Hi Anon! Hmm, well, first of all, in general, I like how the Phantom Five are way less cliché than the Starlight Four.
I mean no offense to any fan of them, but the Starlight Four are a literal example of “One Character = One Trope” aaaand I don’t really like that:
they have the color of their dormitory in their name: Redmond, Bluer, Greenhill, Violet
they’re stereotypical examples of how the different Weston dormitories are categorized
and they’re extremely naive and simple-minded, something the current arc emphasizes even more than the Weston arc.
To be fair, I think Yana wrote them like that on purpose: initially it was to show just how simple-minded they were (i.e not as in stupid, but rather as showing very little judgement), since they were so taken by the rules and traditions at Weston that they went as far as to kill to preserve their little world.
The second point is that Yana probably wrote them like that also in order to create a huge contrast with their fags. In comparison, the P5 are not any of these things (well, Clayton still is a little stereotypical tho’) and were meant to have more impact narratively speaking, if just with the presence of Soma and Ed who are two important characters.
An example will probably explain better, so look at their respective stage performances:
the S4 are literally themselves on stage. Meanwhile the P5…
are playing a role, Ches aside, but Ches is so very singular in the first place that it’s not even out of place. For me, that’s a metaphor that speaks volumes about their depth as characters and the S4 just can’t compare.
Anyway, in general that’s why P5 >>>>> S4 for me. More specifically though:
Ed & Soma: I don’t think you want me to ramble about them xD As I said they’re two important characters so they’re completely endearing on many aspects outside of their choice to help Ciel with the P5 in this arc.
Cheslock: I love his choice to constantly prove his singularity even if it makes him stand out from the pack (to the point even Seb commented on how unusual and brave it was), as well as the fact that he’s a very gifted musician. 🙂
Harcourt: well, to be honest, the reason I like him is because I really liked his character during the Weston arc. I love how he’s so grateful to Seb too. xD
Clayton: I’m not his biggest fan but it’s funny how he was the one who had the hardest time keeping to his role amongst the P5. However he’s also the one who had more selfless reasons for joining (he wanted to help the S4) and it’s why I still like him more than any of the S4.
Sorry for rambling, I hope it answers your question! Have a nice day. ^_^
Hi! Yeah I totally do, I more or less explained why here. :))
I think most of all, I like how the contrast between them isn’t reductive. I mean, on the one hand you’ve got Ed, who’s extremely righteous because of how he was raised but who’s also multitalented. And on the other you’ve got Ches,whom we know is very gifted for music and very determined to live by his own rules and to prove his singularity, even if that makes him stand out from the rest.
So initially, it wouldn’t seem like those boys could get along. And yet…
we see them interacting more with each other than with the other prefects or any students of their respective dormitory. 🙂 That’s the reason I ship them in the first place: I don’t think they give off particularly romantic vibes in canon, but the chemistry they developed has the potential to go even further and that’s great in my opinion.
Hmm, I don’t know if I have many headcanons to share though, except maybe that Ches started to see Ed slightly differently from the moment he managed to pull a convincing bad boy act. I think he’s not the only one though, since Ed’s change of attitude is the most extreme transformation out of the whole P5 (Clayton had a change of looks, not particularly of attitude) and anyway, it just can’t be helped, Ed’s game using his Phantomhive genes was too strong to be resisted. xDD
Their chemistry is also a reason I liked the part with the Phantom Five a lot during the current arc, which is what I was talking about with Anon above.
I hope it answers your question :)) Have a nice day Anon!
gosh what can i say.. i’m a real sucker for these kinds of love-hate relationships.. and its not just love-hate, i feel like they really became something else during and after their time in weston. take a look at this shit i beg you to look at it
pretty normal “lol i c u p say that out loud” “i see you p…. mOTHERFU” teenage boy banter, which in itself food for thought tbh. if they hate each other so much why do they keep just…. mocking around in the background.. x files theme
then the infamous cricket match that was so in-depth that i refused to read honestly. embarrassing. even now, i go back there to collect evidence fearing for my life, but listen. point is, not long before cheslock showed off how his magic fingers can work a ball which is exactly how relevant to being a musician? has toboso ever met a musician? been to a concert? anyway, listen. redmond was doing some magic anime-girl cricket move too not so long before. that means it was kind of a big deal too right? if ed can copy anything ever and magic fingers is something of a one-in-a-million talent, why was he so hellbent on copying cheslocks throw anyway… instead of going for the anime girl bat move, which is much more easier. anyway,
all im trying to say is that cheslock motivates him. there was like a 2 page bullshit after this part where its explicitly stated that he’s been living in his little sisters shadow since he was 10 and he’s extremely self-conscious about how lame he is compared to her and, as a result, looks for others to see how he can better himself. it was worded differently but the main point was this. which leads us to an other question, which im not going to get into because it bothers me too much, but why is he so obsessed with elizabeth? so manic about how perfect she is and stuff? i highly doubt frances and alexis kept feeding him anything like this. where is this brutal sister addiction coming from. why does he see her as some angelic flawless being while he himself is ordinary and almost worthless? he’s obviously capable of being just as good. his parents most definitely don’t “hate” him or regard him as an inferior kid or give him any kind of shit. and also, she obviously does not need her brothers protection. food for thought
ANYWAY, cheslock clearly inspires him. motivates him to be better. it was thinly veiled as just a general “i respect everyone whos talented and thats why i copy them but thats just how i respect talented people” fake-deep background story but tumblr user gregviolets wasnt born yesterday. cheslock personally and explicitly inspired him right there and then
“heck ye im observing every single one of ur moves, day and night”
listen this is already way too long but then they just became prefects together? only god knows what happened in those few months idek how many times has passed since then but then they meet in the music hall accidentally and just… keep… hanging out? whats that all about? edward was just there bc of lizzy, what was cheslock there for? free booze? because greg invited him once? does he look like he cares? listen to me, he was there because of edward. what the fuck.
and then their boyband launches and im????? wtf??
what the fuck is this? what the HELL. did cheslock not get the memo about how any of this is NOT about edward? i still cant believe he just went ahead and did that. everyone was going on about the performance and how they cant see without their glasses and cheslock just. talks about edward. can you believe this? i guess he lost touch because they’ve been making music together in their free time since approximately the cricket hell
im willing to bet my good kidney on the possibility that cheslock taught him how to play.
anyway, to finish off this chaotic nonsense before the corner shop closes before i can get there, some constructive criticism… i hate how they were never once shown to bond over little sisters. cheslock has one and she was only ever mentioned once. i kept waiting for him to go real soft because edward lost his sister to the cult and promising to help him because he has a sister too and can’t even imagine what would he do if anything happened to her, but they just kept being gay. it could’ve been that deep. such poor writing. anyway, i hope you enjoyed my thoughts… thanks for asking!
midnight-in-town 