Ciel Phantomhive (Kuroshitsuji)

[alittlemaster]

PLAYER INFO.
✖ Handle: Astral
✖ Contact: PM this journal | moetan
✖ Are You Over 16: Y - 25
✖ Other Characters Played in Consignment: N/A

CHARACTER INFO.
✖ Character Name: Phantomhive, Ciel
✖ Canon: The end of vol. 13, ch. 84; post Weston College arc.
✖ Character Appearance: with eyepatch | without eyepatch
✖ Character Age: 13-14
✖ Pick A Number: First choice: 214 | Alternate: 075

✖ Canon Setting:

Kuroshitsuji is set in Victorian England during the later half of the nineteenth century, and, as such, can be categorized as historical fiction, meaning many, many Victorian themes are an integral part of both Kuroshitsuji's setting and characterization.

The most important Victorian ideal, and one that defined the century the most, was that of duality. Exemplary Victorian lifestyle revolved around extreme personal and home privacy and straight-laced behavior; i.e. proper etiquette and strict dress, a high and well-rounded education, not allowing guests into your home unless under the pretense of a formal party or perhaps tea. This caused a great divide between intimate relationships and social ones, so how a person acted socially differed vastly from how a person acted in private. The Victorians held any respectable person, especially nobility, to a high moral standard, and they were highly taken with scrupulous façades.

Likewise, the Phantomhive manor (and Yana's English setting) follows this Victorian duality. Though only fourteen, which is young and naïve by contemporary standards, Ciel is the head of a household (an earl) and, thus, must preserve the immaculate Phantomhive name in the face of the public. (Like most Victorians, he takes this very seriously; otherwise, he risks being ostracized and besmirched.) On the outside, Ciel is a great actor, a very nondescript nobleman: remaining politely cordial, readily conforming to the societal norms of establishing business-like relationships by meeting or hosting others, participating in high society gatherings, entertaining his fiancée publicly, and making sure what is done in his name, or his company's name, keeps him in good standing. Conversely, on the inside, Ciel is a darker being molded by the tragedy of death and abduction: he's ruthless and arrogant, deriving pleasure from being able to accomplish his goals with the assistance of a demon; often times, he is childish in his rage or when he loses; sometimes devious; and always terribly cunning.

What Ciel does in the public eye is nothing like what he does behind closed doors; duality at its finest, a perfect Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

In other areas, Victorian sensibilities play a part in characterization: The servants all follow the same rigid guidelines, and how well they perform their duties falls back on their master's image. Ciel is betrothed early through social obligations to merge powerful houses, and his relationship with his fiancée is structured by these same social obligations, remaining chaste and proper. The division between upper-class and middle- and lower-class can be seen in both the Jack the Ripper arc and the circus arc, providing excellent contrast between Ciel's lifestyle and the lifestyles of those without title and wealth (prostitution, workhouses, etc.). These arcs are also a indication of the dualism of the century; what seemed to be a lusciously growing industrial empire on the outside was really a chaotic struggle to accommodate the expansion of factories and mills, terrible work hours, and terrible diseases.

In addition, the setting is also under the same constraints of the nineteenth century: the phones are not the phones of today, and while the nobility are able to acquire access to them, sending letters is still a preferred method. Horse-drawn carriages, passenger steam locomotives, and ships are modes of travel. In short, the industrial age has set in enough for slight conveniences, but Kuroshitsuji, like the era it's modeled after, has no high-powered lasers, or smartphones, or Internet, or frozen dinners.

Another topic of interest is the country's governing body, as England is ruled by a single monarch, Queen Victoria. By the time of Kuroshitsuji, the Queen is well into old age, thus never makes many public appearances after the death of her husband, and this holds true in the manga as well; the readers only get a view glimpse of her throughout the series, though she continues to rule and issue orders to Ciel.

The only difference is that Yana employs the supernatural to give the story a spin. Ciel's butler, Sebastian, is the demon he summoned before being sacrificed in a cult that kidnapped him. Sebastian can do pretty much anything so long as Ciel orders it, and Ciel, irritated by this, frequently tries to give Sebastian tasks that have the possibility of resulting in failure. (They never do.) There are also grim reapers who are tasked with reviewing the memories of the dead and collecting their souls; Ciel has come into contact with the reapers and knows of their existence and purpose. Later in the series, the undead also comes into play, though it appears to be by human-created experimentation.

Toss all of that together in a big pot of fictitious supernatural complete with demons, grim reapers, cults, and the undead--stir!--and you have Kuroshitsuji.

✖ Character History: here

✖ Character Personality:

To some people, Ciel is a nondescript, charismatic nobleman going about the every day life of an earl owning both a title and a toy company; to others, Ciel is a ruthless and cunning operative of all things targeted by the Queen. In truth, neither of these assessments are actually fraudulent. Both are Ciel; he is a Victorian nobleman running an estate and a company, and he is also a stringent, vengeful watchdog employed by the Queen. Still, too, he is a fourteen year old boy.

The murder of Ciel's parents, the burning of the Phantomhive estate, and his subsequent kidnapping by a cult has molded him into a severe, calculating seeker of a justice whose ultimatum is suffering and death. His desperation for living, his fear, and his anger summoned a soul-hungry demon, and without hesitation, he forged a contract with it and used its power to eliminate the entire cult, no questions asked. Then Ciel returned home to the ashes of his former life, much to the surprise of his fiancée and his aunt. They soon realized Ciel had changed drastically from the happy and shy boy they once knew. He had become shrewd and distant, enjoying seclusion and privacy over any kind of sociability, even with them.

He had also come back with a black-clad butler.

And that is the Ciel of the present. He is arrogant and stubborn and spoiled, stern and serious, and often apathetic in his pursuit for justice and revenge (seen when he favors doing the job over even his aunt's life). He is against wallowing and whining, and frequently tells others overcome with doubt and depression how useless it is to lay by the wayside and wait for things to change. Rather, he would have them do as he does: rise above it with what power they can obtain and do what needs to be done. If they want to get better, try until it hurts. If they want more, take it.

With this in mind, Ciel is a very business-like boy, both within his household and his Funtom company as well as with his service to the Queen. Failure with the former would be a dishonor to the family name, and failure with the latter would be a terribly grievous embarrassment.

Because of this, Ciel makes it his purpose to win, and Ciel loves to win. He is not concerned or held back by trivial moral values, even if they sometimes try to squeeze in the way. Murder, bending the rules, playing dirty, it is all something he is very willing to do for any job to be accomplished and accomplished accurately, mainly because he is never the one doing it with his own hands; he gives the order, and Sebastian does the dirty work. In recent arcs, however, Ciel has extended himself beyond just solely using Sebastian as a chess piece to win the game. If he has to work to perfect his craft, physically or mentally, then he'll do it, like when he trains with the other boys of the Owl dormitory to win the cricket match. In short, he is prepared to do anything so long as the outcome is what he desires.

But Ciel is not just wholly a machine, chugging along without pause and without faults. He is delicate and young, with asthma lurking just around the corner to paralyze him if he pushes too hard, and he compensates by sharpening his intellect and controlling Sebastian with an iron fist. He can also admit his flaws, though this seems to be mostly to Sebastian alone because the demon is the only one who knows all of his masks and who he is without them. Ciel knows he sins. Ciel knows he can screw up. In fact, he readily tells Sebastian that he is a human, which means he is full of flaws and dark wantings just like everyone else. Human nature is a part of him, something he can't escape. Sebastian often pursues the topic of ethics and morality with Ciel, goading him into explaining his actions. Ciel is unwavering. He does own up to forfeiting the safety of some for completing the job, but he openly admits to never regretting the choices he makes.

Along the same lines, Ciel is prone to embarrassment, anxiety, shock, and even hints of sympathy. Nightmares and flashbacks of the abuse he suffered plague him. In the Jack the Ripper arc, Ciel has an episode of intense anxiety related to post-traumatic stress disorder after seeing a slaughtered prostitute, making him vulnerable to fear. On the ship Campania during the voyage arc, Ciel becomes distraught and afraid when he believes Elizabeth will be killed by the undead, making him likewise vulnerable to fear and concern. While Ciel is a great actor when he's doing his job, forging emotions and niceties, there's moments of seeing a softer, more human side.

It's during these instances that we can see Ciel's loyalty extend beyond his servitude for the Queen. His fiancée, Elizabeth, holds the greatest chunk next to his title as earl and Phantomhive. He cares for her immensely, perhaps because she is one of the few links to being human and normal he has left, and even after he realizes she is fully capable of protecting herself, he still treats her with loyal respect. The same is given to the other servants of his house, an extension of his title and his namesake. Through their back story, we see that Ciel lifted them out of harsh conditions and gave them purpose. Whether this was from true sympathy or just another means to further his goal is unknown, but both is probably true.

Sebastian is another story. The demon gets no loyalty from Ciel aside from what the contract entails, a kind of quid pro quo agreement. The fact that Ciel will one day lose his soul to the demon's hunger irritates him as much as the fact he must rely on Sebastian to help him do the Phantomhive job. Whenever given the chance, Ciel always taunts Sebastian, whether in speaking or giving the demon orders that are absurd or seem impossible. He is looking for Sebastian to fail because failing means the contract becomes null and void.

✖ Character Powers & Skills:

Powers:
Ciel is a completely normal human boy with no personal supernatural powers; however, he does have a contract with a demon, Sebastian. The demon, as his servant, is where a majority of his "power" comes from because he uses Sebastian like a chess piece. The contract's sigil can be seen on his right eye, and he uses it as additional leverage for giving commands. The contract cannot be broken by either him or Sebastian or they risk losing power or soul respectively.

Skills:
Since age and strength are not on Ciel's side, he relies instead on strategy and tactics. His biggest skill is the ability to see through ruses and to piece together puzzles with thorough detective work. He is a great strategist, more so because he is held back by few moral worries like murder and mercy. The Queen gives him various cases to pursue, all of which, so far, he completes without much issue.

Ciel can speak and write French and English fluently. He knows both Latin and morse code. He has been educated extensively in the history, art, math, and music of nineteenth century England and is fairly proficient in each subject.

Fencing training has made him capable at handling a sword, but he is, by far, a better marksman and prefers the quick and accurate use of a handgun.

CHARACTER SAMPLES.
✖ First Person POV:
test drive
d_p post
bakerstreet if it counts

✖ Third Person POV:

Recruitment was simple and painless, but only because the Queen had been involved.

A little, white letter floated in on a tray carried by Sebastian not even a day after returning from Weston. It stood out among the other handful: the penmanship, slanted, elegant, curling his name; and the emblem etched into the crimson wax on the back holding it shut. Queen Victoria was blowing the dog whistle, and, of course, that was the first--and only--letter he bothered picking up.

Someone was coming to the estate, a guest, and Ciel was to host them without complaint. The asking, the sweet words on the page, Ciel knew they held a very serious, very dark threat. If things didn't go smoothly, it would be quite the predicament for him. No one says no to the Queen.

So he had Sebastian set up the mansion, and he greeted the stranger who came with the best and most polite smile. It was a good day. It was nice to have you here. Tea time was soon, and then dinner, and then a large guest room that would offer the best sleep, and then breakfast in the morning.

But the man wasn't there for tourism.

The man was there for a request, at first asked of the Queen, and then, it turned out, asked of Ciel by her orders. Life as they knew it was at stake. Everything, England included. It was something Ciel had been familiar with for a long time: work for a greater good, no matter the means, or be destroyed. The idea was so grandiose that it was terrifying: planets, ones like the earth, demolished. The CDC was just doing what Ciel was doing in England. They were cleaning up the mess. It had to be done. Someone had to do it.

They need his help.

There's another contract, like the many he has accumulated, but not in writing, much to his displeasure. Help them obliterate the other worlds at the price of saving Earth. Help them clean up the trash of the universe. Help them spare the Queen, and England, and Earth by lending them his expertise. Honestly, it wasn't a hard decision. "Yes," was the only thing left for him to say.

Because no one can say no to the Queen.

CHARACTER ITEMS.
✖ Pick a Team:

Orange:
During two different arcs, Ciel infiltrated both a circus troupe and a college and mingled among them for reconnaissance purposes. (He even disguised himself as a girl, dress and all, at a party to get intel.) Ciel is an amazing actor and diplomat. So long as the premise is set up to accommodate a fourteen year old boy, Ciel can fit himself into the picture. Once inside, he is both persistent and careful enough to dig for answers or gain extra information without tipping off who he is or for who he works, making him a good candidate for orange.

✖ Reason for Joining the CDC:

Ciel doesn't have much to say in regards to the CDC, probably because he can relate so well to their purpose and mission. This likely unnerves him to an extent, but it also eases his apprehension at being thrown into space and into other worlds. What they do is technically what he does: "clean up." As per orders of the Queen, Ciel will uphold his end of the deal and follow through with what needs to be done to save the good ol' homeland without any questions. When she says jump, Ciel asks how high, and those are his (mostly) sole reasons for joining the CDC. He probably also enjoys the challenge.

Surprisingly, he has no problem with authority--he does take orders from a Queen--so long as said authority doesn't infringe on his person, he shouldn't put up much resistance when it comes to orders.

The biggest continual struggle for him will be eliminating other races and planets while also trying not to think about the implications of what he's doing to innocent civilians. On the outside, he's sure to remain stone cold, but on the inside, he may begin to question the true motives of the CDC. He does have a very black and white view of the world, but he is human enough that offing a whole planet of life bothers him.

✖ Mission Freebie: He is going to refuse for the sole reason that he thinks he has a demonic butler and, therefore, doesn't need any other help getting what he wants by way of handouts.
✖ Personal Item or Weapon:

this handgun

✖ Character Inventory:

× these clothes + eyepatch
× Phantomhive heirloom ring
× Phantomhive crest ring
× a walking cane [confiscated]
× handgun (15) + 15 spare bullets