#thedarkestcrow

[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 !

[catdemontraphouse]

Note: referenced a post by @thedarkestcrow several times which I think is a really interesting one. Can’t seem to paste in the link🤨🙄 it was an ask answer about Sebastian’s contract

Hey also if anyone can tell me how to do “read more”on mobile… please tell me 😂🤦‍♀️

Just some character uh, idk analysis/hypothesis??

The more I think about it, the more I reckon Sebastian’s problem is that he has an unfortunate mother hen syndrome which he either isn’t fully aware of OR, more likely, is aware of but actively tries to deny. This is of course going off the assumption there is no governing body for demons like there is for reapers since we’ve never seen anything like that? And that Sebastian’s contract is something he made up for himself with no actual consequences outside his own judgement.

Sebastian goes above and beyond to critique and perfect the conduct of other people who are under his authority. His contract (which I won’t even get into atm lol) only states the following stipulations as far as I recall:

Yet he goes out of his way to not just keep OCiel alive but to rear him as he sees fit. He tries to feed him balanced meals and regulate his sugar intake, he demands the child brush his teeth well, instructs him diligently in various academic subjects etc.

Some of this you could argue is for the sake of the mission, i.e. making OCiel as versatile and cultured as possible in order to maintain social connections necessary for revenge. But I kind of have to wonder, is it even necessary? Like is that degree of adhering to societal expectations really required to reach the end goal? I mean maybe I’m wrong here but I feel like there’s other cheaper, quicker ways they could investigate who’s behind the cult than making alliances with other nobility and whatnot. 🤷‍♀️ Sebastian seems to spend more time teaching OCiel dancing or Latin than bloodily interrogating suspicious people who might be connected to the cult.

Same could be said for how Sebastian treats the servants. He praises them when they manage to or at least make good efforts at upholding high standards of etiquette and efficiency in their roles as housekeepers, even though he knows that isn’t really what they’re useful for. They were hired to be bodyguards in essence. I get that they want housekeepers around to make it look “normal” so people won’t question the Phantomhive household but I just find Sebastian’s dedication to molding them into proper servants a little more intense than is probably necessary? Could be he is just tired of doing everything alone but also this guy built a wholeass mansion in a night alone with magic. He could magically clean the whole house alone if he really wanted to, probably? Or maybe he’s running low on MP from not eating lol. Idk I’m just saying he seems to almost enjoy being a teacher even if his students piss him off.

He tells Will he’s “tired of messily sampling every dish available to him” and how that’s his reason for basically starving himself. I guess it would be like… idk a farmer raising a single giant pumpkin and waiting to eat that instead of growing lots of crops and eating regularly? An obsession with cultivation at the expense of well-being.

At one point the reaper says this about Sebastian compared to other demons:

This suggest you don’t *need* to make a contract to eat a soul, which would mean Sebastian’s suffering is self-inflicted. Because he’s obsessed with rearing and tending to things.

He says he enjoys “playing butler” and what that behavior translates to in Sebastian’s day-to-day life is essentially being a care giver. He enjoys raising and caring for things weaker than himself.

We see a similar behavior when it comes to cats. The main difference here I think is that cats dont seem to be considered demon food as far as we can tell. He doesn’t ever try to write off or hide his love of cats. Keep that in mind for later.

He also mentions that there are pets in his world but he basically indicates that he finds them ugly and unappealing. So having affection for other beings doesn’t seem to be an unusual thing for his species per say? It’s just what they find cute is very different from Sebastian.

There is no discussion of the demonic world other than this, Sebastian never returns there or mentions having friends or something akin to family there etc. He never spends time with other demons in the manga canon even though this panel kind of implies they have some sort of world or society? He seems oddly divorced from his own kind, doesn’t he? Or is that just me that thinks so idk

I think ultimately Sebastian finds what is, for his own kind, considered probably ugly and stupid livestock somehow endearing and cannot really cope with that. He is probably considered weird or creepy by members of his own species, and while he’s aptly aware of that he can’t help but be amused by humans and want to impress them. He doesn’t just fulfill the contract he goes out of his way to do it in a fashion that makes humans go “oh wow.” It’s not for the sake of impressing other demons!! They’re not watching. He doesn’t associate with other demons, ever. Only reapers, who I might add were once human dunno if that matters tho. He wants humans to *like him* he goes out of his way to charm humans that will do nothing for him except satiate his own ego and attention span.

But he eats them to survive. And also as a demon, he isn’t supposed to grow attached to humans. So he’s battling with this cognitive dissonance constantly, I theorize. Like he kills and eats people but at the same time, he likes raising them like pets? He loves teaching them things and is proud when he cultivates a human that really stands out among other humans. I have reason to believe he is an outcast in his own society and part of him is pained by that? Idk it’s all speculation but I’m fuckin autistic and stuff so I have to write essays about it.

I can’t find the damn video but there was this one VA live reading of a hypothetical scene where OCiel is dead after Sebastian ate him and he’s still going thru the motions of celebrating the kids birthday like… WTF? This man ate his pet and realized it was a mistake major wtf moment

Sebastian is like one of those Karens that breeds exotic cats and gets competitive at CFA shows…my human is a prime specimen give me an award

[such-a-downer]

Omg a Kuro blog that isn’t dead aaaa

I know some kuro blogs and post various contents:

@abybweisse and @thedarkestcrow for theories and fact/trivia checking (and edits)

@i-n-e-a and @shinigami-mistress for arts

Though, likely that you know them already. I myself post kuro arts (some here, others through my other blog @octobertomarch )

For more kuro blogs, i think the bottom of this rb thread will be more helpful to you. Thanks for the follow 💕 may we continue to thread the path of kuro and see it through the end together 🤩🤩

[bucktick]

My response, a poem:

There he is

...That little fucking fart

I knew it!

[jackobzielinski]

Tagging game

I was tagged by @abybweisse tag 10 fav characters from 10 different fandoms and 10 people

fandoms

Black Butler - Frances Midford

Bungou Stray Dogs - Edogawa Ranpo

Tokyo Ghoul - Ken Kaneki

Death Note - L

Harry Potter - Albus Dumbledore

Game of Thrones - Arya Stark

The X-Files - Fox Mulder

Inferno - Robert Langdon

The Man in The High Castle - Nobusuke Tagomi

Westworld - Maeve Millay

people @chibimyumi @phantomhivetwinsteam @thedarkestcrow

[littlebratciel]

thedarkestcrow replied to your photoset “Soooo this was my bday present, the BR/DVD edition of Book of Circus ...”

Happy belated birthday! :)

Thank you so much!!! ^^

jetzui replied to your photoset: Soooo this was my bday present, the BR/DVD edition...

happy birthday!! IM SO JEALOUS OF THESE PRESENTS UWU but i’m glad you got such amazing gifts, hope u have a great one sweetie <3

Hahaha xD 

Thank you so much, Yasmine (´∀｀)♡ !!! 

[her-majestys-watchdog]

thedarkestcrow replied to your post:What do you think the consequences are of breaking...

@her-majestys-watchdog​: I saw your tags; never worry about replying too much or anything. ^^ I love reactions and additions to my answers. And I’m sorry if I can’t react to everything since I sometimes can’t keep track of everything. ;^^ But please feel free to always add your thoughts. :)

aw no i don't mind about you reacting to it or anything! trust me i know that feel, i don't respond to nearly as much as i should ha. i just hope i'm not derailing your original post by replying or etc, i hate it when that happens O’: but thank u for the response i'm glad to hear that woo woo <3

[redrosecrown]

Music tag

Thank you for tagging me, @thedarkestcrow. This is from my playlist in youtube which I had listened while learning for an important exam. The first one was omitted because it wasn’t included in the shuffle.

1.The Corpse bride - Tears to shed 2.The Undertaker - Taisou Gikyoku 3.Amy Lee - Sally's song 4.Mortuorial Eclipse - At the Gates of the Marduk's Shrine 5.Evanescence - Your star 6.Evanescence - Bring to life(Instrumental) 7.Evanescence - If you don't mind(Live) 8.Grell Sutcliff - Shinkou 9.If I had you - Adam Lambert 10.Evanescence - Disappear(Live)

You are all tagged. 

[into--the--abyss]

8Tag

Tagged by @thedarkestcrow --thank you!  <3

Rules: Answer eight questions and tag eight people

Last movie I watched: Hmm...I can’t remember!  I don’t watch movies as often as I used to.  I watched Interstella 5555 last week--it’s an hour long so that sort of counts.  :)  (It’s really good, btw.)

Last song I listened to: “True Faith” by New Order

Last book I read: The World Jones Made, by Philip K. Dick.  Pretty trippy stuff, but that’s his thing.

Last thing I ate: A protein shake.

Where I would want to time travel: Ahhh that’s nearly impossible to pick...hmm...I’d say either the 1930′s or the 1770′s.  So I could hang out with Alexander Hamilton.

Fictional character I would hang out with for a day: Either William T. Spears or Han Solo.  I’m torn deciding between complaining about paperwork with the one and seeing the galaxy with the other...either would be an adventure.  XD

If I could be anywhere right now, where would I be: I wish I could travel in outer space, like in Star Trek or Star Wars.

Current Fandom Obsession: I got really into Horizon: Zero Dawn but I’m not into the fandom per se.

tagging: @kashikoikawaiisaschachen, @midnight-in-town, @dorkshadows, @saltyshitsuji, @glacierspirit

[catastrophy-cat]

8 tag

I was tagged by @thedarkestcrow, thanks. :)

Rules: Answer eight questions and tag eight people

Last movie I watched: Logan

Last song I listened to: Nagoritsuki - TouRan Itsukushima shrine performance.

Last book I read: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is the last one I have finished.

Last thing I ate: Peas with cucumber salad

Where I would want to time travel: Anywhere in future.

Fictional character I would hang out with for a day: Probably with Jae-ha, I would like him to give me the ride on his back. :P

If I could be anywhere right now, where would I be: Some almost uninhibited island in the middle of the ocean.

Current Fandom Obsession: Touken Ranbu, mostly thanks to Bakumatsu Tenrouden musical (but game itself, Hanamaru anime, manga anthologies and remaining musicals/stage plays helped feed my obsession).

tagging: think that the most of the people have either done this or are already tagged, so will leave it open for whoever haven’t been tagged yet. :)

[abybweisse]

Do you have any suggestions on what Kuroshitsuji blogs to follow? It's been a while I interacted with the fandom. Most blogs I followed are not active anymore :( -T.

Most of the ones I follow for Kuro content are less and less focused on this fandom, and you might already be following them. But blogs I usually suggest include….

@midnight-in-town

@dorkshadows

@thedarkestcrow

@shinigami-mistress

@chainsaw-to-the-heart

There are plenty others, of course. I would suggest following the #kuroshitsuji and #black butler tags, as well as tags for your favorite Kuro characters. Then check out the blogs that regularly use those tags, if the posts that come up look good to you.

I keep having to follow new blogs for new Kuro content, and there are a lot of good ones. I just haven’t memorized their urls yet.

So I deeply apologize to the Kuro blogs I follow but didn’t list here.

[midnight-in-town]

John Brown as the mastermind behind the Blue Sect and the recent sad events?

Disclaimer: Spoilers and long post. As such, this theory will initially be a little chronological to try and make the explanation simpler. If any point is unclear, feel free to ask @thedarkestcrow or me about it as it is something we discussed together. :)

First of all, here’s what we know about the current arc (ch127 happens mid-November 1889):

Bravat (who’s most likely human) knew from the beginning that Ciel is the Watchdog (”Earl Phantomhive”), that Seb is a demon, that Lizzie is Ciel’s fiancée and that the Starlight Four committed crimes at Weston.

Bravat’s sect is at least one and a half year/two years old (ch125). However, seeing as there was no hint of massive blood collects and death before August/September 1889, we’ll assume for this theory that the 4 star lords were put in Bravat’s care at some point during Summer 1889, which is when Bravat started using the S4 to promote the Sphere music hall in order to collect as much blood as possible.

Othello said that, considering the anormal progress of the sect’s technology, a supernatural being is most likely behind it (ch119/ch125). This supernatural mastermind is very probably the reason Bravat knew about Sebastian being a demon (and about Lizzie and Ciel). 

While the reason tying Lizzie to the sect is still unclear, we’re going to assume for this theory that Bravat’s mention of her to Ciel (ch123) might mean that she’s seen as a possible hostage to use against him. 

Lastly, about the 2CT: it seems like it’s almost confirmed.

Lord Sirius being Ciel’s twin (aka Real!Ciel, a “bizarre doll”) is a popular theory

Agni’s reaction when he found the burnt picture of Ciel’s family (ch126) was quite telling that something was unexpected about this picture.

I hope all of this makes sense for you guys! Onto the theory about John Brown...

1) Going back in time...

...To December 1885, Vincent is killed and his sons are bought by a satanic cult that intends on using them as sacrifices in order to summon a demon. In January 1886, Real!Ciel is sacrificed on the altar and our!Ciel manages to summon Sebastian, selling his soul to him in order to survive and get revenge. He then becomes the new Queen’s Watchdog in March 1886.

Fastforwarding a bit, ch125 told us that the old Lords whom Bravat used to transfuse regularly should have died more than one and a half year ago, meaning that Bravat’s sect has been at least existing ever since Winter 1887/Spring 1888.

A possible link to Ryan’s Aurora Society or the mysterious Osiris company mentioned during the Campania arc is possible but we don’t have any hint vouching for it yet.

Fastforwarding again, it’s February 1889 and the Circus arc happens, resulting in a messy ending, with Ciel lying to the Queen about his report for this case, not knowing that the Double Charles and John Brown (as well as the Undertaker) witnessed what he truly did.

As a result, Queen Victoria organizes a grand punishment in March 1889, starring Charles Grey killing an important German lord and trying to have Ciel take the fall for the murder in front of witnesses. This ends rather well though, as Ciel manages to trick Grey and blame someone else for the murder.

In April 1889, it’s the Campania arc, where the Undertaker introduces for the first time his Bizarre Doll project, indirectly mass-murdering many people seemingly without a care in the world. He manages to run away, leaving his chain of lockets to Ciel and with Sebastian concluding the arc on...

They obviously did run into him again though, in June 1889, when they end up facing ameliorated BDs, because of several murders committed by 4 students (the Starlight 4).  At the end of this arc, Ciel makes his report to Queen Victoria, telling her about the S4′s crimes but also about the Undertaker’s Bizarre Dolls. Strangely enough though, she doesn’t find Ciel’s explanation to be senseless and once he left, this discussion about BDs happens between her and John Brown:

So, Queen Victoria seems to find the idea of having BDs as “allies” to be very fancy. And, as the following arc happening in Germany in August 1889 will show, it seems that Queen Victoria finds that idea to be oh! so very interesting because she’s actually preparing for a war against Germany, which is also why she asks Ciel to bring Sieglinde and her latest deadly invention (the SULIN gas) back to England, so that Sieglinde can invent new war weapons that the Queen will then use against Germany.   

At least that was how the clever plan getting Victoria new deadly war weapons was supposed to go. 

Because two slight problems arose:

the Undertaker unfortunately doesn’t happen to be Victoria’s greatest fan (most likely because she’s the reason Vincent, and maybe Claudia Phantomhive, ended up dead thanks to the Watchdog duty), so trying to make friends with UT to get the BDs probably wouldn’t work at all.

Ciel unfortunately saw through Victoria’s plan for Sieglinde and the SULIN and he tasked Sebastian with getting rid of the very deadly gas in ch108, double crossing “his master” by doing so.

Unfortunately though, Ciel’s plan kind of backfired at him, since Queen Victoria and John Brown made it rather obvious in ch108 (late August 1889) that they saw through his little game, which means that it’s the second mistake (or act of defiance) that Ciel made as the Watchdog in less than a year, causing Brown/King Albert to...

...compare him to his very murdered father. 

@thedarkestcrow​ and I (and other readers of course) took this as a rather serious threat against Ciel (something he probably realized as well), perfectly fitting with the theory that the Queen and John Brown might have something to do with the murders of Vincent and Rachel, for a reason that’s still unknown. [x] [x]

In any case, while Victoria saw through Ciel’s little game with the SULIN quite obviously, she doesn’t appear to have punished him (yet?) and anyway, ch114 told us that she was actually visiting Sieglinde often, probably because she hasn’t given up on Sieglinde creating something useful for her war. 

As for her desire to get allies in the form of Bizarre Dolls, if the one who initially had the idea (the Undertaker) can’t be found and convinced to help her, maybe she could ask another supernatural being to make them for her?

One she already knows; one she trusts because he comforts her when she’s sad and missing her husband; one who knows about her war plans and who promised to protect her; one who traveled in record time from England to Germany without riding his horse and without triggering the traps in the forest; one whose eyes are always hidden, hinting that maybe they would give away his true nature should they be seen...

...Or maybe John Brown is making it all a surprise in this arc because he’s very dedicated to her...?

2) John Brown (and Queen Victoria?) as the mastermind behind this arc

Starting from here, this is all hypothetical, but maybe I should say now that @thedarkestcrow​ and I started considering that the supernatural mastermind Othello hinted at had to be someone who was not the Undertaker ever since Ciel became targeted in the recent events. For now, it’s unclear whether Soma really was the target of the attack of ch126/127 or if Ciel was, but, even if the target was Soma, it most likely inherently had to do with Ciel. 

So, considering the Undertaker’s attachment to the P family, we tend to agree with Sebastian when he once said that the Undertaker “doesn’t seem to want to cause [Ciel] harm”. Besides, so far, the Undertaker’s BD project mostly was based on alterations of cinematic records, so the fact that the 4 Lords (if they’re indeed supposed to be BDs) seemed to be dependent of blood always made us wonder why he’d change his methods now (especially after BD!Algares who was almost perfect). 

However, John Brown if he’s the mastermind trying to “make things go according to her majesty’s wishes” (no matter what kind of supernatural being he is), wouldn’t know how UT managed to create his BDs, so maybe that’s why the 4 Lords seem to be different, needing blood when UT’s dolls didn’t. 

John Brown could also be behind Bravat’s technology ever since the old Lords started to be transfused at least two years ago, simply because Victoria is preparing for war and as Wolfram put it in ch114...

So after researching about blood transfusion, Brown used these important old Lords to experiment his blood transfusion technique by the intermediary of Bravat’s sect, thanks to the technology he developed as a supernatural being (that device that Othello was impressed with in ch125). 

Brown as Victoria’s footman and as the supernatural mastermind behind Bravat would also be aware of:

Ciel being the watchdog

Seb being a demon

Lizzie being Ciel’s fiancée

the S4 having committed crimes and making for useful pawns.

Finally, if we’re saying that the blue sect is a cover for Brown researching how to make bizarre doll-like beings that will be used as war weapons, I know it does sound strange (if she is aware of what he is doing) that Queen Victoria deliberately put Ciel on Bravat’s trail. 

So, this part is really a wild idea but what if it all was a part of her plan, because no one can know what she and John Brown tried to create using the Sphere music hall as a cover? After all, imagine the scandal if people were to learn that the Queen is indirectly responsible for bleeding to death a part of London, because she’s involved with senseless experiments! 

Which is why she asked Ciel to go investigate the Sphere music hall...

...even giving him the list of these old Lords that were being transfused by Bravat over the last two years...

...maybe hoping that Bravat purposedly endangering Lizzie by making her join the sect at the same time would be a good way for him to focus on settling this case with as much efficiency as possible?

Settling the case might not be what she’s expecting of him at all... Rather she wants him to get rid of Bravat and his sect, Lizzie used “as a hostage” being what should motivate Ciel to do anything to eliminate the ones who endangered her (and obviously Bravat wouldn’t know that he’s expandable). And it’s not such a crazy bet when we see how Ciel solved most of the other cases given to him.

Of course, if John Brown has his own agenda (or if the Queen doesn’t know that he might be supernatural), it’s possible that the Queen might not have known that Brown was trying to create the “bizarre dolls” that they talked about back in ch84, hence why she put Ciel on the case. That being said, considering how she didn’t seem surprised that things as strange as Bizarre Dolls could exist back in ch84, if Brown is supernatural then she might be aware of it.

3) About the events of ch126/127

A really hypothetical part yet again, just to point out that...

...Whoever Agni’s killer is, he’s stronger than a normal human because Agni himself was a very good fighter and he almost couldn’t fight back. So, while we’re not 100% sure of who this man is yet (Lord Polaris? maybe John Brown himself?) and same for the gunman, it would make sense to think that they’re linked to the Sphere music hall.

If the two men who attacked Soma and Agni are Lord Polaris and Lord Sirius then, if they’re really supposed to be equivalents of UT’s BDs, maybe the fact they need a lot blood could also have to do with a possible enhancement of their physical capacities. That would explain the strength of Agni’s killer.

Take Finny for example. Do you remember where Finny is from? A German research institute that the Queen had Ciel raid, for the same reason she sent him to Sieglinde’s village. So if Germany had found a way to enhance physical capacities, it’s not impossible for England to have found it as well, especially since it would be very useful for war. 

In any case, the fact that Ciel’s house was targeted might have been for a simple reason: maybe it was a way to experiment if the “dolls” (Lord Polaris and Lord Sirius in that case) were following orders correctly as well as how they would manage against a strong fighter like Agni (or maybe even Sebastian). As for why choosing Ciel’s house as the target of the experimental attack... well, maybe this (hurting Soma and killing Agni) is Ciel’s punishment for taking the SULIN away from the Queen... Unless it’s an initiative by Bravat of course, because he’s tired of Ciel trying to stop him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for reading and sorry that it was so long!

As always, this post could be totally off (the theory about Ciel’s twin wanting revenge still holds, even if I just can’t see UT as the mastermind behind the sect anymore after the events of ch126/127) especially since this theory doesn’t completely explain everything, so please take everything with a grain of salt and feel free to share your thoughts about this theory if you feel like it. 

We’ll see if this will go anywhere next month. :)

[chibimyumi]

@thedarkestcrow and a few others have gotten questions about the end of Kuro. The presumption is the final conflict will be between O!C and Sebastian. Many theorize that it will revolve around O!C’s desire to live or not, possibly with his living/reanimated family and friends begging him to escape Sebastian. Of course, even if O!C decides he wants to leave, Sebastian will demand his payment. My question to you is do you think O!C might change his mind about the contract and his will to live?

Dear Anon,

First of all, my thanks for your sweet words ^^

Now, about your question. Very interesting! I myself don’t do prediction theories though; it involves too much guessing based on too little information and too many variables for me to find it comfortable. That’s why I only do analyses of things that have already happened. So I am not sure how much I can help you here ≽▽≼ so my blog might be less amazing to you now, I’m so sorry.

Though, I can use your proposal as a hypothesis and analyse it. This will not be a predictive post, simply a deduction through logic within a hypothesis.

Hypothesis: Undertaker uses Bizarre Phantomhive Dolls to bait O!Ciel into giving up on his contract. Q: “might O!Ciel change his mind about the contract and his will to live?”

Personally I think it is fairly unlikely a zombie-family can cause O!Ciel’s resolve to waver because it is simply too strong.

Character Study

Most human beings who experience (sudden) loss need quite some time to process this information before reaching the stage of “acceptance”. Our boy however, already easily withstood a supernatural being’s positive response about reviving the dead even before he could actually process anything. Most people would not believe a human if they made the same offer, but wished it were true. But if a clearly powerful supernatural appeared before you, that’s a different story; who knows what magic potential they possess?

じゃあ、死んだ人間を生き返らせることは？

Jaa, shinda ningen wo ikikaeraseru koto wa?

And, what about bringing dead humans back to life?

O!Ciel was the one who brought this topic up. Judging from the clear-cut language and lack of emotional markers, it is arguable he said so not because he hoped it were possible, but because he knows it is impossible, and therefore wanted to test the demon’s truthfulness.

Sebastian took the bait, and therewith O!Ciel knew he’d have to strategically use his first wish to seal off the demon’s potential of lying. (Ugh he’s so smart!) O!Ciel’s swiftness in rejecting the demon’s temptation is evidence that he had already fully accepted that what is dead, stays dead.

Discussing Hypothesis

So, knowing O!Ciel has this level of acceptance, how would it play out IF Undertaker does attempt to lure O!Ciel with his revived family?

Had Undertaker really wanted the best chance at making O!Ciel fall for the temptation, he would have to not have exposed the boy to his creations so often. He has seen the in-between stages of reviving the dead, and therefore knows exactly what they are: Just decaying meat manipulated by a lunatic. Being met with the sudden appearance of seemingly flawless living-dead family would no longer be something new to O!Ciel, so it won’t have the advantage of a “pleasant surprise” to him.

O!Ciel is a very clever boy who thinks very clearly as long as he’s allowed the space in his head. So the best way to bait him into making a poor decision would be to disorient or overwhelm him with shocking new information, like at the end of the Circus Arc.

However, shock value is something that declines with every exposure. Now that O!Ciel is already so used to seeing Bizarre Dolls, and every time these zombies just get more and more advanced, he’d know it’s only a matter of time before these Dolls could become basically fully sentient, like his brother did.

Yes, he was very shocked to see R!Ciel back, but if we pay attention he was not so much concerned about his body being resurrected, but what threat R!Ciel’s return would pose to his own position now exposed as ‘the impostor’. Should Undertaker also “revive” his dead parents to try tempt the boy into reuniting with his family, then O!Ciel would be desensitised already by that time. He’d have had too much time to be mentally prepared. Besides, especially after seeing R!Ciel who is the biggest threat nothing would overwhelm him more anymore. You cannot shock somebody twice using the same trick; especially not if the second one is a lesser threat. It would be akin to bad film sequels that over-analyse the success of the original and use the formula of “more = better” to appease audiences.

In this sense, I personally reason that considering how Undertaker has been working so far, he would probably not try to make O!Ciel do a 180 through manipulation; that tactic simply leaves too much space for failure. Also, manipulation does not really seem Undertaker’s M.O.; that’s Sebas’ thing. Undertaker prefers cornering somebody, forcing them to bend eventually – i.e. use ‘hard-power’ instead of ‘soft’, like he did with Sebas on the Campania and at Weston.

How should Undertaker have acted to make the hypothesis work?

If we do go along with the hypothesis that Undertaker does want to use soft-power to get O!Ciel, he had better done things like this:

During the Campania Undertaker had indeed not expected the boy there, fine! That would have been an accident, as well as a competent way of storytelling to inform O!Ciel and the audience that clearly somebody is doing something big, and that Undertaker is not 100% in control of everything.

IF! I were the Undertaker in that situation AND I plan to bait O!Ciel with his “revived” family, I would never have revealed myself to be a reaper, and instead denied any responsibility for the bizarre dolls. Rian Stoker was fully convinced he had worked the disastrous “miracle” anyway, and there is no better scapegoat than one who truly believes himself guilty. Plus, he was scheduled to die anyway. If the scapegoat could just die in an accident caused indirectly by his own doing, the cover-story would have been beyond perfect.

Before Undertaker revealed himself, O!Ciel trusted Undertaker as an ally, and even went to him for sensitive information on which he based his entire job for the Queen. O!Ciel is naturally untrusting, but Undertaker did win that trust, and that should have been too valuable a weapon not to keep. By revealing himself to be an antagonistic and powerful being who mortally wounded O!Ciel’s main security (Sebas), Undertaker proved himself to be untrustworthy.

Now that O!Ciel can no longer trust Undertaker in the slightest, what effect would it have if this untrustworthy lunatic were to try bait him? I find it unlikely that O!Ciel would be stupid enough to take the bait, and Undertaker stupid enough to believe O!Ciel might after all this.

In short, for this hypothesis to work on the naturally untrusting O!Ciel, Undertaker would have needed to:

keep O!Ciel’s trust,

have the advantage of a ‘pleasant surprise’ on his side,

any credibility that his walking-flesh are “really alive”.

I hope this had been interesting ( ´ o｀) Good day to you, Anon ^^

Follow up post: What would O!Ciel do if Undertaker tried to bait O!Ciel with Bizarre Phantomhives?

[frosteee]

Did Othello cause Undertaker’s second (successful) escape attempt?

I’ve talked about the theory that UT discovered a terrible secret about the grim reaper dispatch, leading to his desertion, here. 

There's also really cool post discussing it by @frederickabberline and @midnight-in-town - here!

Anyway, we know from recent chapters that Undertaker and Othello share a history. Othello told Grell that they entered the dispatch around the same time, and that while Undertaker was a markedly different man - stoic, dedicated to reaping, detached (going only by his assigned number rather than his name) - they were acquainted with each other enough to recognise each other decades later.

People have been talking about the possible connection between Othello and Undertaker for a while, especially the ‘50 years prior’ event when Undertaker successfully deserted < like @rationalkuroshitsuji here!

Othello last entered the human world fifty years ago - around the same time UT defected.

Undertaker did state that members of the forensics division rarely leave their offices...

However, what are the chances that the very next time Othello smells the roses is to do with Undertaker as well? 

Methinks those fifty years may not have been spent in seclusion by choice, but as punishment for causing Undertaker to succeed in his second escape attempt.

Othello being ordered to personally deal with what he confirmed to be Undertaker feels less like ‘you knew the guy, right? go talk to him’ than ‘you have a chance to fix your mistake and make it up to us, get out there’. 

Othello’s words seem to suggest this. He refers to 'the racket’ making it impossible for him to work in peace - like a nagging/commanding superior (one that Othello has referenced before), who won’t let Othello off the hook as long as Undertaker continues to disrupt and damage the dispatch’s reputation, authority and existence.

Othello is implying that he can’t get peace until Undertaker is apprehended when it shouldn’t really concern him - unless he had something to do with UT escaping.

Othello also displays knowledge of Undertaker’s escape attempt twenty years before, including the damage he caused to HQ in the process. 

But what was Undertaker doing in that twenty-year gap? Why did it take that long for him to try again?

@shinigami-mistress​ made a very interesting observation that Undertaker’s comment about not wanting to be dissected on Othello’s lab table may actually be him speaking from experience. It would explain the scars he didn’t have while he was ‘the star grim reaper’, but has somehow acquired since, as discussed here by @thedarkestcrow​.

And - it would also give meaning to Undertaker’s very hostile reply to Othello accusing him of madness. Othello’s heavy, displeased expression indicates he knows very well what actions on his part that Undertaker is referring to.

Othello wasn’t exactly shy about saying how he’d love to open Undertaker up. He also admitted to Grell that people would say he was the sort of person to attempt something as crazy as resurrecting the dead, not Undertaker.

Undertaker gave quite a strained smile in response to Othello’s ‘screws loose’ accusation, too. As if he’s holding back anger.

What if Undertaker already has experience of Othello’s madness, and the goings-on within the reclusive, scarcely-seen world of the forensics division. 

Perhaps seventy years ago, he was taken into the custody of the forensics division and made their test subject. 

To an immortal (?) grim reaper, twenty years wouldn’t be such a long time. Hell, Undertaker looks at Frances Midford and still sees her as a little girl he saw ‘just yesterday’.

This is where the Dispatch Conspiracy Theory comes in (sorry it took so long!).

Perhaps dissenting grim reapers like himself are not imprisoned, but rather taken away and experimented on or altered in some way to make them docile and obedient again? Even worse, what if grim reapers never actually ‘retire’ but are instead killed and used for grim reaper science?

I see two opportunities for Othello to screw up and accidentally cause Undertaker’s second escape attempt to succeed.

After twenty years as a trapped guinea pig, Undertaker made his move again, and Othello was unable to stop him. 

Othello released Undertaker, assuring the powers that be that he was no longer a problem, and Undertaker escaped after after laying low for a while. 

In either scenario, Othello would take the blame for not properly dealing with Undertaker. He was meant to ‘fix’ a wayward afterlife citizen, but ended up not only failing that but allowing him to escape - that’s worth a fifty-year imposed quarantine, at least. 

So now, Othello has been released into the human world on the condition that he finally do what he was supposed to all those years ago.

At least that’s what I think.

Apologies for tagging a lot of people in this! ^^;;

[thedarkestcrow]

Hey @thedarkestcrow you do a great job at posting the latest chapters. I wish that they’d make more Black Butler anime. I’d love to see the Public school, Emerald Witch, and Blue Cult arcs animated. That’s definitely enough material to work with before the current storyline. What do you think?

Hey there! Thank you! I’m not really posting the chapters but I link to sites where you can get them when they come out but I suppose that’s what you meant. ^^

As for the anime, I’d like it if they continue to make the anime according to the original manga storyline. But I’m not sure if there’s enough for another anime season in the Weston and Green Witch arcs alone. Maybe they’ll wait for the Blue Sect arc to be over. I know the current arc is considered a separate arc but plotwise it’s still part of the whole thing that started with the Blue Sect so I think if they animated it they would do it all in one season. And in that case it will probably take a while before we get another anime because the current pace is quite slow. I could rather imagine they make another movie for the Weston arc or something like the OVA they did for the Murder Mystery arc. We might get one or two such movies/OVAs and then maybe another whole season for the Blue Sect arc and the current arcs.

With Kuro celebrating its 15th birthday and the new musical about the Weston arc maybe there’ll soon be news for a new anime project, too.

Have a nice weekend and stay safe! :)

[dorkshadows]

Kuroshitsuji 127: That Butler, Boss Baby

A new character is introduced... and nothing will ever be the same! 

Black Butler 127 goes on sale April 19th, 2017. Be sure to subscribe to GF Fantasy and Yen Press Official. Look for the promo code hidden in chapter 127 and you could win a free ticket to see Dreamworks’ The Boss Baby starring Alec Baldwin!