]

Pluto and “The Black Cat”

I guess it takes a community event for me to actually write out that Pluto post I've been planning for *checks notes* 2 months.

So, let's talk about Pluto (finally)!

By the way, spoilers, so if you're not into that:

We're first introduced to Pluto during the Maze arc, where he's unceremoniously dumped on Duke and Lenore by the Posh Crew, which also includes his roommate Prospero.

At first, it's easy to write Pluto off as kind of an emo soft boi. And in fact, Duke even tries to ditch him during the Acrophobia Trial.

It's not hard to see why. Aesthetically, Pluto has a much darker presentation than the rest of the cast which gives him the impression of a gloomy introvert that won't really contribute anything to the team. He wears a grey turtleneck instead of a white dress shirt marks him as a visual outcast; his slouching posture projects a lack of confidence; and his eye covering bangs actually do a lot of work to make him appear less communicative (windows to the soul, right?).

On top of that, Pluto's pretty small, a trait emphasized by his overly large jacket, which unlike other students, doesn't seem to be tailored to him, and his prickly personality don't earn him any teamwork points. I mean, just look at him:

The point being, Pluto isn't exactly the image of confidence that Duke and Lenore need to help muscle through the maze.

That being said, like most great characters, Pluto almost immediately shows he has a lot more going for him than first impressions.

One thing that readers might have noticed is that because Pluto is pretty small and unassuming, he's great at sneaking around.

But since it's mostly played as a gag many people might have also missed this detail right after:

Pluto stepping on a branch isn't mindbogglingly important, but it does speak to his character in a really touching way. He immediately recognizes that his silence upsets Duke and Lenore and goes out of his way to make noise so they aren't startled by him, even though they really haven't been the nicest to him.

It's a small detail, but it shows that right from the beginning, Pluto is someone who cares about other people, which is further reinforced when he tries to break up Duke and Lenore during Duke's inconceived attempt to awaken Lenore's spectre:

The maze also highlights a few of Pluto's other positive traits. For example, he's surprisingly interested in etymology (what a dork; I love him), which gives Red an easy way to explain the Greek/Latin roots to the readers while also playing up Pluto's allusion to the Roman god. It also indicates that Pluto is fairly book smart, which is directly contrasted by Duke's street smarts in the Chronophobia trial and Lenore's... instinct? Let's call it intuition.

We also get a bit of foreshadowing for Pluto's spectre. One, he's actually pretty dextrous on a tightrope, and two, he can't swim, both of which are traits stereotypically associated with cats.

Speaking of which, Pluto's spectre:

According to Poppet, Pluto is a Crytid, a type of Spectre that manifests when someone had a deep-seated desire to escape social constraints, but somewhat paradoxically, Pluto is a cat, a domesticated creature.

I'm going to take a small aside to say that cats really aren't that domesticated. I mean yes, who doesn't love tea cup kittens, but cats can return to the wild and they still share most of their genetic code and evolutionary instincts with their untamed counterparts, which can't really be said about dogs.

Okay, back to Nevermore, except I lied, we're actually going back to 1845 when Edgar Allan Poe published "The Black Cat".

If you didn't know (but you probably did. After all, you're reading a Nevermore character analysis), almost every Nevermore character is based on one or more works by EAP. (You can check out their main inspirations in this other post.)

And Pluto's story is "The Black Cat". It isn't one of Poe's most famous works, so you could be forgiven for not knowing about it, but if you have read it, you probably immediately recognized its influence on Pluto.

First, a brief overview of the story: (CW: animal abuse)

Like most Poe short stories, "The Black Cat" is narrated by an insane murderer (that's a tad hyperbolic, but you get the point). Unlike other narrators though, this narrator actually started out somewhat decent.

You see, the narrator used to be a loving husband to a woman that he married early in life. Both of them loved animals, so over the years, they cared for a lot of pets together, including "birds, gold-fish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat."

This cat is, of course, the titular Black Cat and his name is Pluto. He's also described as being the narrator's "favorite pet and playmate."

Unfortunately, the narrator is also an alcoholic, and his addiction gradually turns him from a loving and sensitive man into a violent mess. He's able to stave off his alcohol fueled abuse from Pluto for several years, but eventually, Pluto ticks him off and he grabs the cat and purposefully cuts out one of its eyes with a penknife.

Understandably, Pluto (the cat) does not take kindly to this, and for the rest of its life tries to avoid the narrator, which the narrator takes surprisingly well.

At first.

Eventually, his alcoholism catches up with him and he decides that, for literally "no other reason than because he knows he should not" decides to hang the cat.

So, there are a ton of references to the short story in Nevermore. Pluto's dad is a physically abusive drunk who cuts out Pluto's eye, Pluto's name and spectre are inspired by the Black Cat, and the way Pluto unlocks his spectre mirrors how the narrator hangs his pet.

But there are arguably lot more allusions from the rest of the story. You see right after the narrator kills Pluto, his house burns down and there are two characters in Nevermore who are associated with fire:

Lenore and Monty, both of whom have a pretty interesting relationship with Pluto, especially when you line them up with Pluto's short story.

If you associate the narrator's house burning down as karmic retribution, then Lenore is a natural pick. After all, she not only burns down her estate, her presence in Pluto's (after)life is arguably what causes him to start standing up for himself more, and at the very least, her leadership is what gets him through maze for a shot at the second life which dovetails nicely with the fallout of the narrator's house burning.

You see, the narrator doesn't perish along with his material possessions, but one wall of his house also survives, and burned into that wall is the image of a hanging cat, a reminder of his sins.

Soon after, the narrator, still drowning his sorrows and guilt at bars, happens upon a second cat who is "fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every aspect but one." It's even missing an eye. The only thing that separates it from Pluto is a patch of white hair on its chest.

Now the concept of doubling is one of Poe's hallmarks, and it's mirrored wonderfully in Nevermore by the students' past lives and their current unlife as students, or alternatively, their human form and their spectre form, but it's also symbolically present for Pluto because by leading him out of the maze, Lenore also leads Pluto on the path to a second life in addition to inspiring him to be more confident, which is arguably the difference between his past and current self.

Based on Pluto's memories, it doesn't seem like his father thought of him as a "man" and given his character introduction, Pluto was a meek person. But after meeting Lenore and befriending Duke, Pluto does this:

One, it's hilarious that Pluto is talking about taking eyes, but two, Pluto is fully ready to kill Monty here and that leads me to part two of the fire.

Monty is a self destructive individual. He purposefully instigates fights, loves to stir up trouble for no reason, and suffers from trauma that arguably isn't his fault (not to say that dealing with that trauma isn't his responsibility).

In some ways, he's haunted by his religious upbringing as much as the narrator of "The Black Cat" is by his alcoholism. Both are aware of how much it ruins their lives, but they can't help leaning into those violent tendencies. The narrator even calls his alcoholism a "fiend".

And, they both wall up someone they're rooming with.

Because, there's even more to the new black cat than driving the narrator insane. In fact, the narrator goes as far as murdering his wife while attempting to kill the new Pluto (I can't believe she stuck around, the poor woman).

And like any Poe narrator worth his salt, "The Black Cat" narrator decides to hide the body by walling her up in a false chimney. This comes with the added benefit of scaring the new black cat away so the narrator can finally enjoy some piece and quiet.

Only it turns out this is a lie. Just like Monty narrowly avoiding Pluto's gunshot, the Black Cat's absence turns out to be the narrator's undoing because the narrator accidently walled up the cat with his wife's corpse, and it's the cat's screeching that ultimately unmasks his crimes.

Similarly, it's Pluto's belief in Duke that activates Duke's spectre, "freeing a corpse" and leading to the much needed string of chapters where everyone dunks on Monty. (Thank you, Pluto.)

I think it's really neat that Red managed to blend multiple Poe stories into a new plot thread, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she and Flynn have in store with Pluto because even though his inspiration story has been pretty much fully acted out, most of spectre abilities really haven't been explored.

For instance, while "unlucky" is a general description of black cats, Pluto's presence has actually been a major boon for the misfits, saving Duke, explaining the thalassophobia trial in the maze, guiding Lenore and Duke through Acrophobia, and also warning Lenore and defending her during the Manor arc. Maybe it's bad luck for his enemies or straight up luck manipulation?

"Blink" could be a reference to Pluto's dash attack, but Pluto also has an uncanny ability to disappear from people's perception as demonstrated during the maze and to a lesser extent when he hides from Eulalie in the forbidden wing.

For those of us into TTRPGs, blink is also sometimes used to refer to teleporting or the DnD spell of the same name with causes the caster to fade in and out of existence!

And finally, "evil eye" is a very intriguing ability. While it could just be a reference to Pluto's missing/remaining eye, as @takescrackseriously and other readers have pointed out, it could also be a reference to Poe's "Telltale Heart" maybe having the ability to drive victims mad, like Pluto's namesake (er, reincarnation?) does in "The Black Cat".

That brings up another question, which is why is Pluto still missing his eye? Lenore was also seriously injured in life, but she isn't crippled like she was post-Theo as a student. What injuries get to be healed and which remain in Nevermore?

I'm interested to see if, like Will's freaky blood wax clones, spectres' powers can develop and how far they can develop. After all, Pluto's power set seems fairly basic, and while I love underdogs (undercats?), ostensibly there's some kind of balancing system that makes traits like "blink" and "teeth" keep up with monsters like "fear itself" and "divine light".

Okay, maybe not given the ruthless nature of the academy and the Raven's comments, but narratively that can feel a bit unsatisfying, y'know? Because it would be such a waste for Pluto's development to stall here despite the amazing amount of progress he's already made.

Plus, aesthetically, I'm willing to bet Flynn is going to incorporate more white into Pluto's character design, because a considerable amount of detail focuses on this one difference between Pluto and the new cat in the short story. In fact, it seems to be one of the factors in the narrator's full descent into madness because he starts seeing the cat's white patch as morphing into the image of a noose.

And to close out this really lengthy post on a bright note, have some terrified Pluto:

What a cutie. We must protect him at all costs.

By the way, if you enjoyed my rambling, here are links to similar theory/analysis posts talking about Ada and Annabel!

[muzetrigger]

Ada analysis, my beloved <3

Morella hate noooooo ;~;

Seriously though, I think any wlw relationship would open so much for Ada because they’ve all got more self-confidence than she does (and I love her for that)

“He needs a cute squad to survive this game, so he needs a hello kitty pants girl to his cat boi if he wants to be the true alpha daddy."

Snapped my neck with that line XD

Ada’s idea of love is tied to power, validation and stability, rather than real genuine connections. And with that I don’t mean that she cannot love normally or anything, but that her idea of love is heavily influenced by rather specific experiences she has had in life before she even meet Thomas

She fixates on powerful men bcus they represent an ideal of power, strength, control or/and protection.

Her constant shifting in personality- as in acting posh to fit in with lee’s and around Prospero- and then more chill when in Montrio may suggest she doesn’t have a strong sense of self (Ik it’s Will’s thing but she kinda gives that vibe)

We know her self esteem is at an all times low with how she speaks of herself when rejected by Prospero. We already knew that her pretending to be all posh and better than others was one of those simple and hardly rare in life methods for her to feel better about herself, to fit in, and try to push the image of who’d she’d like to be seen as onto others.

Whatever grants validation, kinda.

At core, what Ada wants the most is truly just what anyone in life wants, love, understanding, and validation. Whatever has had happened in her life must’ve make her believe that she doesn’t deserve any of it, we saw how when she broke down she called herself stupid and ugly but in that sad way of asking “why?”

None of these things make her stupid or silly.

She’s build her entire identity around being desirable. Accepting that her approach to love isn’t right would destroy her.

Her manifesting was caused by Prospero’s harsh rejection in which ‘I could never love someone like you’ is what shatters her fully.

And when it switches to Tommy flashback, and we see her being betrayed, she asks why, and he answers that it’s because she gave him no choice, putting all the blame onto her. And in the latest flashbacks we see what kind of self centered and egoistical twat he is.

What she screams in her banshee form is “Do you think I’m stupid?” Which are her self doubts and projections.

The interesting thing is that a part of her abilities is ‘Fear itself’ which we see in how she uses it against Prospero and Annabel and later on Monty, where she makes them see their worst fears. The fact that she possesses such an ability is genius. Throwing people in a trance where they spiral paranoid into their worst fears?

And what breaks her out of it? Annabel uses her fear against her to instead force Ada into her self loathing circle, forcing her to leave Annabel alone and out of her fears. She forced Ada into her fears. Because when Ada falls into them they’re like a trance.

“A wounded little girl, throwing a fit, because she didn’t get what she wanted.”

She’s putting the blame on her (I’m not saying she isn’t to blame, but this is said harshly in ways to trivialize Ada’s feelings, reducing her emotions to something meaningless, twisting the blame onto her and making her question her reality. Smart of Annie to say, but very hurtful.)

“And I pity you, Ada.”

Which no one wants to be, that’s opposite of respect.

“No one will take you seriously again.”

Whilst Annabel has a right to these words (we ain’t hating on her, she’s smart, kinda stupid as well in her own beliefs, cruel but smart)

“Unless you cease this hideous display at once.”

Giving her an ultimatum, calling what she truly is (their forms do lowkey reflect on who they r after all) hideous.

What it took to break Ada out from her spectre? What does she fear the most after not being lovable? Stuff that prevent her from being loved ofc. That her feelings are invalid, she’s just throwing a fit, she’s hideous and ugly and no one will ever respect her or take her seriously.

“H-hideous” Moss babe says, looking at her hand.

She has built a fragile illusion around herself that keeps her from falling apart. The stuff that let her feel on the surface that’s she’s beautiful, desirable and worthy of love are dependent on outside forces: such as men🙄 (lmao, bbg let me treat you better on the wlw side-🧑🏻‍🦰) ((Morella stfu)) and since it’s dependent on other people, which are moving and changing forces, it’s fragile.

Y’all shocked she gets with Montresor when they both depend on people on the outside for self validation. If she and William were to make out aggressively when Monty dies in episode 184, y’all still would be shocked.

Anyway, self doubt starts to creep, and what she always feared- that’s she’s hideous, unworthy of love, unlovable over all- that all men who used her, treated her like nothing, were right. As Thomas said, she gave him no choice.

She breaks down apologizing and crying and telling everyone she didn’t mean it and promising that she’s a real lady, a proper lady- since that is what makes her worthy and lovable in her head.

It’s no wonder that she rejects Morella when she tries to help her. She’s self loathing rn, accepting that someone may care about her just for how he is, and even in this state, is unacceptable to her, because she herself cannot love herself in this state. So others must be simply lying.

She lashes out because she can’t bear to let anyone see her like this, raw and exposed. The shame, the fear, and the realization that maybe she’s been fooling herself all along, it’s too much. So she pushes everyone away before they can confirm what she dreads the most

Beautiful thing here is the rhythm of her words, her hitting herself, and Montresor taking steps down the stairs all fitting into one scene that is delightful to imagine. The visual aspect of her hitting herself and the devil nearing, his steps closing in with every self hating comment she makes, and with her guard being lowered down to hopelessness, is mastery in writing and drawing so props for that besties.

Ada at core has beliefs of being stupid, mean and ugly.

Stupid as in not posh-manipulating-lying smart and fitting in I’d guess. Idk what she sees as smart.

Mean, as in rejecting Morella, or being mean to people to impress others even tho she knows it’s wrong - cut to the “Pissing all by thy self, handsome?” Scene-

BRAND NEW NEWS, ADA IS NOT STUPID CONFIRMED THREE YEARS AGO.

Be a darling and try to focus on how Ada is self aware, knows why she acted the way she did, but even if she knew that it was wrong of her when she did it, she had no self control then. She needs someone, she needs to matter the most to anyone in any way.

No shock she doesn’t react well to

“Nothing you say will make you good enough.” -Prospero.

She feels silly, she apologizes, she explains how she felt and apologizes fr for being cruel for ‘no reason’ Girl woke up in a life death game and found out her roomie has a crazy goth bestie that is willing to cause drama and public embarrassment to make sure Ada’s roomie is ok. Duh girl felt vulnerable n left out.

So when Monty appears with “I think you’re pretty.” It’s no shock she says “That’s not funny.”

But then he pulls his face card and a serious voice seeing honest asf telling her that he wasn’t trying to be funny.

He, opposite to Morella, finds her when she’s not in anger any more but in hopelessness and in pieces. He feeds her delusions rather than simply offering what Morella wanted to give. Since Ada can’t allow herself to be loved unconditionally (even if that’s what she wishes the most, girlie doesn’t realize she puts conditions in her head herself on when and in what form she’d be allowed to be loved in such way, making it impossible for others to love her in that way) She would rather accept someone loving her like this.

And how does a Montresor ‘love’ her? Surprise of the day is that the things he says to her don’t even necessarily have to be lies in any sort of way. He is a meddling guy, people that are the most dangerous in life, (very much the same way the most dangerous beliefs we can have) are the ones who mix truth with lies in order to shift perception of the reality.

He can appreciate stuff about her, the lacing she gave Prospero and him being fortunate to be above the snakes.

Him telling her that it was beautiful, and that she’s beautiful doesn’t have to be a lie in any way. He doesn’t need to think of her ugly, he just needs to see what she wants to be seen as the most, and no matter if he thinks that she’s hot for nearly killing the prettiest boy in school, he is going to let her know that, because that lets him manipulate her.

Y’all shocked and thinking she’s silly for falling into this, or stupid. Well, good morning to you too, imagine your worst fears being let out under from all the illusions you keep daily, and some hot blond guy comes and tells you say your lowest that hey babe we can totally keep those illusions up, I’ll lie whenever dw abt that you won’t even know, you’ll feel worthy and will be able to avoid all your GREATEST fears (pls remember that everyone now days avoid what they fear the most, and that in mf 1930’s you wouldn’t hold up anyone to a standard of facing their worst fears cuz it’s ‘healthy’ for em) and also feel all the things you want to feel the most.

He offers her a quick escape of her own hell, back into the world that she has built and wants to live in. He is the boulder her self worth is propped on, he knows how this works because he himself most probably has lived through such things when young, and sees it as the way of being. You’re either strong and decide or weak and serve others. He needs a cute squad to survive this game, so he needs a hello kitty pants girl to his cat boi if he wants to be the true alpha daddy.

Episode 113 I cite

“I did something stupid…. I’m stupid~.” - Ada dying.

“My hero! I knew you’d come back for me. You make me so happy… Honey.”

“O-oh sorry I got mixed up. I remember now. You said No. I’m not… good enough… for you.”

This either proves that it doesn’t specifically matter in her head who is it that loves her, but that there’s a figure that does, and she just mixes it up as in thinking that Prospero is taking up the role of being that. Or she thought it was Yeehaw. Or god knows, maybe Twatmas.

Anyway she needs someone to fulfill that role for her to feel stable and to be able to act, the way everyone in life needs some sort of stability, but most of the thing- well I’m optimistic- we find it in ourselves, not in the outer world on which we have oh so little power over, compared to the amount of control we can manage to maintain without ourselves.

What emotion was it that triggered her flashbacks whilst doin’ rodeo on the stag? I’d guess holding on, the way she tried to hold onto Thomas, emotionally or physically- whatever.

Anyway what I wanted to say with all of this, is that Ada is not stupid, silly, or anything. It’s normal to see her actions and facepalm because we feel the sting of ‘oh no darling, this isn’t the way’ cuz we all hate going in circles and we know how annoying it is to realize you’re in one, and seeing other ppl or characters be in such can either throw you into a fit of empathy or annoyance, depending on how you feel about yourself when you notice yourself living in such ways and experiencing such things.

Her behavior may be driven by unresolved childhood trauma or repression.

Her ID aka primal desires crave love, security, and validation. She throws herself at powerful divas cuz they represent control and protection.

Her super ego aka moral conscience shaped by social expectations, tells her that she must be desirable an perfect to be loved “a proper lady” she suppresses any feelings of insecurity by kinda forcing herself to believe in her beauty and worth ig?

Her ego aka the balancing force, struggles to reconcile these forces, so she builds a false self, a persona, to attract love and hide her deepest fears. Which as usually in life just brings her closer to her fears and makes everyone see who she is.

Because unlike Montresor who is good at lying, Ada isn’t. She is closer to finding who she is because of that, whilst he is closer to doom.

By Freud (don’t grill me) he’d call this repetition trauma I think, repetition compulsion.

She keeps pursuing Divas who reject or use her, she’s unconsciously recreating past traumas hoping to “fix” them, perhaps?

She uses denial & defense mechanism. She uses denial to avoid confrontation with her self hatred. Her reaction to rejection is to outwardly act confident to suppress the deep belief that she’s hideous. Aka Reaction formation (“Reaction Formation happens when an individual exhibits behaviors opposite to their actual feelings” - google)

Her outbursts with “STOPP lookin at me Jason! 🥺” are projections, she pushes people away because she believes that they see her the way she secretly sees herself.

Also why she pushed Morella away, right after Annabel told her that she pitied her?. Maybe in her mind that’s what Morella did, pitied her. After all she accuses her of lying.

Ada doesn’t love those all random guys perhaps, but the idea of them and what they provide for her, which Ik ive said like three times alr but protection, power, security and validation. She chases an ideal, not a real connection.

She projects her desire for love onto men mistaking their coldness for strength and indifference for being mysterious.

She needs to reach a point where she will be forced to face herself, and idk when that will happen, maybe soon since she is dissolving into atoms. Anyway Lenada when?

[blacknedsoul-blog]

My bets on Nevermore's development

In the middle of the arc and with the White Raven divorce beginning, I think I feel comfortable betting on how all the story lines the comic has laid out so far will play out. A mixture of analysis and theories.

Duke and Montressor

I don't think Duke will die. For several reasons (one of which I'll explain below), but the main one is that Duke is a character who still has a lot to give: they've gone to the trouble of giving him a name, a past, a personality, and yet none of these things have been properly explored. The comic wouldn't really benefit from Duke dying because he still has a lot of interesting things to bring to the story.

Coupled with the fact that we're still learning how Spectres work, and with Duke unable to manifest, it's the perfect time to flesh out that part of the lore and give us a cool moment to show us his Spectre.

That said, I have a hard time seeing a way for Montressor to stay in the game once this issue is over: he's proven himself to be a menace that won't stop and an unmitigated sadist. The guy is just evil, and frankly, he didn't seem to have much more backstory or anything new to bring to the table.

My bet on him is that he'll die, maybe Lenore will go with the group in psycho-killer mode, Duke will confront him with his spectre, Morella will go against him to save Ada, Annabel will try to make merit so Lenore won't be asked for a divorce, or the Deans themselves will see him as a problem they need to take care of. If the comic thinks murder is irredeemable for its characters, maybe he'll have a Frollo-style death where it's his own ego that kills him (what if he becomes one of the creatures roaming the school?).

I think this because, besides how satisfying it would be to see him die, I think it would be a good time for the comic to show you the consequences of death within Nevermore. We know that going to the Land of the Dead is a terrible thing, but we don't know exactly what it entails. And seeing it would make any future threat seem more terrifying.

Post-Divorce

The White Raven will reconcile. This is obvious: the comic is about their relationship, the publicity for the comic has them together, and much of the appeal of the work comes from their romance. It's not a question of whether it will happen or not, but how it will happen and what the consequences will be.

Maybe some extraordinary event will happen to bring them back together, or we will have the equivalent of the Greenhouse 2.0 scene where they have a whole conversation about why, even if Lenore understands Annabel reasons, this is a situation that can never happen again.

One thing I want to point out here: I don't think Annabel did this out of jealousy. Maybe she feels it, but this story has made a consistent effort to show you that while Annabel is hypocritical, manipulative, and Machiavellian, she still has a moral compass: her reaction after when Montressor makes Ada bark and when Prospero is about to have a breakdown indicate that her limit is to hurt others gratuitously. She won't defend them if it puts her in a problematic situation, but this clearly pisses her; by that logic, it would even be out of character for her to try to hurt Duke because she's jealous, and more importantly, it would do irreparable damage to her relationship with Lenore (which is why I don't think our favorite Frenchman dies).

Understanding that, there's one thing these two haven't really talked about: for Lenore, getting her friends out of here is not something optional, she's completely determined to do it, and given this moment, it's very likely that the next step will be for Annabel to join the "save everyone" team: she thinks Lenore is capable of anything, and so she's going to put all her faith in her being able to pull this off.

Coupled with the fact that the plan to keep Lenore as a harmless figure went to hell after the incident in the tower, she's going to have to adjust things. And my theory on this is that Annabel is going to expand her rivalry plan to the group level.

I believe this because the logical conclusion after the banquet is that the Deans, for some reason, want the students to fight, to foster an atmosphere of competition among them. So far, giving them what they want has worked perfectly for them, so they would suggest that it would be helpful to pretend that things are going exactly as they think they are while they try to figure out how to get out of this place, at least until they can think of something better.

Yes, I assume Annabel will join the Misfits. She'll probably be like Zuko from Avatar, begging for forgiveness and winning them over one by one in individual arcs.

Another important development that will come out of this is that when Lenore is fed up enough with her bullshit, she will remind Annabel of her promise about how they both get their memories back: they are already right in the middle and it will be time to start putting the puzzle together.

However, I have reason to believe that Annabel will manage not to talk about the exact way they both died for a very simple reason: whether Lenore was Annabel's executioner or not, they died together. Lenore was there, and she will most likely blame herself because "if I hadn't gone looking for her, Annabel would still be alive" and for "not protecting her".

But by the time they have this conversation (or she finds out otherwise), the comic may be starting to address one of Lenore's major conflicts as a character: because of her fear of abandonment and her feeling that she is undeserving of love, she has no qualms about putting herself in danger to protect others. This is a terribly damaging perspective in the context that the Deans have created: not only is it naive to think that she can always protect her friends or Annabel from getting hurt, but Lenore unwittingly carries the feelings of the people who love her by endangering herself.

My head canon

Everything I've said so far is based on things the comic has shown and storylines that may not be explored in this specific way, but are more or less on the comic. But there's a lot of nonsense out there that I'd really like to see, even if there's little or nothing in the artwork to indicate to me that any of those things will come to fruition.

Annabel vs. Montressor

I would love to see Annabel vs. Montressor precisely because Annabel has no chance against Montressor: she has no experience in a fight, even if her spectre is a powerful one, Montressor would wipe the floor with her. But I think it would be a nice way to put a point: Annabel and Montressor are not the same.

He enjoys torturing others, she will be a villain to protect what she loves.

I can also think of two interesting things that could come out of this encounter: Lenore having her moment where she thinks Annabel is dead, parallel to the maze scene (for Lenore, Annabel is an unbeatable queen, so she could use a little reality check), and a conversation along those lines:

-L: Did you think that by putting yourself in danger like this I was going to forgive what you did?!

A: I didn't do this because I thought you would forgive me. Deep down, I know you already did, even though that doesn't mean I shouldn't face consequences for my actions.

-L: ...Then why?

-A: Because I promised you I would. I said I would distract our enemies, that I would protect you from my allies, and that's exactly what I did. I knew I couldn't handle him, but I was distracted and wounded enough to get the job done.

This would finally establish one thing that has been up in the air about Annabel: yes, she really behaves and acts like a villain. But after something like this, there would never be any doubt (for the readers or for Lenore) that she always keeps her promises.

Imagine the delicious drama that could come from establishing that so forcefully.

Eulalie is a Lennabel shipper

Come to think of it, the two of them haven't done a very good job of hiding it: we go from Lenore running all over school to take care of Annabel to watching them fight for no apparent reason.

I like to think that Eulalie seriously suspects something is going on between them, and when the Misfits inevitably find out about Annabel and Lenore's relationship, she'll be like, "Oh, you guys hadn't noticed?" while saying things like, "Oh, so you're the one who took us to the haunted mansion!"

Annabel and Berenice as unlikely friends

I love the image of Berenice physically threatening Annabel with the knife and saying something like "You're a posh bitch, but you've got style" after she doesn't react in fear. I also think Bernice would be the first to admit that while she won't easily forgive Annabel for putting Duke in danger, she wouldn't have hesitated to throw Annabel, Prospero, Ada, or Will under the bus to protect any of her group of friends if necessary.

Also, the idea of Annabel saying, "She's a violent slur. I want her around" is oddly hilarious to me.

Prospero as the ultimate "tired friend"

If Annabel takes Prospero with her, I can imagine the guy banging his head against the wall all the time because he sees all these idiots who are strangely competent when you get right down to it, but choose to spend their energy doing stupid things when no one is dying.

A terrible deal between Duke and Annabel

Remember that wonderful scene in Avatar where Katara threatens to kill Zuko if she thinks he's going to hurt Aang? I like to think that Duke and Annabel will have a scene like that:

-D: They didn't see the look on your face when they put up the wall, but I did. And I can assure you that I won't hesitate to act if I think you're going to hurt my friend or any of them, cherie.

-A: Promise?

-D: ...

-A: That you will be there to protect her no matter what, even from me. I wouldn't mind you holding the sword of Damocles over my head if it proves to me that you can protect her from any threat.

-D: You have my word.

In conclusion

So that's my bingo on how things will go in the comic from here on out. There are some things (like Morella's development, what's going to happen with Ada, or when the hell we're going to get some backstory on Will) that I don't think I have enough information on to theorize. But here it is.

[muzetrigger]

Ada posting!

She’s so hopelessly in love. I hope she finds someone who will actually love and care for her. T^T

We're always talking about Annabel's crazy devotion but not half as much of Ada who is also helplessly devoted;

Ada was a maid who fell inlove with a man who couldn't care less for her and she knew it

And yet? She still fell inlove with this man; enough to fall for the first guy who resembles him even though she didn't have her memories

Even though he doesn't like her at all; not even in a sexual way like Thomas did

And when she does get some of her memories back?

She all too easily fall for Montresor who -unlike Prospero- acts so much like Thomas did

Shot out to @lovelyn06 post

So Ada is still inlove with Thomas

The man who killed her (and maybe her unborn baby if she was actually pregnant like another theory -which I don't know where the source of is- suggested)

The man who mercilessly cut her to pieces like Lovelyn06 came to the conclusion of

And she died deep down hopelessly praying he'd come back for her

After everything she still wanted that scum of a man to come back for her. Despite what he's done to her; despite him cutting her to pieces and taking her life

She still wanted him then; and she still wants him now

It's dumb and awfully so very tragic

Ada isn't just helplessly devoted like Annabel; she might just be more devoted than her!

And isn't it ironic that she doesn't have any idea that her queen is not too different from her?

Both of them are so inlove with the very same people who ended up killing them

Hell, perhaps that's the reason on why Annabel both belittled and saved Ada in the chapters 71 and 113; Because she understands what Ada feels all too well

In conclusion: Ada is more devoted than Annabel to a shitty man who brutally killed her and would never give a fuck about her and it makes me feel almost like crying

[himbirch]

i just wanna add onto this because ada's spectre will always have me giddy and sad and so excited about her. she's my everything. also be warned i didnt do much research, pls lmk if any of this is scientifically wrong so i can edit it

also i'm calling the rich guy who killed her tamerlane for simplicity's sake (this is a reference to the poem she's from (called Tamerlane), where tamerlane is the narrator and her lover)

cw for some grotesque stuff about dead bodies, some mentions of sexuality

so as to the way she's held together by shoddy stitching, it's my opinion that tamerlane actually hacked her up and hid her pieces in different places to avoid getting caught. this would also explain why some parts of her are so much more decomposed than others, because swamps (more specifically low oxygen conditions) can slow decomposition a lot. this would make sense as to why her arms and legs are still mostly intact (just a bit dirty/moldy) while her torso, head, toes and fingers are all bone. her being torn to pieces would also make sense for the way that she moves, stretching the threads in her stitches and dislodging entire parts of her body. also the way her jaw dislodges when she screams could hint that he mightve torn it off.

i also think the bones on her spectre are super interesting: theres fish, snakes, a coyote skull on her hat, and i think some dog skulls as well (could be wrong, i didn't properly ID the skulls). its not totally clear to me whether any of the bones are animate, i'm assuming not but they do look to be screaming in certain panels (could be part of her earsplitting scream power, maybe not). but these bones could be other creatures that died in the same place, or even (this is a stretch ik) creatures tamerlane hunted (rich people still hunted for sport in the 30s i think, although i'm positive that poor people hunted for sustenance during the great depression, so then again the animals might've been killed by ada or her family for food)

the RIBBONS: oh my gosh ok i'm GIDDY about these okok so. if you somehow didn't notice the parallels between annabel lee and ada by this point, let me enlighten you. annabel and ada are paralleled a LOT. they're both single-minded and obsessive about love, they're both manipulative, they've both dabbled in playing both sides, they both have self-worth issues and have been victims of society as women (although ada also had the disadvantage of poverty). it's my slightly delusional opinion that annabel dislikes ada in part because she sees herself in her (ex. the panel where ada is all like "is there anything better than love?" and annabel grimaces and looks down) in any case the RIBBONS GUYS!! i don't have to tell yall that ribbons are constantly connected with annabel, and the way that HER fear sequence involved being wrapped in them. ada having ribbons on her skirts AND HAT (did yall notice that there is a giant ribbon tied AROUND HER NECK) (also in her HAIR. in spectre and in regular form the ribbon in her hair!!!! oh yall are not ready for me to start yapping about the significance of ada giving lenore her ribbon in the manor you're NOT ready) but anyway!!! ribbon literally around her neck, just like annabel in her fear sequence, could very well symbolize ada's own experience with the disempowerment of being a woman, the way she was not allowed to say anything (ex. tamerlane speaking over her as she bled out, no one respecting her, everyone overlooking her INCLUDING ANNABEL (ex. when ada says she might've underestimated lenore post-maze and annabel is SHOCKED) montresor being shocked by like. everything she does lmfao.) ok toooo be fair i'm not totally 100% on what the ribbons represent but i know they relate to annabel somehow I SENSE IT (insert conspiracy theorist gif)

also this vv (i think im allowed to share this)

but ye i wanted to mention that. NOW BACK TO ADA

the way she DIED: humiliated by someone who she thought loved her, certainly, but there is also a theory that she was pregnant when she died! to support this: she was axed in the stomach, told that she gave tamerlane "no choice" but to kill her. also:

ada didn't die in childbirth, but if she was pregnant she was killed directly (or like. roughly around) the womb.

AND AND AND (from An Encyclopedia of Fairies by Katharine Briggs in the section on banshees, quoted from Memoirs of Lady Fanshawe (from an alleged first-hand banshee encounter from the 1600s)

her subtype being Hag was foreshadowed when she taunted lenore post-maze and called her a hag, shrieking old crone etc (oh ada. oh ada no.)

her powers:

earsplitting scream is pretty standard procedure for banshees, i believe, not much to be said that i know of

mark of the grave: i don't think we've seen this one in action yet, but banshee encounters are very often premonitions of death from what i can see online, so she may be able to either mark someone for death or perhaps predict who is the next to die (could she have something to do with lenore's curse, perchance? did she mark her? or monty? maybe? i mean she did touch both of them and prospero in her spectre form quite a bit [WHAT IF SHE MARKED LENORE WITH THE RIBBON]) she also took prospero's cravat, it's unclear if that will come back but he has another one so maaaaybe not (would be neat tho) (ada is the best prospero hairdresser)

and of course, fear itself, her ability to create fear hallucinations:

i find the romantic/intimate undertones of this ability of hers FASCINATING. let me explain. in order to trigger this ability her target has to be staring into her eyes, and she often holds their face in her hands to guide their eyes to hers, in the same motion as though she were about to kiss them (although she ONLY does this with the men who MAY I MENTION are her love interests. it's kind of so so so so so interesting that its like she's taking the power back from these men who have been using her, disrespecting her, and underestimating her. also maaaybe she's violating their fears like this as a kind of late and misplaced revenge on tamerlane for what HE did to her and how HE violated her? am i insane perhaps? maybe.) but okok so. so. when she uses this ability she's almost flirty about it. ex. holding prospero gently, saying he's cute scared, face all up in lenore's and being all "not as brave as you pretend?~", and do i really have to explain how this is flirty? vvvv

also its sososososososososoooo interesting how she didn't do this with annabel, and annabel was also the only one who broke free of the illusion on her own. coincidence? I THINK NOT. like yes annabel has mental fortitude for miles and yes she's queen of dissociation, but i also think the illusion was weaker with her because of the clinical nature with which ada was looking at her, and the anger and impersonality when she grabbed her. also ada respects her like a lot. idk i think it has something to do with it. also the way monty's was like a FULLON hallucination where she wasnt even present. i would posit that's because of the strong emotion ada feels for him, and the romantic/intimate nature, again.

THE COMMON THREADS IN THE HALLUCINATIONS:

HANDS: the hands crawling up prospero, the handprints on monty + his mother's hands, and lenore's hands over annabel. (also the fewer amount of hands on annabel -> weaker hallucination perchance. but i digress). this goes once again along with the kind of intimate nature of ada's spectre. ada, someone presumably used for her body a lot in her life (at the very least by tamerlane, though i would bet money he wasn't the only one), having the power to make other people feel the fear she probably felt, through the use of hands over them. idk. idk its just a theory.

IMMOBILIZATION: this may be in part a freeze response on the part of her victims, but all of the hallucinations we've seen so far have included some kind of immobilization. annabel tied up with her ribbons and lenore, prospero rooted in place and being dissected by hands, monty being immobilized by fear the second his mother appears, wrapped around him and for the first time in the entire comic we see him submit to someone. to anyone. also his fight response is so interesting because his instinct is to fight anyone who is scaring him, EXCEPT FOR HIS MOTHER. sorry i'm. insane. he's so interesting. oh also lenore. personally i think her immobility WAS her fear response, and that her greatest fear was losing control of her body and being unable to help any of her loved ones because she literally couldnt even control herself but thats a whole nother ballpark.

aand i think thats all i can think of rn. im sure i'll come back to this later, ada is my everything and her spectre is so beyond gorgeous. i would kiss her right on the skull <3

ada's spectre, and why i'll likely always feel sad about it

here is the promised analysis/talk about ada's spectre. going to preface this by saying i obviously don't know the true intent behind everything and her design, i just like to look, giggle and then make sad little observations which just help me love this silly webcomic even more. so if you disagree with me on something– totally ok! i love to learn and i love to see different interpretations.

there's also a few bits i missed out because i wrote this all last night in a bit of a haze, and i cannot be bothered to expand on some of my ideas, especially when it's just stuff like "BROS SO PARANOID AND RAW RIGHT NOW".

anyways, here we go :) @mugcereal this one's for u pookie <3

so i think with ada's spectre, we first need to look at the instance as to how she gets it, because that always makes things way more sad!

to specify, she turns into her spectre at episode 69, and i think it's really sad how she does it. she basically gets a string of roasts from prospero that go along the lines of calling her "conceited" "twadry" and "... and stupid!" – effectively throwing back in ada's face what she believes everyone thinks of her.

(obviously, as a very big and glaring sidenote, i believe prospero is aro/ace or just aromantic so OBVIOUSLY i am not bashing him for this. bros told her so many times that he doesn't want to be with her, let alone to be touched. that is a flaw in ada's character and is a reminder to us on the importance of boundaries!!!!)

so, ada is basically there, collapsed on the floor in a robe– effectively showing the most intimate and private part of herself as an insecure and lonely girl. and that's when she transforms.

i think it's interesting to understand how this most likely links to her life and how she died. so we know she was killed with an axe, most likely by the man she fell in love with and worked for, and how prospero's words in this situation, hurt her just the same as the words before her death. why?

because they remind ada of what she knows and fears she is: just a stupid, fake and cheap person who will never have the same status and respect as the people she pretends to be and surrounds herself by.

i think it's also interesting that she's clutching her stomach/torso here, and correct me if i'm wrong but that could be a potential signal to the part of her that was axed to death (?). no idea if that's a good shout or not but it's what i first thought!

anyways! now we move onto her spectre design!

first of all, her spectre design eats. like just a personal side note, i love it. it's just so gorgeous and i don't care if she's terrifying to some because to ME? to me, she's my gorgeous little pookie who can scream and show people their worst fears and she looks amazing whilst she does it <3

ok anyways, actual design.

to first understand her design, i thought i'd show you what banshee's traditionally in folklore look like!

typically, they are described in two ways. the first way is a youthful women with long black hair, blue eyes and just super pale. this description could also lose the blue eyes and just keep the black hair– either way the first depiction of a banshee is a super young woman.

this is not the one we're focussing on today folks!

we're going to focus on the second depiction. a hag/ old woman, with red cheeks, a grey cloak and a green dress, often seen to be combing her hair. banshee's throughout folklore are known to wail, scream and cry when a family member had died. to most, the banshee was a sign that death was coming to your household and they are known in myths and folklore as a predictor of death.

now, hold onto the green dress and look at ada's design real quick for me.

here we see a lot of green, which yay! definitely shows signs it comes from the second depiction. i think, on top of it being a nod to the second depiction, i think it could also be an allusion to something else: jealousy.

green symbolism in media can often vary, from meaning new life, luck and also jealousy. and i think if we take in the things ada screams whilst in her spectre form, such as this from episode 82:

you see there definitely is some sort of jealousy there, but this isn't something i necessarily want to focus on, it's just an observation i made that may or may not be true!

anyways, to continue, i want to look at ada's outfit when she's a banshee. i'm going to basically be making my notes i took last night look nicer.

(keep in mind that when i wrote these, my ideas were literally bouncing off my brain and sometimes they're a bit contradictory, but i think that's the beauty of my crack theory analysis!)

i think the act of almost showing her bones to the outside, there's a level of rawness to ada we don't usually see. her spectre form essentially gives her the power to scream out her anger, and by seeing her bones it's almost as if to say this is the ada she doesn't show people. this is the ada that she keeps to herself because god forbid anybody love her (because in life and death it's become abundantly apparent to her that nobody does seem to love that ada).

but then, what i thought was also a super cool thing as how the bones almost act like a corset!

then i got sad because i looked at the bows, and because something dawned on me and it made me start to frown. there was a sad realization to me as i looked at ada's spectre design that even in this all powerful form, she hasn't lost her insecurities, they just become more prevellant. because for all of the traditional wrinkles, hag-like appearance a banshee is meant to have, ada barely has any.

obviously this could be in part to character design and stuff, and yeah probably– but let me be sad!

because ada carries her frills and bows from life here because she doesn't want to be ugly, she doesn't want to be this creeping monster who rips apart people. because if she's not got her intelligence or status or anything going for her, she has her appearance and by god she's not going to let that go to waste. so here her spectre form is, a banshee.

so what must ada do? she must takes her frills and keep her insecurities, her fears and her crippling need to be loved.

another aspect which is super interesting is the stitching on her body. one one hand, it could be an allusion to her violent death, suggesting the man she fell in love with didn't just stop at axing her once, but just kept on fucking going (which, you know: fuck you, whoever you are).

but on the other hand, it could be a metaphor for ada's thinly veiled facade she puts on of being a prim and proper lady (which we actually, interestingly enough, see she looses a lot the more time she spends with montresor– opting to take parts of his language like "ain't" and "beggin'". this sort of leads on from previous ideas people have made of ada willing to change herself to be loved. she swaps civility for the wild wild west all for a bit of love).

ada offers up parts of herself in this metaphor. that's what she always does. she offers herself to the rich man she fell in love with, she offers herself up to prospero (again, look at the. side note. bro wasn't wrong for rejecting her he literally can't like her) and she offers herself up to the acolytes and she fucking barks for them (because i'm not over that).

piece by piece, she strips away everything she is until she literally is just skin and bone. and once she's torn herself apart, she needs to stitch herself back together– because it's against the facade she's put on to look so broken and messy. and so she repeats the cycle again, giving more and more until she is literally hanging on by a thread.

her powers are also super cool. traditionally, as i said, banshees wail when a family member is soon to die/has died, and is often like an omen/predictor of death. so yeah, ada having a banshee scream makes sense. but the whole 'fear itself' is also super cool. i kind of like that she has this– because its sort of satisfying for her, the girl who's been pushed over but still comes running back, to watch as people become paralysed with fear. idk, retribution or whatever.

i'm going to leave you with this not very profound thing i wrote last night (and then just some other mumblings):

i think that although spectres are super powerful and also just a very fantastic concept, they're also fragile. spectres are quite literally the monster inside of you. yet here ada's monster is, and with all her bows and revamped dress of a banshee (or potentially an allusion to her life as a maid) she tries desperately to be anything but that. because to here it's ugly and it's too much of her on display. and with some much of you on display comes the very fear that if you are hated, disliked or something repulsive, you no longer have anything to blame on anybody else. you just have yourself to blame.

(as morella says here in episode 88).

i'm not saying ada isn't deeply flawed, because she is. she has so much fucking baggage and insecurities that they literally forbid her from doing the right thing sometimes. i don't think she's a good person, but i also think that she has the opportunity to be a good person/ do a semi-good/ non-bad thing, and all she has to do is take it. but i also think it's nice how that's shown in her spectre design.

and, you know, if none of this makes sense, that's also fine!

anyways, yeah. somebody tell me never to make a random analysis at night again because it's a bit of a bitch to translate in the morning.