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Black Butler II: Trancy's Tale - Episode 12

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'''My Master, Inadequate'. While Alois undergoes brutal treatments to cure his 'delusion', Luka takes up the Trancy mantle.... but while Hannah mentors him, Claude has had far from the last word on the matter.....''

So here we are, the penultimate episode. So, an idea often thrown around in Kuro circles is the 'what if' scenario of Luka and Hannah being the Earl and Servant team, and in fact it was one of the reasons I originally wanted to write this series. The dynamic between them is very much in stark contrast to not just Alois and Claude, but also Ciel and Sebastian, wherein the affection in those is very much one sided, but with Luka and Hannah it's very much mutual, and they do have a strong mother-son bond. Normal routines, like say, breakfast or studies, would be carried out in a slightly more casual, more loving fashion, and seeing how they compare to similar scenes I've written before with Alois and Claude should be interesting. In fact the opening is near beat for beat a copy of the same sequence from Episode 1.

For the astute who may recognize William Blake's (1757-1827) 'The Tyger' (1794), which is one of Blake's most iconic and often reprinted works, it also served as part of the inspiration for the Series 8 Doctor Who story 'In The Forest of The Night'. He himself was also, on top of being a poet, a painter and printmaker who regularly used nature and its creations as a major source of inspiration. I myself actually visited Blake's house, now his official museum, several years ago, and not only did the place boast quite a garden, but throughout his house were designs and prints themed around flowers. However, in the first draft, the scene was actually not a recitation of the poem, nor was there the chit-chat with the three nobles. Instead, Hannah was performing an elocution exercise with Luka, using a tongue twister involving an 'imaginary menagerie'. Yes, even with two words, it's not overly easy on the tongue, now is it?

But playing 'My Fair Lady' with Luka is only half the story. On Alois' side, I really wanted to up the ante with regards to the treatment, moreso than Ciel had endured on the original show (which amounted to the potion tank and then some basic hypnosis). Here, I wanted to dive into the demented playbook of a lot of these surreal and often cruel treatments that medicine of the era would utilize. Electrical shock treatment has actually been around for a rather long time, even before the 19th century, as has the use of colours as a form of psychedelic hypnosis (ever been entranced by a kaleidoscope or bright disco lights? The principle is very similar). Given that Victorians often claimed diseases were brought on by 'miasma' (bad air), it should be no surprise that their idea of treatments was any less peculiar or extreme, and their mental health care is such a wealth of the disturbing and strange. The only thing worse would be to throw Alois in London's infamous Bedlam Hospital... oh dear, that was like a real life Arkham asylum!

As for Claude, I decided that this episode would really show us more of his intellect and cunning compared to prior episodes where he was merely performing duties. Here, I wanted that manipulative, scheming side to come to the fore more, as befitting a spider. There is a great ruthless streak to Claude, someone who is very controlling (tying back to the whole web metaphor) and who would, naturally, be very proud and not overly enthused when someone comes along and one-ups him and then takes his food. Dare I say, this is probably the most emotional we've seen Claude across both series, and he is not above using any methods, any at all, to get what he wants. Indeed, by the end of this episode, I hope you are in a moral quandary as both sides have used rather questionable judgement and actions in the service of something that seems to be in the greater good of the boys, mainly Alois.

Also, 'danse (yes, that is correct) macabre' makes its comeback, and despite the odd spelling, it's exactly what it sounds like: a death dance, most commonly found in medieval artwork used to symbolise the stages and fragility of life.

The Tarot card: The Moon deals with the subconscious and the imagination.

---- NEXT EPISODE -----
All bets are off as this series finally comes to its pulse pounding climax. Who will reign supreme, and who will be vanquished into the darkness? Brother fights brother, and demon fights demon in this explosive finale!
Next time on Trancy´s Tale: My Master, Inglorious. For you see, this is simply one hell of a series.
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Episode 13: savagescribe.deviantart.com/ar…

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olive1736's avatar
I am definitely in a "moral quandry" after this episode. The dynamic between Luka and Hannah is so sweet. But I would wish in a way for Hannah and Claude to both answer for their questionable methods. Except if only one is too win, then the winner will most likely go unpunished.

Is the sword duel a callback to Alois' and Ciel's sword duel? I'm thinking Alois would win because of Luka's inexperience, but that would only be if neither Claude nor Hannah intervene.

Danse macabre has got me thinking of the song now haha. It's certainly a piece that matches Black Butler as a whole.

I feel it's rather unfortunate that Hannah has missed out on the animal theme. Since Sebastian is a crow or raven and Claude is a spider. Or was Sebastian being a crow/raven only in the anime?