#back butler Lau

[dreamywander]

❗AI-art❗kuroshitsuji - Lau 🧧

«The mind, once clouded, is often poised to see the world differently when the fog lifts»

More pictures like this can be found in my profile ✨

[plague-of-insomnia]

Bard in Ch 212

[ciciyup]

Yandere! Lau X Fem! Reader headcanons.

cw: Sensitive themes, prejudice, xenophobia, manipulation, slight obsession, little nsfw, angst, murder, dark themes, stalking. (don't forget the era in which the story is set)

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Lau thinks about how peculiar all those people around him are, he seemed to have the affinity to notice the hypocrisy of the people around him. They all appeared so neat and so modest, what would they be like behind closed doors? Surely the men would stop being as gentlemen as they took it for granted in public and the women would stop being a lady as they tried to be all the time, behind closed doors it was another thing, but Lau had always believed that people in England were very peculiar.

Of course, he couldn't deny that the balls were entertaining, especially when the young Earl Phantomhive was there with his indispensable butler, everything seemed to go perfectly. The tables with the best dishes and food of the best quality, the mansion shining without a single spot of dust, the excellent decoration, how fascinating.

Ladies at balls were not something that caught Lau's attention, being surrounded by women was something he was used to, so at balls he didn't usually ask a woman to dance, maybe chat a little with other men of status, have a drink and stay there, but not court.

It was curious when he saw you, he had never seen you at any of the balls or any other event, but he assumed you were close to the Phantomhive family when he saw you talking to the count. Weren't you lovely? You seemed to shine in such a beautiful dress and a choice of such beautiful colors, from his place Lau could guess that you only wore the finest and most expensive fabrics. He could guess the time it took you to choose such a delicate hairstyle, the perfect curls that fell behind your back, the bun tied perfectly without a single loose hair, the perfect decoration with precious pearls around your hair, although surely it hadn't been done by you but by some maid. You looked radiant.

There was no other way to do it, if he wanted to talk to you he had to ask you for a dance, that was how it was there, it would be too reckless if he just approached you to talk, very ungentlemanly. Besides, since you had arrived you seemed to be close to an older man and an older woman with whom you were talking, they were surely your parents, you had very similar features to each one, he should make a good impression at least, where would his manners be if he didn't?

Your eyes seemed to inspect him before accepting his invitation, your gloved hands timidly touched his as you followed him to the center of the room along with the other couples who were already there, of course, it would be unacceptable if you refused him, what a rude lady to reject the invitation of such a kind man. A perfect occasion to talk to you, he had to take advantage of it.

It was easy to start a conversation while the dance was slow and not that tiring, Lau found out that you were the only daughter of a high class marriage and of very good social status, although you couldn't always be present at many events due to the little time you had for other tasks, although it also seemed that you didn't love the idea of dances, but it seemed that your parents were the ones who most wanted you to find a man who would become your husband, that is why they made sure that you went with them to the events.

After finishing the dance Lau offered to take you to his seat to continue talking while keeping his big smile the whole time. It seemed strange to you when as soon as you sat down there was a young woman next to you, he nonchalantly told you that it was Ran-mao referring to her as his sister, however, there were touches on both parts such as Lau touching her legs and holding her close to him or her hugging him by the arm from time to time. You did not say anything, but perhaps your expressions already gave a lot to say.

Still, Lau had seemed like a charming man to you, he had charisma and a constant cheerfulness, ignoring the fact that sometimes he used to go off topic or say meaningless words, but that was okay, that didn't bother you. He seemed to be a good supporter, a noble with a good status and earnings and who seemed to be easy to deal with, you had liked him.

Your parents not so much, as soon as you stayed too long with him, your mother came to you while giving some quick excuse to take you with her, quickly saying goodbye to Lau while giving him a contemptuous look and taking you out of there.

Lau knew it right away, he could pretend on the outside, but he wasn't stupid, he knew exactly the typical looks. Your parents hadn't liked him, money wasn't the problem but where it came from. He cared little about what your parents liked, he was interested only in you.

He got distracted, he snuck in, who knows, but what he did know was what was going on out there with your family, while Lau was out of the party he could see your mother walking quickly towards the carriage with you while she frowned and scolded you.

"Don't get together with that man again." "He's not good for you, we already have someone for you." Hearing the words, Lau could only raise his eyebrows slightly, but he seemed more interested in the fact that they had already found someone for you than in what they were talking about him. They already had someone for you, that had been fast, the fact of imagining another man courting you made his smile disappear.

After that day of the dance, Lau kept investigating everything about you and your family, he couldn't deny that the fact that you were already engaged to another man made him bitter, so he took action. It wasn't for nothing that he worked in the underworld, he could use it to his advantage after all. He was already there in your life, even if they had only danced and chatted for a while, Lau was sure that he would know more about you than the guy you were going to get engaged to.

Strangely, while your parents were traveling in a carriage, it broke down, causing them to have an accident where neither of them managed to survive. On top of that, the suitor you were engaged to had stopped sending you letters and had disappeared completely.

You were devastated, your parents had died, you would no longer have the funds to live on since, being a woman, all of your family's fortune would pass into the hands of your distant cousin and the truth is that he would not share a single cent with you. The man you were engaged to had disappeared, you had tried to go to his parents or even the servants but no one had dared to say anything about his whereabouts, which left you baffled. Maybe he had backed out after hearing about your parents' death, was that it? Now that you no longer had any fortune had he declined?

Satisfied by the events that had happened, Lau knew that it was the perfect time to intervene, now that you were helpless and vulnerable, he could take you easier. He showed up at your parents' funeral, paying his respects, and as soon as it was over he offered to take you home in his carriage, although on the way there was hardly any chatter, he had decided to wait for the right moment. As soon as you were arriving at your destination he starts talking and proposing an offer that he knew would benefit you: if you married him you would no longer have to worry about money or anything else, none of that, he would take care of it. You just had to marry him, just that.

You were not in a position to choose, it was that or be left adrift with nothing, but you thought that after all the man had been so friendly and kind that he would be your salvation, which made you quickly accept.

Oh, how wrong you were, if you had known what he was really like, if you had known what he would do, if only you had known... But you had already accepted and once you fall into the web it is difficult to get out of it. Lau took you as a naive young girl, so naive that you thought of nothing else but clinging to the first float you saw in the water and he wanted you, he wanted that naive young girl.

It was nice at first, after his marriage, you moved in with him, but there started to be little things that you began to notice that made you doubt if he was the real man you thought you knew.

Why was he always smoking to the point where you had to open the windows in the house so you wouldn't drown? He had never smoked before. Why was Ran-mao always sitting on his lap and even when you did things that were just for you as a married couple she was always there? She was supposed to be just his sister. Why did he suddenly disappear without saying anything to the point of sometimes not coming back to the house and leaving you alone? Or why did he seem to become more irritable when you did something he didn't want? He was supposed to be a good man, right?

And when you had enough, you decided to find out for yourself. Silently following him as he left the house until you reached a strange place that went beyond the dangerous alleys, above the door of the place there was a sign with something written in Chinese, although you did not understand what it said so you continued on entering the place.

Too much smoke, too many shameless men who seemed to look you up and down while they had scantily clad women by their side. The further you went into the place the murkier everything became, you did not even want to know what was behind the many doors of the place where strange noises were heard.

Then there you saw him, smoking carefree, several women surrounded him including Ran-mao who was sitting on his lap. Seeing you, Lau puts his pipe aside and releasing the smoke held in his mouth he looks at you opening his eyes a little more seriously. He knew it, he knew that you had followed him. As soon as all the women beside him left and the two of you were left, Lau approaches you in a nonchalant manner as you begin to ask about what kind of place it was, surely he didn't work in what he once told you, no, it was something darker.

Then, when all you want is explanations, you don't expect Ran-mao to appear from behind injecting a needle into your neck causing you to quickly lose consciousness.

Even after you've followed him and discovered something he didn't plan to tell you, it only makes everything worse between you. Lau's violent tendencies aren't frequent but when they appear they aren't pleasant, he implements them with you.

Using his needles in a way that was not gentle on you until you cried was just the tip of the iceberg, each thing he did seemed to be worse than the other. Locking you in the room of the house without food or water or even seeing the sunlight for days until you knock on the door apologizing for anything just to be let out. You wouldn't go out anywhere, not when he knew you might run away or tell someone, not that he cared since he could use his contacts and make the people involved disappear and find you right away, but he preferred to save himself all that, so he doesn't let you go out alone, you would only go out with him to some event, but you would stay in your place, as his good wife.

Now, being together or not, he would want to satisfy his needs from time to time, just accept it and let it go, that's how it is. Let him fuck you in his opium den, the companions that surround him are not important, he wants you. Let him take you to the edge until you can't go back to yourself and only think about him. Let him raise you and fill you until you can have an heir like in all marriages, because that's what they are, he's your husband and you're his wife, you're united, there's nothing wrong with that.

Lau is aware, he knows that you know that he is working on things that are not so pleasant, on things that are too low to say out loud, he knows that from the first moment he saw you his intentions with you have not been good and they never will be, but don't blame him, you are special to him, he can't let you go, even if it hurts you.

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[hellbubu]

If you don’t like what I post, filter tags and block me. I’m not gonna argue with anyone.

Tf are you on? German bread is literally so fucking good

What mascara do you use??? I need it

I feel like they either fucking cheated or Vincent knew they had the better team

+ "Who said it would stop at graduation"

So his job is just basically being Sebastian? Ciel calls, and he goes. They're both dogs.

Your son has a better dog

He's so extra, I love him

They're here <3

I'm not a manga reader, I'm writing as I watch. But I am 2000000000% certain someone will get drugged. Why else would Lau who runs an opium den be here?

He saw y'all play and decided that fleeing the country was better than to be associated with that

I know you're stupid, but do you really not recognize him?? How did you even manage to become a doctor??

I fucking knew it

You really changed just for that? I bet you were itching to get back into your butler clothes

I- I have no words

Fucking pervert, stop lusting after Mr. Michaelis's boys.

I have the feeling he's so okay with this because Vincent did this too

I think Violet is now my favorite character

Why do you think so much about his magical fingers? 👀👀

If only you had been able to hit the rocks that Zeke was throwing at you

Damn, Bluewer trained him using this method

Ciel is so manipulative, I love him

Bitch, did you just pull a Sasuke (see someone use a move and use it later on)?????

[abybweisse]

Ch211 (p4), Travel-ready

Just like with Baldo's mission with Lau, we are getting a cliffhanger, so hopefully the kids make it to our earl ok....

We go back in time, yet again, to Lau's opium den. This time, it's Sebastian and our earl getting ready to leave on their mission to Brighton. Sebastian's uniform is now clean, so he dons it.

Then Ran-Mao and the other ladies who work there bring in a bunch of clothes ordered by Sebastian. I see a hat box with Lock & Co Hatters on it and several boxes from Nina Hopkins' shop.

Sebastian goes to get his master ready to leave, but our earl doesn't know how to pay the tab to Nina. Sebastian seems confident that our earl will regain his title and funds, then he can pay the bill plus a nice tip.

"Clothes reeking of opium are unbefitting of you." 🙄 😆

Sebastian goes over his master's cover story, for going to the resort hotel, while dressing him.

And emphasizes the importance of Earl Phantomhive being fashionable in bespoke clothing.

Ready for travel... and another turn at chess with his brother.

I'm wondering how on earth they will walk into the hotel controlled (ultimately) by Undertaker and real Ciel... as Earl Phantomhive and his butler. Are they not going incognito this time? A bold chess move, indeed, if they just walk in like this, even if it's run by some random person from the Aurora Society. People will recognize them; there will be talk. There's been front page news about the scandal.

Maybe that's the intention, at this point. But... can they get away with it for long enough before local police or the Yard shows up again?

🤔 Maybe they take on some disguise before they enter the hotel....

[shiganshinaslut]

OK I WAS ABSOLUTELY CONSIDERING SENDING THIRSTS ABOUT GRELLE I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF I COULD.

I know you mentioned her leaving marks on your neck, but imagine her marking up the inside of your thighs too. Just making sure that you're covered in reminders that you're allll hers. I'm thinking about Grelle out of breath because of how desperately she wants you, digging her teeth into the spots that she knows you will see and smudging your skin with red lipstick, before licking a slow line up to your clit. God I am SO desperate. Or like mutual body worship with Grelle omg. She'd tell you how darling you look squirming underneath her and you get to tell her that she looks like a goddess when she's driving into you, deep in the throes of her own pleasure.

Ok ramble over I want Grelle to dom me so badly

18+||MDNI

YES PLEASE SEND IN AS MANY THIRSTS AS YOU’D LIKE tis fuel for my horny brain. Especially because there’s a severe lack of black butler smut on this app!! I’m a major simp for Lau, Snake, and Agni and it’s near impossible to find smut for them T-T Perhaps I’ll have to write some myself.

Possessive Grelle makes me insane /// She would leave a trail of cherry red kisses down your body, as if the other marks she left weren’t enough. The part about her telling you how darling you look squirming underneath her has me in shambles oh my godjdbfhdh praise kink goin crazy,,,,she would lean down and get close to your ear, slowing down her thrusts to tell you how pretty you look, all red-faced and whimpering beneath her :( I bet she makes the prettiest sounds too. She doesn’t try to hold them back, and each breathy moan she lets out brings you closer to the edge.

[dulcemaiden]

Lord Canopus, revealed

So, we have received confirmation in ch. 204 that Doll is Lord Canopus, as many in the fandom have theorized. I personally believed this too, not because Vega was most likely Layla/Al (and canopus was the only left), but because her personality fits with the japanese chart about blood type personalities. By now we know these canopus/Types B: Lizzie, Doll, Redmond, Lau, Bard, Wolfram, and all the corgi class students like Mabel and Ginny.

"Type B blood people are creative, cheerful, independent, laid-back, and adventurous. They are quick thinkers and spontaneous, as well as passionate and strong-willed. They do things at their own pace, and mostly end up going their own way because they are not good at follow orders, so they are known too as the "rule-breakers". They are honest and caring at heart, and make friends easily because they are loyal and non-pretentious. On the other hand, their negative traits include being “wild,” selfish, unforgiving, irresponsible and unpredictable. When type B blood people focus on something, they put their all into it, and they are unlikely to let go, even if the goal seems unachievable or impractical."

There are interesting things in the symbolism of canopus too:

Canopus was the helmsman of the Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, who served King Menelaus. Canopus is described as a handsome young man who was loved by a egyptian prophetess, but never reciprocated her feelings. While visiting the Egyptian coast, Canopus was bitten by a serpent and died, and Menelaus then built a monument to his memory on the shore where this happened, around which the town of Canopus later grew up. In this town was worshipped the egiptian god Osiris, under a peculiar form: that of a vase with a human head. Osiris is a god who is in among other things, the Lord of the afterlife, the dead, resurrection and life in ancient Egyptian religion).

Osiris is the name of the group/company Undertaker was supposedly working with on his bizarre doll/resurrection project during the Campania arc. It is curious too the way Canopus died (it will implicate Doll's fate in the future?... although for now I see it unlikely).

About Doll's role in the plot, I don't think she will be killed (in this arc), because I think our Ciel will see her again, it would be a poor choice on Yana's part to reintroduce Doll just to kill her off so quickly, what would be the point then? And we still don't know why Undertaker revived her either. The "Stars" require a lot of work and huge amount of resources to function properly, and her blood type is rare (not as rare as Sirius but still rare), so why Undertaker gave her such preferential treatment is a mystery. I don't think he has revived her just to mortify OCiel, there must be another reason.

And some things start to make sense now, just at this part. I don't think the relationship between RCiel and Doll is good at all, since RCiel wouldn't tolerate someone who hold such a big grudge against his brother, and Doll wouldn't like the idea of dealing with the brother of the one who killed her and her family. So it makes sense not to mention Canopus as a candidate for his butler.

Besides, the butler of RCiel would need to be a fighter, and unlike Lizzie, strength in combat doesn't seem to be Doll's strong point, who also seems to be in a delicate state. Polaris fought AGNI and won, Layla(Al) almost beat Ronald if it wasn't for William's intervention, but Doll just walk and collapse? Like with RCiel, that could be because of a low blood supply.

What will happen now?

Regarding what will happen next, I was somehow expecting a confrontation between Doll and Finnian, but in her current state that seems impossible, since she probably can barely move, so the whole conflict will happen between Finny and Snake.

Doll is an important part of Snake's character. She is the first person who reached out for him, and in his memories she is the most prominent figure of his "circus family". The worst thing is that Snake has been serving loyally to the one who ordered her death, and him forgiving OCiel after finding out seems unlikely. There are inocent children involved too, so the situation is really complicated. It will all depends on what are Snake's priorities and loyalty, but I wonder if he will bear with the idea of killing Doll, I highly doubt it (I hope he and Finny save the kids though).

On the other hand, I expect Finnian not to die and return to OCiel and Sebastian, but he could learn from Doll the truth about Sebastian's nature. At first obviously not believing her words, but the seed of doubt would be planted, as he could remember Sebastian's strange behavior in the Emerald Witch arc. Finnian could confirm this later, causing a huge conflict between the servants and Sebastian, who would want to protect their master from him, and complicating things for our Ciel.

In addition, we must consider that Meyrin and Bard have already achieved 2 victories for OCiel, will this be the occasion where RCiel will win a game?

[azuresins]

What character do you think is most misunderstood by the fandom or casual watchers/readers?

Agni. *Edit: the people he assaulted weren't actually dead, that's my mistake-- But the point is he should have been in jail, and our!Ciel and Sebastian "redeemed" and pardoned him in England. * I'm of the opinion that newcomers or people who want the full picture of what's going on in the story, need to disregard SI entirely and are better off just reading up until Book of Circus. I don't feel like SI makes the events clear enough. In fact? I'd go as far to say SI FUCKED up the curry arc immensely? And chapter 23 never got animated the way it was supposed to. Bits and pieces but not the way it should have been, we missed the best parts. Even in Book of Circus! It's such a shame! It's one of my favorite chapters and so many people are missing out. Agni post-events of the curry arc DESPERATELY tries to turn himself into the police to atone for his crimes because scotland yard is in the manor at the same him he and Soma are, ... and Sebastian literally wont allow it. Some highlights:

A lot of casual watchers and readers I find get really, really confused and somehow miss the point that during the Curry Arc, Agni was betraying Soma and going behind his back to protect his well-being and his feelings, yes, but... he was willing to go SO FAR to do that, that he went back to his first "sinful" nature (before meeting soma) in order to do so and dirty his hands again... And yet, Sebastian still considers him an excellent butler and sings nothing but praises. Regardless of why, Agni *assaulted, stripped, humiliated and hung people-of-import upside-down on display on the East End, and was one responsible for a lot of tension between Indians and British at the beginning of this arc. Even though he accepts he's guilty and in a sense "relapsed" back to his old ways and betrayed Soma (and his own culture and race), someone who he considers god-like in his eyes. ... he's given a second chance, but not only that, Sebastian (and Ciel) go out of his way to try to protect him. Of course it's under the guise of "Don't inconvenience us!" but they COULD have turned him in, and they didn't do that. I know a lot of people chant HE'S A CINNAMONROLL AND DID NOTHING WRONG (and Sebastian is one of those people) but I sincerely think it's beautiful that even though he "fell" and "betrayed" Soma and went back to "Sinning"... he still possesses his right hand and is forgiven and seen as good, he gets his second chance and not only does Soma consider him still a good person and declares him "redeemed" but this time, our!Ciel does the same thing for him and declares him "redeemed" and covers up his crimes, too. To me that's a really big deal?... but I rarely if ever see people talk about it, and when I talk to new readers or anime-only-watchers they seemed to miss that he LITERALLY assaulted those people and should be in jail, he didn't merely "help" or was running errands or anything like he ...literally committed a string of crimes in England for Soma because he was being blackmailed. Not just any people either, specifically British Lords of import that had come back from India. -- The East End is also Lau's territory, and one very final and important detail that never got animated or talked-about in the anime was that Lau and Ran Mao KILLED Mina and her husband, Harold West Jeb, because of what they were doing... and also, curiously, Lau spared Agni even though he was the one who was actually physically did the crimes and made problems for him. Agni got not a second-chance but a third-chance and I think it's very beautiful in the most tragic of ways that he continued to spend his life protecting Soma ... but it's also very, very sad because unfortunately... it makes a case for Real!Ciel's bizarre doll, because if he was truly 'watching' as close as he claimed the entire time and knew what Agni had done, all he has to do is say "He shouldn't have been allowed to live anyway he was anti-british a trouble maker, violent and terrible person! 💕" prompting me, personally, to jump into the manga like steve from blues clues and strangle him myself,,,,, But you get the point, basically what I'm trying to say is Agni is even cooler than he seems and more complex and I think people miss it.

[anonymousewrites]

One Hell of a Love (Book 2) Chapter Eleven

Sebastian Michaelis x Demon! Reader

Chapter Eleven: One Hell of a Murder

Summary: In the aftermath of Sebastian's "death," more murder is discovered.

            (Y/N) pretended to shudder in fear as Baldroy held them steady. Beside them, Finny and Mey-Rin cried, and the guests (excepting Phelps, but no one noticed that) looked on in horror at Sebastian’s “dead” body. So far, the acting had gone perfectly well. As long as (Y/N) continued to play the part of poor mourning maid, friend of the butler, everything would go well.

            Ciel ran into the room, still in his nightclothes, standing beside Tanaka and Arthur. His eyes widened in similar panic as they landed on Sebastian, laying on his back in a pool of blood with a fire poker lodged in his chest. His acting was just as impressive as ever.

            “Young Master!” cried Finny worriedly.

            “Sebastian…?” Ciel paused before moving forward towards Sebastian.

            Mey-Rin caught him. “No, stop! Young Master, you must not enter, not at all!”

            “Let me go!” demanded Ciel.

            “No, Young Master!” said Finny.

            “Stay back!” Ciel pushed them away. “Don’t you dare order your master around!”

            “Young Master…!” Tears streamed down Finny’s cheeks.

            Ciel stood over Sebastian. “Sebastian, how much longer are you going to keep up this childish prank? Once again, I can’t imagine the floor makes for comfortable slumber.”

            Ah, the part of the child in denial. Everyone will be too busy pitying him to question his performance, thought (Y/N).

            “How much longer do you intend to feign sleep, hm?” said Ciel. “Can you not hear me? I’m telling you to get up.” He gritted his teeth and pulled the poker from Sebastian’s chest.

            Ah, that’s got to be irritating. It always stings when it’s pulled out, thought (Y/N).

            “Why you!” cried Ciel.

            “My Lord!” warned Arthur.

            “Sebastian!” Ciel grabbed the labels of Sebastian’s tailcoat. “You get up right now, you hear me?! I command you!” He slapped Sebastian when he didn’t move. “Did you fail to hear my command?! Who in the name of hell gave you permission to die?! I’ll never forgive you, Sebastian!” He raised his hand to hit Sebastian again. “Open your damn—!”

            (Y/N) caught his arm. “Young Master. Please stop. We can’t take any more of this.” They pretended to sob, turning their face from Sebastian’s corpse. “It’s difficult enough…He’s already dead…”

            Ciel pretended to tremble as he faced Sebastian. “Are you…really dead? Sebastian…You, my butler…You and you alone, who…who promised you would stay at my side until the very end—” He leaned over Sebastian body, and (Y/N) watched as he whispered a true order to Sebastian.

            “The corpse will rot if we leave it here, so it would be a good idea to move it quickly,” said Grey coldly.

            (Y/N) glanced at him, a slight coldness in their gaze. Sebastian may not be killable by something as simple as a human blade, but that didn’t mean they liked Grey trying to kill him. Unfortunately, Grey was the Queen’s butler, so for Sebastian and his Master’s sake, (Y/N) couldn’t retaliate. (If they could, (Y/N) would add Grey to the death toll at this banquet).

            “…Yeah,” said Baldroy, nodding hesitantly.

            “Come on, Young Master…” said Mey-Rin gently, pulling Ciel to his feet.

            “No, let me go!” cried Ciel. “Don’t leave me behind, Sebastian! Sebastian! I command you! I command you…! I command you!”

            Lau hummed as he watched the scene. “Committing this last murder would have been impossible for the confined Earl, hm?” The guests’ eyes turned to him, and Lau smirked. “This is all turning out to be very amusing indeed.”

            (Y/N) quite agreed.

            “Amusing?!” cried Grimsby. “Two people have been murdered in the space of one night!”

            And Phelps is missing, noted (Y/N), but they would leave that to the humans.

            “A-And he was killed in such a way…” Irene shivered as she stared at the bloodstained poker.

            “Tell me about it. Runnin’ him through with a fireplace poker…was just too much…” agreed Baldroy.

            (Y/N) turned into Mey-Rin, who comforted them during the reminder of what horrible sight they had walked in on.

            Arthur examined the body. “There are signs of trauma to the head. He may have been struck from behind while stoking the fire.”

            “And ‘cos that didn’t do him in, they finished him off with another blow to the chest, huh?” said Baldroy.

            “Or maybe they didn’t wait to see if he was dead and instead attacked him twice in quick succession…” said Grey. “Rather than a single attack, two attacks would have been sure to kill him. How strange.”

            You would know, thought (Y/N).

            They rather liked the confusion on Grey’s face since it was clear that he had only attacked from the back with a hit to the head and a stab through the back, so he was confused about how Sebastian ended up with a stab to the chest. However…it also meant he would be suspicious. (Y/N) raised an eyebrow in clear view of Sebastian’s “vacant” eyes in a message to him saying: “You’ve really just made more problems for yourself, haven’t you?” Sebastian would have to run around quite a bit to deal with any of Grey’s suspicions (and (Y/N) would be probably dragged in, too).

            Arthur paused beside the body and considered. “If he did not die from the blow to the back of his head, why did the murderer go to the trouble of stabbing him from the front?”

            Because Sebastian was in a hurry and stabbed himself the wrong way, thought (Y/N).

            “Yeah,” agreed Baldroy. “Normally you’d attack from the same direction if you’re attackin’ twice.”

            “Then maybe there are multiple perpetrators,” said Arthur. “For example, who spoke to him from the front to catch his attention while the second snuck up from behind and bludgeoned him in the head. Then the one in front delivered the finishing blow without pause.”

            (Y/N) had quickly landed on him as the most sensible human present.

            “In any case, it is a fact that I sense not a shred of mercy or hesitation,” said Lau. “The culprit or culprits managed to kill that butler, so they must be very—”

            “Please just stop now!” Finny’s voice cut through the discussion. He held Ciel tightly. It was kind of adorable and brotherly. “How could you talk like that when the Young Master’s right here…! Please consider the Young Master’s feelings!”

            “Finny!” admonished Mey-Rin. She bowed. “P-Please excuse our rudeness, please do! We’re all a bit shaken, we are!” (Y/N) shivered and nodded to add to the excuse.

            “Well…He does have a point,” said Grey. “We can stand around the corpse bandying theories about all we like, but it won’t get us anywhere. So let’s first carry this to the cellar. The discussion of the murderer’s identity and the like can be continued afterward, perhaps over a meal or something.

            Woodley blanched. “How could you take this so leisurely!”

            “You’re right. No good will come of rushing things!” chirped Lau.

            “That’s that, then,” said Grey, turning to leave. “We’ll leave you servants to handle the disposal of that thing.”

            Sebastian was really lucky (Y/N) respected his instructions so much since they really wanted to stab Grey through the chest with his own sword for treating Sebastian like a troublesome object.

            Grey glanced back over his shoulder. “Oh, and have breakfast ready for us as well, hm?”

            (Y/N) straightened and bowed. “Yes, sir.” They would play the part Sebastian asked of them. At least the situation was entertaining. The guests nodded and walked out of the room, not wanting to remain in the room with the corpse any longer.

            “(Y/N), are you sure you don’t want to rest? After that scare, you must be shaken, you must,” said Mey-Rin.

            (Y/N) put on a soft, shaky smile. “Sebastian would want me to do my job, especially in his absence…And so I will.”

            “Oh, (Y/N)…” Mey-Rin’s gaze softened. She knew Sebastian and (Y/N) were close, so she worried for how this would hit (Y/N).

            “Do as they say,” said Ciel. “Take Sebastian to the cellar. I apologize for losing my composure.”

            “Not at all!” cried Mey-Rin.

            “Young Master…” Finny gazed at Ciel in worry.

            “Tanaka,” said Ciel.

            “Yes, sir,” said Tanaka, in his full form.

            “Sebastian is dead. You are my butler from this day forth,” said Ciel. “I entrust you with the management of the manor and the supervision of the servants. And this pin too…” He held out the bloody pin from Sebastian’s uniform. “I return to your keeping.”

            “The pin of the head butler…this does bring back memories,” said Tanaka. (Y/N) could see the ages of service to the Phantomhive estate in his eyes and knew he’d do his job admirably. “Will an old man like me be equal to the duties, I wonder?”

            “You need only do it until a replacement arrives,” said Ciel.

            “As you wish, sir,” said Tanaka. “I shall by all means accept it.” He pinned it to his lapel and straightened. The old man Tanaka was gone, and the butler had returned, ready to perform for the Phantomhive household with familiar skill. He clapped his hands and addressed the staff. “Then let us first prepare for the morning baths. Mey-Rin, please see to the hot water. Finny, Baldroy, once you have moved Sebastian, please carry hot water to the Young Master’s bathroom. (Y/N), please see to it the guests are taken care of during breakfast.”

            “Yes, sir,” said all four.

            Tanaka turned to Ciel. “Young Master, you will catch cold if you stay dressed like that.. Let us first see to getting you a change of clothing. The head of the Phantomhive family must not be shaken by the death of a mere servant. The previous master was never once seen to be losing his composure over such a trigle.”

            “You are strict as usual, old man,” said Ciel with some fondness.

            Tanaka smiled before facing Arthur, the only guests who had remained in the room. “Professor. I sincerely apologize that such events have taken—.”

            “No, no,” said Arthur. “He is far more in need of you than I…Please stay with the Earl.”

            “I am deeply touched by your concern,” said Tanaka. “Now then, let us go, Young Master. You must not keep your guests waiting.”

l

            The storm raged outside as the guests sat at the breakfast table in a tense silence. (Y/N) was once again reminded of human’s ease at being distracted by observing that no one had noticed Phelps’s absence. (Y/N) had a suspicion that somehow he wouldn’t be making it to breakfast, and even though that would mean there was a mystery that Sebastian hadn’t anticipated, they would clear that up quickly if needed.

            “It’s a great help that (Y/N) and Sebastian took care of the meals in advance,” said Ciel in a subdued tone.

            “Smells yummy! Let’s eat!” said Grey happily, quickly digging in.

            Grimsby looked at Irene in concern. “What’s wrong, Irene? You’ve barely touched your plate.”

            “I’m sorry,” said Irene. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”

            Grey paused. “Hey, if that food’s gonna go to waste, can I help myself to it?”

            Irene picked up her plate. “Yes, here yo—”

            “No, not yours,” said Grey. He pointed lazily with his fork. “But the one next to you.”

            “Eh?” Irene glanced to her side in confusion. “Oh…you are right. There is an extra place here. Did the chef prepare one too many?”

            “(Y/N) and Sebastian prepared breakfast,” said Ciel. He looked at (Y/N).

            They straightened. “We ensure there was a plate for every guest, my Lord.”

            “Eh? Then whose is it?” said Lau.

            “Everyone is present and—oh!” exclaimed Irene. “Mr. Phelps is missing!”

            It took them all long enough, thought (Y/N).

            “You’re right. I failed to notice because he doesn’t have much of a presence,” chuckled Lau.

            “Now that you mentioned it, I haven’t seen him all morning,” said Grimsby.

            “It seems he’s really sleeping it!” said Woodley with a laugh.

            Arthur stood up. “If I may!” He looked serious. “What do you say we go look in the Earl’s bedroom?” He was the only one who knew that after two deaths it was necessary to check on everyone’s wellbeing and not assume anything. Really, he was the only sensible one there.

            Ciel stood. “I’ll show you the way.”

            The solemn exchanged caught the rest of the party’s attention, and shivers ran down their spines. It was clear what Arthur was worried for.

            The group ran through the halls of the manor until they came upon Ciel’s bedroom, which Phelps was sleeping in since Ciel and Arthur had stayed in his. Arthur banged on the doors.

            “Mr. Phelps! Mr. Phelps! Please respond if you’re there!” he called. Nothing. He tried the door handle, but it was locked. “The lock, it’s—! My Lord, where is the key?”

            “I don’t know,” admitted Ciel.

            “Eh?!” exclaimed the group.

            “Sebastian is the keeper of the key to my room, and only he knows where it’s stored,” said Ciel. “Now that he’s dead, even I couldn’t tell you where to find it.”

            (Y/N) stepped forward. “Young Master, if I may, I can break the doors.”

            “Move.” Grey acted before Ciel could give any directions. With a long swing of his sword, he cut through the doors. The pieces fell to the ground, and everyone stared at him as he held his breakfast plate in one hand with a bored expression. “Let’s take care of this quick, okay? I haven’t had my dessert yet.”

            “Mr. Phelps!” called Arthur as he led the group into the room.

            They turned into the bedroom of Ciel’s quarters. Arthur’s eyes widened. Irene let out a horrified gasp. Woodley and Grimsby grimaced and stepped back. Grey’s eyes were wide. The servants let out a breath.

            Phelps lay on the ground, clutching the carpet with foam on his lips, his face one of struggle and pain.

            He was dead.

            (Y/N) raised an eyebrow behind the group. Their nose twitched. Now this was an unanticipated development.

            “How?” said Ciel.

            Arthur knelt by the body, getting to work. “Quite some time has passed since rigor mortis set it.”

            “Are we all having a bad dream or something…?” murmured Grimsby.

            “There is no external trauma as in the other two,” said Athur. His eyes narrowed as he found a mark on Phelps’s neck. “He has what appears to be puncture wounds in the neck! Perhaps he was injected with poison from a needle or the like.”

            “A needle?” Ciel narrowed his eyes.

            (Y/N) peered at the marks. Looks like snake bite to me. But far be it for me to ruin the mortals’ fun.

            “Oh, I say! Lord Earl lives in the most wonderful room!” To the side, Lau and Ran-Mao were rummaging through Ciel’s closet.

            “Don’t rummage around someone else’s quarters as you please!” said Ciel, an irk mark appearing.

            Lau chuckled as he pulled out a Chinese dress. “You’ve held on to the dress I gave you! Have you worn it?”

            “I most certainly have not!” cried Ciel indignantly. Lau had given him it after the undercover investigation during the Jack the Ripper case, and Ciel hadn’t been able to live it down, yet.

            Arthur continued and regained the focus of the group. “The marks could also be said to resemble the tooth marks of some beast or other.”

            (Y/N) nodded in agreement.

            “Bite marks on the neck…Brings to mind Carmilla, doesn’t it?” murmured Irene.

            “By that are you referring to Le Fanu’s vampiric Carmilla?” said Ciel.

            (Y/N) clicked their tongue. Vampires. Terrible little creatures.

            “Yes, are you familiar with it?” said Irene.

            Woodley scoffed. “So you’re saying he was killed by a vampire?! Preposterous!”

            Woodley was correct in that regard. With two demons in the household, a vampire wouldn’t dare approach the manor.

            “Such occult and unscientific occurrences have no place in the nineteenth century!” continued Woodley.

            There he was not correct.

            “2:38 am,” said Arthur, gazing at the broken clock that had been knocked from the side table of Ciel’s bed.

            “That would be the clock I kept at my bedside,” confirmed Ciel.

            “He likely dropped it amidst his throes of agony. It’s broken,” said Arthur.

            “Which would mean that Mr. Phelps died around 2:38?” said Ciel.

            “Yes,” said Arthur.

            “Say!” chirped Lau from in Ciel’s bathroom, still going through his things. “Instead of standing here holding court, why don’t we go sit down and think the situation through? Over a nice cup of tea, perhaps?

            “…Quite right,” said Ciel. “Tanaka, show our guests to the drawing room. (Y/N), prepare the tea.”

            “Yes, my Lord,” said (Y/N).

            “Very good, sir,” said Tanaka.

Taglist:

@technikerin23

@im-making-an-effort

@izzieg3987

@jinxxangel13

@alexpangender

@otomyoli

@neenieweenie

@nex-crowley

@anxious-chick

@bellacastiel

@v1l-ismissing

@agentdedf1sh

@idkhowtoplayhoyoversegames

@iamsexytrash

@oceansfloor

[darkspellmaster]

Have we been overlooking the Key to Snake's survival

Spoilers for Recent Chapters of Kuroshitsuji.

So for those who have been reading, I hope this makes sense as I think it's an important factor in this arc. While I know everyone is wondering what is going to happen to Snake, I've noticed that there isn't much discussion about a few players that usually show up when someone dies and the rules the manga has for telegraphing a death.

(I should note that this tends to pertain to important characters usually, and not one offs like Mina and her husband, as I don't recall seeing a Grim Reaper in that arc at all.

During the first arc of Black Butler we met Grelle, who was hanging out with Madam Red. As noted, she was dressed as a normal human butler rather than her usual amazing self.

It wasn't long after that we got her true reveal and Aunt Anne wasn't with us.

We then get the Reapers showing up, namely William, in the circus arc early on as Specs (If I recall correctly).

William hangs around as a hint that death will be coming since he practically tells Sebastian this. Thus we see him reviewing Joker's records at the top of the burning mansion. Signaling that he's collecting the other members as well at some point or did so already. (Since Reapers can be just about anywhere.)

During the Murder arc, we don't have any reaper (sans the former one in the form of Undertaker at the end) and since we know Sebastian is a demon, we can safely assume that the normal mortal way of killing him is out. So no reapers, no deaths for important or known characters.

In the Campania arc (Luxury Liner arc) Ronald runs up and we get him saying hello with his outfit given we're shown his eyes and his suit.

So, again, we know for sure that someone is going to die, or at least there's going to be deaths happening. We also get Grelle back, and Will at the end, it's important to note that the trio do play a big role in giving us lore in this case along with collecting the souls of the dead, more importantly one of the bigger players in the arc, Ryan Stoker. (As with Baron Kelvin, both men have ties to Ciel through their connections. Stoker via Undertaker, and Kelvin to his past within their circles.)

In the Public School arc (Weston) we don't have a reaper at all, (other than Undertaker) and, once again, no death of players occur (as with Mina, and the Banker, the Queen's nephew is a lesser character). So we see the pattern continuing.

Emerald witch sees William and Grelle in Germany with our two German Reapers (Ruger and Sasha), and we have the deaths of several important villains.

Following this we have the Blue Cult, and yet again, no Reaper to be found in the music hall aspect of the Arc. But Grelle and Othello show up following this portion of the arc, and what does Grelle say to Sebastian and Ciel when they meet after finding the dead nobles. She'll see them again soon.

Not long after, Agni dies.

There is no Reaper during the time Ciel is on the run and by Lau's, and there is none during Mei-Rin and Ran-Mao's arc. It's only when we get to Baldroy's arc that we get Ronald once again.

And that leaves us with a twist that Sebastian saves Baldroy's life, along with Lau giving him his blood to save him. Ronald and will then confine Layla/Al, and we're left to wonder what this means in regard to the other arcs.

What have we learned so far, that nearly every time a Reaper shows up some form of death happens. That when a death may occur for an important character a Reaper will show up. So far this has not been broken, save Baldroy's story.

Most are thinking, we'll she's going to twist it. Snake will die because even though we don't see a reaper, that's a really bad cut, and we're getting a flashback.

However I propose that Snake has more of a part to play in this story. He mentions that he and the snakes are from an unknown, far away place. We also have hints of him being in an orphanage. We know from Finny that there were children being experimented upon, and part of the whole arc seems to be showing how similar Snake and Finny are. So I don't believe he's going to die, and I suspect the reason why is due to how influenced this is by Promised Neverland.

In the story there is a character known as Sister Krone, who helps the children out, but for selfish reasons.

In the end, while she does somewhat help the children, she pretty much betrays them for her own safety, though it does her little good in the end.

However, I want to present a character that I think is a call back to Sister Krone, and she has no name as of yet for some reason.

Our Maid on the Right Lower corner has no name, yet is shown to be someone who plays a part in things. She's always around so we see her a lot even though, unlike Susan or (was it Jamie?) the other younger maid, she has no name. Why is that? Why be so prominent yet not have a name? It's an odd thing, and normally a character like her would have some name at this point, why is hers being kept secret it seems.

She's also been shown to be the most nervous about everything. Even in her first appearance she's being shown to be quiet and later when Doll insists, she has a more worried look about things.

She's the one that dropped the plate, and thus again given prominence above the other characters, and, to be blunt, she's one of the few POC characters shown in this place, and I think the only maid here.

What's got my suspicions up is that People keep saying "There's no Ada to save Snake" and yet, we see three maids go down to the lab. Three of them, meaning that all three know how that stuff works.

Susan, the one in the front, Jamie (the girl with the curly hair) and our last unknown maid, who, unlike the other two -who are all business, is looking upset, nervous, and other unknown emotions. She's clearly not a fan of this, and doesn't like this at all, as shown in their entry in Chapter 203.

Come Chapter 204 we get these two exchanges with her.

She questions things, and note her stance. While the other two are, again, all business like, she looks honestly unhappy and uneasy.

Body language reads as:

Upturned brows = can indicate anxiety or worry.

Down turned eyes = indicate feeling uncertain or Guilty.

Hands in the folded position = can indicate being less confident, unsure, insecure, and nervous.

All together it shows that this maid is questioning her role in this, and, as we see with her questions, her slight hesitation, it's clear that she's not sure about what they're doing, and, more than likely, feeling guilty over it.

We see the same reaction from her again when the other maid gives her the dress Ginny was wearing when she was fledged. So it becomes blatantly obvious that we're supposed to pay attention to this woman who is feeling guilty.

We don't see her leaving but we have to assume that she did due to the fact that she's not there during the confrontation.

Which brings us to the big point of who they're hearing.

The kids and Finny are running away from the sounds, but, more than likely the one that's going to run into them is going to be this maid.

So why do I think it's likely going to be this maid that the kids and Finny are hearing.

We Don't see her leaving, but we know she was there with Susan and the other dead maid.

We can assume since she went down with them that she knew about the tunnel and what was going on with Doll, since Susan mentioned bringing out the Radiance in front of her.

Since neither women came back, she's the most likely to go down to see what is going on.

Given that she knows what they are doing she knows how to work the machines, and would have to know how to help. It's also clear from earlier that she was close enough to Susan to go with her down to the area where they kept the children.

Which brings us back to the situation in promised Neverland. In the story Kone gave information to the children, but as I said, betrayed them. If Yana-sensei is using the idea, given all the implications with the story there's something there, from the early arc (Jailbreak I think?) of PN, then it's possible that, unlike the original story, this maid will actually help Snake and the kids.

Given her reactions and her expressions, she's harboring guilt. Finny wanted to stay and help but had to leave. More than likely it's not beyond belief that this maid will run into them on their way out, and, probably use Finnian's blood, or one of the kids blood to save Snake.

Now why would she do that over taking the kids away?

Simplest answer, Finny asks her too and her desire to save a life, over taking one, would probably lead her to do the right thing in this case.

Why Finny's blood?

According to Celtic Legends Finnian, the mythic character, was given the gift of healing from the salmon of Knowledge. When he gathered water into his hands, and one drank from this the person will be healed.

We know that Finny is an experiment, and, given that the scientist shot his siblings/fellow experiments in the head rather than the chest or other body parts to kill them, indicated that the experiments healed. We also see this in the fight with Jumbo that Finny survives Jumbo's hit, and it's good by the next day.

So my theory is that the maid will meet the kids, give aid to Snake, and then likely take the kids away.

To be honest, The one I think has the death mark on him is either Tanaka, or Real Ciel again. Yana did state that Ciel will not make it to his 14th birthday. But O!Ciel is NOT Ciel, and never was. So the Ciel she's probably talking about is R!Ciel.

I know this isn't perfect, but it seems the most likely over Snake being turned into a Bizarre Doll, or outright dying.

The other option is that there are some snakes that can heal their own wounds, or he could shed his skin and heal himself that way.

[plague-of-insomnia]

Ch 212: That Butler, Going South

Please respect the spoons (time and energy) and money I invested into this post. Do not use my content without credit.

16 pages including the cover.

Basically, the chapter covers Sebastian and Ciel traveling by train to Brighton, discussing the servants’ missions as Ciel enjoys breakfast in the dining car.

(Remember that all the missions are happening simultaneously more or less, so Ciel doesn’t know how successful or not they all were.)

It’s actually quite brilliant of Yana and her team to time things like this. This chapter is a great way for fans who may have lapsed during the servant arcs to catch up again, or even for new fans lured in by the anime to get a taste of the manga.

It’s also interesting to see a how a some of the scenes mirror panels/moments from previous arcs.

For example, the shot of Sebastian and Ciel on the train together is akin to the end of the circus arc. (And admire how much her art has improved!)

Later, we get a (shocking, to me, anyway) shot of Sebastian sitting at the table with Ciel as equals, reminiscent of when they ironed out the details of the contract.

The chapter begins with the two of them on the train in their first class compartment, en route to Brighton from Reading.

Sebastian, ever the conscientious butler, notices the time and mentions breakfast, but Ciel is cautious: they’re fugitives, after all. Sebastian points out that most people wouldn’t expect a criminal to be casually taking a meal in the dining car. Seeing his point (and since Ciel is driven by his stomach lol), they go to have breakfast together.

They then discuss the servants’ missions and what they expect. For example, Ciel brings up the point that Lau can only be trusted so far, and he is the one who first brought their attention to the whole mess back in the Campania arc with Karstein Hospital. And he is a mafia boss.

But, both of them acknowledge that Bard is the smartest and most capable of the four servants (Bard, Mey, Finny, Snake), and that he managed to make it to the UK all the way from America alone. Plus, he’s trustworthy. Ciel points out that’s precisely why he paired them up. (Seeing them compliment my man 😭😭… Take that, Bard haters!)

They also discuss the mission Ran Mao and Mey are undergoing and ofc Snake and Finny. (I’m sorry but I’m tired and I don’t care as much about the other servants as Bard so I’m… not going into detail on their pages. Maybe tomorrow if I have time and spoons I’ll make an add-on to this going over those pages.)

This panel is one of my fave moments in the chapter… it translates more or less like this:

Mey: For our lord

Bard: With pride

Snake: With my life on the line

Finny: I do the assigned work and see it through to the end

Despite initially being wary of leaving their compartment, when Sebastian suggests they leave the dining car, Ciel wants to stay and stretch his legs. It’s only a few hours to Brighton by train.

Looks like next week we’ll start the arc in earnest and maybe learn how they plan to infiltrate the hotel.

Please respect the spoons (time and energy) and money I invested into this post. Do not use my content without credit.

Note: The last panel is actually Ciel speaking, so apologies for that error in translation.

[mysebacielblog]

Headcannons on Who Knows Sebaciel is a thing Part II:

Undertaker: Yes, very much so. It makes him jealous that a demon “owns” (?) a Phantomhive, as he’s just as obsessed with Ciel as Sebastian to an extent, only in a very, different way. To him, collecting the Phantomhives’ Souls is similar to collecting a pack of trading cards, and it just so happens that Sebastian owns the shiniest, limited edition one.

Grell: She knows and infuriates her to no end. That’s HER man, and she’s not about to let some snot nosed brat steal HER spotlight! She did her hair for this! Grell’s waiting patiently for 5? 10? Years to be over to begin her long awaited affair or she’ll make them over sooner then those two have in mind. Even if it means taking overtime.

Madame Red: Solid Maybe. Since Grell likes to talk and they were lovers, it’s safe to assume Grell probably complained to her about their closeness. She may have known something, but not the extent. At least not in regards to the contract as that came to her as a surprise.

Agni: 100000% No. He wouldn’t approve of his best friend’s colleague’s incident behavior. It goes against Caste laws and Butler Codes and he would probably pray a lot about it or confront Sebastian. They would fight about this privately, but since they’re best friends for ever good acquaintances, Agni would probably get away with his life, unlike Bard.

Prince Soma: The Real Question here is- Does He Care? He’s probably being betrothed to 100 noble wives and concubines all for when he’s older. Whatever Ciel does on his personal time that’s his thing.

Lau: Yes, he knows this secret and it makes his visits to the manor twice as entertaining. He figured it out during the camera event. Aside from being one of the few humans to know completely, his memory of anything besides this is pretty bad due to Opium addiction.

Ran-Mao: ????????? Only knows what Lau hums about in ancient metaphors.

Sieglinde: She knows. She also knows that they are both close due to being “Cult Victims”. Sieglinde is having a rough time. Puberty is taking its toll on this poor little witch.

Diedrich: YES!! He despises Ciel for having the smug demeanor of his father. It takes him back. Something something once a Fag always a Fag. He avoids him to forget his past.

[gentrychild]

Hey Gentry! For the 5 headcannon game would you please do a blackbutler ×mha Au? With Afo as Sebastian and Izuku as Ceil!

I have been thinking about this ask a lot, not in the "I am worldbuilding this AU" sense but as... I cannot picture a world where Izuku knows that All for One will eventually eat his soul and he isn't making AFO's life a living hell every day to make him pay for it. I refuse to believe that Izuku wouldn't be ten times pettier than Ciel because, you know, Ciel wants to find out who killed his parents and gets revenge while Izuku is only still here on earth in order to make All for One suffer.

Because, if Izuku had sold his soul to All Might, it would be okay, why not, All Might deserves some nice yummy soul, and Izuku would probably feel sorry that his soul isn't more nutritious because All Might works hard. But Loser for One? That bitch? Oh, I know Izuku never meant to sell his soul and it's ON, he will make him regret ever making that pact.

On one hand, Izuku has excellent reputation because he keeps making good deeds (out of demonic powers) but on the other end, everyone knows that he hates his butler and laughs at his pain. Izuku throws his butler into whatever is the Victorian equivalent of a woodchipper, isn't arrested because it's obviously impossible since his butler was later seen in one piece, but everyone who knows him is nodding and going "Yes, surprised he didn't do that sooner, he really hates that guy."

Constant bullying, impossible requests that AFO is expected to fulfill in the next five minutes, constant psychological torment, all the malevolence a teenage mind filled with unholy sadism when it comes to one (1) being. If AFO isn't spending his nights studying demon law books in order to find a way of how to break the contract, Izuku considers he isn't doing his job right.

I want legit demons to look at AFO and Izuku and for them to have no idea who the demon is between the two. I want Ujiko to try to snap the neck of the awful child not respecting his lord only for Izuku to beat him to death with his cane. I want half of the shinigamis to be terrified at the idea of eventually being the ones to reap Izuku's soul and the other eating popcorn while this funky little feral child is running around with a gun and using his own demon as target practice.

As for the headcanons, sorry, I am not inspired, but I will try:

1.A - The servants are all demons: Lady Nagant, Tomura and Machia, because Izuku is so unhinged that the human servants kept running for the hills. They all made deals with AFO and some source of humor is the fact that they don't know what's considered as normal for human beings so they frequently bicker over who is the better at passing for human. (They all suck.)

1.B - Alternatively, the servants are all humans (Midnight, Aizawa and Mic) and they keep cooing over Izuku's antics and keep claiming to AFO's face that their young master is only acting out because he loves the butler and wants his attention.

2 - Izuku was (is?) engaged to Shouto but it's up in the air after his return to the Midoriya manor because back when Enji agreed to give his youngest, he thought that Touya would be his heir and the Midoriya family was extremely powerful. He was less keen to give out his most promising child to a family who has now a bit of a reputation when it comes to bad luck. Also, Shouto doesn't want to be engaged. Period.

3 - Izuku is terrible at using swords but really good at using knives (his loving butler helped him train, for his mere presence provided a lovely target practice.) If there is a circus arc, Izuku doesn't need anyone to qualify as a knife thrower.

4 - That's a "Chisaki is a good parent to Eri" AU as he probably replaces Lau as Izuku's connection to the criminal world. Also, cool tattoos. Because I was deprived of cool tattoos during the arc that introduced yakuza.

5 - Izuku's contract involves "getting as much vengeance as he craves" and alas for All for One, his thirst for vengeance is unquenchable. Izuku can hold a grudge against anything, but mainly AFO.

[bapydemonprincess]

Fireworks

Lau knew his Master Chef very well. He knew his Former American Soldier very well. He knew his Bardroy.

The man wore most of his true emotions on his sleeve and when something delighted or displeased him he made sure everyone knew.

(Sometimes when they really didn't need to..)

And Lau was very confident in his very good idea that the Phantomhive Chef, Ex Soldier, and American would love seeing a real firework show.

With the kind of beautiful creations directly from Lau's home.

And maybe, seeing as it was a warm Summer evening, they go stay outside under the stars and fireworks and eat some of Lau's favorite home recipes!

So, the Opium den closed early and Lau and his dear sister headed off.

Confidence and good tidings radiating from their entire entorage as they headed out of London and to the Phantomhive Manor out in the countryside.

"Ah, fireworks," the butler repeated the Rising Dragon's explanation as he greeted him at the front door.

"And quite a few of them, you see, Mister Butler! To last as long as a lovely evening outdoor dinner party!"

"Hmm? And I imagine you've brought your own dishes for this dinner party as well?"

"Here they are, all made today before coming by me!"

Lau felt like congratulating himself on putting out such a perfectly docile demeanor this evening in front of the scary, cold stuff upper lip Mister Butler.

After another few agonizing seconds of said Head Servant standing there, practically barricading the entrance as he contemplated this new predicament, finally a softer, higher voice broke the stand-off.

"'Oos that Sebastian? O-Oh! Mister Lau and Ran Mao!!"

Met Rin squeezed her tiny self between the doorway and the suddenly for some reason floundering Mister Butler, smiling as bright to the guests as a full new moon.

"What brings you lot here? Young master 'asnt had need of yer services for a spell, from what I recall, no he hasn't!"

"Well let's just say this attempted visit was for pleasure, Miss Maid! And, if I may, it is so nice to see you again. I'm sure Ran Mao and you have a lot of catching up to do!"

"Ooh, yes that sounds lovely, it does!! Oh, we could even have dinner together, we could, since it's 'round the time us servants eat an' all, right Sebastian??"

Another second passed, Mister Butler now looking less and less intimidating under the big, brown pretty awaiting gaze of Miss Maid.

He finally sighed.

"....Yes, I suppose so, considering Mister Lau appears to have brought special home made dishes to share, as well as some.. fireworks to show."

"..Fireworks??"

"All directly brought over from China!" Lau confirmed.

The maid's eyes seemed to grow bigger by the second, as well as her smile seeming to take up the entirety of her lower face.

"Well, let's see if we can carefully get the fireworks out into the back yarded area, I suppose," Mister Butler sighed once again, as if this would actually be a hard task for him.

And halfway getting around the manor with the wagon of fireworks, soon the Gardener Boy joined the group, and then the Snake Boy too.

Soon all the bunch were chattering with delight of the idea of an evening of dining outside and seeing fireworks!

All.. except...

"Beg pardon, Mister Butler, Miss Maid and er you other two.." Lau spoke up as they were all finally out behind the large estate and Mister Butler was taking the fireworks out of the wagon, "where is Master Chef? You would think he'd be just as all over this idea as the rest of you, right??"

Mister Butler paused while setting another firework down.

Miss Maid froze up as she was busy deciding which yummy looking Chinese dish to try first from the basket Ran Mao showed her.

The Gardener and Snake Boys seemed suddenly ready to run back inside where they'd come from.

"I do believe Bardroy will likely not be joining us for this little event, Mister Lau,"

"....O-Oh?" The Rising Dragon certainly felt like he was going to rapidly fall.. if this went in the direction he was already suspecting it would.

"Erm, 'e... 'e probably wouldn't like the fireworks, Mister Lau.. Uh, I mean, well.. the sounds of 'em, I mean... No he wouldn't."

Lau tried to laugh in the face of this information, if a bit forcefully.

"That's quite a silly assumption, given that the man's dealt with explosions far greater than this many times, has he not??"

"Perhaps so, but I believe the rapid, loud bursts and booms of a firework display would still unnerve him after so many long years of similar situations... if deadlier."

"And um, the recent times 'es been able to deal with it, I think it was more controlled, and he set the explosions off 'imself, he did, and um, it wasn't somethin' happenin' overhead like a firework would be, no it wasn't!"

The two head servants and their explanations.. annoyingly made sense, and Lau found his frustration rising over reason in this situation.

"Well, there's only one way to see for ourselves if this is all true, yes? I'm sure it'll be no trouble to see if he'll try coming out and enjoying the show. So, let's go ahead and start! And I'll slip on in and find Master Chef!"

Mister Butler and Miss Maid were sharing looks with each other as Lau marched off right away to head inside and hunt down his actual intended audience.

Just inside Master Chef sat, at a kitchen chair, feet up on the table and crossed half-hazardly, while his bare arms were crossed over his chest and he puffed away at a smoke.

Likely wondering where dinner was.

Where everyone was.

"Good evening, Master Chef," Lau chirped.

And felt his spirit soar once again when the man nearly collapsed out of his seat.

"Uh- Wha- What the 'ell are you doin' 'ere Lau??"

Lau chuckled.

"Looking for you to be specific. You're missing out on a big show that's about to start right outside, you know!"

"A big show?" The chef repeated, utterly confused, "What kinda show are ya talkin' bou-"

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

The first fireworks went off perfectly, and even if just at the corner of his vision, Lau could tell they were a bright, beautiful sight to behold out there as they lit up the Phantomhive Grounds sky.

But, as Lau proudly absorbed the expected "OOOOs!" and "AAAAHs" of the others getting front row seats out there, what he didn't expect to also hear underneath was a clacking, clacking, clackety noise and rapid panting breaths.

And Master Chef was no long even remotely near his aforementioned seat, but now even further away, near the other exit into the rest of the manor, pressing himself up against the wall, practically.

The clacking being his handgun he'd snapped out and held up close to himself.

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

Went another set, and this time Lau didn't bother listening or seeing any of it, as he busied himself watching Master Chef flinch at every one, and sink slowly down while still against that wall.

His face the face of a man absolutely haunted.

"M-Master Chef I-" Lau started, lifting his arms and hands.

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

Bardroy shut his eyes at this point, still flinching.

Lau's arms and hands curled back, uncertainty riddling him over what to do....

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

Until he decided to risk it.

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

Diving towards the curled up man.

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

And setting before him.

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

Ignoring as this seemed to make him jolt too, and the gun in his head started to point out close to Lau's chest.

BOOM

BAM

CRASH

BANG!

Bard's mouth opened and a primal yell of fear escaped him, his eyes popping open again.

BOOM

But this time all he saw instead of bright flashes out the kitchen window was..

BAM

Was...

CRASH

...Lau.

BANG!

His hands covered up Bardroy's ears firmly.

And he pressed his own face very very close.

He spoke low even if he doubted the man could hear him.

"Duìbuqǐ" He whispered, more than once it seemed.

Over and over, and even when the other man was shaking no longer.

And it seemed the.. fireworks had finished.

"...H-Huh??"

The chef hissed out, blinking.

He finally seemed to notice Lau pressing his face close and covering his ears.

"Uh... I couldn't 'ere ya when you do that.."

Lau smiled.

Laughed.

Let out a deep breath of relief.

And kissed his Master Chef on the lips.

This seemed to melt the man before him even more, his hands with the gun lowering entirely.

And yet Lau had never been concerned where that had been pointed.

He pulled back, only to push back in for one, two, three more smaller kisses.

"I was trying to explain the arrangement of an evening out with Home Made Chinese Dining and entertainment on display..."

Lau leaned back further and smiled sheepishly.

"However, I think we just missed the entertainment."

"O-oh..."

Was all Bardroy could get out, blinking again.

But looking up into Lau's face hopefully with his big clear blue eyes.

"But is the dinin' is still available? I uh, don't mind that stuff one bit, y'know.."

Lau grinned this time.

"I know you don't, and I'm glad for that at least. Let's see then, if there's anything still left, eh?"

And this finally got Master Chef to follow him, with no issue, outside and join the others.

After Note: From what I've looked up to the best of my ability 对不起 (duì bù qǐ) is meant to be a very deep apology for messing up! And I imagine someone like Lau rarely ever says it! Unless they REALLY mean it 😉

[abybweisse]

Ch211, Spoilers part 3

When will we ever find out if the kids can flood the facility, destroy it in some other way, or even save anymore of the children? Not this month, and probably not for several months to come.

Because we get a cliffhanger, just like at the end of Baldo and Lau's mission. 😭

We return to Lau's Opium den, where their clothes have been repaired and cleaned, so Seb is removing the Chinese outfit he'd borrowed and putting on his usual butler's uniform. Sorry, but there's no fan service for the Seb simps, unless you are into what's not shown... or gloved hands.

Ran-Mao and other ladies from the establishment show up with several boxes of clothes and at least one box with a hat, maybe two. One hat is from Lock & Co. Hatters, on St. James Street, in London. The rest comes from Hopkins, so that means Nina's still helping them.

They need fresh clothes for their upcoming mission to the resort hotel in Brighton. Sebastian goes to his young master's room to get him ready for travel. Our earl asks something about the clothes from Nina. Or about Nina herself.

I don't know what all they say, but Sebastian does point out that the kid's current outfit reeks of opium (which would never do for where they are headed).

So, time to change clothes. I think we've seen scenes like this a few times throughout the series. It's very methodical and almost ritualistic. In a way, for demon and master, it is a sort of ritual, though.

Are his short pants slightly longer now? 🤔

And off they go.

So! It looks like we are going to Brighton next month, after all.

I was right we'd get the kids struggling to reach the river. Anyone who guessed we'd cut to our earl and Sebastian starting their mission was also right.

A whole new scenery next month.

But when will we ever get back to Finny... or Baldo?

[almost-peterparker]

Possible

Chapter 5

    Word Count: 2389 //TW// abuse, strong language, violence, gore, etc. Also, the plot is going to be based on the manga!

A/N : I just want to point out that I love Grell, whom of which is in this chapter I WILL be referring to Grell with male pronouns strictly because the characters in the anime do the same. I apologize if this offends, I am simply trying to stick as close to the anime/manga as I can. 

    You were in a carriage on the way to Ciel's townhouse in London after receiving a letter. Ciel had wanted you to accompany him on this case due to the nature of it. You told him you would only go if Mara could come along. You refused to be in another situation where you had no idea what the fuck was going on because you were too careless to pay attention to the anime. But, in your defense, this would never happen to any other people, so you thought your neglect was fine.

        You forgot that Mara and Ciel hadn't exactly had a lot of one-on-one time. Now, the entire ride all you've heard is her questioning the young Earl about anything and everything, probably driving him mad. He wasn't showing it much, though.  After a few more minutes, the carriage came to a halt. You faintly heard Ciel mutter, "Finally," under his breath. After Sebastian opened the door, he said, "Young Master, it's been a while since you last went out, hasn't it?" After speaking, Sebastian assisted Ciel out of the carriage, Ciel began to complain. "I couldn't care less who sent that letter, I hate being in crowded places."

        "You're telling me." You mutter, hopping out of the carriage before Sebastian could even offer you his hand. "Crowded places are not it man." You watch as Mara pops her head from the carriage. As she sees the townhouse, she squeals quietly.  She takes Sebastians hand and is immediately by your side, "It looks so much better than I thought it would!" She whisper-yells. You roll your eyes lightly, "Mara you've even said that about the bathroom since we arrived." You shake your head slightly.

        Ciel had already begun to walk inside with Sebastian, not wanting to wait for the two of you. Unfortunately for her, your cell phone had died a long while ago, otherwise, you knew she'd be attempting to take pictures. The two of you began to follow the Earl. Mara had informed you before your trip to London that Grell would be here. You couldn't remember many of the characters from the show other than the main few. You knew he was a reaper though so you had already decided that you would keep your distance from him for a bit. Mara had also been stressed slightly because she knew the 'Jack the Ripper' case was quickly approaching.

          Thankfully Ciel hadn't questioned the two of you on your knowledge of this universe, only what you knew of him and his butler. As you walk inside you hear Sebastian make a comment to his master about how much more peaceful it would be without the other servants. You then see that he's spoken too soon because the place is ruined. Madam Reed and Lau had torn apart the townhouse looking for tea leaves. "Madam red?! Lau?! Why are you here?" Ciel exclaimed as you sighed. Mara nudges you, telling you to be polite. Ciel then tells Sebastian to go prepare tea.

        "Since my cute little nephew is in London, how could I not come visit while you were here?" Madam Red responds, she then glances back to see the two of you, "Oh? Ciel you never told me you hired new staff!" She says with a smile before approaching the two of you.  "Hello, I'm Madam Red!"

        Ciel sighs, "Yes, meet my...bodyguard, (Y/n), and my assistant chef, Mara."

        You were horrid at introductions, so you awkwardly greeted her, responding with your name. Mara, however, greeted the woman as enthusiastically as she could. Madam Red turned to Ciel, "I like this one!" she says with a grin. The trio then walks into the other room, leaving you Mara, and, oh lovely, Grell. Mara approaches him and begins to make small talk; he stutters out some responses.  You stand awkwardly, unsure of what to do. You jump at Sebastian's voice, "(Y/n), would you like to help me serve the master and his guests?" he offers as he proceeds to walk past you with a tea cart. You shrug, "Why not, better than making small talk here I guess." You follow him into the other room, the nobles are seated and speaking to one another. You let Sebastian do the speaking since, well, he's clearly more well-versed than you are. After a moment you see Grell and Mara following suit, Grell taking his place behind Madam Red and Mara behind Ciel.

        Sebastian proceeds to tell them what kind of tea is being served then he motions for you to serve it. You managed to successfully pour the tea without causing any casualties. Afterward, Madam Red made a comment on Sebastian's tea-making. "Grell, you should follow his example." She says whilst side-eyeing the man. You couldn't quite remember if Grell was a reaper or not, you'd have to ask Mara later, you couldn't do it here because of the supernatural creatures in the room which had amazing ears. You decide to shuffle over next to Mara so you can be out of everyone's way.

        You lean over to whisper to her, "Hey this is the Jack the Ripper shit, right?"

        Mara nods before whispering back, "Did they ever find out who it was, ya know, in our dimension?"

        You shrug, "I think it was some barber guy named Aaron Kosminski. I can't remember when they announced that, though."

        "Anyways," Madam Red starts before literally caressing Sebastian's ass, "Every time I see you, you're still so handsome! Why don't you simply quit working here and come serve me!" This causes you to almost lose composure and burst out laughing. You mask it with a cough, looking up to make eye contact with the butler who looks less than amused though, he plays it off politely and steps away from her and standing to your right.

        "I've heard about the case of prostitutes being murdered on the streets lately." Ciel starts. "This isn't an ordinary case; the deaths are very abnormal. That's why the queen is concerned." Ciel says before reaching down to take a bite of the cake Sebastian had served along with the tea.

        Sebastian took over speaking, "The murdered prostitute was named Mary Ann Nichols. The wounds looked as if they were done using a sharp tool allowing for a painful death." Ciel looks up from his cake before saying, "The police and other prostitutes call the murderer 'Jack the Ripper'."

        "There it is," you mumble. You tune out the rest of their conversation as you again speak to Mara. "Hey, does this mean we're about to meet that one funny funeral guy?" You ask, causing Mara to beam. She nods enthusiastically, "Yep!" 

        "I actually really like that guy, what was his name again?" You ask, wishing you'd paid attention the many times Mara had played the anime around you. You saw Sebastian's brow twitch out of the corner of your eye causing you to turn to him. "What?" "His name is the Undertaker; please do not tell me you are fond of him as you say." He says with an almost judgmental look on his face. This causes you to shrug, "The guy is goofy, I just think he's funny." You pause and grin, "What? Are you jealous or something?" You snicker causing the butler to roll his eyes. "I assure you that I am nowhere near jealous of that man." He shakes his head slightly as he speaks. That was when Ciel ordered Sebastian to go get the carriage. Ciel, Mara and you piled in, followed by Madam Red, Lau, and Sebastian, leaving Grell to drive. You were wedged between Mara and Sebastian throughout the ride. Mara was talking to you excitedly as your group made its way to The Undertakers shop.

        Once arriving you exit the carriage as Madam Red immediately speaks, "Why are you familiar with this kind of place?!" Sebastian takes it upon himself to respond, "Because the person the Young Master knows works as an undertaker." You realized that you'd missed the part of the conversation where Ciel was speaking about someone who could help.

        Sebastian holds open the door allowing for you all to file in. "Are you there, Undertaker?" Ciel asks into the dimly lit room. This causes laughter to immediately follow. You glance over to see Mara buzzing with excitement.

        "I knew that you'd come, welcome Earl." You hear you glance to your left as you see a coffin open, revealing none other than the silver-haired man. "Do you want to see how it feels to sleep in one of my custom-made coffins?"|He pauses before glancing over towards Mara and yourself, "How about either of you?" Ciel rolls his eyes, at least you think that's what happened. "I'm not here to play Undertaker." This causes the Undertaker to chuckle, "I know why you came. Since the earl went out of his way to visit me, I'll certainly do everything I can to help." He speaks, the smile never leaving his face. "Please, take a seat first, I'll make tea," he says as he shuffles out of the room.

        Mara is bouncing next to you, "I can't believe we just saw him in person, (Y/n)!" She says as she grabs your arm. "Yeah, he's a tad creepy, but you know what, I'll take this over some of the actual creeps I've met in my life." You say shrugging. Ciel sits on a coffin silently and waits for the Undertaker's return. He glances over to the two of you and you can see slight judgment over Mara's excitement. Undertaker returns, "Now then, you wanted to know about Jack the Ripper? Everyone has been scared because of this disturbance but this isn't the first time I've handled this kind of thing."

        You furrow your brows, "This isn't the first time? Were the last victims prostitutes as well?" Undertaker nods while eating one of his biscuits, "In fact, the way they were killed was similar too." He pauses, "The murdered prostitutes did have something in common."

        "What is it? " Ciel questions with furrowed brows. "What is it indeed." The Undertake responds with his usual grin. This causes Lau to hum to himself off to the side, "I see, that's how it is. You're very good at doing business Undertaker, how much money do you want for this information?" Almost immediately, Undertaker is in Lau's face, "Money? I don't want any of the Queen's money!" He then turns to Ciel, "Now then Earl," he approaches him, "I only require one thing. Show me a first-rate laugh! I'll tell you anything if I get it." Lau cleared his throat, "Let me handle this." You already knew the next two jokes would be horrible. That being said, while the other two were trying to make the undertaker laugh, you nudged Ciel. He looks up at you, "If you think you can succeed, be my guest." He responds, obviously not caring.

        You walk up to the undertaker and motion for him to lean down, you whisper into his ear. You back away and not even two seconds later the man is cackling. You turn around and make eye contact with Sebastian who has a questioning look on his face. You shrug and return to your place next to Mara. "Dude, what did you say to him?" She asks. You side-eye her, "I literally just told him a dick joke. Men always find those to be funny." You hear Sebastian scoff beside you causing you to glance over. "What, you're different?" You ask him. "Of course I'm different, jokes of that sort are for the dull-minded." He responds. You laugh, "I guess everyone in our period is dull-minded then, well at least you have something to look forward to." This causes the demon to shake his head. Before he can speak, the undertaker begins, "The corpses were missing organs. That prostitute isn't a whole woman anymore. Because her womb is gone." Everyone, aside from Mara, Sebastian, and yourself, of course, seemed to be disturbed.

        "Let's just say there aren't many people out on the streets at night. But, accurately cutting out specific organs couldn't be a normal person, correct?"  Sebastian asks. The undertaker then goes on to explain how the murderer is killing his victims. "It seems that the murderer is an expert. He will keep committing crimes, he definitely will. Unless someone stops him, of course. Can you stop him? Notorious Earl of Phantomhive." The undertaker finishes. "There must be an influence manipulating him from behind," Ciel mutters to himself before walking out. 

        As all of you pile back into the carriage, you glance over towards Sebastian. "So, what do you think about it? Do you have any ideas yet?" You ask. Sebastian places his hand on his chin, "The murderer would have to be an anatomical expert, but also know where the police are when they commit the crime." "Where do we start? There are so many people gathered at the capital right now. Many doctors, head physicians, and medical schools could be the culprits!" Madam Red exclaims. "Then we shall wait until 'the season' is over with to investigate. As we cannot investigate clearly during 'the season.'"

        Ciel then orders Sebastian to go compile a list of suspects. Madam Red's Jaw drops as Sebastian opens the door.  "Please excuse me if I leave now." He says just before effortlessly hopping from the carriage. You sigh, already remembering who the murderer or murderers are. "This is going to be an annoying investigation." You mutter to yourself as the carriage continues its return to the townhouse.