^ THIS! I hope you read @thedarkestcrow‘spost about the lockets seen in ch113 because this is totally relating to what you’re saying!
Honestly I really love this and it would be awesome if that’s actually what happened! Besides, I took another look at the flashback with Derrick upon reading your ask and…
Violet never says a word about the murders in retrospect during the midnight tea party, it’s mostly Bluer and Redmond who talk, so maybe Violet ended up truly regretting that tradition became the wrong reason for murder even before the Blue Sect arc.
I agree with you, I think the reason he’s playing his part in the S4 quartet of Bravat’s sect despite “not feeling the magic” might because he doesn’t want to leave his friends completely manipulated because they want to forget their shame and what they did. Their hands are stained and it will never go away, but while Bluer, Redmond and Greenhill tried to feel better by forgetting, maybe you’re right and Violet remembered Soma’s words and how they had killed 7 people for no good reason.
I really love this and I hope Violet will talk more with Ciel to explain why he’s staying around despite knowing Bravat’s sect might not be such a great place. As I said before, I wouldn’t mind more time for Violet and Cheslock to shine in this arc, so here I am, hoping!
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts, Anon, and have a good week! 🙂
My and others’ belief that Violet will go rogue and turn on his fellow prefects, or at least do something to thwart the cult’s objective and, perhaps, become an ally to Ciel, grows ever stronger.
As suspected, Violet is not happy with the cult and not happy being part of it. He even admits as much to Ciel’s face. Clearly he wants to find common ground with Ciel and present himself as a potential ally, or else he would have remained silent. Hell, he even tries to ingratiate himself with Ciel by giving him more gifts than necessary, and simply being more talkative and helpful than at Weston.
At Weston, Violet rebuffed Ciel’s attempt at conversation, and the two, to my knowledge, never spoke since. Quite a change. It could be that Violet regrets not having approached Ciel sooner. Who knows, perhaps if Violet had spilled the beans and allied with Ciel at Weston, things would have gotten resolved a lot faster and we may even have not gotten to where we are. The prefects may well not have gotten into yet another cult because the one member among them who can see the bs remains silent.
Finally, Violet voices his objections.
[PS: Further proves my theory that Cheslock was recruited by Violet for the purpose of his eventually going rogue. Holy hell I want to see him soon. Also Ciel and Violet teaming up… now that will be something to see!]
Black Butler Chapter 113 can be bought here for $2 here (as an e-book).
Maybe I’m in denial, but I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of Weston’s maestro, also known as Cheslock, but I just thought of a purpose to his existence in this arc. A way to make himself in any way relevant to the plot, for either good or ill.
Cheslock, as we know, is a musical genius. The boy can play any instrument his hands touch perfectly.
(Chap. 77)
And now we know from Chap. 112, that the P4 and Bravat’s method of spreading their dogma to the masses is through song.
Though we never saw any musicians present on or offstage while the P4 were doing their happy boy band number, I think it’s safe to assume that there was some musical accompaniment somewhere. Perhaps Cheslock was one of them, and will come into the picture later as one of the P4′s/Bravat’s henchmen (please Lord no).
Or, on a more positive note, this may be Cheslock’s cue to give a helping hand to Ciel and co. We know that, somehow, Cheslock opened the door leading out of the Weston chapel to the Midnight Tea Party garden here(Chap. 81). The doorway was literally through a giant organ. At this stage, Cheslock was a cog in the machine, helping things along without a word, because he had no idea that anything was wrong with the proceedings or with his superiors.
Now he knows better. Could his music be a means of disruption, to counter the song the P4 sing in ‘carol time’ at the Hall? Could he, sneaking into the Hall come next Saturday evening, play an instrument in such a way as to break the spell, so to speak, that the P4′s song put the audience under? Cheslock’s music would not be the happy-go-lucky boy-band fare, I’m sure. It may well put a spanner in the works, and serve as a distraction while Ciel and Edward search for Lizzie, or something more. It’s difficult to say.
Certainly music is another way of getting across a particular emotion, feeling or mood, as song does. Could Cheslock use music to convey feelings that somehow jeopardise the effects of the P4′s song? Perhaps Cheslock’s music could convey the reality of the feelings troubling the audience, the troubles they want to forget? Certainly both Cheslock and Edward are more than familiar of such feelings of turmoil, after all they’ve been put through. Greenhill even directly asked Edward if he was ‘worried’, or better put ‘troubled’ (Chap 109, p.6), what with all his new responsibilities and the pressure he faces, and Edward’s expression confirms this is true.
Would Ciel ask Edward to approach Cheslock, or everybody go along to ask for his help?
Would Cheslock and Edward team up, as they are shown in this sketch by Yana?
From this, we see Edward knows how to play guitar, and he and Cheslock get along much better than their occasional bickering indicates. Perhaps they could team up to put their musical talent against the P4′s singing act?
I wonder if anybody in the fandom was a little… put out by Cheslock’s remark here. If so, bear with me. It is actually very true that women are more drawn to things like fortune telling that men, generally speaking. You may have had experience of this yourself.
In any case, in contemporary Western culture, women consult fortune tellers more than men, and even, in some cases, build lifelong relationships with them (Fortune Telling with Cards, by P. Foli). I think, though I’m not sure, this could also apply to Eastern culture too. In both cases, young women are particularly susceptible to ‘tellers’, unsure and unsteady as they embark on adulthood (
Fortune-Telling: A Science of Mystery, by Ching-Huang Wu, pg. 5).
I found a study dealing with supernatural experiences (from here), dealing specifically with feeling in touch with the dead, and of consulting physics. It found that having been in touch with a dead person is more common among women than men (33% vs. 26%). Women were also twice as likely to have consulted a fortuneteller or psychic (20% vs. 10%).
Another indication of this comes from the great number of advertisements for commercial fortune-telling services in magazines aimed at women, while such advertisements appear virtually unknown in magazines aimed specifically at men.
But this leaves the question, why? Why are women more disposed to visiting the likes of Bravat than men? Are, as I’ve seen suggested, women more superstitious, and thus more prone to believe in visions and dreams and miraculous interferences? Especially when they are driven by a passion, such as love. Such as this lady:
Could religious devotion play a part in the disparity between the sexes on this issue?
Or could it be that, as women often rely on the attitudes and decisions of their friends when in groups, and so more likely to be influenced by the opinions of others, they are more willing to take advice from fortune tellers (and believe said advice)?
Honestly I think it’s all about the personality and the different education between girls and boys, especially since it’s the Victorian era we’re talking about when it comes to Bravat and the Sphere music hall in Kuroshitsuji.
As said in ch58…
Girls are supposed to be beautiful and naive angels in the Victorian era, especially for aristocracy. Careful, I’m not saying they are stupid since they are taught a lot, but compared to men who are engaging into political and financial discussions, there is technically a real “gap” between men and women in the Victorian era (again especially for the upper classes).
I still believe that nowadays, personalities and even education play a role into believing into this kind of thing: for example I’m a girl and I laughed when a friend asked me if I’d “go see this amazing fortune teller” (and God knows I love my fantasy books lol). Three male friends of mine went once or twice on the other hand so maybe they’re just more interested and believing of that kind of things than I am, even though I’m a girl and generally way more invested in supernatural through fiction than them! 😉 (my life is so interesting)
Anyway back to the subject at hand, to give you a more Kuro example of what I mean when I say personalities also play a role when it comes to believing and consulting fortune tellers like Bravat…
It appears there are men (and children but children are innocent little creatures who need to dream) who are actually interested in what Bravat would have to say about others and themselves, so there you see? It’s not only about girls haha! 🙂
One more thing, I think that if Ed and Lizzie’s mom (so a noble woman of the Victorian era) were to come to the Sphere music hall and Bravat were to offer her a consultation, she’d literally blink and then cut his bangs with her sword lol. On the other hand try imagining Druitt meeting Bravat, this will give you amusing thoughts haha!
I really think it’s all about whether you believe in it or not, boys or girls, Victorian era or nowadays, granted that girls in the Victorian era were probably raised in such a way that they’d believe in this kind of things more than boys would! 😉
Hello anon, and thanks for the question. You have avoided overtime for this quarter.
As you said, Edward is going to be heavily involved because he’s so protective of Lizzy. Honestly, I’m still interested as to why no one has tried to control Edward. Now, on to Cheslock and the others…
Honestly, I think this entire thing is a trap for Ciel and/or Sebastian. The quickest way to lure Ciel was to use Elizabeth. Edward was their means to get to Lizzy, and Greenhill was how they got to Edward.
This cult would undoubtedly appeal to our boys from Weston. We’re talking about young men who so closely and religiously followed the teachings of their school, they were able to commit murder. This created internal discord since they had done what they had thought was right for the school but still felt guilt. Of course, Undertaker used what they had done for his advantage. Now, here’s this group that promises to erase this guilt. They can put this past behind them and focus on a shining future.
They were the ones chosen to reach out to Edward, who brought Lizzy to the cult, which baited the trap. In other words, they are being used. Again.
As things start to heat up, I think Cheslock and the others will fight to defend this ‘peace’ they have discovered. They would be willing to fight Edward, and they will again have to deal with that discord of doing something they feel is wrong but seeing no choice.
At some point, they will have to face the reality that they are being used and that this false peace just let them to more suffering. They haven’t really escaped their punishment.
As for other fags, it all depends on who might be seeking this peace.
I hope that answered your question, anon. Have a lovely day!
I definitely agree with your points about the P4. Sadly, I also think they’ve failed to learn from their mistakes (Redmond, anyone?), and simply been herded into another cult, only by different, all-consuming and all-dictating feelings.
However, I have doubts about whether Cheslock will side with the P4, if it comes to a fight next chapter or soon after, and not just because I love him, I assure you!!
First, although this might not mean much, but we never see Cheslock wearing the star charms, as the rest of the guests are. Like Edward, we can presume he never received one.
In fact, he openly expresses disgust at Lizzie’s enthusiasm (and the general tendency of women to like having their fortune told) with Bravat the fortune teller.
Again, very much like Edward, but less politely.
So it can be said that Cheslock stayed away from Bravat, even though, like Edward, he came to enjoy the evening.
Actually, it’s interesting that, although physically, hobbies-wise, and in terms of outward personality, Cheslock and Edward seem very different, and have been seen to clash once or twice on that account, but there are several similarities between the two, as I put here, and here.
Combine all this with the fact that both boys are connected by the shared horror at their seniors’ actions, shared burden of silence after the Weston arc, the responsibilities and stresses they share, while the ‘radiance’ of the Sphere Music Hall would certainly appeal to Cheslock, I think he has more of a making of an ally than an enemy in him at this point. At least, that’s how I see it.
Also thanks for replying to my anon post!! 😀 No overtime for me~
I just noticed something, just a minor detail, but still…
What the hell happened to Cheslock’s scar? The face scar? It was always there in the Weston arc, but since his return it’s disappeared. Was it drawn on or something??
The scar in Cheslock’s debut:
His re-introduction:
I wonder what that’s about? The scar was very prominent and a significant part of his unique appearance, it’s strange that it’s faded away completely like that. How much time has passed since the Weston arc? But a scar doesn’t go away like that, a scar’s there to stay. So was it drawn on, presumably like the shadows under his eyes? If so, why does he take the trouble to draw on the eye shadows but not the scar? If the scar is real, where has it gone, what caused it in the first place? Did he get rid of it with magic? Is the Cheslock we saw a fake?
Sorry, getting a bit hysterical here XP But I wonder if any character will mention this, or whether the scar, and current lack of it, will become a part of his character development this arc? I always did wonder about the history behind the scar, and Cheslock, as well as Edward, are in need of character development.
Also, is it just me, it may just be a shading issue, but does Cheslock have different coloured eyes as of chapter 109? Specifically in the panel above?
It may be a mistake (I know it was long long time ago, but the team forgot about Azurro’s scars in a panel) but maybe it does holds something relevant to the plot. It would be interesting.
midnight-in-town 
