#blue memory arc

[torn-and-bloody]

i miss them

[waxn-wane]

Chapter 12 of the official Black Butler Anthology has Sebastian pretend to be Ciel's childhood friend for the day (the "osananajimi" trope in romance anime, even teases him playfully)

Sebastian, as himself, likes holding Ciel's hand, and walking side by side with the Young Master... But Ciel doesn't think it's possible to hold hands with Sebastian like this because he isn't human... Or at least they can't, because of their current roles and circumstances.

He does not allow himself to succumb to such illusions.

Sobbing hands and knees on the floor rn, once again plugging in Hallucination because I keep hurting myself thinking about how they believe it's not possible for them to hold each other's hands, as master and servant, as demon and human.

Thinking about Sebastian having inner conflict, wondering if it's such a sin as a demon to enjoy holding his master's hand, a simple touch of affection. So unbecoming of a servant and yet indulging in it every chance he gets... Dancing with him, carrying him, helping him into/out of the carriage.. what would it be like to hold his master's hand in his own, without pretense nor necessity?

They can never walk side by side, that's the way things are. And yet...

To want this much...

Is it a sin or a trap?

[every-black-butler-food]

[funeralroseparade]

Thinking about this great post by @wrydemonandslychild, explaining how Ciel reflects Joker (something also confirmed by Yana), while Sebastian (regularly referred to by Ciel as a "beast") reflects the character actually named Beast.

It is interesting to think about Joker and Beast's interactions this way, by literally reading Joker as "Ciel" (words in blue), and Beast as "Sebastian" (words in red):

"Sebastian" (represented by Beast) wants them to change course. And seems almost desperate about it. "Ciel" (represented by Joker) is surprised and does not seem to take "Sebastian's"/Beast's emotions seriously.

"Sebastian"/Beast no longer wants to see "Ciel"/Joker in pain. But "Ciel"/Joker is stubborn and dismissive, which devastates "Sebastian"/Beast.

After this, "Ciel"/Joker gives "Sebastian"/Beast his scarf, wrapping it around the latter's neck. While it is a kind, affectionate gesture, it is a poor substitute for what "Sebastian"/Beast really wants. (Edited to add: The scarf around the neck could also symbolize the effective "collar" around "Sebastian's"/Beast's neck, leashing them to the will of their respective masters; by doing this, "Ciel"/Joker is reasserting his dominant position under a veil of care.) After giving away his scarf, "Ciel"/Joker shuts the conversation down and walks away, ignoring "Sebastian"/Beast crying out for him. (A foreshadowing of an eventual rift or separation between Sebastian and Ciel?)

When Sebastian shows up to seduce Beast, he uses sympathetic words to make Beast feel seen and understood (while stroking the scarf...), but is he also essentially describing himself in the future? That is, how Sebastian may grow to feel about Ciel: who, like Joker, may show himself to be similarly "cruel", hellbent, and incapable of returning the affections of their companion?

It's interesting that Sebastian himself admits that he doesn't actually understand Beast's (his own?) feelings! But he says that is only "as of yet", indicating that this lack of understanding may change in the future.

Side note: Beast demanding to know what Sebastian could possibly understand about her situation reminds me of an exchange with Undertaker later on (panel at the end of this post.)

Will Sebastian grow to feel similarly trapped and hopeless with Ciel, watching him go down a dark path, unable to convince his stubborn companion to change course? How much, and what kind(s) of emotions will Sebastian be able to tolerate or not? Sebastian speaking of accumulated hurts implies that the suffering will not be due to a "one-time" event, but that the road will be paved with recurrent pain if they continue down this path. (Sebastian, "you poor thing"...)

Beast's physical attributes are like Sebastian's; they are both attractive, wear black, have dark hair and red eyes, and wear dark nails. As Sebastian seduces her, Beast is even shown to wear black stiletto boots that are reminiscent of Sebastian's demon form, as she quite literally likens Sebastian to the devil that he is. And here, Sebastian appears to be removing the scarf given by Joker to Beast - symbolizing a loss of, or rejection of, "Ciel's"/Joker's kind gesture that was nevertheless "not enough" for "Sebastian"/Beast? A mere consolation prize from the "cruel-and-kind" man... (Edited to add: If the scarf (a "collar") represents "Sebastian's"/Beast's subjugation to their masters ("Ciel"/Joker), removal of the scarf may symbolize "Sebastian"/Beast freeing themselves to follow their own will.)

Then there's this devastating line from "Sebastian"/Beast, on the pain of harboring one-sided feelings.

On the surface, Sebastian uses sex to get information from Beast, exploiting her vulnerable, heartbroken emotional state (I kinda hate you for this one, Sebastian...) This scene reinforces the two characters' parallel natures; through sexual union, Sebastian can symbolically "take on" Beast's emotions and pain, foreshadowing the eventual change in Sebastian's own emotional state regarding his relationship with Ciel.

Finally, Beast accusing Sebastian of not understanding her reminded me of Undertaker later telling Sebastian that he could "never understand" why he could not bear to lose another Phantomhive. Undertaker is likely assuming that a demonic "beast" like Sebastian would simply not have the capacity to grasp the deep emotional motivations/attachments that drive Undertaker's actions. (Are you sure about that, Undertaker??)

[thewholediamondsky]

My take about O!Ciel's real name - P.I (Caelum)

Disclaimer - I probably rambled a lot on this. It became longer than I wanted, but it's finally here!

1. Caelum Phantomhive

After much thought, rethinking, and research, my conclusion regarding O!Ciel's real name is: Caelum (pronounced "KAY-lum"). Therefore, the twins would be Ciel & Caelum Phantomhive.

And I'd like to delve a little deeper into that.

Let's start by comparing both names:

- The name Ciel is of French origin and means "sky" or "heaven". It is also linked to the Latin word for "heaven" (caelum). The name evokes a sense of infinity, ethereal beauty, and purity. It also represents a sense of freedom, elevation, and celestial beauty.

- The name Caelum is of Latin origin and (like the previous name) means "sky" or "heaven." It also has the specific meaning of "engraver's chisel," which comes from the faint southern constellation called Caelum Sculptoris ("Engraver's Chisel"). Therefore, in addition to a celestial meaning, it is also related to a tool.

(Seen as “Cela Sculptoris” in the lower right of this 1825 star chart from Urania's Mirror)

Caelum is a faint constellation in the southern sky, introduced in the 1750s by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille and counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name means "chisel" in Latin, and it was formerly known as Caelum Sculptorium ("Engraver's Chisel"); it is a rare word, unrelated to the much more common Latin caelum, meaning "sky," "paradise," or "atmosphere."

It is the eighth smallest constellation and subtends a solid angle of about 0.038 steradians, slightly smaller than that of Corona Australis.

Due to its small size and location far from the plane of the Milky Way, Caelum is a rather barren constellation, with few objects of interest - Wikipedia

This is a chisel. It is used to cut, carve, and shape hard materials such as wood, stone, and metal. It is a tool with a sharp blade that can be used manually with hand strength or by striking with a hammer, or mechanically, as in pneumatic hammers. There are also specific surgical chisels for dental procedures, used to remove bone or to assist in tooth extraction by severing periodontal ligaments.

I would like you to keep this information about the chisel in mind, because I will be referring to it again later.

2. The Birth and Childhood of the Phantomhive Twins

Well, Vincent Phantomhive mentioned that the name chosen for the twins was met with strangeness by the family, due to how unusual they were for that time. And, between us, it's a good thing they were named the way they were, because otherwise we would probably be following the story of James & John Phantomhive – which, although beautiful names, don't have the same appeal as the ones we know.

But, back to the subject:

I'm assuming that Rachel and Vincent had already discussed possible names for the baby if it was a boy; and one of the chosen names ended up being Ciel. As mentioned above, this is a name that evokes the qualities of infinity, ethereal and/or celestial beauty, purity, freedom, and elevation. A different name, but with a certain refinement, ideal for a future earl, especially one from the Phantomhive family.

Only now they had two. (Oh, yeah, O! Ciel teaching us from an early age to expect the unexpected). So a name with the same meaning would be a way to symbolize the bond between them. Something they both could have in common.

And here I'll pull some of the information we have from the manga:

"One twin is like a mirror image of the other, therefore, for those who don't know them well, it would be practically impossible to tell the difference."

Well, Ciel and Caelum share the same meaning, as we could see above ("heaven" or "sky"), but the pronunciation of the names is quite different from each other:

CIEL - pronounced "see-ELL"

CAELUM - pronounced "kay-LUM"

So, just by pronouncing the name, we can already notice a difference. However, even with different names and pronunciations, the meaning of something that refers to the ethereal and the celestial is something that both share; so we can say that here the order of things was "altered," but with its essence maintained:

"The twins were identical in a certain aspect, but completely different once you look from another point of view"

Another strong difference, once the twins were observed, was that one of them was more "extroverted" than the other. R!Ciel could converse with people, mingle, and take the lead without problems. O!Ciel, whether due to shyness or something already linked to his fragile health, was better at following, obeying, and letting others (mostly his older brother) take the lead.

It's worth remembering that, if nowadays people who communicate more easily seem to get "ahead," imagine what it was like in Victorian times, especially considering the Phantomhive family's position in society. Children of nobles were expected to communicate exceptionally well. To be strong, confident, and decisive. So for O!Ciel, who was the way he was in childhood, he was practically the same as "his" constellation:

Small. Distant. Uninteresting. Boring. Not as bright as others.

It's hard not to wonder how he would have fared if things hadn't taken the turn they did. How he would have lived if that tragedy on his tenth birthday hadn't happened. But unfortunately it did, and it changed everything in his life and his brother's.

And I'm going to end this post here and do a part two later; this ended up being longer than I imagined it would be...

Also, has that skull head always been in this image, or am I just imagining things?

[marichild]

escaping our shadows just to end up here

“You shouldn’t be here,” Sieglinde says, her gaze quickly darting behind Lizzy. I shouldn’t have opened the door to begin with. No one, except for her maidservant—nobody from the Phantomhive household, it appears. “What are you doing here?” “Won’t you let me in, Sully?” Lizzy asks, calm and composed with a teary smile and all. The ends of her ponytails are soaked through with rain, and the hands holding her skirt just above the ground trembles. “Please?”

Sometime after the Ciel that she knows disappears, his maybe-ex-fiancée shows up at Sieglinde’s doorstep.

🪐 sieglinde/lizzy, rated teen, 2.2k 🪐 (attempted) canon compliant, unresolved tension, complicated relationships, blue cult / memory arc spoilers 🪐 written for @femslashbigbang's monthly challenge

[midnight-in-town]

I remember that one panel from that boat trip of Kuroshitsuji from the twins flashbacks where one of the twins, possibly real Ciel looked quite upset or something when our Ciel was coughing and Rachel said that our Ciel can't go to the boat trip. Could it be that real Ciel was upset about how our Ciel won't be going (but I also remember that Rachel as well didn't want to go that trip & cancel it due to our ciel's sickness & I also remember how real Ciel excitedly went to the trip when it wasn't cancelled finally, so it couldn't be that he was upset about our Ciel being absent right?) so was real Ciel upset about our Ciel being absent or was he just upset because he felt like Our Ciel was being a burden and nuisance for being sick at a time like that (talking about the trip day) again? Thoughts?

Hey Anon ! Do you mean this scene ?

Well, I have an explanation, but I doubt it's what you're expecting. ;)

In my opinion, this scene is actually maybe more understandable if you consider the Munchausen by proxy theory [x][x], on top of the RCMT.

Basically, both theories emphasize that 1) real!Ciel was pathologically obsessed with our!Ciel and wanted him to "stay by his side forever", leading to 2) real!Ciel trying to control our!Ciel, maybe even going as far as to more or less poison him, so that our!Ciel would have to let his twin take care of him, becoming very thankful to him, thus furthering their bond (in real!Ciel's mind).

Want a proof that this theory is likely ? In ch138, Ciel realized, after that one month of abduction and torture, that he didn't get sick at all, despite living in terribly harsh conditions (cold, lack of food, physical and emotional abuse, etc).

And the one big element missing from that awful month compared to their peaceful days at home ? It's real!Ciel "taking care" of him, bringing him tea and food for his health.

Don't get me wrong, with the circus arc, we know that our!Ciel definitely had a weaker constitution that he inherited from Rachel. However, he was also probably chronically poisoned by his older brother on the side, which is why he definitely got better from the moment real!Ciel was not able to bring him food and beverages anymore.

Let's rewind back about that scene you were asking about from ch131, now : Rachel and our!Ciel were sick, so Vincent and real!Ciel, with Diedrich, cooked food for them.

Then later during the night, our!Ciel was couching, so real!Ciel brought him milk.

The following day, our!Ciel's fever was not that bad but his cough was terrible so Rachel forbade him to go boating -> how s w e e t ! more time and occasion for real!Ciel to "take care of his little brother", nurturing that special bond between them, because they're made to be "together forever". Except...

our!Ciel acted selflessly, as it is a great quality of his [x] [x] [x], and insisted the family went to enjoy a day outside, since Rachel was doing okay, while he spent the day with Tanaka.

TL;DR In this scene, I think real!Ciel expected Rachel to say our!Ciel wouldn't be able to go boating, since he's the one who triggered the coughing, leading him to spend the day taking care of his little brother yet again (in other words, controlling him), except that he didn't consider our!Ciel would strongly insist for the family to go without him.

I told you it might not be what you expected as an answer. :) I, for one, am quite convinced that real!Ciel had a pathological behavior since childhood, that is ten times amplified now that he's a bizarre doll.

Have a good day Anon!

[princessbutler1316]

....this gave me a slight heart attack not gonna lie...