Status Updates From The Case Study of Vanitas, ...

noé still being a rough sleeper and clutching anything within arm’s reach because he misses louis and domi so much??????? ouch but also vanitas hanging upside down in the window and fetching breakfast for them to eat on the roof together is so cute wtf

oh good now i’m emo about louis again WHAT THE FUCK??? he was such a good brother ouch, i love that we actually get to see what he was going to say before he decided against it to be more comforting than self pitying. and noé gnawing on him in his sleep?? funny ha ha but also OUCH he wanted him so bad

this kiss has none of the shojo-esque sparkles that the first one did, because then we were seeing the full scope of the act vanitas was putting on. but this one is much more romantic anyway because it feels more REAL. the light is coming from a warm fire, they’re half dressed, jeanne has the control but not in a nefarious way. what a beautiful page

OKAY so the first time they kissed, vanitas forced it upon jeanne because he wanted power over her. and now this time, jeanne is forcing it on vanitas (and is even higher than him in the frame which i LOVE) because she’s trying to HELP HIM. literally forcing him to receive her gratitude and drink the water for fucks sake

no i’m not done screaming about this page actually because vanitas saying “you’re all naive, you and noé” is so !!!!!! they’re naive in his eyes because they refuse to kill him. because they, to varying degrees, do not see him as this horrible, ignoble person unworthy of life. and that makes them naive??????? oh sweet vanitas your self loathing is showing

okay so even when jeanne is half naked in front of him he still finds a way to bring up noé uh huh yup good job vanitas!!! the way he immediately defaults to defensive and rude again after he’s given up another snippet of his past. and right after jeanne offers to give him something of hers BECAUSE HE SAVED HER AND GOD FORBID SHE PAY HIM BACK FOR THAT. god he really hates himself huh

MY HEART OUCH vanitas falling back into his past and instinctively calling out for luna when he’s weak and in need of comfort???????? he misses his parent!!!!! he didn’t want to kill them!!!!! just like jeanne doesnt want to kill chloé!!!!! SO WHY DID HE KILL LUNA I NEED TO KNOW

is vanitas the first person in jeanne’s life to ask her what she actually wants? to even bring up the idea that she could (and maybe should) defy her orders? i think this is when it really becomes clear how vanijeanne can help each other grow. they have both been seen as tools, but vanitas has gained a bit more agency in his role, and now it’s jeanne’s turn

vanitas allows jeanne to see his scars but he refuses to let her take off his right glove. there could be two reasons for this, one being that he wants to maintain the slightest illusion of power by keeping the claws in his glove as a self defense weapon just in case. and two being that he can’t bear to see luna’s mark on his skin rn when he’s already so compromised

oh how i adore a scene where the emotionally closed off character has to take off their clothes in front of someone else. AND love how jeanne sees the physical evidence of vanitas’ trauma, while noé has heard about his torture from vanitas and met the perpetrator of it. they each have separate puzzle pieces, showing that both relationships are vital to vanitas’ growth

i LOVE that the vanijeanne dynamic has been flipped completely on its head here, with jeanne being the forward one and making vanitas panic and blush

VANITAS HOLDING THE BROKEN CHAIN????? he’s basically cradling it, holding it so gently against him, and you can really feel the grief in the way it’s framed. it’s like he’s lost a limb

vanitas calling the situation “vile” yet again, but this time it’s not because charlatan is terrorizing everyone. it’s because he’s completely vulnerable, both physically and mentally. even him reusing the same word from just before could be a sign that he’s struggling to think straight

this is vanitas’ worst nightmare isn’t it? he’s lost the book, he’s not only injured but POISONED AND FEVERISH, and jeanne of all people is the one who has come to rescue him. the woman he’s delighted so much in having power over now has the upper hand in all capacities, and all vanitas can do against it is glare his eyes and swat at her and pray he doesn’t reveal too much (which he will)

oh so it’s okay for vanitas to prod at
people’s trauma but he thinks it’s vile when charlatan does it……well we know he hates himself so maybe he thinks his tactics are vile too but continues to fall back on them because he feels like he NEEDS the upper hand in every encounter asap

the subtle gear shapes in the blood of the members of the charlatan parade as they stitch themselves back together?????? what a fucking fantastic detail

VANITAS YOU BRILLIANT BITCH
i love that we get to watch him take in the details of the scene and quickly deduce that noé is better suited to stop jeanne while vanitas is better suited to fighting astolfo. also love that noé’s overly emotional approach to things can be negative, not just positive!! the contrast to vanitas’ more logical approach is part of what makes him them such a balanced pair and a great team

knowing how this story works, i’m absolutely positive that astolfo will be reframed as the victim he is by the end of this arc. he’s a CHILD and already a paladin, meaning that he was taken in by the chasseurs at an even younger, more vulnerable age. sounds similar to another character we know……if vanitas hadn’t been chosen by moreau, he could’ve easily ended up just like astolfo

vanitas showing once again how much he’s come to rely on noé’s presence, so much so that when someone does finally come to his aid in the fight, he immediately assumes that it’s noé

DANTE CLOCKING HOW OUT OF CHARACTER IT IS FOR VANITAS TO STICK AROUND AFTER THE BLOOD DISAGREEMENT LETS GOOOOOOOOO
but also, vanitas' excuse about noé staying up all night and not letting him sneak off to gevaudan by himself is flimsy when you remember how easily noé gets lost......vanitas could've left him behind so many times but CHOSE not to at every turn. we all see you vanitas you're not slick

vanitas is never beating the black cat allegations
also love how he's suddenly "delicate" when it comes to the cold as if he hasn't been exaggerating and playing up his strength in front of everyone at every turn. what a diva

noé staying up all night for fear of vanitas leaving him behind???? vanitas assuring him that he won't disappear and promising to wake him up when they get to the countryside????? gotta love an unspoken truce

yet another moment where vanitas is reminded OUTRIGHT that noé is interested in understanding him, and he CHOOSES TO STAY WITH HIM ANYWAY. he teases him (i wonder if the whole licking the blood off clothes thing will come back at some point.....cause he seemed like he was genuinely considering it.....) and gives noé an opening to walk alongside him to the station. there is a part of him that wants to be known.

so. noé admits that part of his desire to drink vanitas' blood comes from a desire to know more about his past, and vanitas' FIRST QUESTION to him is "how would that benefit you"????? bc, to vanitas, EVERYTHING is about gaining the upper hand, and EVERYONE has an ulterior motive. but noé is the antithesis of all that, and he flat out says that he doesn't care about any benefits. he just wants to know. what the fuck.