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abybweisse · 2 years

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How do you headcanon undertaker and cloudia's relationship? you have pretty much convinced me about undertaker=cedric theory😂and if it turns out to be true it has to be the epitome of gothic romance

Cloudy x Undie

Idk that I have too many headcanons about their relationship, but I definitely have several ideas, many of which I have posted before. Maybe try the shipping tags at the bottom of this post to find some of those old posts?

However.

Over the years, I've come up with different approaches to their relationship, and I've changed some views regarding their personalities. I used to always see Undertaker as the goofball and Cloudia/Claudia as the no-nonsense sort. But Yana-san's old tweet about inheritance started to make me rethink things.

Now I see Cloudia/Claudia as the one full of laughter and even prankish jokes, which Vincent picks up from her... and Undertaker as once being very stoic and proper, which would have been picked up by Francis/Frances. After she dies, Undertaker adopts part of her personality, maybe as a coping mechanism. I'll get to that a bit more later.

Here are some canon-based ideas:

She's very willful, and she knows what he is and what dangers there would be to having his kids, but she's willing to take the chances. Even Vincent says, in the bonus chapter "With Father", that the Phantomhive women are strong-willed; so much so that even though he'd sometimes wished he'd had a daughter, he's kind of glad he didn't. I assume he's talking about both his sister and his mother.

She might even choose to have his kids as a big F U to the crown. Our earl says children aren't the tools of their parents, but this series shows us that's exactly how many parents in the series have been using their children. And Yana-san says everyone has a dark/evil streak, and the Phantomhives seem to have an even wider streak than most. So... Cloudia/Claudia might have wanted to have his kids, specifically his, because of their potential to... what? Take down the queen? Idk, but the various opportunities for using her own children are numerous.

But she'd also want to protect her children as much as possible, particularly while they are young, and that might include things like not advertising they are his, as well as keeping him at a slight distance from his own children. Making him seem like a visitor and friend of the family instead of their father. A bit like scenes we've had of him and the twin brothers; he acts like he's not related and doesn't want to step over familial boundaries (like in that photo scene), but he will do as Mr. Pitt says, for the sake of a good photograph. There, he's filling a role typically held by a family member or by a nanny. (I have an old post about child photography practices during the Victorian era.)

Then again, his children probably knew he was their father. Maybe not right away, but they found out, which is why Undertaker now teases "Lady Francis Phantomhive" about him recalling her birth like it was yesterday, and she's sweating. No one else in the room would know... unless Tanaka was also present. I expect Tanaka would know very well. Vincent and Francis/Frances grew up with Tanaka as their main caretaker, according to Yana-san's old tweet about dark/evil streaks. She even suggests that Tanaka must have quite the wide dark/evil streak, but then she zips-up... not wanting to spoil something about Tanaka....

What the pair were really like together is harder to say. Given my newer ideas about their personalities, she gave him something to smile and laugh about, while he tried his best to be a voice of reason and warning. That's backed up by the scenes where he's fiddling with the lockets and talking to himself about all the warnings he gave (presumably to the more recent generations of Phantomhives, at least). We've also seen him warning our earl (appropriately in ch13) about being "collared" by the queen (and that ring).

Likely, there were many times where the two of them had arguments, much like the brother and sister later, like the one shown in ch132. Vincent makes a serious statement but in a somewhat blasé fashion, prompting his sister to get angry and accuse him of always being this way.

I can imagine Undertaker giving Cloudia/Claudia a withering stare whenever she doesn't take something (like the queen/crown) seriously enough... if he's not whipping out his scythe much like Francis/Frances does her sword. Not like Undertaker would actually hurt her (just like Francis/Frances wouldn't actually hurt her brother), but it could be for show. Reminds me of ch142, when Undertaker does exactly that to show Othello he's done laughing and being deadly serious now.

After she dies, Undertaker "adopts" some of her personality, and it largely serves as a coping mechanism. Either her love of jokes completely brushed off on him... or his cinematic records have been altered! There are two ways I could see this latter case happening: 1. He was attacked by her cinematic records and they got to him, a bit like Thomas' cinematic records getting to William in the reaper OVA, or 2. It's on purpose; he managed to manipulate his own cinematic records with snippets of hers.

It could also be that he's simply craving jokes from others because she's not there anymore to provide them. Instead of "adopting" part of her personality, he might just feel like he's left with a hole to fill, and laughter fills it... but only briefly.

As far as how romantic they were with each other? I'll leave that to the cosplay and fanfic scenarios. It's fun to think about, and I've written some of those scenarios, but at this point I have no major ideas about it. Maybe he surprised her with futuristic gizmos... or whisked her away to foreign lands to soak up some sun and culture. Who knows?

But I suspect their relationship got strained, probably having to do with her role as queen's watchdog. Maybe her plans for their children in all of this. He might have decided to distance himself after a while, but then when she dies, he returns (beside himself with grief and regret) and offers to help Vincent. This would kind of parallel Cedric of Rotherwood disowning his son, Wilfred of Ivanhoe (whose mother is dead), for being loyal to King Richard... but they eventually reconcile.

I definitely think Undertaker would love to break the ties between the Phantomhive family and the crown. There's that scene in ch13, and he doesn't seem too pleased about real Ciel later saying (ch151) he will eventually have to present himself to the queen and fulfill his role as watchdog.

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midnight-in-town · 7 months

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Let's talk about the "Fenian brotherhood" theory !! :D

Firstly, in case you don't know about it, please go read the theory that our!Ciel's birth name might be Fenian/Fionn/Finnian by @azuresins. It is incredibly relevant to what I'm about to explain next !

TBH, I don't really care about discovering our!Ciel's birth name. However, I truly enjoy this theory and I think it makes a lot of sense, because I absolutely agree with the idea of Vincent supporting (secretly or not) Irish independence, turning him into a political enemy of Queen Victoria...

...which could be very much why he ended up dead.

This theory comes from a private convo with my friend, @dorkshadows and I'll sum up their thoughts (and some of mine) below the cut !

First of all, while we think Claudia, Vincent's predecessor, may have been a personal enemy of Victoria because of whatever happened when Albert died in 1861, Vincent strikes us more as a political enemy precisely because of Brown's comment in ch108.

After all, if our!Ciel, who just managed to thwart their plans of getting the sulin gas, is "more like his father everyday", then it makes sense that Vincent "got in the way" of some of Victoria & JB's war/political plans too. >_>

Now, about the Fenian Cycle book: it was an important symbol for Irish independence and the Fenian Brotherhood that started in the 19th century before it got dissolved in 1880. To quote Wikipedia:

"The Fenian Brotherhood traced their origins back to 1790s, in the rebellion, seeking an end to British rule in Ireland initially for self-government and then the establishment of an Irish Republic. The rebellion was suppressed, but the principles of the United Irishmen were to have a powerful influence on the course of Irish history."

But how would Vincent even get involved with it and why?

In the theory that OC's name is Fenian/Finnian, @azuresins mentioned that maybe it's all related to Cedric K. Ros having Celtic origins. Since we do have one sketch by Yana of one twin bringing the Fenian Cycle book to the Undertaker (the most likely candidate for Cedric K. Ros)...

...it might indeed be a partial answer.

There is another possibility though, entirely thought by @dorkshadows, which is that Rachel (and Ann) might have been of Irish origins too.

After all, a common stereotype for Irish people in many stories is red hair and it's hard to forget that it was a very distinctive characteristic of Ann, Rachel's sister !

In fact, one of their first interactions is Vincent telling Ann to be proud of that hair, which we were told she inherited from her dad, the twins' maternal grandfather.

So Vincent might have not just been talking about Ann's hair color in that scene, but more specifically about her taking more pride in her Irish origins. Obviously though, Dalles/Durless aren't very Irish names, but it is possible that their original family name got anglicized into a more traditionally English name.

In any case, Vincent met Rachel and Ann after already knowing their father :

So it's possible that Vincent was, as the Watchdog, investigating Lord Durless as a nobleman with Irish lineage and possible ally of the Fenian Brotherhood. After all, to quote this article, "the Fenians in England and the British Empire were a major threat to political stability". Then Vincent met and fell in love with Rachel, thus deciding to support the Brotherhood instead.

I'd add that Vincent supporting such a cause simply makes sense, considering that the Phantomhive family, too, might have been burdened by the Watchdog's duty generations ago, because of their "different" lineage (full theory here). On top of that, if you add the possibility that Cedric/UT also was of Celtic origins (many decades or centuries ago) and that Vincent knew Claudia's death was Victoria's fault, it only makes sense that he'd eventually politically antagonize the Queen (both for his parents' sake and for Rachel's).

@dorkshadows also pointed out that, to this day, we don't know if the twins' maternal grandfather is alive or dead in canon : he was important enough to be mentioned in Red's flashback but has been missing from the narrative ever since. Timeline-wise, he could be dead, especially since we never saw him in the Blue Memory arc (our!Ciel's flasback), but we never know with Yana (look at Claudia being hinted in panels ever since the circus arc and probably being incredibly relevant), so it's worth keeping in mind.

Then, moving on to ch132 we know that, when the twins were born, Rachel is the one who named them.

Coincidentally (read: it's probably not a coincidence xD), ch132 had the cover with Vincent reading the Fenian Cycle book to the twins and it's also the chapter in which Vicar Rathbone casually says that one twin/both twins (it's deliberately ambiguous in Japanese) have a name that is "rare for England" :

Many fans, myself included, thought that "Ciel" was the name being discussed there, but maybe they were actually talking about our!Ciel's celtic birth name ! To quote @azuresins, in that case that'd basically mean that, in that scene above, "Vincent said to an ENGLISH PRIEST [...] that people of Celtic origin deserved freedom, and to be treated better and that it probably was soon to come".

No wonder that Vicar Rathbone would immediately change the topic lmao ! xD

Vicar Rathbone be like

It is also very meaningful that Rachel decided to give the "Fionn/Fenian/Finnian" name to our!Ciel ("the spare"), as if to emphasize that he was free to make his own path in life, as the second son, unburdened by earldom. Choosing such a meaningful name might even be a parallel to Vincent's own situation with Frances as his spare, since both also have names with a meaning relating to victory and freedom.

Another important detail, as @azuresins already explained here, is that Fenian Cycle is also a tale of revenge and that our!Ciel parallels Fionn big deal, making it all even more relevant. And maybe Yana left other hints in her artworks too...

Finally, historically the Fenian Brotherhood officially got dissolved around 1880 (the twins were 5 years old), but it's always possible that, in Kuroverse, Vincent managed to make it thrive secretly as the Watchdog. The Fenian Brotherhood caused several incidents, including after 1880 (they assassinated a British Chief Secretary in 1882), so it wouldn't be impossible that the Queen eventually found out that Vincent didn't properly take care of them, because he was supporting them.

And when she found out? Well, she branded Vincent a political enemy and we know the rest (the household was massacred in 1885 and the killer most likely received help from real!Ciel, more details in the real!Ciel mastermind theory hehe).

The idea that Vincent ultimately became a political enemy of Victoria because he fell in love with Rachel makes their death...

...even more emotional to me, since Rachel probably died trying to protect Vincent. T_T

TL;DR that's the Fenian Brotherhood theory: because they supported an Irish rebellious group that wanted freedom, Vincent & Rachel were branded political enemies of Victoria and she & JB plotted their deaths, which led in happenstance to the RCMT.

(friendly reminder that the twins are 7, when Vincent asked Dee to look after them should he die)

I hope it was clear ! Thanks for reading. :))

#kuroshitsuji #vincent phantomhive #ciel phantomhive #rachel phantomhive #angelina durless #madam red #cedric k. ros #finnian #kuro132 #fenian brotherhood theory #ciel's real name #kuroshitsuji theory #dorkshadows #my analysis #blue memory arc

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liusia-piu · 10 months

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#undertaker is cedric theory #best babysitter #black butler fanart #black butler undertaker #black butler #kuroshitsuji undertaker #cedric k ros #kuroshitsuji ciel #undertaker is Cedric #vincent phantomhive #sketch #art #artists on tumblr #арткозацтво #digital aritst #digital drawing #fanart

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bibyshitsuji24k · 1 year

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Undertaker cosplaying Undertaker [wwe]

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #undertaker #black butler undertaker #UT #yana toboso #cedric k ros #???#black butler meme #kuroshitsuji ut #kuroshitsuji undertaker #both characters came out from a coffin people #thats canon #yana told me #oh #can you please give me a like on Instagram? i started a new account called bibyshitsuji_24k uwu if you post kuro I'll follow you back!

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ignotarts · 1 day

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🤔

"Phantomhive Family"

#kuroshitsuji fanart #kuroshitsuji #black butler #cedric k ros #claudia phantomhive #vincent phantomhive #Frances midford #Frances phantomhive #undertaker black butler #undertaker kuroshitsuji

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biby-24k · 11 months

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Undertaker cosplaying Undertaker

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #fanart #drawing #my art #UT #undertaker #cedric k ros

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amethystroselily · 2 days

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Ok the Undertaker being Vincent’s dad theory is really funny to me, so here’s how I think it could possibly work.

Undertaker was a reaper 70 years ago and seems properly obsessed with the phantomhive family as a whole, and met Vincent later on in his life, so I really don’t think he was married to Claudia. Plus Claudia and Vincent’s father didn’t have the same last name, so whoever he was I doubt they were married (perhaps having to do with Claudia trying to keep her title or something). So I think he had some deep attachment to a previous Phatomhive lord (perhaps he was a servant), but then the earl died or something, and then he killed himself, becoming a reaper. Then maybe he was monitoring the family for years and they kept dying so he snapped and went rogue, maybe his experiments kept failing, so then he was like woah maybe as a reaper I should see what mixing my dna in would do (probably a rule about not fraternizing with humans to avoid this), and around then the current Phatomhive family head is a woman so like great time to test it out, then maybe the relationship fell apart because of some sort of respectability she had to maintain or they were busy or something and she didn’t want him around her kids anymore, then years later undertaker gets back to stalking the phatomhives once his son is the new earl.

Maybe he wanted to use Vincent’s body because he had a higher concentration of reaperness, but then he lost the corpse (maybe bc fire, maybe bc Vincent isn’t actually dead) so he’s using ciel instead.

Also I’ve seen the theory Francis was involved in Vincent’s death, and maybe that’s why he doesn’t seem particularly invested in her side of the family. Perhaps sibling feuds are a long tradition in the Phantomhive family and it makes him think of a previous one and that’s why he keeps getting so involved.

The way Othello talked about Undertaker made him sound like he was a lot like Francis when he was younger, and I think the idea of Francis looking down on this random strange man who worked with her brother and him turning out to be her father whom she takes after in both looks and personality is so interesting.

Also I personally think he like stole some of Othello’s research on resurrection on his way out and that’s where all the tension is coming from. Because obviously Othello can’t tell Grell that, so he has to skirt around it, but there’s obviously something more going on between him and undertaker.

#im just throwing ideas at the wall for my own amusement #black butler theories #black butler manga #black butler #kuroshitsuji spoilers #kuroshitsuji #undertaker #undertaker black butler #othello black butler #ciel phantomhive #claudia phantomhive #vincent phantomhive #francis midford #r!ciel #o!ciel #undertaker is ciel’s grandpa theory #cedric k ros

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adhd-mess · 1 year

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If the UT being Cedric K. Ros— is correct this is how I picture the Francis flashback(if she gets one & if the theory is correct)

#undertaker #Kuroshitsuji #Cedric k ros #francis midford #black butler #kuroshitsuji memes

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plague-of-insomnia · 7 months

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Just wanted to pop in & say you’re a big reason I’m still in this fandom and I think your awesome ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I also wanted to ask if you think Frances and Vincent are full siblings? I’m on the fence since they do look very similar but Frances has a totally different hair colour & mannerisms..

Hi, anon. Thank you…! The fandom seems so quiet lately, but maybe it’s just bc I’ve been a bit inactive bc of not feeling good/having low spoons.

I had never thought about whether or not Francis and Vincent aren’t full siblings…. Frances does seem like she takes after Undertaker potentially, and we don’t know what Claudia looked like since we only have one shot of her and it’s from behind.

It’s possible that Vince took after her and Frances after their dad (undertaker??).

Frances does seem to have some kind of a …. sense for things that seems to run in the Phantomhive blood (like how Ciel can see shinigami when they’re supposed to be hidden from mortals), but she could have gotten that from Claudia, assuming both of them have the same mother.

I do think Frances is an often overlooked character. That interaction she had with Undertaker was…. Odd, and I suspect when we get more info later we’ll look back and it’ll make a lot more sense.

It is looking more and more like Ut may be involved in the Phantomhive tree somehow. If he’s not Cedric K Ros— then he could be (one of my personal completely unsupported headcanons) the very first Phantomhive. But I’m not sure who Cedric could be if it’s not UT, since generally Yana is good about introducing important characters early-ish.

Thanks for the ask. I’m sorry if it’s not what you were hoping for, lol. But it’s certainly an interesting thought!

#black butler #黒執事 #vincent phantomhive #frances midford #undertaker #claudia phantomhive #cedric k ros #people saying nice things #poi answers #anon

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blackbutlercharacterpoll2023 · 1 year

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Cedric K. Ros

#very minor character #manga #Cedric K. Ros #Cedric Ros #Cedric

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abybweisse · 2 years

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How do you think sebastian will react if the undertaker=cedric theory gets confirmed? Seriously i think that would be a bit to much for him to process

Sebastian's reaction to UT = Cedric?

Sebastian sees humans as cruel, selfish, greedy, etc., based on all the negative traits they often display. So, after the initial shock of revelation, the demon might think it all makes sense. Undertaker's constant involvement in the Phantomhives, his statement about not being able to bear losing another Phantomhive, his comments about wanting/expecting Sebastian to keep the earl safe... even his choices to put his own grandson's life in danger in the first place.

Sebastian knows that reapers are somewhere between human and god, and though he might not know all the details, he probably knows they used to be human. If humans have these common negative traits, so do reapers, right? Being somewhat removed from their prior humanity, reapers might be even more cruel... or at least more cold and calculating... when it comes to human lives. Besides, Undertaker even says he knows the demon will keep the kid safe from harm. Trusting the strength of the contract, Undertaker takes those risks with his own flesh and blood.

To Sebastian, the most shocking part about such a revelation might be that reapers can mate with humans... or that they would even want to. Then it would dawn on him that his young master is part reaper. Would that have any effect on their contract or whether the demon would consider our earl's soul to be palatable? He might think "souls are souls", but I'm not sure.

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midnight-in-town · 11 months

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Seeing that picture of ut when othello was teeling about him to grell is so funny to me, cuz he went from this man who wears a bow tie on his hair to this unhinged musty man who doesn't shower 😂, I don't care if it was claudia or someone else who made him change this much, this man needs serious help

Othello when UT was the most skilled coworker every Shinigami was jealous of:

Othello secretly, upon seeing and smelling UT for the first time since his desertion around ch140:

TBH though Anon, I know you don't care but, I'm pretty sure Claudia herself is not responsible for this much change. x) I think Claudia taught him that laughter was an important part of living but, as probably Cedric K. Ros, I tend to believe he remained as dignified as when he used to be a Shinigami when he was by her side. Probably because he had servants around to help as her husband.

The fake dark & long nails, the long dirty hair and smelly feet (the latter is not canon) though ? I'm pretty sure that's what her death did to him. ;_;

That's not an excuse though. He should shower. And you know what? Maybe he did, when he acted as Weston Principal? Otherwise I'm pretty sure these people

would not have looked so charmed by him. xD

TL;DR if the reason behind UT staying dirty for months is that he "is too busy reanimating the dead", then i hope his sponsors will threaten to cut his funds until he finally takes a bath.

Have a good weekend ahead Anon!

#kuroshitsuji #undertaker #lmao #claudia phantomhive #othello #anon #answers #kuro149 #Cedric k. Ros

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riahlynn101 · 10 months

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"A Facade of Indifference."

Summary: Undertaker has had many identities, but Cedric K. Ros will forever be his favorite.

Trigger warnings: nothing is super explicit, but there are mentions of canonical character deaths. One of which includes a child.

A/N: For this story - O!Ciel = Fenian, R!Ciel = Ciel

In his long life, Undertaker has gone by many names.

His original name, lost to time and memories he’d do anything not to recall.

136649, the number assigned to him by the higher ups.

Silver fox, by his coworker.

But truly, his favorite name, the only name that has ever mattered to him, was Cedric K. Ross.

He’d introduced himself as such to Claudia Phantomhive, flustered by her beauty and wit. The name was less a clever pun on his end, and more a scramble to tell the beautiful debutante something, anything so she didn’t think him daft.

It had been-at that point-close to twenty years since he had destroyed Shinigami headquarters. Occasionally he’d catch a glimpse of a death scythe, and he’d have to stop what he was doing to duck into a shop. Quite annoying, but headquarters hadn’t really made an effort to come collect him. If he knew better, Cedric might have said that they were scared of him.

But, still, it didn’t hurt to keep a low profile.

Getting married to a noble was the exact opposite of that. The queen’s watchdog, at that. His hatred for the hag knows no bounds. Ironically, her audacity also knows no bounds. So, maybe it balances out. Somehow.

Marrying into the Phantomhive family is akin to signing your own death certificate. It’s dangerous and deadly, and Claudia tells him over and over that she won’t resent him for leaving. That she would forgive him everything if he didn’t want to risk his life.

But Cedric never cared much for living anyway.

They wed, and barely a year later, Vincent was born.

Holding his son for the first time (and really all the times after that) was an experience he looks back on with a gentle sort of fondness. And that fondness only grew tenfold as his boy grew older.

And then, two years later, in the middle of January, his daughter was born. Francis took more after him in looks than her mother, but she was still undeniably Claudia’s daughter. From the time she could speak, she was ordering her brother to behave. Her strength and courage, which grew day by day, made his heart swell with pride. He did everything in his power to encourage her, including giving her fencing lessons (which his dear wife had not been entirely pleased with).

There’s no words to describe how much he loved his family.

And that, that love, made him worry.

Love is a weakness his higher-ups might use against him. The idea of his clever, beautiful Claudia, and their two (still young) children being harmed, made panic well up inside him. He couldn’t let that happen.

He wouldn’t allow that to happen.

So, he left them.

Claudia was the sole breadwinner anyway, and the children had Tanaka to tend to them. He left only a note behind, making a vague excuse as to why he had to leave them.

He left England behind, choosing to travel the world. Cedric fights the urge to return to his family, to check in on them. He celebrates each of their birthdays and his and Claudia’s anniversary with a baked good.

Life wasn’t great then, he missed his family so much it physically hurt, but it was for the best he stayed away.

And then, while in the middle of a trip to France, he got news of Claudia’s death.

Cedric had known loss long before that moment. Before becoming a grim reaper and long after. It was hard coded into his very being, the knowledge of life and death.

But it wasn’t until that moment that he understood the grief that comes with that very same loss. That all encompassing, suffocating feeling of heaviness. Of loneliness.

Of the hard, cold truth, that his decision to leave his family might have, in the end, been the very thing to damn them.

He returned to England, but not as Cedric, father of Vincent and Francis Phantomhive. No, that wouldn’t do. How could he call himself their father when he was the very reason their mother was dead.

Cedric kept to the shadows, tinkering with life and death itself. He watched with an aching heart, as his son became earl. The Queen’s Watchdog just like his mother before him.

But Cedric has never been one to be content with simply watching, so he crafted an identity. One that fit his morbid curiosity with all things death.

The Undertaker.

His hair-which he neglected in the months following Claudia’s death-hide his face, his identity. He works his way into his son’s graces by offering up information, and soon Cedric Undertaker found himself among the Phantomhives’ closest associates.

His children didn’t recognize him, or at least were excellent at pretending they didn’t. It hurt, a little, but he was content with finally seeing them in-person. Alive and well.

Francis married first. Thankfully out of the Phantomhive line, but still under the queen’s immediate demand. Alexis-for all his faults-seemed nice enough, and he was hopelessly in love with her. And she-in return-was just as in love with him.

And, while it was hard watching his daughter get married, the pure happiness she radiated put his wary mind at ease.

Her happiness only grew when she gave birth to Edward. His first grandchild, though he wasn’t allowed to share in the joy of the new arrival. Not because Francis didn’t trust him, no not at all. He….just couldn’t bring himself to hold something so precious and small and-

Elizabeth was born a few years later, just as small, just as precious as her brother before.

Vincent married second, to a beautiful but sickly young woman, Rachel. By then, Undertaker was used to his new identity. He grew close to his son, but maintained just enough distance for plausible deniability.

When Rachel fell pregnant, his son shared his worries with him. His usual cocky, confident persona fell away, showing all the hurt Cedric left behind.

It seemed, even with Tanaka and Claudia, his son (and most probably his daughter) needed him. He vowed to be a better father, a better grandfather even if it was from the shadows, under a different name.

The twins were born a few months later. Both somehow even tinier than their cousins. This time, though, he pushed all his worries aside to hold one of the twins.

Ciel and Fenian. One and the same. But Ciel-older than his brother by a mere five minutes-was announced the heir to the Phantomhive name.

Meanwhile, Fenian-who didn’t seem to cry as loud as his brother-was pushed into his arms. His pathetic attempts at crying out instantly ceased. Big blue eyes, just like Lady Rachel’s, stared up at him.

Then and there, he made another vow, a promise. To protect his grandchildren no matter what. To preserve their innocence and curiosity.

His grandchildren grew quickly. The twins-mirror images of one another-became harder and harder to tell apart. At least, for most people.

For him, though, it was extremely easy to pick apart who was who.

Ciel reminded him of Vincent - sharp features that he would no doubt grow into, a silver tongue, and an intelligence that rivaled most adults. He embodied what an heir of Phantomhive should be.

And little Fenian. All soft features and big eyes. He took more after his mother's side, particularly her red haired sister (Angeline, if he remembered correctly). He inherited his mother’s sickness, and his aunt’s painful shyness and bookishness. Only his love for chess and his physical appearance being so similar to his brother’s denoted him as a Phantomhive.

But the character he crafted shouldn’t care that the twins are two separate people. The Phantomhive family is a blob of faceless members, all tied together by either blood, a last name, or both.

He kept up the facade of indifference, not caring to differentiate between the twins out loud. But, in his head, while reading them a book, or holding the blanket in place so they could have their photo taken, he couldn’t help but refer to each of them by name.

And then, the massacre happened.

He wept for hours, over the broken, ruined remains of the estate. His son and daughter-in-law were nothing but ash by the time he could rummage through the wreckage. The twins were gone too, though most likely still alive.

He didn’t know if that was a good thing.

He packed his wagon with all the bodies that weren’t horrifically burnt. A project he’d been working on needed more test subjects.

Undertaker spends the next few weeks working day and night to find the twins. Reports of children’s bodies being dumped on the sides of roads come flooding in, but

no one does a single thing.

The queen, with her bleeding heart, that she just loved to wax poetic about, does nothing.

He traced the reports back to a cathedral. The building was old and worn, likely abandoned by the church years ago. Shinigami stand around, watching the building. They chat idly among themselves, as if the most depraved actions aren’t being done to the children inside.

That apathy, the disconnect from the pain and suffering, was one thing Undertaker would never miss from his days in retrieval.

But them being there meant he couldn’t burst in and save them. If even one recognized him, then it would be game over. No one else would be coming to save the twins. The police refused to act, even with the amount of evidence Undertaker sent them (under a different name, of course), and their family was in shambles.

Unfortunately, by the time he could sneak past, it was already too late.

Ciel was dead, soul gone. And Fenian’s soul was damned, signed over to the leeches of leeches, a demon.

He saved his grandson’s body, carrying him from the burning wreckage of the cathedral. Blood and grime clinging to him like a second skin.

Fenian became Ciel, and was crowned earl of the house of Phantomhive. Her majesty either not noticing or caring enough, made the traumatized ten-and-a-half-year-old her watchdog.

The only thing Undertaker hated more than her, was the demon slowly eating away at his grandson’s soul. Not his physical soul, of course, that bit would come later. But his spirit, his kindness and generosity. The hope and child-like spark in his one uncovered eye.

It pained him, but he had a character to play and a plan to see through. If all went well, the demon wouldn’t be bothering Fenian for long.

He offered up information when prompted, though he never made it easy. It’s surprisingly easy to annoy the little earl, but it’s a necessary evil to ensure neither the demon, nor his grandson suspect him of anything.

It worked. Maybe a little too well, because the look his grandson sent him could only be described as betrayed.

His heart clenched painfully in his chest. How much trust had the little Phantomhive put in him?

Too much, was the answer. And somehow, not enough.

His plan went awry. Everything became jumbled, snowballing until he’s watching Fenian plummet thirty feet downwards. His mourning chain, the one containing the last remaining piece of his Claudia (of his friends murdered in cold blood by her royal highness). Through the chaos the little earl and he made eye contact.

For a singular moment, he was back in the nursery, holding his grandson. Little Fenian, who was never supposed to amount to much. Tiny and sickly and a pale comparison to his already more lively older brother. Eyes of bright blue that once held hope and promise.

Eyes that now stare up at him in fear, yes, but also in acute curiosity, locked on his mourning chain.

He allows the little Phantomhive to take it. It’s his greatest treasure, but he’s sure his grandson will take excellent care of it. Besides, isn’t passing things down what a grandparent’s supposed to do? And he isn’t much worried about losing it anyway, after all, he’s quite certain that they’ll be meeting again very soon.

#cross posted on ao3 #black butler fanfiction #ciel and undertaker #Undertaker is Cedric K. Ros

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