grellestie

[grellestie]

DID WE GET ANY MORE INFO THROUGH THE LOREDROP ADAPTATION? (+ me being salty)  

I saw @marmalade-chainsaw's reblog and got inspired. Also I have many thoughts on the new episode (and they aren't all great).

(Obviously massive trigger warning for self-harm and suicide)

  Huge disclaimer: This entire post is written under the assumption that Yana Toboso has no explicit involvement in the Emerald Witch arc anime adaptation. She is listed on the official Cloverworks site as the original author only, and in no other source is it stated or implied that she has had any part in the adaptation itself (unlike Book of Circus for example, where she was very heavily involved). This means that any changes to the source material were decided on by the animation team and do not necessarily make their way into manga canon.

Which different people respect on different levels. For me personally the manga is gospel unless it disagrees with something from the anime i like (definitely not the story of Will the Reaper OVA) in which case I'll try and twist both to fit my vision! I am being very impartial and unbiased!

.

  I already stated that the short story is; we do not have any new information, and won't be getting any unless Yana blesses us with more lore drops or background on specific characters. But I want to go into detail and explain exactly why:

Yana as a mangaka is usually very deliberate about details. She loves her Easter eggs and foreshadowing (see: all of the twin ciel theory hints throughout the series). If she's put it there, it's probably there for a reason.

I joined the fandom right when ch. 105 came out, and the whole "who died how" debate was always going strong. I love reading everyone's unique theories on which frame corresponds to which shinigami.

What I remember being very popular was:

Sascha is the reaper who died by hanging, since it clearly has their frame and hair pictured. I think everyone can agree on this.

The one drowning was always a tie between the Undertaker and Grell. Someone in a post's replies (I'll find you) said that it can't be UT, since his hair was short during his trainee days. Which fair, but this is meant to show their deaths from when they were all still human. All trainee reapers we've seen so far had short hair, regardless of their human or fully-fledged shinigami hair, so this isn't a clear indicator of who it is. Maybe they do a military crop on new recruits or something???

The bottom right picture was always said to be Grell (although less popular, I have also seen an interesting theory of it being Ronald), but in my opinion it is often believed for the wrong reason. It would make sense if it was a means of showing us Grell's obsession with blood and red predating her afterlife (something which I completely agree with). However, I never thought that the nail colour is necessarily lacquer. It could be a stylistic choice, which would fit the way b/w contrast is used across the frame, so we can make out the hand, fingers and nails.

(btw at this stage I am going to kindly ask everyone to share their human shinigami headcanons with me. Who were they before. Why did they do It.)

So how did this change in the anime? Generally, we've all noticed this season's weird pacing (5 MINUTE RECAP?!?), and this entire episode has felt especially rushed because obviously they are running out of time. This didn't stop the animation team from taking several liberties in these past episodes, for example

Changing Cedric's death date in the previous episode

2. Making this scene really awkward and clunky (also isn't the unnecessary presentation of Grell as universally annoying kinda old and tired and dropped by Yana in all of Grell's recent manga chapters?)

Like why's he looking like that. This entire segment was awkwarddd

Couldn't have given her a bit of a frame?

No reason to change his lines like that

Also unnecessary. The anime is obsessed with putting that man's name in her mouth.

They took your beauty away babygirl

I think I am very biased so feel free to tell me I'm making a big deal out of nothing but the subtext and framing kind of changes the entire scene. I could write an ESSAY.

3. The seceder bit

Again, seemingly small changes change the characterisation and dynamic of the scene. "What makes them want to run" vs "Do they think they can escape" is a massive difference in how the Association is viewed by its employees and the way it operates. Workplace vs Prison/Cult. Clinical vs oppressive. Especially since resentment for the Association plays a role in the main antagonist's entire arc, I think that line was sort of important. But who knows? Perhaps it is all just a mistranslation?

And of course,

4. The infamous suicide loredrop panel

We can still make out that it's Sascha hanging themselves. The art in the anime is a little more three-dimensional, and there's no pesky text bubbles obscuring the scenes. But the nails? A very deliberate choice of the animators. Especially after that little bit of dialogue both in the manga and the anime where Grell once again is being very vocal about her love of red. However, knowing that the initial manga panel did not make that explicit in any way, and also being aware of the fact that Grell was most likely not out and/or even aware of her own identity up until the OVA, I doubt she was getting her nails done as a human. Don't ask me my thoughts on that unless you want me crying and spiralling.

Indeed, if you accept that Grell committed suicide by slitting her wrists, that makes UT the only person that fits the drowning panel in any capacity. However I do believe there's a chance that Yana is playing with our heads here; the panels could be metaphorical, a red herring, picturing completely random suicies (+Sascha) or even presenting the shinigami we already know in their human skins, which might not be what we expect. Their backgrounds are unknown to us and all we're working with is their personality now, the knowledge that they all once committed suicide, and the rest is pure conjecture.

So I guess this brings me to the conclusion that we really do not have any more information than we already did, and any tweaks on the side of the animator team could easily be just arbitrary. Personally, I am not a fan of how this was handled in the anime, and I like to be surprised by the media I am consuming, so I am content in making my silly little headcanons and waiting for yana to drop another hint. I don't know if any of all this meant something to anyone but thank you for reading through it.

[grellestie]

i dont care that the nails were painted red. it's not canon to me because black butler animes are never strictly canon.

cloverworks has to pry ophelia grelle from my cold dead hands. im sorry but cutting is so boring for a character like grelle, it doesn't click in my brain. unless it's confirmed in the manga, thoog no careee

[grellestie]

NONE OF YOU WOKE ME UP

wake me up when grelle is in the anime

[grellestie]

Black Butler fans, where you at?!

[grellestie]

found some old flashdrives and tell me why i found three kuro memes on one of them when i KNOW for a FACT i didn't watch kuro back in 2016.

love how 12-13 year old me was like "omg im just like ciel fr" despite never actually watching kuro.

[grellestie]

people who actually use proshipper and antishipper seriously and actually treat it seriously will never not be absolutely hilarious to me. like, the nerds who never go outside really just made up their own politics to get mad about. something something nuance is dead.

anyway spring cleaning for the anime coming out. im okay with dark subjects in general and actually like exploring them but i dont want to interact with sbcls and i dont owe you, random internet user, a reason why. i dont care if it saved your life, watered your crops, cleared your pores, or about your parasocial relationship with yana. i just want to see my babygirl and enjoy the series while it lasts.

[grellestie]

wake me up when grelle is in the anime

[grellestie]

sorry for being so dead

i just miss my wife, tails. i miss her a lot.

though kind of scared to hope grelle is in the new arc because i dont want her to get more death flags than she already has (im being dramatic, she really only has one but sobs)

[grellestie]

Uhh... Should some talents stay hidden?-

I said I have a talent for making random ass AUs...

This one is straight up inspired by Beast, didn't feel like dressing her up...

Have your Beast x Grell x Sebastian crackship love triangle ig <3

[grellestie]

Thoughts on Grelle x Ronald

and prayers

actually, here are my full thoughts, THOUGH you're going to need prayers going into it.

Oh, GrelleRon (i think thats what you crazy kids call it lol). I have so many different emotions about it. I feel like it has a LOT of interesting concepts attached to it and things that could really be developed from it! I haven't read fics in a while, but I am SURE some of these have to have been explored at least once or twice. Or I have to finally open docs. . . Scary.

Ronald already has to deal with Grelle as his mentor which is already introducing an interesting dynanic- usually in stories, it's the mentor falling for the mentored but we all know Ronald just wouldn't be her dream man. He's cute, but he's not Will and could never be Will. Maybe she would open up to him a bit after he witnesses her in the middle of a cute girl moment (read: depressive episode).

As nihilistic as it sounds, Grelle knows her end when it comes to relationships. She'll end up with William, become a star, have children, and then her soul will finally lay herself asleep. It's simple. Sure, she'll play around with other men (and women too), but it's all just for fun and to keep her excited! She's gotten herself attached before, but she's learned her lesson - especially after being out into. . . doing chores for a year. But falling for a different reaper could change her mind. It's the ONE species she could fall for and not be in trouble for being with them. . . or just judged ever more so than she already is. Which she wouldn't mind necessarily? But it'd get obnoxious getting called some uncreative name for the umpteenth time, like seriously.

Ultimately, she's keeping him at arms length but does consider him someone she trusts somewhat. But can you really trust someone if you only tell them so much about you? When that facade crumbles, how will you unravel your lies that never seemed to add up in the first place?

Now, for Ronald's perspective, I see him falling for her first. Think about it. This is the only girl that's broken up with Eric first, as well as broken the hearts of SO many other men in favor of Will- who she could do SO much better than, in Ronald's humble opinion. If he could be the one to ultimately sweep her off her feet, do you KNOW how much every guy around him would be jealous?

She's also amazing at her job! kind of! she's one of the stronger reapers in the dispatch and has probably one of the cooler scythes. She also survived a punishment from the Higher-Ups without changing in the slightest. She's also gorgeous! And the only woman to be apart of the Retrieval Division! That's SO cool!

I feel like he would fall for her in a falling for her shadow way- just completely misunderstanding her entirely and falling in love with that rather than who she actually is. He sees her for the woman she portrays herself to be; A strong actress capable of setting the world aflame with her passion alone. A gorgeous woman put against all odds, allowing herself to fall for men like Will when clearly needing a hero rather than a pencil-pusher. He entirely ignores any breakdown or outburst that ruins his image of her because it doesn't fit his version of his Grelle.

That's until her instability gets to an all-time high. He's socially smart for sure, but he's not an expert on the human mind, and Grelle is an enigma all in herself. How could someone jump from a simple mood to thinking the entire world is against you and that the person closest to you only wants you to be a distant memory? Or even just a joke, they tell everyone? That quick switch in emotions would confuse Ronald to NO end. But that just makes him build Grelle to be a needy princess in his mind. She just needs a strong man to keep her out of her own head. But is he even strong enough to handle her?

(SPOILER: Nope. Not one bit. He's witty, but he can't handle her at her worst. Will can, but only because he gets her mindgames while Ronald falls for every single one. Also, Grelle's lies would have to catch up with her at some point, and it heavily depends on what she said and how deep of a hole she's dug for herself. I can only imagine how much Ronald would be willing to let slip by him.

They would have SUCH an interesting dynamic. I just don't think they'd make it as a couple, but they'd make a GREAT case study if you're a psychologist.

[grellestie]

literally just like

can’t believe there’s still some ppl who try to deny and argue the fact that Grelle is transfem when it literally says here the LADY and the geek 😭

[grellestie]

just wondering what else is doing during this great kuro depression. i know it's rough for me so i just wonder how y'all are doing.

[grellestie]

be nice. they can't read.

hate how even when I filter the sebaciel tag i still see sebaciel art because some fuckers don’t add the damn tag.

[grellestie]

He's fed up with the sun and salty sea

[grellestie]

Kuroshitsuji Gacha for Gaza launches August 1st!

On August 1st, Kuroshitsuji Gacha for Gaza will be taking donations/proof of donations in exchange for your choice of art, fan fic, or edit. A post explaining all the details with links to our request form and PayPal/Venmo will be posted at 9:00 AM EST on August 1st.

(art credit: @thiefkingyall )

[grellestie]

i still find it incredibly interesting that yana decided to portray grelle as jason voorhees when bubba would make more sense (because he has a chainsaw) or ash williams if she still wanted to make sebastian freddy (because of ash vs freddy vs jason). it's also interesting she picked freddy for sebastian- i can't really think of a different character because he really does fit the most. (need to see sebby in a powerglove NOW)

like, it either means the drowning theory was confirmed since then OR we're going to get a cool ass fight at the end of the series between them. both can be true.

or im just insane.

[grellestie]

KNEW my babygirl was gonna get on here one day. my divisive girlboss <3

ik op said not to get into it too much but i AM going to note that grelle has been called she/her by the mangaka AND she said she wants a sex change in her confessional. ciel in wonderland isn't canon. there's more but again, op said to keep it cute so i am though TERFs can cope.

To cover the "faults" Grelle apparently has according to anon;

The throat silting thing is apart of the appeal. Grelle could call me so many rude names and girl, i would thank her. ALSO ABOUT THE TEETH... I am concerned about how anon believes eating out works. There shouldn't be that much teeth action and it's not like her tongue isn't long. Also, again, her teeth are apart of the appeal. You DON'T want a hot girl to bite into your thigh and lapping up your blood like it's the last thing she'll ever drink? Ok. Outta my way, straight girl, I'm aboutta get it. Also, I don't get anon's insistence on her teeth and her having to have a special diet- maybe I'm just insane but I wouldn't mind making any exceptions for my partner? I don't really like people for the way they eat, that's such a specific thing to be grossed out by. Again, maybe I'm just missing something. Also the face shape thing is just hilarious yet rotted. Honestly, I really like it because it's adding some diversity to faces- Like I said in my long winded paragraphs below that you should totally read, I REALLY like how unique Grelle really is! That includes her hot square jaw.

too long; don't want to read;

Grelle is just such a complex character and extremely fun to dig into because she's just so wildly unique. There is really no character like her and, if they are, they can never reach the heights she did by becoming the 4th most popular character in the series despite having a personality that would turn most people off of a female character. She's just an icon, I fear.

for the longer version, just hit keep reading;

okay it's time for the yappening. you asked for this

i originally wrote this on reddit so if it's familiar, that's why;

As a Professional Grelle enjoyer as of four years now (geez), I personally adore her for her personality, character design, and complexities of her character. Her character type is just super rare in anime and she feels like a diamond in the rough. She's loud, apathetic, and speaks her mind for the best or for the worst. Also, with all the blues and darker hues of Black Butler, she just stands out perfectly and her design meshes so well with the rest of the world. I also love the attention to detail of her jacket being hastily sewn back from where she hit Angelina. SPEAKING of that arc, it's just interesting to dissect her. The action I can think of being the thing that drew me to her the most when it comes to media analysis is when she murdered her partner in crime despite going on about how much she loves her beforehand and how she is the only woman who would understand her. It's easy to write it off as her just being violent which is a part of it but there's so many quiet parts that tell you so much about her and what she could possibly be thinking. (Will note that I think this scene is honestly better in the musical adaptation where you can see some form of regret in her body language during Angelina's cinematic record). To me, she exemplifies show and don't tell beautifully. There's just so much going on with her and that's how I fell in love with her. Black Butler has so many characters that NEED to be analyzed to understand (inb4 "you have to have a high IQ to understand Grelle" joke) and she's one of them. There's her relationship with Angelina and William, her dream of having a domestic life despite everything, that scene where Lizzie attacks and goes for her face and Grelle, our usually very egotistical gal, not moving an inch and somehow knowing Sebastian would save her, her position in the Dispatch as a woman when we know she's the only woman in her section, and why she keeps that damn jacket despite supposedly hating Angelina so much and getting defensive when Undertaker lightly pressed her about it, and so much more than I'm probably forgetting.

For personality, she just has so many things attached to her that are fun to talk about as well as just being funny! Her double entendres, her hypocrisy, her love for stupid puns and nicknames, and her being subject to Murphy's Law each time we see her (most of the time anyway- She's been somewhat safe in the current arcs but I have a feeling that'll change soon). Personally, I think her clingy antics are sad but funny in a weird way. There's something about seeing this super cool demon man be heavily inconvenienced by a silly girl who won't take a hint that I just really enjoy. Her "annoying-ness" is charming to me because it more feels like desperation than an actual ego AND, knowing how reapers are made, would fit into that well.

ALSO her out-of-canon backstory of how she was created is kind of interesting to think about with other people (ie translation errors about her motive which are very funny I should add, her origin, GFantasy meddling, etc.). I also just love the community Grelle fans have curated over time. I've been around the block and they're honestly the best people to talk to about Black Butler since they dug deep enough to find the complexities that she has so they definitely have a lot of knowledge on the series. OH and the fact she won 4th most popular character in the series despite being a character type people universally despise (especially in female characters because sexism is VERY prevalent in anime fandoms- from my experience, at least) AS well as only showing up every few years. She managed to beat out Vincent Phantomhive and Charles Grey against all odds and it's just SO cool to see in a female character.

The only thing I dislike about her, which is something that isn't the character's fault and more dubbing companies being bad, is her voice actor(s). Frederick is just too inexperienced and sounds bad next to the seasoned voice actors, the other languages are also just bad and miss how she would talk. The only two actors I like are Jun Fukuyama since he was the blueprint none of the dubs can seem to understand and Uehara Takuya since he manages to nail everything with her. I just wish she was played by actual transwomen but trans people are stigmatized in Japan but it IS getting better so who knows!

Also, I never understood people saying "Well, I wouldn't like them in real life!" like yeah? I hope you don't like a serial killer in real life? Maybe I'm just missing something lol.

Anyway, I'm done yapping. Stan Grelle. Goodnight, Grelle Nation.

why do people want to fuck grell sutcliff? she looks like a little freak who'd slit my throat in the middle of the night and drink my blood, somehow doing it homoerotically even though i'm staining my mattress. Her teeth? HORRIBLE. As a woman, i feel obligated to ask why ANYONE would want that near their pussy. they're so sharp. and widely spaced. i feel like she'd have to drink smoothies instead of eating actual food bc her teeth r fucked up. also those glasses? they are NOT helping her face shape. i mean, she already looks like a triangle, why does she want to look like a square? (sorry if i used the wrong pronouns, i looked it up but it seemed kinda smokey? idk it said that she refers to herself as a female so i just followed that, pls correct me if im wrong lol)

Defend Your Blurbo #24

Please remember this post is about curiosity and genuine fandom discourse. Be kind with your answers because this is not a debate essay, this is a discussion between fans

Meet Grell Sutcliff from Black Butler. I'm pretty sure most of you are familiar with them since they are one of the most requested characters, and Grell was one of the first characters to nearly beat Senshi

When it comes to the pronouns, Grell is definitely not Cis. I've seen arguments that they can be non-binary, but the fandom consensus seems to be that Grell is a trans woman. I received some fascinating essays with lots of evidence both ways for the pride month request, but let's not touch that here because that will turn into a fight. But if you guys want to debate that topic it is something more suited for Fandoms vs. Illiteracy.

Now, I'm curious to see if you all are going to challenge the One Piece fandom's rulership of the horny jail. So, Black Butler Fandom, Defend your Blorbo.