#the vanoé agenda

[neversetyoufree]

I think this point got a little lost amid the general fandom glee at Dominique and Vanitas bonding (or at least it did for me), but looking back at chapter 60, the implications that this scene has for Vanitas are fucking wild.

It's not the only aspect of her relationship with him, but a huge cornerstone of Dominique's feelings toward Noé is the fact of her absolutely massive crush on him. Like, as much as she's venting about how he frustrates her, Dominique's thoughts on Noé in this scene are the thoughts of a woman that is canonically in love with him. And Vanitas apparently thinks/feels the exact same way.

As their shared venting reaches its fever pitch, Vanitas and Dominique both reach the exact same ending point. Noé is stubborn and overly straightforward and unrelenting, and both of them feel helpless against it. And they say as much!

They say as much, and then they both cut themselves off and flinch away in the exact same way, as though they've said too much. They've revealed some deeper truth about their feelings and the ways that Noé's force of personality affects them.

Dominique reacts this way presumably because she touched a little too close to the reality of her romantic feelings for him. The thing cut off at the end of "Since he's like that, I—" is some expression of the depths of her incredible fondness for and attraction to him. And Vanitas apparently feels the exact same way as Dominique. He expresses almost the exact same outward sentiment and catches himself and flinches in the exact same way. So if Dominique is speaking here in (albeit frustrated) love, then what emotions is Vanitas speaking from?

#we all know how much Mochijun loves to make meaning with parallels #so 'Vanitas feels the exact same way about Noé as the woman that's in love with him' cannot be a coincidence lmao #it certainly must mean *something* about him ;3 #And while I know I'm not the first person to have this thought #amid all the friendship/solidarity glee. I think the gay little implications deserve extra emphasis too <3 #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #vanoé #vanitas #vnc vanitas #the vanoé agenda #vanitas my beloved #english major hours #long post #ID in alt text #Noé arqueueviste

[aguacerotropical]

Dominique is so unironically a lesbian

#i also love love love domijeanne!! #i think i ship it way more than vanoé #vanitas and noé's toxicity can die i want jeanne and domi to be cute together #vanitas no carte #vnc #the case study of vanitas #the domijeanne agenda

[aka-rebecca]

If anyone asks me to describe Vanoé I‘ll just show them this（≧∇≦）

#season 2 hereeee we go!! #cdvkvnkrdv I missed these dorks so much!! #back to my VnC agenda I guess xD #I dont know to this day what on earth noe is holding like what even is this?? 😂 #BUT HIS SMILEEEEE SO PRECIOUS #thank you for this gem studio bones #vanitas no carte #vanitas no shuki #vnc #vanoé #the case study of vanitas #jun mochizuki #vnc anime #ヴァニタスの手記 #my post

[vann0e]

vannoé matching icons + headers ❣︎

++full page

#icons #vanitas icons #noe icons #my edits just amplify the sub noé agenda #vanitas #noe archiviste #as always- reblog if ur gonna use #vnc #les memoires de vanitas #vanitas no carte #vannoe #vannoe icons #noé icons #matching icons #vanitas x noé #vannoé #vanoé #vanitas no shuki #the case study of vanitas #icon and header #u don't have to match them but it would look cool

[inhumanescreeching]

abt the catacombs arc YEESS

we also support any excuse to post some vanoé agenda in this house

still can't wrap my head around how bones had the audacity to deem and think of that scene as unimportant? *sigh*

whoever's up there managing the vnc animation in bones must be dealing with some homophobia rn, bc that's what the anime feels like

it feels like a personal attack like holy shit they're taking out so many valuable plot and character points and for what??? for some extended scenes on the vampire biting??? for some hetero highlights???? they drag on the vanijeanne and dominoé scenes but as soon as it's vanoé or domijeanne it's like oop what happened?

pretty sure the only episode i appreciated was that dance scene. but still no, because mochijun's style is still waaaaaay more pleasing to the eye

that intimacy bw vanoé???? the playfulness bw domijeanne????? bones Could Never

#said it before and I'll say it again #bones has seen better days #but with vnc it's like seasonal dysfunction #it doesn't even have to be borderline romantic 💀 #I'm just asking for more chemistry and/or intimacy bw them #is that too much to ask *screams* #vnc #vanitas no carte #les memoires de vanitas #case study of vanitas #vanitas #noé #domi #jeanne #dominique #vnc vanitas #noé archiviste #dominique de sade #vnc jeanne #vnc noé #vnc domi #vnc dominique #vanoé #domijeanne #rant

[brushbugs]

rings anon again

unfortunately idr what website it was (god knows how many I had open just to read about rings in Japan lmao and I unfortunately closed some indiscriminately (?) if that makes sense)

but anyway

one website mentioned how s/o rings with jewelry convey that you cherish the person and rings with names kinda convey possession (I mean that positively I think maybe commitment is a good synonym?)

and I went back to actually look at the ring designs

suffice to say after that closer look I embodied the surprised pikatchu meme

unfortunately I tried looking for the website again but I don't remember what it was

I would have sent these asks off anon but the amount of time I spent reading on goddamn rings is embarrassing so 🙃

Ohh yeah, the rings really look like wedding rings!! tbh, I think having names engraved is pretty common (at least it is here), tho afaik you'd usually wear the one with your partner's name. But Mochijun also didn't specify who'd be wearing which ring ;)

And no need to feel embarrassed, time spent on the vanoé agenda is time well spent 😌

#ask #anon

[neversetyoufree]

Something soothing to have with him, you say?

#doesn't have the coat but at least he has the guy #using Noé as a coping mechanism #I guess??? #like what else could this sequence of panels even be implying lmao #vnc #the case study of vanitas #vanitas no carte #vanoé #the vanoé agenda #vanitas #vanitas vnc #ID in alt text

[neversetyoufree]

So while I've seen a thousand jokes about this scene and Noé slapping a snapchat filter over the rat bastard in his memories, I do think it's worth analyzing what goes on here, because it's just a really well-executed example of how memories change with time and fondness.

Most of the posts I've seen have contrasted this shot of Vanitas to this one from chapter 1:

and that makes sense! They're both similar shots of him standing at the top of the steps in front of the windows, and they're also the faces that make for the biggest contrast between the two versions of the scene.

However! If you look at the actual dialogue, this super-romanticized shot of Vani isn't entirely from Noé's memory of Vanitas's speech on the podium. It's more complicated than that. Just like what often happens with real memories, when Noé recollects Vanitas's request to use his strength, he blends it with other memories of the same scene.

In the original version of this conversation, the "lend me your strength" line comes while Vanitas and Noé are still standing on the same level. This is the moment that the dialogue from the romanticized memory comes from,

and you can see immediately before and after this moment that Noé and Vanitas are still together on the lower church floor.

Vanitas only heads up the stairs to the windows/podium once he's well into his final "I will save you whether you like it or not" speech, which is what he's saying in that especially manic/bloody panel that I posted above.

When this moment flashes through Noé's mind at the start of chapter 52, he blurs the whole thing together rather than pulling any accurate memory. He puts Vanitas on top of the stairs by the window, the most dramatic and memorable staging from that scene, and has him say his "be my shield" line, the part where he's reaching out to Noé personally. Beyond the romanticized snapchat filter aesthetic of the memory, the very basics of the words and staging of the scene betray how Noé misremembers that moment.

In chapter 1, Noé reacts to "lend me your strength" with flat disinterest and "I will save you without fail" with borderline horror. In 52, however, memory Noé reacts to the blended mix of those two moments with tender admiration, showing how he's now come to view Vanitas.

Every single thing about those two pages of flashback works to show how Noé's view of Vanitas has changed. (And also to provide a contrast to the violence that immediately follows it, lol).

It's just a really well-executed example of how romanticized memories actually work in people's heads. Everything blurs together until only the best and grandest parts of the moment are left, and only then does it get the fluffy beautiful filter. And this treatment tells us so much about Noé's feelings on Vanitas at the time.

#the inaccurate flashback blocking is just such an interesting little detail to me #I love things like that #tiny background things that most people don't care to notice but that can add so much meaning when you think about it #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #manga #the vanoé agenda #english major hours #ID in alt text #my drafts are glitching so I have to post this without reviewing the final version like I usually do #so if something's messed up here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ sorry

[neversetyoufree]

Every time I think about it too much, I go utterly insane over Noé's little "I'm glad you're the person you are now" speech.

Like, no matter how you read their relationship, it's undeniable that by that point, Noé cares about Vanitas so much. He's clearly quite upset by Vanitas's "as if anyone could fall for a person like me" line. And because of that, he goes out of his way to try and reassure Vanitas that he's good and worthy of love, and he specifically crafts his reassurance in a way that he thinks Vanitas will be able to accept.

He prefaces his kind words with "I still don't like you," because he knows that Vanitas reacts poorly to outright being liked. He adds on the line about his statement being "arbitrary" in an effort to pretend that his speech wasn't prompted by hearing Vanitas spill his self-hatred. He goes to lengths to make things look as much as possible like Noé's just sharing a thought, not trying to comfort Vani, but his intent comes through crystal clear.

Yet at the same time, the way he ties his speech to his thoughts on having met Astolpho shows that he really is being genuine. He goes out of his way to say all this because he wants to reassure Vanitas, but he doesn't say a word that isn't from the heart. Regardless of whether he “likes” the way he is or not, he’s genuinely grateful to have the Vanitas that he has.

It's so telling that Noé's reaction to hearing Vanitas speak self-hatingly is to go out of his way to contradict that hatred with affection. And that he tries to go about it so delicately. It speaks so much to his depth of feeling and his emotional intelligence. It’s just such a good scene.

#Noé is such an odd character because he is so very often oblivious to both his own and others’ feelings #he is not at all perceptive in the sense that he just Does Not Notice stuff #but when he’s invested in something/someone? #it’s like he suddenly turns on an emotional intelligence searchlight #and becomes *so* attentive and perceptive #and this scene is such a good example of that attention #anyway I wrote most of this post in a fugue state while half asleep the other night #when I reread this scene and was violently seized be the Vanoé Emotions #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #Noé Archiviste #noé archiviste my beloved #vanoé #the vanoé agenda #english major hours

[neversetyoufree]

Lord I cannot believe it took me this long to realize this, but. Vnc's refrain of Noé trying to grab Vanitas's hand is a metaphor.

This whole time I've been reading the constant references to "Noé grabs Vanitas and saves him from falling, but one day he'll fail" as very literal foreshadowing for a day when Vanitas is going to fall and get hurt (or die?) and Noé will fail to catch him. And I still think there's a good chance that's true! However, it's also really obvious symbolism for the idea of salvation in general.

I've beaten this drum to death, but Vanitas is more or less the ultimate example of a character doomed by the narrative. He is going to die; the entire story is the buildup to his death. And one of the main conflicts is that Noé wants desperately to save him (and wants it more and more as they grow closer), but by nature of the story, we know he can't.

At least by Noé's definition of salvation, Vanitas is unsaveable. His death and suffering cannot be prevented, and despite Noé's best efforts, he is going to die by Noé's hand.

Enter the falling metaphor.

The absolute certainty of Vanitas's death works like the force of gravity. He is constantly being pulled down and down toward his doom like an endless free fall. But then Noé steps in and tries to save him, and in little ways he even succeeds! In all the little less important ways, he grabs Vanitas's hand time after time.

When Vanitas goes toppling off the ledge in Gévaudan, Noé catches him and shortens his fall. When Vanitas sinks into despair in Moreau's lab, Noé snaps him out of it. And when Vanitas gets lost in his own trauma and self-hypnosis at the amusement park, Noé brings him back to reality. For all of the little free falls, both literal and metaphorical, Noé is there for Vanitas before he hits the ground. The beating heart of their relationship is Noé's constant attempts to catch him.

However, Noé is haunted by the fear that he is going to fail someday. When Faustina reverts back to Naenia and dissipates in Gévaudan, he's shown a vision of Charlatan(?) telling him his hand cannot reach Vanitas. Naenia preys on people's worst fears and weaknesses, and this is one of Noé's. He fears that his hand will not reach the one he's grasping towards, and he will fail to save those that matter to him. The very broad line "you persist in reaching out for them" in the middle of Noé trying to literally catch someone more or less tells us outright that the falling and catching is a metaphor for salvation.

And when he speaks from the future, Noé confirms that this exact fear has come true. Noé in his narration is haunted by the regrets of "that day when I didn't grab your hand." His grand attempt at Vanitas's salvation has ultimately failed, and he didn't catch him when it mattered most.

The night that he first meets Vanitas, Noé throws himself out of an airship in the attempt to catch and save him. And from that point onward, he tries to catch him over and over again. Their relationship is one long straining outstretched hand as Noé attempts to pull Vanitas from his endless plummet downward. He is the one person deeply focused on Vanitas's salvation. However, Noé cannot ultimately stop the forces of tragedy and gravity and doom, and in the way that matters most, he can never quite reach Vanitas's hand.

There is going to be a day when Noé will be unable to catch him, and that day is the day that the entire rest of their relationship (and the entire rest of the metaphor) is building to. Noé is constantly reaching out, but he cannot save a man that is already dead, no matter how passionate the outstretched hand.

#vnc is so absolutely jam packed with symbolic things #that sometimes even the really obvious stuff like this goes over my head #like how long it took me to think about Jeanne's gauntlet case being a coffin! or this whole massive metaphor! #there's just so much going on that even the most blatant things can be missed in the flood #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #vanitas #noé archiviste #english major hours #the vanoé agenda #<<I've been tweaking my tagging system and trying to keep track of all my posts about their relationship. rather than just the shippy ones #but hooboy does it still feel weird to use that tag here lmao #Noé arqueueviste

[neversetyoufree]

Phil Lester voice: They're Touching!!~

#extremely niche joke. but my thought process seeing this panel was like #I got genuinely excited about it #because they are touching and it's cute #and then I thought about phil making fun of him and d's fangirls by going ~they're touching~ every time they touched #in the old videos they were reacting to #anyway I'm living my cringe shipper life free of shame #but I do hear phil's voice in my head going 'they're touching!' every time I react to something like this now #liveblog #vnc #ID in alt text #the vanoé agenda #vnc spoilers #vnc 62.5

[neversetyoufree]

I started vnc way back when there was only one volume, stopped, and only restarted it last week 🙈 since then, I have reread it twice and will again, once I'm done with exams, as it has turned me insane. And since no one I know reads it, I just wanted to ask what your thoughts are on my theory that the reason not 'didn't reach out to vanitas' thus leading to his death is because of Ruthven compulsion on him? Cuzco after the 'ill never set you free'thing, I just can't see noel not reaching out tonight purpose. Your blog is a joy to read through, and I love your meta!

Hello!! Thank you so much! It's always great to see another person having fun with my favorite manga :D.

My thoughts on Vanitas's eventual death are. complicated. If we keep going down the path we're on now, I honestly suspect Vanitas's death is going to be more assisted suicide than murder. IE, Vanitas asks for Noé to kill him because it's preferable to the alternative.

Per Ruthven's compulsion, I definitely think it's going to come up, and I do like the idea of Ruthven trying to force Noé to hurt or kill Vanitas, but I don't think it's going to be how Vanitas dies. In a way, I think that would feel somewhat cheap.

Noé killing Vanitas because of his oath to Ruthven would make sense on a plot level. It's a nice, logical explanation for why Noé would kill someone he so clearly adores. I can see why it's a lot of people's theory! However, that explanation wouldn't really deliver on an emotional level. It's just not interesting for Noé's characterization.

For one thing, making Noé kill Vanitas when he's not in control of himself would strip away all of Noé's agency. With VnC's opening chapter, Mochijun sets us up so that the entire time we're reading, we're asking ourselves "but why will Noé kill him?" It's a big source of intrigue and suspense. And to me, finally resolving that suspense with "It's not his fault! He was artificially forced to!" feels like a major letdown. It adds nothing to Noé's character. It's answering that all-important "why" with "There is no reason why. He didn't actually want to." I think that would be a cop-out.

Through that denial of agency, I think this ending would also risk losing out on a lot of potential character development for Noé. The core of Noé and Louis's tragedy is that Noé desperately wanted to save Louis, but the only kind of salvation Louis wanted from him was death, and Noé couldn't give him that.

Now Noé has another person close to him that is also seeking salvation through death. If Noé kills Vanitas, but he's not in control of himself when he does, that misses out on a big opportunity. Has Noé come to understand salvation through death? Has his worldview changed since Louis made that request of him? Does he have it in him to kill a loved one if that's what they ask? If Vanitas's death is forced by Ruthven, then we're much less likely to get answers to those questions.

Personally, my favorite hope/theory for how Ruthven's order will play out is the idea that Ruthven will order Noé to hurt/stop/kill Vanitas, but Vanitas will manage to snap Noé out of it in the same way Noé broke Vanitas's self-hypnosis in the amusement park. There's nothing I love more than a gay little parallel.

I can see a scenario where Ruthven's oath is what pushes Vanitas close to death? Maybe Noé will be ordered to try to kill Vanitas, and that will set off whatever horrible chain of events pushes Vanitas to ask for death that final time. But even if Ruthven does order Noé to hurt Vanitas (which is a big if), I don't think it will be what causes the killing blow.

#I think I remember posting some of these thoughts before years ago #but I'm having trouble finding any relevant posts. so here's this instead. #anyway I always feel a little bad when people send me their theories and I end up arguing against them #thank you for the ask genuinely! #it's an interesting theory and I do see why people like it. even if I don't want it to happen for the listed reasons #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #ask #anon #theory #the vanoé agenda #<<this isn't a ship post but that's my tag for everything about their relationship lol

[neversetyoufree]

So while I know it sounds a little counterintuitive on the surface, one of the reasons I'm really hoping VnC goes down the Vanitas/Noé path is that, out of all the routes the romantic plot could take, VaNoé is by far the most interesting outcome for Dominique.

It's been made pretty clear that Noé is going to end up with a crush on somebody in the long run, and the beginnings of that foundation have been in place since all the way back in chapter 12. And of course, given how Domi has very strong feelings for Noé, whoever Noé ends up pursuing is going to have a huge impact on her as well.

Personally, I'm just not very interested in the stories we'd get out of Noé having feelings for Jeanne or Dominique.

Although Domi's crush on Noé is often played for fluffy comedy, it's also clearly tied into a lot of the less than healthy aspects of her character. She tried to completely rewrite herself and transform into her brother to make him happy. She tried to kill herself because she thought it would save him, and the only thing that could snap her out of her suicidal mindset was the fact that her death would make Noé sad. It is incredibly unhealthy to tie your self worth so deeply to another person like that.

Domi's had a crush on Noé since before things got so unhealthy, and she'd probably still have these problems to some degree even if she weren't in love with him, but the fact remains that the two issues are inextricably linked right now. And going further with DomiNoé would mean either leaving Domi's issues about Noé worsening/unresolved (which I doubt will happen), or writing her working through her baggage and learning to value herself outside him, then coming back to her crush with a new, healthier viewpoint. And that could technically happen!

However, I think we would make a much cleaner narrative break if Domi's learning to live for and value herself coincides with her finally moving past her feelings for Noé. Her moving on romantically would be a really good way to symbolize her moving on from her unhealthy dependence on him, and I don't want to pass that up. She needs to have something in her life that isn't connected to all her baggage about Louis.

Also, from the Noé side, I just don't see much practical evidence of him having feelings for Dominique. Chapter 12's romantic foreshadowing coincides with Noé's obvious jealousy over the whole Vanijeanne situation, so I'm pretty sure his eventual crush is going to be on one of them. And that brings me to the issue of NoéJeanne.

As I've said before, I do think there's a small amount of evidence that could support Noé's eventual crush being Jeanne, so it wouldn't be completely out of left field. However, I'm personally hoping this isn't the route Mochijun takes, and the biggest thing that turns me away from this idea is what it would mean for Dominique.

When Misha manipulates Domi during the Amusement Park arc, he uses not just her crush on Noé, but specifically her jealousy over Jeanne as ammunition against her. Because Dominique has noticed Noé's jealousy over VaniJeanne, and she fully believes that Noé has feelings for Jeanne. But the thing is, the Amusement Park arc is almost entirely a story about the destruction and pain that comes from falsely assuming that you understand a loved one. Dominique almost dies because she mistakenly thinks it's what Noé would want. Misha's whole motivation as an antagonist is trying to bring Vanitas back to a family dynamic that Vani no longer wants or believes in. And Noé's big turning point is the realization that he has to look at Vanitas clearly and think about how he actually feels, rather than judging based on his personal feelings.

So with all that said, Mochijun turning around and saying "Domi's right about Noé's feelings for Jeanne, actually" would be really weird and out of place. I'm fairly sure that, although it's implied earlier, the first time "Domi thinks Noé has a crush on Jeanne" is called out explicitly is when Domi and Jeanne talk in chapter 45. This comes immediately before the start of the Amusement Park arc, and that scene in particular serves as the buildup to Domi's imminent breakdown, so her jealousy and the themes of the Amusement Park are pretty inextricably tied.

"Domi makes a false assumption about Noé's feelings, and it leads to her fighting with her dear friend Jeanne for no good reason" would fit very well with the rest of the arc. "Domi is right about the jealousy, but wrong to fight with Jeanne anyway" would be a much clumsier from a thematic and storytelling perspective, and I'm inclined to think Mochijun knows better than that.

In short, Noé having feelings for Jeanne is possible, but it would make Domi and Jeanne's part of the amusement park arc a lot worse.

So would Noé having feelings for Vanitas be better?

For starters, Noé having feelings for Vani would make Dominique's jealousy of Jeanne incorrect, which solves the thematic problem outlined above. Beyond that, though, Noé having feelings for Vanitas would also allow for the most interesting interpretation of the original "Noé is jealous" scene from chapter 12.

In that scene, it's obvious that Noé is jealous over Vanitas and Jeanne's new romantically/sexually charged blood drinking situation. Noé thinks it's because he's jealous that Jeanne gets to drink Vanitas's blood, and Domi thinks it's because he's jealous that Vanitas is getting close to Jeanne sexually/romantically. Noé being correct is frankly not worth considering, and we just addressed why Domi being correct creates problems. However! If Noé is jealous that Jeanne is getting close to Vanitas in the romantic sense, then Domi and Noé are each half right in a way that I find both logical and compelling.

Noé struggles to understand his own feelings on a deeper level, but he can understand his own physical cravings for blood, so it makes sense that, even when feeling other types of attraction, blood is the one thing that gets through to him. Meanwhile, Dominique dislikes Vanitas and is pretty obviously attracted to Jeanne, so it follows that she'd assume Noé thinks the same way. They each have an insight into Noé that the other doesn't, and they're both also a little bit misguided, which seems pretty in keeping with their characters and VnC as a whole.

Then, on a wider scale, a "Noé's in love with Vanitas" angle would also do some really interesting things for Dominique. My best guess right now is that Domi's arc will eventually end with her finding some self worth/reason to live beyond Noé, but she'll have a long and painful process getting there. And Noé liking Vanitas would help facilitate exactly that! It could force her to accept that she's not going to get with him, which could in turn help her move on and find her self worth elsewhere, but it would also put her through. just. so much suffering. On the pettier level, she'd have to watch her dear friend and crush fall in love with someone she finds rather despicable (and for the second time!!). And on the more serious level, she'd have to watch Noé once again link his heart to a doomed man and have to reckon with the aftermath of his death.

That sounds about like the kind of growth to angst ratio that Mochijun likes to go for.

So tldr: Noé's eventual crush is almost certainly going to be on Domi, Jeanne, or Vanitas, and out of those three, Vanitas is the only option that wouldn't get in the way of what I think/hope is Domi's narrative arc. In order for her to accept that she's been misunderstanding Noé and properly start building self worth, she can't end up dating him, and Noé can't have feelings for Jeanne. That leaves VaNoé as the best and only option for Dominique.

#this post turned into a freaking manifesto #...whoops #but for real though I have been thinking about this pretty much since I started this blog #and just putting off the post bc I didn't wanna start Shipping Discourse and bc I knew it would be incredibly long #so anyway if you're reading this I don't wanna. like. dunk on non-vanoé ships #this is just about what I think would be most compelling for canon #not about what's good and cool in fanworks and the like #also though I didn't bring it up in the post itself. all this is also part of why domijeanne is so good #it allows domi to move on COMPLETELY by finding somebody new and unrelated to her past to have feelings for #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #vanoé #english major hours #the vanoé agenda #Noé Arqueueviste

[neversetyoufree]

Romance between a guy whose whole thing is that his death is an inescapable foregone conclusion and a guy whose whole thing is that he somehow survives when death is otherwise inescapable

#for those not keeping track I'm currently going insane over the Noah reference in Noé's name #and how he's named after the guy whose whole thing is surviving the apocalypse #and has currently survived two mass deaths/slaughters #(the deaths of the archivistes and the slaughter in the church with Louis) #like this isn't really his MAIN thematic thing. I'd say that's the archiving thread #but still #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #vanoé #noé archiviste my beloved #vanitas my beloved #the vanoé agenda #they make me utterly insane

[neversetyoufree]

#vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #jokes #the vanoé agenda #ID in alt text

[neversetyoufree]

Shipping is fun and all but why do the whole fandom makes it like VNC was about rotting for Vanitas to be with either Jeanne or Noe and sexuality ? It's not what the story is about, it's about Noe and Vanitas's story together and how Noé will end up killing Vanitas. Is it because it's also treating of their relationship that the fandom focuses so much on romance which is a very sub themed (after all in shounen romance is always a subplot, more or less underdevelopped)

I mean, when it comes to Vnc, I'm not so sure that the romance is underdeveloped, anon. I 100% get not caring about romantic shipping, and that's fair, but sex and romance are big parts of this story. I don't think it's unreasonable to be invested in them when they're very present in the manga itself.

You're right that shonen series in general tend to be very light on romance. However, a majority of shonen also don't have their characters very regularly engaging in a metaphor for sex.

It's pretty undeniable that the blood drinking in VnC is meant as a sexual metaphor. Sometimes this is played for horror (like Astolpho's backstory), and sometimes this is played for horny (like the VaniJeanne scenes), but it's almost always there. It doesn't mean that every instance of blood drinking is meant to symbolize literal sex, but both in-universe and in terms of symbolism, drinking someone's blood in VnC is an erotic act. And there's a lot of blood drinking.

With that said, given that these characters are constantly running around drinking and/or craving each other's blood, of course people are going to talk about romance a lot. "Which character wants which other character's blood?" is a huge driving factor for the character dynamics in this story. And there's a lot of straight-up discussion of romance as well!

You cannot talk about or analyze Noé and Dominique's relationship without talking about her massive crush on him. You cannot analyze Vanitas and Jeanne's relationship without talking about their mutual attraction and all the blood drinking scenes. You cannot fully analyze Noé and Vanitas's relationship without talking about how much Noé wants Vanitas's blood.

It may not be the norm for shonen, but Vnc is, objectively speaking, a series that puts a fair amount of emphasis on romance. It's not the main plot, but neither is it a clumsily handled background element like in Naruto or something. This is a series driven by the relationships between its characters first and foremost, and several of those relationships are canonically romantic and/or horny.

(Also, as a bonus fun fact, there's an interview with Mochizuki where she directly talks about how she wanted Vnc to focus more on both action and romance than her previous works).

And as for the Vanoé angle specifically, you're right. Vnc is the story of Noé and Vanitas's relationship. It's the story of how they meet, what they do together, and how/why Noé will eventually kill Vanitas with his own hands. And the thing about that relationship is that it is frankly fucking FULL of queer subtext. Like half the writing on this blog, for example, is about Noé and Vanitas's relationship, and not all of it is gay. Sometimes I talk about the death and tragedy angle, sometimes I speculate about the concrete plot details of what's to come, and sometimes I talk about how absurdly queer-coded Noé's whole "your blood smells amazing" routine is. It's not the only thing going on between them, not by a long shot, but it's there! And I think it's quite reasonable to discuss it.

So like, everyone engages in fandom differently, anon. It's fine to not give a damn about the romantic angle. I personally am almost incapable of caring about ships that aren't heavily implied in their canon sources, which makes me a bit of the odd one out in some fandom spaces.

However, speaking for myself again, this is a meta blog. More often than not, when I talk about romance on here, it's through the angle of examining what's there in canon. I find the relationships between the characters to be the most compelling part of Vnc, so that's what I write about. Sometimes that means writing about how Noé's constantly trying and failing to save his loved ones generally, sometimes that means writing about the history between Vanitas and Misha, and sometimes that means writing about how fucking in love with Vanitas I think Noé is.

I can't speak for others, but I personally don't think I'm reading anything into this series that isn't there. It's fine if it's not an angle you care about personally! I fully support you in blacklisting ship tags if the discussion of romance gets on your nerves. I cannot fucking stand "ship wars," so like. I get it. But "shonen usually doesn't care about romance" does not mean "all the people talking about romance in Vnc are doing it for no good reason."

#it's genuinely a major part of the series friend #it's like. the entire point of chapter 12. #put the story on pause for a minute to establish all of these bonkers romantic dynamics. and then the plot can continue #I get being tired of shipping. but I don't think I've made any claims about romance in vnc that aren't supported by the text #no hate toward you anon. but we've been reading things very differently if you don't think the romance in vnc is important #ask #anon #meta #the vanoé agenda #vnc #vanitas no carte