#undertaker is Cedric

[liusia-piu]

[ignotarts]

🤔

"Phantomhive Family"

[midnight-in-town]

About Kuro 2024 episode 6 : Ed's genius ability

(Companion post to this one)

I was looking forward to this episode and I'm so glad they kept Edward's pivotal moment...

...totally uncut. It's especially striking when a few other manga scenes didn't make it into the episode.

I know fans like to joke that Ed is too much of a good guy (and also gay), which is how he managed to reproduce Cheslock's cricket move, but that's not it :

Like Liz, Ed is a genius, even if he doesn't realize it yet. And I'm glad that Editor K commented on this anime bit with this :

"There's one person in all boys' manga who has the ability to copy. This special skill is explained in the cricket episode, but in other words, Edward has the potential to become super strong in battle"

(by google translate)

According to Yana, Ed takes after Frances who takes after her dad, Cedric K. Ros--, so this means Ed takes after Cedric as well.

But according to several fans, including me, there is a good probability that Cedric K. Ros-- is one of the Undertaker's many identities over his existence and he's currently the strongest character of the series, who put even Seb in difficulty twice.

According to Editor K above, Ed's ability makes him likely to become super strong in battle (by the way, it's also an ability that allowed him to put on a flawless leader of a boys' band act, just like UT acted perfectly as Weston's principal, just saying).

I think we don't need more to put 2 and 2 together : Ed is going to be a very important ally on our!Ciel's side against real!Ciel's.

[amethystroselily]

Ok the Undertaker being Vincent’s dad theory is really funny to me, so here’s how I think it could possibly work.

Undertaker was a reaper 70 years ago and seems properly obsessed with the phantomhive family as a whole, and met Vincent later on in his life, so I really don’t think he was married to Claudia. Plus Claudia and Vincent’s father didn’t have the same last name, so whoever he was I doubt they were married (perhaps having to do with Claudia trying to keep her title or something). So I think he had some deep attachment to a previous Phatomhive lord (perhaps he was a servant), but then the earl died or something, and then he killed himself, becoming a reaper. Then maybe he was monitoring the family for years and they kept dying so he snapped and went rogue, maybe his experiments kept failing, so then he was like woah maybe as a reaper I should see what mixing my dna in would do (probably a rule about not fraternizing with humans to avoid this), and around then the current Phatomhive family head is a woman so like great time to test it out, then maybe the relationship fell apart because of some sort of respectability she had to maintain or they were busy or something and she didn’t want him around her kids anymore, then years later undertaker gets back to stalking the phatomhives once his son is the new earl.

Maybe he wanted to use Vincent’s body because he had a higher concentration of reaperness, but then he lost the corpse (maybe bc fire, maybe bc Vincent isn’t actually dead) so he’s using ciel instead.

Also I’ve seen the theory Francis was involved in Vincent’s death, and maybe that’s why he doesn’t seem particularly invested in her side of the family. Perhaps sibling feuds are a long tradition in the Phantomhive family and it makes him think of a previous one and that’s why he keeps getting so involved.

The way Othello talked about Undertaker made him sound like he was a lot like Francis when he was younger, and I think the idea of Francis looking down on this random strange man who worked with her brother and him turning out to be her father whom she takes after in both looks and personality is so interesting.

Also I personally think he like stole some of Othello’s research on resurrection on his way out and that’s where all the tension is coming from. Because obviously Othello can’t tell Grell that, so he has to skirt around it, but there’s obviously something more going on between him and undertaker.

[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. :>

[abybweisse]

Why I think Undertaker has to be Cedric, revisited

At this point in the series, I'm a bit surprised how many in the fandom not just don't see him as Cedric K. Ros-- but actually rail against the idea.

So, here's a long, somewhat thorough overview of the situational and physical clues that he's Cedric, the father of Vincent and Francis/Frances.

Situational hints

How he cries over the details of Vincent's death. Not just that he died but what became of his remains. I'd cry over my dead son, too, especially if I had the ability to reanimate corpses but his body was destroyed by fire so that I couldn't do that. Let alone the fact his cinematic records were destroyed, so I not only couldn't make a bizarre doll of him, but I couldn't even review his memories to see what happened right before he died. This ties in with what he later says about not wanting to lose any more Phantomhives. But it strongly suggests that whoever set the fire did so specifically to thwart the efforts of a grim reaper. Whoever did that either knew Undertaker was a reaper or was at least following the instructions of someone who knew.

The whole not wanting to lose more Phantomhives thing. Claudia/Cloudia is gone, and so is Vincent. Reanimating real Ciel is the best he can do to not let the older twin go. He tried to destroy Sebastian to release our earl "Ciel" from their demon contract and might try again. Makes you wonder just how many Phantomhives he's really lost already. As well as where others might still be alive. What exactly was his business in France? 🤔

Even his odd comment to our earl (before the attack) that he wasn't sure which twin this was... but that it didn't matter because they were both Phantomhives. Instead of seeing an heir and a spare, he saw them equally. At least he did then. I suspect he now sees our earl as a spare soul... or conversely sees real Ciel as a spare body. I guess both could be true, making them still essentially equal in his eyes. Again, this could be another attempt to save our earl from Sebastian. By putting our earl's soul into the unmarked body of real Ciel, that might void the contract... unless the seal on our earl's eye also somehow affected his soul. 🤔 Anyway. I digress, since that gets into a separate theory discussion.

Standing in to help young Mr. Pitt take a photo of the twins. That's right after telling our earl it doesn't matter which twin he is. Then the other twin and Mr. Pitt arrive, the latter holding a new camera. It's odd that Mr. Pitt would ask a non-relative of the kids (besides a nanny) to help stage the photo, though Pitt is perhaps the non-traditionalist anyway. Undertaker seems like he's shocked to be asked, but he also seems amused. Mr. Pitt likely doesn't even suspect Undertaker is the twins' paternal grandfather, otherwise he might have seen it as a scoop, á la "LOWLY UNDERTAKER IS SIRE TO PROMINENT NOBLE FAMILY" or something equally scandalous. Because undertakers were considered low class citizens. So, Undertaker acts shocked but complies with giddy delight. By asking Undertaker to help stage the photo, he has likely, unwittingly asked a relative of the boys, which would be considered completely appropriate for the time period.

How he treats the Midfords. He recognizes Lizzie's talents and skill with a sword, otherwise he wouldn't have wanted her at Sphere Music Hall as a protector of the lords of the stars, while he kept them and Blavat hidden away. So he probably had Blavat bring her into the cult. Undertaker might see some of himself in Lizzie, but he definitely sees it in Frances/Francis, and I don't just mean physically. Both women fight in a similar manner as he does: highly skillful and graceful. Idk what he thinks of Edward, but I know he got a great laugh from watching the Phantom Five (including Edward) perform onstage. He doesn't interact much, if at all, with Alexis, who isn't a Phantomhive.

What he says to Francis/Frances, as well as how she responds. Again, he hardly acknowledges Alexis' existence, but Undertaker speaks directly with "Lady Phantomhive". That's really important because she's married into the Midford family and hasn't gone by her maiden name in many years. As long as Edward is old plus at least a bit longer, since she strikes me as too proper for a shotgun wedding, even if she weren't a noble. So, he sets her apart from her husband because she was born a Phantomhive. He doesn't want to lose her, either, because she is her mother's daughter. Then, when she nervously states he hasn't changed in roughly four years, he pokes fun at the fact he hasn't changed in a much longer time frame. He says her birth, over 30 years ago, seems like just yesterday. She's sweating bullets, and it's not just his creepy vibes. She knows he means it -- that 30-some-odd years is nothing to him... and that he very specifically recalls her birth. I'm pretty sure she knows he's her father, and she's horribly embarrassed by the fact. Alexis doesn't have a clue about it, and she'd rather keep it that way. But what he says strongly implies that he was present at her birth. Maybe down the hall, like Vincent was when his sons were born, but there... and just as anxious and excited and proud.

How the years for Cedric's birth and death dates are hidden by a speech bubble. Cloudia/Claudia's dates are fully shown because she's a regular human being. Well... a human, anyway. But if Undertaker is Cedric, then the birth and death dates for him would be from when he was a human, before he committed suicide and was sentenced to serve out his punishment as a reaper. That death date could be decades or even centuries before Cloudia/Claudia was even born. Remember that this family tree isn't one prepared by humans; it's part of the dossier that the German reapers have for our earl. The focus is purely biological ancestry, not marriages. Cloudia/Claudia and Cedric don't have to be married to be on this family tree; he is biologically the father of both Vincent and Francis/Frances.

Physical hints

He looks a lot like Francis/Frances and Edward. And Yana-san tweeted years ago that Francis and Edward look like Cedric. Here's a comparison between Edward and Undertaker. Here's one between Francis/Frances and Undertaker.

The place on his right where his hair has a long braid seems to match up with Lizzie's and Francis/Frances' right side locks that tend to stick out. He's got it tucked behind his right ear, but the braid might originate from the same spot. If Lizzie and her mother pushed those locks back, behind their right ears, the placement would be the same as Undertaker's braid.

He has the exact same baby hairs at the nape of his neck as Lizzie and Francis/Frances. They might be a bit shorter, but they are definitely there. Here's an old post about it. Edward possibly does, too, and we could tell if his hair was grown out and pulled up, but his hair is short and a bit shaggy on the nape of his neck, so we can't be sure.

[bibyshitsuji24k]

Undertaker cosplaying Undertaker [wwe]

[biby-24k]

Undertaker cosplaying Undertaker

[adhd-mess]

If the UT being Cedric K. Ros— is correct this is how I picture the Francis flashback(if she gets one & if the theory is correct)

[plague-of-insomnia]

Just wanted to pop in & say you’re a big reason I’m still in this fandom and I think your awesome ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I also wanted to ask if you think Frances and Vincent are full siblings? I’m on the fence since they do look very similar but Frances has a totally different hair colour & mannerisms..

Hi, anon. Thank you…! The fandom seems so quiet lately, but maybe it’s just bc I’ve been a bit inactive bc of not feeling good/having low spoons.

I had never thought about whether or not Francis and Vincent aren’t full siblings…. Frances does seem like she takes after Undertaker potentially, and we don’t know what Claudia looked like since we only have one shot of her and it’s from behind.

It’s possible that Vince took after her and Frances after their dad (undertaker??).

Frances does seem to have some kind of a …. sense for things that seems to run in the Phantomhive blood (like how Ciel can see shinigami when they’re supposed to be hidden from mortals), but she could have gotten that from Claudia, assuming both of them have the same mother.

I do think Frances is an often overlooked character. That interaction she had with Undertaker was…. Odd, and I suspect when we get more info later we’ll look back and it’ll make a lot more sense.

It is looking more and more like Ut may be involved in the Phantomhive tree somehow. If he’s not Cedric K Ros— then he could be (one of my personal completely unsupported headcanons) the very first Phantomhive. But I’m not sure who Cedric could be if it’s not UT, since generally Yana is good about introducing important characters early-ish.

Thanks for the ask. I’m sorry if it’s not what you were hoping for, lol. But it’s certainly an interesting thought!

[fallenrayvens]

You know what?

I’m hereby declaring that besides all the already existing clues and evidences that point to Undertaker being Cedric Phantomhive, I believe in it mainly because of the fact that the name of this family is Phantomhive.

Just like Undertaker was obviously a reaper to me from the start because duh, of course. Have you looked at him. His name is Undertaker. He runs a morgue.

Of course the noble family that is known for ruling the English underworld, currently has assassins as normal manor servants and a fucking demon as the main butler and is literally named “phantom hive” has grim reaper lineage. Wouldn’t surprise me if undertaker wasn’t even the first one of them.

It just seems like a Yana thing. She did it multiple times already, nothing stopping this from being so obvious.

[ignotarts]

"Right now, you are just . . . beautiful."

[midnight-in-town]

Uhm, sorry in advance if this ask doesn't make too much sense but at the end of the Green Witch arc, Sasha says 'You hear about deserters once in a while' and wonders why they would try to leave the Shinigami Dispatch Society; however, would he have questioned this if he and Ludger were seriously considering the possibility of a shinigami being part of O!Ciel's lineage a couple of chapters ago? Do you think this could refute the UT grandfather theory?

Hello Anon and sorry for the delay ! Don't worry, you make sense, but actually I think these are two different topics. :)

Considering this scene in ch103, I just don't believe...

...that Sascha and Ludger were hinting that Cedric was a deserting Shinigami, which is why "it runs in the family". Because of ch105 and discussing deserters like you said, but also, how would they even know by looking at that family tree ?

Sure maybe, Cedric's birth and death years are hidden to us readers in that panel because he was several decades or centuries older and it's written on the tree but, since Shinigamis technically aren't allowed to interfere with life and death, I don't think noticing weird birth and death years would have immediately led Sascha & Ludger to the conclusion that "Cedric K. Ros- is a deserting Shinigami".

No, I rather think that Sascha and Ludger put two and two together that the Phantomhive family is burdened by the Watchdog duty because they have this weird lineage "running in the family".

Because, as I explained before, I don't think, even if Cedric is UT, that he's the explanation behind the lineage thing. Because I'm sure Claudia also had weird abilities, which is why she received the Watchdog title despite being a woman, like our!Ciel and like Frances.

So I rather read this scene in ch103 as Sascha realizing that "Earl Phantomhive, they who undertake the dirty work of the British royal family... oh, because they have this ability that runs in the family and allows them to detect supernatural beings !".

Keep in mind, I could be wrong, but I don't think ch103 is meant to draw attention to the whole Cedric = UT thing, that has more to do with ch105. Ch103 is purely about the Phantomhive lineage, so it has more to do with our!Ciel's direct predecessors.

I hope it makes sense ? Have a good day Anon. :))

[riahlynn101]

"A Facade of Indifference."

Summary: Undertaker has had many identities, but Cedric K. Ros will forever be his favorite.

Trigger warnings: nothing is super explicit, but there are mentions of canonical character deaths. One of which includes a child.

A/N: For this story - O!Ciel = Fenian, R!Ciel = Ciel

--

In his long life, Undertaker has gone by many names. 

His original name, lost to time and memories he’d do anything not to recall. 

136649, the number assigned to him by the higher ups. 

Silver fox, by his coworker. 

But truly, his favorite name, the only name that has ever mattered to him, was Cedric K. Ross. 

He’d introduced himself as such to Claudia Phantomhive, flustered by her beauty and wit. The name was less a clever pun on his end, and more a scramble to tell the beautiful debutante something, anything so she didn’t think him daft. 

It had been-at that point-close to twenty years since he had destroyed Shinigami headquarters. Occasionally he’d catch a glimpse of a death scythe, and he’d have to stop what he was doing to duck into a shop. Quite annoying, but headquarters hadn’t really made an effort to come collect him. If he knew better, Cedric might have said that they were scared of him. 

But, still, it didn’t hurt to keep a low profile.

Getting married to a noble was the exact opposite of that. The queen’s watchdog, at that. His hatred for the hag knows no bounds. Ironically, her audacity also knows no bounds. So, maybe it balances out. Somehow. 

Marrying into the Phantomhive family is akin to signing your own death certificate. It’s dangerous and deadly, and Claudia tells him over and over that she won’t resent him for leaving. That she would forgive him everything if he didn’t want to risk his life. 

But Cedric never cared much for living anyway. 

They wed, and barely a year later, Vincent was born.

Holding his son for the first time (and really all the times after that) was an experience he looks back on with a gentle sort of fondness. And that fondness only grew tenfold as his boy grew older. 

And then, two years later, in the middle of January, his daughter was born. Francis took more after him in looks than her mother, but she was still undeniably Claudia’s daughter. From the time she could speak, she was ordering her brother to behave. Her strength and courage, which grew day by day, made his heart swell with pride. He did everything in his power to encourage her, including giving her fencing lessons (which his dear wife had not been entirely pleased with).

There’s no words to describe how much he loved his family. 

And that, that love, made him worry.

Love is a weakness his higher-ups might use against him. The idea of his clever, beautiful Claudia, and their two (still young) children being harmed, made panic well up inside him. He couldn’t let that happen. 

He wouldn’t allow that to happen. 

So, he left them. 

Claudia was the sole breadwinner anyway, and the children had Tanaka to tend to them. He left only a note behind, making a vague excuse as to why he had to leave them. 

He left England behind, choosing to travel the world. Cedric fights the urge to return to his family, to check in on them. He celebrates each of their birthdays and his and Claudia’s anniversary with a baked good. 

Life wasn’t great then, he missed his family so much it physically hurt, but it was for the best he stayed away. 

And then, while in the middle of a trip to France, he got news of Claudia’s death. 

Cedric had known loss long before that moment. Before becoming a grim reaper and long after. It was hard coded into his very being, the knowledge of life and death.

But it wasn’t until that moment that he understood the grief that comes with that very same loss. That all encompassing, suffocating feeling of heaviness. Of loneliness. 

Of the hard, cold truth, that his decision to leave his family might have, in the end, been the very thing to damn them. 

He returned to England, but not as Cedric, father of Vincent and Francis Phantomhive. No, that wouldn’t do. How could he call himself their father when he was the very reason their mother was dead. 

Cedric kept to the shadows, tinkering with life and death itself. He watched with an aching heart, as his son became earl. The Queen’s Watchdog just like his mother before him.

But Cedric has never been one to be content with simply watching, so he crafted an identity. One that fit his morbid curiosity with all things death. 

The Undertaker. 

His hair-which he neglected in the months following Claudia’s death-hide his face, his identity. He works his way into his son’s graces by offering up information, and soon Cedric Undertaker found himself among the Phantomhives’ closest associates. 

His children didn’t recognize him, or at least were excellent at pretending they didn’t. It hurt, a little, but he was content with finally seeing them in-person. Alive and well.

Francis married first. Thankfully out of the Phantomhive line, but still under the queen’s immediate demand. Alexis-for all his faults-seemed nice enough, and he was hopelessly in love with her. And she-in return-was just as in love with him.

And, while it was hard watching his daughter get married, the pure happiness she radiated put his wary mind at ease. 

Her happiness only grew when she gave birth to Edward. His first grandchild, though he wasn’t allowed to share in the joy of the new arrival. Not because Francis didn’t trust him, no not at all. He….just couldn’t bring himself to hold something so precious and small and-

Elizabeth was born a few years later, just as small, just as precious as her brother before.

Vincent married second, to a beautiful but sickly young woman, Rachel. By then, Undertaker was used to his new identity. He grew close to his son, but maintained just enough distance for plausible deniability. 

When Rachel fell pregnant, his son shared his worries with him. His usual cocky, confident persona fell away, showing all the hurt Cedric left behind. 

It seemed, even with Tanaka and Claudia, his son (and most probably his daughter) needed him. He vowed to be a better father, a better grandfather even if it was from the shadows, under a different name. 

The twins were born a few months later. Both somehow even tinier than their cousins. This time, though, he pushed all his worries aside to hold one of the twins. 

Ciel and Fenian. One and the same. But Ciel-older than his brother by a mere five minutes-was announced the heir to the Phantomhive name. 

Meanwhile, Fenian-who didn’t seem to cry as loud as his brother-was pushed into his arms. His pathetic attempts at crying out instantly ceased. Big blue eyes, just like Lady Rachel’s, stared up at him. 

Then and there, he made another vow, a promise. To protect his grandchildren no matter what. To preserve their innocence and curiosity.

His grandchildren grew quickly. The twins-mirror images of one another-became harder and harder to tell apart. At least, for most people. 

For him, though, it was extremely easy to pick apart who was who. 

Ciel reminded him of Vincent - sharp features that he would no doubt grow into, a silver tongue, and an intelligence that rivaled most adults. He embodied what an heir of Phantomhive should be. 

And little Fenian. All soft features and big eyes. He took more after his mother's side, particularly her red haired sister (Angeline, if he remembered correctly). He inherited his mother’s sickness, and his aunt’s painful shyness and bookishness. Only his love for chess and his physical appearance being so similar to his brother’s denoted him as a Phantomhive. 

But the character he crafted shouldn’t care that the twins are two separate people. The Phantomhive family is a blob of faceless members, all tied together by either blood, a last name, or both.

He kept up the facade of indifference, not caring to differentiate between the twins out loud. But, in his head, while reading them a book, or holding the blanket in place so they could have their photo taken, he couldn’t help but refer to each of them by name. 

And then, the massacre happened. 

He wept for hours, over the broken, ruined remains of the estate. His son and daughter-in-law were nothing but ash by the time he could rummage through the wreckage. The twins were gone too, though most likely still alive. 

He didn’t know if that was a good thing. 

He packed his wagon with all the bodies that weren’t horrifically burnt. A project he’d been working on needed more test subjects.

Undertaker spends the next few weeks working day and night to find the twins. Reports of children’s bodies being dumped on the sides of roads come flooding in, but

no one does a single thing.

The queen, with her bleeding heart, that she just loved to wax poetic about, does��nothing. 

He traced the reports back to a cathedral. The building was old and worn, likely abandoned by the church years ago. Shinigami stand around, watching the building. They chat idly among themselves, as if the most depraved actions aren’t being done to the children inside. 

That apathy, the disconnect from the pain and suffering, was one thing Undertaker would never miss from his days in retrieval. 

But them being there meant he couldn’t burst in and save them. If even one recognized him, then it would be game over. No one else would be coming to save the twins. The police refused to act, even with the amount of evidence Undertaker sent them (under a different name, of course), and their family was in shambles. 

Unfortunately, by the time he could sneak past, it was already too late. 

Ciel was dead, soul gone. And Fenian’s soul was damned, signed over to the leeches of leeches, a demon. 

He saved his grandson’s body, carrying him from the burning wreckage of the cathedral. Blood and grime clinging to him like a second skin. 

Fenian became Ciel, and was crowned earl of the house of Phantomhive. Her majesty either not noticing or caring enough, made the traumatized ten-and-a-half-year-old her watchdog. 

The only thing Undertaker hated more than her, was the demon slowly eating away at his grandson’s soul. Not his physical soul, of course, that bit would come later. But his spirit, his kindness and generosity. The hope and child-like spark in his one uncovered eye. 

It pained him, but he had a character to play and a plan to see through. If all went well, the demon wouldn’t be bothering Fenian for long. 

He offered up information when prompted, though he never made it easy. It’s surprisingly easy to annoy the little earl, but it’s a necessary evil to ensure neither the demon, nor his grandson suspect him of anything. 

It worked. Maybe a little too well, because the look his grandson sent him could only be described as betrayed. 

 His heart clenched painfully in his chest. How much trust had the little Phantomhive put in him? 

Too much, was the answer. And somehow, not enough.

His plan went awry. Everything became jumbled, snowballing until he’s watching Fenian plummet thirty feet downwards. His mourning chain, the one containing the last remaining piece of his Claudia (of his friends murdered in cold blood by her royal highness). Through the chaos the little earl and he made eye contact.

For a singular moment, he was back in the nursery, holding his grandson. Little Fenian, who was never supposed to amount to much. Tiny and sickly and a pale comparison to his already more lively older brother. Eyes of bright blue that once held hope and promise. 

Eyes that now stare up at him in fear, yes, but also in acute curiosity, locked on his mourning chain. 

He allows the little Phantomhive to take it. It’s his greatest treasure, but he’s sure his grandson will take excellent care of it. Besides, isn’t passing things down what a grandparent’s supposed to do? And he isn’t much worried about losing it anyway, after all, he’s quite certain that they’ll be meeting again very soon.

[tothelasthoursofmylife]

No more dreaming of the dead as if death itself was undone No more calling like a crow for a boy, for a body in the garden No more dreaming like a girl so in love, so in love No more dreaming like a girl so in love, so in love No more dreaming like a girl, so in love with the wrong world

— Blinding, Florence and the Machine

Happy 7th Anniversary! (+ 3 months...)

Look who finally managed to finish this drawing? Me! Super late but done at last. I had this idea since last summer and thought it would be a good idea for an anniversary drawing. I tried to realise it to the best of my meagre ability^^’ and it didn’t come out too shabby at least.

(The scythe is meant to go through Cedric’s head btw, specifically through his ears... I just messed up there.)

[abybweisse]

I had a question about something I had always thought of as odd is in Kuroshitsuji. Ciel and Elizabeth had been betrothed since childhood, and that on its own isn’t that weird. But then I remember that Vincent married Rachel (who is not related to him like Ciel and Lizzie are) for love and they didn’t even meet until they were older, and the same is presumed for Frances and Alexis. Do you think that there might be any plot related reasons for why the Phantomhive family (particularly Vincent and Frances who likely arranged for this) would have chosen to have those two marry? Perhaps anything related to their lineage?

Reasons for marriages

Well, let's back up... slightly... about why Vincent and Rachel get married. I'm not saying they don't love each other, because they definitely do. It's just that I'm not exactly sold on the idea that's the only reason he proposes and she accepts. At the time, and particularly among the nobility and royalty, marriages are pretty much never just for love; they are nearly always strategic... and it's just wonderful if there's also a love connection.

Someone like Vincent Phantomhive, the queen's watchdog, has to choose a wife wisely. She doesn't necessarily have to be in the best physical health, but she must have certain qualities, especially regarding personality and intelligence. They meet in the first place through her father, who probably counts among the "evil nobles" already. I've said this... somewhere, quite some time ago... that Vincent probably makes it known he's looking for a wife, and everyone in his network makes suggestions. He agrees to meet the ones that sound the most promising. Of course, his associates with young maiden relatives are going to try to get them married into the Phantomhive family, unless it would be too much of a peerage downgrade.

That said, Rachel's father probably would have been okay with Vincent choosing either of his daughters. It's just that it was definitely customary to marry off the oldest daughter first. Besides, I think Angelina is about 15 when Rachel is 17/18. Vincent canonically (because Yana-san says so) is already self conscious about the age gap between himself and Rachel -- about 6 years. So, it really puts things into perspective how unrealistic Angelina is to ever think she might have a chance with Vincent. He is nice to her but probably sees her as a kid, and he speaks to her in third person just like Rachel does. Like "Angelina's hair is lovely...", etc. to her, not to someone else about her.

Anyway, Vincent meets with Rachel a few times, where they get to know each other better, and they decide they are a good match. More importantly, Vincent must decide that she fits all his criteria... whatever that might entail. Then, given the formalities of the time, Vincent asks Rachel's father for his permission to propose.

For Francis/Frances and Alexis, it seems they meet during a fencing challenge... where she clearly prevails. And he falls madly in love with her, not just for her skill but also presumably because she's beautiful. After that, I have to assume he woos her until she accepts his proposal. Her mother is dead by then, and her father is... well... I think Alexis is led to believe that her father is also dead. They likely don't ask for anyone's approval... besides perhaps Vincent, with him being official head of the family by then, and he has no particular reason to say no. She gets bumped up in the peerage, too, so it's a bonus.

With Ciel and Lizzie, yes. I think there is a strategic reason for betrothing them... which probably happens as soon as the twins are born, if not before. It strengthens family ties, financially, etc... but it could also be a matter of special lineage -- say, a known reaper in the direct line of both kids. And Lizzie, from a very young age, is being trained to be the perfect wife of the queen's watchdog; that's something else her mom and Vincent might have planned as early as possible.

Notice that we've never heard about a betrothal for Edward. It could be that he's also betrothed and we've simply never heard, since it's not important to the story. Or it could be they didn't bother to arrange a marriage for him, since the Phantomhives don't have any daughters -- this would strengthen the idea that Ciel and Lizzie's betrothal is strategic. Personally, I hope he gets to marry for love... and I hope he ends up with Paula, despite the fact she's not in the peerage. He could raise her status, and that would be nice. Honestly, I hope that... after all this is over... Lizzie gets to find someone for herself and marry for love.