#i hate how good mochijun's naming is

[noes-pillow]

I am...

...unwell

[X]

[ruiyuki]

"Vanitas": The Name and Legacy

Vanitas declares early on that his motive for using the Book of Vanitas to save vampires of the Red Moon is to take "revenge against the Vampire of the Blue Moon". But some of his actions, reactions and expressions seem to contradict a conventional interpretation of "revenge". Seeing how MochiJun is a master of conveying things through facial expressions, nondescript panels, and double meanings, here's my stab at trying to figure out a bit of Vanitas' complexity and his (??hidden??) motives.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ MANGA SPOILERS, obv ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Also this analysis is really long. ‼Continuation in reblogs.‼

For the sake of minimizing confusion I'm going to refer to our!Vanitas as "Vani", Vampire of the Blue Moon (VotBM) as "Luna", and the name "Vanitas"/"Vanitas of the Blue Moon" as a title in this analysis.

0. "Revenge" against the VotBM

Now, what kicked me into this train of thought initially was watching the scene where Vani announces his revenge plot to all during the Bal Masque. Ofc Bones is doing quite a good job with the anime (I can honestly forgive them for leaving out some scenes knowing budget constraints and that this was probably produced during COVID; it's just more reason to get viewers to read the manga) but there are still some subtle nuances that MochiJun puts in her work that don't get translated into the adaptation. So I revisited Memoire 7 and something just didn't sit right upon looking at that scene retrospectively – which I'll get to that in a bit – but first let me recap what is my interpretation of Vani's proclamation:

The origin story we were told at the start of the series illustrates that vampires are typically born under the Red Moon, except for the one born under the Blue Moon. VotBM, given the moniker "Vanitas of the Blue Moon" by others at the time, is said to have created the Book of Vanitas capable of manipulating the World Formulas in order to curse all the RM vampires that casted them out of vampire society. Cursing the RM vampires = turning them into curse-bearers inflicted with malnomen.

Vani's "revenge" against the VotBM is to use their name "Vanitas" and the Book to cure all RM vampires of their curses and malnomen. In that sense, Vani saving the vampires is directly opposing the vow to curse all RM vampires as told in the VotBM origin story.

Vani's revenge claim seems pretty straight forward. There is nothing of the sort as to claiming he will turn the vampires into humans, or rewrite their existence into something they are not, etc. It is literally just "I will heal you from your sickness out of spite towards the thing that wants you to suffer". His feral revenge proclamation on top of the chandelier lines up with his feral "I will save you no matter what, using whatever method I choose" at the end of Memoire 1 as Noé points out:

So here's the thing that felt a little out of place upon my rereading of Memoire 7:

This panel. Idk about you but as a long time reader of Pandora Hearts, imo one thing that makes MochiJun such a talented artist and great storyteller of plot twists and angst is how she depicts emotions in facial expressions – it is very subtle with a certain finesse. With the above panel, Vani's expression doesn't necessarily look like "anger" or "vengeance" to me. Rather (and it took me a while to place it actually, flipping back and forth between newer and older chapters) his expression looks... melancholic? Melancholy with sense of conviction.

It's noteworthy that MochiJun has made an intentional choice to emphasize Vani gripping his closed fist and his distant stare here, so it has to be important. So, what could Vani be thinking of in this moment? And why?

I. Vani's hidden expressions and feelings towards Luna

To (attempt to) figure out what might be going through Vani's mind in this moment, let's take a look at some moments we've seen Vani making different expressions and when he's thinking back to the VotBM – or really, his time with Luna. Vani claims he hates vampires, but there are obvious exceptions (Jeanne, Noé). What's interesting though is that, despite claiming to hate the VotBM, I don't think he hates Luna. He may hate the being that Luna is but I don't think he hates Luna as a person.

We can see the difference between his hatred and active desire to kill Moreau, as well as his completely blank, no-remorse kinda expression toward the Chasseur's cross in the Catacombes arc vs the above panel after his revenge proclamation:

Also contrast the above chandelier expression to Vani's empty look of distain in Dante's flashback when they first meet:

I would say none of these Vani expressions look very similar to the chandelier one — the empty or blank stares are missing a sense of resolve and the teeth-gritting smirk lacks any bit of sadness felt in the scene. Now, when do we ever see Vani make another expression of what I would call melancholy?

Ughghgh these panels break my heart every time bc there is such a sense of sadness, it's distant but palpable and it is t r a g i c... but I digress.

We have no way of knowing what Vani is thinking in these panels but I have a few ideas:

Vani thinks back to something Luna said about how one should use the Book of Vanitas when Noé says using the Book's power to cure curse-bearers is "overwhelmingly right". What Luna said? Who knows, but it may be along the same lines of "despite its power" and "doing the right thing".

Vani realizes the reason Misha wants Noé to drink his blood is bc Misha doesn't remember what happened That Day. He repeats "... I see." twice as if he's reaffirming to himself that he's the only one left that remembers what happened. If Misha did remember, there would be another person to share the memory but Misha doesn't and Vani is alone in the world in that sense.

If we are to assume that this is what's going through Vani's mind in these moments, then we have to ask why? Vani thinking back to his time with Misha and Luna elicits this sadness (possibly likely?) bc Vani did truly enjoy his time with them and didn't actually hate Luna. In his own flashbacks of Luna teaching he and Misha about malnomen (first being Malnomen Prèdateur in the Catacombes arc, second of Chloé's Malnomen Millie) and the flashback of "love" during the Gevaudan Arc, we see that Vani may be grumpy or indifferent while being with Luna, but he is still attentively listening and comfortable enough around them for them to hug him:

Ofc, we can't forget that Vani, in his fever and poison-induced delirium, even mumbles to himself ".. didn't actually hate... I didn't... Lou..—" while recovering in the cabin with Jeanne. Given that just before this he asks "Is that what you really want? Truly?" in response to Jeanne saying "This time for sure, I'll kill the beast", perhaps we can even posit that Vani didn't actually hate Luna and didn't actually want to kill them? (I have another theory on what could have happened on That Day but let's get through this one first *wheeze*).

So let's summarize:

Vani claims he will cure RM vampires of their malnomen as revenge toward the VotBM, who is said to have created the Book of Vanitas to curse RM vampires that made them an outcast.

Curing RM vampires of malnomen = revenge since it is directly opposing using the Book to inflict curses

But Vani shows a look of sadness mixed with conviction that contradicts what would be thought of when claiming "revenge", which could possibly be him thinking back to his time with Luna, whom he did not actually hate and possibly did not want to kill but had to anyway.

So here's my theory: the reason why Vani has assumed the name "Vanitas" and is on a quest to cure RM vampires of their malnomen with the Book of Vanitas is to "rewrite" the reputation behind the name Vanitas of the Blue Moon.

... And I will continue explaining this in the reblogs ⤵️⤵️⤵️ bc holy fuck this meta is so long I have reached the image limit per post asjfklgs

[96percentdone]

hey red! (hope i can call you that) saw a lot of your posts about rezero. thought i'd ask what's it about. im fairly new to anime so i am exploring various genres! would love to know about rezero from you

thanks : )

from me? wow im honored, thanks. Also, you can call me Red. It's my name lmao; it would be weird if you couldn't use it.

So Re:Zero is a anime based on a light novel (based on a web novel) in the isekai genre. If you're new to anime, you might not know what isekai is, so...Isekai is a japanese word that literally means "different/other world." As a genre it refers to stories where a character (or characters) from our world get transported into another, usually fantasy setting, whether its through being trapped in a video game like Sword Art Online, or being literally summoned into another universe with different rules, etc. Often, but not exclusively, this genre is used for wish fulfillment where a guy gets transported and becomes super powerful and all the cute anime girls love him and want to bone him, and it's lame. But I like Re:Zero, which means it's not lame.

Re:Zero is about Natsuki Subaru, a recluse who gets transported into the fantasy kingdom of Lugunica. Subaru is a massive anime fan, who is very familiar with the isekai genre, so he immediately assumes he's going to be this overpowered dude who is gonna get all the chicks and that everything in this world is designed to operate in his favor....and it's not. He knows nothing, gets his ass beat, and then dies within a day. That's not a spoiler: Subaru dying is the premise. Subaru's one magic skill he has is a thing he calls Return By Death, where every time he dies he automatically returns to a previous checkpoint and can start over from there. I love fucking time travel anime, so I was sold on this concept alone.

But the reason I love Re:Zero so much is because of the character work, especially for Subaru. A lot of work is put into exploring the kind of insecure kid who would cling to an isekai fantasy, and the parts of his personality that are endearing, or even destructive. It takes a lot of care in showing how Subaru grows into the best version of himself, and someone he can be proud of instead of someone he hates. Because he's uh...very flawed, especially for the first three arcs, a lot of people might really struggle with the story because if you find him more grating than sympathetic you won't care if he suffers, but for me despite his flaws he was easy to sympathize with, and seeing him grow is really satisfying. I don't think it's like...a super feminist story or anything, but in particular I liked seeing the story tackle his shift from seeing Emilia (love interest) as someone for him to rescue as a means to prove his own worth to someone of her own value and not just there for him to find a way to love himself.

As a story, it still enjoys some of the genre staples, whether they're good or problematic, but it's very earnest and cares deeply about the characters. It's a character study at heart with a lot of love and compassion, and that's why I like it. I think if you like VnC, or MochiJun works, you'd probably be able to understand why it's enjoyable for similar reasons.

[vnckocurzyca]

New chapter new analysis

I’m publishing it one more time because it didnt show in tags for some reason???

I put it under “read more” so maybe now.

I finally read translation so I can finally write something about the new chapter. I know people’s strong feelings towards it and I think it’s totally understandable huh

I, personally, liked this chapter even if I think it was creepy as fuck. But I know Jun’s work and how she writes her stories and I know that she purposely made it really uncomfortable. I think this chapter was made to be upsetting because what happened during it was kinda important?

Warning; LONG POST (contains spoilers to new chapter)

First thing - Noe was forced to see some Vanitas’s memories. Of course by Misha eyes, but still it’s Vanis past. And as we know already, Vanitas REALLY didn’t want Noe to know about anything his past-related. He even threated him that he would kill you if Noe would someday try to drink his blood. So it’s opening for totally new conflict. We have two options

Vanitas would come to place and see Noe drinking Mishas blood and it would be horrible

Vanitas wouldn’t see it and Noe would live in sting of remorse and we know how emotional Noe is and it would be also horrible. And this option also has 2 options

Noe would finally tell Vani that he drank Mishas blood and it would be horrible

Misha would tell Vanitas that Noe drank his blood and it also would be horrible

When Noe started drinking Mishas blood he walked into a trap and there is no escape now. Vanitas is going to KNOW this and its going to be a problem, because knowing Vanis past, memories and emotions was a borderline in their relationship - Noe didn’t get a permission to step over it. And now he just... steped, because of Mishas blackmail.

Also the whole scene was made to be creepy - we can clearly see that Noe is distraught and scared and uncomfortable. We can hear his thoughts, we can see his terrified face

He is terrified for A LOT of reasons. A lot.

He is scared of Domis life. He don’t know what is going on with her and she is unconscious and she can literally DIE. Domi is his best friend, his childhood friend and nearly all family he has left. Domi is the closest person to him and he can’t just lose her like he lost Louis.

He DON’T WANT to read Vanitas’s past without his permission and knowledge. Its awful, it’s non consensual and non-con it’s something Noe hates, because, even if he would like to know Vani’s past (what he said back before Gevaudan arc) he don’t want to know it without Vanis consenst and he didn’t push. And now he is forced to see them, to betray Vani’s trust.He, probably, hates himself thanks to it.

He is blackmailed, bullied and intimidated which is bad on it’s own. He has absolutely NO CONTROL over a situation, he is absolutely subordinated and can’t do anything to change his situation. It’s scary.

He is forced to drink blood, which is a really intimate and delicate activity for him. He hates being forced to drink blood and forcing to drink blood, and, additionaly, Misha is a kid. Or, at least, he look like a kid (it’s hard to say his age for sure and how many years their past with Moreau happened). It’s gross, creepy and weird and Noe feels it. We can see him backing away from a fucking kid.

Jun did it purposely. Combine all of it, to made the horror moment for him, probably to break him in front o Misha.

The running thing in Vanitas no Carte is motif of Noe not having any control over anything in his life (even without his noticing). Noe never had a control over anything.

He didn’t have a control over his life during childhood, ie when he was sold on auction

He didn’t have any control over Louis’s death and curse. He couldn’t do anything to save him or to save other kids back then. He could do nothing.

He don’t have any control in general - he was trained by the Teacher to be his pupil. Noe don’t even know how big control Grandpa de Sade has over him and his doings.

He didn’t have any control when Domi found him at Orloks. She just kidnapped him to Altus.

He don’t have any control over his relationship with Jeanne - anytime he wants to talk to her or about her he is interuptted.

He didn’t want his blood be sucked by Ruthven and he didn’t want to Swear.

He don’t have any control now. He didn’t wanted to know Vanis past non consensualy, he didn’t wanted to drink Mishad blood, he don’t want to see Domi in this situation.

It’s a writing continuity. We are being told how little control Noe has over his (and others) life. It’s becaming a plot point. MochiJun knows what she is doing. She purposely made the whole chapter creepy and unsettling. She need us to know that what is happening right now is wrong - not only drinking blood from a 1/4 naked kid, but also the rest. Everything. That this chapter is traumatic - we literally touched Noes trauma, Domis trauma and Mishas trauma over a few pages and panels:

Dominique - we can see how she reacted to Louis death, how she wanted to make Noe feels better, why she changed her hairstyle and outfit, how she hated herself because it was her brother who died, not her. We can see it now - she is depressed, she hatees herself and would prefer to die over Louis. She was easy to catch for Misha.

Noe - we can see that he can do anything for Domi because she is his last friend, his family, last thing (person) he has. He can’t lose her, he is desperate and traumatized over Louis death so he can do anything, even suck Mishas blood and know Vanis past even if he hates it and its wrong for him.

Misha - we can see thanks to his flashbacks that it was hinted he was (if I undertand english correctly, sorry, it’s not my first language) se*//ually abused as a child. He thought his mother was possesed by devil, it was traumatizing on it’s own, but he was also dressed as a girl, physically abused and hit by his mother and used during her “sessions” with clients. Then he was kidnapped by Moreau who, probably, was experimenting on him just like on Vanitas - so Misha was abused again. And later Vanitas killed “father” what also traumatized him. His behaviour towards Noe it’s not really that suprising - its horrible and sad and heartbreaking knowing why Misha is that way, but its logical. It has sense. It’s just how his trauma made him.

Sooo do I think what happened in the chapter was good or okay? No. It was creepy and made me feel sick. But do I think Jun is bad for making it this way? No. I think her work is great, because she actually did planned it logically. She delivered TONS OF INFORMATIONS by only one chapter. Tons, about a lot of characters - Misha, Vanitas, Noe, Dominique, even Roland (he know Misha is one thing, but, also, why he was so beaten up? What happened my man? Who hurted you?) It wasn’t just gross pedo-fanservice some people accused it to be. (even if it was gross anyway och my gos this scene with Misha standing over Noe was frightening, I was just as scared as Noe, I felt like I was in his place and I was looking at Misha)

Also! I’m pretty sure one of the reason for Misha undressing his collar a little bit was for us (and maybe Noe too) to see his possesion mark on his arm. For some reason we, as an audience, need to know this.

But! We also get a lot of different informations -

Domi is a royal guard and is working in castle, so she probably knew Luca before and had contact with him or some other royal people. i think it’s interesting that she worked at castleas a royal guard.

Luca probably likes Domi and was worried about her. Also after knowing she is missing he decided to took direct actions, he is not passive.

Misha has Vanitas of the Blue Moon’s possesion mark on his hand. It’s really interesting, especially when we know that its his prosthetic arm. Somebody tried to cut his arm with a possesion mark and I bet it was Vanitas or Misha himself. Yet it DIDN’T work, mark of possesion is still here, above his prosthetic.

Noe “don’t know anything about Vanitas”. It was an important sentence. It was something that Noe need to know narratively speaking. It’s pushing the story forward, because Noe’s and Vani’s relationship is the core of the story. It was literally told in the first chapter that it’s a story about their journey.

Misha had a lot of bruises on his whole body after he was rescued. We knew he was beaten, but we could also see it’s evidence.

Mishas face when Noe drank his blood was similar to his mother face when a vampire drank his blood. It wasn’t accidental, we were shown his trauma and how it’s affected him.

Next thing I noticed:

In this panel, Misha looks A LOT like Vanitas. Og course he has child features and chubbier face, he has white(?) hair and eyelashes ets, but his mimic, his gaze, how one of his eyes is covered by hair and his words. Its literally how Vanitas’s panel would be draw. It’s really Vanitaish.

We also got some questions, like:

What happened to Misha and how he lost his hand?

What Luca ordered Jeanne? (probably to check out real Paris and maybe find Domi or Noe)

Why Mishas mark of possesions was so important for us to know?

Is that Roland met Misha in the past important?

Why was Roland so beaten up?

There was also one more thing. Jun is operating in her story not only by making parallels betweend her characters (ie Teacher and VotBM, or Astolfo nad Vanitas, or Louis and Domi etc) but also contrasts. The biggest contrast motif on the story are probably Vanitas and Noe thanks to not only their history, but also their appearance, personality, design of their clothes, their height, their names (Vanitas being related to death and vanity, Noe being related to saving and something biblical etc). Their whole characters are made constrast. And so we got here:

Vanitas and Misha are not made parallels, theyre made contrast.

Misha is looking from the upside, Vanitas is looking from the above, Mishas hair is white, Vanitas hair is black, Vani has a shadow over his face, misha is lighted. Misha has white eyelashes, Vani has black. Misha looks calm an suprised, Vani looks stressed. Their whole “atmosphere” is different. Even if Misha is bruised in this panel he looks clean, even angelic, when Vanitas looks... bad, he has dark circles under eyes, wrinkled eyebrows, bandage etc. They’re made to contrast themselves, not to be compared to. It’s the next hint about their role in the story I suppose. That they’re not similar, they’re not the same and there is something basically different about their roles.

I would also like to write about shadow and light work in this chapter, but I’m just really tired right now, soo here it is! My analyze od the new chapter, or, at least, the most important parts of it (for me). I liked it in general, but it was... stressed and I was anxious about this chapter for the one whole day. But in general I think Jun did gods work with delivering informations she wanted to delivere.

[cheekbites-moved]

vnc ep 4 reactions

time for another sexy vampire mood cleanse

oh we opening up with some lore very sexy

THAT WE’VE BEEN REPLACED WITH MATH?!!?!? absolute nightmare scenario. if that is the world we live in i have to gtfo here rn

.....well. i mean if that was true maybe i’d be fine with living there actually. i’d never have allergies again. i could vibe with this

silent princess??? in MY sexy vampire anime??? it’s apparently more likely than i would’ve ever guessed

luminous stone... also... in my sexy vampire anime. incredible. crossover of a lifetime. 

the vampires. everyone say thank u whatever this guy’s name is i already forgot but thank u for the vampires mr.... very long p name

omg it’s his teacher talking i thought i knew the voice lol though like. it’s interesting bc u know. his teacher is break’s va, and u can tell if u squint with ur ears, but he has a Range. so. it also sounds like a different not break voice u know. im very coherent right now as u can tell

BABY NOOOEEEEE WHO HURT U BABY ILL FUCK THEM UP. STRAIGHT TO THE ABYSS WITH THE BASTARD WHO DARE HURT U BABY

shut up that’s so pretty mentally im frolocking amongst the pretty blue lights

what a pretty shot wtf. love being decked in the nose w remembering this is a mochijun adaptation and her beautiful art is finally being done such justice

........well that was a weird interaction im uncomfortable

oh sick the gay jams to cleanse me 

i want to dramatically dance to this bitch so bad. someday when im home alone again. and have more than a quarter stamina wheel at my disposal.

rly just makes me want to swing around a street light and tap dance u know

i know these are all very generic anime op things but i like that both the vnc & ph openings mention the sky. and dreams. bc the ph op was one of the few good things that we got u know i expect it to be used again for the reboot. i do trust yuki kaijura to make whatever she does sexy, but fiction junction still performs the ph op sometimes, so like. idk. i would rly love to see it get used again, maybe updated a bit or smth somehow.

swarm of batbies: exist. squeaking.

me: my soul has been cleansed

u ever gay for an anime wall light bc im gay for this anime wall light it has no right being that pretty

why isn’t that my closet :/ 

.....................im so sorry but holy shit her ass

actually im not sorry ur not surprised i dont hide my horniness at all for vampires im an adult if i think a vampire has a nice ass imma say it tkjtr

help the scary music box is making me so scared even though things seem so... well they are in a dark closet with no lights on nvm

:/ mr pretty eyes. always gotta throat punch me with how pretty his gorgeous blue eyes are smfh

HHJTHJRTHRJTHHH?!?!!H HHHHJHTJHR HHH

GOD I WISH I WAS DOMIIIIIIII 

u know at least they make it sexy. so much vampire shit is like “aa noo a vampire sucking my blood?! aaa so scary!!” mochijun said “no. actually. im here for all the bitches with a vampire biting u kink. that shit’s sexy we gonna make it sexy.” ty mochijun for my horny for vampire rights

vanitas sitting there listening to them like “wish i was in the middle” me too vanitas. me too.

OH NO IT IS A BALL EPISODE OH NO OH NOOOOO AAAAA

all the good horny was a false sense of security i see. dammit... it fooled me

THERES SKULLS ON THE CHANDELIER.... that’s p cool actually i like that but it also makes me so scared. foreshadowing? pls no

oh no break’s crew is here we gotta go

well i was right abt it being a masquerade. im both proud of myself and terrified shitless abt what im in for. esp bc damn this bitch is happening EARLY. we didn’t get to the ball in ph until what.... like. the 40s-50s chapters?? im assuming an episode is like. 1-2 chapters each so we’re not even 10 chapters in & im already gonna get my ass handed to me by the ball chapter. oh god.

he is at a ball in a mochijun series, domi, i too would feel unwell.

PIRATE

:/........ sexy vampire pirate holding a rose i hate him get out stop meeting all my standards u absolute bastard of a man

oh no there’s children oh no i’m so scared for the children they’re at a mochijun ball i hope they live holy shit

d,,, dalliance? what does that mean?

.....................................oh

THE FUCKING EXAMPLE SENTENCE SAYS “jack was not averse to an occasional dalliance with a pretty girl.” u keep that bastard’s name AWAY from me, google. especially in such a context how dare u fucking curse me like this

i mean i heard u guys too that shit was. um. i mean. u know. 

i once again am wishing that i was domi

his already obnoxiously over the top pirate outfit even has glitter wow. fashion icon. absolute gnc bicon

u

um

h

OH OK SO WE’RE JUST GONNA FADE TO BLACK OK... DUNNO WHY I EXPECTED ANYTHING ELSE

um. child. why do u have... plague doctors with you.... as like... ur guards....

nooo jeanne

well ok what a fucking transition

U CANT BOTH SMRIK AT EACH OTHER RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME FUCK U TKJRTKJTTR

vanitas u are literally on a torture wheel why would u say something like that

th the music

OH GOD OH NO WTF TKJTKERJ IS HAPPENING VANITAS NO

it looks. like. the contractor seal. i am concerned.

he is so terrifying when he wants to be

he rly is having a villain monologue abt saving ppl. this edgy bitch

WHERE IS THAT WIND COMING FROM HELLO

ktjktjrtk god he’s so fucking feral god i hate and love him so much

u are a child, dear, please cut urself a break

awwwee

ah shit

i hate u. u freak.

she’s so pwetty

uh oh

see i said what i said never go to a ball in a mochijun story it never goes well

YEEEEEESSS FUCK IT UP NOE MY LOVE GOD UR SO BEAUTIFUL

dont trust him jeanne oh my god

this episode is so fucking horny oh my god

YEET

vanitas pls stay in ur bubble out of her personal space

H...... TJHTREK HRJHREJEHJRBE HHHJTHJRHEW HHHHH GJHRJEHHHH OK SO THE ONE EARLIER WASN’T HORNY ENOUGH OK... ALRIGHT... SHIT

oh no she gone and made him realize he has a vampire biting him kink oh no

WELL THEN........... THAT SURE WAS. SOMETHING

“friends” ok. well. dont know what to take from that but. alright

[snowylacie]

1, 12, 17, 20, 21, 26, 30, 36, 37, 45, 46 (also hello

1: How long have you been in the fandom? 

uhmm i’m actually not sure…? i’ve only been on tmbl for a bit more than 3 years (although i stalked the PH tmbl fandom since years before i created my acc, every month after a release came here to scream at the new edits ;_;) but when the manga was still running i used to be active in the PH fandom of other sites that no longer exist nowadays. i took various breaks from said fandoms too because the community per se wasn’t that important to me back the day so uhhh i’ve been on and off but kinda for a reasonable amount of time we could say? i’ve never been as close to any kind of ph fandom as i’m now, i always kept some distance12: Headcanons I have?ADA AND SHARON BECAME BEST FRIENDS. they had so much in common and personality-wise and inner strength as well!!! they would make such a great match ;__; 

17: Saddest character death in my opinion?jack’s…. also oswald’s…. also the twins and oz disappearing…. FANG… that was one big betrayal… ;;;;but the one that probably impacted me most was elliot. when he died i was younger and by then he was my fav character sharing the #1 spot with lacie’s tomb and the surrounding mystery. i refused to acknowledge his death when it first happened, but because the manga was monthly i (and all elliot fans lbr) was anxiously clinging onto hope and waiting for the following month wishing that it was just a scare. so when there were no more doubts that he was as dead as one can be it felt like he died for a second time :’) i mourned him so much oh dear..

20: Opinion on the Baskervilles?i LOVE them!!! they have been my favorite house since the minute one and their supremacy in my heart has never wavered. i joined for the mystery, secrets and the dark vibes and i stayed because they delivered ;w; i do wish we had known more things about each member and of the history of the house though.. many of my favorite characters are baskervilles so this also added up, although it is honestly less relevant. their role was right up my alley and they have a lot of, eh, charisma imo? 

21: Who would I cosplay as?i don’t think i’d ever cosplay because i don’t have the confidence… but if i ever did i’m sure i would choose one of my dear girls 

26: Alice or Alyss?YOU CAN’T DO THAT TO ME ;;;;;; umm umm you see, i love both them SO MUCH and… quite equally ;;; i don’t want to have to choose… 

but.. if i really had to say, i’ve got some bias toward……… alyss :’) maybe a 1% stronger bias than with alice but it’s still here…. since i’m here and to compensate alice, let me ramble about things i love about her!! *w* first and foremost i admire A LOT alice’s strength of spirit and the way she’s able to take difficult decisions with resolution!! giving up is not on her vocabulary and she never lets herself wallow in sadness or gloominess for a long time. she ALWAYS!! gets back on her feet and will try to keep others’ spirits high as well (in her pretty particular ways). i love her passion and courage, she’s one of the most gryffindor characters i’ve ever seen ;;; her heart is just so big and while she can be rash she has no malice ;v; when gilbert apologised to her for the things he told her in the past and she said she didn’t mind because the gilbert who mattered to her was the current one… look…. i was and i still am moved beyond words, this moment meant so much to me ;;;; i also truly value that alyss is the first one listed in her dearests list ;;;; she’s so caring and dedicated to her loved ones ;;;w;;;

30: If I could make two characters interact more, who would they be?

*rolls up sleeves* ada and oz!!!! my beloved siblings… i’ve been wishing for it for a long time but ever since someone made that post about ada having lost all her family + person she loved in a few days that i think about it even more often and with more desperation ;A; they loved each other so much…. THE RELATIONSHIP CHART SAID THEY FELT DEEP AFFECTION FOR EACH OTHER ;;;;A;;;; alyss and alice!!! my beloved twins who loved each other a lot and yet…? ;;; alyss and oz!!! oz and lacie!!!! oswald and lacie!!! alyss-alice-oswald!!! why did alyss dislike oswald? and i sure wish the twins had been able to meet their mom ;;also ada and sharon!!! i think we actually haven’t seen them interact at all but they for sure know about each other if only because they’re from the most powerful dukedoms…?fang-lily-doug-lottie!!! they are an incredible family, i love them so much and i loved every little interaction they had and the way they were so supportive of each other and all took care of lily ;;;;; 

oz, elliot and leo as the promising friendly trio they were about to become *tea party flashbacks* ;_;

and this is very self-indulgent BUT my one ph dream for years has been lacie and lottie meeting each other!!! it hadn’t been a long time since lacie died that lottie arrived at the mansion… we could have had it all ;____; and also i wish alyss and leo had met!!! for some reason i think it’d be very interesting to see ;_;i have more more sure but now i’m unable to recall hhh ….watch me regretting not having added x or y the moment i send this

36: Favorite character backstory?

THE ALICES!!!! both alice and alyss omg… their story is full of ups and downs and they both suffered a lot and had to take harsh decisions… they didn’t get as much exposure maybe but in hindsight they had a real lot going onand also jack’s! it’s pretty simple in credible as in being the bastard son of a noble, but there was a twisted component about him from the get go that i just can’t help but be very drawn to it… i have a huge soft spot for young jack…and lily’s too ;w;

37: Least favorite character backstory?Hmmm i don’t really have one, but ifd i have to choose i suppose it’d be leo’s? not bad or anything but to me it’s one of the most average in the story

45: NOTP?i’m some ships i’m not too fond of but the only real notp is lacie and levi.since l’m an obvious jacie fan let me clarify that this is not a matter of shipping wars! i don’t think things like “it’s getting on the way of my ship”. actually i’m completely fine with how canon went and i think their relationship was interesting and without levi the twins wouldn’t exist either

i have a complicated relationship with levi, he’s my most disliked character although that’s not to say i hate him or i have particularly bitter feelings. more than anything, i have lots of mixed feelings regarding him and i’ve gone through many levi phases. the fact that the moment he appeared became my 3rd fav chara in ph is pretty indicative, imo. and he stayed in that spot for a long time, too.. but not even then did i ship him with lacie. i just don’t see the relationship this way from lacie’s side and her pov is the one that matters to me + she’s my favorite character so i can’t bring myself to pair her with someone i don’t have the same amount of love for, let alone one for whom i feel so complicated.

46: Favorite AU?MAGICAL GIRL LACIE!!!!! i wish mochijun had done an omake chapter or smth about it, it was too good??? those pages talking about that nonexistent anime are among my favs of side ph material, i’d give all my money to see more of it!! plus the pandora girls seemed to appear more and they pretty much have the monopoly of my ph top ;w; aaand also the ph gakuen? or how was it named? where the characters were in university, jack wore those horrible clothes (dungarees?) yet looked adorable & also wore one of the loveliest smiles mochijun ever drew on him and lacie looked graceful and wonderful as ever ada and sharon becoming best friends who lost so many peaple dear to them and maybe even living together. my sunshines… ;v;

[vera-invenire]

VnC Liveblog - Chapter 7

.All chapter liveblogs are linked HERE.

Hey, note for people following along: the last two chapters (5 and 6) didn’t show up on the main Vanitas no Carte tags because Tumblr filters out any posts that have outside links in them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But they’re done and the links for them are right up there. ^

Now, on to chapter 7!

Methinks MochiJun is running out of art for the chapter covers. That’s okay, I like this guy’s face.

OH MY GOD ARE WE GETTING WORLDBUILDING I AM EXCITED

So. Paracelsus. Famed physician and alchemist, called the Luther of medicine. He’s got a wikipedia page that I’m not gonna link to here *shakes tiny fist at tumblr* but probably the most interesting thing about him (if not the most important, in this context) is that ‘Paracelsus’ was his pen name. His real name?

Theophrastus von Hohenheim. Yeah. That von Hohenheim. Or at least the original one he was named after.

More pertinent, I think, is the fact that Paracelsus was a doctor, like our main character. He had a reputation for disdaining conventional medical thought (as this was the 1500s, this was not unwarranted) and for prioritizing practical experience over unproven theories preached by people with silly titles. Going by Vanitas’ fight with Orlok, I think he would have liked Paracelsus.

With Paracelsus involved, we now have a timeline for Babel -- it occurred sometime during the first half of the 1500s, creating vampires, astermite, the border, and, apparently, a number of disasters.

(the sudden appearance of vampires among the human population might have been disastrous enough, but I wonder if there were other things that were thrown out of wack.)

I don’t...quite get this formula business yet, so I’m gonna wait to comment on that until it’s more clear.

Nice job breaking it, Hohenheim.

This is like the tenth time the church has been mentioned, when are they gonna show up?

Hello, Creepy Teacher. Still without eyes, I see.

But not all coal and not all humans were altered.

And what is that on Teacher’s lapel, a clock with wings --

...time flies. You think you’re clever, don’t you.

...he’s planning on using Noé, the last Archiviste. Noé is key to something. What are you planning, Creepy Teacher.

Memoire 7 Bal Masque

Night of Sneering Masks

Lord Ruthven has a real swanky place, don’t he.

On the one hand, I want to go to a ball like this. On the other, it is full of vampires. Who, admittedly, seem like fairly decent people on average -- when they’re not losing their minds and going on murderous rampages.

Kinda looks like the Charlatan parade, though, no?

Hm, Domi is a bit shorter than Noé than I thought she was.

...wait, wait, wait, hold up. let’s zoom in here.

that’s Domi??? that looks like Unnerving Boy. crap, is she Unnerving Boy? i was joking about that before.

Glad I’m not the only one making that connection. The narrative wants this decadence to remind us of Charlatan. re: we shouldn’t trust it.

Domi: That guy’s gonna keep a low profile, right?

Vanitas: *seducing ALL the ladies at the ball*

Y’all knew he was an unrepentant grandstander. What did you expect.

(note: Vanitas knows sleight of hand)

(note: vampires can smell humans)

Hahahahaha, “I don’t understand how vampires define ‘friend’“ is my new favorite line, right along with “several different kinds of unfortunate”.

So my question is, can he only see the memories while he’s drinking? Or can he revisit them whenever he wants?

Vanitas adapted to the usefulness of that collar real quick.

I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I KNEW THAT DUM-DUM WOULD LEAVE THESE TWO ALONE AND SHIT WOULD HIT THE FAN

this is gonna be good

So spoketh Dominique de Sade. Never has a character been more aptly named.

(yo, is that Ada’s iron maiden. and a tortured stuffed white rabbit in the corner, too. the spirit of Vincent is alive and well.)

Meanwhile...Noé has found a new toy.

precious cinnamon roll, too pure, etc etc

ohoho, I think we know this kid.

HI, LUCA. And Jeanne can’t be that far away.

These guys are bodyguards, or retainers? Dressed like plague doctors, nice touch.

Luca (Lucius?), this is the man who held you hostage, why you lying.

Uh-oh. Something is clearly wrong with Jeanne.

...you might even say, she should probably see a doctor. *baddum-ting* (I think she’d prefer to die of consumption)

But it seems to be something she’s suffered from before? Is it her breathing or her throat?

Likely the same sister who lent Domi the collar and chain. Sister has interesting hobbies.

“I was all excited!” Yeah, this game is gonna be called Ha Ha, Surprise, I’m Kinkier Than You.

Point, Vanitas.

But Domi rallies nicely.

This is where we start getting real; Domi doesn’t fuck around when it comes to Noé. But does she really need to threaten to carve out Vanitas’ eye with a knife??

...throw more knives at him, Domi.

This is why you need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Vanitas. (also check the misogyny, I don’t want you to turn into Vincent, please)

She brings up some very good points.

Ooo, and it looks like something she said hit home. ...or one of the knives stabbed him. Nah, the black border means a brief flashback of some kind.

...Vanitas hates the Vampire of the Blue Moon. Well, well.

So why did he take his name?? And his Book???

(omg, did he steal the Book)

He’s cracked. He’s gonna do something stupid and/or reckless.

HE’S GONNA THROW HIMSELF BACKWARD OFF THE BALCONY. 

Well, he did say he was gonna get their attention.

(”you’re worried about Vanitas? you should be worried about me.” “no, wait, i mean, i’m here to save vampires. yes. out of the goodness of my bitter heart.”)

The chandelier’s made of bones, it’s a vampire ball, why wouldn’t it be.

Poor Domi’s like, ‘crap, I pushed the punk too far.’

The cajones on this kid.

Like, seriously, isn’t he supposed to be hiding the fact that he’s human...?

This is revenge for always wandering off and disappearing, Noé.

The gloves are coming off again and this time it’s not a bluff.

Holy crap, that’s a lot more extensive than I thought it’d be. Looks a lot like the moon and spider-webbed sky above Altus Paris, doesn’t it? And this mark is lower on his arm than we saw earlier.

Actually, let’s go back and compare. This is from chapter 4 --

So in chapter 4, we saw marks on his left arm. But...is it the same kind of mark? And how many marks does he have?

Branding is something you do to livestock.

The eyes look like the moon look like the brand. (ha, how much you want to bet the moon over Altus Paris is red and Vanitas’ mark is blue)

And the hourglass is front and center once again. He wears that thing for a reason and that reason is connected to the Vampire of the Blue Moon.

So was he really granted some kind of power, or is this another bluff? Then again, the power could be the ability to use the Book.

I’m starting to think the Vampire of the Blue Moon isn’t the only one who hates vampires...

(”fighting monsters is best left to other monsters”)

I would not trust a doctor who looked at me with a face like that, i’m just saying

And now this crusade to save the vampires makes much more sense.

In doing this, not only will Vanitas get the pleasure of having the vampires he’s curing at his mercy, but with each vampire he saves he sticks it to the Vampire of the Blue Moon.

This was never a charitable cause. This is a fuck you to the entire world, the original Vanitas in particular.

Everyone: “oh shit, this guy’s even crazier than we thought.”

Did he...not mean to say that part out loud...? Or did he see something in the crowd?

Guess we find out next chapter! Which is -- HERE.