#reaper abilities

[abybweisse]

Hello! I was rereading the Jack-Ripper arc and noticed that Ciel used "the colour of lycoris that blazes the earth" just like his father did in the Madam Red's records. Since he can see grim reapers and also bore witness to Madam Red's demise, does it mean that he can see cinematic records as well?

Seeing the records?

He's had opportunities to witness cinematic records but apparently couldn't actually see them. I think he later even asks what's going on when Ronald and Grelle see what Undertaker did to alter the cinematic records of the bizarre dolls on the ship. I'll have to verify that, though.

Idk why he uses the same term used by his father.

[abybweisse]

It's funny when people still say undertaker doesn't give a fuck about midfords,I mean their house didn't burn in the fire and their children didn't get abducted and they don't have a contract with the devil,so it makes sense that se we undertaker less concerned in them, also about campania I agree that he was a dick but maybe he knew that Sebastian won't let anything harm ciels fiance and family, in the end she is still Claudia's daughter and he called her a phantomhive for a certain reason

All the Phantomhives

He doesn't want to lose any more Phantomhives. Period. And he makes it very clear that he considers Francis to still be one, even though she got married. Her children are automatically included, I should think... but probably not Alexis. (Sorry, Alexis.)

Not only were the Midfords not targeted in that attack, but I think he considers Francis to be more like Cedric, more like himself, than Claudia. It's sad, in a way, because he might not fuss over her as much, but it also likely means he believes she's strong enough to pretty much fend for herself. And Edward, Lizzie and Alexis are no slouches -- especially Lizzie! I mean he let Lizzie go toe to toe with Sebastian, knowing full well what he is. And she was really holding her own until Sebastian caught her off guard. And we all know that Sebastian was surprised that Francis was able to catch up to him and even lay a hand on him at Weston. Not easy to do! These are formidable individuals.

[abybweisse]

Hello! I know you wrote that your askbox is open for chap204 question, so feel free to answer this whenever. I scrolled so far down you reapers tag the app glitched and would only show me the same posts on loop so I didn't see if you answered something about that before: in GW arc, Sasha said that Ciel could see reapers either due to his being close to death or because of his lineage. But people had no problems seeing butler!Grell, or passenger!Ronald, or circus membre!William, or Grell and Othello at the manor and there's other exemples like Undertaker? So is it a mistake by Yana or did I misunderstood?

There are some older posts about this, but they might be hard to pin down, especially if Tumblr starts glitching. 😆

When can you see reapers?

When trying to hide, only certain people can see them, and only under certain circumstances. Reapers can be seen by anyone when they are not trying to hide.

However, there's some reasonable debate on whether Grelle is supposed to be seen by everyone when Lizzie is in fight mode and automatically points her sword at Grelle. I think Grelle was not trying to be invisible at that moment. The main reason I say that is because Sebastian stops Lizzie from fighting Grelle, and Sebastian clearly cannot see reapers who are trying to remain invisible.

Regardless of whether Grelle was trying to be invisible right then, though, the question remains why Lizzie would automatically point a sword at a reaper when she was fighting bizarre dolls.

Even though reapers are supposed to have souls, they are definitely different from regular human beings... and Lizzie might have sensed something off about Grelle (in general), before Sebastian can say anything about Grelle (specifically).

Automatically registering that reapers are not human might be a nod to her lineage anyway, just as seeing reapers when they are in hiding is a nod to our earl's lineage. Keep in mind that our earl only takes note of Sascha and Ludger when he hears one of them say "Phantomhive"; he turns around at the word and finds them in the trees. Similarly, Lizzie only tries to attack a reaper when she's caught up in her sword fighting "zone". In such states, they are probably more open to their own burgeoning powers/abilities.

[abybweisse]

If Undertaker is Ciel's grandfather, could Ciel have any supernatural abilities?

Inherited abilities from granddad?

Either or both twins could, yes. I'd like to think that our earl's abilities would be stronger than real Ciel's. Like... sure, he's got asthma from his mom... but he's also got something special from the paternal grandfather.

Well, in ch103, our earl responds to Sascha saying his last name. Like he gets a chill and immediately turns to look where the reapers are supposed to be invisible. Sebastian can't even see them, at least not at first. But when our earl turns to look, he can see them, and they are surprised. If they hadn't mentioned his name or the family name, he might have never felt their presence at all. But it's still telling how that gives him a sensation and makes him look right at them. So, I'd say that is a trait he has acquired from grandpa....

And ch108 shows what could either be a reaper trait or simply an identical twin thing: sort of temporarily jumping into his soulless Bizarre Doll twin to see Undertaker by the bedside. Of course, we don't know what Undertaker was administering to real Ciel, but I have a feeling our earl and Ciel have a special twin connection, even though real Ciel's soul has been devoured. Also keep in mind that our earl wakes up to find Sebastian by the bedside, and he is the one who devoured that soul. Reminds me very strongly of Lucas and Claus in Mother3, since the mirror twins in that also make a psychic connection to each other without even trying... after the older mirror twin, Claus, was killed and turned into a Fascinating Chimera. Once he was turned into a Fascinating Chimera, Claus was referred to as "heartless" by the Magypsies (game's parallel to the reapers). So, the psychic connection only required minds, not hearts or souls. Could be the same thing here: our earl is connecting to real Ciel's mind alone.

But even if the mental connection thing isn't a reaper trait, seeing reapers who are trying to remain invisible probably is.

[abybweisse]

Is it possible for shinigami to create children with humans? Or with demons?

I know I've had asks like this before, so please look up posts about reaper abilities and limitations. Short answer:

With humans? I definitely think so. Without that, Undertaker couldn't be Cedric, and he's pretty much got to be Cedric.

With demons? Possibly... but few would ever try....

[abybweisse]

Shinigami forgiveness. Part of the path to forgiveness might include finding a person worth saving, instead of stamping “completed” and stating “no further comments”. It might be a test to see if the reapers will ever find value in the life of someone else.

Exactly... as I've suggested before on my blog several times, over the years. (Please click my tags. I'll add this to my Tagging Masterpost, eventually, too.)

Of course, we'll never know for certain... unless Yana-san explicitly makes it canon.

[abybweisse]

Ch191, Special scissors

Why does Layla have this pair of scissors that can cut into the top of Ronald's lawnmower death scythe and jam up the works of its rotating blades? It must be made of the same stuff as those lawnmower blades. But it doesn't look like a death scythe.

It could be a death scythe disguised as something else, like how Undertaker's sometimes looks like a sotoba, but here's another possibility: it could be a special pair of scissors meant specifically for cutting cinematic records, and those might be made of the same stuff as death scythes... but serve a separate purpose.

Ch60 has Undertaker explaining what reapers do: they collect souls and send them off for judgment. They also cut the cinematic records right after the word "END". He's shown with a death scythe but also with a pair of scissors. It seems to me that death scythes aren't always good for precision work, like cutting between two frames in a cinematic record, especially if your death scythe modification is anything other than shears or a simple blade.

There are two major possibilities here: either death scythes convert into shears/scissors for precision work... or reapers typically carry a death scythe and a special pair of scissors, which are probably made of the same material. The whole issue is complicated by Undertaker saying just before (previous page) that cinematic records "come to an end at that moment" that the soul is collected.

I'm thinking that "END" pops up in their cinematic record at that moment, but cutting the film is something different.

Well, perhaps Yana-san isn't entirely sure how to illustrate exactly how reapers carry out their duties, so the images and explanations are a bit vague and slightly contradictory. A third major possibility now exists: reapers don't normally carry around scissors, nor do their death scythes convert to that shape; the scissors shown in ch60 are just shown there to help us understand (but ultimately cause more confusion) and aren't actually used in the process.

All the same, Layla has been entrusted (unless she somehow stole it before she headed to Athena Sanatorium) with a weapon that can compete against reaper death scythes... and could therefore also be used to kill reapers and demons....

[abybweisse]

Ch191 (p2), Narrowing it down

Layla is somehow surprised by Ronald's eyes. Doesn't she ever see Undertaker's eyes?

Perhaps Undertaker isn't completely open and honest to her and the other lords of the stars about his own identity as a (former) grim reaper....

Ronald talks about thinking it was Ada he was after, until Layla stabbed Baldo and exposed her true identity as a Bizarre Doll.

How does he know Ada isn't one, too? Couldn't there be more than one on location?

Of course, we know that Ada isn't, but Ronald chases after Layla, so he doesn't yet know that Ada and the others are about to find Baldo and take him back inside for emergency care.

Now we get some information on what reapers can and cannot do, as well as something -- still really vague -- about the reaper organization and its "superiors". This time he calls them the "brass".

Anyway, a reaper cannot see if a person has a soul, at least not until they use their death scythe to release and collect it. That finally explains why Ronald had to hit a bizarre doll on the ship to verify her soul had already been taken. Unlike demons, reapers don't directly detect souls!

What's got me interested about the org, this time, is how he says the "brass" are "observing this world" and making sure every living thing "has a soul". "'Without exception.'" "That was absolute."

That's some odd wording. No mention of a creator, really. Just the "brass" observing and making sure things operate as expected. This is sounding more and more like an experiment. It feels like the "god of this world" didn't really make the creatures but put souls in them and then keeps someone around to maintain the new norm.

Well, since Layla doesn't have a soul, there isn't one to retrieve, but Ronald has to do something to appease his superiors. Besides, Layla isn't like the mindless ones he and Grelle encountered on the Campania, and this is new to him, since he doesn't know exactly what-all Undertaker has done to improve them.

Next post coming up! This chapter has me reeling!!