#undertaker is cedric theory

[liusia-piu]

[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.

[midnight-in-town]

"Humans really do change in the blink of an eye" (ch105) vs. "I feel as if you were born nary a moment ago" (ch151)

My guy UT really got emotional seeing his bby girl, huh...

[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. :>

[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.

[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.

[lady-lilly-gray]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As for the Phantomhive Servants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What has her role in the story so far been?

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

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

But back to Lizzie.

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

Wrong.

Her first major narrative shift is in the circus arc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Battle in the Hold

“No matter what, I will protect you”

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

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

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

The Watertight Doors

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

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

“Wife of the Queen’s Watchdog”

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

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

Another interesting interaction in this scene is after the fight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And Lizzie?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[aquarianights]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[welcome-tothe-madness]

Undertaker identity theory (spoilers)

I don’t have much evidence for this theory BUT I got to thinking

Ciel is a twin right? Twins are usually genetic. But in Rachel and Vincent’s case, neither of them are twins, they’re both either older or younger siblings. I found that kinda odd

Then I kept considering Undertaker and the theory that he is Cedric. I think differently. I think Undertaker could be Cedric’s twin.

While I don’t have much evidence, I can’t help but think of Madam Red and her story with Rachel and Vincent. It makes me curious on whether that was meant to be foreshadow of some sort. A sibling forced to watch their sibling and their love marry? And grow extremely protective of their children? Idk.

I have no idea how old Undertaker was when he offed himself, but I’m not sure he was alive long enough to have kids with Cloudia, just to end up ending his life. But if he had a sibling who carried on and married her after his death, his age (appearance wise) makes sense.

Idk, I don’t have anything I can cite that would make this plausible, but for someone who does a fair amount of research for their works, it’s strange we haven’t seen a single mention of any twins prior to the Ciel’s in the family.

What do you guys think?

[thlayli-ra]

Okay, every time I watch RAW/Smackdown I start wondering who's a valet and who's a dominant out of the new(er) guys and who's paired up and who's single... Indulge my curiosity, pleeeease? 😄

This is pretty much my default setting LOL - I exclusively judge wrestlers based on how they fit in the valetverse, so will I indulge? Absolutely!!!

Raw Roster:

(Let's start with the easy ones)

Cody Rhodes (valet) is still married to Randy Orton (dominant) but they've since divorced from Ted DiBiase Jnr. (They also have a kid in the valetverse now)

CM Punk (valet) is still married to The Undertaker (dominant) and they have Frankie Calaway.

Seth Rollins (valet) is still married to Roman (dominant) and Jon Moxley (valet) but their marriage is a bit shaky after the events at Wrestlemania (which I will go into in future fics). No kids.

Drew McIntyre (dominant) is still married to Jinder Mahal (dominant) but he's... having a bit of a crisis just now involving a certain Second City Saint.

Sami Zayn (valet) recently remarried Kevin Owens (dominant)

Damian Priest (dominant) is married to Finn Balor (valet, beloved husband), Dominik Mysterio (valet, who's been sniffing around elsewhere recently) and JD McDonagh (valet, but is actually more Finn's boyfriend)

Chad Gable (valet) is married to Otis (dominant). For now...

Kofi Kingston (valet) and Xavier Woods (valet) are both married to Big E (dominant)

Gunther (dominant) is married to Ludwig Kaiser (valet), recently divorced from Giovanni Vinci (valet)

Rey Mysterio (dominant, had to think hard about this one. He ticks all the right boxes for a valet but the more I think about it, the more I see him as a really short dominant) is married to Joaquin Wilde (valet) and Cruz del Toro (valet). Recently betrayed by bestie Carlito (dominant, who Dirty Dom has been sniffing around).

Karrion Kross (dominant) is a tricky one for me because he needs a Scarlet imo - his harbinger of doom! But whether this role is filled with another wrestler on the roster or a 'gender-bender' version of Scarlet, I can't decide. I'd love to hear some suggestions?

Sheamus (dominant) is recently divorced from Ridge Holland (valet) and Pete Dunne (valet).

Everybody else on the Raw roster is single, as far as I can see (but then I only watch Raw sporadically when Punk is on) and is split like this;

Valets:

Akira Tozawa, Dragon Lee, Ilja Dragunov, Jey Uso, The Miz, Ricochet, R-Truth, Tyler Bate

Dominants:

Akam, Braun Strowman, Bron Breaker, Bronson Reed, Brutus Creed, Dijak, Ivar, Julius Creed, Odyssey Jones, Rezar,

Smackdown Roster:

LA Knight (valet) is still married to Bobby Lashley (dominant)

Baron Corbin (dominant) has divorced from Bo Dallas (valet, who has since vanished...???? Hmmm 🤔)

Angelo Dawkins (dominant) is married to Montez Ford (valet)

Santos Escobar (dominant) is married to Angel (valet) and Berto (valet)

Karl Anderson (valet) has long been married to Luke Gallows (dominant)

Johnny Gargano (valet) is married to Tomasso Ciampa (dominant)

Everybody else is single and is split like;

Valets:

AJ Styles, Apollo Crews, Ashante 'Thee" Adonis, Austin Theory, Carmelo Hayes, Cedric Alexander, Elton Prince, Grayson Waller, Kit Wilson, Logan Paul, Tonga Loa (so far, maayyy change my mind on that depending on what he does the next wee while)

Dominants;

Andrade, Shinsuke Nakamura, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga

Phew! Considered yourself indulged! 🤣

[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.

[midnight-in-town]

TOP 10 reveals during the Green Witch arc

Since this arc is airing soon, I thought I’d recap what to look forward to, plot wise, since most of these are still very relevant to the current storyline. :)

10) A new ally

Spoilers for anime-onlies, but obviously Sieglinde's introduction is a big deal. Her genius aside, like Soma, Sieglinde is one of the few characters who has only known our!Ciel and who owes him a lot, which explains why she'd remain a friend and ally to him, in the current arc against real!Ciel.

The fact she's a genius is also extremely plot relevant, because Sieglinde's laboratory is funded by Queen Victoria, which means Sieglinde will definitely play a big role in the series until we get to the heart of the Victoria vs Ciel conflict.

9) Diedrich

Long time hinted at, first real time actually seeing him in action and, man, did he serve !

Despite his grief, he's a genuinely caring evil noble, because he promised Vincent, but also, because he simply cares that a kid like Ciel has to shoulder this burden. That's why he immediately chose to side with him, instead of his own army : patriotism, who ? Friendship is the real deal.

He's also one of the few characters who may have known that our!Ciel was lying about his identity, considering he never called him "Ciel", which means that he might remain an ally of our!Ciel in the current conflict between the twins.

8) Finny's backstory

Finny's the first servant to have his backstory revealed, because this arc happens in Germany, but also because Finny has similar circumstances to Sieglinde. Both of them were "experiments" of the German military, Finny with enhanced strength and Sieglinde with intelligence, creating new weapons.

The bond between Finny and Ciel is revealed to be deeper and a more emotional one than we could imagine, as Ciel is Finny's savior and Finny would even stand against Sebastian for his sake.

There is also the possibility that our!Ciel gave Finny his birth name that he discarded 4 years ago, making that bond even more significant if this turns out to be true.

7) All the servants in action

Not seen since the Circus arc, will not be seen again until our!Ciel runs away from Scotland Yard in the current arc (and will probably be seen next time against bizarre doll!Snake T_T).

We had many badass moments, for all of them, showing how much they want to be helpful to their master, which is heartwarming. Bonus point for Dee's remark :

In other words, Tanaka aside, Vincent didn't have a household full of talented fighters.

Finny's backstory and standing against Sebastian also proved that the servants are all definitely devoted to our!Ciel, making them his most secured allies, which will be hella significant (as we now know) when real!Ciel returns (and in case there is one day a conflict between Seb and Ciel).

6) More development for the War subplot

This story has different subplots (the main plot being Ciel's path to revenge) and this one was introduced back during the Murders at Manor arc :

Queen Victoria is said in the story to be a visionary (*cough* thanks to Brown being a supernatural being *cough*), reigning over the most powerful Empire in the world.

Twice now, she sent her Watchdog to thwart Germany's military achievements (when Ciel saved Finny and again during the Green Witch arc), to say nothing of her interest in bizarre dolls as weapons.

German Shinigamis also commented on the possibility of a massive world war being launched soon and it seems clear Victoria is preparing for that.

For now though, our!Ciel positioned himself as a threat, because he managed to convince Sieglinde not to give the Queen the formula for the SuLIN gas, which is what she was mainly coveting.

This means that our!Ciel probably has a huge part to play in avoiding the launch of WWI, 25 years early (could even be why he might be judged worthy, should he...ahem... die).

5) Family tree and special lineage

Ch103 made a lot of noise when it was released, between hints of real!Ciel's existence, the reveal of the birth & death dates of Claudia and Vincent, contrasting with the absence of dates for Cedric K. Ros-, thus the theory that it could be the Undertaker's previous identity.

On top of that, it's also in this chapter that our!Ciel noticed the German Shinigamis, despite them hiding, when Seb couldn't, implying the existence of a Phantomhive lineage very useful against supernatural beings.

In fact, to this day I remain a strong advocate of the theory that the Watchdog's duty is the Phantomhives' burden because of their special lineage.

4) Shinigamis' origins

The GW arc is also when we got the confirmation that Shinigamis were once humans and that other deserters besides UT exist.

The implication that the Shinigami system is an unfair one that deserters like UT might be trying to take down also started with this reveal and could be, as some of us theorized, very significant to the current arc.

3) Our!Ciel's inner guilt

The GW arc was a painful arc for Ciel, because it triggered some traumatic memories that left him lost inside his own head for a few days. A peak into his mind in ch95 showed that our!Ciel feels guilty about many people's death...

...and that it's why he bears with the contract, giving up hope for a happy future, because he's the one who made that choice 4 years ago, for his own sake.

2) The Undertaker's tearful moment

The arc started with our!Ciel trying to find info about UT and questioning Klaus about him. But Klaus turned him down, saying Dee would know more, because he was an evil noble before Klaus was.

So it was quite memorable when it turned out that UT had visited Dee, not long before our!Ciel arrived in Germany. xD

And while we can question what he was doing there before going to France (trying to sell bizarre dolls as weapons to Victoria's enemies ? or recruiting Shinigami deserters from these countries ?), what mostly struck is UT's reaction to seeing a picture of Vincent during his Weston days :

Obviously, this scene was a big hint about real!Ciel being turned into a bizarre doll, but also to the bond existing between UT and Ciel's family (aka the possibility that he's Cedric K. Ros).

This scene also confirmed that, unlike real!Ciel, Vincent can't be brought back as a BD, because his body (which is where the cinematic records remain) is too damaged.

This begs the question : was the fire, which destroyed the manor, started to damage Vincent's cinematic records, 4 years ago ? Not because of the bizarre doll project, because it didn't exist yet, but rather to hide who actually killed him and Rachel ? Food for thoughts.

1) Initial sparks of a possible conflict between Seb and Ciel in the future

A part of the fandom loves to joke about the "90% serious" incident that happened during this arc, but actually, comic relief is often used by Yana to hide a darker truth.

As far as Seb is concerned, him being 90% serious about eating our!Ciel's soul means he was more than ready to end it then.

This proves that Seb doesn't have Ciel's best interests in mind (in case anyone had doubts lmao), he just acts by the 3 rules of their contract, as long as Ciel still has his path of revenge well in mind.

Their dynamic is a chessgame that's been ongoing for the last 4 years and this indeed means that...

...Seb is the one Ciel trusts least of all, because a simple lack of focus can be deadly for him. So there might come a day when our!Ciel questions if the contract is really what he wants, but before that day happens, he will need to deal with all that inner guilt first.

For more details, please read these posts :

Rise of a possible conflict about the contract between Seb and Ciel [part 1] [part 2]

About Ciel’s inner guilt and how it might eventually cause a conflict between him and Seb

Thanks for reading ! Looking forward to more commentaries about this arc by Yana-sensei and Editor K, as the anime airs !

[cedric-k-rossignol]

The French Crown Jewels Theory - Parts 1 & 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's get into it.

Part One: Undertaker's Ring

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, Diadochos is actually now known as Beryl.

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

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

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

Diamond is element #6... Interesting.

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

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

Well that sure is interesting...

Season 1 vs Canon - Fight!

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

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

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

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

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

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

So What Fucking Colour is it Anyways?

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

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

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

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

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

Back! on! my! Chemistry! Shit!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Undertaker & Water

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Magical Properties

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Giving you maaaaaaaad side eye Undertaker 🤨.

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

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

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

Part 2: The Hope Diamond & The Hirsch Aquamarine

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

The Origins of the Hope Diamond

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Hirsch Aquamarine

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

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

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

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

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

Why?

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

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

The Recutting of The French Blue in London

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

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

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

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

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

Well that's bloody convenient.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Posts

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

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

That's All For Now!

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

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

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

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

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

[blxxdingstars]

Is Frances Midford (home name Phantomhive) an albino?

It's not canon since Frances colours are from the anime (Book of Atlantic), but I believe her hair and eyes colors were somehow confirmed by Yana.

Hair without any pigment and violet/pink eyes in the real world means an albino.

If this would be canon in the manga too and the theory about Undertaker being the father (and Yana confirmed that women in the Phantomhive family take after their fathers) would be also true, it fits that Undertaker was also an albino when he was alive and had then violet/pink eyes.

@abybweisse (because I don't want you to miss this idea)

Additionally if the celtic theory would be true:

Undertaker (or rather Cedric K. Ros) with his natural white hair could be a natural leader among Celts.

[midnight-in-town]

@tothelasthoursofmylife awww thanks for all the references (and excellent point about Wuthering Heights, it completely slipped my mind)! <3 

Hmm, then Vincent and Frances had to have had a legal guardian after Claudia died, because Vincent was only 15. If Cedric stayed around and didn't disappear after Dia died, I'd say logically and legally that it was him. If he also was (thought to be) dead (before coming back as UT), then it was someone else.

Also tbh, I doubt Vincent would have wanted to be his sister’s guardian. I really think he was quite possibly a feminist, having Claudia as a mom, and he would have had no problem admitting that Frances is stronger than he was (honestly the story hints that they were quite close as siblings [x][x]).

Also additional headcanon, purely imaginary, but i totally envision that the Midfords were aware of the Watchdog position being fulfilled by the Phantomhives (due to some past mission before Vincent and Alexis were born).

So I like to imagine that Grandmama Midford was quite a secret fan of Claudia (being an independent and strong woman wearing a bulletproof corset lmao) and was absolutely delighted when Alexis came back home one day, stars in his eyes  after being beaten by a certain “Lady Phantomhive” (especially if Alexis himself follows the pattern of sons taking after their mom, that Yana uses for some of her characters, including Frances and her kids). xDD

No one but Alexis could have been Ciel's legal guardian, but I liked that Yana confirmed it.

This makes me wonder though who Vincent and Francis' guardian was after their parents died, and I really hope Yana tells us that too.

Cloudia, obviously, could not have had a brother (at least not one who survived their father) but I wonder if she had a younger sister (or even sisters)? Either the potential sister or, if she was married, her husband could have been their guardian then. Or if Cedric really isn't Undertaker, maybe their guardian was a Ros-?

(If Cloudia's hypothetical sister married and had children too... I wonder if those more distant Phantomhive relatives will eventually show up, if they're still alive?? The unnamed female Aristocrat of Evil maybe; not the scarred man, he looks so much like Alexis. What a family business XD)

[sebadztian]

Hello! I really like your work about the demon Ciel and Sebastian, how they investigate the crime and show their love to each other. Can you write more of these? If I have time, I have a couple of ideas.1. Ciel and Sebastian are investigating a new case with a detective during which Ciel has to enter into a contract to get food and find out important information, but the man or woman who made the contractthe contract prevents Ciel and Sebastian from investigating the case and their relationship (for example, he can interrupt the kiss or Sebastian wants intimacy)2. At the beginning of the story there was a priest, I don’t remember his name, sorry. So he asks Ciel for help, to find his son, for example, while investigating the case of missing children, a priest comes to Ciel.3. Participation with Elizabeth is at your discretion author.Well, if you don’t want it and you don’t like it, you can refuse it.Question from me Do you think the Undertaker is the grandfather of our Ciel and his brother? since the name of our Ciel's grandmother was written in his medallion. And there are theories that the Undertaker and Claudia knew each other and they were in love

Hello!!

Thank you for the ask!

Long answer below the cut

Topic: Is UT the twins' grandpa?

Thank you! I'm so glad that you like the Phantom P. I. series! Those are great ideas and I'm actually planning something for the next installment in the series involving Elizabeth. Unfortunately, I'm currently rather busy with a few WIPs as well as my work, so I'll have to put this series on hold. Please don't worry though! I'm not abandoning this series!

Regarding Undertaker being the twins grandfather, well, I'm not quite sure myself. While Claudia's name is part of his 'treasure', there are other names on there too. So, if he indeed had a romantic relationship with Claudia, how about those other names? Were they his past lovers too? We don't know.

He did say that he 'cannot bear to lose another Phantomhive', but we don't know how he's related to them or why he's so obssessed with them. UT is so full of secrets, probably one of the most secretive characters in the manga. While we're learning more and more about him, there's still not enough evidence to support any theory about his background and his relationship to the Phantomhives.

What we know is that Vincent's father (the twins' grandfather) was called Cedric K Ros(?) - part of his name was cut. We don't know his birth year nor when he died.

So, is Undertaker Cedric?

We can assume that Undertaker is quite old. In Campania, he said that it has been at least 50 years since anyone had called him a Shinigami.

The Campania incident happened in April 1889, which means that the last time Undertaker was an 'active' Shinigami was in 1839 or even earlier. About a decade after Claudia was born.

So, when Claudia was about 10 years old, UT stopped being a Shinigami (This is assuming that it has been 50 years and not 75 years since his 'retirement').

Given his skill and his power, it's clear that by the time he 'retired', he had already been a Shinigami for a long while, so much so that he couldn't part with his beloved scythe.

It brings us back to the question above, is Undertaker and Cedric the same person?

The answer depends on what happens to Shinigami after they 'retired'.

Do they 'move on'? Or are they allowed to go back to the human world to live among them?

If so, then yes, there is a probability that UT could be the twins' grandfather. He retired, lived among humans, met Claudia, got married.

If not, then no, there's no way that UT is Cedric without the Shinigami not knowing about it.

I'm sorry that this doesn't really answer your question, but I really can't find anything that would give a definite answer.

Thanks again for the ask!