#though there certainly are other very good theorists/posters kicking around in this fandom besides me

[neversetyoufree]

Too socially anxious to interact with anyone on my actual account (it’s a problem), but I just wanted to say I love your blog! I’ve been obsessed with VNC for about a year by now, and I get really lonely sometimes cause I feel like while it’s not exactly unpopular, people tend to treat it like a “side fandom” if that makes any sense? Like, they enjoy it but don’t really engage with it past surface level. It’s especially hard as an Astolfo fan, because I think I can count the amount of people who don’t completely mischaracterize him on one hand (but I digress).

Complaining aside, it’s so refreshing to read your posts! They’re always very thoughtful and well written, and I owe a good portion of my understanding of the series to your writing. I’m not sure if you’ve posted anything about this before, but I was curious about your predictions for who will die by the end of the series. I’ve thought a lot about it because people always say Mochijun is pretty brutal, but to be honest, besides Vanitas and maybe Roland I have no idea who’s going to live or die. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have the time! ^^

Ah, thank you so much!! It's incredibly gratifying to hear that you feel like you've gained some extra understanding of VnC by reading my posts. Don't sell your own analyses short! But this series has so much interesting stuff going on in it, and it brings me endless joy to think I've helped nudge others into appreciating all that.

As far as upcoming deaths go, having read Pandora Hearts and Crimson Shell, I'll second the take that Mochijun is pretty merciless when it comes to killing off characters. I honestly don't think anyone is safe except for Noé, and Noé is only safe since 1. he's the narrator, and 2. outliving the others is much more painful for Mr. Savior Complex than dying would be.

Vanitas is the obvious given death-wise, and I'll second you about Roland, given how things end up for his namesake in The Song of Roland. There's good odds of Olivier also dying for the same reason, since his namesake dies in The Song of Roland. I can also envision a potential plotline where, when Roland or Olivier dies, whichever one outlives the other betrays the church (esp since this was foreshadowed with that bit about Olivier threatening to leave when Roland was hurt pre-canon).

I'm also, unfortunately, not super optimistic for my girls Jeanne and Dominique. Jeanne, like Rolivier, is named after a historical figure who very famously died young. She also carries around a giant coffin wherever she goes, and that coffin contains a weapon named "Carpe Diem." The context of that name makes pretty clear that it's evoking the full version of the phrase—carpe diem quam minimum credula postero—which is a reference to living life to the fullest because you don't know if you'll live to see tomorrow. So, in the same way that Vanitas's already-run-out hourglass earring is a symbolic death flag, Carpe Diem and its case feel like potential death flags for Jeanne.

In terms of Domi, her fate is less sealed than Jeanne's, but something deep inside me is scared for her nonetheless. I think it's partially because she's featured in the "all we gained and lost" section of Noé's closing monologue from mémoire 1. She's on the "gained" panel, but still, it makes me uneasy. She's also suicidal and written as a parallel to Vanitas, which is never a good sign for the likelihood of a character's survival.

Riche is also named after a character who is very famously dead in her source material (Beatrice Portinari from the Divine Comedy). If we run with the same logic applied to Rolivier and Jeanne, that doesn't look good for her. I don't want her to die (I love her v much, and I also don't want her to be even more sidelined compared to Dante and Johann than she's been thus far), but I also feel like it's unlikely that all three dhampirs are making it out of this series unscathed.

In terms of characters I think won't die, Chloé already had her big scene of choosing to live on despite life's hardships, and I fear her imminent death would cheapen that a bit, so I think the odds for her and Jean-Jacques surviving are relatively good.

Other than that, who knows! Besides Vanitas and Noé, these are all just wild estimates. Maybe the whole cast will die except Noé, or maybe everyone but Vanitas will live. You mentioned Astolfo, and I can envision him living or dying by the end, depending on how kind Mochijun decides to be. Absolutely anything could happen.