THE BOOKISH ADVENTURE TAG: London (Kuroshitsuji)

Rules:

Imagine that you are an intrepid literary adventurer- braving the harsh bookish wilderness, traversing jungles of pages and slashing through vines of words. Where in the vast world of books would you go?

• Write about one place mentioned in a book you wish you could visit and why.
• List 3-5 things that you would do there.
• Mention which souvenirs, if any, you would bring back with you.
• Then tag some more literary explorers and please link back to the creator (Umairah @ Sereadipity) so I can see all of your adventures!

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MY DREAM BOOKISH DESTINATION:

Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) is a manga by Yana Toboso about a 13-year old orphaned earl, Ciel Phantomhive, head of an aristocratic family known as the Queen’s Guarddog. He formed a contract with a demon, Sebastian Michaelis, who became his butler, to seek revenge against those who murdered his family and tortured him. Together they solve crimes in the London underworld. In the course of their investigations, they meet other paranormal entities like the shinigami, the grim reapers, who review and collect souls. They are marked by their phosphorescent green eyes, eyeglasses and their deathscythes that took the form of various garden tools.

There are many permutations of London. It’s one of the most famous book settings. The Kuroshitsuji version is a favorite because I really enjoyed the manga and have cosplayed one of the shinigami, Ronald Knox, the left-most blond guy in the picture.

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THINGS I WOULD DO

1. Give Ciel a call at his London townhouse. Have tea and cakes. Bore him with social niceties.
2. Help with Ciel and Sebastian’s latest investigation. Witness Sebastian get his demon on.
3. Watch the Phantom Five show in the Funtom Music Hall. The Phantom Five is a music hall choir composed of Ciel’s former schoolmates and the Indian prince, Soma. Their shows are usually sold-out. I’d be lucky if I win a same-day ticket from the lottery.
4. Tag along with the shinigami going about their usual morbid business of harvesting souls. Participate in a soul review and watch a Cinematic Record, a movie reel of a person’s life. Earn the honor of being an honorary shinigami and have my own eyeglasses and deathscythe.
5. Drop by the funeral parlor. Interview the former shinigami/information broker, Undertaker about his sordid secrets in exchange for a joke (he’s more forthcoming with info after a good laugh). Write his biography under the guise of a Victorian gothic novel entitled The Hilarity Of Death

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SOUVENIRS

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Bringing home: Funtom merchandise from Ciel’s company, Funtom Corporation

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The Shinigami Dispatch Society are hard-working bureaucrats who strictly follow SOPs. Here’s a song to remind us of the rules they live by. Guess who loves to play fast and loose…

(Ronald) We are the Shinigami Dispatch Society.
(Will) We obey the rules!
(Will & Ronald) Who is breaking them?
(Grell) Who~♡

(Eric) We are exemplary shinigami.
(Alan) Always punctual!
(Eric & Alan) Who is late? Who~?

(all the shinigami) [Rule] No. 1!
(Will & Ronald) Shinigami must wear glasses.
(all the shinigami) No. 2!
(Eric & Alan) They must take care of their death scythe.
(all the shinigami) No. 3! Sundry expenses
must be settled at the end of the month.
No. 4! If you meet someone handsome
(Grell) then you can consider yourself remunerated♡

(all the shinigami) We keep watch on the scheduled deaths
and collect the souls.
We must never relax our guard
or the hungry demons
will snatch them away!

(all the shinigami) We are the Shinigami Dispatch Society.
We dance wildly
but
we are short of breath.
We live a really long life!
Who will be exposed? Who~?

(all the shinigami) No. 5! We work coldly
without even a smile.
No. 6! And when the fixed time comes
(Ronald) we stop working and go party!

(Will) An incident occurred.
(Ronald) Overtime tonight?
(Eric) The number of the dead and souls
doesn’t match! Damn!
(all the shinigami) Let’s start the investigation!

(all the shinigami) We are the Shinigami Dispatch Society.
We obey the rules!
It’s a must.
We are exemplary shinigami.
Always punctual!
Who is late? Who~?

(Will) You are slacking off.
(Alan) Your important glasses are tilted.
(Ronald) How about retiring?
(Eric) I bet everybody would be extremely happy.
(Grell) Love is… so painful… Ahnn♡

(all the shinigami) We keep watch on the scheduled deaths
and collect the souls.
We must never relax our guard
or the hungry demons
will snatch them away!

(all the shinigami) We are the Shinigami Dispatch Society.
We dance wildly
but
we are short of breath.
We live a really long life!
But that’s a secret.
We are the Shinigami Dispatch Society [DEATH★]!
We obey the rules!
It’s a must.
We are exemplary shinigami.
Always punctual!
Who is late? Who~?