#i bet she might even enjoy the fma live action movie...

[jalopeura]

me, trying to get mom to decide what we should watch: do you want to watch a series where *explains black sails* or a series where *explains a series of unfortunate events* my mother:  my mother: my mother: do you have your external hard drive? i liked those japanese movies you showed me me: 👀👀👀 me: do you............wanna watch something japanese?

[vera-invenire]

VnC Liveblog - Chapter 14

Previously: Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13

Those are, uh, some interesting eyes you got there, Murr. I know you’re a cat, but please don’t murder anyone, kay? Please, Murr.

We start with a recap of our latest mystery -- in one week three vampires have mysteriously disappeared and the suspected kidnappers are the Church’s anti-vampire unit, the chasseurs. (should that be capped? eh, I’ll leave it for now.)

I see Vanitas still hasn’t bounced back from whatever blow he was dealt when he recognized that button. Only now he looks...sad, too?

Mentioning the Vampire of the Blue Moon in a general way makes him almost defiantly manic and driven; mentioning his quest for revenge makes him look not only lost but like he lost something, like it’s still an open wound. Mentioning the chasseurs gets you a face similar to the lost look, but he’s maybe not quite as dazed? I think it’s the difference between still being gutted and raw and being resigned to the wound, maybe? Speculating off of two textless panels is so fun and productive, guys.

Anyway, the catacombs! The catacombs of Paris are famous, y’all. LOTS of skulls, so of course it’s perfect for VnC.

Memoire 14 Catacombs

Where the Dead Sleep

Well, I hope they’re not playing poker.

(I bet you ten bucks Noé got distracted looking at the streetcar and didn’t realize it was leaving. The things Vanitas has to put up with, honestly. Aw, and Murr caught the eye of a fancy lady! That’s the real love story, right there.)

So the catacombs are a vast ossuary built inside an old system of quarries, we’re told. Twenty meters underground and roughly two hundred kilometers in length, it is said to house the earthly remains of approx. six million people.

So many skulls, guys. (Vanitas picked a good name)

Riche: oh god oh god, i just touched him, i just touched the hot guy, what do i do, he l p

Murr, why you giving her the stink-eye, she’s nice.

Look at this smooth, mofo. He caught the girl AND the candle. Thank god he’s oblivious or else nothing would be able to stop him.

(the real plot twist of VnC: Noé knows EXACTLY what he’s doing when he gives people That Look. He just acts oblivious to stave off the incipient fanclubs. *le gasp*)

Guys, I think the dhams are my favorites. And Dante’s angling for the de Sades, eh?

Noé’s not interested in the comedy routine, though -- something else is distracting him.

I’m glad Noé’s noticed something is off about Vanitas. He’s been avoiding the ‘camera’ for a bit now, which isn’t like him. It’s almost as if he’s withdrawing to the background, an intriguing facet of Vanitas’ personality that we haven’t seen before. But Noé notices he’s gone and won’t let him slip away so easily.

(though now that I think about it, the retreat to quietness isn’t completely new -- it’s what he does when he goes up on the rooftops, after all. we just haven’t seen him get this introspective around others before.)

Hmm, vampires in the tunnels of Paris, fighting the chasseurs...this is reminding me of World War Z, ie. it sounds freaking terrifying, yikes. (er, the book, not movie version. don’t think that made it into the movie.)

“There could even be another war.”

And vampires going feral and attacking humans sounds like just the thing that could provoke another human-vampire war, don’t it. This could turn into one of our big stakes in the series. And with the introduction of Jeanne, who fought in the last war; the chasseurs, who also fought in the last war; Ruthven, who brokered the end of the war...well. It’s not hard to imagine that the board is being set up again.

(it occurs to me that if there’s a faction of vampires that actually WANTS war, a simple way of bringing it about would be to accuse the humans of causing the spread of Charlatan and the curse)

(...they...could blame a human...a particular human in possession of a Book that is made to alter vampires’ true names...)

(oh, crap)

(o_o)

Hey, Vanitas is laughing! First time that’s happened since last chapter when he left Orlok’s office. Good job, Dante.

Noé’s still watching, though.

Vanitas looks run-down. He’ll laugh at Dante getting busted by the guards, but his mood is still extremely -- flat? tired? -- right now.

I love how Johann has no compunctions at all to cozying up to Noé. He’s like, hot guy? Don’t mind if I do.

We already know Noé is a little oblivious when it comes to people, so I think it says a lot that he’s already so attuned to Vanitas.

He knew right away that Vanitas’ reaction on the chandelier was weird (and seems to have hit the bullseye as to why) and he knows when Vanitas’ actions are a veneer over something else. He’s already started differentiating between what’s real and what’s a front when it comes to Vanitas, even if he can’t always understand what he sees (see: their dance). And they’ve known each other for what, a few weeks?

Poor Vanitas. Noé was already disinclined to go along with the most egregious examples of Vanitas’ bullshit -- now that Noé’s Vanitas Radar is getting more refined, soon Vanitas won’t be able to get away with anything. For a loner like him, that might be hard to adjust to.

(Noé looks so comfy, I wish I could sleep like that. Vanitas, don’t you think you’d be more comfortable sleeping inside with Noé, he could use you like a pillow)

This button is a Symbol, and I think it used to be an important one.

Though -- is he looking at the back of it? Are we gonna get an FMA-style message on it?

And hey, speaking of FMA, check out that pocket-watch --

Vanitas waits on the roof until -- what is that, 3am? -- then gets up with a slightly alarming look of grim determination, dark bags under his eyes. (he didn’t sleep at all)

Someone’s trying to sneak out in the dead of night. What are you planning?

!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D

omg. I’m cackling. Look at Noé standing there. Fully dressed! Leaning on the wall with one hand in his pocket! Casually reading! Ahhh, this is the best. Reminder that Noé can be hellishly smooth when he feels like it and it’s awesome.

Not only did he outmaneuver Vanitas, but he scheduled his nap perfectly because he knew Vanitas and knew his next likely course of action, even though (because) Vanitas hardly said anything during the day. This pleases me so much, you have no idea.

(and not only is the nap thing galling on principle, but now Noé is well-rested while Vanitas is walking around with visible bags under his eyes. It’s beautiful.)

*epic flaily hands*

guys, guys, it’s a reversal of chapter 2! look, look!

This chapter is gold.

I LOVE parallels, especially when the shoe ends up on the other foot. Even Vanitas’ coat looks deflated this time around, ha.

I think my bottom lip is wobbling. Boys.

The best part -- the best part -- is we already know Noé likes Vanitas’ cranky face. He must be enjoying this as much as I am, lmao.

Also, please note that Vanitas can’t seem to say ‘no’ to Noé, to the point where it’s kind of turning into a pattern. A delightful pattern.

(Thanks to Assassin’s Creed: Unity, I, too, know where this side entrance to Notre Dame is located. Thanks, Assassin’s Creed.)

Hm, hold up.

Lock-picking seems like a very Vanitas-ish skill, so I’m not questioning that. (I do question what his upbringing was like, but that’s another conversation). No, the thing is, didn’t he use the Book to pick a lock in Orlok’s office before?

Yup. There are the formula marks. So why didn’t he use the Book this time?

...wait a minute. wait a goddamn minute.

holy shit. vanitas didn’t have the Book when they went to orlok’s office. that was the whole POINT of going to orlok, HE had the Book, so --

Vanitas can alter formulas without the Book?

UM.

Nothing like a little B&E (plus assault) to get one’s spirits back up.

Vanitas finds a hidden switch behind the candelabra that opens a secret passage. (this may also have been in Assassin’s Creed.)

“These aren’t like the place we visited this afternoon. There are entrances to the underground labyrinth all over Paris. ...but the catacombs we’re headed for are made so that only those in the know can reach them.”

...uh-huh. So how do YOU know about them? And if you knew, why’d you just follow the dhams to the tourist spot? Were you that thrown by that button?

The chasseurs live down here? Uh.

What’s that saying about those who hunt monsters...?

...

...Vanitas was a freaking chasseur, wasn’t he.

But he left them? Or they left him? How does the Vampire of the Blue Moon fit into that?

It would also mean that he lied to Noé in the beginning when Noé asked if he was a chasseur or a bourreau, but. That wouldn’t be much of a surprise. And not technically a lie if he wasn’t one anymore?

Sheltered he may be, but our boy Noé ain’t no dummy.

they’re his former comrades

*raises eyebrow* Chasseurs but not chasseurs? Renegade chasseurs, maybe?

And he knows exactly how they fight because of course he does.

This explains so much. The abilities of the vampires are on a whole ‘nother level, literally superhuman, so it’s easy to overlook sometimes that Vanitas is a really good fighter for a human.

Particularly against vampires.

He’s been doing this vampire-doctor thing for a little while now, right? Meaning, he’s been hunting down transformed and blood-mad vampires and fighting them with only one reluctant, mercenary dhampir as back-up. Sure, he latched onto Noé as a ‘shield’ immediately (probably because he had a few too many close calls and, unlike with Dante, he doesn’t have to pay for Noé), but he was still fighting -- and surviving -- the monsters long before Noé got on the scene.

So were could he have possibly gotten these vampire hunting skills? *insert thinking emoji*

(I don’t know how the Vampire of the Blue Moon fits into all this, but taken with the chasseurs, I can’t help but find Vanitas’ current vocation dryly amusing. Both these entities from his past who HATE VAMPIRES have done Vanitas wrong, so what’s he gonna do?

He’s gonna turn around and save the goddamn vampires out of spite. (...and probably for some other reason we don’t know about yet, because Vanitas, but you get the idea))

Oh look! More skeletons. (momento mori, yus)

Oh shit. It’s that guy from the end of chapter 13.

...oh god, this is a trophy room, isn’t it.

The boys are like “oh, f---!”

This guy’s design is weirdly -- cherubic?, and it’s freaking me out.

Hm. So lower-ranking (-powered?) vampires revert to a more human physiology after death? Why?

And damn, these skulls are in seriously bad shape. Must have been a hell of a fight to take each of them out. Shows the power of the chasseurs, for certain.

Is this guy taunting them?

Noé just seems shocked (as he should), but Vanitas almost looks struck dumb, like he doesn’t know what to do with Disturbingly Cheerful guy.

Hmm, a couple things.

I thought this guy’s name was Roland?? @vnckocurzyca, I think you said his name was Roland? It’s got all the marks of a translation error (swapped Ls and Rs), I just want to know the right name to call this guy, lol. (and if YP screwed up the translation so I can rag on them a bit)

Another thing that might only be amusing to me -- Vanitas has been carrying a sling on his back that I’ve been assuming carries the Book, his knives, etc. But when he stands next to Cheerful Guy who has his own his massive sling (that looks an awful like some sort of improbable weapon of the Kingdom Hearts variety), Vanitas looks like nothing so much as a Boy Scout standing next to an Eagle Scout and it’s kinda hilarious.

Just think about it. In another lifetime, this guy could have been Vanitas’ senpai.

Cheerful Guy is important, I see.

So, he got his high position sometime after Vanitas was no longer associated with the chasseurs? And he wasn’t even posted in the area until recently. Gives me reason to think he wasn’t involved in whatever happened to break Vanitas away from them.

Though it occurs to me the chasseurs might not recognize him anyway, depending on how long ago the association was (couldn’t have been that long, Vanitas is only 18 according to the omake) and when exactly he took on the name ‘Vanitas’. They might have known him under another name, maybe his REAL name, and isn’t THAT thought interesting.

“I’m Vincent and he’s Gilbert.”

“I’m Vincent and he’s Gilbert.”

“~I’M VINCENT AND HE’S  G I L B E R T.~”

ahhhhh, I love easter eggs.

(I prefer to read Vanitas’ bowing and babbling here as his version of a customer service voice. you know, that really fake, ‘sincerely apologetic’ one everyone who has ever worked in retail had to master.)

(is that not the face of every retail worker in the world, I mean, come on)

Vanitas has NO IDEA how to deal with this man, it’s amazing. But it looks like they haven’t been made (yet), so that’s good.

That armor on Mr Paladin’s arms is very reminiscent of Jeanne’s leg armor, no?

*tilts head* Is this a typical shounen-ish ‘he’s strong’ assessment, or can Noé analyze him on a different level because of his vampire eyes?

Either way, it says this guy is more dangerous than he seems. Guess you don’t rise to the rank of paladin by sitting on your butt.

(and what exactly is that weapon on his back???)

...y’all. I play a lot of video games. Suddenly walking into a large room with strategically placed cover spots is A VERY BAD SIGN.

I HOPE YOU SAVED BEFORE THIS CHECKPOINT, GUYS.

Ohhh, shit. There it is. Mr Paladin was playing them the entire time and they fell for it like a pair of shmucks.

Specifically, VANITAS fell for it. Dude, the sneaky tricks are supposed to be your area of expertise. Either this guy is better than you or you are seriously off your game. (possibly both)

(...random, but Mr Paladin is reminding me a bit of Might Guy. probably the gushing emotion and positivity.)

A flash bomb? And Vanitas knows exactly what it is, knows it’s meant to hurt Noé specifically. It also means that Mr Paladin knows Noé is a vampire, probably knew it when he was gushing about all those be-fanged skull trophies. Man, you can never trust the goofy ones.

When you think about it, a flash bomb would be the perfect weapon to use against vampires in an enclosed space like underground tunnels.

I’m paying attention to how MochiJun is depicting the affects of the flash on Noé ‘cause we still know precious little about how vampires eyes, and vampires in general, work.

So, we’ve got a shattering, as if the flash caused the world to break apart for Noé, and then a disorienting swirl where his vision is completely obscured. His eyes really are his weak point.

...ohhoho, wait. Wait, wait, wait, I just remembered something.

Vanitas used the flash bomb trick on Jeanne, way back in chapter 3 --

The canister looks about the same, too. I guess now we know why Vanitas keeps one of those in his pack.

It didn’t work as well on Jeanne, but, well, it’s Jeanne.

Mr Paladin is not only dangerous, but also creepy. And kind of dehumanizing, too, which I suppose is to be expected from this group. Not like Veronica de Sade is much better.

Alright, so. Does this mean Noé can usually see the two ‘worlds’ separately? And this is a thing all vampires can do because of their eyes, while some powerful vampires are then able to rewrite the formulas they see on a large scale? Though since Paracelsus was able to trigger Babel, that means having the innate ability to see formulas isn’t a requirement for rewriting them. And, you know, the existence of the Book.

...why would the Vampire of the Blue Moon, who could presumably also see and change formulas as other vampires do, need to write a Book that allows people to do the same thing? What the hell is in that Book, anyway? Does it just deal with True Names?

Give me answers, MochiJun! *shakes tiny fist*

oh geez, the disorientation was so bad it made Noé physically sick.

And Mr Paladin, the doll look is not an improvement, fyi.

So, if Vanitas can rewrite formulas without the Book, is that power also in his eyes, even though he doesn’t have the weird pupil-thing going on like the vampires, or does he work magic the way Paracelsus (presumably) did? Did the flash bang affect him, too? He’s not in the same kind of distress as Noé, but he had an instant’s more warning and DID cover his eyes. Hmm.

I do appreciate Vanitas’ panic over Noé’s plight, though! That’s always heartening to see.

That’s the frown of Bracing Yourself To Do Your Job. Because that’s what killing vampires is to this guy, his job. And he’s not nearly as gullible or naive as he looks.

Uh-oh.

Do we have a super-soldier serum on our hands here? That would explain how the chasseurs are able to take on vampires one-on-one.

Never trust the goofballs.

(i don’t think this fight is going to go well for our heroes, guys.)

Next up, CHAPTER 15!