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i think this is the case and it’s also a cat-and-mouse form of banter, where the mutually understood subtextual intent is Ciel throwing up walls and rejecting Sebastian. Sebastian understands that Ciel sees him reaching out as offensive because they are not close, but he’s too curious not to; so he prods antagonistically even when he’s being kind, as it comes off passive-aggressive. I don’t think defending himself and convincing Sebastian (or anyone else) of something is as important to him as pushing him away most of the time. He’s aware that it’s a game between them and that it’s an insult to reject him al the time, and on Sebastian’s end that It’s fun when he manages to get under his skin because in a way that shows he can be moved. I think that’s in part the explanation for Sebastian’s seemingly cruel reaction at the end of the circus arc when they visit the orphanage: he was pestering Ciel in the train cart all the way there because he wanted him to open up, so he was glad Ciel finally broke down over it and gave him an emotional response.

I like to believe that when Ciel lies to Sebastian it is often less about convincing him and more about patching over the cracks and covering the gaps Sebastian keeps teasing at, excuses wrapped in a veneer of confidence and awareness thrown together to deflect the vulnerability being pressed on. In those moments, he knows Sebastian will not believe him entirely, but also knows the demon will let it slide and stop the banter, allowing the exchange to end and leaving Ciel to sit with the fear and affection he was trying to cover up.

Yet I can also imagine Ciel lying in a different way that is not just a flimsy defense or a layer added to his usual facade, but a deliberate secret and a deception so sharp that even Sebastian cannot immediately pierce through. He has already managed to keep his illness hidden from him, which shows that if he truly sets his mind to it, he can keep his intentions and schemes sealed away and lie to him and that kind of lie wouldn’t be about defense or winning a fleeting argument but rather a calculated choice on his own terms.

Lie to that demon, Ciel.

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Wait so the "tatoos" on Modri's neck aren't tatoos at all? Because everyone was saying that since Polaris didn't have them, they couldn't be the same person? But when seeing your "wing and cherub" post, I could clearly see that the "tatoos" are patterns on a clothing collar (they go a bit further than the neck at the back). But I also didn't see anyone talk about it so.......

i think on that chapter cover they look like another shirt collar, when the chapter first released I thought it was a last minute design change— but that could just be an illusion due to the illustration being in black and white. It looks like there’s a solid black shape at the nape of his neck, as a tattoo. another observation is that the tattoos on his arms are more in a more intricate style while his neck tattoo is hand-drawn. It looks like a deliberate design invoking the way Yana illustrates Sebastian’s gooey demon form.

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Wing and a Seraphim

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I think the “ciel stopped growing at 10” thing is just wishful thinking tbh

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I’m really curious about these eating=sex(or just lovin’?) metaphors that came up in the servant arc

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Color shift because the pink bothered me and I felt like it wasn’t doing the image justice U_U

original render by @namisiaa

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anybody wanna put together a servant arc timeline? Everybody split up at the same time, Sebastian and Ciel’s train took half a day, and we still haven’t made it to day 2 yet. Polaris had his crash out following Mey Rin and Ran exposing the maid trafficking manor, which took at least 3 or 4 days.

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I’d have to look at the raws, but the speech bubbles make it seem as though he’s talking to the rest of the stars. Canopus was the one that had bandages. Perhaps they’re all accompanied by their own reaper/god?

Why wouldn’t Polaris recognize o!ciel immediately? who is the other people Vladis is talking to in that room?

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I’ve been asking people about this all year, thank you. I think it’s a reoccurring theme in how Sebastian views his own service, like Agni’s.

kuroshitsuji english translation might have made a crucial mistake in ch218

At the end of Chapter 218, Modri says the exact same line as Polaris: 私は死んでも執事ですから, which I am told in English is "As I'm a butler, even in death." Obviously this leads us to think Modri is Polaris...

HOWEVER!!!!! I believe Yana is actually fucking with us with some classic wordplay.

Because 執事 (butler) in Japanese is the EXACT SAME WORD as "deacon" - this is also 執事. It's a Christian ranking below a priest.

It might've been safer to translate this line as "As I'm a servant, even in death." so it could be interpreted as either a butler or a servant of God.

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Why wouldn’t Polaris recognize o!ciel immediately? who is the other people Vladis is talking to in that room?

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read your posts @elizabeth-kawaii-midford @nataliaphantomhivesblog

I would like to add that Ciel just misses his tea once it’s finally brought to him,

Which resembles what happens with the mystery man at the end

I’m using my translation because the English releases don’t keep those margin text box thingies, here’s the raw for anyone curious:

The person who helped me translate said that the word used for “meeting” is also uses for “reunion” sometimes, so I thought “to make passing acquaintance” was appropriate because ‘acquaintance’ could similarly mean someone you know or to meet someone, where ‘passing acquaintance’ can mean both.

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I don't want Sebastian to eat Ciel's soul, but if he insists, I want him to regret it. I don't mean he slowly comes to realize what he's lost years down the line and remembers his master with bittersweet fondness. That's fun, but I want 'Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan'-level remorse.

Immediate, I've-ruined-everything level remorse.

The body's still warm enough that he can convince himself for a second that what he's done is reversable-level remorse.

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Because sebastian admires the insatiable human spirit, he teaches ciel to be indomitable and persevering—on this first page specifically, so that he may assert his will over a fickle animal—and then that attitude is what saves Ciel from being taken by sebastian after he’s knighted by the queen.

Though I have no idea if we are to take the parallels between Sebastian and Jane/Artie to their most literal conclusion (that they are also demons), I think we’re to take it into consideration.

At least understand that Artie is something of a “Beast”, but beasts are not inherently evil. If you accept them as such and without fear, they are loyal. As we’ve seen from all of Ciel’s servants.

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Some recolors of @namisiaa’s lovely manga render. I asked them if I could try to make one that looks like this famous painting of Miranda from The Tempest, which I figured Yana was referencing:

O wonder!  How many goodly creatures are there here!  How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world That has such people in ’t!

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Sebastian Michaelis

Lineart and coloring: Namisiaa

Original art: Toboso Yana, Kuroshitsuji: Chapter 216

I'm only 30 days late 🤣🤣🤣

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ah, sorry, he’s talking about his acting method for Sebastian in relation to his characterization of Sebastian. There, he is talking about Ciel’s actress performing Ciel’s breakdown and regression, and by really feeling invested in her acting, he can react as Sebastian would. Here’s a better translation of that excerpt:

“His emotions are moved when his master’s, Ciel’s, emotions are moved. The intensity that Maaya (Sakamoto), who plays Ciel, brings to her performance—beyond what we’ve seen before—also affects Sebastian. No matter how far it goes, I’m always ‘receiving’ from everyone around me.”

He said something similar in an old BoA interview, but now here he’s saying that what he’s learned about acting through initially playing Sebastian (an understated discipline in which he locks in to his costars’ performances instead of focusing on putting on a performance himself) is, ironically (fittingly?), the progression of Sebastian’s character arc as Ono sees it. By being present and attentive towards other people, He, a previously unempathetic demon, can become moved by them. I may delete this post and make a new one with a better translation and compare it with the old BoA interview instead

I’m late to seeing this

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I’m curious: when was the last time we got any internal dialogue from Sebastian or Ciel?

was it all the way back in the blue memory arc?