Holy ice cream and bananas, this took way longer than I wanted, and I am still not proud of it. Ugh...but I didn't want to keep you all waiting because I am a slow and lazy pancake...

Please enjoy it, and let me know what I did wrong and/or right! I own nothing except Thalia and maybe a few other things! I would like to thank SnowSongX347, Anime Expert of Cute, Aquamarine6996, Elicorn, Cocobobo10, Draconian Master, HiddenOne15 and RandomFandoms14 for sending in questions! If I missed you out then I'm really sorry!

The Making of Kuroshitsuji: Black and Red

Thalia squealed as she was wrangled around until she was tangled up in the blanket and unable to move. "Sebastian!" She twisted left to right, trying to hide her face, until he leaned down and covered her mouth with his own.

Breathy sounds escaped her as she tried to pull away, but he was persistent. His tongue slid into her mouth and curled. He made a sound, a low growl of pleasure, and then he was sucking her tongue, and then her bottom lip. She couldn't do anything to stop him, even when he began sliding his hands over the front of the blanket. She could feel the muffled pressure of his hands against her chest and...

"Cut, CUT!" Lights flash and brightened to reveal a studio and cameras set up at every corner. Men and women bustle about, tweaking and arranging the settings of various screens and lights. The director, a tall, blond haired male with green eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales. "Mr Michaelis," he stresses the syllables of the name. "I'm very sure that wasn't part of the script."

The actor sits up and smiles innocently. He runs a teasing hand over the stomach of female in his arms. "Think of it as artistic licence," he says, ignoring her disgruntled yelp and the way she squirms to get away.

The blond groans and whirls around. "That's it! Someone call the script editor, we're removing this scene! Clearly someone can't be trusted to keep their hands to themselves!" He storms off, calling out instructions to the technicians, effectively giving the two a quick break before they have to start again.

Thalia wriggles a bit, and then groans. "Can you untangle me now?" She asks, her voice filled with exasperation.

"Must I?" Sebastian wraps his arms around her body and pulls her closer to him. "I think I enjoy having you completely defenceless like this..."

Thalia, what were your thoughts upon meeting Ciel and Sebastian for the first time? From my understanding, they were the first members of the cast that you met.

The actress stops glaring at Sebastian for a moment to reply. "Intense," she says with little preamble, somehow managing to free one of her arms from the fabric with a muttered curse. "Oh my god, it was intense because Ciel is not a normal child, you know? I took one look at this kid and one part of me went holy shit, he's so cute let me hug him. And another part went, oh my god please let him like me please," she giggles and shakes her head.

And Sebastian?

Here she flushes and averts her gaze to the ground. "Uh..." she shrugs and forces herself to sound completely nonchalant. "I thought he was a good actor. A really good actor. Very charming and all that."

"She spent the whole meeting shooting glances at me," Sebastian interjects, smirking when she begins to splutter her denial. "It was rather cute, even when she tried to ignore me," he nuzzles the side of her head and she squeaks and tries to push him away.

Someone yells something, and manages to distract him long enough for Thalia to free her other arm and keep him at bay. "I did not spend the whole meeting looking at you!" She pouts. "That's not what happened!"

Thank you for that, Mr. Michaelis

Wait, what? Don't put that in!"


oOo


Shooting scenes takes time and dedication from both the actors and the crew. Each episode can take days to film, and a single scene can take hours before it is considered satisfactory by both. However, some scenes can have a highly emotional impact on the actors, as Thalia admits over her interview.

Thalia, what was your favourite adventure with the Phantomhives so far?

"To be honest? I liked the Circus arc," she confesses while being prepped for the next scene. "I mean, it was an incredibly emotional part, and I do remember having to stop a few times because I started crying and shaking for real and I couldn't stop."

Ciel sighs as she scrunches up her nose when a powder-puff gets too close to her eyes. "The first few tries, she just kept blubbering. She even started tearing up for real during the final take. At least it made the whole thing look a bit more realistic."

"How else was I supposed to respond?!" She rolls her eyes. "Besides, I liked the circus girl outfit, and the whole knife thing. You know Dagger is actually a professional knife thrower? They brought him in to teach me the basics!"

Not the Murder Arc? Your character did seem incredibly invested during that part.

"She cried even harder during that scene," Ciel comments dryly before she can. Thalia sucks in her cheeks so the makeup artist can finish applying the last of the powder, and pouts at him.

"Well of course I did!" She rolls her eyes. "He was pretending to be dead! And the makeup crew did a really good job with the fake blood and everything."

Sebastian smirks from the other room where he is going over a script. "Ah yes, that part was incredibly emotional for her. While the team was experimenting we didn't tell her about it at first, so you can imagine her reaction when she came into the studio and found me in the state I was in."

Your character would not have behaved that way earlier in the series would she? Am I correct in assuming that she used to find Sebastian creepy?

"Well, yes, of course she did," the actress nods. "Him being good looking has little to do with anything, he did follow me into a darkened corner and lick my fingers," her face goes pink, but that could just be the lighting and the newly applied blush. "Besides, he likes watching me sleep. It's all sorts of weird."

So how long did it take for you to figure out that Father Jeremy was Sebastian?

"There's really no concrete time for that?" The words come out sounding like a question. "I think I always just knew? Deep down, I suspected, but I was still torn up about Sebastian's supposed death," she makes air quotes with her fingers. "That I couldn't really focus on anything beyond the pain and anger.

"I guess the most accurate answer would probably be when he came to the kitchen to help us cook. It's set in Victorian England, no ordinary upper-class person would stoop down to help a bunch of servants cook."

At that moment, her phone begins to ring and she fishes it out of her bag to take the call. At the same time, the scene changes to the garage where a crimson red Ferrari has just entered. The roar of the engine dulls to a quiet purr, and then cuts off abruptly.

The doors open up, and two iconic figures step out, both dressed in shades of red and donning black sunglasses. The first is Angelina Dalles, more commonly referred to as Madame Red. She is wearing a scarlet skirt-suit with a white collar, and high black heels. Her phone is in hand, and she appears to be conversing with someone.

The other, Grell Sutcliffe, has donned a matching red coat, black trousers and red boots. Both are wearing sunglasses, but over the bottom half of his face he is wearing a white mask. "No cameras please," he mutters. "Ugh, no cameras! I said no cameras!" The screen dissolves into static, only thing being transmitted is the sound of a chainsaw revving up.

Upstairs Thalia is still on the phone. "Yeah? Uh huh...so you've arrived? The chainsaw? ...Well they shouldn't have tried to take pictures of him without his makeup...okay, I'll be down soon."

While Madame Red no longer features in the series, her actress is one of the people in charge of makeup. The camera pans in on her and Thalia embracing upon her entrance into the room. She pulls back to study the younger woman's face, and say something critical about the colouring used for Thalia's cheeks.

So we know that Thalia never got to meet her birth mother, and Madame Red was never aware that she ever had a child, let alone a daughter like she wanted. What are your thoughts and feelings about this?

"Well..." she hums thoughtfully. "I'm finding it hard to explain my thoughts on the matter. She'd feel shocked, angry, horrified, and sad. Everything she'd done was because she was alone, and she wouldn't have been alone and unloved if what had happened hadn't happened."

Thalia nods in agreement. "People do terrible things in the name of love, and because they're lonely," she remarked. "And then to find out that all of that could have been avoided..."

"It's a completely tragic list of events," Angelina sighs, running a hand through Thalia's hair.

"But, at the same time, Thalia wouldn't have been the person she is now if none of those things had happened. I'm not saying they were good things because, obviously they're not, but some things are necessary in the formation of a person's character," the actress worries her bottom lip between her teeth, and quickly stops when Angelina shoots her a reproachful glare.

"If Thalia had been raised by Madame Red, chances are she would have grown up to be like Elizabeth; completely happy to do nothing but act cute and helpless in the hope that she would attract a man," Thalia decides. "At least Lizzy had the mother she had, who taught her to defend herself and be strong. Thalia might not have had that."

Madame Red smiles a self-depreciating smile. "I don't want to admit it, but that's probably true. On another note young lady, how long do you plan to keep your hair like this? This colouring gets on my nerves."

Yes, that brings me to another question. Thalia, one of our viewers would like to know how long it took to dye your hair that colour?

She considers this for a moment. "Well, this colour isn't permanent per se," she hums. "It takes about four hours to do, so we get it done this a day before the shoot, which means a lot of sitting still, and then going to bed with this protective haircap so the colour doesn't rub off. I use both hair dye, and hair-colour spray. Since my hair is really dark, like my mother's, it takes almost a whole can before you can't see any more of the colour."

You didn't consider bleaching it?

The actress states that she did, in fact, consider bleaching out the red first, but then decided against it. "But the whole act of bleaching seems really permanent, and even if I dyed it back to red later on, it wouldn't be the same," she leans over and presses her face into Madame Red's shoulder with a grin. "Besides, my mother wasn't too keen on the idea..."

"Of course I wasn't. Red hair isn't common," Angelina states. "Especially red hair this defined. It's important to treasure it. Oh, that reminds me," she looks around. "I should find Grell and do his makeup, otherwise he'll be insufferable for the rest of today."

Oh, we have a question for Grell. One of our viewers would like to know if you got your real teeth sharpened, or are you wearing some sort of dentures?

The redhead looks up from where mascara is being applied to his lashes and grins, showing a flash of sharp, shark-like teeth. "Sharpened of course!"He preens, although he can't move much or he'll ruin his makeup. "They add glamour and a hint of danger~."


oOo


Of course, our interview must have a few words from Thalia's love interest, Sebastian Michaelis. The actor is well known for his attractive appearance, charming persona, and wicked sense of humour. His gentlemanly persona has earned him a large number of fans from around the world.

At the moment, he is currently discussing something regarding one of the scenes with the director, and Ciel, but he agrees to answer a few questions before they begin practicing for the next scene.

Mr. Michaelis, what were your thoughts on Thalia's actor, and her part in the story when you first met her? Have they changed?

"Well, I did not think she would be of much use at first," he confesses. "Bringing a new character onstage just seemed rather pointless," he smirks suddenly. "I will admit, I was a bit more interested when I met her, but that was for...the wrong reasons..."

"However, her character has brought her fair share of dark humour to the story," he inclines his head thoughtfully. "She's rather interesting; a good example of being torn between morality, and doing what you must to survive. Good and evil, if you must."

So she's sort of like a middle-man? Or woman, in this case.

Ciel shakes his head. "Yes and no," he says. "I think her character answers a lot of questions a lot of viewers might have. Living in Victorian England, being poor with no one to protect you but yourself, how far would you be willing to go to survive? What would you do to keep yourself and those you love safe? If someone you love does something wrong, would you still follow them? That kind of thing."

The younger male is called away to discuss some blocking with the mentioned actress. Sebastian watches the two converse from his spot. "My character is attracted to her at first solely because of her appearance, but then he discovers that she has his Mark, which makes her even more interesting. Of course, we have mentioned that simply bearing a demon's mark isn't necessarily binding.

Then, in spite of the darkness surrounding her, there's still this bit of light in her soul in. Thatlia is ridiculously caring, but also dangerous. She's loyal, and gentle, and has made it clear that she would defy any authority for those she happens to love.

"She brings a new dimension to the show," he states, the corners of his lips rising into a smile. "And I am very eager to see how it plays out."

One of our questions from a viewer wishes to know this: if you could make Thalia do any one thing for you what would it be?

The actor looks away from the two and frowns. "Any one thing?" He seems to be deep in thought, and his eyes widen slowly as he considers the endless possibilities while gazing at some unseen thing in the distance. His pupils begin to dilate, and his eyes become glazed and might as well be glowing.

Sebastian? Mr. Michaelis, are you alright? I don't think he can even hear us. Why did we ask this question?

After about twenty seconds, he blinks and smiles benignly at the interviewer. "My apologies," he says smoothly. "I was simply overwhelmed for a moment. As for your question, I do believe I would love to see in a French maid dress, with cat ears and a tail. Maybe with a collar...one with a bell...the maid costume is optional though..." his eyes glaze over again.

Uh...we can't really put that on TV but...oh, here's another one: would your reaction would be the same if she was forced to act like a dog for a day? This would also include dog ears and a tail.

He pauses, seemingly torn between being aroused because Thalia, and being disgusted because dog. "That is quite a dilemma...couldn't she be a cat instead? I'd much prefer that image."

So, you prefer cats over dog, much like your character. Has your character not considered transforming Thalia into a demon?

He leans back against the window pane. "Many times," he smirks, turning to watch the woman across the room once again. "But the time for that hasn't come yet. I can't tell you more about it though, because my contract states that I cannot reveal spoilers, and I am loathe to go against it."


oOo


Although the next episode is still in production, we were able to convince one the directors to let us catch a quick sneak peek at the unedited version.

Wait a minute, she scowled at the article. "He's alive?!" Thalia threw her arms up in exasperation. "Oh that is just fantastic. We could have killed him, gotten rid of him, we could have saved London from this pervert, but no," she drew out the words sarcastically. "Someone had to choose that very moment to grow a conscience."

She and Ciel turned to glare at Sebastian. The demon paused and stared back at us with an innocent smirk. "Well, it was a rather terrible maiden voyage wasn't it?" He placed the teacup down. "However, it seems life is returning back to normal."

"Normal, huh?" Ciel took a sip of his tea. "Now that you mention it, exactly what about that is normal to you?"

He was, of course, referring to the white rabbit ears Sebastian had donned. "How did I not notice that?" I wondered to myself, before remembering that I had been distracted by the pastries and meat. Speaking of which, those were going to be snacks for Pluto. No sense wasting perfectly good food. "Why are you wearing those?"

"Since today is Easter, we were all ordered by Lady Elizabeth to wear these," he shrugged helplessly.

Easter? I blinked at him, quietly contemplating the irony of his words, and also wondering if he was going to burst into flames or something similar. Nothing of the sort happened, thank goodness. "Indeed she's been noisy all morning," Ciel said thoughtfully.

"If you are finished with breakfast, I was instructed to take you to the second floor," Sebastian bowed. "Shall we go?"

The noise that had pervaded the entire manor earlier had suddenly disappeared, and I noticed a distinct lack of servants. Sebastian directed us to one of the parlour rooms on the second floor, and pushed open the door...

The camera is still rolling when a face appears in front of it. "And that's all you're allowed to see for now!" It belongs to one Elizabeth Midford, who grins and blocks the camera's screen. "Hi everyone! I'm Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford, but you can call me Lizzy! If you follow me, I'll take you on a behind the scenes tour of the set!"

The first stop on the tour is the break room. "Here we have an array of snacks for the hungry actors to snack on during breaks," she explains, and then she giggles when she notices Ciel. "It looks like we caught Ciel having a biscuit!" The camera zooms in on the boy's face when he finally notices their arrival and groans. "Aw, how cute~!"

The building is large, and there are a lot of rooms, so it would be impossible to do a complete tour. However, the lady seems determined to show the important areas.

As she directs the camera, she suddenly pauses and sniffs the air. "Do you smell that? Oh, it seems we're in for a real treat today!" Elizabeth gestures for him to follow her into a wide open room. "Soma and Agni have brought their homemade curry to share with the cast!"

The two actors playing Prince Soma and Agni are ladling out plates of rice and curry to the line of hungry actors. "Agni poured his heart and soul into making this curry," Soma smiles, dishing out more rice. "Can you taste the love, Lizzy?"

"Oh yes," she giggles, and then she notices something. "Thalia, how many plates have you had?"

The actress blinks and looks down at the bowl in her hands. "Well, considering that I can still move, clearly not enough. But no, this one's for Sebastian. I don't think he's eaten anything in a while..."

"Aw, that's so cute~!"

"Don't you have a tour to get back to or something?"

Next there are the gardens, where the actor playing Undertaker is eating orange marmite out of the jar with a spoon while Elizabeth looks on with a mixture of disgust and amusement. "I eat a jar every day. Sometimes even two, I simply can't help myself~."

"Last week it was vegetable juice, right?" She grimaces, and then directs the camera to another spot where Lau appears to be doing...something...we're not quite sure what. Upon asking, it seems he's performing a pantomime of sorts. "Brilliant," she remarks dryly, and then jumps when her phone begins to buzz. "Oh, do excuse me! Hello?...Yes, we're still on for that...you're sure he doesn't know anything? ...okay, I'll be there in a moment!" She taps the screen and beams at the cameraman. "Let's go!"

The image changes to Sebastian being led down the hallway by Thalia. She has her hands over his eyes which, given their difference in height, is a bit awkward for her, but she's giggling hard and even Sebastian looks amused so clearly this doesn't matter much. "Where are you taking me, Thalia?"

"Patience, we're almost there!" She leans against his back to urge him forward. "And no peeking!" She leads him to the door of a room, and then removes her hands while still instructing him to keep his eyes shut while she opens the door. "Okay...open!"

He does, and is immediately assaulted by a cloud of confetti and ribbons. "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEBASTIAN!"

The room isn't decorated, but a large chocolate cake is wheeled in decorated with chocolate roses, strawberries and candles. "The whole lot would have mutinied if I didn't let them have a celebration," the director shrugs. "Happy birthday, Sebastian."

"Yeah, happy birthday," Thalia leans up and kisses him on the cheek to the cheers of everyone else in the room.

"Well I..." The actor looks stunned for a moment, and then he smiles. "Thank you very much." The cake is cut, and Thalia takes charge in distributing it until Sebastian grabs her and insists on feeding her a slice.


oOo


Later, we resume the tour outside. "Mmm, that cake was delicious!" Elizabeth chirps. "Well, let's go on! Why don't we show off the lovely ladies of Black Butler?"

The first lady is the gorgeous Ran Mao, Lau's so-called little sister. She's quiet, but not exactly what you would call restrained or bashful. At that moment, she appears to be trying to divest Mey-Rin of her clothes so she can force her into something else, and the events that occur next need to be censored for viewing purposes.

"Mey-Rin is usually so shy and reserved, but look at her now!" The actress is dressed in a lovely pink sundress, underneath which wears a matching pink bikini with a frilly skirt. She smiles at the camera and waves until someone splashes her with water. "Oh my, it seems Thalia found the water hose!"

The white-haired actress is dressed in a white tank top and short black shorts, underneath which she is wearing a strapless black bikini. She squeals and drops the hose when Mey-Rin begins to run after her, and quickly runs away while laughing loudly. "Ooh, seems like things are getting fun! Shall we follow her?"

They find Thalia, but she's not alone. In a shocking turn of events, she and Sebastian are found together. He has one of her arms pinned above her head in a grip that seems as possessive as it is gentle, and his other hand is stroking the skin of her waist as he leans closer. There's no doubt they would have started kissing, had Thalia not noticed the appearance of the camera and Lizzy. "OH MY GOD! LIZZY!"


oOo


The couple agrees to another quick round of questions, after Lizzy apologises over and over again for interrupting them during their liaison.

I suppose this does answer a lot of questions. Many of our viewers were wondering what your honest thoughts and feelings about Sebastian were.

The actress coughs nervously, her fingers twisting together in the fabric of her shirt as she studiously avoids the eyes of both Sebastian – who is making no move to hide his obvious gaze – and the interviewer. "Um..." she tenses for a moment, and then hisses out a breath. "I guess you could say I...love him? I mean, isn't it kind of obvious by now?"

Why do you love Sebastian?

"...I don't want to answer this," she buries her face in Sebastian's chest, and then pulls away. "I mean, there really is no proper answer for this. Love is a really weird thing. He's charming, and he makes me laugh, he likes cats, is really protective, etcetera...I don't know, it's probably a combination of all these things and more..."

"She always acts so shy about this," the arm around her waist tightens a bit. "Our relationship isn't obvious, but we do care for each other, don't we darling?"

She turns and scowls up at him, even though her face is as red as the tips of her hair. "I am not being shy! Don't put words in my mouth!"

"I can put many other things in your mouth, my love, not just that..."

...um...alright...does your relationship affect your performances on set? And when is your character finally going to confess?

Thalia is still coughing and spluttering from that blatant innuendo, and quickly looks away from Sebastian. Her face is bright red, not that that's any surprise. "Um...I am not at liberty to reveal that. At any rate, that really depends on the writers."

"We both do our best to be professional when in front of the camera, but sometimes it is difficult," Sebastian slips his hand under the fabric of her shirt to caress the skin. "She can be quite distracting sometimes..." Thalia begins to protest and he smirks. "Unintentional or not, my darling, you are rather difficult to ignore."

Wow, so the two of you are together? Are there any other couples or rivals on set?

Thalia laughs. "Ciel and Lizzy have a bit of a crush on each other, Lizzy more than Ciel though..." she thinks for a moment. "I don't really get along with the stunt directors, Ash and Angela much, but I try not to let it affect my work. I don't know much about everyone else, but I know Sebastian doesn't like Pluto."

Pluto, or the actor that portrays Pluto in his human form. CGI is used to make him appear as a hound, but when he's not on set, he works with Drossel – the actor who played the part of the puppet during the Shard of Hope arc – creating music for the show. "Of course he doesn't like me," Pluto grins. "Thalia and I shoot a lot of scenes where I'm not exactly respectable, right? And she's a cutie."

"You're going to get in trouble with Sebastian if you keep saying lines like that," Drossel comments dryly.


oOo


We only have time for a few more questions before we wrap up this interview. The first one is for Ciel: what are your true thoughts and feelings on the idea of Thalia being your cousin?

"Well, I clearly do not dislike her," the boy shrugs noncommittally. "I suppose do care about her wellbeing. She is amusing to have around, and her loyalty and protectiveness can only be appreciated...she's an interesting character to have in the show."

Thalia coos and hugs him tightly while he yells at her to compose herself.

And what do you think about your loved ones trying to bring the 'old' Ciel back?

He pushes Thalia away and huffs. "It's an annoying and pointless endeavour," he replies crisply. "The 'old' Ciel is gone, and the only way they could ever hope to bring him back would be by erasing his history, and that's impossible. What they want can't ever happen, so they're just wishing pointlessly for something that can never be."

Ciel, why are you so cute?

The actor promptly flushes pink and stammers something before looking away from the camera with a grunt while Thalia and Lizzy laugh.

Thalia, when are the babies coming?

The actress promptly chokes on her laughter and trips, and the interview has to be stopped while Sebastian and Madame Red tend to her.


Well, there you have it viewers/readers! We hope you enjoyed this quick look into the inner working of this show, and we hope you continue to enjoy it!