Klance Skank

Season 1-7

Season 7 ½

im so obsessed with chapter 55.5 not only because of the really satisfactory closure we get for what happened between noé and vanitas

but also because this page

parallels this page:

in jeanne and vanitas's relationship. which means SO much to me. like... idk maybe my interpretation is off

but whenever vanitas tells jeanne that he has to be the one to kill her if she turns into something she never wants to become, it feels like it comes from a form of love. like it feels like, "i have to be the one to kill you because i love you."

SO TO BEGIN WITH, TO SEE VANITAS DISPLAY THIS LIKE GESTURE OF 'LOVE' FOR NOÉ IS LIKE. PHENOMENAL. STRAIGHT SEROTONIN TO THE CRANIUM.

but like.

maybe im being gay as fuck here, i also think it's INSANELY more interesting that the roles are reversed and that vanitas himself is the one who reversed them, so to speak.

like, not to get into the intimacy of murder... BUT TO GET INTO THE INTIMACY OF MURDER, the act of it is intimate. it's life changing and vulnerable for both involved. applying it more specifically to vanitas and noe's situation, there are more layers of this like... vulnerability?

which like i said it's vulnerable for both involved, but the difference is in the depth of the vulnerability.

in jeanne and vanitas's pact or promise, vanitas is the one to kill jeanne. vanitas is the one who has control over the situation and that while killing jeanne would mean he will share a moment of vulnerability with her, that vulnerability and moment he shares with jeanne will be gone within a second. everything he shares with jeanne will die as she dies. he keeps everything in that moment; it's not just his emotions and experiences, it's also jeannes.

jeanne is the most vulnerable in this situation. she has everything to lose. she gives up her life, her death, her emotions, this final moment of her life. she keeps nothing. she gives it all to vanitas. vanitas loses nothing, he opens up only to close again.

there's a clear, extreme imbalance here.

BUT that's why its SO SO SO interesting and compelling that VANITAS reverses the roles in his relationship with noé.

vanitas who, up until now, pushed people away, kept them at an arms length, REFUSED to let ANYONE see his memories, chose noé to kill him. vanitas who refused to be vulnerable with anyone chose noé.

so now the roles are flipped. in vanitas's wish for noe to kill him, it's vanitas who is the most vulnerable. it's vanitas who is the one truly opening up. vanitas loses all control he had over their relationship in this scenario. in this scenario, he can't close up. he cannot take information from noé and withhold what he knows or feels, he has no choice but to give himself to noé in this situation. he can't take away his own moment of vulnerability here. it's no longer vanitas taking a life, someone else's raw emotions, their final moment.

it is noé taking vanitas's. it is noe who gets to take vanitas's life. it's noé who sees vanitas's death, vanitas's emotions, sees vanitas's final moment of life his life. he's choosing noé to keep all of that. he's choosing to give so much of himself to noé.

ADDITIONALLY... to add a whole nother layer to this,

it's also interesting that in both cases it's vanitas making the decision. i mean, jeanne agrees to vanitas killing her if she were to become something she would hate, but she is not the one who proposes it.

so, it makes an interesting and very subtle difference in the dynamics.

i cannot quite articulate it currently, but it definitely sets the two apart. the difference in timing also sets the two apart, but i think these last two layers will need another post because i don't quite know how to word them exactly lol

TLDR;

My general impression of Noé is that he’s a very kind, noble-minded individual and is very open with his opinions and feelings. Honestly, with the 20 chapters out so far it’s hard to think of anything unlikable about him. He’s very supportive of the other characters, attempts to be diplomatic, and is generally aware of how things affect other people. He’s basically the exact opposite of Vanitas. He also brings his cat with him whenever possible, which is something I can get behind.

Noé is also a character who continues to reveal deepening layers as the series goes on. One of those is his ability to interfere with the world formula. This obviously hasn’t been explored all that much yet but I can’t help but wonder if this is something Noé will continue to practice and, if so, just how powerful he can become if he does. Would it be enough to reverse the tragedy that Mochizuki has revealed at the beginning of the series? Combined with his ability to read people’s memories Noé is something of a force to be reckoned with.

Aside from that, I’m really enjoying his relationships with the other characters and I’ll be talking about that most in this post. Let’s take Dominique for starters. Despite her unrequited feelings for him they’re both extremely devoted to each other and it seems evident to me that they’ll do anything for one another.

Also, Vanitas: *continually worries over and protects Noé*

Lan WangJi stood up and sat beside him, pointing for him to see, “Look at these two pages.”

Their heads pressed close together, and Lan WangJi’s voice was right by his ear, low and magnetic. Wei WuXian’s hand trembled lightly. The book had almost fallen off. He finally steadied himself and forcibly tore his eyes away from Lan WangJi’s long, white fingers. He concentrated on comparing the two, “Ah, these two pages.”

(Chapter 63, ExR)

They’re in the middle of plot right now, as they’re searching the room of forbidden books for the song JGY played. Normally WWX is very good at focusing on plot when plot is happening – most of his previous flights of romanticism have been in moments of downtime. But here he’s supposed to be busy and yet he gets distracted by LWJ’s voice and hands.

I love everything about this. The way he feels about LWJ’s voice. The physical reaction he has to it. How he has to force himself to think about what they’re doing instead of LWJ’s fingers. How, when he finally says something as he tries to concentrate on their task again, all he can manage is repeating LWJ’s last few words. Our eloquent, talkative WWX, reduced to repeating words as he tries to drag his mind back on track.

He manages to get himself together and get back into the plot, but I love this moment for the way it just hits him. His feelings for LWJ are starting to break through his subconscious, getting to the point where he can no longer deny them.

He chased Lan Wangji back to the inn. After returning inside the room, Wei Wuxian pinned him to the bed, and pulled off his incorrectly-worn boots. He then thought for a bit and concluded that Lan Wangji probably wasn’t capable of washing his own face in his current state. Wei Wuxian removed his friend’s head ribbon and brought a basin of warm water and a washcloth inside. After wringing the excess water from the washcloth, he folded it into a square and began lightly wiping Lan Wangji’s face clean.

(Chapter 31, Fanyiyi translation)

Even thought WWX wants to mess with LWJ when he’s drunk, washing his face isn’t part of that. He just knows LWJ would want to wash his face and is willing to do it for him while he’s not capable of it.

Hearing several clashes of blades, Wei Wuxian’s heart leapt. “Lan Zhan? Are you hurt?!” he blurted out.

Someone let out a soft grunt in the distance, as though they had been critically injured, but the sound was clearly not made by Lan Wangji.

“How could I be?” he said.

“True!” Wei Wuxian replied, smiling.

(Chapter 34, Fanyiyi translation)

LWJ’s one of the strongest cultivators in the setting, and WWX recognizes that. He still has this impulse to be concerned, and to smile and be reassured when LWJ reminds him of his strength.

Looking around, Wei WuXian suddenly exclaimed, “I’m hungry.”

Lan WangJi looked up. Of course, Wei WuXian wasn’t hungry at all. He had just eaten three pies at the vendor in front of Lotus Pier’s gates. Lan WangJi only ate one, however, and it was the only thing he’d eaten in the past two days. The matter was on Wei WuXian’s mind. It was likely they’d have to keep drifting for a long while to reach a town or city to rest and dine.

(Chapter 90, ExR)

LWJ should be perfectly capable of practicing inedia and likely doesn’t strongly need to eat. But WWX is noticing how much LWJ is eating and thinking in detail about how long he’ll have to go without food. He wants to care for LWJ by making sure he eats – and he also knows him well enough to know that he would not be particularly concerned about himself, but he would be more willing to go find food if it was framed as a need of WWX’s. (Of course, they end up with the lotus seeds and LWJ doesn’t actually really eat them, but WWX’s concern still shows his care.)

One of the reasons LWJ’s care is more obvious is that WWX notices and thinks about it more. It’s highlighted by being presented as a contrast to his earlier behavior, and it therefore creates a little bit of mystery for WWX to puzzle over. As WWX comes to recognize his own feelings, he thinks about LWJ’s care as he wonders if it means what he hopes it does.

we can have a little dumbass!keith, as a treat