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lady-lilly-gray · 3 months ago

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Will Elizabeth Midford Commit Suicide?

I think she might </3

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?”

Whilst it is an interesting bit of world building, everything Yana-san does is extremely intentional; so I don’t believe that such a big revelation was intended as nothing more than a throw away line.

Therefore, what is the reason for her telling us, the reader, this?

There are two reasons I can think of:

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

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

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

I don’t think Yana-san would trust herself to write Grelle’s backstory, as it is more than likely linked to her gender identity.

William and Ronald have already been at the focus of arcs (Circus and Sanitorium) during which information regarding reasons/methods could have been shared or foreshadowed

Any background we do get on Othello will probably relate to his experience with Undertaker (re: after he became a Grim Reaper)

As for that point; Undertaker is the Reaper we are most likely to get a backstory on.

However most of what has been alluded to in his past has been confined to the 19th century: his desertion of the dispatch, the mourning lockets, his association with the Phantomhives. Therefore, I don’t foresee us learning about his suicide.

So that brings up the second point: Who is most likely to commit suicide?

Let’s look at some characters who have not been Doing Well when last we saw them:

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.

Finnian: After what happened with Doll and Snake, he may be questioning O!Ciel’s motives, but I think he intends to stay by O!Ciel’s side until the end. His flashback in the Emerald Witch Arc supports how much he values his new life.

Edward’s present conflict is mostly rooted in Lizzie’s reaction to R!Ciel’s return. He has shown to feel betrayed by O!Ciel for what happened with the Music Hall; but at least he has a support system (Cheslock, Clayton, and Harcourt are all in the same boat as him and can help each other cope with what happened).

To that point, how has Lizzie been doing? (not well)

Now, let’s look at her role in the story so far:

She is initially introduced as an overly-sweet annoying comic relief. However, the Campania arc proved this to be a façade she created for R!Ciel. At the end of the day, all she wants is to make Ciel happy.

But even before the Campania arc, there is a crucial point to her relationship with O!Ciel specifically—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, as him doing “what Ciel is expected to do.”

But in the circus arc, we simply get this reminder in O!Ciel’s mind; 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.

Now we can move on to the Luxury Liner arc, and what it means for Lizzie’s relationship to the twins, and to the Reapers.

That’s right, aside from O!Ciel, Lizzie is the only character we have seen have a brush with a working (i.e. not undercover) Grim Reaper and live.

Heck, Grelle was too stunned to react—it was Sebastian who stopped her (with one hand, but we’ll come back to why that’s relevant)

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 (sans Snake, who didn’t know R!Ciel) around to witness this, so it’s fair to say that this is O!Ciel’s own desire to protect her. He does genuinely care about her, regardless of how far those feelings go. (Yes, I’m an O!Cielizzie shipper, but that’s not the point of this theory)

The Watertight Doors

O!Ciel 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.

(Yes, Sebastian can’t let him die, but he can still get badly hurt.)

I don’t love the scene of him (a CSA SURVIVOR) ripping Lizzie’s dress off, but it does give us an interesting image: Lizzie wearing his jacket for the rest of the arc. Even when she does eventually stand up and protect him, it is still his treatment/protection of her that is giving her strength to fight.

“Wife of the Queen’s Watchdog”

“She protects him; She’s so strong; She’s more than a satellite love interest; Yay!”

I won’t harp on the actual fight—ya know, the one we see from O!Ciel’s perspective!

He is shocked, he is safe. He is the younger brother, the one who grew up sick and weak, used to being protected by Ciel and the rest of his family. Now his fiancée (if in name only) has also come to his rescue, in spite of what he his brother told her in the past. Even though she doesn’t know it in the moment, O!Ciel is the first of the twins whom she feels comfortable revealing this “unladylike” side of herself to.

Because, more importantly, when she is showing this side of herself, she refers to herself as The Wife of the Queen’s Watchdog.

This phrasing interests me since R!Ciel has never officially held the position of Watchdog.

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? To further intertwine her fate with O!Ciel’s (if you ask me).

Last we saw of Lizzie (7 YEARS AGO), she was on the verge of a breakdown for not being able to tell the twins apart. Specifically, she was evaluating how much of the love she felt for O!Ciel 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?”

True: the main story is O!Ciel’s contract with Sebastian; and I think most of us believe it will end with O!Ciel’s death. So, is there anything holding him to life at present—once his revenge is enacted, that is?

Given the (all but confirmed) theory that the Phantomhive manor was attacked because of something relating to Vincent’s work for the Queen, I believe that:

The position of Watchdog must die with O!Ciel.

This will also directly counteract Undertaker’s intentions of protecting the Phantomhives, to the point of trying to revive them.

O!Ciel is slated to die per his contract, and R!Ciel is already dead, and will probably be killed once again. So that’s the end, right?

Wrong

O!Ciel is not the only living “spare heir” to the Phantomhive family: Frances Midford is.

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.

And who is Frances’s heir? In peerage, Marquess outranks Earl, so Edward would not be demoted to Earl Phantomhive; which makes the next Phantomhive heir Elizabeth.

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? Most likely not. (Even if she did, though, Frances is likely to outlive Victoria, who died in 1901.)

If Lizzie were to be killed, she would no longer be in the story; but if she killed herself we would see her again—as a Grim Reaper.

Yana-san loves her foreshadowing, so let’s look at chapter 117: Lizzie versus 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.

He acknowledges that she is strong, but still no match for his demonic abilities. If she’s to stand a chance against his full demon capabilities, she’d need supernatural strength of her own…like that she would acquire as a reaper.

Additionally, this fight already shows Lizzie’s growth as a fighter. As I mentioned earlier, when she turns her sword on Grelle during the fight with the Bizarre Dolls, Sebastian stops her with one hand (two fingers, actually!) But when they fight at the Music Hall, he needs two hands to stop her.

What will happen when next they meet? (I hope we find out soon!)

Whilst I can’t say with absolute certainty that this is the direction Yana-san intends to take the story/Lizzie’s character, I think it would be a fascinating narrative direction to take Lizzie’s character arc in.

And maybe, if Sebastian is taken down, but O!Ciel’s soul cannot be saved, Reaper!Lizzie can at least be the one to collect it, cradling him in his final moments as he drifts away from her forever…

To End on a Positive Note, here are some fun details that Reaper!Lizzie could entail:

She could kill Sebastian to save O!Ciel with an act of true love; and they get to be together. If the Grandpa Undertaker theory is true, Reaper!Lizzie x O!Ciel would be a fun parallel to Undertaker x Claudia, another Reaper x Watchdog pairing.

Pseudo-Crack Theory! Having Lizzie become a reaper, or even having her commit suicide after O!Ciel’s death, could open the doors for a spin-off series about the Grim Reaper Dispatch that opens with Lizzie’s death; and, through her eyes, we get a fun office comedy about the daily lives of the Eternally Damned <3

#final word count: not quite 3k #FUCK WAIT IT'S NOT DONE I FORGOT I HAD TO GO BACK AND ADD THE CAMPANIA STUFF #ok ok ok it's over 3k now oops #shut up lilly #let's chat #kuroshitsuji #black butler #kuroshitsuji theory #black butler theory #kuro theory #elizabeth midford #reaper!lizzie #starting that tag (at least for my blog) now oops lol bye

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