honestly my favourite bit in KS discourse will always be antis completely seriously arguing that portraying rape, murder and abuse im a way that shows it is fuckin bad is “glorifying”
Worse is when any abuse that is shown with snippets of happy moments or bonding between a victim and abuser is labeled ‘romanticizing’.
Many depictions of abuse in mainstream media are black-and-white; they make the abusevery obviousto the audience and victim. Take Beverly from the recent IT movie. This is not to say that there is anything I find fundamentally wrong with this abuse portrayal given that the movie was not focusing on Beverly’s abuse, the only thing the movie was trying to achieve was making it noticeable which succeeded, but that’s rarely how real abuse is. Abuse is hidden under ‘love’ and sweet nothings that keep you just on the hook. The abuser will give you enough happy moments to make you think that no, you’re not being abused! Remember how sweetly they comfort you when you wake up from nightmares. Sure, they slap you around a bit, but real abuse victims are beaten 24/7! Real abusers don’t show care towards their victims one bit! You’re not an abuse victim.
This is a scary thing to be teaching people.
Absolutely, good point. One of the reasons I love KS so much is because of how accurately it portrays abuse. Most other media honestly leaves me feeling like I’m lying, because my abuser could be so nice to me and I cared so much about him. I think a lot of people forget that it’s necessary for an abuser to be nice to maintain control of their victim.
^ THIS ^
Antis have a hard time understanding that there’s a difference between portraying an abusive relationship in a realistic way (which must include nice and sweet moments between victim and abuser, because that’s how the abuser keeps the victim around, no human being would be so stupid to not realize the abuse if they were beaten up constantly! That’s what makes it hard for a victim abuse to realize they’re actually being abused) and ‘romanticizing’ it.
Killing Stalking doesn’t even try in the least to sugar coat Bum’s situation, so how can it be called ‘romanticization’ of abuse?
To explain simply, while thinking about Touka’s pregnancy this afternoon, I realized something I hadn’t noticed before:
See, the reason Touka’s body has the risk to mistakenly recognize the baby as nutrients and absorb it is because, as a ghoul, she feeds on RC cells and…
humans have a low rate of RC cells
=> human meat is edible! (and tasty :D)
ghouls have a high rate of RC cells
=> ghoul meat is edible! (but disgusting, ew :/)
which means that human, ghoul and hybrid babies (like Touka’s) have RC cells too!
..But then in that case (which is what I realized today), how comes that only a hybrid baby has the risk to be mistaken as nutrients by its ghoul mama when a ghoul baby also has RC cells? In other words, why is Touka’s body possibly going to recognize her baby’s RC cells as food when her own RC cells in Hikari’s womb weren’t?
Please note that what follows is 100% theoretical but still, I wonder if this cannot be generally explained by why ghouls find human meat tasty while cannibalizing tastes disgusting to them, despite both meat providing RC cells and it being necessary for ghouls’ survival.
Ghouls = high rates of RC cells + a kakuhou to regulate them vs Humans = low rates of RC cells so no need for a kakuhou and regulation.
Right now,
I don’t know if it’s because the quantity of Rc cells is way higher in ghouls than in humans, or the fact that a ghoul’s RC cells are regulated by a kakuhou when humans’ aren’t, but anyway the gist of it is that, to ghouls, ghoul meat is “eww” when human meat is “yummy”.
This means that, on the one hand cannibalizing to survive (since ghoul meat provides RC cells) is possible but it tastes absolutely awful. And on the other, the alternative to cannibalism is eating humans (human meat also providing RC cells) but that alternative tastes absolutely delicious.
=> hence ghouls choosing to eat humans instead of their own kind because it tastes way better ==> species survival by avoiding cannibalism
Back to Touka’s pregnancy, I thought that maybe her body could recognize the “human part” of her hybrid baby and label it as “food” as a result, so I tried to look at this from a biological point of view, but how it happens remains a huge ’?’ for now.
The only thing I can be reasonably sure of is that this implies there are cells in Touka’s body that can pass through the placenta and recognize her hybrid baby and its RC cells as “food”, when a 100% ghoul baby is sure not to absorbed.
in other words, a ghoul mother will never eat her ghoul baby because its RC cells won’t be seen as “food” by the ghoul mother’s body.
==> species survival by reproduction is possible
My current main idea (please take with a grain of salt) is to conjecture that, considering that the probability of giving birth to a “half human” hybrid (no kakuhou) is way higher than giving birth to a OEG (kakuhou
👍)…
…the ghoul mama’s cells that detect the presence of RC cells on the other side of the placenta will see the hybrid baby and its RC cells as “food” only ifthey don’t detect the presence of a kakuhou in the embryo or (most likely) fetus.
Again considering that RC cells in human bodies aren’t regulated because the rates are too low (=> no kakuhou needed), while ghoul bodies need a kakuhou for storage and regulation because of higher RC cells rates, what if ghouls’ RC cells have a specific marker relating to a kakuhou regulation/storage, which would imply that human RC cells and ghoul RC cells aren’t exactly similar?
In other words, if human RC cells and ghoul RC cells can be differentiated…
because ghoul RC cells have on their surface a specific marker due to kakuhou storage or regulation
while human RC cells are unmarked because no kakuhou and no regulation
…then maybe that explains…
why ghoul meat will taste awful when human meat won’t
why hybrid babies that don’t develop a kakuhou (“half humans”) will get absorbed (unmarked RC cells = “food”), while a ghoul baby or a OEG will be born from a ghoul mama (RC cells with a kakuhou marker = “not food”).
And in both cases it allows a survival of the ghoul species, by allowing reproduction (ghoul babies’ RC cells
aren’t seen as food thanks to a kakuhou marker on the baby’s RC cells) and favoring eating another species over cannibalizing (because humans’ unmarked RC cells lead to human meat tasting better).
in case it’s not clear, it’s the example of blood transfusion with the universal O type donor: someone who’s O-type has red cells that don’t have neither antigen A or B on their membrane.
So
imagine your blood type is A (your red cells have the A antigen + your plasma has B antibodies) & you’re transfused with B-type red cells => immune reaction between the B antigen from the transfusion and your B antibodies => ://///// Now imagine you’re transfused with O-type red cells => no immune reaction because the O-type red cells have no B antigen on their membranes => 👍
👍
Back to humans and ghouls: if ghouls eat human meat, there is no kakuhou marker on the human RC cells => “human meat is yummy :D” However if they cannibalize => ghoul meat = ghoul RC cells + specific kakuhou marker that informs their tongue/brain that they just ate someone from the same species => “ewwww, ghoul meat tastes disgusting :///”
TL;DR
the theory is that if Touka’s hybrid baby develops a kakuhou (i.e is not a "half human” like Arima but rather a OEG like Eto), its RC cells that will be detected by Touka’s body will show a specific marker (of kakuhou storage/regulation) that will protect the baby from being labelled as “food”.
As I was saying above though, since ghouls are fictional I can’t be sure but I’d say that the one month old embryo stage is probably not when hybrid or ghoul babies develop their kakuhou. It’s probably later, closer to when the fetus stage starts, or even after that.
In other words, Touka’s baby is currently not at risk of being absorbed by her body, at least I don’t think so. What’s more frightening however is…
Touka not providing her baby with enough RC cells to survive. Apparently she’s been eating human food ever since discovering that she was pregnant (food shortage in the 24th ward not helping) which, as @coromoor once explained here, is a problem because it poisons her too (slowing her down against Mutsuki in the last chapter, for example).
As always keep in mind it’s completely theoretical (I mean, maybe Ishida didn’t think this one through and I’m reading way too much into this xD) and please don’t hesitate to tell me if something is off with my explanation! 🙂
This post is in reference to flashbacks in Kuroshitsuji chapters 10/11, 19, 32, 62 and 101.
So after establishing this theory, I started thinking back on that fateful night when Vincent and Rachel were killed and Ciel was taken away, and I hoped to do some kind of timeline/analysis to try understanding the killer(s)’ goals (?) and whether Ciel’s time at the cult was coincidental, or planned by the one who decided to kill his parents (obviously, if it was planned it’s even more horrible for him).
This is probably Kuroshitsuji’s biggest mystery since it’s the main plot: Ciel’s revenge is linked to this night and his contract to Sebastian is linked to his revenge, which is why we probably don’t have enough clues yet, but still I tried with what we had.
Spoilers everywhere obviously, and special thanks to wondrouswatchdog who discussed the theory with me (your patience is a gift :3). Also, since it’s already a very complicated matter, I’m leaving out all theories about Ciel, 2CT included.
–
1) Flashback of ch 19
It all starts here:
Ciel is still in his cute everyday outfit and it’s impossible to say what time it actually is. Then someone yells.
He finds the dog first, gets blood on his hand and then…
He finds his parents. Vincent looks like he’s hugging Rachel (so maybe she was hit first?) but blood seems to be pooling around both their bodies. No gunshots were heard seemingly, so it’s safe to assume that Ciel’s parents were stabbed.
From the amount of blood on the floor, Rachel or Vincent (or both) were really injured and they don’t seem to react to Ciel’s presence and eventual screaming.
That’s when it really becomes interesting.
Ciel somehow finds Tanaka (at the end of the corridor?) while his parents are either already dead or very probably on the verge of dying, but Tanaka is already facing the culprit. He doesn’t even have time to warn Ciel that he’s already stabbed in the back (and that is some huge knife the guy has) and then falls to the ground.
Let’s stop here for a moment.
Remember Tanaka in the Green Witch arc? We’re speaking of a guy who was able to cut a bullet in half with his Japanase sword, so there is no need to wonder about his strength and speed (and that’s 3 years after this incident and with a wound to his back).
So what does it say about his opponent?
Tanaka tried to warn Ciel and turned his back to his opponent, which means he probably thought he had the time to urge Ciel to run before fighting back (otherwise he would have stayed focused on his opponent, he’s not stupid). And yet he was stabbed, so the one holding the knife was probably not some common killer (this point doesn’t have to make much sense, it’s mostly that Tanaka was defeated even though we know he’s a badass fighter and it’s hard to surprise him).
Back to the analysis, after Tanaka is out, what happens to Ciel?
This panel makes everything surreal because:
– Either it’s Ciel’s own hand and he’s trying to protect himself by doing the gesture of putting his hands in front of his face: but in that case we should see his left thumb (try doing the gesture yourself with your left hand if you don’t know what I mean).
– Or it’s someone else’s hand coming from behind him and in front of his eyes, which makes sense because it looks like to be the left ring finger and the pinky.
Whose hand is it though? An accomplice of the one with the knife? Vincent who managed to get up? Another servant? It’s impossible to say right now, but this hand probably snatched Ciel from behind (so either in order to make him run/protect him or to capture him).
2) 3 strange facts
That’s the only flashback about this night and what happened in the Phantomhive manor on December 14, 1885, and after that Ciel is already shown to be in the cult.
However there are a few facts so far that are already raising a few questions:
The fire
Vincent and Rachel were stabbed and didn’t react to Ciel’s screaming so they were probably going to die of their wounds.So why start a fire?
We know from the Undertaker’s words in ch105 that Vincent’s body was horribly burnt, even though we saw he was stabbed along with Rachel. And even if we consider he managed to survive the first hit somehow, why didn’t they stab him again? Why a fire?
It might have a totally different purpose than just killing Vincent.
The fire destroyed the manor and the Phantomhives’ belongings so it might have been all about the Watchdog’s annihilation. Also, obviously a fire can be started accidentally, while stabbing leaves evidence of blatant murder. So a fire would raise less questions than obvious killing.
If the fire was to hide evidence (I’m more about the symbolism of absolute annihilation of anything related to the Watchdog, especially if Victoria is the mastermind and Vincent was acting against her).
Madam Red
She was supposed to come for Ciel’s birthday on that same day but when she arrived at the manor:
The fire had already started. She probably arrived early on the evening in order to celebrate her nephew’s birthday, so this means Ciel’s parents and Tanaka were stabbed shortly before the evening.
We might see our dear Madam Red again when Yana finally starts explaining the real deal, because she’s the one who discovered the fire, so she might have done something afterwards, but what?
Tanaka
He’s the real deal here. Stabbed as he was and since we know Ciel found him in the hospital after Sebastian brought him home, the question is: how did he escape death and the fire?
He was still resting in the hospital when Ciel came back from the cult and when he received his title from Victoria: so Tanaka stayed at least 3 months resting in a bed (since Ciel’s ceremony was in March).
So he was hurt deeply on December 14 but still, he managed to escape from the Phantomhive manor and the fire?
Maybe. Or maybe not.
Yes, I’m actually saying that maybe there was someone else who arrived after/was already there when the murders happened and that person saved Tanaka. Because even if he managed to escape somehow, he would have need immediate transport to a hospital, so the theory to have outside help isn’t so far-fetched.
Who is that potential ally though? Could be anybody on Vincent’s side, from Frances to the Undertaker, passing by someone we might not know yet (before you ask, since Angelina arrived after the fire started, I doubt it could be her, but I can’t exactly dismiss her either since we don’t know what she did after discovering the fire).
EDIT: Seeing as UT can teleport though, then it’s an even better possibility for how Tanaka escaped the fire and was brought to a hospital in time.
3) Ciel and the cult
The aftermath of the tragedy on December 14 was Ciel finding himself with crazy people who wanted to summon a demon and I don’t think I have to remind you of the hell he lived through and how much it destroyed him.
3 questions:
Is the cult behind Vincent and Rachel’s murders?
How did Ciel find himself in there? Was his time with the cult planned or is it just a pure coincidence?
We don’t know if Ciel managed to run away after Tanaka was stabbed, or if he was captured by an accomplice of the one with the knife, but the thing is he was bought by a guy and sent in there, so somehow even if he managed to run away from the manor at first, he was eventually captured at some point. (To be honest, I don’t think he could have escaped the one who defeated Tanaka, unless the hand creeping in front of his face in the flashback is someone who wants to save him.)
Is the cult behind Vincent and Rachel’s murders?
To answer this, I’ll need to bring in someone we all dislike: Kelvin.
Kelvin was crazy about Vincent and Ciel ever since he saw them the very first time.
He tried to find a way to be worthy of them and was really depressed when he heard about their death, but Kelvin was affiliated with that sect, as it is shown when his buddy visits him to tell him “their buyer” found Ciel.
So it sounds unlikely that the cult annihilated Vincent and his family since they seemed so happy to have found Ciel a bit coincidentally thanks to their buyer (who’s the one who bought all the other kids we could see in that flashback during the Green Witch arc).
So the cult aren’t the ones directly responsible for Vincent and Rachel’s murders.
How did Ciel find himself in there? Was his time with the cult planned or is it just a pure coincidence?
This part is just awful when you appreciate Ciel’s character…
It all starts here:
This is Ciel who just got out of the cult after binding himself to Sebastian and he’s holding a ring.
Ciel always wears two ringson his fingers: the blue one Elizabeth once broke before Sebastian fixed it, worn by the head of the Phantomhive family (in other words the Queen’s watchdog) and the gold one, which found his way back to him thanks to Angelina.
So the bloody ring he’s holding above definitely is the most important one of the two: the blue ring Vincent always wore as well on his fingers.
So how come Ciel has it when he just got out of the cult, especially since it’s a ring Vincent would always wear as well?
I also said earlier that we could see Ciel in his usual outfit when he found his parents dead, but he’s wearing cheap and worn out clothes during his time in the cult, like the other kids, so it’s not like he could have taken the ring himself and hidden it inside his clothes. And yet this ring was definitely within the cult’s place and Ciel got it back (seeing how bloody the ring and Ciel’s sleeve are, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually ripped it from someone’s finger).
So why? Because this ring means two things:
It proves Ciel’s identity as a member of the Phantomhive family
That’s how that horrible pig knew Ciel was “the real Phantomhive boy”.
It gives the cult the insurance that Vincent is dead (otherwise the ring would be on his finger) and won’t pursue them if they toy with his son (besides, they must have heard about the fire as well, so the ring is only a confirmation that the Queen’s watchdog is indeed dead)
And who took the ring out of Vincent’s finger? Obviously the one(s) behind his murder, and since that ring could prove Ciel’s identity easily, the fact Ciel had it right after he got out of the sect means they left it with Ciel after Vincent’s murder (which is how the cult realized who he was and decided to make him a “sacrificial lamb”).
In other words, the one(s) who killed Vincent were the reason the cult knew who Ciel was and decided to treat him the way they did for their satanic summonings.
4) Conclusion
So did Ciel find himself in that hell coincidentally? No way, it was all planned by whoever decided to annihilate the Phantomhive family.
Whoever they are, they planned Vincent’s murder, destructed all that was his (his home, his belongings, his wife) and sent his son in Hell (and all that on his son’s birthday).
I call that revenge. Or punishment.
And we all know there is only one person above the Watchdog in term of power anyway, and they’re his master.
Oh, and did you also know that December 14 is the day Albert, Victoria’s dear husband died? She loved him soooooo much, she still needs a puppet of him to keep on feeling happy and safe.
Just sayin’ (there is no coincidence in Kuroshitsuji). 😉
(Thanks for reading)
Old post but ch135 is around the corner so I’m bringing it back.
@akumadeenglish pointed out that the ones who attacked the manor (they were at least 2?) probably took the twins to make sure that they would end up abducted by the child traffickers (who have no relation to the attack on the manor) before they got sold to the cult. [x]
it’s possible that the reason Kelvin’s friends were so happy to have found the Phantomhive twins is because of some rumors there might have been about the Phantomhive family. [x]
So this theory is running off of a few assumptions:
1.) Ghouls evolved from or split relatively late from modern humans
2.) Eto can eat and digest human food without getting sick.
3.) The Kakuhou has a direct link with the digestive system and produces the enzyme responsible for a ghouls inability to process human food.
Let’s get started.
Endosymbiotic relationships are pretty much what they sound like; symbiotic relationships that involves one party surviving inside the other. In this case, the relationship being between the Ghoul (the host) and the Kakuhou (the endosymbiont). In this case, the relationship is also Obligate, as in, neither party can survive without the other.
midnight-in-town 
