#chapter 218

[cedric-k-rossignol]

[amelialovesships]

Finally some religious bullshit in my faustian contract with the devil manga I'm so so happy

[thedarkestcrow]

Sooo... looks like Modri Vladis is indeed Polaris.

It's been suspected before and I'd say the latest chapter mostly confirms it with these similarities.

I still think there are differences, though, between what we've seen from Polaris and Modri. But maybe these differences can be explained through his mental state. Because there are also signs that he might suffer from a dissociative identity disorder.

In the latest chapter it looks like Modri is talking to someone but it could be that he's actually talking to himself.

The different fonts used here could indicate that it's even several people being present. But if Modri has some sort of dissociative identity disorder he could be talking to different versions of himself. We've seen Polaris being quite unstable before and this could also be a result of his Cinematic Record being tampered with by Undertaker.

Earlier when Modri encountered Sebastian he did seem to recognize him and the way he was talking seemed as if he was quite certain about it.

And yet, in the latest chapter he's asking whether Sebastian is "the one" while the person(s) answering is/are certain about it.

It also irks me that Modri is so focused on Sebastian and totally seems to disregard Ciel, even though we know that Polaris is very dedicated to the twin and... well, they do look alike. I would at least expect a reaction from Modri towards Ciel.

Before, Polaris was absolutely dedicated to the twin, or rather "Lord Sirius"; his purpose was to provide "radiance" for him.

And while he still refers to himself as "a butler, even in death" his dedication now seems to be towards a higher being and his purpose now lies in getting rid of Sebastian.

It seems like his purpose changes to whatever is most convenient for his creator, Undertaker, at this moment. First, his dedication to the twin at a time where the twin was still unstable and dependent on blood. And now he seems more like an exorcist, a servant of god, wanting to get rid of the devil by Ciel's side, not because of Ciel but because of Sebastian.

Maybe having different personality states could explain that. Or maybe Undertaker has found a way to temper with his Bizarre Dolls in a way that makes them exactly what he needs them to be, and even being able to change that within the same Doll.

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

I can’t help it. The two look so good. S looks so healthy. He’s buffed. The way he puffs his chest as if he were so proud accompanying his master to the dinner table. He’s like a peacock showing off his beauty. He looks sparkling, soaring, different. His hair is styled differently. I love this S. I love this demon who loves to show off.

And Ciel he’s so beautiful.

[ceoandslutler]

“A table for two then.”

Sebastian and Ciel in Kuroshitsuji 218

We are told by Rodney that today's dish is seafood (Brighton's specialty as it is fresh) and the image of lobster is shown, a dish so luxurious that only the rich (mostly nobility) could afford to consume it (reminding us of the gluttony of King George, mentioned in the previous chapter).

In response, Ciel states the following: "That will be fine. A table for two then."

Sebastian is shocked by this and then says, "I was certain you would reserve a private dining room." But Ciel has a very logical explanation.

This is the second time he had a very logical explanation for dining with Sebastian. He also ordered tea for him on the train a couple chapters ago.

Sebastian is consistently confused at Ciel's (well-justified) actions but enjoys them anyway, as evidenced his little smile. But he is ultimately putting a time-stamp on when their 'togetherness' will end ("until we reach Brighton").

This doesn't work out as they end up together again.

What's funny is that we never see the maitre d seat Ciel, only Sebastian and that's rather strange because Victorian convention does not demand men to be seated, gentlemen seat themselves while ladies are seated. A little funny how Sebastian is getting the princess treatment when there's a literal child sitting opposite him. Anyway...

Ciel, who used the excuse of wanting to spy for gossip, seems to despise it more than anything. He could've very easily gotten a private dining room and told Sebastian to spy/listen out for any valuable gossip. But he didn't. What he's saying isn't just "nobles are annoying", it's "you're not annoying so I decided to sit around these annoying people so I'd have an excuse to sit and dine with you", and sadly, there's no telling whether Sebastian has picked up on how fond of him Ciel is indirectly behaving as though he is. But again, he seems rather glad to be able to try the pricey Brighton seafood, though he gives a time frame again ("for the moment"), just like he did on the train.

All in all, they're both fronting and genuinely enjoy each other's company.

[every-ciel-phantomhive]

[syncopatedid]

Wind Breaker Chapter 218: Is it really any surprise that Sakura would take news of Suo's betrayal much harder than the rest of the class? That's not to undermine Nirei's grief of course - we're not having a competition here - but it is quite understandable, because Nirei is mentally stronger than Sakura when it comes to dealing with feelings and it makes perfect sense, given what we know about these characters and the chapters that's played out so far.

In my opinion, Nirei was able to cope with more dignity because he got to confront Suo and hash it out with him. Unsuccessful as the attempt was, he did get some form of recourse and was able to vent his frustrations and land a punch on Suo, even receiving a proper goodbye from him. But most importantly, Nirei is still very much convinced that Suo's reason for leaving was circumstantial. Call it naivety or what have you, Nirei trusts his friends and hasn't given up on Suo, that's why he's able to pick himself up and keep going. Despite his timidity, Nirei has never retreated into his shell, perhaps in part due to his insatiable curiosity to know all there is to know about everyone and everything, and he's always doing his best to reach out to people because he wants to understand them. Nirei's bravery in facing his feelings and getting to the truth of the matter, even if he gets hurt or is rejected in the process, is irrefutable.

Sakura is not that brave.

He's been ghosted by Suo; no goodbyes, no texts. Not so much as an apology. And then finds out that Suo's been lying about other things and that he belonged to another group all along. The other classmates got ghosted the same way, yet Sakura took the news the hardest. But why? Was his trust for Suo so fragile that it could shatter that easily? We can believe so. Because for most of his life, Sakura had closed himself off to people. Suo and Nirei were among the first few he had allowed himself to be vulnerable with (they did force their way in when he was sick so he didn't really have a choice in that matter, but still). For the first time, he felt he could be honest with them and still be accepted for who he is. Yet suddenly, to learn that Suo was living a lie, what else could he be lying about? All those reassuring words Suo has spoken, all those times they've spent together, were they a lie too? Sakura can't help but cast doubt on everything. How else is he supposed to think when his distrust of people runs deep?

And there was no recourse to be had for all the hurt, frustration and anger to channel those negative thoughts. Only one thing was certain to Sakura: he had been rejected, by someone whom he thought he had formed a connection with, and the only way he knew how to cope is by shutting down his feelings and withdrawing into the darkness again. He's given up on others as much as he's given up on himself. When you consider Sakura's trauma and how Suo's departure hits exactly where it hurts, is it any wonder his reaction to Suo's betrayal would be that more visceral? Sakura has deep-rooted abandonment issues that haven't completely healed. He's barely gotten used to regulating his feelings and it manifests in the way his body takes damage from it, and losing one of the main pillars that had supported him has dealt him the most devastating blow that would require some major force of nature to break down the walls he has put up again. (And I think the one to do so will be Sugishita, but more thoughts on that in another tl;dr.)

[bull-shit-suji]

SPOILERS FOR 218

i'm still not completely sold on modri being polaris BUT i have thoughts on this scene. the variations in font would imply that each dialogue bubble belongs to a different person respectively; HOWEVER, looking back at previous pages, the room modri is in appears verifiably empty. ergo: he's talking to himself.

or. maybe he isn't.

thus far, the intentions of the hotel (damaging sebastian's character by making him both obsolete as a servant and untrustworthy as a guardian, thereby distancing him from o!ciel) bear a striking resemblance to season two of the anime. while i do acknowledge this season as non-canon, both it and the first season were written with yana's input and have historically paralleled later events in the manga.

with that in mind, a fundamental facet of s2's plotline was soul-merging, which occurred between o!ciel and alois. undertaker has been tampering with his bizarre dolls for a while now - it's possible he's figured out a way to cram multiple souls/cinematic records into a single host. which would explain the difference in font, as well as modri's instability (and polaris's crash outs, assuming they are the same person. on that note, a soul-merge situation would similarly give reason for modri/polaris's shift in obsession from protecting r!ciel to kicking sebastian's ass).

in the spirit of humoring that leap in logic: whose records could be trapped in modri's body? i have not one clue. my first instinct was that it'd be characters we've already met, but the voices seem solely familiar with sebastian as a demon and entirely unfamiliar with o!ciel. past contractors, maybe?