into--the--abyss
Into the Abyss at a Dignified Pace
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A blog of all things Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler.) I like to play Devil's Advocate, in more ways than one. Things you will find here: my own analysis, plus reblogs of edits, gifs, and fanart relating to Black Butler. This blog is SFW. I very much enjoy questions, so feel free to ask whatever's on your mind.
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into--the--abyss · 5 years ago
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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I see you’ve mentioned the fact that “Ciel aimlessly waits around,” but I feel that he is probably doing that so he doesn’t die early, and he likely wants to kill the culprit himself so that HE would be the one to get revenge rather than having Sebastian ruin the “fun,” of it, I guess.
That actually does make a lot of sense.  Ciel could be extending the contract.  Though I instead like the idea that Sebastian is extending the contract to spend more time in the human world.
But none of that dynamic between Sebastian and OC really matters because now the focus is on RC and his relationship with OC.  As if that matters to the story…it’s just superfluous.
Sorry for taking forever to answer your ask!
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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I love your blog because unlike the majority of the fandom, you actually give criticism to why this series can be bad at points rather than worshipping Yana as if she hasn’t made story mistakes before. Like I’ve tried arguing w/ people before about this arc bc it’s been pretty bad and they’re just like “it’s her story, she knows what she’s doing!”
I mean, authors write for their audience, so there’s got to be some validity to what the readers think of the story.
Yana has good ideas, it’s just that the order/execution of those ideas doesn’t always make sense.  If RC and his relationship to OC had been established very early in the story, his reveal as a Bizarre Doll would’ve had much more of an emotional impact because it would’ve subverted our expectation that he died during the sacrifice.  But we got two surprises this arc: 1) confirmation of RC, and 2) but wait there’s more–he’s also still alive!  Story-wise, I’m just not feeling it.
Sorry for taking forever to answer your ask.  >.
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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Oh! You still follow the series? :D that makes me happy. I feel you about the burn out on how the pacing of the story and characterization of Sebastian can really... drag. I’m hoping for it to get better. Do you too, since you still read the story I wonder? :3 or just to see where it’s heading? Have a nice day!!
I kinda sorta follow the series.  I just keep tabs on what’s happening but I’m not following it in any close or deep way.
Yeah, this arc has been going on since Chapter 108?  So that’s 33 months.  Almost three years.  I guess we’re going to get a battle scene coming up soon, but for me, what’s the point of a battle without Will?  Haha.  I still haven’t gotten over why Othello is there and not William, not that it matters much anyway.
Thanks for stopping by!
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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also, i can’t believe they kept the “That butler, something” format even in the ten chapters said butler was not around. 
“That butle, grieving” bitch what was he grieving for, he didn’t know any of the Phantomhive except Ciel. wtf are you talking about
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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Undertaker and Real Ciel
Everyone remember this GFantasy cover?
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My first thought?
’Ooooh, what a nice cover!’
My second thought?
’That’s…not Our Ciel…’
And now we have Chapter 140:
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That GFantasy cover is from January 2017. Add that to the list of foreshadowing!
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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Black Butler chapter 141
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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One of Sebastian’s deadliest forms
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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Hey~ I know it's been how many chapters since the flash backs started and we're all pretty much wishing it would end at this point lol (srsly how long has it been?) but did you see the cover for chapter 138? it looks so cool! more of this please! and less backtracking *sighs*
It feels like it’s been almost a year.  But maybe only 6 months?
I agree, the cover looks pretty neat.  Nice seeing OCiel and Sebastian sit down as equals.
OCiel can take pretty good care of himself after all.
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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also that negotiation scene.... freakin' this is the type of content i signed up for!
I got around to reading the chapter and it actually is pretty good.  It’s too bad this had to come in a flashback and the manga didn’t start off with this…
I liked how OCiel and Sebastian met as equals at the negotiating table.  Ciel is completely aware of Sebastian’s trickery and Ciel is smart and capable enough not to fall for it.  So much for the weak child that was supposedly manipulated into a contract.  Instead, both Sebastian and OCiel are brats.
Sebastian thinks himself quite smart and clever.  I think that was my favorite part.  He’s smart in the sense of the classic Faustian demon, obeying only the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law.  He’s so stuck on himself in a completely smartass way that it makes him getting knocked down a few pegs in Campania have more impact for me.
Sebastian has standards.  There, take that, Claude.  That also means that there are differences between demons and they have different personalities and personal values.
Based on the type of wishes Sebastian offers as examples, who were Sebastian’s past contractees?
So, just like genies, demons can’t being people back to life, huh?  And demons can manipulate a human’s perception/memory.  I wonder if the plot is going to expand on that, or if it was just a throwaway idea.
Ciel had a chance at a healthy body and didn’t take it.
I’m still stuck on the idea of Ciel needing to kill the culprit himself.  Couldn’t he just wish Sebastian to find the culprit and bring him/them before him so that then Ciel could kill them himself?  It doesn’t make a lot of sense to aimlesslessly wait around…even Sebastian took issue with that.
I thought Sebastian first asked Ciel’s name when they were standing on the hill after the cult was killed?
Sebastian’s facial expressions were so well-drawn.
There’s some leeway in the contract that I’m kind of surprised Sebastian agreed to, given how he said he wouldn’t agree to vague terms.  "Getting revenge" has no set end date.  OCiel might not get his revenge until he’s 80 years old for all we know.  Even the “schemer” seemed hard to define for Sebastian.  Clearly he’s used to thinking in more literal terms.  He’s almost kind of naive in a way.  (Like how he jumped up ready to go kill everyone and OCiel had to stop him.)
But still….geez, Ciel, just get Sebastian to hunt down the culprit and bring him to the manor.  I don’t get why he just didn’t ask for that.
Anyway, glad this was a long chapter.  It felt like a real manga chapter for a change, and we actually got some interesting details about Sebastian for a change.
Thanks for stopping by!
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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°・*:。☆favorite characters as voted by our followers☆。:*・°
{3/11} ⇛ boku no hero academia: todoroki shouto
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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demon!Ciel for @sharpestrose
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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But....."starving...." The word itself implies a necessity.
I guess if one would like to think demons seek out souls for their own hedonistic enjoyment, sure, that would make a demon much more cruel. Because then consuming a soul becomes a choice, not a necessity. It would be like a lion killing extra zebras just for fun, not because it needed to fill its belly.
I was looking through your old posts and i noticed you said that the Undertaker killed over a thousand people? My question is how and when did that happen in the manga? I don’t think you’re referring to his time spent as a grim reaper bc he was just doing his job or some of the bizarre dolls bc from what I could tell he was experimenting on the humans after they died, he didn’t kill them himself personally. For example Lord Edmonds fag, Derrick was killed by the p4 not UT. Just curious?
Literally no one on the site ever remembers/makes mention of this.  You all have collective Undertaker amnesia.  I think that’s now Number 1 on my Unhappy List.
It’s right in Chapter 60.  He let the Bizarre Dolls go after the humans on the ship just to see how many die on each side.  And then he’s all thrilled that an iceberg popped up and made matters worse.
Great way to entertain ones’ self.
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UT has charmed you all so much you can’t even remember the nasty atrocious stuff he’s done.
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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I was the anon who asked you that question about UT. At the time i was confused/curious bc it wasn't just you saying that UT killed over 1000 people and the Campania arc totally slipped my mind (it really did). I was thinking that he killed 1000 ppl somewhere in the current chapters and i was like wait, did i miss something? & thats why i asked. I realized hours later after i sent the msg, that u all meant the Campania arc. I felt stupid too. Sorry I made you upset.
Don’t worry, anon.  I shouldn’t have given you such a salty answer in response.
Sorry if I made you feel stupid for forgetting.  :(
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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So it's 3 supportive reblogs for UT and 0 for Sebastian. Interesting.
He really is a side character at this point. XD
I was looking through your old posts and i noticed you said that the Undertaker killed over a thousand people? My question is how and when did that happen in the manga? I don’t think you’re referring to his time spent as a grim reaper bc he was just doing his job or some of the bizarre dolls bc from what I could tell he was experimenting on the humans after they died, he didn’t kill them himself personally. For example Lord Edmonds fag, Derrick was killed by the p4 not UT. Just curious?
Literally no one on the site ever remembers/makes mention of this.  You all have collective Undertaker amnesia.  I think that’s now Number 1 on my Unhappy List.
It’s right in Chapter 60.  He let the Bizarre Dolls go after the humans on the ship just to see how many die on each side.  And then he’s all thrilled that an iceberg popped up and made matters worse.
Great way to entertain ones’ self.
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UT has charmed you all so much you can’t even remember the nasty atrocious stuff he’s done.
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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I’m pretty sure it was stated in the Circus arc that demons need souls to survive.  I’m kind of surprised that you’d even consider that consuming souls is optional...I thought that was well-established in the kuroverse?  William states he is a starving demon who is desperate or something like that.
UT was shown pouring something down (what we assume to be RC)’s throat in the early chapters of this arc and telling him it wasn’t time to wake up yet.  I dunno, but that seems like pretty strong evidence that he is somehow connected to his resurrection.  I am assuming, but it seems like a reasonable assumption given the evidence.  It’s no more a leap of logic than saying UT really cares about Ciel--given that that assumption takes faith in UT’s words at face value.
If you want me to admit that I don’t like UT, well, I don’t like him very much.  I don’t despise him like I do some character.  In fact, early on, I used to think he was rather mysterious and interesting but I’m not much for the shinigami in general and my fondness for him dissolved.  By the same token, isn’t UT one of your favs?  Don’t we all defend our favorite characters?  I know I defend Sebastian, for sure.
But this is the core of what alienated me from liking Undertaker:
Which brings me to UT. All that you said is correct and that’s why he’s a real asshole. However, while this is in no way an excuse, it is most likely the results of him having a fucked up existence overall, which led to desperation and to him acting terribly. 
and this:
It’s just like above, UT isn’t perfect and he’s mostly drowning in desperation, so he can fuck up and have bad ideas.
Why assume that he’s drowning in desperation?  I’m not sure what really indicated that that is his motive.  He seemed rather gleeful when he talked about pitting the Bizarre Dolls against humans to see who would survive.  He’s sad over Vincent dying and the lockets, but being a little weepy over someone dying is different than drowning in sadness to the point where one is so desperate that one is spurred to blind action.  To speak frankly, no, I think he is very well in possession of his faculties, and that this was very much a choice he decided to make.  Why think that he acted out of desperation rather than a conscious choice?  He’s shown to be a very meticulous plotter when it comes to his schemes (posing as a principal took time and patience and a clear head.)  He is patient and calculating--so much so that he successfully calculated that a wounded Sebastian would catch Ciel.  I’m never really sure if having a supposedly sad existence excuses him of his actions or not...I always thought it was curious that some characters get pegged as tragic figures while others do not, but that’s a conversation for another day.
To me, I suppose UT acts the mad scientist at times, but I think that is a facade, given how he can turn serious during certain moments.  And he can become serious almost instantly, therefore, I think the eccentric creepy old man thing is an act.  Which makes me not trust his words or actions very much...therefore is the sadness an act, too?  Probably not, but I trust him a lot less than say, Agni.
I do believe he is driven, but he seems like he’s always been a rebel considering he deserted the shinigami.  Because of that, I see him as a chaotic character acting according amorally and marching to the beat of his own drum.  He makes alliances when it suits him (Stoker) but I think he acts in his own interest most of the time.  He seems too smart to be second in line in a scheme, which is why I think he is the brains behind this current arc, though I do think there is a possibility the Queen could be involved.
I do not see him as a tragic character.  Crying over a picture and wishing for someone (probably Vincent) to come back to life doesn’t qualify being consumed with overwhelming sadness for me.  He’s just too...elusive and distant from where I see it.  Yes, he did kill himself, but so did a lot of awful people in history; having a tragic end to his life doesn’t change matters considering that there are shinigami who follow the rules (Ronald, William) and those that could care less about rules (UT, Grell.)  But there are other characters that the fandom sees as tragic that I don’t for whatever reason.
As for UT not being there during the twins’ captivity...they were gone for a month.  You are right that I’m being unfair for expecting him to be all-knowing when he has no access to the list, but I do hope this question/plot hole is somehow addressed.  i.e. it is shown that he at least tried to look for them, or at the very least, worried about their absence.
I have heard of some people in the past on the forums preferring for Ciel to have rejected Sebastian’s contract and dying innocent--the assumption being he would go to Heaven.  I do take issue with fans (not you personally) saying that Sebastian manipulated OCiel into forming the contract when he outright stated that this was a choice and that it could be arranged so that he (Sebastian) could disappear.  OCiel took a chance to reinvent himself and become the Earl and exact revenge...which seems like a pretty okay choice.  I still am a bit mystified at the “Sebastian raised OCiel to be evil” theory (again, not yours) because Sebastian outright stated to Frances that it was important for Ciel to toughen up to deal with the evils of the world.  I kind of scratch my head, because that’s doing OCiel a favor...I’d rather he be strong and capable rather than a powerless weakling.  But I digress.
It all comes down to how vague this manga is.  It’s hard to take characters at their word when their words contradict their actions, or when morality is such a gray and tenuous thing.  For example, I think I’m one of the few people to think of Baron Kelvin as a tragic figure.  There is someone who I think has been consumed by sadness and an impossible dream to the point of being driven that he has lost his grip on reality.  He had no clue that what he was doing was wrong and completely messed up.  But he is easily called “evil.”  I suppose it’s because I think that if a person is so out of his mind as to not able to tell the difference between right and wrong, he can’t be bound by morality.
But anyway...I don’t think sadness is what drove UT to unleash a horde of Bizarre Dolls on the Campania.  It seemed to me like he enjoyed the entertainment of watching a thousand people die.  Which fits with the idea that he is a chaotic agent.  If he were driven by sadness, why not just be content with keeping the Bizarre Dolls to himself in his laboratory/parlor/whatever, and weep over his results.  Why unleash them on a ship full of innocent humans?  Again, this isn’t directed at you, but I see fans be quick to say UT is so tragic and sad and yet I just don’t get how some of his actions line up with that...I think his prime motivation is something other than sadness and loneliness.  (Again, it could be a combination of sadness and chaos.)
This is tangential to that, but at least Eric had a specific reason to collect 1,000 souls...the deaths on the Campania were meaningless.
Well, anyway, those are my thoughts.
I was looking through your old posts and i noticed you said that the Undertaker killed over a thousand people? My question is how and when did that happen in the manga? I don’t think you’re referring to his time spent as a grim reaper bc he was just doing his job or some of the bizarre dolls bc from what I could tell he was experimenting on the humans after they died, he didn’t kill them himself personally. For example Lord Edmonds fag, Derrick was killed by the p4 not UT. Just curious?
Literally no one on the site ever remembers/makes mention of this.  You all have collective Undertaker amnesia.  I think that’s now Number 1 on my Unhappy List.
It’s right in Chapter 60.  He let the Bizarre Dolls go after the humans on the ship just to see how many die on each side.  And then he’s all thrilled that an iceberg popped up and made matters worse.
Great way to entertain ones’ self.
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UT has charmed you all so much you can’t even remember the nasty atrocious stuff he’s done.
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into--the--abyss · 7 years ago
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Uhh....you do realize you’re proving my point about people defending Undertaker, right?   You are overlooking his actions under the assumption that you somehow know he cares for the well-being of Ciel.
There’s no reason why UT can’t be an agent of chaos acting for no purpose at all, or acting for his own benefit or for the benefit of another.  You’re assuming a binary choice of either UT is “good” or “bad.”  The same with Sebastian.
A lioness may be evil to the POV of a gazelle, but to the lioness’s cubs, she is the reason they continue to exist.
Did anyone consider that perhaps Sebastian might even, oh, I don’t know...let CIel go from the contract?  Or that the contract may be null given that RC is now alive?  Or that some other outcome may happen?  Or maybe even this: OC has power, he got to exact his revenge--which is what he choose--and, being an honorable person, he lets Sebastian take his soul as a fair payment for Sebastian’s services, just like the end of Season 1.  It seems a bit unfair to Sebastian’s character to want him to be so flat and undeveloped that he’s nothing more than an agentless entity of evil who has the simple motivation of taking Ciel’s soul and that’s it.  There have been hints to a little something different about him--like the fact that supposedly he’s been starving for the past three years and has yet to take Ciel’s soul.  But anyway.
Sebastian barely caught Ciel on that balcony.  He had to launch himself forward in the air, and caught Ciel’s fingertips by mere inches.  Sebastian was wounded and could have missed.  What if he didn’t make it and Ciel went splat?  That was a huge risk to take.
Let’s not even consider Campania for the moment.  How about this: was it right for RC to be unnaturally resurrected into an aggressive form of himself that wound up having Agni killed and driving Prince Soma insane?  How exactly does this help OC again?  How is this “looking out for Ciel’s soul?”  I can’t really think of any way this benefits OCiel, given how horrified and distraught he’s been over the last few chapters.
And a very big question: where was Undertaker when Vincent and Rachel were murdered?  Where was he when the twins were sold into the cult?  If he really is so protective of the twins’ wellbeing, wouldn’t Uncle Undertaker have teleported in and saved them from being tortured by a bunch of crazed cultists?  If I remember correctly, he was even at the mansion before the party...so where did he go?
Or, perhaps...Undertaker is that calm-faced man under the who sat there and watched it all.  He does bear a bit of a resemblance to both the knife-wielder and the principal from the Weston arc.
I was looking through your old posts and i noticed you said that the Undertaker killed over a thousand people? My question is how and when did that happen in the manga? I don’t think you’re referring to his time spent as a grim reaper bc he was just doing his job or some of the bizarre dolls bc from what I could tell he was experimenting on the humans after they died, he didn’t kill them himself personally. For example Lord Edmonds fag, Derrick was killed by the p4 not UT. Just curious?
Literally no one on the site ever remembers/makes mention of this.  You all have collective Undertaker amnesia.  I think that’s now Number 1 on my Unhappy List.
It’s right in Chapter 60.  He let the Bizarre Dolls go after the humans on the ship just to see how many die on each side.  And then he’s all thrilled that an iceberg popped up and made matters worse.
Great way to entertain ones’ self.
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UT has charmed you all so much you can’t even remember the nasty atrocious stuff he’s done.
138 notes · View notes