I was surprised with the choice in op, but its actually a really good pick

While visually, it doesn’t go for the ‘dark steampunk vampire’ vibe that I was expecting, the lyrical story is very emblematic of vnc’s major themes from the first few lines. While the vibe of vnc is dark and steampunk, at its core its the story of Vanitas and Noe and how they confront questions about love, beauty and salvation through each other and the people they interact with. Not what I expected from a marketing point of view, but its fitting from a story perspective. 

The church bell ringing in the Notre Dame during the ‘at the end of our journey, I’ll kill him’ dialogue was a really nice choice. With the stained glass iconography its very chilling. They took out Vanitas saying ‘I won’t die even if you kill me’ thing, but the artistic choice to go for silence and the bells was super solid hrgg

REALLY? Noe looking at the world, and Vanitas looking at him? Noe being in awe of the beauty of the world, and Vanitas looking at Noe and being in awe of him?? Learning to see beauty through him. ‘Makes the world he sees through his fractured eyes look gleaming and bright.’ R E A L L Y 

WITH ADDED RAINBOWS 

TWO

RAINBOWS? 

HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO READ THIS HUH 

Ok I’ve been thinking a lot about this panel. Specifically the, “...of all we gained...and lost...” part. Those panels are accompanied by Domi and Loki, and it seems pretty clear that those words are directed at the two of them. Its unclear who is ‘gained’ and who is ‘lost,’ especially since both images are somewhat morbid (Domi looking away and Loki in chains). 

There’s also the question of what gain and lost mean. 

1) Lost = death 

This one is the most on the nose. When you lose someone they die. But it could potentially have other meanings. Someone could lose their mind. Could have a falling out (’losing’ the relationship). Gain can indicate gaining any ally, gaining an important relationship. I think gain is a bit more ambiguous than ‘lost’ when it comes to people. 

So assuming lost means death, either Loki or Domi have had huge death flags pasted on their backs since chapter 1. 

2) Case for Loki’s Death 

Loki is a character that we’ve danced around a lot at this point. He’s at the periphery of a lot of major characters and events. We were made aware of his existence very early on through Luca, and its brought up that he might be a curse bearer. Then, when we learn about the attack on the queen, we learn that Loki was involved. Politically, its important to remember that if Loki weren’t out of commission, Loki would be the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke being involved in a conspiracy involving the Queen is a pretty big deal. Its possible that he’s being locked up to keep him out of the picture, or because Luca is easier to use as a puppet in the Senate. Either way, Loki has some major set up for his role in the story and its been built up for a long time. 

But at the same time, we know next to nothing about him. He’s going to be a mid-story reveal character that pushes something about the plot or the characters forward in a major way. In some ways, he’s a good character to kill off. Get us attached to him fast, have him reveal something major, and then kill him off. Its easier to kill mid-story characters because their role in the plot is usually more targeted and specific rather than being essential for the narrative. However, this relies on us getting attached to him really fast, and I think Loki is being set up to have more of a plot role in the story rather than an emotional role, especially when compared to Domi. But still, he could be killed towards endgame, its possible.  

3) Case for Domi’s Death 

Her role in the story is definitely emotional. One of the plot’s themes is about love and salvation and Domi happens to embody both of these themes. It would definitely have a major impact on Noe if she were to die. At the same time, if Noe and Domi didn’t resolve the tension in their relationship before the end, it would feel very wrong for her to die on that note. But that might be the point. It would be super morbid. But, at the same time she’s such a major character and her death would be such a ballsy writing choice that I’m hesitant to say that I’m set on it happening. Her dying AFTER reconciling with Noe is more likely, but damn would it be A Move for her to die while still feeling the way she does about her life and her worth. 

 Loki is much safer to kill off than Domi. But at the same time, if Domi lives I’m not sure what direction her character would go in and what role she would play in the story, regardless of if her love is requited or not. What she brought to the story was an emotional conflict and if that’s resolved, what’s left for her? She is a De Sade, so there’s always a chance that if she gains a sense of purpose and starts to heal some of her inner wounds that she could get involved in some of the political shenanigans involving her siblings, standing up to them, which would be very interesting development for her and also give us greater insight into the political stuff since right now we don’t really have a character who isn’t sus playing in that ring, other than Luca (who as of now isn’t the best lens for this stuff). So, I think its possible for her not to die. But, then again... 

4) No one dying? 

If ‘lost’ can be interoperated in some other way, then its possible no one could die. Like if Domi grows really distant from Noe after this, that could be considered having ‘lost’ her. Or if something happens to her true name and she loses her memories. But, I do find it hard to see lost as meaning anything else other than death. Or, perhaps since we don’t see Loki’s face in that panel, there’s a chance it might be someone else. But... unlikely?  

So basically, if Domi dies this arc, then Loki is safe. If Domi doesn’t die, then Loki’s in the hot spot based on what we see in chapter 1

Hypothetically, if Noe and Vanitas can’t reconcile in the next few chapters, I think they will go their separate ways for a bit. I sense a time skip or something along those lines? And when they meet again, Vanitas’s ‘time’ will be closer to up and there will be a lot of unspoken words between the two from their split up 

Yikes its gonna be hard for them to recover from this fight,,,,,,,