ooc : application
IC Information:
Name: Grell Sutcliff
Fandom: Kuroshitsuji [Manga]
Timeline: Vol3 Chap12 [While being dragged back by William for punishment.]
Age: Looks mid-20s [A death god doesn't exactly have an age.]
Appearance:
Grell stands at about 5’8” with light green eyes, long brown hair tied back into a ponytail with a red ribbon, decked in a Victorian-era attire and a pair of glasses. At first glance, he appears to be a meek looking young butler, prone to occasional bouts of clumsiness, and easily startled.
That is his usual human appearance. His true self is a death god, with a penchant for the colour red: long red hair, red-rimmed glasses (with a tiny skull head each decorating the chain), red coat (formerly Madame Red’s, which he wears it around his elbow instead), and red-stripped bow; anything associated with red. Also, his has shark-like teeth and high-heeled boots.
Abilities: [8.0]
Grell is first and foremost, a death god, given the duty to collect souls that are stated on his ‘death list’. He does his job with a death scythe, (illegally) modified to resemble a chainsaw. It has the ability to slice through anything, human or man-made. Even demon (i.e. Sebastian) and other death gods, like himself. His scythe has a particular feature call Cinematic Record; when afflicted upon his victims their memories are played out like the negatives of a film to be assessed, weighted against the deeds of their life, then to decide whether they should live or die.
He also has an uncanny agility, enabling him to leap to far and high places, appearing from one place to the other in the blink of an eye, and evades incoming attacks, mostly when it comes to protecting his face. Other than that, he has the ability to call forth his scythe and at any given moment, but where he hides that ‘chainsaw’ of his is anybody’s guess. And while he is able to hold his own in fights, about as good against Sebastian, a demon no less, the true strength lies in his weapon.
Like an actor (or actress, as he prefers), Grell is a master in the art of illusion and disguise, hiding behind a veil of pretence. That alone has allowed him to take on the persona of Madame Red’s butler, totally indistinguishable from his true self.
General death god abilities: enhanced speed and power, enhanced endurance, soul collection, and cinematic record.
Personality:
As a human and Angelina Durless’ butler, Grell appears meek, clumsy and ineffective, to the point of his mistress requesting him to be trained by Sebastian, the Phantomhive butler. But that is as far as it gets, because beyond that mask lies the flamboyant and over-the-top death god who has an uncanny love for the colour red. Whether it is his attire, his attitude, or his appearance, Grell holds back nothing, preferring to be as outrageous and exaggerated as possible.
He passes off as being effeminate, using words that are not commonly used by males, has a habit of giving annoying cute nicknames, and refers to himself in the feminine pronoun. Grell also has a creepily unhealthy obsession with Sebastian, randomly flirting and blowing kisses at him. Even to the point of telling Sebastian that he would love to carry his baby, no matter how biologically impossible that is, and alluding their state of nature to the likes of Romeo and Juliet.
Grell is the type who indulges in colourful theatrics, speaking in metaphors and double-meanings, being dramatic in his behaviours and antics. He is also very vain and overly protective of his face, and is easily angered (and can become violent) should anyone say otherwise or insult his looks. He even puts on a bit of make-up and fake eyelashes as a finishing touch. In addition, he loves nothing better than to paint his stage in blood red and lustful violence, paying homage to the vivid crimson, the bloodier the better.
Ironically, he’s able to sympathise and feel compassion for others, notably Madame Red, relating to her inability to ever bear children, because he too is unable to have one. All that emotion is only temporary; his captivation for her beautiful killings and her usefulness to him only go so far. When she can no longer perform according to the scripts and his directions, the same fate befalls on her like it does with her other victims.
Essentially, Grell is a death god, and while he is supposed to remain neutral in his works, it doesn’t stop him from manipulating human’s weaknesses and desires, taking advantage of it to achieve his own wishes.
History:
“Oh, Little Sebast, I do love red the most. Hair, clothes, lipstick, I love them to be red. That's why I love using fresh blood to do make-up for those ugly women. The more flamboyant a woman is, the more she's as beautiful as a poisonous flower, right? -Grell Sutcliff-”
On first impression, Grell Sutcliff is a butler of the Barnett family, serving one Angelina Durless, known to high society as Madame Red, who is also the aunt of the protagonist, Earl Ciel Phantomhive. Though a butler like Sebastian Michaelis, the gap between their skills is wider than the Grand Canyon. Grell is clumsy, socially awkward, and painfully humble, lacking the characteristics of a proper butler.
As the Madame’s butler, Grell doesn’t stray far from her, accompanying his mistress when she lends a hand in her nephew’s investigation on the Jack the Ripper killings. He is a constant presence by her side, except for a brief time when he slips away from the party of Viscount Druitt’s, the current suspect of the case.
Ultimately, Ciel and Sebastian narrow down their suspicion and arrive to stand guard at the next victim’s place, waiting and hoping to catch the true Jack the Ripper, belatedly realising that the killer is already inside. Unfortunately, they are too late, and by the time they reach the victim, she is already dead.
From within the confines of the room, there stands Madame Red’s butler, Grell Sutcliff, drenched in blood and seemingly confused. At first, he denies having committed the murder, but when pressed further, he finally drops his façade, reverting back to his original appearance and attitude, reintroducing himself as the Barnett family’s butler and a death god. Grell is also relieved to at last be able to openly flirt with Sebastian.
Jack the Ripper isn’t just one entity. As they say, it takes two to tango. Grell is only half of the killer; the other half is none other than his mistress, Madame Red. Ciel and Sebastian had already came to the conclusion that both Grell and Angelina are working together in this crime, and even revealed that Grell had briefly left the Viscount’s party to commit murder while creating an alibi for his mistress.
Under Angelina’s order, Grell attacks Ciel, though Sebastian manages foil his attempts. It is at this point where Grell is able to make use of his ‘chainsaw’ and showcase its abilities, especially Cinematic Record, where Grell manages to inflict a cut on Sebastian’s upper arm. While Grell engages in a battle with Sebastian and corners him, Angelina focuses on her nephew, clearly intending to eliminate him. Humans are weak beings; when Madame Red hesitates and says she couldn’t do it, Grell is immediately disappointed in her. In return, he finishes her off, calling her ‘ordinary woman’ whom he has lost interest on, and at the same time, displaying her hidden memories for all to witness.
He steals Angelina’s red coat and makes it his own, preparing to leave, only to have Sebastian resuming Ciel’s order to capture Grell. So it’s back to another battle, escalating to an intense climax, before Sebastian reluctantly uses his coat to throw it at the scythe’s direction, jamming the rotation of the ‘chainsaw’. Weapon now useless and then beaten to a pulp (mostly on the face), Grell nearly gets sliced by his own scythe before the appearance of his superior officer, William T. Spears, prevented Sebastian from finishing him off. Further trashed by William for breaking multiple laws of the death gods, he is literally dragged by the hair back to be punished for his crimes and offences.
Questions? Comments? Crazed and creative statements? Those go here.
A good man's past makes people curious! But if he's a bad man, then it makes me wanna see even more!
-Quoted by yours truly-