#As for Soma and Agni I am losing my mind I didn't know that

[azuresins]

Kuroshitsuji is not queer-coded. You are not as smart as you think you are. Your opinions about the series, are not factual. The manga has no canon queer ships at all.

I don't know why you're so obsessed with me or why you're trolling me this hard, this feels personal. But just in case. I am beginning to think people have completely forgotten what subtext is. Kuroshitsuji started out in 2006... Kuroshitsuji as a manga is attracting a queer audience, absolutely. I'm going to assume you don't know the difference between Queer-bait, Queer-coded, and Representation... and that's super unfortunate, for you. None of those, are the same thing. It's not scandalous to say that you don't need a ship, in order for a story to be queer-coded and meant to attract a queer audience. The Found Family trope? Queer-Coded. The Non-human/Monster interaction with humans trope? Queer-Coded. Going against Christian hegemony? Queer-coded. Crossdressing? Queer-coded. Gender nonconformity? Queer-coded. Shapeshifting? Queer-coded. Complete transformation of identity? Queer-coded. Even if Kuroshitsuji only had but ONE, of those tropes I mentioned (and I suspect I missed some, these are just the ones off the top of my head). It would still be Queer-coded, and Queer people will gather toward it. Yana knows this. But even if she didn't...? If this story and it's construction was all just one huuuge coincidence...? It doesn't make the story less queer-coded. All that aside. It doesn't actually matter if a creator of any media at all, intended to attract a queer audience or not, if they write with any of those tropes in mind-- queer people will still be drawn to it. A creator can declare their work wasn't intended to attract queer people, or for queer people to be drawn to it, and scream how much they don't like it... if they want to. It wont end well for them, though. They'll alienate a huge portion of their fanbase and also get made fun of, a lot. People will, undoubtedly, ask the question, 'If you didn't mean for queer people to read this, then why did you write about these themes that are queer-tropes and resonate so strongly with queer people?' And, the author usually responds in kind, by showing a steadily decline of quality of their work, and tries to write-in a lot of strange rules and stipulations after-the-fact to try to 'unqueer' their story as much as they can. Or else, they try to write something else and either way, what they write, ends up being a pile a of shit. Because surprise-surprise ... it's actually very difficult to write a good story without ANY queer tropes and queer themes. Look at what happened to the Wizard Author (that's exactly what happened, in case you were wondering). But apparently, I'm not very smart. So believe whatever you want.

[fragmentedshards]

The Final Curtain, Chapter Eight

The New Case

-

The next morning began - as, presumably, all mornings would now begin - with Matilda's singing voice echoing through the whole of the servants' quarters. It seemed the new maid was an earlier riser than the rest.

Her singing voice was unremarkable but by no means unpleasant, and she seemed to have a full repertoire of lyrics at her disposal to accompany her morning activities. Matilda had risen early, washed, dressed, and begun her chores while the rest of the Phantomhive staff was still shaking cobwebs from their brains. When Sebastian - who, as per the usual, had not slept that night - entered the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast for the earl, he found Matilda adding the finishing touches to the young master's meal, and that she had taken the liberty of making a plain but substantial breakfast for all of the servants.

"Good morning, Mr. Sebastian," she piped cheerily as the astonished butler entered the kitchen. "Help yourself to breakfast." she gestured at the corner of the table, where Sebastian found nine plates of crispy bacon, fried eggs, and a slice of toast each, as well as a large teapot and nine steaming cups of tea. His jaw dropped momentarily in his surprise.

"We all need our strength to serve the young master as best we can, yes?" she asked the butler, seeming to read his surprise as insulting. "It's hard work, keeping up an estate like this.

Don't worry though, I didn't lose any time over making us breakfast. I grew up on a farm, remember? I can do this in no time, even in my sleep. Oh, and I brought my own teapot and cups when I came here; I didn't use the master's set."

The rest of the servants, including Paula and Agni, began walking through the door to the kitchens, their eyes lighting up at the sight of the meal prepared for them. They ate hungrily from their respective plates, thanking Matilda for preparing the food, Tanaka even embracing his granddaughter as he complimented her skill. Sebastian recovered from his initial shock, taking several bites from his plate for the sake of manners and taste, then inquired, "I see there are two untouched plates of food. One is obviously yours; for whom is the other?"

"The Phantomhive footman, of course," Matilda replied, garnishing the breakfast trays she was preparing for the earl and his guests with a different flower for each person. "I met him this morning in the greenhouse; I daresay he's a new addition?" she picked up a tray with a white rose; apparently, the young master's breakfast tray. "Should I take this to the earl myself, or is that your job?" she asked Sebastian.

The butler came unacceptably close to stuttering before answering that he would take it up to the earl, Agni would take Prince Soma's tray, Paula would take Lady Elizabeth's tray, and Matilda could take the two trays to Lau and Ran Mao. Footman?, he thought to himself, his mind racing momentarily until he remembered Snake. The young master rarely made use of his

footman, having only taken him on in the first place out of a fiercely-denied sense of guilt. The entire Phantonhive household had all but forgotten about Snake.

Sebastian quickly recovered and looked at the different flowers on each tray. "A white rose for the master, a pink peony for Lady Elizabeth, a marigold for Prince Soma, an orchid for Lau, and a camellia for Ran Mao. How very clever of you, Matilda. I must compliment you on your creativity."

Matilda beamed at him as she hurriedly consumed half of her breakfast and picked up Lau and Ran Mao's breakfast trays, and all but skipped out of the kitchens. Sebastian watched her and listened absently to the other servants babbling about how fortunate they were to have Matilda working alongside them. He himself was not quite convinced. There was something off about the new maid; he could smell it in her blood. The butler took a deep breath and made his way to the earl's bedroom. He could further investigate the Matilda situation later, but right now he had to remind the young master about Snake.

~

When Sebastian entered the earl's bedroom, the earl himself was already awake and pacing back and forth in his nightclothes. This was unusual for the boy earl, who ordinarily slept as late as he could before Sebastian would wake him and remind him of the day's responsibilities. Ciel hardly regarded the butler as he entered, placed the breakfast tray on the nightstand, and began making the bed while explaining the food on the tray, as per his usual behavior. The boy was too preoccupied with last night's letter from the Queen. He read it and reread it, searching for some type of hidden message or clue that would bring more understanding to the matter, but had found nothing when Sebastian finally caught his attention.

"I beg your pardon, Young Master," the butler spoke with a slightly irregular tone. "But I am afraid we have forgotten about Snake."

"What, the footman from the circus?" Ciel asked, though he knew the answer perfectly well. He furrowed his brows in a momentary grimace. "I haven't forgotten about him, I simply have no practical use for him. At least not while he is always covered in snakes. Why are you telling me this?"

"It seems Matilda met him this morning," Sebastian explained. "I thought it best to remind you of the young man's presence here at the estate."

"Yes, well," the earl brushed off his butler's words. "That is irrelevant. I have too much to think about regarding this letter from the Queen to bother with a circus freak."

Sebastian took a few steps closer to Ciel. "If I may," he began. "What about this letter is so puzzling?"

"Everything," Ciel answered. "She gives me very explicit instructions, but they are simultaneously vague. She warns of threats she cannot describe." he shook his head and placed the letter on the bed. "Dress me, Sebastian. It is time I address my guests again."

~

Lau, Ran Mao, Prince Soma, and Lady Elizabeth conversed in low voices in the drawing room, awaiting Ciel's arrival. When the door opened and the young earl entered, everyone fell silent and merely stared at him. He glowered back at them.

"Stop that. You look like you are gawking at a menagerie attraction." he barked at them. Inhaling deeply and standing so that everyone could view him easily, Ciel began to elucidate the

Queen's letter to the best of his ability.

"Last night you witnessed me receive this letter from our queen," he began. "I confess I am somewhat vexed by it, given its paradoxical nature. Queen Victoria first tells me that I must continue to house all of you here. According to her, there has been an attack on the Midford estate-" he paused as Elizabeth gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth, "As well as what she calls racially-motivated crimes throughout London. Apparently this is primarily affecting people such as Lau and Soma, so it appears I continue to suffer you lot to stay here."

Ciel paused again and glanced around the room. Apart from Elizabeth's surprise, there was no visible reaction from the rest of the guests, so the earl continued as Sebastian and Matilda entered with a tea tray. "She further expresses her concern regarding a certain ballet troupe in London, and its connection to a rival toy company. She does not elaborate on the nature of this concern at all, merely entreating us to attend the ballet and keep our eyes peeled for unusual activity." He held up a handful of tickets. "As such, it appears we will be attending a ballet tonight. Prepare accordingly; we will make the journey into London as soon as possible so we may investigate before the show as well."

Matilda gave Lady Elizabeth a cup of tea and gently patted her shoulder, a gesture for which the fourteen-year-old girl was visibly grateful. "Are the Queen's concerns potentially related to the attack on my home?" she asked worriedly.

"It is unclear from the letter, although she does mention in the postscript that the attack was unsuccessful and your family remains safe," Ciel answered his cousin. "I expect I ought to have mentioned that before. Are there any more questions?"

Instantly there was a clamor of voices from each of the guests, and Ciel did his best to decipher the separate questions. At last he held his hand up, an action the guests correctly assumed to mean silence, and took a teacup from Sebastian.

"The prima ballerina with this troupe is a woman named Bryony Redruth," Ciel informed them, taking a sip of his tea with a scowl on his face. He furrowed his eyebrows once more. "A common, disgustingly rural name, if you ask me. She is most likely the suspect in this case, though of course we have no way of knowing. It may be best for some of us to watch her closely during the ballet, while the others observe other possible suspects." he took another sip of his tea. "As for my supposed rival toy company, my guess is that the Queen is referring to Kurios Toy Emporium. I have actually been meaning to meet with the two sisters who run the company to see how they would feel about collaborating on a new product. They create miniature steam- powered mechanical toys - they branded them curios - made so that children can take them apart and rebuild them in different ways. Frankly, I think their ideas are ingenious. I cannot understand why the Queen has involved them in this case, but I expect we shall find that out soon enough. Now then, it is time we finished our preparations and departed." He added under his breath; “I hope this isn’t like that stupid circus.”

With that, the earl set his teacup down on the nearest table and left the room. His guests, after several bewildered glances at each other, followed suit, leaving only Sebastian and Matilda in the drawing room collecting cups. Noticing the odd look on the maid's face, the demon butler inquired as to what was wrong.

"Bryony Redruth," Matilda repeated the name. "I may be mistaken, but I think I know this girl."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the maid, but said nothing more.