#shInIgamIs

[karenka-sutcliff]

[midnight-in-town]

A future Shinigami revolt to destroy an unfair System ?

Part of my "let's explore Kuroshitsuji's main plot threads" masterposts ; the others can be found below :

Is the Phantomhive lineage the reason behind the Watchdog duty ?

Is the Undertaker "Cedric K. Ros--", aka the twins' paternal grandfather ?

The Fenian Brotherhood theory : Vincent was killed for being a political enemy of Queen Victoria

the RCMT : real!Ciel is an antagonist, partly to blame for what happened 4 years ago

Frances Midford is most likely the atypical "Mentor" character of this Shonen series

Let's dive right into this one (warning : long post ahead !) : in Kuroshitsuji, we have many examples of unfair situations. Case in point with the premise, our!Ciel had to choose between dying at the hands of a demonic cult, like his brother, or sell his soul to a demon he summoned to get his revenge.

Amidst that terrible event, Ciel even lost in faith in a higher deity like God, only for Seb upon his summoning to mock his lack of faith :

1) Premise : a system full of lies

The Shinigami organization is another unfair system based, in my opinion, on "punishing sinners who turned their back on God" when they gave up on life and chose death.

However, whereas Seb was rather honest and claimed Ciel's soul as the price for helping him get his revenge from the beginning, the Shinigami Organization is probably anything but.

In ch105, Sascha explains that Shinigamis are basically slaves who are overworked until "they're forgiven", but we've gotten no proof so far in the story about a Shinigami knowing an old coworker who managed to be forgiven (and we have met many Shinigamis).

However, currently working Shinigamis have all heard about deserters.

The most famous deserter, both to us readers but also to some older Shinigamis like Othello, is "the Undertaker" or former Shinigami #136649 :

While the timeline is currently unclear (because Othello mentions the destruction of HQ approximately 70 years ago whereas UT himself during the Campania arc said he was last called a shinigami since "at least half a century"), what's particularly interesting is that Shinigami #136649 was described by Othello as "the Epitome of a Grim Reaper", so exactly the kind of Shinigami you'd expect to "be forgiven".

So why would someone, who would quickly reach the end of his slavery days, turn against the Organization ? Probably because there's no forgiveness, just like there was no other choice for our!Ciel, who "spat upon God", to sell his soul or immediately die.

In Shinigamis' case, the people to blame for upkeeping this unfair system are probably none other than their higher ups, who were described by Othello to "oversee the human world".

Because, to oversee the human world and to gather the souls when humans die, they kind of need a workforce. Hence the overworked Shinigamis, who are supposed to earn their redemption for sinning.

How and why UT found out about the truth of no forgiveness is still unclear, but since he was so talented, it's possible that he was offered to become a higher up and the realization that he was lied to for many decades or centuries made him go rogue. That and the pursuit of freedom being significant to UT's character (see above), which would simply make him hate the notion of a "fated end" for all humans, after his own suicide.

After all, ch105 confirmed Shinigamis were once humans before they chose to die, so it would make sense to imagine that the Shinigamis' higher ups were once Shinigamis too (at the very least we know they're not demons, considering how Seb speaks of them with so much despite).

2) Most deserters are actually rebels, fighting against the system

First, I'd like to point out that, while older Shinigamis like Othello have heard about "the fugitive of legend" because they used to work with him, it's actually interesting that younger Shinigamis, such as Grell, haven't.

After all, if UT was just "tired of this job", like Sascha and Rudgar were guessing in ch105, why wouldn't they warn younger Shinigamis that some of their coworkers may go insane and leave ?

The answer is simple, the higher ups wouldn't want younger Shinigamis to investigate what could have led a brilliant Shinigami like UT to destroy half of HQ, aka "the truth".

So the events of 70 years ago were covered up : they weren't mentioned to younger Shinigamis like Grell or Ronald, and older Shinigamis like Othello were more or less forbidden from interacting with the human world about 50 years ago...

...until the higher ups "started to get serious" about the threat of the Bizarre Doll project and sent Othello on his old coworker's trail.

Secondly, while UT is the most famous deserter to us readers, we know that he's not the only existing one, despite being the only one we've actually met so far. So where are the others and what are they doing ? Well, I can't speak for all deserters, but repeatedly I've theorized that UT is actually not the only deserter working on the Bizarre Doll project.

Let's be clear, UT can have several motives behind the BD project : the most important one to him clearly is also a personal one, which is the revival of the Phantomhive family, as we know thanks to ch140.

But the BD project also threatens the natural balance of the human word between life and death, as Othello explained in ch147, which goes against everything Shinigamis stand for, since Shinigamis are "beings that (are supposed to) stand neutral between Gods and humans". In other words, the BD project threatens the natural order that the higher ups oversee.

And while UT's main motive behind the BD project is personal, other deserters enlisting their help to make it more threatening...

and gaining more sponsors, across different countries...

...are probably more motivated by making it a worldwide shattering threat to the Shinigami system directed by the higher ups.

Finally, as Queen Victoria once said :

And I'd add that the blue sect and blue revenge arcs encompass all 3: Bravat was the lead of a deranged cult for the star lords, the current BD project seems to slowly be growing to become a profitable business [x][x] and the Shinigami deserters are using all of it to wage war against the higher ups and their unfair system.

3) Who gets to decide what is the natural order ?

Another point I'll make to emphasize that the higher ups are shady is that they're also the ones who decide at what pace progress happens in the human world.

But same for life and death, actually. The list Shinigamis work with are distributed to them by the higher ups, as William explained early on:

So life, death and progress are all decided by the higher ups. I don't know about you guys, but I find it's a lot of power to have and the BD project is definitely one way to fight against all 3.

That's why I find it's so interesting that we've got many Shinigamis (Othello, Grell, Ronald, Will and another unnamed one at the orphanage) on the trail of UT and other deserters in the current arc : after all, if UT or other deserters were to spread the truth about how unfair the system is, if just for Shinigamis themselves, maybe it could lead to a Shinigami revolt in the future.

More specifically about Grell, since she's a fan favorite but also because of her actions during the JTR arc : she already went against Shinigami "law" by killing women who weren't on the list, so she'd be a perfect candidate for rebellion if she were to find out that the system she works for (and was punished by, post JTR) is actually full of lies, protected by a few ex-Shinigamis who like to play God and who want to keep the absolute control they have over the human world.

4) A Shinigami revolt against the current system would also be plot significant

And by plot, I am talking about Ciel's revenge. As a reminder, I am personally of the opinion that Queen Victoria and John Brown are the big bad our!Ciel and Seb are going to face and I also believe that JB is either a demon, like Seb is [x][x], or a deserting Shinigami.

However, what's mostly interesting is that Victoria is praised in universe for being a visionary...

...something that Brown being a supernatural creature would definitely be the explanation for, according to Othello. This is probably also the explanation behind her getting ready to launch WWI, 25 years early.

And while Ciel still has to figure out that Queen Victoria is his opponent and why, we also have UT who notoriously despises her :

The Undertaker is, for me, an interesting character because Yana said he "wasn't exactly a villain".

As explained before, UT works on the BD project for two reasons : the main one is personal and is the revival of the Phantomhive family, whose deaths he definitely holds Victoria responsible. On top of that, he also holds the Shinigami system and the higher ups accountable for arbitrarily deciding humans' "fated end" :

In other words, he holds both Victoria and the Shinigami system accountable for the deaths of Claudia, Vincent and real!Ciel.

That's why he "tolerates" Seb by our!Ciel's side, as Seb makes a perfect shield against both Victoria's own demon and the Shinigami system, until Ciel gets close to his revenge. At the same time, UT currently represents Ciel's strongest survival option, seeing as he's the only one so far who represented a threat to Seb in battle.

Don't get me wrong, bringing the dead back and killing the living to make them survive (aka the current arc) is definitely an issue that has to be countered by our!Ciel's side.

However, narratively, since the higher ups being all powerful is also bad because it creates an unfair system, for the Shinigamis enslaved by it but also for humans who have no control over their fate, I can't help but wonder : if UT and other deserters succeed in harming the higher ups' system, will it impact Victoria's war plans ? If so, how ? And what could it mean for the contract between Seb and Ciel, since it's another fated end born from an unfair situation (especially since the story thematically presents revenge as the wrong choice to make) ?

Lastly, we still haven't encountered in the story that one example Will mentioned in ch 35 of a human surviving their fated end, through a Shinigami's judgement, because "they have the potential to be beneficial for this world". So, unless Sensei is getting tired of writing this series, it's definitely something that should be useful later considering it's the only judgement that Shinigamis can make by themselves about life and death.

Hopefully it makes sense. Don't hesitate to add some insights, if you have any. :) Happy new year 2025, y'all ! :D

[undertakerlmao]

Kuroshitsuji: Chapter 209

The Unknown Reaper

[red-butterfly-8]

mi patron osi osi

[askdeath-note]

Ask your favorite Death Note character questions. Even the Notebook itself is joining in the fun. Let's revive the Death Note community!

Have Fun!

[bessamanu1986]

Dos miradas llenas de determinación en la falsa Ciudad Karakura

Un dibujo que he hecho del momento en el que Aizen y Momo se "reencuentran" (cuando ella salva a Rangiku de un ataque de la fracción de Tier Harribel (Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose y Cyan Sung-Sun), mientras que Aizen siente su presion espiritual y se sorprende al sentirla, pero lo disimula, mientras ella reconoce que él es el enemigo a pesar de seguir llamándole "Capitán") durante la batalla en la falsa Ciudad Karakura. Quizás una de mis escenas favoritas de Bleach 🔥🔥🔥

Two looks full of determination in the False Karakura Town

A drawing I made of the moment in which Aizen and Momo "reunite" (when she saves Rangiku from an attack by the Tier Harribel (Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose and Cyan Sung-Sun) fraction while Aizen feels her spiritual pressure and is surprised to feel it, but hides it, while she recognizes that he is the enemy despite continuing to call him "Captain") during the battle in the fake Karakura City. Maybe one of my favorite Bleach scenes 🔥🔥🔥

[saiakv]

"You're not alive. No. The body you inhabit is being puppeted. How facinating."

[From Shigan (undertaker)]

Over the course of a milenia it is disappointing to reminisce; that the number of times they have been perceived could be counted on the fingers of Suguru Geto's calloused palm. Yet there's not a figment of surprise in their expression as they turn, tempered tranquility lurking behind violet eyes.

❝ It seems we have that much in common. ❞ They look him up and down — study the things mundane eyes could not hope to see. No, there's definitely something off about this one. In times like these, Kenjaku ponders on the utility of the Six Eyes and the risk that comes with chasing after such an ability. But in the grand scheme of things, words can elicit information just as accurately as the knife can pull meat from taut muscle. Their brow quirks, a soft smile playing on full lips. It's an amicable, inviting tone, complimented by the way they turn to fully face the stranger now.

❝ I have to ask though, how did you know? ❞

[cat-of-the-anbu]

@shlnlgamls - continued from here

What wasn't expected was the strange man to remove his robe and use it as a cushion. Yamato's eyes closed as the small movement the other man did to cushion him twinged every injury on his body. As an ANBU, he was resistant to pain and torture, but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt like hell! The cold of the other man's hands didn't seem to register at first.

The words the other spoke seemed to take a moment to settle in Yamato's mind. When he registered what had been said, his eyes shot open. He looked around the bloody and body strewn battlefield to see his entire battalion of ANBU operatives. He was the only survivor? He couldn't be.

"That's impossible... I can't be the only one." He grit out as he felt the needle and stitches closing his head wound. Once the stranger was finished stitching him up, he managed to pull himself into a sitting position, biting back a grunt of pain. Relax? Hardly. He had been the platoon leader. He needed to check on the others.

His eyes scanned the field once more, before he pulled himself to his feet. Near death didn't lend itself to relaxing. The adrenaline was pumping now. The pain fades into the back of his mind, his hand coming up to cover the worst of his injuries, a katana stab between his ribs. His breathing was shallow as he moved away from the stranger, towards the closest body.

He fell to his knees, checking for a pulse, before dread settled into his chest. He looked back at the other man. "Why are you here? Who are you?" He asked again. How could this man just walk onto a battlefield without being attacked? The one thing about the ANBU was that they didn't stop until they were dead. Especially when on a mission.

[kalyria1674-blog]

Kuroshitsuji : Quelques réflexions

Je pense que je mettrais à jour ce billet au fur et à mesure, quand je le penserais pertinent. Pour ceux potentiellement intéressés par mes divagations, attentions aux possibles spoils.

Il y a quelque chose de très louche avec le système shinigami... car, quand on y réfléchit, si la liste de la mort rend chaque décès comme étant le coup du destin, alors le principe même de punition shinigami perd toute sa substance. Tenir pour responsable les suicidés alors que leur fin était a priori décidé pour eux depuis le jour même de leur naissance est juste dérangeant à tant de niveaux...

Je viens de me rendre compte que si tout les serviteurs des Phantomhives ont la même attitude que Bard, alors le taux de mortalité parmi le personnel doit être de 0%... puisque ceux-ci sont prêt à démissionner avant de trépasser. C'est macabre... mais touchant par sa dévotion.

Je suis en train de relire l'arc du Weston College et, avec le recul, je me rend compte combien la déclaration de Sebastian est ironique, que le double sens soit volontaire ou non. Ainsi, quand Cole trompe ''Ciel'', Sebastian souligne qu'il a la capacité de ''sentir les gens de sa propre espèce'' (du moins dans ma traduction). De prime abord, c'est à prendre comme ceux qui usent des autres pour faire le sale boulot à leur place... sauf qu'après, en confrontant Cole, l'une des raisons de son inimitié envers ''Ciel'' est que, selon lui, ''celui-ci ne comprendra jamais les sentiments d'un second fils qui n'héritera jamais d'un quelconque titre''. J'ai été surprise mais je trouve cela brillant et, sans l'excuser aucunement, je trouve que ça donne une certaine profondeur au personnage de Cole ainsi qu'un parallèle accru avec ''Ciel'', sachant qu'au final, les deux ont décidé de se battre pour obtenir ce qu'ils voulaient et usent des mêmes armes. Auparavant, Cole m'était antipathique mais, maintenant, il l'est un peu moins.

Je me demande si la déclaration d'Edmond sur son incapacité à juger les autres est une allusion à Dereck... en fait, c'est probablement le cas. Et c'est à la fois triste et ironique venant de la part de celui qui vient de la maison avec les gens de plus haute naissance, ceux qui sont censés être entraînés à juger les gens depuis l'enfance.

Pour ce qui est de la cérémonie d'ouverture du tournoi du 4 Juin... Alesteir Chamber, compte de Druitt, est-il vraiment venu à Weston juste pour voir son neveu ? Ou bien a-t-il obtenu une entrevue avec un certain directeur qui a pu lui montrer son dernier chef-d'oeuvre en date ?

Est-ce juste moi ou bien Greenhill, le Préfet des Lions Verts, est le sosie d'Erwin Smith dans Shingeki no Kyôjin ? Hum...

Comme dans beaucoup de choses dans Kuroshitsuji qui sont présentés comme des gags, je me demande si l'obsession de Charles Grey pour la nourriture n'a pas une origine plus sombre que celle actuellement démontré dans le manga...

J'y pense mais... si le principal de Weston avait dû être remplacé peu avant/après Campania, ça aurait été un fait connu et impossible à cacher, non ? Au moins parmi le personnel. Pourtant, personne n'a rien dit à ce sujet même quand Sebastian les a interrogé. De plus, quand le ''principal'' dévoile son véritable visage, aucun des P4 ne semblent surpris de son apparence malgré qu'ils sont censés avoir des ''Thés de Minuit'' avec le véritable principal. Si celui-ci avait changer en cours d'année (quand ils ont été nominés), l'un d'eux l'auraient sans doute mentionnés puisqu'il aurait été le même que celui de l'association Aurora. Mais cela ne s'est pas produit donc... était-il en poste depuis plus d'un an, date à laquelle les P4 avaient été nominés ? Sans compter que je doute qu'Undertaker ait trouver des sponsors parmi les nobles en les invitant dans son salon funéraire de l'East End, sachant que ceux-ci auraient sans doute voulut obtenir une certaine confirmation avant tout financement. Donc... depuis combien de temps Undertaker est-il le ''principal'' du collège Weston ?

Pour ce qui est de l'arc du Music Hall, quand ''Ciel'' et Sebastian trouve Violet (chapitre 125), celui-ci est encore en vie mais à peine. Sauf qu'il est également entouré des cadavres de gens de haut-rang. Devons-nous en conclure que, sous prétexte de les aider, Undertaker a assassiné plusieurs des hauts-gradés de l'armée britannique, des chefs de Scotland Yard qui maintiennent l'ordre public ainsi que le représentant de la Chambre des Lords. Et cela juste après être, selon Diedrich, aller ''faire un tour'' en France. Comme la révélation sur les jumeaux et la désastreuse situation de ''Ciel'' suit de près, cela reste relativement inaperçu mais... l'Angleterre entière doit être politiquement et militairement déstabilisé suite à ce coup, non ? Surtout si on rajoute que de nombreux naufragés du Campania faisait partit de la haute-société anglaise (et sans doute aussi étrangère), ce qui a dû avoir de lourdes conséquences nationales. Progressivement, tout s'accumule et Undertaker, qui déteste la reine Victoria, est à l'origine de tout cela. Coïncidence ? Hum...

Pur faire suite au point précédent, si l'Angleterre est destabilisée sur ce point, que fera donc la reine Victoria qui aime avoir le contrôle sur son empire en sachant que celui-ci est le plus puissant au monde. Que fera cette femme face à ce genre de problèmes politique et militaire alors qu'une jeune fille impressionnable et assoiffée de connaissances, seule personne au monde capable de créer l'un des gaz les plus mortels qui soit, se trouve actuellement sous sa coupe ? Je ne vais pas mentir, je m'inquiète pour Sieglinde.

Toujours dans le chapitre 125, quand Othello rencontre ''Ciel'', il dit que celui-ci lui ''dit quelque chose''. Du moins dans ma traduction. Mais pourquoi son visage serait-il familier ? Il n'a pourtant aucun lien connu avec ''Ciel'' ou Ciel. Le seul qu'il connaît avec certitude, c'est Undertaker et, là encore, il prétend ne pas l'avoir revu depuis 50/70 ans.

Aussi... Othello est aussi un expert médico-légal qui a les connaissances dont il prétend manquer à Undertaker pour mettre son plan en place... mais ce dernier a quand même exercé le métier de morticien (et légiste pour les Nobles du Mal) pendant des années donc si Othello se base sur une expérience passée de plusieurs décennies, rien ne dit qu'il a raison sur ce point.

N'est-il pas étrange que le ''Campania'' ait appartenu à la Blue Star Line qu'administrait Mr Phelps ? Et comme par hasard, c'est celui qui a accueillit une société voulant ressusciter les morts ? Juste après l'arc Book of Murder ? Voilà qui est bien étrange...

Je suis au courant de la théorie basée sur son médaillon voulant qu'Undertaker soit le grand-père de Ciel. L'idée ne me dérange pas (surtout que j'ai remarqué que, dans l'arc Campania, ils ont donner des cheveux argentés à Frances Midford) mais ça me paraît quand même quelque peu évident par rapport aux autres twists. Bref. Quoiqu'il en soit, je sais que la plupart des gens assimilent cela (surtout dans les fanfictions) à une romance tragique entre Undertaker et Claudia/Cloudia. De mon côté, je ne peux m'empêcher, quand je considère l'idée, de me rappeler qu'a en croire ses paroles sur le Campania quand il présente ses poupées, le shinigami considère ces dernières plus belles que de leur vivant. Pourquoi cela ? Car elles ne peuvent dès lors plus ''réclamer bruyamment'' ou ''dire de mensonges''. Si l'on prend cela en compte couplé au fait qu'il est probable que Cloudia Phantomhive ait été le Chien de Garde de la reine à son époque... eh bien disons que l'amour fou jusqu'à des décennies après sa mort n'est pas la théorie que j'ai tendance à prioriser.

[dieckster]

[karenka-sutcliff]

Hey, hace un buen tiempo que no hago nada Grelliam, ni sobre los Shinigamis.

Honestamente, para ser mi primer dibujo kuroshitsuji, en digital, creo que me quedó muy bonito 🤭 Me gustó bastante ❤️🤟🏻💀👓

[midnight-in-town]

1- you are literally so smart I just went through post after post of yours

2- We know that reapers will (probably? I can’t imagine they won’t) give back a soul eventually for someone that “deserves” to live, any theories on if we’ve met that person yet and who it would be? :)

Hey Anon ! Aww, thank you for reading and for your kind words ! ^3^

About your question, it's actually a fairly interesting one. For those who don't understand, Anon is talking about what William explained in ch35 :

And so far, we indeed had no example of this process in the story, meaning that it will probably happen at a very significant moment.

Long ago, my friends @dorkshadows, @thedarkestcrow and I had this theory called "the Worthy Ciel Theory" or WCT (here's the tag). Long story short, this was the theory we believed could explain all the hints that ended up being confirmed by the 2CT (2 Ciels theory).

Dorky-chan and I still believe it is relevant to the plot today, except that it won't be to explain the past but rather to envision as a possible future, because it is hella cool. So basically, if anyone's going to be "judged worthy" we believe it could be our!Ciel because :

he's more selfless than a lot of characters despite having this horrid view of himself [x] [x] [x]

he (doesn't really know it yet but) is ready to thwart Queen Victoria trying to launch WWI 25 years early

he's kinda the chosen one, aka the one who will probably put an end to the cycle of revenge that his family has been cursed with for several generations

So maybe Shinigamis will interfere if John Brown (who's most likely a demon) + Victoria defeat our!Ciel initially or when Seb decides to eat our!Ciel's soul when he dies. Maybe.

If not our!Ciel, the only other characters I see being judged worthy are either Lizzie or Soma, because both represent the highest chance our!Ciel has to finally figure out that maybe he wants to break the contract he made with Seb. [x] [x]

That's my take on it. :) Thanks again for the kind words Anon and have a nice day !

[red-butterfly-8]

[truedarkhunter]

Time for a little Ronald Knox! Thanks to haroksan for the initial share.

Black butler- ch 191 - Ronald Knox

[askdeath-note]

Death Note The Musical

They're Only Human - Ryuk and Rem

They're only human, they can't see all the years they could give you and me.