#soul shapes

[abybweisse]

Ch204 (p2), Bodies and souls

The head matron drops that bomb from ch203 that Theo is to fledge next.

I'm a bit confused why they mention Nick, except that he would be the next candidate for real Ciel, if Theo wasn't there. I was worried for a moment there that they had already fledged Nick without us even knowing about it. However, they talk about Ginny in past tense and Nick in present tense, so he must still be there.

Gosh, this young Black lady here. I hope she turns against the orphanage, because I can tell she feels deeply that this is not acceptable. Partly, she is asking because she doesn't know everything that the head matron has already been told, or perhaps she has forgotten what she was already told. Either way, she still wonders why it has to be like this.

The head matron uses the same terms Blavat used at Sphere Music Hall: radiance, stars. However, "aptitude" has been added. She acts like it's these "stars" themselves who "possess technologies way more advanced" that theirs, as if they are from some advanced alien civilization.

It's odd for her to talk about not just their bodies but also specifically their souls. Someone has told her that their souls need to be as similar to the souls of the "stars", too, not just a match in their bodies. This reminds me of what was told (probably by Undertaker) to Chris Heathfield, and that the baron repeated to Jane.

So, I'm definitely not giving up my theory that Undertaker is experimenting with soul transplants, too, not just blood transfusions and organ transplants. To him, a soul is basically an organ, anyway, right? It could be that the best way for them to match their souls is by assessing their aptitudes. It's not just the blood typing, it's the combination of blood type and aptitude test results. And then reinforcing the similarities. She even has the nerve to call this a "clinical trial".

But Susan doesn't care too much about the details, as she hopes to use her high earnings to leave soon and open her own business, some sort of shop. I wonder where the money is coming from to keep paying such high wages, since we saw those money-donating renal patients die, but it could be coming from the hotel resort in Brighton....

Susan goes to the cold vault to get blood for Doll, and we see they have also been storing blood for the other lords of the stars. Though it's possible they don't currently have any for Sirius, which would help explain why a Pomeranian like Theo would be next.

Now this is interesting. "Things are taking longer this time"... compared to what? Last time Doll needed blood? Or something else about Doll's condition? What, exactly, is taking longer this time? 🤔

[thestuffedalligator]

So usually when an imaginary friend is a real thing in a story, it’s either a demon or a ghost or some supernatural boogeyman that probably wants to eat the kid they’ve befriended (Mama, a couple of the Paranormal Activity movies), or “imaginary friends” are just treated as a real thing in the setting, and if a child just thinks hard enough they can manifest a friend into existence (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Happy).

And somewhere in the middle is an area where the imaginary friend in question is real and they are supernatural, but they aren’t malevolent, and they aren’t entirely honest about what they are. Like maybe they’re a fairy or a god or some kind of boggle from mythology, but they just got caught by a six year old and they don’t have time to get into it, so they just go “…Yes. I’m your imaginary friend. We haven’t met. How do you do.” And then they stick around because they do love this kid, and if you’re a boggle from mythology in the modern day good food is really hard to come by.

And at some level. That’s what I think Hobbes is.

[stefisdoingthings]

wings

[alpacacare-archive]

he dont bite

[irhabiya]

anyone remember when a zionist on twitter recounted an incident that they claimed had happened on october 7th but turned out they were lying through their teeth, and even worse, the reported incident was actually from the sabra and shatila massacre? anyone keeping count of how many times zionist pigs rehash the vile, cruel things they've done to palestinians only substituting themselves in as the victims of the story? isn't it remarkable that any evidence of examples of the incomprehensible evil and violence that they swear by to justify everything they've done since october always turns out to be distinctly absent from reports of october 7th, and always present in reports of daily palestinian life for decades now?

[owlmaya]

inspired by this

[ballpitwitch]

KEANU REEVES on stage with his band Dogstar at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival on May 27, 2023

[crunchchute]

my attempt at a bunch of my fav artists styles :] idea by sootnuki!!

i would love to do more but this was already a huge challenge

if any artist here dislikes this/is uncomfortable with it/any reason i can take it down or turn off reblogs etc. otherwise i hope its ok 🫡 im not gonna tag anyone just gonna let it do its thing in the wild lol

[geomimetry]

suggestive monster stuff under the cut

i havent posted art in almost a year and this is what i decide to break the ice with hi

go big or go home amirite

[fumifooms]

Anyone else noticed that Marcille wore dark —and feathery??— dresses with poofy sleeves in the epilogue? I guess she’s letting herself grow into her cringefail goth fashion sense

[garagepaperback]

[abybweisse]

What makes a soul more delicious for a demon?

⚠️ I end up going off on a tangent! ⚠️

Tasty souls for perverted gourmets

It might differ from demon to demon, but Sebastian seems to like putting his master through painful experiences. Not so much the physically painful kind but the emotionally painful kind. But he's seeking out flavors he's never tasted before -- or are at least still considered somewhat novel to him -- so perhaps his previous masters, who were all much older, lacked such experiences in their lives. Or perhaps they were just more superficial and didn't let things get to them, while our earl has very deep emotions. Judging by what the demon cultists asked for, like money and fame, those might be the more typical wishes people make. Not revenge for the sacrifice of his brother, the torture they endured, and the deaths of their parents and household.

Generally speaking, I'd say that demons who have given up on "messily sampling" souls have developed a palette of sorts and start to seek out the flavors they love best. And, like Sebastian, they might pick up the idea to manipulate the experiences of their masters, so that they can create flavor combinations that are new to them.

Young masters are best for this, because they are still learning about themselves and the world. Demons can therefore manipulate the souls of masters, especially younger masters, and create the souls they find particularly tasty.

Tangential information under the cut, including Undertaker's goals, as well as references to Jujutsu Kaisen and The Promised Neverland.

It reminds me of Mahito from Jujutsu Kaisen because that Curse can manipulate souls, changing the actual shapes of those souls and the bodies they inhabit.

Which is why I wonder if Undertaker got the idea of "aptitudes" for F. O. L. Orphanage from his dealings with demons like Sebastian. Perhaps specifically from watching Sebastian and our earl... and then taking real Ciel along to witness as much of his twin's doings as possible. This makes the twins' souls as alike as they can be. Similarly, forcing all these orphans to fall strictly into four categories that match their star lords -- Pomeranians to real Ciel, Corgis to Doll, Mastiffs to Polaris, and Collies to Layla/Al -- and seeing how well they match their "aptitudes", Undertaker will see which kid from each class ends up matching their respective star lord best. The top student from each class is likely to be used in experiments to see if their souls are the right shapes to be transplanted into their respective star lords. All the "failures" in each class are likely just the blood supplies... until each top student is deemed ready for harvest... when they will likely be bled out just before their soul is harvested.

Even Undertaker has vaguely hinted that his approach might be similar to Sebastian's -- that only their goals are different. At Weston, in ch84, Undertaker says:

And in ch141, Undertaker explains that he's been taking real Ciel to see what our earl has been doing. Real Ciel had a blank stare at Kelvin's Manor, was a bit mindless on the ship, and seems to have been a quiet viewer at Weston, but you can see how he was being "improved" over time. Real Ciel could only take in a limited view of the activities, but he retained them and committed them to memory. And it makes him claim to have been by his brother's side the whole time.

In ch155, Jane talks about the shapes of souls, but she apparently doesn't really understand it and thinks that Heathfield is talking nonsense. Unless she's lying about it not making sense to her....

In Jujutsu Kaisen, Mahito explains that souls are tangible to him, as if they are any other body part. And when he changes a soul's shape, the body changes to match it. We get this scene:

In s2 of the anime, Claude uses various techniques to deepen and emphasize the similarities between "Ciel" and Alois/Jim before putting Alois' soul into "Ciel's" body, despite the fact that "Ciel" still had his own soul. And I'm half expecting Yana-san to eventually let Undertaker give us a scene where he explains how he's been manipulating those children's souls to prepare them for transplant. Maybe she'll even let us have an in-story explanation for why Sebastian looks a bit like Vincent (or more like grown-up Ciel?). Though I'd be happy if she even just got down to the truth of it in a tweet or a future Artworks book.... I figure it's much as Mahito says: the body conforms to the shape of the soul. This could also be used to explain why reapers look the same as when they were human... if they are reborn, as I theorize.

Ch200 has The Promised Neverland vibes all over it, as does the entire F. O. L. Orphanage assignment. In TPN, some children are kept in orphanages until they are fed to demons. In Black Butler, these kids are possibly being kept in an orphanage until their souls are ready for a reaper to transplant them (instead of getting eaten by demons). But the concept is very similar. Sebastian would possibly applaud the basic idea in TPN, as if the orphanage could be used as a demonic culinary institution... or something. (I've also just realized the kids in TPN have tattooed or branded numbers on the fronts of their necks, much like Finny's "S-012" on the back of his.)

In ch200, Theo even says that some "pervert" is "manipulating" the children.

He might actually be talking about Undertaker and not even know it. It's quite possible that none of the kids have met him or even seen him, since orders are being sent by telegram. But they have to assume the person running the place is a pervert of some kind.

And we know that Sebastian and Undertaker are being depicted as foils for each other. Ch111 vs ch200:

So, if Sebastian is a "perverted gourmet", as Yana-san calls him, perhaps Undertaker is a perverted... physician? Perverted surgeon? It takes me right back to the parallels to Dr. Andonuts in the Mother game series... and Josef Mengele, the Nazi "Angel of Death" who had a particular interest in (obsession with) studying transplant technology on twins.

Though Undertaker might actually leave the medical side of it all to the Viscount of Druitt -- and we know how big a perv he is! -- or to someone else, now that Stoker is dead, the transplantation of souls would have to be attempted by a reaper.

Yeah, I definitely think Undertaker is using oddly similar methods to shape young souls -- by the experiences they are allowed/forced to have -- but just with different goals in mind.

[spearxwind]

Happy 10th birthday to Cercerion!

OUGHHH UR RIGHT CERCIE IS 10 YEARS OLD NOW !!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BOY BELOVEDEST DID NOTHING WRONG EVER IN HIS WHOLE LIFE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frenchublog]

you draw silco's nose so fucking crispp you rlly put your entire pussy into those shapes

I showed this DM to my mutuals and IRL friends and they all replied "yes duh" so thanks for the giggles

[kayzean]

Them: Its just a scream. It can't hurt you!

The scream:

the sheer agony in his scream has left me absolutly fucking devastated.

[drabbles-of-writing]

I just know Raine’s palisman has such a nerdy, dumb name. If Raine is naming their first rebellion the BATs, and their second one the CATs, both of which are heavily themed, you bet your ass this silly little fox has the stupidest pun for a name.

I bet they named it Trot. Short for Foxtrot. I’m melting this into my canon and it can be pried out of my cold, dead hands.