mruczanka

[dulcemaiden]

The coming conflict between O!Ciel and Snake

In the recent events of Doll coming back to the manga and diverse opinions about which side Snake will choose, there is something I haven't seen anyone consider that can become crucial to this dilemma: The mysterious incident of Snake keeping silent about OCiel sneaking into the tents of the first strings in Noah’s ark circus. Why he did?

The anime played for laughs that it was Wordsworth the one who didn't tell and Emily scolded him.

But in the manga is different, because it was Snake himself. Smile was caught up by Wordsworth, and we all know the rest: Doll found him, grabbed Wordsworth and gave it to Snake telling him to keep the snakes inside his tent (curiously, it's the same snake that Doll caught in F.O.L.)

Actually, Wordsworth told him that precise moment what was really happening, and Snake seemed nervous and trembling, not knowing what to do: Doll was hiding Smile, who had sneaked into the tents of the first strings. He would have done something about the intruder inmediatly, but this time it was Doll who intervined. Unsure of what to do, he walked away and kept silent about the situation.

But when Snake got in his tent, his snakes must have told him how they were tied up in knots by Black, and that Smile went to investigate the tents. Given how alarmingly suspicious the situation was, and how all the first strings could be in a potential danger, he finally decided to tell Joker. When he was asked why he took his time to tell them, he couldn't give a proper answer.

So he only kept silent because of Doll.

If this assumption is correct, the whole dilemma between Snake and OCiel worsens. Unlike the rest of the circus members who irrumpted in Ciel's manor, and Joker who was with Kelvin, Doll was alone at that time, and she was actually the only one who died under OCiel’s command. Snake has seen how skilled is Sebastian when it comes to kill...

So he won't believe that Doll was a real threat to them. Snake is also aware that she hid Smile from him and his snakes, and from the others first strings in an attempt to protect him, but OCiel still took her life, and that won't be a forgivable thing for Snake.

I've read opinions that in hopes that Snake will keep loyal to OCiel and the servants, expects that he will prefer them because unlike the circus troupe who kept him in the dark, he is one of them now. But maybe that would be underestimating how deep Snake's love for Doll might actually be.

She was the first one who reached a hand out to him, and she took care for him back then. His first reaction to see her again was to effusively tackle hug her while crying. We still have to see Snake's flashbacks, but from the little we have seen, Doll is practically the main one in his memories when it comes to the circus troupe.

Maybe there is the possibility that if OCiel explain to Snake about the children's abduction for Kelvin, and how the servants protected themselves and Lizzie, with time Snake will comprehend it, but he still won't comprehend why OCiel spared his life and not Doll's, not after she went out of her way to protect him, because even if Doll tried to kill OCiel later, Snake tried to kill him too.

Even more so, I don't think OCiel will try to justify himself, since he feels guilty about Doll's death.

Back then, when Snake tried to avenge the circus troupe, OCiel had every reason to kill him: Snake had tried to kill OCiel and killed a guest by mistake, he was not innocent and he was a danger. It is hinted that he let Snake live mainly because he reminded him of Doll.

I would like to point out that OCiel is a more empathetic person than most fans give credit for. He is aware that Doll trusted him and genuinely cared for him back then.

And he had to got rid of her, seeing her as a sacrifice. Doll's death was one that deeply traumatized OCiel as we see in his nightmare in ch95.

He probably don't even judge her, as he didn't judge Joker back then, as Yana mentioned in her blog years ago. You can read it in this post traslated by @akumadeenglish.

No matter which way it goes, this conflict will be inevitable, which is really sad for both OCiel and Snake, because they have grown to genuinely care about each other.

And to finish this post, I personally think that out of all the circus troupe, the fact that it was Doll the one who has returned makes sense from a narrative perspective; because she is the central character between Snake and OCiel: Snake let OCiel had his way in the circus because of Doll, and OCiel let Snake live because of Doll.

[zetsubo-bani]

The Attackers and why I don't think it was rciel

The attackers of the tenth birthday is probably the biggest mystery in black butler. They are the ones ociel wants revenge against and their identities is a complete mystery. Which is why this is a popular topic to theorise about.

The most popular theory is the real ciel mastermind theory (rcmmt) which claims that it was rciel who either let the intruders in and commanded them or did this whole thing himself.

I myself strongly disagree with this theory and want to present why (as well as do little speculations about the real culprits).

Now then, why do people think it's rciel?

The panel that most people found suspicious are these:

The unknown expression on ciels face is what caught peoples attention and a lot of people thought that it meant he developed some sort of grudge against his parents because they "wanted to seperate him and his brother". But I think it's actually the opposite.

What vincent and rachel basically told him was "if you grow up and become a strong earl, you can help and protect your brother, even if you two are not in the same place" and I think that's what kickstarted rciels protective side.

We've seen in the blue memory arc after they got captured that rciel always held ociel in a very protective pose and with a glare to the hostile person.

And this moment is simply him realising that since his brother is a bit on the physically weaker side and doesn't have the title, that rciel can protect him instead. Some call his smile fake but I think it's genuine if you look at the background and how those little bubbles are drawn (which are always there in happy moments).

We also saw this protective side later during the attack .

Tanaka was supposed to pick them up at 6pm and as we can see, it's already 40 minutes after the time he was supposed to come. If a person who is usually very reliable is 40 minutes late, anyone would be suspicious and as we can see in rciels expression, he clearly suspects something is wrong.

We can see rciels protective side already kicking in by telling ociel he should remain where he is while rciel goes and checks. I couldn't include the next panel due to the limit but after that rciel says "it's my duty as the heir" which definitely ties back to what the previous pages caused.

So rciel basically walks out with no insurance that it's really safe while leaving his brother behind where he is (at the moment) safe.

Though after roughly 15 minutes have passed, ociel walks out anyways.

On his way he hears barking from vincents room after the dog sebastian has ran off.

What I believe happened was that the dog caught the perpetrator with vincent and started barking which caused the attacker to also kill the dog.

After ociel saw his dead parents and dog, he ran off in a panic, accidentally stumbling upon more corpses who were gathered around the whole house

Before hearing what seems to be the sound of blades clashing and running into tanaka.

Now this part is very important for the next page but think about this: if there is a sound of blades clashing and tanaka is not the one fighting then who are the two people fighting?

The answer is: it's rciel and the attacker.

Tanaka soon says this:

"master ciel is..." Indicates that rciel is in that hallway tanaka was in and from the sound of it, it doesn't seem that he was fine.

But you may ask now: "if rciel is fighting against someone and didn't seem to be doing well then why didn't tanaka help him since he is their servant and supposed to protect them?"

The answer is ociel.

Tanaka got distracted by ociel suddenly entering the scene. But most importantly look at what happened moments afterwards:

Someone stabbed tanaka in the back after he ran towards ociel (which was very likely the person who fought against rciel). But the important part are the hands grabbing ociel from behind.

Someone was following ociel and tanaka saw this which is why he left rciel on his own and try to protect ociel. But it was already too late.

After they got captured, rciel drops what I think is the biggest hint that he isn't the responsible one.

"if only I had more power", "if only I had the power to be invincible" pretty much confirms that he was indeed fighting against someone and got overpowered.

Now here is why I don't think rciel is the culprit:

1. Rciel has no motive to hurt his parents. They acted completely fine and like normal parents to him and that lesson after his tantrum is not nearly enough to serve as motive, especially because I think it served the opposite purpose and only spurred on his "I'm the big brother, I need to be strong" personality of his (which can be a common thing of older siblings)

2. Like I said the reason rciel went on his own was due to that personality and thinking he as the heir needs to deal with the possible threat. It wasn't to let in intruders

3. When they woke up, 40 minutes had already passed so the intruders were already on their rampage while the twins were sleeping (which caused tanaka to not come). Rciel couldn't possibly have let the attackers in if he was sleeping or while he was playing with ociel the whole time. He literally has an alibi.

4. That 15 minute timeframe wouldn't have been enough to kill off everyone in that manor because on one hand it is absolutely huge and on the other he is just 10 and lacks strength to fight against a grown adult.

5. Sebastian the dog obviously caught the intruder with vincent and barked. But sebastian already knows and likes rciel so why would he bark at his familiar? Because the intruder wasn't a familiar and most likely a stranger.

6. Rciel was fighting against someone which is the attacker. How can rciel be the attacker if he was fighting against the attacker?

7. Rciel was just 10. A little kid and most importantly the son of Vincent! Even if rciel had malicious intent (which he didn't) he couldn't have orchestrated it without vincent as the guard dog somehow noticing it. Tanaka or other servants were closely watching them and rciel wouldn't even have had the chance to meet and hire assassins to attack their manor on the tenth birthday.

8. Why would rciel cry over not having been strong enough if he was the mastermind? Even if he was and the attackers ended up "betraying him", it just feels strange that this would be what he complains and apologises for. The "not having been strong enough" is a big blow for him since he believed for years that he has to be the strong one for his brother. But the fact that he wasn't and they both got kidnapped, deeply hurts him which is why those tears in his eyes are genuine

9. Rciel having vincents ring is not a surprise if you think about the dog sebastian. Sebastian barked loudly which caught ociels attention who was rather far away. And it certainly must have caught rciels as well which is where he likely caught the attackers in the act and chased after them. This is what most likely broke out the fight.

The attackers are two or more people and by the size of the hands who grabbed ociel, they are most likely adults.

Besides consider this: Vincent requested diedrich to protect his sons if something should happen to him (which even diedrich found suspicious). Why would he ask that? Likely because he suspected something like this would happen.

It's highly likely that Vincent must have done something bad that he knew will cause his death. Which makes me theorise that vincent is the reason the attackers came and not because rciel orchestrated something.

Maybe I will add more reasons in the future if I think about more but I really had to get this off my chest since the rcmmt is my least favourite theory because it makes no sense to me. That theory is definitely based on some bias against rciel I believe.

But hopefully after this, you will see why it couldn't have been him.

[earls-wife]

La Sein

Hi lovelies! It's been a minute hasn't it? But I'm here with a piece that I spent more time than I should have on. It combines several short drabbles that wouldn't play nice so I meshed them all in together for this piece. I think it turned out well. What do you think?

Warnings: yelling, pinning, mention of jewel toned eyes (there are many gems but some are picky about detailed readers so here's your warning)

Astré= OCiel. (See my page for why)

As always, female reader.

Lyrics from La Sein from Monster in Paris

La Sein

She's respondent, so confident la Sein, la Sein, la Sein. I realize, I'm hypnotized la Sein, la Sein, la Sein.

I hadn't expected to find it.

My heart. Sewn to the gown of a glimmering gem. That gem sparked with a fire that warmed the cold abyss within me. She was anything but plain despite the simplicity she adorned herself in. Her laugh defied the stars and the faces that dared to look upon her glory.

I couldn't look away from such a creature as she. So far from the darkness. I was beguiled. In the shadows I dwelled among the underworlds devouts. My eyes watched her, my heart pinned to her gown.

I hear the moon, singing a tune la Sein, la Sein, la sein. Is she divine, is it the wine la sein la Sein la Sein.

The wine is sweet tonight, red as the color on her lips that teased to me. How could I resist such sweet minstration that heaved it's weight onto my chest, drowning me.

I shouldn't feel this way, I shouldn't entertain such pleasures. I shouldn't watch her, yet I cannot look away.

"You are the Lord Phantomhive correct?" She asked me, her eyes dancing with the candles flame, bleeding into my soul. A soul that I hadn't known to breathe in a decade or more.

"Obviously." I bit at her gentle smirk that only caused more color to blossom in my body. She strangled me, pulling wanting moans of desire out of the abyss I lied in.

I don't know, don't know. So don't ask me why. That's how we are la Sein and I.

We danced that night. I, tripping to follow such grace. Mouth dry and in need of the water her lips offered like a bubbling spring, yet her tongue burned. Fire. How despondent of a monster I am. Undone by a mere flash of her jeweled eyes. Eagerly trailing behind such a master of hearts all the while hating myself.

I can't get out, she has me. I can't stay away from my heart now that she's returned the annoying thing to me. I never wanted it back. She should have stayed away. Yet, she bends in my arms and meets my eyes with no fear. What being would dare to meet my eye?

I don't know, don't know. So don't ask me why. That's how we are la Sein and I.

"She's stunning of course my lord, but is she really the bride you desire?" A Baron asked me. The billard room smoking with cigar waste.

"How precious you two would be, side by side two turtle doves cooing in harmony." Count Druitt, another monster of a different breed then me, chattered. His eyes sparking on a grotesque idea no doubt.

"She has no station, she's a dollar princess!" Another exclaims while I smile striking the cue ball against the colorful array of future points I would devour. Each one mine. She was mine.

I feel alive, when I'm beside la Sein la Sein la Sein. I realize, I'm hypnotized la sein la Sein la Sein.

I didn't plan this. I didn't want to fall for him. I knew the rumors and I knew he was no good. There was no charity in his soul, nor was there such a thing as mercy. Merciless was the tone at which he played life. Revenge to humiliate and destroy. Everything he touched deteriorated, yet I could only crave more of it.

A touch of hands encased in gloves, a demonic grin snuck into the color of his eye. How was I to fight a monster I couldn't not see within him? No matter what he said to warn me away, I didn't see what he saw. Not anymore.

How long has it been? Days? Weeks? Months? When had I become so accustomed to the shadow at my shoulder, looming as a black cat upon the ledge of moonlight. A hunter that watched me with a gaze that made my world tremble with life.

Queen's Guard Dog they called him. Lord of the Underworld to another tune, and I his lady. I couldn't help myself, he captured me with that unwavering eye.

I don't know, don't know. So don't ask me why, that's how we are la Sein and I.

"You can't marry her!" Marquis Midford, his uncle by marriage, bellowed. His face changing to a subtle color. Not a loud individual, it was clear this was unacceptable to the tolerant man.

"She'll be the end of your good name!" His cousin Edward held his sister, Elizabeth, as she sobbed into his arms. The raised curl of his lip showed teeth. "Come to your senses cousin!"

"She's nothing." Count Druitt, the fruity tart he was sat in whimsy bemused by the ordeal.

"Nephew reconsider this foolishness." Marquess Midford narrowed her steel eyes on him. Her hand on his cane stopping him from leaving.

"I'm sorry Aunt. There's no one else." Astré replied before making his escape. Cane left behind.

I don't know, don't know. so don't ask me why, that's how we are la Sein and I.

"Your eloping?" The maid asked blinking at her lady.

"Yes. Hurry please we must pack quickly." She replied tossing several items into a chest. "Who knows how much time we have."

"It's risky."

"Its fate."

"Your father-"

"He will understand, just as Astré's family will. Someday."

"As you say my lady, as you say."

Upon the bridge.

My heart does beat

Between the waves

We will be saved

The air we breathe

Can you believe?

Learn to forgive, upon the bridge

That's how we are la Sein and I

That's how we are la Sein and I

We had escaped, my heart and I. Call me selfish or a fool. That I had dragged the vey creature of life from the sky into the depths. Oh how she sang in those depths. For me, she was mine. For her, I was hers. That is just how we are. My Lady and I.

Dictionary:

-Dollar Princess: a term used in the 1800-1900 time frame to refer to a foreign rich woman of non-noble descent who participated in the London season to find a husband. These girls were looked down on for their lack of status but desired for their huge dowries their fathers were willing to pay in exchange for marrying into aristocracy. These girls were the way many American tycoons and millionaires got around the American law against aristocracy titles in the new world as well as gaining more power amongst their own circles. The English would gain funds long overdue to provide for their failing estates as the world progressed beyond them. The dollar princess was the saving grace of many families during that time.

[abybweisse]

hello! i hope you are well ☺️

after this chapter i am genuinely so confused as to why the undertaker (who i presume revived doll as a bd since he was present when sebastian killed her) would allow her to attempt revenge on ociel and the servants. doesn’t he not want any more phantomhives lost? even if no harm could ever reach ociel because of sebastian, doll does still pose somewhat of a threat to him as he is only human and she is this enhanced creature with potential abilities to harm him. also why is doll referring to the servants as ‘phantomhives’, i mean sure they work for the master of house phantomhive, but they aren’t; why is she calling them that when her master who is rciel (i think) is also a phantomhive? last but not least, who do you think will leave victorious, doll and the maids or finny and the kids.

thanks in advance for your reply and have a wonderful day😊

Conflict of interests

Undertaker does a lot of things that seem to go against his own interests. He's been figuratively shooting himself in the foot. I guess it's because if he told our earl what he really wanted to do, ultimately, then our earl would not agree. Instead, Undertaker has decided to try to force our earl into a situation where he's more willing to accept his terms, whenever he eventually gets around to stating them; that would be whenever our earl is most vulnerable. That would definitely hold true, if, say... Undertaker wants to transplant our earl's soul into real Ciel's body, as some last ditch effort to "save" them both. Our earl (or Sebastian) would likely only agree to that if our earl's body were severely damaged in a fight or something. Until the contract is fulfilled, Sebastian can't let him die.

I can envision scenarios in which our earl is injured to the point that the only way to keep his soul from departing would be to place it into another vessel. Sebastian previously offered to place him entirely, soul and body, within himself to keep him safe, but our earl declined. That would be separate from devouring him, but if his body is too injured to survive, then putting him inside Sebastian might be the same as devouring him. Can't do that until the contract is up. Undertaker would step in saying something like "What to do? What to do?! Oh, I have an idea! Hihi!" Removing our earl's soul and placing it into real Ciel's body could break the contract, because real Ciel doesn't have a contract seal. This became an issue in s1, when the contract temporarily breaks because Ash/Angela cuts off Sebastian's left arm, which has the contract seal on that hand. That's how Claude steals his soul before Sebastian can devour it. Undertaker is a tricky fellow, and I'm sure he's looking at every opportunity he can find, even if it risks lives he wants to protect.

Doll sees anyone associated with our earl as a "Phantomhive", which is seriously ironic, because she's working for a Phantomhive and Undertaker, who wishes to not lose Phantomhives. If Polaris was once a Phantomhive butler, as I theorize, then he's another. Tanaka would count, too, regardless of which brother he serves. Doll herself is a "Phantomhive", in the same way that Finny and Snake are.

In a recent post, I said that I hope Snake and Finny point out to her that she's working for her enemy's twin, the real Ciel Phantomhive. I don't know whether she's actually met him. Would she mistake him for the younger twin who had her and her family killed? Or does she have some sort of doublethink going on, where she refuses to accept the obvious; it's all just a feud within the same family. She's being duped and used by the Phantomhives, either way.

I do expect Finny and most of the kids to survive, but there might be some casualties on Finny's side. We could lose some kids, besides the candidates that have already "fledged", because that's how dark the series has become. Snake could lose a snake. Even Snake could end up dying, but I sure hope not. We have to remember that Yana-san has no qualms with killing off a beloved character that's been in the story for many years. I can't even promise that Finny makes it out; I just think he probably will. Mother3 theory says Finny should survive, but 🤷🏻‍♀️.

[shinigami-mistress]

Hopeless Revenge

I noticed something interesting in the latest chapter. When Snake is thinking about people reaching out to help him, he sees Doll and o!Ciel.

He seems to be comparing them. Interestingly, when Snake first confronted o!Ciel after the death of the circus troop, o!Ciel thought of Doll.

So Snake is making a comparison between Doll and o!Ciel and o!Ciel is seeing similarities in Snake and Doll.

Basically, I think this just shows there are similarities in all three (as well as similarities). One of the things all three had in common was the need revenge/vengeance. Doll ran at Sebastian and o!Ciel in anger. She was attacking in a lost cause to take revenge for the death of her 'family.' Snake tracked Ciel down in order to kill him to take a similar revenge.

It looks like neither Snake nor Doll will be successful. In fact, it seemed hopeless from the beginning.

So, what does say about oCiel's quest for revenge? It is just as hopeless and doomed for failure?

[catdemontraphouse]

Had this realization today… ok more like a headcanon but hear me out:

Does Sebastian act the way he does towards OCiel at least to some degree out of a twisted sense of kinship? Like, Sebastian himself being an outcast wants Ciel to be ruthless and powerful with no regard for others instead of being treated like a mistake because he wishes he had learned to be like that sooner in his own life? Is he subconsciously projecting his own feelings of anger and resentment towards his own kind and their society on this kid?

it seems like Sebastian feels alienated from his own kind. People talk shit about him for being weird, or well, we’ve seen the reapers at least dunk on him for his contract numerous times. I have to imagine if he interacted with other demons they’d likely chide him the same, since William makes it sound like contract demons are uncommon and even they don’t starve themselves. So most demons must not make contracts at all or do quick agreements which are easily fulfilled, I assume?

So like, pair that with how eager Sebastian is for human approval, which I’ve spoken about in the past. He probably got bullied or trash talked a lot in the past by his own kind right? He wants to be seen as exceptional by anyone who will give him the time of day, even if those people are creatures easily impressed by demon magic and abilities. He almost seems desperate for people to fear him, to be amazed by him, to admire him. Even if the only people he can impress are “below him,” he’ll gladly take the praise.

Does he act so callous and rude to Ciel sometimes to try and toughen him up I wonder? Like he sees this kid who’s afraid and frail and constantly put down and relates to it? Like does he know what it feels like to be unwanted, a pariah, an afterthought? Do you think maybe he instills these values of cruelty and self-preservation at the cost of others in Ciel because he doesn’t want to see a fellow outcast be downtrodden?

It just seems weird that he’s “seasoning” the soul but then he does things which are counterintuitive to that goal. Covering the kid’s eyes when there’s some really awful display. Being so concerned about his health instead of just limping him along so that he’s alive and okay enough to fulfill the contract? Going beyond the terms of his agreement in often self-deprecating ways. I think whether or not he realizes it or wants to admit it, OCiel reminds Sebastian of himself and he sees this human child as a vector for his own rage and revenge in some ways. Vicariously trying to heal his own inner child in the most gruesome manner.

Really good parent /s

[yume-danshi]

Disclaimer: This is mainly me venting. I KNOW I'm biased due to personal factors, but I needed to get this off my chest.

Ever since Season 4 of Black Butler has been announced, I've been seeing a resurgence of Dad!Seb posts/content, and I just...

I understand simping for Sebastian, having AUs, all that - but when did we as a fandom start pretending he's not a soul hungry demon who'd eat OCiel the microsecond he got the chance? Did we all forget what happened in the Green Witch Arc, or...?

Sebastian isn't some loving demon who took pity and wanted to raise OCiel and love and protect him. He's a demon who made a contract with a human who happened to be a child, an Earl who needed said demon to take the guise of a butler. The other servants may love OCiel and want to protect him for having a hand in saving their lives, but Seb? Seb just wants dinner. We're reminded of that constantly.

Not to mention, OCiel doesn't trust him at all. One of Seb's literal contracted conditions is not to lie to him, not to betray him. You think if OCiel trusted Seb that he'd have done that? If memory serves, there's a number of times OCiel states, very plainly, that he doesn't trust Sebastian at all. Again, I'll reference the Green Witch chapters even if OCiel wasn't exactly clear minded for that - no spoilers, but manga fans will hopefully know what I'm talking about.

My point is, OCiel doesn't trust Sebastian. Sebastian doesn't see OCiel as his kid who needs to be protected. They both know exactly what their arrangements are, and both of them want it done and over with. OCiel isn't drawing it out, he's trying to fulfill his revenge as close to "on his own" as a literal child can, and utilizing the demon he has while he also balances his duties as an Earl (albeit poorly in some cases). The only reason he keeps Sebastian around is the contract, and the only reason Sebastian hasn't eaten him yet is because the terms of said contract aren't complete.

So please, can we at least acknowledge that Dad!Bastian is just an AU? Please? Cause it really makes me sick to see people saying Seb genuinely cares for OCiel like that.

[angel13xo]

guys we still don't know the big bosses of the phantomhive murders 💀😭🤞

like i'm pretty sure it can't be undertaker because he is like obsessed with keeping them alive so that rules him out

but of course he might know who did it and obviously he's a huge part of the story

i'm just thinking he blue revenge (or whatever it's called can't be the last one yet unless there's a major discovery or someone reveals who killed their parents) of course that's the only way the contract ends and honestly i really hope he gets his revenge and sebastian gets his dinner.

my theory is tho if the story doesn't continue past this arc we probably won't find out OCiels real name. but maybe we will because the misdfords would know his real name and if they defeat undertaker and RCiel then idk what would happen. i feel like they might twist the story and claim that RCiel is actually the other twin and he's lying because OCiel left him behind. does that make sense? like why could they just lie about who they are if they're so similar?

ALSO HOW DARE everyone turn their back on OCiel HE HELPED ALL OF U and how do they know which ones the real Ciel anyway? there's no way to validate heheehehehehehehehehehhehehehehehehehehehehhehehe

[cartyrs]

I FEEL YOU! The chapters, though I personally still find fun, do feel a little rushed. I think we're supposed to see the different thoughts everyone in every mission is going to have after their mission, like Mey-Rin is fine, Baldroy has a morality check and was saved by the machine he was going to break, and right now Finny is getting a morality test at the same time Snake is getting his world fucked (also didn't Snake of the kidnappings by Ciel??? Like isn't that how he got his trust??).

AND I AGREE DOLL SHOULD LIVE! Maybe she gets a swing at Ciel just to have her small revenge and help out as either a inside spy if RCiel and Undertaker or maybe pretends a role for OCiel

Yeah, I'm still glad we got to see all the servants stories!! The phantomhive servants are some of my favorite characters, so it's cool to see just how deep their devotion to Ciel is.

AND YES!!! I'll be so disappointed in the series if they bring her back just to kill her again :-( crossing my fingers that Yana has more to her story than just Finny & Snake's mini-arc!!! (In my wildest dreams what happened in ch. 207 spurs her into becoming Ciel's ally, but that might just be a dream, we'll see!)

[thislittlekumquat]

The truly funny thing about all this tomfoolery with breaking up the blood harvesting rings and all this other shit with undertaker and rciel rn is that my money is still on victoria being the end goal as the person ociel needs to get his revenge against. That bitch has angels up her sleeve yet. All UT has done so far is drudged up ociel's younger twin trauma

[aroturier]

Shades of Season Two:the Queen’s still the real bad guy here.

Another way to look at what is happening in the Manor: the Queen doesn't give House Phantomhive a choice in all this. She gives assignments and OCiel MUST produce results. But he has to pay close attention to the wording of her letters or there’ll be hell to pay.And it will be the Queen who presents the bill.

Think of the filthy thing she did to OCiel in BoM when he didn't do exactly what she ordered with the missing children. It was fine if he sent the wrong person to prison, it was fine if an international incident happens in is house and if people she doesn’t care about die. But she closely watches what he does-remember how Grey, Phipps and Brown were all spying on OCiel’s progress with the Circus arc. We have no reason to believe this spying was an isolated incident.

So why not just have Grey kill both the diamond merchant and the German financier? Because in doing that she risks losing Grey, one of her valuable chess pieces (her assassin.) She doesn’t mind losing Phantomhive, though. In fact, that’s his purpose.  He exists--the guard dog exists-- to deflect and absorb her guilt whenever needed. She punishes OCiel, but NOT for going above the law-that's what the Guard dog’s job is. She punishes him for not sending the children home to their parents, for not doing what she ordered him to do. In the Murder arc he must not only divine why he’s being forced to entertain this German Financier,(BTW he existed and is based on Otto von Bismarck who nearly single-handedly funded the German war machine. History really would’ve been different if someone had assassinated him) but what’s likely to happen, who’s likely to die and who he’s meant to pin it all on (i.e. Woodley, the Diamond merchant/arms dealer.)

But please notice she's not helping OCiel now. He's going to have to pay for what SHE MADE HIM DO, or be clever enough to find is own way out of it all, guns blazing and innocent bobbys slain if necessary.

What she requires of him is nothing less than the impossible, and that regularly.

I can see, given all this, that some kind of,supernatural aide or protection seems OCiel’s only choice. It's almost as though she's forcing him into making his contract with the demon. 

It’s just my opinion, but I really feel that just as it was in season 2 of the anime, the really blood-guilty and most dangerous character, the prime mover and perhaps maybe even literally in the case of OCiel’s revenge, the Queen is still the one with all the blood on her hands. And I suspect, just like in season 2 she has supernatural help in her arsenal as well. Undertaker’s description of her was spot on.

It doesn’t seem likely the people who make Kurositsuji would have given up the real conclusion of the manga in season 1 when killing the Queen and her supernatural help satisfied Ciel’s revenge, but then Yana does like to kick over the traces a lot and defy the rules so who knows? Doing that sure would e the last ting we expect.

[dulcemaiden]

Thoughs on chapter 205

Ch. 205 was a short chapter, but a heavy one!, I feel like we hadn't had a chapter as intense as this in much time.

I love this cover, it shows how Finny and Snake are similar, they both felt unhuman until someone took them in and gave them an identity, a life and a family.

Doll in chapter 28 vs chapter 205

It is kinda shocking to see what Doll's character has become, she was a kind and charismatic girl with a high level of empathy, and now was reduced to an undead crazy being. Then again, bizarre dolls are crazy beings who lack empathy because they are soulless, so she acting like that is not out of place. I was expecting that, but I can't help to feel upset about it.

I find interesting that Doll defined herself as a monster, Undertaker did a good job on his dolls, since they have self-awareness even with their lack of soul. Snake looks so hurt by this, most of his life he probably felt like a monster in a cage, so hearing this by the person who saved him and made him felt human it must be painful.

It struck me that Doll knew in great detail what happened that night with her circus companions, as if she had witnessed it. I wonder if it's because Undertaker told her, or because he inserted those memories into her. UT worked for OCiel at the time, collecting the bodies of those who tried to sneak into the mansion and were disposed of by the servants. If it were the case that Undertaker inserted the cinematic record of the circus members into Doll, that would be quite cruel.

And I don't understand why Doll called OCiel "Ciel Phantomhive" and says she wants to take revenge on the Phantomhives... like, isn't she working with one? Doesn't she know? It would be funny if she doesn't know about the twin, their bedrooms were next to each other!

Anyways, returning to Snake, when Doll revealed the circus troupe's fate to him she omitted the part about the kidnapping thing, but OCiel actually told Snake about the circus troupe's crimes! Snake remembered this in this arc and seemed to consider that it might be true, so he could question Doll about it.

Rigth now, Snake is in a very painful situation where is forced to take a big decision, and unlike Lizzie who had days to think about it and process it, Snake has to make his decision quick. I know my opinion will be unpopular, but I don't see Snake forgiving OCiel, even though he could still help the kids, it would be unlikely that he would maintain his loyalty to him. As I said in my post, back in the circus arc, Snake had the chance to poison OCiel when he was caught sneaking into the tents, but he didn't because Doll covered it up. I still think that is going to become relevant, because it's clear that Doll means a lot to him, and he would think about how Doll protected OCiel but he still killed her. It would be painful for Finny if he were to fight against Snake, since they are close friends and when he was a test subject, he was forced to kill his friends. The other route could be that Snake poisons Doll if she goes wild and tries to attack him, the children or Finny.

On the other hand, where are the reapers?

It is strange that no reaper hasn't appeared yet, I could be sure that they extracted poor Ginny's blood in the facility, so she must have died there. I wonder if we are going to see a diserter working with Undertaker. Most likely one will appear very soon.

[loveanimehatereality]

Black Butler #577 - He’s so pure! ~ LoveAnimeHateReality

[azuresins]

I love your reaper!oCiel. Do you have any more headcanons about him or the other reapers? Asking for inspo. I've really wanted to write a fic about reaper!oCiel.

Oh boy, do I... I'm way, way too unmotivated to use any of this for a fic. I've used this sporadically over the course of so many Rps it's not even funny, and I have no idea what plot I'd commit to. But I've got headcanons for days.

Part 1/2

Reaper Our Ciel in my RP/interpretation: He goes by neither his dead/birth name or Ciel. He goes number 0012, (or "Double O, twelve") now as a tribute to his former gardener, who is now long deceased. He's racked up a lot of spiritual/divine debt for his 'sins' and the sins of his family, and devotes his entire being to his work now. He's very efficient and ruthless, and he specializes in (you guessed it) successfully taking souls targeted by demons because of the life he lived. He does not negotiate with humans or demons, and is as arrogant and cold-hearted as ever, for centuries... Until of course he runs into Sebastian again, and it turns his world upside down. There's still a desire for revenge in his heart but this time, it's against Sebastian. Outside of work he's hopelessly lazy and incompetent at taking care of himself. It's easy already-prepared meals, letting his hair grow-out long (mostly because he can't be bothered to get it cut), and still a chocolate addict. When he's angry or vengeful, he gets sharp teeth. Obviously, he lives a very long life and ends up much older but he has to use other means to get his body to age. (See Grelle). William: mmm. This could be tilted toward Grelliam but I don't really ship that with much enthusiasm anymore. But I have headcanons that despite his outer appearances, he has a lot of high anxiety and prefers to live his non-life like a machine, and Grelle, Phantomhive, and Ronald are some of the only reapers who can pull him out of that. Even though he hates it, it's actually good for him. I also headcanon that he and Phantomhive develop a very heavy mentor-and-pupil relationship, and Will uses the fact that he was 'raised by a demon and it shows' when he disappoints him or does something off-putting. Phantomhive doesn't let it show but it gets to him, a lot.

Grelle: Grelle would never say so but develops a (somewhat) soft-spot for Phantomhive over the many years because... she killed his aunt, and even though he tried to kill her in turn, and is still a 'brat!', she can not help but be curious about him, and marvel/gawk at his success. She's also jealous of his specific field of work, obviously. This headcanon is entirely indulgent, but Grelle takes estrogen eventually, and Phantomhive takes testosterone. Grelle to look more feminine, but Phantomhive? To try look like an adult and less like a kid, as he is older now. Sometimes they're shot buddies in the clinic, and Phantomhive ends up apologizing for calling her a loon and misunderstanding her gender dysphoria. It's entirely Grelle's inside joke but because of their history, she will someones refer to herself as Phantomhive's 'mummy' and William as 'daddy'... but both Phantomhive and William are disturbed by it, and find it incredible distasteful. Other less important headcanons include she has something of a shopping addiction and at one point ends up actually living at work and sleeping at her desk.

[abybweisse]

What if Layla is one of the children OCiel tried to burn alive in baron Kelvin's manor? All the star lords seem to be loyal to RCiel and despise OCiel. But why? Maybe because he is responsible for their death. If this is right it's possible Polaris being Joker and at the orphanage we will see another bizarre doll being a carachter of Book of Circus. Then Snake will recognise him and he will know the truth about OCiel being a real liar as his enemies keep saying

Layla from Kelvin's manor?

I don't think so, nope.

Layla looks too old to be any of the children kidnapped by the circus and sent to Kelvin's manor. Lau says she looks about our earl's age, so almost 14. Besides, I doubt our earl would recognize her, specifically, since she doesn't look like any of those kids that we saw. If we don't see her, chances are our earl didn't take any notice of a girl just like her, either. Even less of a chance if she's one of the caged children from the reenactment; he didn't look at them closely. If he never looked at them closely, chances are they didn't look at him too closely, either. Besides, didn't all those kids have lobotomies? The whole reason our earl says they can't be saved or aren't worth trying to save is because they are too far gone, mentally....

Also, Undertaker might have a hard time getting to anyone inside, during the fire, while William and Ronald are still there. The only one killed at Kelvin's manor but outside was Doll....

Something else to keep in mind: Why would people follow someone who looks so much like the person who killed them? Remember that cinematic records are being manipulated, yes, but supposedly with their own memories or "future memories" -- those "episodes" of goals and dreams. People our earl got killed after becoming watchdog would have no reason to connect so strongly to his older twin while seeking revenge against the younger twin. They'd likely see the older twin and think it's our earl; maybe he's just tricking or using them again.

There could be an exception to that, but for the most part these are people who are loyal to real Ciel first and enemies of our earl second. That's why I keep thinking Polaris could be a butler from Vincent's servants, who was killed but not burned to ashes, and he's automatically loyal to whichever son he sees as the rightful heir; he's probably automatically going to accept real Ciel -- the older twin -- as that rightful heir. Like I said, there could be an exception to that -- maybe Doll as Canopus -- but we should be looking for loyalty to real Ciel first, then a personal motive against our earl. Undertaker must make sure their "episodes" include protecting real Ciel, protecting the so-called rightful heir of the Phantomhive family.

For example, Polaris sees himself as a butler "even in death" and is focused on real Ciel's blood supply first and foremost. He only seems angry with our earl because he's disrupting this supply; our earl would be the usurper in Polaris' eyes. He's clearly choosing one twin over the other but doesn't suggest any connection to the circus. In fact, he talks about losing his previous master and being determined not to lose his master again. Joker never called Kelvin his master; he called him "Father". And Joker never called himself a butler. Like I said, Undertaker is now working with their own memories and stuff.

Let's not forget Undertaker's reaction to Polaris talking about losing his former master, as if that former master meant something to Undertaker, too!

The only way Polaris could be Joker (with newly attached hands) is if Undertaker is now using the cinematic records of people who were loyal to Vincent or real Ciel and attaching those "episodes" to the cinematic records of other corpses. Like... Joker with the cinematic record "episodes" of the Phantomhive butler. But... if Undertaker got the butler's cinematic records, that means his brain was intact, suggesting his body wasn't ruined in the fire. So, why not skip Joker and just use the butler?

Basically, I believe Undertaker is going to achieve whatever results he can with the easiest, most straightforward methods. It's not laziness, though. It's a time-saving and energy-saving tactic.

But... this means not everyone in the lords of the stars is necessarily going to be recognized by our earl, and the lords aren't necessarily hand-picked to ruin his supporters -- like using a circus member to get to Snake.

[cangrellesteponme]

OCiel : 16, 25, 27 !

16, a childhood hc: i have the silliest most inconsequential childhood hcs for him, so... he definitely was the kind of baby to projectile vomit anything at your face and make you feel like this is god's way of making you pay for your sins. as a toddler, i'm also convinced he was the kind of kid to longingly look at the socks he wanted to wear, then once he got what he wanted, ran around for a good five minutes before complaining about said socks, rinse and repeat. that brat also clearly read any and everything as soon as he could, which led to anyone having a tiny, curious thing peeking at newspapers, books, letters, anything and asking about the meaning of every new word. and, last one, he's the kind to ask "where did (anyone) go?" and say "but where?" until your answer is precise enough to satisfy him (that is to say, extremely precise).

25, most ooc moment: i think i'm extremely biased and the worst person to ask this because of my terrible memory and general lack of awareness when it comes to character development in kuro but. it's either book of circus or the school arc for me. to be fair, i do hate book of circus for no reason. the school arc though... the whole thing felt distinctly not kuro and ciel was no exception. if i do count the anime in there i'd have to put the end of season one above kuro 2 (because that one has the excuse of being so fucking weird that there is no need for consistency in characterisation. no one would behave normally in those situations).

27, if they could meet a character from another show/movie/etc: now, i want to throw ciel at every young mc ever but also anyone involved in semi-religious fantasy. but, as anyone would expect, i'm going to say william twining (from makai ouji, yes, i'm a broken record) because these two having a conversation about their very weird butlers would be hilarious. also, a conversation about giving your soul to a demon being ridiculously similar to ecstasy? i want that. another very funny option would be rin okumura, for obvious reasons including but not limited to: blue hair, asshole twin, being tormented by a quirky demon, having a blonde love interest of sorts who's arguably meant to be with the twin but truly should just be celibate at this point, "revenge is the only reason i'm alive and i'm doing the same job as my father. he's dead." "oh same!", and being way too young for any of this.