#black butler theory

[cedric-k-rossignol]

05.13.25. Happy Birthday Francis 🥳🥳

My relatable queen... I love Francis so much (and her complex relationship with her father, if that wasn't made clear from the art I commissioned from the wonderful & talented lacediap).

While we don't know Francis' canonical birthday, I believe she was born on May 13, 1853 - yet another significant Friday the 13th in the Phantomhives' lives, a pattern that seems to have begun with Vincent's birth on Friday June 13, 1851... Or did it?

When this panel is animated I will ascend.

If you assume a gestational period of exactly nine months, Vincent would have also been conceived on a Friday the 13th - September 13, 1850. And I crunched the numbers, pulled out the old Victorian calendar - and if Francis was born on Friday May 13, 1853, she would have been conceived on Friday August 13, 1852.

Evidently Undertaker and Grandma P really liked getting freaky on Friday the 13ths 😏

Another odd coincidence are the ages at which Claudia and Cedric died - Claudia died at the age of 36, in 1866, and I believe Cedric (Undertaker) was born on March 25th, 1331 (a significant date in a year which has the number '13' forwards and backwards) and that he died on January 28, 1366 (corresponding with his reaper serial number, 136649). This would mean he killed himself when he was 34 - the same age his son Vincent would be when murdered in 1885.

Meanwhile Claudia is confirmed to have died at the age of 36, on Friday July 13, 1866. And if Francis was born on May 13 1853, that means that in the current setting of the manga, December 1889, she is 36 years old...

Happy Birthday Girl 🥲 although this idea that Cedric/Undertaker 'cursed' the family with his involvement might be kind of nuts... After all...

[roguish-rhubarb]

So hear me out…

I’ve always wondering about this dead servant O!Ciel trips over during the flashback arc. First of all:

Is it just me…. Or does it look like his eyes and mouth have changed position in that last box??? Like… SIR, are you not completely dead?????

ALSO:

TELL ME this doesn’t look like our new mystery man??? The hair checks out. The blood obscures any neck tattoo business (unless he got the tattoo after this event). Idk. It could be same face syndrome, but y’all know Yana and her affinity for “insignificant” details….

[akailycoris]

So, the Kuroshitsuji manga is coming back in May, if I remember correctly, after a hiatus that started last year and I've just been going over previous chapters again, starting from the point in the story where the twin theory was proven to be correct and some panels really have me wondering: what if we have actually already been told Ciel's real name?

Like, I've always thought that they're just trying to place the blame on Ciel for all the illegal, dangerous blood collecting business (cuz they ARE), but re-reading this part now... it just gave me pause and it made me wonder: "What if his name actually IS Sirius???" What if it's not just about the ploy to blame someone else for the Sphere Music Hall dealings... but his actual name?

And that, in turn, made me think about other things too, the ways in which Yana had left clues about the existence of a twin brother all throughout the manga until the reveal, what Vincent said about his kids having modern names,

(maybe naming one for the sky and one for a star in the sky, like a pair, since parents may tend to do that for twins), Blavat talking about Sebastian and Ciel in terms of stars and black holes

and even going all the way back to the Campania arc, this... the way in which Sebastian once described Ciel:

a dignified figure charging into the abyss without hesitation; doesn't that sound like admiring the beauty of a star that shines in the night sky, that one speck of light burning brightly against a dark background?

This scenes with Sebastian and Ciel made me think of this since long ago.

And lastly... the Sirius star is actually a binary star, with 2 stars, so maybe giving the twins these kinds of names would help them always remeber that they have eachother? Like, there are stars in the sky and Sirius is not alone?

Maybe their names have this kind of wish behind them? From their parents?

Or maybe I'm just reaching.

Still, I guess I thought of this now because before, when thinking about that scene where Blavat called Ciel "Lord Sirius", that always left me gobsmacked and indignant, like "Oh, he did NOT JUST DO THAT!!!" and I was too caught up in these feelings to think about the "What if...?"

Not that I'm still not filled with righteous fury, cuz I am, but l this time, the thought just sprouted in my mind and I wanted to let it out here, to get it off my chest.

If anyone scrolling through the Black Butler tags finds this and wants to comment or interact in any way, please feel free to do so, I've been a fan of Kuroshitsuji for years and would be happy to talk about the series with other fans.

[anonimusunnoaniswriting]

Something something Wolfram lifts Sieglinde up – securely, safely – and Sebastian dangles Ciel over his arm – almost as if he is teasing the danger of dropping him.

Sebastian is almost playing with Ciel. Treating him like a "doll". Hinting at their less than normal relationship. Sebastian – we know– likes to play with his food. He enjoys the teasing, the wait. Something that he has repeatedly stated will culminate into a most delicious meal.

Wolf is holding Sullivan in a position of power. He knows how to respect her, how to appreciate her and holds her in very high regard. (spoilers for the manga below the cut)

I think it's such an important nod to the latter part of this arc wherein we see Wolf give up everything he has been trained to believe and follow to protect and care for his young mistress. He didn't have to follow the Phantomhive family on the train. But that was the strength in his conviction. His love for Sieglinde outweighed the military brainwashing he went through. He knew the reality of how important she was – not to the world but to him. And he loved her enough to make that sacrifice.

It's a longshot, but a part of me hopes that Sebastian too will feel a change in what he wants for O!Ciels end, and give us the happy ending we all so desperately want. That he will go against his innate nature of consumption much like Wolfram went against his indoctrination.

Of course I understand that it is a scenario that is very unlikely but, a girl can dream....

[lady-lilly-gray]

Kuroshitsuji “Suicide Theory” aka “Everything in this series is intentional”

Ever since I read the Emerald Witch arc (re: Chapter 105) I have wondered:

“Why bring up that Grim Reapers are humans who have committed suicide?”

From a fan perspective, it’s an interesting bit of world building, it provides a new lens through which to build on these characters I already know and love; but Yana Toboso is known for being very particular about what she writes, down to the exact words she uses. So, I don’t think she would drop such a heavy bomb on the fandom just because she knows the fandoms like the reapers—especially when she was presumably already working on (or at least in the planning stages of) the Akuma 6 chapter, which would be a more ��appropriate” place to add in extraneous fanservice.

So, why add that particular piece of lore? Well, there are two reasons I can think of:

We will learn more about one (or more) of the Reaper’s suicides

Someone will commit suicide, and she wants us to understand the repercussions of that in this universe.

To start, let’s break down those two points:

For the first, which reaper would we get that kind of information about?

Of the named-in-universe reapers, I don’t think Sascha or Ludgar are “relevant enough” for this information to be revealed about them; plus, with the framing of the panel when this is revealed, we at least know how Sascha did it

It is a safe assumption that Grelle’s suicide would have been linked to her gender identity, and I can’t see Yana going into that

Will and Ron have already been at the focus of arcs (Circus and Sanitorium) during which this information could have been shared or foreshadowed

Whilst I do think that Will is indeed more important than we’ve yet to see (re: I think he was the one who was tasked with collecting the souls of Claudia and/or Vincent, as it feels somewhat intentional that he is the only “main” reaper we’ve yet to see go up against Undertaker, but I don’t think that would warrant a pre-suicide backstory.)

I don’t think we’ll get info about Othello either, but more on that below

The most likely reaper we would get this information about is Undertaker, but I don’t think we will; and here’s why:

A lot of mention of his past is focused on the 19th century (e.g. the mourning lockets, his desertion/destruction of the dispatch (which I do think we’ll get more info on later, the recent Phantomhives like Vincent and Claudia)

If the theory that his reaper number is a reference to when he died (re: 1366) the 19th century is MUCH later than his death

From what I’ve heard, the Japanese fandom is more invested in future events rather than past ones and Yana will probably be the same

I don’t think we will ever learn Undertaker’s “real” name if he isn’t Cedric K.

And if he is Cedric (i.e. Grandpa UT Theory) he was already a reaper when he fathered Vincent and Frances (correct feminine spelling) which would mean that what we do learn of his past would almost certainly remain within the last 100 years in-universe

Additionally, it is implied (if not outright confirmed? I have to reread the manga) that Othello died at the same time as Undertaker; and I feel like, though he will be imperative in taking down UT (or trying to) he will not be “valuable” enough to warrant learning about his suicide in addition to Undertakers’s

But that’s just point One. As for point Two: Who is most likely to commit suicide?

O!Ciel; besides the fact that Sebastian literally can’t let that happen, I don’t think it would be a satisfying resolution to the story at all; and considering the shorter chapters (which was either done to prevent burn out and/or extend the series beyond when Yana projected it to end) and now the hiatus, I think Yana is very determined to round out the story the way she wants to.

Soma; I think it unlikely for Yana to kill him off after already killing off Agni. Also, since he is (at least currently) distanced from O!Ciel and the rest of the main cast, his death wouldn’t really have an impact on the narrative. Thus far, Yana-san has been very intentional about killing off focal characters (Bizarre Doll!Angelina Theory Pending)

As for the Phantomhive Servants

Tanaka would never abandon O!Ciel like that, and is definitely too important given his current situation with R!Ciel

Side note; If Grandpa UT Theory is true, I bet Tanaka knows

RIP Snake I’m so sus that we didn’t actually see that reaper leave with your Cinematic Record intact… please don’t get turned into a BD

Finny cares way too much about O!Ciel—he would never

Bard already had a death fake out; it would be stupid to kill him at this point, even if he was “resurrected” as a reaper

Mey-Rin has some unresolved stuff with Lau and the Chinese Mafia, right—please tell me this will be addressed ???

Edward cares too much about Lizzie to “abandon” her; I also think he would have had more interaction with the supernatural characters if this was going to be the case

Lizzie on the other hand has had numerous brushes with such; so, let’s chat about her:

What has her role in the story so far been?

At first, she is introduced as more comic relief, the annoying girl in the background that gets between the yaoi-bait* -- however, we know this overly sweet and borderline irritating girl to have been a façade (one she created for R!Ciel): she was playing a role which eventually got stripped away, much like O!Ciel’s impersonation of his brother.

*Obligatory “black butler was never meant to be shotacon but there is undeniably fanservice towards BL/Shota fans, especially in the earlier chapters” spiel

But back to Lizzie.

When does her first major narrative shift occur? The Campania Arc, right?

Wrong.

Her first major narrative shift is in the circus arc.

“But Lilly! She’s barely even in that arc!” Yup! But she is in it—and not just in the “filler” chapter at the end. So why would our ever-intentional mangaka give her such a small role in the first arc to really kickstart the overarching plot?

Well, what is her role in this arc? She is at the Phantomhive manor when it is attacked.

When O!Ciel is informed that the circus troupe was sent to his manor, his first instinct is to be concerned for Lizzie’s safety, before ultimately entrusting the servants to protect her along with the rest of the house.

What does this mean? This means that, despite him being dismissive of her when she is first introduced, Ciel genuinely does care about her. Yes we obviously see him caring for her in the butler arcs, but this is mainly shown in ways that could be seen as having other motives: dancing with her is an appeasement, possibly even a “what would Ciel do in this situation?” moment; he has to protect his identity.

The second time is when he protects her from the bear on his birthday. Whilst we, the audience, trust this to be an instinctual action, the fact that he was in front of his Aunt at the time cannot be ignored when it comes to the “role” of his brother which he has assumed. There is no way to be completely sure that this action was not “doing as Ciel would” as well.

But in the circus arc, we simply get this reminder in O!Ciel’s mind. Joker doesn’t know she’s there, Sebastian doesn’t say anything. When Joker mentioned manor, O!Ciel himself recalls that Lizzie is there. He knows everyone in that room is going to end up dead—hell, he’s actively working through a ptsd trigger in that scene. By bringing Lizzie to the forefront of his mind at the mere mention of his manor, he is acting solely on his own subconscious; he is not trying to prove anything to anyone—these are his own genuine thoughts and concerns.

Ok, ok, ok, so NOW the Campania arc, right?

For the sake of this Theory*, yes. Let’s talk about what the Luxury Liner arc does for Lizzie’s character, as well as for her relationship with the twins.

* “I know you’re my betrothed, but I’d prefer you didn’t watch me undress”

Firstly, to get the point out of the way: it’s her first brush with reapers—specifically, she challenges Grelle. Is it just me, or is this establishing Lizzie as already being strong enough (or, at least, headstrong enough) to take on a reaper, like Undertaker? Also, if I’m remembering right, she is also the only human character (aside from O!Ciel) to be shown directly interacting with an “on-duty” reaper and live. (Will, Grelle, and Ron were all “undercover” whenever they were shown interacting with Humans whilst “on the job” + Undertaker is not an active reaper anymore.)

As for her character development in this arc, there are three scenes I’d like to look at:

The Battle in the Hold

“No matter what, I will protect you”

There is no one around (except Snake, rip best boy, but he didn’t know R!Ciel) to witness this, so it’s fair to say that this is O!Ciel’s own desire to protect her.

Also the way he holds onto her is so dang cute; my shipper heart melts!

There was, however, literally no reason to write them in such a cute way, especially just a few chapters before the juxtaposing views the twins share towards Lizzie’s strength.

The Watertight Doors

He stays behind so as to not leave her alone. He recognises that he can’t pull her out without risking her safety, so he risks his own* to stay with her. (*I genuinely do not believe he was thinking in this moment that Sebastian would not let him die.) Another cute and heroic scene, setting up for her to return the favour.

Also, him ripping her dress off is so unnecessary, and totally something a CSA victim would probably NOT do; but she gets to wear his jacket as a physical embodiment of his desire to protect her—and he does immediately comfort her. And, he is also right that the less layers she’s wearing the better chance of survival she has… dammit Yana.)

“Wife of the Queen’s Watchdog”

Right out of the gate, this phrasing is interesting in retrospect: R!Ciel has never officially held the position of Watchdog. Whilst, yes, she would have been his wife once he assumed the role, it is an interesting word choice for drawing a distinction between R!Ciel and O!Ciel—the latter of whom the title of “watchdog” applies to. Additionally, so far as I can recall, Lizzie is not aware of O!Ciel being on the ship for Watchdog Reasons™—so why bring it up in the first place?

Next, we are given the perspective of O!Ciel in this scene. He is shocked, he is safe. He is admiring her strength and resolution. Of course we can say now that this was done to distinguish his perspective of her strength from what his brother told her in the past; but that’s exactly the point I’m getting at: Lizzie made herself into someone else in order to stay in favour with her love (R!Ciel); but it’s her authentic self that is admirable to O!Ciel—I’m not very knowledgeable on relationships, but I think you would want to be able to be your true self around your life partner, no?

Another interesting interaction in this scene is after the fight.

Lizzie is sad that “Ciel won’t love [her] anymore” (I’m paraphrasing), which O!Ciel vehemently declares is untrue “How could I hate you for saving my life?!”

And then Lizzie hits him with the iconic: “So you’ll still marry me?” and our poor wet cat becomes a blushing, stammering mess. (And the fact that I don’t relate to this is how I realised I’m Aromantic—so what does that mean for our boy’s own feelings? Let’s consult our Mangaka on that!)

Yana-san once said (don’t ask me for the source idk where it is—I’ve been in this fandom too long) that she doesn’t intend to have a romantic arc in the story because she doesn’t trust herself to write a good romance story… so, why draw attention to the romantic aspect of their relationship? I would say because O!Ciel’s feelings for Lizzie—and maybe even Lizzie’s feelings for both twins—will be tested. Last we saw of her, she was on the verge of a breakdown for not being able to tell them apart; I’d be curious to know how much of that was related to considering her feelings for O!Ciel: How much of her love was due to him acting like his brother—and how much of her love was due to him acting like himself, like when she protected him on the Campania?

“Lilly, this is interesting and all, but the main focus of the story is O!Ciel and Sebastian’s contact! What does it matter which twin Lizzie is in love with?” That first comment would be correct; but what do most fans agree the ending will involve? Sebastian claiming his prize; re: O!Ciel’s death.

To that point, is there anything holding him to life at present, aside from his need for revenge—who would mourn him when he’s gone, now that his brother, that “favourite child” in his eyes, has returned from the grave?

I think we’ve already gotten all the information of the cult that we will, so that leaves us with the attack on the Phantomhive Manor keeping him here, something most likely linked to Vincent’s role as the Watchdog. Thus, in my humble opinion, in order to truly round out that aspect of the plot, the position of Watchdog must die with O!Ciel.

So, let’s look at what needs to happen in order for that position to die.

The heir and the spare: R!Ciel would more than likely not accept the position. I can’t see him wanting it, especially acting under the influence of Undertaker. Who would it pass to next? Vincent’s spare: Frances Midford.

Side note: she more than likely was at the very least consulted regarding this position when it was believed there were no survivors of the attack on the Manor. Remember, this was the same time when Lizzie fell into a depressive spiral.

Which brings us to the point of Frances’s heir: Marquess outranks Earl, so Edward would not be demoted; and he doesn’t have the disposition for the job anyway. Thus, her true heir, as both the Watchdog and the Countess Phantomhive, would be Lizzie. (Hence why she was probably chosen as Ciel’s betrothed in the first place.)

Now, if Lizzie were to die, Frances would not have an heir; and with no prospect of having any more children (not biologically impossible, but still unlikely at her age) would Victoria even bother bequeathing the role to her? My guess is no—especially if it does turn out that the Crown was behind the attack on the Phantomhive Manor.

But let’s forget that for a moment and look at how other characters would be/will be affected by the death of our Earl:

Tanaka: has already seen the death of his master (Vincent…possibly Claudia?) and went a period of thinking both twins had died; he would be distraught, but wouldn’t show it; and he would recover.

Mey Rin: We still have the unresolved mafia stuff that I refuse to shut up about!! But also, the Maids arc shows that she could find another position if she had to. (Keeping it would be a different conversation though…)

Bard: He would probably be sad (“another fallen comrade”), but he lost his family, and many friends in the war. He is the most desensitised to death of all the servants.

Finny: I think he would be the most upset behind Tanaka—definitely the most outward about his grief—but the scene in Bard’s memory where he views Mey-Rin and Finny as Johanna and Junior comes across as foreshadowing the three of them sticking together, turning into some kind of platonic family unit.

Edward: I would say he has the most support: his parents, his school friends; and I don’t think he’s one to shy away from expressing his emotions. Also, I don’t think he has the resolve to turn suicidal over O!Ciel’s death, especially with his feelings towards him at present.

And Lizzie?

Of course she loves her brother and her family; but the twin reveal already has her separated from them (re: running away when she was faced with r!Ciel) and is testing her mental stability. The prospect of O!Ciel’s death (should she learn the truth about Sebastian and the contract, which I can totally see Undertaker via R!Ciel informing her about it in order to keep her on their side) could be the final drop in the bucket, pushing her over the edge. After all, she is his Queen*. *see Chess Game theory here

That brings us to the final point of foreshadowing (in my opinion): Lizzie v. Sebastian

The first time they fight, it is with regards to R!Ciel. Could this be a set up for another fight between the two over O!Ciel? Oh, but if it is, Sebastian would not go easy on her. If she’s to stand a chance against his full demon capabilities, she’d need supernatural strength of her own…like a reaper.

“Admirable strength…for a human” he says. Whilst this could easily just be Sebastian being all inhuman and weird, I think it may also be a nod to Lizzie losing her humanity.

There is also a slim possibility of her killing Sebastian (an act of true love cliche yada yada yada) and effectively freeing Ciel from his contract; with the help of Undertaker (especially if he’s Grandpa Phantomhive), but I wouldn’t hold my breath over that. If anything, killing Sebastian may not free Ciel at all, since he already sold his soul; it may just allow his soul/cinematic record to pass peacefully into the hands of the reapers in lieu of being consumed.

And it could be her redemption for being so quick to turn on him in the first place.

Also, should O!Cielizzie end up endgame in this context, it would also establish Ciel and Undertaker as foils (further supporting my choice to make them the Chess Masters—see Chess Theory again) by having them both be in reaper x watchdog relationships!

Um, yeah; I don’t really have a conclusion for this theory because it will probably evolve once Lizzie comes back into the story. Until then: like, comment, subscribe!

[aquarianights]

I've delulu'd too hard about claudia and undertaker like the fake scenarios in my head are canon TO ME okay hear me out:

firstly I strongly believe his name is cedric, but for the purpose of this theory I'll still call him UT, anyhow i believe when he met Claudia he was already a shinigami bc obviously the timeline wouldn't match up otherwise.

However, I think his personality might have been a complete 180° from now, like I dont think he was heehee haha-ing over everything. I'm assuming whatever his initial backstory is that made him a shinigami must've been really traumatic and tragic, which eventually led to him crashing out and destroying the HQ.

Maybe he met Claudia after that and he fell in love with her for her crazy personality 🥹 he basically evolved to match her freak, or in better words she showed him real joy and laughter that 'fixed' him - until she died of course leaving him once again a broken man :((

I imagine he was a complete gentleman when he met her, and they had a demure yearning love story. Stolen glances from across ballroom, a chaste kiss on her hand, referring to her politely as 'Lady Phantomhive' etc. Also the ponytail and glasses, how he used to look so prim and proper. I imagine she loved his hair and liked to see it down more often.

And then when they eventually got together he would have been the most devoted caring husband? 👀 or lover but either way I imagine he'd stay by her bedside when she was sick, fulfill all her silly whims and fancies yk.

Of course there would be this veil of doom hanging over them, an inevitable bad end they both could see coming, a lot of angst.

But i firmly believe that Undertaker's obsession with bringing back the dead is because he wants to bring back Claudia. And that might even be why he became an undertaker to begin with — his obsession with death began when she left him and he had no way to follow since he was already literally dead. I wouldn't put it past him to even have her (partially) preserved corpse that he is waiting to revive. There's just so much potential for an incredibly tragic romantic gothic lovestory here.

anyways, that's just my two cents on the matter, imagine these two characters have nothing to do with each other and I've just given myself brainrot for no reason

[w3irdlady]

This sucks ass but this is the only thing I can offer to the black butler community

(proshippers FUCK OFF)

[delusinaldreamer19]

Does r!Ciel’s soul still exists?

Like- where did it go after it was used as the sacrifice, or “trade” I think was how it was worded, that allowed Sebastian to cross into the human realm?

I assume/head-cannon that souls cannot be destroyed, or at least don’t “go away” on their own after a persons death. Why would the grim reapers be harvesting and keeping extensive records on something that just disappears? Obviously souls hold some form of power or essence to them, I mean, they are literally food aka provide sustenance for demons.

So, assuming that the souls harvested by the reapers don’t just disappear after a persons life is marked complete, then they must be stored somewhere in the reaper headquarters, right?

(It’s been ages since I watched S1, so I have no idea if it was the same sort of thing, but I remember scenes taking place in a library of sorts in the reaper headquarters? That’s the sort of thing I’m picturing.)

This idea that souls cannot be destroyed has one very explicitly stated exception, though. A soul eaten by a demon will cease to exist, Sebastian said so himself.

Now back to r!ciel. His soul was Sebastian’s ticket to the human realm, actually, maybe even his doorway given that he manifested looking as though he were emerging from r!ciels body. So Sebastian didn’t eat it, therefore if we apply that logic, it still exists somewhere.

I doubt it was collected by a reaper after the matter. It clearly wasn’t collected by Undertaker when he retrieved the body (if he could still do the soul harvesting in his retirement). I think he would’ve if he could.

So then comes the million dollar question of then where is r!ciel’s soul? Did it switch places with Sebastian and is now in Hell? Does Sebastian have his soul somewhere?

I’m not sure 🤷‍♀️. I’d love to hear someone else’s thoughts on this!

[lemonsrot]

Do yall think the concept of angels will ever come to black butler? I mean if demons are real then angels are too right? However i feel like it'll be a too easy of an answer on ciels soul being saved. And not talking about season one. I've just been obsessed with them and I would love to see play a role in the manga 😩

[dqrkncss666]

Welcome to another Theory Show with Dora on crack.

Today we will talk about this:

So.

WHERE IS FRANCIS?!

As we can see we have Claudia P. and Cedric K. Ros- something, they have done the deed and created Vincent.... Where is FRANCIS?!

As we see on the family tree, again, Vincent continues to marry Rachel and have the Phantomhive twins. WHERE IS FRANCIS?!

Shouldn't she have been on Vincent's left?

Now, if we go with the theory that Cedric is, in fact, the Undertaker then this could be an error Yana made or, over here, the German shinigamis are following ONLY O/Ciel's bloodline going up to his father and then going up to his grandmother. Which is a logical explanation as to why Francis is not there. This is the best scenario and the one I like to believe.

But what if Undertaker is not actually Cedric and Francis not being on there is on purpose? What if Claudia wasn't faithful to her legal husband Cedric and had an affair with the Undertaker creating an illegitimate daughter?

Without having done any research, I personally believe that this would explain why Francis married out of the Phantomhive family so quickly. She had no title and her position and the family's reputation were on the verge of scandal. Her marrying Alexis Midford and becoming a Marquisses would not allow any time for anyone to question her legitimacy and of course, keeping the family name clean.

Could her wedding with Alexis have been merely to cover up her mother's doing? Maybe Claudia betrothed her to Alexis when Francis was a baby so she could be sure her daughter would never face any problems with her title and fortune being on the verge.

But then we come over to Vincent, does he know his sister is his half-sister?

Over to the Undertaker now, if this theory is true why is he protecting the Phantomhives only and not the Midfords as well? Did he protect them "off-camera" as we say, in the Campania? Will we see it in a flashback?

Does the British Shinigami dispatch have knowledge of this family tree? Why have we never seen anyone speaking of it? They clearly don't know anything.

DOES FRANCIS KNOW?! Is that why every time she sees the Undertaker her face changes? Does she hate him? Perhaps she thinks he is the one who ruined the Phantomhive family and her future.

If this theory is true, are we gonna have a chapter (when Yana finally comes back from her hiatus because she clearly wrote herself into a wall) of Francis arguing with the Undertaker about him ruining her family and making her an illegitimate daughter with no title and no fortune? Him trying to comfort his daughter and calm her anger down and finally seeing those two be kind to one another?

But this is merely a theory after I got crack. We will see. :>

[cedric-k-rossignol]

The French Crown Jewels Theory - Parts 1 & 2

The gem in Undertaker's ring is 'diadochos', the Phantomhive Family Ring is indeed a diamond, and Sirius (r!Ciel), Canopus, Vega, & Polaris all possess their own gems as well. All of this jewelry was sourced by Undertaker from the French Crown Jewels that were stolen/went missing in the midst of the French revolution of 1792.

Alright y'all, once again I am back on my medieval French literature shit. This time in Latin! Fun stuff. No poetry analysis in this one, thank God. Instead, I got to go back in time to my years wasted spent studying biochemistry! Fuck me!

I have tried to find evidence of this being discussed online previously and have come up empty (obviously the hope diamond has been discussed, but not in the context of the Golden Fleece), but please let me know if this has already been theorized and I just missed something!

The gem in Undertaker's ring is not a diamond but a mineral that was once known as Diadochos. From ancient Greece through to the middle ages this mineral was considered sacred and powerful, thought to be capable of summoning and holding the 'shades of the dead' and making demons clearly visible to its user.

The gem being Diadochos would also explain the color difference of the ring between season 1 of the anime (green) and what would later appear in further seasons and in the manga (unclear....no pun intended). It also provides a link to the French Crown Jewels...

Which brought me to what I believe is a confirmation that the Phantomhive family ring being sourced from "The French Blue" diamond (a portion of which is now known as The Hope Diamond) as was seen in season 1 of the anime will become canon in the manga. I also am going to predict we will meet a certain grim reaper named Hendrik Fals that's based on a real person.

Not only that, but the idea of another ring with a sister diamond (as seen in the anime with another portion of The French Blue) was an interpretation of what will happen in the Manga. R!Ciel is likely in possession of The Bazu Diamond, which was a part of Louis XV's insignia of The Order of The Golden Fleece. Canopus, Vega and Polaris likely hold the three yellow sapphires that surround the Bazu Diamond, and I believe the other diamonds in this piece have something to do with Undertaker's other mourning lockets.

This also supports my theory of Undertaker being a Breton (from Brittany, France) as I believe he's represented by the dragon called "le Côte-de-Bretagne" in the insignia. And of course, that he was the one to originally gift the Phantomhive family ring to Ciel's grandmother Claudia as a symbol of his devotion and commitment to her, and in doing so "cursed" her and her family (it's a metaphor y'all)

The French Monarchy had no shortage of drip, you think only one measly giant ass diamond went missing when people's heads were getting chopped off? Buckle up, I fear this is going to be a long one. Trigger warning for discussion of suicide and mental illness.

Let's get into it.

Part One: Undertaker's Ring

In researching French medieval age jewelry for my Floire et Blancheflor series, which involves two rings (one of which is magical), I came across a gemstone that was noted to be "the most powerful" (or something along those lines) but I'd never heard of it before - Diadochos/Diadocos And then I googled it, and nothing came up. I had to dig into scholarly articles and Latin text to get info on this, and even then it's sparse.

There were three main sources I could find; two books on minerals hailing from ancient Greece, the other a popular book from the middle ages - 'De Lapidis' by Marbode de Rennes. Translated into several different languages shortly after publication, the original Latin text was written in the late 11th century by a French bishop from - say it with me everybody - Brittany.

Coincidence? Maybe. But I doubt it. I really need to finish my Undertaker is from Brittany write-up...

All these sources make similar and frustratingly brief claims, as neatly summarized in one article on the the ancient Greek text Tetrabiblos;

1. The stone diadochos is similar to the beryl. 2. It is as useful for divinations through water, and for the summoning of shades (adductionibus umbrarum) as no other stone. 3. Furthermore, it makes the appearances (effigies) of all daemons thoroughly visible. 4. Do not apply it to someone dead (=a corpse), because it is opposed to the deceased. 5. For this stone is divine and sanctus and santified by a perpetual consecration.

Side note - I will absolutely be making another post about Tetrabiblos and it's companion volume Almagest. Written in the 2nd century by Claudius Ptolemy, they're the respective astrology and astronomy bibles of the middle ages. Tetrabiblos literally means "four books", and it's Latin translation is titled Quadripartitum means "four parts". There are some very interesting notes about demon summoning in this. All of Claudius Ptolemy 's books are addressed to an unknown person named Syrus. He also has what appears to be a relevant volume on music (this guy REALLY likes fours...) looked to see if anyone had mentioned this in a theory before and when I couldn't find anything I was shocked. Let me know if I've missed a post cause there is absolutely stuff to be discussed from Claudius and these books - I just can't get into it or this post will be 5000 years long.

So, Diadochos is actually now known as Beryl.

Whereas diadochos means "heir, successor", the word "beryl" is Old French for a "precious blue-green color-of-sea-water stone".

It's worth noting the element "Beryllium" is #4 on the periodic table of elements.

Gemstones high in beryllium include beryl (aquamarine, emerald, red beryl) and chrysoberyl. It is a relatively rare element in the universe, usually occurring as a product of the spallation of larger atomic nuclei that have collided with cosmic rays. Within the cores of stars, beryllium is depleted as it is fused into heavier elements.

Diamond is element #6... Interesting.

This stone was, as I mentioned, considered sacred and magical - used often in divination, and to create crystal balls. But it also had much more practical uses -

When the first eyeglasses were constructed in 13th-century Italy, the lenses were made of beryl as glass could not be made clear enough

Well that sure is interesting...

Season 1 vs Canon - Fight!

As I said, this mineral is now known as 'beryl' - but you would be more likely to recognize the names we use to refer to the different colours beryl comes in - morganite, heliador, gosenthite, aquamarine, and emerald. You're likely familiar with the signature colors of some of these gems, all of which are different shades of the same mineral.

As previously mentioned, 'beryl' is the Old French word for the blue-green color of the sea.

I think it's pretty widely accepted that the creators of season 1 were given information from Yana that hadn't yet been released to readers of the manga. The most obvious example of this (so far) is the 'Undertaker is a reaper' reveal. Now I have no idea what the creative process behind developing an anime is like, how much contact or creative input Yana Toboso would have had, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest it's possible that admist a wealth of information that was handed over, there was a note that said Undertaker's ring was one of 'Beryl', and the creative team went with the 'traditional' Beryl color of blue-green - which is why people think the ring in season 1 is set with an emerald.

Peep the fleur de lis 👀 y'all they knew not to leave THAT out at the very least.

And yes, emerald is a shade of Beryl - but this was never intended to be an emerald.

The difference in color is something that's always really bugged me, so I'm relieved to finally have an explanation that makes sense (to me at least). Now as for the colour Yana chose...

So What Fucking Colour is it Anyways?

If you know of better official art that demonstrates the color of this damn beast of a rock on his hand, feel free to point me in its direction because I was struggling. There seems to be a pattern of colour-washing the art or appears in, or Undertaker posing in a way that hides the ring from view.

This is a much-discussed character design that shows a lock of hair embedded/underneath the gem of Undertaker's ring (we will return to this detail in a future theory), as well as confirmation of the fleur-de-lis on the side of the ring, and then of course the gem itself. Perhaps a light yellow, or perhaps just showing the gold backing through the translucent stone?

We do get some shots from the anime in BOC and BOA respectively;

Well, I get why people think it's a diamond.

Even in official artwork sometimes it's white, sometimes it's yellow, sometimes it's tanslucent , sometimes it's a little...blue, dare I say?

Back! on! my! Chemistry! Shit!

Alright, and now we get into the chemistry of it all. I know, first history and now this bullshit. I'll keep it brief; excuse me my nerdy nostalgia for a spectroscopy graph.

Basically, the different colors of Beryl are due to impurities within it (unclean one!). The purest form of Beryl is goshenite, which is clear/white.

The other colours are formed based on what ions (charged atoms) exist within them as impurities - for emerald it's Chromium, for Morganite it's Manganese... And both the yellow and aquamarine colors are due to the presence of iron (element #26) ions.

Now when you think of the gem aquamarine, you probably think of a pale blue; and for most gems sold nowadays that true. As a March baby it's my birthstone, and I've been gifted many a pale blue aquamarine birthstone reminiscent of the water it's named for....

Oh wait a second, who else is a March baby? Motherfucking Cedric K. Ros(signol), that's who!

Okay, I'll admit; I'm sort of invested in his ring being an aquamarine gem because it would relate back to both his birthday and his 'rebirth' as a reaper when he drowned, and the more I string these crazy red threads through French history the more I'm convinced these details are critical to his character. So yeah, I'm biased - but before you write me off as delusional, just hear me out, because the chemistry is in my favor!

The best-known green beryl is emerald, which obtains its colour from Cr and/or V ions. However, a different green colour can be obtained from mixtures of the yellow and blue beryl chromophores described above. When yellow and aquamarine chromophores are simultaneously present, the colour becomes light green. Depending on the relative concentrations of the two chromophores, the colour can vary from light yellow-green to light blue-green. Shang et al. (2022) classified the colours of beryls containing these chromophores into five groups, from yellow to light blue.

Fridrichová et al. (2015) heated crystals of deeply coloured aquamarine and yellow beryl to different temperatures. After heating one of the yellow crystals to 300°C it was still yellow. Heating of additional yellow beryl samples to 500°C and 700°C in each case resulted in light blue aquamarine colouration. Another yellow crystal heated to 900°C lost almost all its colour.

All this to say; apply enough heat to a green beryl and it will turn to yellow, to aquamarine, to clear.

Here's a little basic color theory refresher for you as well; blue and yellow pigment together make green, whereas blue and yellow light create white light.

Here are some examples of various coloured aquamarine gems, some set in gold bands like Undertaker's, based on the verbiage with which they were advertised;

1. A clear goshenite gem; 2. A pale aquamarine; 3. A yellow aquamarine

4. A clear blue aquamarine; 5. A yellow aquamarine; 6. A yellow aquamarine

5. A yellow Aquamarine; 6. A yellow Aquamarine; 7. A pale blue aquamarine

All of these could conceivably be made from the same source mineral - what changes its nature is the amount of heat that's been applied to it.

Neat, huh? And I would argue symbolic for this story. Both in that there's a whole lot of manors being burned down, but also as a metaphor for life experiences and trauma.

The scientific debate on nature vs nurture continues, but it seems to be proven again and again that the way we develop is significantly weighted towards nurture. Nature plays its part, for sure - if there weren't iron ions in these gems, the fire wouldn't have an effect on the gem's color. It might get a little toasty, but then it would cool off and have no lasting effect on the gem's appearance, structure, chemical composition... But since there are iron ions that are a part of the gem, that were within it when it first formed (which it can do nothing to change), it is significantly impacted by its environment. If the fire gets hot enough, it can lose all of its color.

For someone like Undertaker, who I believe to have been (and continue to be) mentally ill, depressed, and ultimately suicidal to wear this ring is symbolic of the mental illness he was born with, and the trauma he experienced living in Brittany from 1331-1366 (Black Plague, The Breton War of Succession, and The Hundred Years War between France and England).

I've seen it mentioned in discussion that Sebastian is a physical representation of Ciel's trauma - a physical demon to represent his metaphorical demons. I also see the story of Black Butler as an allegory for generational trauma and inherited mental illness; that which we bestow upon our children like heirloom jewelry.

However, this metaphor is also sort of hopeful in that the change isn't necessarily permanent. The color of the gem can revert back towards its original hue over time depending on the circumstances.

Undertaker & Water

There's a panel in the manga that implies Undertaker's method of suicide was drowning. I currently have two different theories on where he drowned that are duking it out for the top spot. Currently the top contender is that he jumped from La Pointe de Plouha, the tallest cliffside on the Breton coastline, and drowned in the waters separating England from France - The English Channel. Plouha has a very interesting myth about the Ankou, the Breton version of the grim reaper, and I find it poetic for him to be reborn in the waters seperating him from a country he'd been at war with for most of his life - especially given that he would proceed to fall in love with a British Aristocrat.

This French crown jewels theory seems to support the idea that he drowned in the English Channel as I believe he's represented in the insignia by the dragon, le Côte-de-Bretagne (Translates literally to the coast of Brittany) - but I'm not ready to fully call it yet. Withholding my final judgement for the moment.

Regardless, if Undertaker did drown, his character being associated with Diadochos/Beryl/Aquamarine, stones intrinsically associated with water, makes a lot of sense. Consider after all, the arc where we first really met him - book of the Atlantic takes place in the middle of the ocean.

The Romans believed Aquamarine to be sacred to Neptune, the god of the sea. Supposedly the gems came from mermaid's treasure chests (they're actually formed in hydrothermal vents) so saiilors would wear it for protection against shipwreck. They also thought it had healing properties because the gem would appear to disappear when submerged in water.

Well, Undertaker did disappear when submerged in water, didn't he? He was reborn as a reaper, only called himself by his serial number 136649 (an oddity even amongst reapers, who have all also committed suicide), and (externally at least) completely disassociated himself from his former life.

Cloudia and Undertaker share the zodiac sign Aries, a fire sign, so there's symbolism in water killing him. Extinguishing his flame, so to speak.

As mentioned in Tetrabiblios, Diadochos is useful for divinations in water, and the same is said of beryl;

Beryl was a popular skying stone in the Middle Ages. Most sources indicate that this was done either through dowsing, attaching the beryl to a thread over a bowl of water, with the crystal just touching the water...An alternative method involved throwing the stone into a bowl of water and reading the disturbance it created.

Undertaker threw himself into a body of water, then revolted against Reaper HQ, had an affair with and sired two illigitimate half-human children on the Queen of England's guard dog, and went against the laws of Gods and men to raise the dead. If thats not a disturbance, what is?

There's also a religious aspect to look into. Book of the Atlantic takes place over the holy week that precedes Easter - and I have a theory outlining why I believe both he and Cloudia's birthdates fall on 'Holy Monday'. He was also born on the day of the Annunciation - that's the day that an angel came to Mary to tell her she'd been chosen to carry the Incarnation of God. He's also associated with the white lily, a flower associated with Easter, and he carries a lot of religious symbols. His cassock, prayer beads, and the crown of thorns on his scythe and on Cloudia's locket are not there for shits and giggles. This religious symbolism ties into my theory on the circumstances of his birth, and the thread that I believe ties the lockets together...

...all of which I've been in the process of researching and writing for a hot minute, I just don't know how to keep it brief 😩 I'm a dog chasing squirrels.

Anywho, religion - there is the concept of Baptism. Undertaker being reborn into a new life when he submerged himself in water.

Baptism is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water.It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three times, once for each person of the Trinity. The synoptic gospels recount that John the Baptist baptised Jesus.

Speaking of Jesus, since he and Undertaker seem to be so tightly knit, Jesus performed seven canonical miracles, and two of the most notable (imo) are with water; walking on it, and turning it to wine. The last of course was Lazarus, raising the dead...

Magical Properties

I'm not suggesting that this stone actually grants Undertaker any abilities, but it's interesting that the supposed magical properties align with his character attributes.

It's been theorized that Frances is always making comments on how slovenly Sebastian's appearance is because she has the ability (on some level) to see his demon nature due to her half-reaper blood that she gets from her father, Undertaker/Cedric. This is somewhat supported by Ladger and Sascha speculating Ciel's ability to see them is from his bloodline - which is of course, where we got Cedric K. Ros- from!

Then there is of course summoning the shades of the dead and holding them here on earth. And I find it super interesting that this specifically mentions not to "apply it to a corpse" because "it is opposed". Like, what the heck does that even mean? A vague warning that if you fuck around, you'll find out? I have not been able to find any further details on what this might be referring to, but it sure sounds ominous.

And finally a note that the stone itself is "perpetually consecrated" - unable to be desecrated or corrupted. The stone is "divine". I will have to come back to this in another theory, because it's a can of worms, and this post is long enough.

Finally, I must note that according to the French wiki, Aquamarine is a symbol for a happy & faithful marriage. Specifically 23 years of marriage.

La couleur marine de ce minéral fait qu'il a été utilisé comme talisman pour les marins. Symbole de fidélité entre jeunes mariés, c'est un cadeau censé leur garantir un mariage heureux, ce béryl symbolise 23 ans de mariage.

Frankly it doesn't seem to have the most reliable source, but it's worth noting that is you take Claudia's age when she died, 36, and subtract 23 years, you get an age of 13.

Giving you maaaaaaaad side eye Undertaker 🤨.

Now to be clear I don't think they ever actually got legally married; perhaps not even "spiritually" married. However it is very possible that they met in 1843 - Undertaker likely deserted the reapers around the time of Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne in 1837. We don't know what he was doing during this time, what goal he might have been working towards - but befriending Claudia's father, the current guard dog of the new queen, might have been part of it.

I have my own personal head-canon that he worked as a jeweler during this time, but I don't have any real support for that - just that it makes sense given all this damn drip the guy has, it would be a way to familiarize himself with the British Aristocracy and perhaps even The Royal Family themselves, and the black market trade of stolen jewels might have been of particular interest to him. More on that in a minute.

Anyways it makes sense within the narrative for them to have met when Claudia was 13, as much we might find him even knowing her at that age icky, because of how significant the number 13 is to this story.

Part 2: The Hope Diamond & The Hirsch Aquamarine

Alright so as discussed - Undertaker's birthstone is aquamarine. Let's say for the sake of this argument, you agree with my interpretation of Undertaker's ring being a pale aquamarine gem. While he and Claudia share a zodiac sign, and a birthday on the same 'day' of Easter, they were born in different months. Cedric in March, Claudia in April. Which makes Claudia's birthstone a diamond.

The Origins of the Hope Diamond

Going back to season 1 of the anime, where the animators had more knowledge then we did about future events (even if they were interpreted oddly), they made the Phantomhive family ring not a sapphire but a blue diamond. Specifically, a gem cut from "le Grand diamant violet de Sa Majesté" a French Crown Jewel that was stolen in 1792 in the midst of a revolution. This is commonly referred to as "Le Bleu de France" in English circles, but the French actually called it purple, not blue.

Back to chemistry briefly for this point - in a similar concept to what has previously been discussed with Aquamarine and Beryl, impurities in the French Blue is what provides it with its distinctive colour - specifically, Boron (element #5).

Visually, the gray modifier (mask) is so dark (indigo) that it produces an "inky" effect, appearing almost blackish-blue in incandescent light. Current photographs of the Hope Diamond use high-intensity light sources that tend to maximize the brilliance of gemstones. In popular literature, many superlatives have been used to describe the Hope Diamond as a "superfine deep blue," often comparing it to the color of a fine sapphire—for example, "blue of the most beautiful blue sapphire" (Deulafait)—and describing its color as "a sapphire blue." Tavernier described it as a "beautiful violet".

The diamond also exhibits a phosphorescent quality (it glows);

Phosphorescence: The stone exhibits an unusually intense, brilliant red phosphorescence after exposure to short-wave ultraviolet light. This 'glow-in-the-dark' effect persists for some time after the light source has been switched off, and this strange quality may have helped fuel its reputation of being "cursed." The red glow is a phenomenon of blue diamonds that helps scientists "fingerprint" them, allowing them to distinguish real ones from artificial ones. The red glow occurs because of a mix of boron and nitrogen in the stone.

It's worth noting that while an Aquamarine is changeable, it doesn't fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet radiation like a diamond does.

A cursed blue diamond glowing red? Hmm....

You likely know this gem as The Hope Diamond, which is a recut section of the French Crown Jewel, which itself was cut from a diamond called "The Tavernier Blue", originally purchased by a French merchant in 1666 (yikes) in India, who then sold it to King Louis XIV, who is also known as Louis le Grand (the great) or le Roi Soleil (the Sun king).

Louis XIV's great grandson, Louis XV, had the diamond (as well as other gems) reset into a pendant for "l'ordre de la Toison d'or"- "The Order of the Golden Fleece". We will discuss this pendant more in Part 3, but it fell into disuse after Louis XV's death. It became property of Louis XV's grandson, Louis XVI, who married the infamous Marie Antoinette (also referenced in season 1 of the anime in relation to both the Hope Diamond and to Undertaker). Antoinette used many of the French Crown Jewels for personal adornment by having them reset - however, this pendant of The Golden Fleece stayed intact through their reign.

On September 11, 1792, while Louis XVI and his family were imprisoned in the Square du Temple during the early stages of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, a group of thieves broke into the Royal Storehouse—the Hôtel du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne (now Hôtel de la Marine)—stealing most of the Crown Jewels in a five-day looting spree. While many jewels were later recovered, including other pieces of the Order of the Golden Fleece*, the French Blue was not among them and it disappeared from history.

A likely scenario is that the French Blue, sometimes also known as the Blue Diamond, was "swiftly smuggled to London" after being seized in 1792 in Paris. But, the exact rock known as the French Blue was never seen again, since it almost certainly was recut during this decades-long period of anonymity, with the largest remaining piece becoming the Hope Diamond.

*this is misleading - so far as I can tell, the only other piece of the Order of the Golden Fleece that was recovered is le Côte-de-Bretagne, the red dragon. This piece is now in the Louvre.

Is it terrible for me to say I see a resemblance between the dragon and Undertaker lmao?

So the French Blue (and le Côte-de-Bretagne, and perhaps the rest of the Order of the Golden Fleece) was smuggled to London... But I'm going to pause here, and talk about another gem that disappeared - the Hirsch Aquamarine.

The Hirsch Aquamarine

Not nearly as well known as the French Blue, this is a gem that was in the possession of Louis XV, the same King who had the French Blue reset into the Order of the Golden Fleece. (Fun fact, King Louis XV was also the one to cede 'New France' to the British... And so New France would became Quebec).

I have been unable to find a lot of details on the Hirsch Aquamarine - supposedly King Louis found having it on his person to be soothing. There is no record of it being sold, or even stolen - it simply disappeared.

Well, I'm going to say it was stolen. And this was the thief - j'accuse...!

I propose that reaper 136649 knicked it while on the job.

It is not noted as being among the gems that were stored at the hotel from which the Order of the Golden Fleece, or indeed being in the posession of a King after Louis XV. Perhaps he reaped Louis XV's soul when he died in 1774. Perhaps Louis XV, who found the gem soothing, had it on his person at his time of death (his cause of death was smallpox), and Undertaker decided to grab a little momento of their time together.

Why?

Well... He's obviously sentimental. We will leave it there for now.

So let's say Undertaker stole the Hirsch Aquamarine while on the job - how did he end up with the remainder of the missing Order of the Golden Fleece? Let's return to the French Blue, the Côte-de-Bretagne, and conceivably the rest of the Order of the Golden Fleece being smuggled to London

The Recutting of The French Blue in London

Historians suggested that one burglar, Cadet Guillot, took several jewels, including the French Blue and the Côte-de-Bretagne spinel, to Le Havre and then to London, where the French Blue was cut in two pieces. Morel adds that in 1796, Guillot attempted to resell the Côte-de-Bretagne in France but was forced to relinquish it to fellow thief Lancry de la Loyelle, who put Guillot into debtors' prison.

So in 1792 the Order of the Golden Fleece is stolen from a French hotel, and smuggled to London. The Côte-de-Bretagne then turns back up in France in 1796, and eventually it is sold to the Louvre in 1887. So we know in the manga, Undertaker is not in possession of this part of the insignia. Him being the dragon has more to do with symbolism of the dragon who guards the Golden Fleece in the Greek myth, and the symbolism of being from Brittany - but I'm getting ahead of myself.

However... It's looking more and more to me like we will end up going to Paris in the manga, and I'm betting our little Lord will take a tour of the Louvre and see the dragon...

The next time this diamond appears in history, it is 20 years later, and in that time it has been cut into what will become known as The Hope Diamond.

A blue diamond with the same shape, size, and color as the Hope Diamond was recorded by John Francillon as in the possession of the London diamond merchant Daniel Eliason in September 1812, the earliest point when the history of the Hope Diamond can be definitively fixed. The 1812 date was just days after 20 years since the theft of the French Blue, just as the statute of limitations for the crime had taken effect.

Well that's bloody convenient.

So sometime in between 1792 and 1812 the French Blue is recut, with the Hope Diamond appearing in the jeweler Eliason's posession in 1812, and the Cote-de-Bretagne showing back up in France still in Guillot's posession, but none of the other gems. Those - there is no record of what happened to them, nor what happened to the other recut portion of the French Blue.

Now, an oft-cited source peaked my interest, so I went ahead and tracked down a copy of the book Blue Mystery: The Story of the Hope Diamond, written by Susanne Steinem, published in 1976. Within it is a list of the supposed deaths that trail the owners of the diamond. I went searching for something specific on a hunch - and boy, did I strike gold.

7. Wilhelm Fals, a Dutch diamond cutter, is said to have recut the French blue, producing a brilliant of 44 1/2 carats. He then supposedly died of grief after his son, Hendrik, stole the diamond. As for Hendrik, he is said to have committed suicide in London in 1830. 8. Francois Beaulieu is said to have obtained the diamond from "a nameless suicide" presumably Hendrik Fals. Beaulieu was supposedly forced to sell it to Daniel Eliason for a fraction of its value - and then died the next day of starvation.

Hendrik Fals, whose father cut the French Blue, and who himself was in possession of the Hope Diamond in 1830, killed himself.

Now you might be scratching your head going wait, what? You just said the ring showed up in London at Eliason's place in 1812, but in this version of events he wouldn't have gotten it until after 1830. I also don't mean to be insensitive - Hendrik Fals was (supposedly) a real person, and if it's true that he committed suicide, that's incredibly tragic.

To be completely frank, the author of this book says that there is no evidence for this sequence of events - it's the mythology of the ring. There are a ton of events detailed in the book as legend that have no basis in fact. That the diamond is cursed is itself a myth (I mean, duh, but also in that there are not a weird number of deaths that follow it).

However - I 100% believe Yana Toboso has read this book. The fucking title is Blue Mystery. Hendrik Fals, in the Black Butler universe, is now a Grim Reaper.

And he became a Grim Reaper in 1830 - and Undertaker likely didn't desert until 1837, around the time of Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne.

Now, Undertaker still being with the reapers between 1819 and 1837 is weird, given that the massacre at reaper HQ of 1819 wiped out half of management. I doubt our boy 136649 is just chilling in the employee lounge after pulling a stunt like that. But I am certain at some point Hendrik and 136649 met, and well, if I wanted to know where the gems from the Order of the Golden Fleece were, Hendrik Fals would be an excellent place to start.

Other Posts

Like I said, I tried to google to see if this has been discussed before and came up mostly empty (again, obviously, there has been a lot of discussion on the hope diamond but nothing I could find in the context of the other French Crown Jewels). Let me know if I missed something!

I did find an old post discussing a poem that was referenced in the Public School Arc between @abybweisse , @thaliaarche and @white-queen-lacus that referenced Beryl which is interesting. Seems like the poem also mentions shades of the dead, and the river Lethe from Greek mythology which I referenced in my Rossignol theory post and part 2 of my Floire et Blancheflor series.

That's All For Now!

If you made it this far, you deserve a medal...or a knightly order.

I really tried to fit this all into one but I'm going to have to split it. Next Part will focus on analyzing the other gems in the insignia of Louis XV, a look into the elements that make up these gems, how the Bazu is likely to be the 'sister diamond' of the Phantomhive family ring instead of another piece of The French Blue, the properties of yellow sapphires and how they might relate to blood (more spectroscopy for me whoopee), how the Dragon, Bazu Diamond, and Golden Fleece symbolize Undertaker and the twins, the Order of the Golden Fleece and its History, and of course the myth of the Golden Fleece itself.

A sheepskin is a brutal fucking metaphor - I'm sure you can guess what comes next, it's not a new theory.

If you liked this theory, you can take a look at my other theories via this masterpost that I will update as I crank these out. The theories I've developed mostly have to do with French history, French Christianity, Breton culture, and medieval French literature... I hope and pray chemistry does not become a trend.

I hope you enjoyed my insane rambling, my ask box is open and I'm always happy to talk about this stuff and thanks so much for reading!

[meow-ali3nz]

Ok gang i may or may not be clinically insane but like is r!ciel not the actual r!ciel?

Like it’s obvious undertaker brought him back to life or smt but like theres 0 chance that its the real real r!ciel yknow? Like sebastian ate his soul when he came up from hell or whatever nd r!ciels soul was the gateway so at the very least the ciel undertaker rose from the dead doesnt hold r!ciels soul.

Also r!ciel acts to rude to O!ciel and like wouldn’t he be nicer based off of the flashbacks of O!ciels past? And like doll/freckle face from the noahs ark circus still acts how she used to in life and has the same hatred for ciel that she had dying which either means R!ciel died hating/disliking O!ciel or its not actually the original flashack childhood R!Ciel.

Also Sebastian ate R!ciels soul (i am NOT finding the panel evidence just go read the dang manga) so it should be impossible to retrieve said soul unless undertaker struck up some deal with Sebastian which is also not possible since sebastian says he can’t have more than one contract at a time+ he can’t lie to O!ciel, at least with doll face she may have had been resurrected fairly quickly or quickly enough that her soul wasn’t reaped.

Also the way undertaker brings up these corpses is through lengthening their memories with either shit videos of him dancing or futures they wish they had/their desires since humans desires are never ending therefore however long these corpses live are also never ending which could mea the corpse is just a body with the original hosts memories which explains why R!ciel acts so differently and is also just a cool idea.

But another way this could go (in my opinion much less likely) is that undertaker brainwashed the corpseinto believing O!ciel caused his death or did something horrible/overall just convinced him to not like O!ciel which would explain the calm and gentle yet rude and scheming personality the corpse of R!ciel has towards O!ciel with the memories of the actual person and the lies told to him sort of canclling each other out

We could also say that R!ciel just decided to hate O!ciem for surving but that doesnt make sense since R!ciel sacrificed himself for O!ciel and personally i dont want to believe the theory of “O!ciel pushed R!ciel to be sacrificed” i just don’t believe that! Like could you havr done that as a 9-10 year old to a person you loved and admired.

Idk if im clinically insane or not but i needed to let this shit out just to double check. :D

Im not insane just insanely smart ;)

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

Theory: Joker and Beast killed Doll's parents and Doll was born into a noble family

Okay yeah this was a weird thing to start with but I'll explain! Starters I mentioned this in a PM to @midnight-in-town about this theory but decided to finally write about it, this is a theory/headcanon I personally have you are free to not enjoy it or believe it cause this is my mind

So in Book of Circus episode 5-6 (I forget the actual number) when Sebastian seduces Beast is where this started. In the scene building up the two going back to Beast's tent when Sebastian said along the lines, "Why must you be with a man who only brings you pain?" and instantly it flashes to this scene which I took screenshots for this research;

This stuck with me.

Now I personally believe the additional scenes/scene changes, big or small, mean something from Yana to us. Like the added scenes of Doll and Ciel like Doll's conversation with Ciel once they got their tent for example. So in other words I don't feel like this was shown just for randoms.

Yet why do I think this scene is meant to be Joker killing Doll's parents? Cause he clearly loves her!

In the side story in the manga he tells the story of Doll's first loose tooth and how he was the one who suggested to look for work and then proceed to work for hours straight for one coin so Doll could believe the Tooth Fairy came.

He named Doll "Doll" cause to him he's precious

He clearly trusted Ciel enough to share a tent with her despite not knowing, same as Doll clearly trust him so much

Conclusion: Joker loves Doll. Probably much more than the rest of the circus group.

So this is the set up I have made up: Joker tracked down and killed Doll's biological family since compared to the others Doll went through worst. While everyone who was abandoned or wound up there was born with some sort of deformation or ailment, Doll was abused and horribly disfigured by her own family and then abandoned and she the youngest of the group so of course if they care for her they would probably kill them if they knew who they were... This could add some blackmail on Baron Kelvin on Joker. Cause Beast was right, they can easily run and if there were kids in the Workhouse they could just get them, not like Victorian orphanages had security, but Joker was very much firm to stay by Baron Kelvin most and even said "there's no turning back", maybe Baron Kelvin caught wind of the murder and promised to never tell a soul if he behaved.

Now the only evidence of this theory being the time period of the early circus years is the cloting

Joker's outfit reminds me of Joker's outfit in the official art-

But it also helps me pinpoint it takes place when Baron Kelvin went crazy-

See the ruffle collar?

The only difference is the hair, but I can argue this was still taken in early circus years.

Not to mention he looks rather... content/happy in this scene. I would assume his eyes would be wide or manic cause panic of being caught, not a soft look and a hint of a smile.

This theory alone was enough for me.

It was simple, it was easy.

Case close.

But then I looked at the background more to see why it feels... iffy...

This is when the second theory came in: Doll's backstory into weath.

First evidence, the painting:

I actually wanted to figure out if I can find the painting's possible inspiration or look alike but it's so blurry I can't even figure out what it is.

But anyways-

I did some research to see if owning a painting was a sigh of wealth then and turns out I may be right!

Okay so I can't trust the results but still-

So paintings are a lot of money, which still is a thing today, but there was art thieves in the Victorian Era so one can argue the ones in this home stole art. But I highly doubt someone was so stupid to hang their stolen piece of art up for the world to see.

Now onto the fireplace evidence-

It's rather large with even some engraving details if you enhance the image.

Okay, so in this time period there was pretty much fireplaces in every home, BUT the only those in the middle class and upper class had ones in a larger scale with some form of ornament or art on it!

Source

This became my official name in my coffin. This was the final say of this house is wealthy or middle class at best.

So then... what would this mean?

Well, I mentioned this theory with @freckledfenrir and a bit with @deadlystarchart in our PM chats before and in those logs I've mentioned (I tried to go through so if either of you lovelies can screenshot where I said this so I can add it later it'll be helpful!) a possible picture;

You see back then there were more cases of missing kids/kids who were seen and never mentioned again then we assume. Ciel and Sebastian only got wind of the circus kidnapping shit because someone noticed a pattern and Queen Victoria was sad. Hell even Scotland Yard had problems in this case too! Back then families can easily abandoned, kill, or simply hide away a child and no one could bat an eye. Especially when money is involved. (You thought the rich vs the legal system was corrupt now?) So in theory Doll was probably born with either a upper class or middle class family, but someone with lots of money. She was abused, this is sadly still canon, but sometime after burning her, her family abandoned her in the East End.

You know a crazy fact I wasn't going to know if not for this theory? Rich people actually lived in the East End!

So that means it would make it easy for the family to abandoned a poor wounded little child without suspicious people around. But to also add a tragic/fucked up layer they stayed in the area to constantly eye and maybe even mock the poor living conditions of their child.

This also gives Joker a easy access to see someone who either reminds him of Doll or maybe even see Doll react to a couple walking down the street, follow them home, remember that home, and when the night is perfectly still he alongside the rest of the circus troop, or just Beast, he broke in to make sure those people will feel the pain his precious sister felt and will never forget...

[lady-lilly-gray]

Chapter 214 Theory!!!

edit: either the scanlation I read made an error or I'm just stupid (probably the latter) so I've rewritten this post, but retained the original below it for posterity lol

Who is the person at the end?

Is it Polaris? Possibly.

Because I am in the D. Gray-man fandom, and have therefore been a victim of the Past!Allen* confusion of the last (decade?) I am reluctant to accept this person as Polaris until we are EXPRESSLY told so.

*long story short; we were introduced to a character in a flashback without being told his name; based on the scene/context, the whole fandom assume his identity...and then recently found out he is someone completely different!

That being said; could it be Polaris? Sure! But what would Polaris have a history with Sebastian, when we already know Polaris to be someone linked to the Phantom Fam, as shown by their desire to "not lose anymore of them"? Additionally, how would Polaris know Sebastian to be a demon? (Yes, UT could have told him; but the way the above is presented implied that 1) this person has met Sebastian in his current form before and 2) knew Sebastian was a demon the first time they met.

Another case people have presented is that this is one of Sebastian's former contractors. I like this theory, too; but I don't believe it. As per the Blue Memory Arc, this is the first time Sebastian has appeared in this form in the human realm. Thus, why would this person know Sebastian?

My proposition: this is another demon! As Fairchild said, "guests of Any Kind are welcome here" which absolutely screams not everyone here is Human.

I guess that could reference Bizarre Dolls ("so long as they pay" is almost certainly a reference to Blood Collections), or even Reapers—but both of those groups of beings were once humans. Whilst my personal theory does have Demons being once human too, they are much more removed from Humanity than BD's and Reapers.

That being said, it could be interesting if this person was the demon whom Vincent sold his soul to, as is sometimes theorised! It could also tie into their desire to protect the Phantomhives. Maybe they even (re)gain some humanity as part of the contract, hence the IV bag—which, if this is not Polaris, may just be a disguise this person was using to get close to Sebastian. Obviously that fall was on purpose so as to get close to him!

So who is this person? I really don't know.

If they are Polaris, they are supposed to be attached to the Phantomhives, so why not even acknowledge O!Ciel?

If they are not Polaris, I am absolutely sticking to the Mary Jane Kelly theory mentioned below because it's funny and fits in with my Red Butler pt. 2 theory!)

I don’t think so. Polaris described himself as a butler; so probably not. More importantly, Polaris knows the Phantomhives; why would she say she was looking for Sebastian and not O!Ciel?

So, is she a past contractor that Undertaker revived? Possibly, but then why would she call him Sebastian. Heck, why would she even recognize him.

So, is she someone from an earlier arc? Three options:

The girl Seb chatted up for information on the Sphere Music Hall? Not impossible, and the most likely person on this list to know Sebastian by name.

The female aristocrat of evil we see in the Vanell arc? What ever came of her? I had a working theory that she would be a point of contact in France, but this works too! However, I will say this is the least likely of the three.

Mary Jane Kelly, the victim of Jack the Ripper whom Ciel made a grave for? Most likely, in my opinion — especially since Undertaker handled her burial, and it would further tie into my theory that we will see Madame Red again this arc!

[aquarianights]

like in my mind claudia phantomhive x undertaker (cedric k ros) are THE love story of the century, I've deluded myself so bad over the last 6 years now if they turn out to NOT be canon it's gonna be soooo awkward....

[bunnyfluffy16]

yall came up with the coolest theories bout o!ciels’ name. i just call him terre (land) sometimes 🌚