♚ application.
Player nickname: Ichi
Player LJ: unspeakingly
Way to contact you:
Email: ezzigreenie@hotmail.com
AIM: kowareta ichi
Other: plurk.
Are you at least 15?: Y.
Current Characters: Haruhi Fujioka, Nill, Xion, Minatsuki Takami, Yako Katsuragi. so many girls sob.
Character: Ciel Phantomhive
Fandom: Kuroshitsuji
Character Notes:
History:
Obviously the manga is drastically different from the anime, but nnnngh I take forever and a day to watch anime so here, you can have the manga history instead since that's what I'm familiar with and it's much better (although whichever plot will actually be played out is fine with me). I-if you really want the anime history, you can go look at Cnd's crazy-long Sebastian app lakjdfls lmfao. ♥
Prior to the beginning of the series, Ciel Phantomhive was a happy young child in a very wealthy, upper-class family. His parents were very respected and well-liked in society, they loved him very much, and as such, Ciel was something of a spoiled boy; he had the love of his parents and all of those who respected his parents. For him, life was rather close to perfect. However, on the day of his tenth birthday, Ciel's parents were murdered the same way as previous Phantomhive generations, and the entire Phantomhive estate was burned to the ground.
After this, Ciel was taken, sold in an underground auction and then used as a slave and a sacrifice in a cult ritual, often physically, sexually and mentally abused and tortured in various ways. This went on for a month until, during one particular bout of torture, Ciel's pain and hatred and desire to kill his tormentors was so blindingly intense that it summoned the demon Sebastian. Sebastian formed a contract with him in that moment - he would obey Ciel's orders and become his servant, but in exchange, he would be able to devour Ciel's soul at his time of death. Ciel agreed and ordered Sebastian to kill everyone in the room.
He returned to his life after that with the demon at his side, took over the Funtom Company that his family had run and became the Earl of the Phantomhive house, as well as beginning work as the "Queen's Watchdog", eliminating anything that concerns her and controlling the underworld. Sebastian remained bound to his side by the contract, and they had one deal that was to be constant throughout their time together - Ciel had to stay alive until he could exact his revenge on the murderers of his family, and only then could Sebastian have his soul. It is for this reason that Sebastian protects him so fiercely throughout the series.
Almost two years later, the series begins. Towards the beginning of the series, they do little but take care of very trivial matters pertaining to Ciel's relationships, the Phantomhive house, the Funtom Company and some of the Queen's smaller orders, such as finding and disposing of a rat amongst the ranks, but their first real situation quickly arrives - the Queen wishes for Ciel to investigate the mysterious murders taking place in London and catch the criminal known as Jack the Ripper. At first, they believe that the Viscount Druitt was responsible, and Ciel pretends to be a young girl to infiltrate his party, only to be kidnapped and almost sold in an underground auction; as always Sebastian comes to his rescue with ease, and they discover shortly after that the case was not solved, and Jack the Ripper is still at large. It doesn't take long for Sebastian to drop Ciel a hint after his investigation of all possible suspects, and Ciel catches on quickly.
Despite that they're waiting at the scene of the crime before it happens, Ciel and Sebastian fail to save the next prostitute before she is murdered - but they uncover the culprit in the act: Ciel's aunt, "Madam Red", and her butler Grell. Grell reveals himself to actually be a Death God, and he and Sebastian fight while Ciel confronts his aunt. She almost kills Ciel, but in the end finds herself unable to strike down her own family member, and Grell kills her out of digust. The fight ends, obviously, in the favour of Ciel and Sebastian, and Grell is dragged away by another of his own kind. With the case solved and the Queen's mind put at ease, Ciel overcomes the loss of his closest relative and washes his hands of the matter. Life goes on as usual for a short while after, just in time for Ciel's 13th birthday, and then the plot picks back up again.
A number of English noblemen who have recently returned from England are being attacked and publicly humiliated, and because it involves the Royal Family, the Queen asks Ciel to investigate. Prince Soma and his butler Agni, recently arrived from India, meet Ciel around this time and invite themselves into his house. However, they soon find that Agni is acting strangely and leaving the house at odd hours; through tailing him, they find that he is associated with the Anglo Indian attacks under the command of another. It turns out that this is in order for the man to win the Royal Warrant, but Ciel decides that he would like to have it instead and enters Sebastian into a curry contest to win it. Naturally, they win, receive the Royal Warrant, and both Prince Soma and Agni decide to stay in England - they originally plan to stay with Ciel, but he gets rid of them by requesting that they look after his townhouse in London. The Queen, who had been the final judge in the curry content, gives Ciel his next mission - to investigate a circus and the fact that children have been going missing every time the circus passes through a town.
Sebastian and Ciel successfully infiltrate the circus, posing as two newcomer performers, and while searching for the missing children they encounter the Death God who had dragged away Grell, William T. Spears, which alerts them that although they can't seem to find the children, there's definitely something wrong with the circus. They try to take their perfect opportunity to sneak around and investigate during a performance, but Sebastian is called on to take part in the circus act, leaving Ciel to go in alone. He finds photographs with an old man and children, but nothing incriminating - however, once he moves on to the next tent, he finds a letter from "Tom, the piper's son". Ciel opens the letter, and across the top it reads CIEL PHANTOMHIVE, followed by his exact birthdate, but he doesn't have time to look around any longer because the performance is over and the troupe is returning. He almost gets caught, but Doll (who is actually the room-mate who was assigned to him, Freckles) hides him and helps him run - unfortunately, once they've made it back to Sebastian, Ciel has a very violent asthma attack and ends up bedridden; he orders Sebastian to continue the investigation alone until he can sneak out too, the next morning.
Sebastian seduces the information out of one of the troupe members and takes Ciel home the next morning; he tells Ciel that the name of the man in the photos and the one referred to as "Father" is Baron Kelvin, a name Ciel vaguely recognises from the parties his father used to take him to. After being delayed because Prince Soma, Agni and Sebastian refuse to let him out of bed while his asthma is still in a bad state, Ciel and Sebastian finally go to investigate Baron Kelvin's house, but are greeted at the door by Joker, the stand-in ringleader of the circus. Although the scene they find is disturbing, Ciel says that they should wait until they find out what the children are being used for before they act, so they're led inside to have dinner with Kelvin, who is unbelievably excited to meet Ciel for some reason. Kelvin has a performance put on by the children he has kidnapped (and seems to have brainwashed) and shows obvious joy when they die horrifically during the stunts they're supposed to perform; he has an obsession with children and delights in seeing them die in horrible ways. When Ciel shows absolute disgust at this, Kelvin apologises and doesn't understand, but at Ciel's demand, he takes him to the basement to show him the other kidnapped children.
However, as Ciel finds, the basement is set up for another purpose; it is an exact replication of the room that he was sacrificed in before Sebastian saved him. Kelvin reveals that he has a complete obsession with Ciel and always has; when he met Ciel beside Vincent, Ciel's father, he decided to become more beautiful for the boy and ended up with a disfigured appearance because of this desperate attempt. He was sad that he couldn't attend the ritual sacrifice of Ciel, but after finding out the boy was still alive, decided he would recreate that day for himself - and now, with Ciel, he can. Ciel shoots Kelvin almost immediately, sickened, and as he dies the doctor that they met in the circus enters and starts talking about his prosthetics - his prosthetics that he made from the bones of human children. When he drags out one of the children and puts them on the altar to stab them, Ciel suffers from a panic attack induced by his trauma and starts screaming, but Sebastian quiets him and instructs him to call his name, and Ciel cries out as he's told; Se- Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian- Kill them all!
Ciel is so traumatised by the event that, even after Sebastian has carried out that order, despite the fact that this is evidence for the Queen and there are still many, many children inside, he instructs Sebastian to burn the entire building to the ground immediately - "turn it all to ashes". Although the demon tries to reason with him, Ciel insists desperately, and Sebastian is forced to obey. They kill Freckles when she runs into them and realises that the entire circus troupe is dead, and finally, Sebastian takes Ciel home. They visit the workhouse where other children were supposedly being kept - and it was for that reason that the troupe stayed with Kelvin even when he became twisted - but the site is crumbling and long-since abandoned. Ciel bursts into hysterical laughter over the sickening nature of humans and says to Sebastian, "It's even more demonic than a demon!" and it seems that the mission had an effect on his mental state. Even after returning home, he's in a constant daze - but it's thankfully fixed within a chapter due to the time he spends around "good" people such as Prince Soma and his fiancée Elizabeth.
The Queen then asks Ciel to entertain a special guest who is visiting England, for which he must host a party, and everything goes well for a time, but after putting an intoxicated guest to bed, they return to find him murdered. With the reasoning of a locked room murder mystery, they can only deduce that Ciel is the culprit, but nobody can leave the mansion because of a vicious storm outside, so they decide to chain Ciel to the wordsmith Arthur and lock them in a room together in case it's true that he really is the murderer. Sebastian spends the night preparing for something, giving the servants orders and even specially requesting that Arthur take care of Ciel. However, the next morning, they wake up to find Sebastian dead in one of the rooms; Ciel assumes that it's an act as it usually is, and orders him to wake up. When Sebastian doesn't react even to a direct order, Ciel becomes hysterical and starts screaming, but ends up returning to an emotionless façade soon after. As they're having breakfast, they realise that one of the guests, Mr. Phelps, is missing, and rush to the room where he was sleeping only to find him dead, too.
Before he died, Sebastian had sent an owl away with a message, and it finally returns with Father Jeremy, an acquaintance of Ciel's. He proves to be incredibly competent and intelligent, analysing everyone and the corpses flawlessly, he seems to be confident that the situation can be solved, and strangely, he even fixes the problem of food shortage with a sudden knowledge of cooking and plants. When it finally comes time for him to explain the murders, he reveals that the first person to be murdered was put into a "sleeping trance" not unlike Juliet when she took the poison, as he'd been told that it was part of a plan to catch and kill the Earl - however, he was killed while he was in that state of false death, and Sebastian was killed by the same person later because he would have found the bottle of poison that had been thrown into the fireplace. A snake had also been released that was trained to hunt down Ciel's scent and kill him, and they caught it with a clever trap; it was this snake that had killed Mr. Phelps. Father Jeremy outs Mr. Woodley as the killer amongst the guests, and Earl Grey, a butler of the Queen, takes him away.
But as Arthur is leaving the Phantomhive manor, Father Jeremy bids him farewell and says, "Thank you for taking care of the young master." Quickly, Arthur rushes back into the house and accuses Father Jeremy of being a fake - because he's really Sebastian. "Jeremy" rips off his face to reveal himself as Sebastian, and proceeds to explain.
Everything that happened had been predicted by Ciel. He knew that all of those murders would be committed, including Sebastian's, because he knew that someone was intending to torment him - the Queen's butler, Earl Grey. He organised for the first victim to take the poison and then stabbed him later, and he attacked Sebastian. Sebastian was forced to do a lot of running around and frantic things, but in the end, they managed to set it up so that Earl Grey could not get to Ciel, so that Ciel could not be a culprit and that the innocent Mr. Woodley - who Ciel knew was going to have to be taken care of eventually due to involvement in drugs and such - would be arrested. The entire thing had just been one big act that Ciel had been in control of the whole time.
Arthur ends up fleeing the house in terror after Sebastian makes him swear never to say a word about it and his obvious inhumanity, going so far as to show the man his true demonic form. After he's gone, they hold a fake funeral for Sebastian, and he pretends that he's somehow not quite dead due to a miracle of sorts, which the others thankfully believe. Ciel asks Sebastian how Mr. Phelps had died since Mr. Woodley was an innocent in the situation. Sebastian takes Ciel to where he's keeping a large crate and opens it to reveal Snake, one of the performers from the first tier of the circus troupe - one of the only ones that didn't die, because he hadn't been involved in anything regarding Ciel or Baron Kelvin - and he hates Ciel in the same way that Freckles did, because he knows that Ciel and Sebastian were responsible for the deaths of most of the troupe. Ciel abruptly offers for Snake to become a part of his household, saying that they're still looking for Joker and some of the others and that this will be the fastest way for Snake to find his missing family (surely he has a more sinister plan in mind, but it hasn't been revealed yet). Snake agrees and becomes the Phantomhive family's new footman.
The next arc and case has only just begun, but it involves a hospital that is claiming to be able to perform miracles such as bringing people back to life; although Sebastian can find nothing suspicious about the hospital itself, he discovers that they have something known as the Aurora Society. The society happens to be having a meeting of sorts on-board a cruise ship that Elizabeth had recently invited Ciel to, so they agree to take the cruise in order to investigate. They manage to infiltrate the Aurora Society posing as members, and are able to witness one of these "death-defying miracles" - however, the young woman that had been revived suddenly becomes deformed, her jaws opening wide to take a bite from her mother. The crowd flees, leaving Sebastian and Ciel to confront the horrific monster... and that's all I can tell you right now. :'>
Personality:
At a distance, Ciel is cold, composed, emotionless, intelligent and mature beyond his years. He's a calculating businessman who does not care for trivial things or niceties, and he wants things dealt with swiftly and efficiently. He doesn't seem to hold much thought at all for the feelings, opinions or concerns of others; he wants things done in his way, done well and quickly, and how it affects others does not matter to him. He's determined and ruthless, especially when it comes to winning - he does not like to lose personally, and he always insists on getting what he wants. However, he is quite polite and he minds his manners around both strangers and family, either because that's how he's taught to present himself or simply to project a good image.
When things push beyond first impressions and a business level of things, Ciel becomes even more ruthless. He is cunning and manipulative, going so far to act as an entirely different person or crossdress in order to complete his mission. He has no qualms with using illegal or underhanded tactics to win, and he takes great pleasure in seeing his enemies fall whether he has "cheated" or not. He is cruel, confident and unfaltering in his ways, to the point that he becomes arrogant and egotistical. Ciel is on a high, high horse, and it's very difficult to knock him down for good. He's very quick to recover from blows, overcoming issues with apparent ease - for example, he does not dwell on the death of his aunt after she attempts to murder him, but he bids her farewell with kind words at her funeral and does not mourn for her again. This is likely because of his suppressing of his emotions, and also the ability to rapidly adapt to situations that he has forced himself to master. In fact, he says once as he kills Joker's "father" that he believes, "Only two kinds of people exist in this world: those who steal and those who are stolen from. So then, today I just stole your future. That's all." Ciel's feelings on other humans come down to either indifference or disgust, although he doesn't believe himself to be above them or anything; he's sold his soul to Hell.
Despite the public image he presents, in private Ciel isn't always quite as mature as he appears. He mocks and torments the demon Sebastian simply because he can and derives a twisted satisfaction from that, he's quickly to snap at people who irritate him and insults them without thought, he tries to shirk his work and lessons, and he is an absolute brat. He's rude and pushy and beyond a bare minimum level of interaction, he dislikes strangers and people in general. He's irritated by and uncomfortable with socialising because people get on his nerves easily, and also because his time as a slave has left him with some trauma. The trauma of his time as a slave has stuck with him fiercely, even if it doesn't always show on the surface; physical contact is something he despises from anyone but Sebastian, and sometimes he'll go so far as to slap or shove others away if they get too close, he reacts extremely badly whenever someone sees the slave mark on his back, and the only thing that can really scare or rattle him is if he re-experiences those memories for whatever reason. When he's riled up badly, his composure doesn't simply slip, it crumbles, and he's quite capable of going into a blind rage; when Elizabeth breaks his treasured ring, he's unbelievably furious and attempts to strike her, but Sebastian catches him and calms him down.
It also must be kept in mind that Ciel is still a child, even if he may be an exceptional one. He enjoys sweets and games and toys. He whines and complains and dislikes work, especially hard labour of any kind. He may not enjoy the company of many, but he prefers one presence to being completely alone. He's not unbreakable; nightmares have him wake up in a moment of sheer, blinded fear, and during the Jack the Ripper case, the gory sight of a corpse absolutely terrifies him despite that Sebastian attempts to shield Ciel from it as quickly as possible. In these moments, he desperately needs Sebastian, who holds him close and speaks calming words until Ciel is in his right mind again. He is also not heartless - he still shows concern for the well-being of others at times, particularly those close to him, and not for reasons purely pertaining to the protection of important "pawns". He jumps in front of Elizabeth without a second thought to protect her from a bear attack - and shockingly, for her, he's also capable of swallowing his pride and being kind for a short while to please her.
Sebastian is the closest person to Ciel, but he is an excellent example of Ciel's cold and manipulative nature; he is the most important person to Ciel, but also the person he cares for the least emotionally. Sebastian is the Queen piece to the King that represents Ciel - the most powerful and vital piece to him. He's extremely reliant on Sebastian and allows Sebastian closer to him than anyone else, not even complaining when the demon touches him, picks him up or holds him, but this is because he doesn't regard Sebastian as a person and therefore holds no worth to him in that regard. Sebastian is a tool, something less-than-human, and he is appropriately given the name that he holds - the name of Ciel's deceased dog. However, once again, Ciel is not inhuman; he looks to Sebastian as some sort of company, he's more playful and open with the demon than anyone else, and he has shown concern and a softer, even weaker, side to him on rare occasions. He does not trust Sebastian as a human trusts another, but he's unfailingly confident in the demon's abilities and devotion to its master; he trusts Sebastian because Sebastian literally cannot go against him. Only Sebastian is never allowed to betray him, or leave his side.
Other:
He makes a very convincing girl. ♥
First Person (entry type):
What do you consider to be the greatest insult? I'm not necessarily limiting it to verbal assault, it can be any form you please. A filthy word, or a physical act, or perhaps an action against you - betrayal and such.
I'll be entirely forthright here and admit that this isn't a matter of curiosity. No, I'm only asking you such a trivial question to avoid the paperwork on my desk, but please, don't let that stop you. Think of it as assisting me, albeit in shirking my duties. Isn't it nice to be helpful? I'm sure Sebastian will appreciate your efforts too.
Third Person:
Ciel's morning routines were generally monotonous; completely boring and repetitive. He was woken at an exact time by Sebastian, given his breakfast and tea, allowed himself to be dressed, and then he was run through the schedule for the day. Events didn't tend to hold his interest for long; a meeting with someone from an associate company, someone who had the gall to challenge the Phantomhive household, a discussion with someone connected to the underworld, someone associated with the Phantomhive family. Lessons, study, organising later events - he worked through them all mechanically and found little entertainment and no joy in them. It was only on the occasions where he turned over the letters he had received and found that particular seal there that he knew something worth his while was going to happen.
Or not, but he had little choice in the matter anyway. The Queen's "dog", they called him, and he supposed that it was a true enough title; all she had to do was raise a concern, and he would have to sniff it out and eradicate it for her. He had been handed the "collar" that was passed down through the Phantomhive family, and now he was leashed. A fact of life. Pre-dispositional.
Besides, being so immersed in the sinful underworld was the best chance he had of finding his revenge, so he didn't particularly care how that immersion was achieved or how far he had to sink. He would find the thin thread that would lead him to his goal, he would grab it, he would follow it and he would not let go. This was what he had chosen and it was a path that he would doggedly (ha, who were they to say he didn't have a sense of humour?) follow to the end alone.
... No, not alone, was it? A dog and his...
Ciel considers all of this one morning while Sebastian is picking his clothes out for him, watches the demon move around the room and sips at his tea; Sebastian feels eyes on him and stops, turning to look curiously at his young master. Ciel stares back for a long moment before his eyes flash wickedly and a smirk slowly twists his lips.
"Poor Sebastian," he says, and there is not the slightest trace of sympathy in his voice; it is cold and cruel and for some reason, he thinks, this feels like some sort of routine itself. An inside joke of sorts. "How does it feel to be the dog of a dog?"
Sebastian pauses, surprised for a split second, and then he smiles. His smile is not the same polite, humbled expression - appropriate for a butler, the perfect butler, a Phantomhive butler - that he gives to all others who see him; his eyes are half-lidded, gaze heavy, and even the grin itself is wicked. Sinful. He bows deeply before the child that rules over him.
"I'm honoured," he responds, and once again, there's that hint of something that is so very funny; a joke shared between the two of them that no other will ever know. "It's my pleasure, of course. I will always wear this collar that my young master has given me with pride."
Liar, he thinks, smirk widening, and there is a dangerous glow in Sebastian's eyes that matches the glint in his own when their gazes lock. Sebastian is his for now, yes, he will stay beside Ciel and protect him even beyond his own death, he will obey every order without question or hesitation, he is the most important, reliable, invaluable piece, he is a faithful dog to whatever Ciel may become, he is collared and leashed beneath Ciel - but there will be one day when his dog tugs back at its leash and opens its jaws wide to catch this master that holds its chain.
And Ciel will accept that day when it comes, because he will have completed his goal and he will never regret.
"Until the end," he hums thoughtfully and slants his gaze away, staring out the window instead.
Sebastian chuckles as he approaches, nods, he drops to one knee before Ciel and inclines his head in a bow; he would take Ciel's hand but both are occupied by tea and a scone respectively, so he places one hand over his heart and the other on his young master's knee. "Until the end," he agrees, and stands. He turns away and suddenly pauses, apparently considering something. "... However, I do wish the young master didn't insist on referring to both of us as dogs; I'm much more fond of cats."
He rolls his eyes, a silent I know, idiot. "Cat just doesn't have the same ring to it, don't you think? Come, Sebastian; clear this away and get me dressed, I'm in no mood to dawdle this morning."
"Yes, my lord."
Player LJ: unspeakingly
Way to contact you:
Email: ezzigreenie@hotmail.com
AIM: kowareta ichi
Other: plurk.
Are you at least 15?: Y.
Current Characters: Haruhi Fujioka, Nill, Xion, Minatsuki Takami, Yako Katsuragi. so many girls sob.
Character: Ciel Phantomhive
Fandom: Kuroshitsuji
Character Notes:
History:
Obviously the manga is drastically different from the anime, but nnnngh I take forever and a day to watch anime so here, you can have the manga history instead since that's what I'm familiar with and it's much better (although whichever plot will actually be played out is fine with me). I-if you really want the anime history, you can go look at Cnd's crazy-long Sebastian app lakjdfls lmfao. ♥
Prior to the beginning of the series, Ciel Phantomhive was a happy young child in a very wealthy, upper-class family. His parents were very respected and well-liked in society, they loved him very much, and as such, Ciel was something of a spoiled boy; he had the love of his parents and all of those who respected his parents. For him, life was rather close to perfect. However, on the day of his tenth birthday, Ciel's parents were murdered the same way as previous Phantomhive generations, and the entire Phantomhive estate was burned to the ground.
After this, Ciel was taken, sold in an underground auction and then used as a slave and a sacrifice in a cult ritual, often physically, sexually and mentally abused and tortured in various ways. This went on for a month until, during one particular bout of torture, Ciel's pain and hatred and desire to kill his tormentors was so blindingly intense that it summoned the demon Sebastian. Sebastian formed a contract with him in that moment - he would obey Ciel's orders and become his servant, but in exchange, he would be able to devour Ciel's soul at his time of death. Ciel agreed and ordered Sebastian to kill everyone in the room.
He returned to his life after that with the demon at his side, took over the Funtom Company that his family had run and became the Earl of the Phantomhive house, as well as beginning work as the "Queen's Watchdog", eliminating anything that concerns her and controlling the underworld. Sebastian remained bound to his side by the contract, and they had one deal that was to be constant throughout their time together - Ciel had to stay alive until he could exact his revenge on the murderers of his family, and only then could Sebastian have his soul. It is for this reason that Sebastian protects him so fiercely throughout the series.
Almost two years later, the series begins. Towards the beginning of the series, they do little but take care of very trivial matters pertaining to Ciel's relationships, the Phantomhive house, the Funtom Company and some of the Queen's smaller orders, such as finding and disposing of a rat amongst the ranks, but their first real situation quickly arrives - the Queen wishes for Ciel to investigate the mysterious murders taking place in London and catch the criminal known as Jack the Ripper. At first, they believe that the Viscount Druitt was responsible, and Ciel pretends to be a young girl to infiltrate his party, only to be kidnapped and almost sold in an underground auction; as always Sebastian comes to his rescue with ease, and they discover shortly after that the case was not solved, and Jack the Ripper is still at large. It doesn't take long for Sebastian to drop Ciel a hint after his investigation of all possible suspects, and Ciel catches on quickly.
Despite that they're waiting at the scene of the crime before it happens, Ciel and Sebastian fail to save the next prostitute before she is murdered - but they uncover the culprit in the act: Ciel's aunt, "Madam Red", and her butler Grell. Grell reveals himself to actually be a Death God, and he and Sebastian fight while Ciel confronts his aunt. She almost kills Ciel, but in the end finds herself unable to strike down her own family member, and Grell kills her out of digust. The fight ends, obviously, in the favour of Ciel and Sebastian, and Grell is dragged away by another of his own kind. With the case solved and the Queen's mind put at ease, Ciel overcomes the loss of his closest relative and washes his hands of the matter. Life goes on as usual for a short while after, just in time for Ciel's 13th birthday, and then the plot picks back up again.
A number of English noblemen who have recently returned from England are being attacked and publicly humiliated, and because it involves the Royal Family, the Queen asks Ciel to investigate. Prince Soma and his butler Agni, recently arrived from India, meet Ciel around this time and invite themselves into his house. However, they soon find that Agni is acting strangely and leaving the house at odd hours; through tailing him, they find that he is associated with the Anglo Indian attacks under the command of another. It turns out that this is in order for the man to win the Royal Warrant, but Ciel decides that he would like to have it instead and enters Sebastian into a curry contest to win it. Naturally, they win, receive the Royal Warrant, and both Prince Soma and Agni decide to stay in England - they originally plan to stay with Ciel, but he gets rid of them by requesting that they look after his townhouse in London. The Queen, who had been the final judge in the curry content, gives Ciel his next mission - to investigate a circus and the fact that children have been going missing every time the circus passes through a town.
Sebastian and Ciel successfully infiltrate the circus, posing as two newcomer performers, and while searching for the missing children they encounter the Death God who had dragged away Grell, William T. Spears, which alerts them that although they can't seem to find the children, there's definitely something wrong with the circus. They try to take their perfect opportunity to sneak around and investigate during a performance, but Sebastian is called on to take part in the circus act, leaving Ciel to go in alone. He finds photographs with an old man and children, but nothing incriminating - however, once he moves on to the next tent, he finds a letter from "Tom, the piper's son". Ciel opens the letter, and across the top it reads CIEL PHANTOMHIVE, followed by his exact birthdate, but he doesn't have time to look around any longer because the performance is over and the troupe is returning. He almost gets caught, but Doll (who is actually the room-mate who was assigned to him, Freckles) hides him and helps him run - unfortunately, once they've made it back to Sebastian, Ciel has a very violent asthma attack and ends up bedridden; he orders Sebastian to continue the investigation alone until he can sneak out too, the next morning.
Sebastian seduces the information out of one of the troupe members and takes Ciel home the next morning; he tells Ciel that the name of the man in the photos and the one referred to as "Father" is Baron Kelvin, a name Ciel vaguely recognises from the parties his father used to take him to. After being delayed because Prince Soma, Agni and Sebastian refuse to let him out of bed while his asthma is still in a bad state, Ciel and Sebastian finally go to investigate Baron Kelvin's house, but are greeted at the door by Joker, the stand-in ringleader of the circus. Although the scene they find is disturbing, Ciel says that they should wait until they find out what the children are being used for before they act, so they're led inside to have dinner with Kelvin, who is unbelievably excited to meet Ciel for some reason. Kelvin has a performance put on by the children he has kidnapped (and seems to have brainwashed) and shows obvious joy when they die horrifically during the stunts they're supposed to perform; he has an obsession with children and delights in seeing them die in horrible ways. When Ciel shows absolute disgust at this, Kelvin apologises and doesn't understand, but at Ciel's demand, he takes him to the basement to show him the other kidnapped children.
However, as Ciel finds, the basement is set up for another purpose; it is an exact replication of the room that he was sacrificed in before Sebastian saved him. Kelvin reveals that he has a complete obsession with Ciel and always has; when he met Ciel beside Vincent, Ciel's father, he decided to become more beautiful for the boy and ended up with a disfigured appearance because of this desperate attempt. He was sad that he couldn't attend the ritual sacrifice of Ciel, but after finding out the boy was still alive, decided he would recreate that day for himself - and now, with Ciel, he can. Ciel shoots Kelvin almost immediately, sickened, and as he dies the doctor that they met in the circus enters and starts talking about his prosthetics - his prosthetics that he made from the bones of human children. When he drags out one of the children and puts them on the altar to stab them, Ciel suffers from a panic attack induced by his trauma and starts screaming, but Sebastian quiets him and instructs him to call his name, and Ciel cries out as he's told; Se- Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian- Kill them all!
Ciel is so traumatised by the event that, even after Sebastian has carried out that order, despite the fact that this is evidence for the Queen and there are still many, many children inside, he instructs Sebastian to burn the entire building to the ground immediately - "turn it all to ashes". Although the demon tries to reason with him, Ciel insists desperately, and Sebastian is forced to obey. They kill Freckles when she runs into them and realises that the entire circus troupe is dead, and finally, Sebastian takes Ciel home. They visit the workhouse where other children were supposedly being kept - and it was for that reason that the troupe stayed with Kelvin even when he became twisted - but the site is crumbling and long-since abandoned. Ciel bursts into hysterical laughter over the sickening nature of humans and says to Sebastian, "It's even more demonic than a demon!" and it seems that the mission had an effect on his mental state. Even after returning home, he's in a constant daze - but it's thankfully fixed within a chapter due to the time he spends around "good" people such as Prince Soma and his fiancée Elizabeth.
The Queen then asks Ciel to entertain a special guest who is visiting England, for which he must host a party, and everything goes well for a time, but after putting an intoxicated guest to bed, they return to find him murdered. With the reasoning of a locked room murder mystery, they can only deduce that Ciel is the culprit, but nobody can leave the mansion because of a vicious storm outside, so they decide to chain Ciel to the wordsmith Arthur and lock them in a room together in case it's true that he really is the murderer. Sebastian spends the night preparing for something, giving the servants orders and even specially requesting that Arthur take care of Ciel. However, the next morning, they wake up to find Sebastian dead in one of the rooms; Ciel assumes that it's an act as it usually is, and orders him to wake up. When Sebastian doesn't react even to a direct order, Ciel becomes hysterical and starts screaming, but ends up returning to an emotionless façade soon after. As they're having breakfast, they realise that one of the guests, Mr. Phelps, is missing, and rush to the room where he was sleeping only to find him dead, too.
Before he died, Sebastian had sent an owl away with a message, and it finally returns with Father Jeremy, an acquaintance of Ciel's. He proves to be incredibly competent and intelligent, analysing everyone and the corpses flawlessly, he seems to be confident that the situation can be solved, and strangely, he even fixes the problem of food shortage with a sudden knowledge of cooking and plants. When it finally comes time for him to explain the murders, he reveals that the first person to be murdered was put into a "sleeping trance" not unlike Juliet when she took the poison, as he'd been told that it was part of a plan to catch and kill the Earl - however, he was killed while he was in that state of false death, and Sebastian was killed by the same person later because he would have found the bottle of poison that had been thrown into the fireplace. A snake had also been released that was trained to hunt down Ciel's scent and kill him, and they caught it with a clever trap; it was this snake that had killed Mr. Phelps. Father Jeremy outs Mr. Woodley as the killer amongst the guests, and Earl Grey, a butler of the Queen, takes him away.
But as Arthur is leaving the Phantomhive manor, Father Jeremy bids him farewell and says, "Thank you for taking care of the young master." Quickly, Arthur rushes back into the house and accuses Father Jeremy of being a fake - because he's really Sebastian. "Jeremy" rips off his face to reveal himself as Sebastian, and proceeds to explain.
Everything that happened had been predicted by Ciel. He knew that all of those murders would be committed, including Sebastian's, because he knew that someone was intending to torment him - the Queen's butler, Earl Grey. He organised for the first victim to take the poison and then stabbed him later, and he attacked Sebastian. Sebastian was forced to do a lot of running around and frantic things, but in the end, they managed to set it up so that Earl Grey could not get to Ciel, so that Ciel could not be a culprit and that the innocent Mr. Woodley - who Ciel knew was going to have to be taken care of eventually due to involvement in drugs and such - would be arrested. The entire thing had just been one big act that Ciel had been in control of the whole time.
Arthur ends up fleeing the house in terror after Sebastian makes him swear never to say a word about it and his obvious inhumanity, going so far as to show the man his true demonic form. After he's gone, they hold a fake funeral for Sebastian, and he pretends that he's somehow not quite dead due to a miracle of sorts, which the others thankfully believe. Ciel asks Sebastian how Mr. Phelps had died since Mr. Woodley was an innocent in the situation. Sebastian takes Ciel to where he's keeping a large crate and opens it to reveal Snake, one of the performers from the first tier of the circus troupe - one of the only ones that didn't die, because he hadn't been involved in anything regarding Ciel or Baron Kelvin - and he hates Ciel in the same way that Freckles did, because he knows that Ciel and Sebastian were responsible for the deaths of most of the troupe. Ciel abruptly offers for Snake to become a part of his household, saying that they're still looking for Joker and some of the others and that this will be the fastest way for Snake to find his missing family (surely he has a more sinister plan in mind, but it hasn't been revealed yet). Snake agrees and becomes the Phantomhive family's new footman.
The next arc and case has only just begun, but it involves a hospital that is claiming to be able to perform miracles such as bringing people back to life; although Sebastian can find nothing suspicious about the hospital itself, he discovers that they have something known as the Aurora Society. The society happens to be having a meeting of sorts on-board a cruise ship that Elizabeth had recently invited Ciel to, so they agree to take the cruise in order to investigate. They manage to infiltrate the Aurora Society posing as members, and are able to witness one of these "death-defying miracles" - however, the young woman that had been revived suddenly becomes deformed, her jaws opening wide to take a bite from her mother. The crowd flees, leaving Sebastian and Ciel to confront the horrific monster... and that's all I can tell you right now. :'>
Personality:
At a distance, Ciel is cold, composed, emotionless, intelligent and mature beyond his years. He's a calculating businessman who does not care for trivial things or niceties, and he wants things dealt with swiftly and efficiently. He doesn't seem to hold much thought at all for the feelings, opinions or concerns of others; he wants things done in his way, done well and quickly, and how it affects others does not matter to him. He's determined and ruthless, especially when it comes to winning - he does not like to lose personally, and he always insists on getting what he wants. However, he is quite polite and he minds his manners around both strangers and family, either because that's how he's taught to present himself or simply to project a good image.
When things push beyond first impressions and a business level of things, Ciel becomes even more ruthless. He is cunning and manipulative, going so far to act as an entirely different person or crossdress in order to complete his mission. He has no qualms with using illegal or underhanded tactics to win, and he takes great pleasure in seeing his enemies fall whether he has "cheated" or not. He is cruel, confident and unfaltering in his ways, to the point that he becomes arrogant and egotistical. Ciel is on a high, high horse, and it's very difficult to knock him down for good. He's very quick to recover from blows, overcoming issues with apparent ease - for example, he does not dwell on the death of his aunt after she attempts to murder him, but he bids her farewell with kind words at her funeral and does not mourn for her again. This is likely because of his suppressing of his emotions, and also the ability to rapidly adapt to situations that he has forced himself to master. In fact, he says once as he kills Joker's "father" that he believes, "Only two kinds of people exist in this world: those who steal and those who are stolen from. So then, today I just stole your future. That's all." Ciel's feelings on other humans come down to either indifference or disgust, although he doesn't believe himself to be above them or anything; he's sold his soul to Hell.
Despite the public image he presents, in private Ciel isn't always quite as mature as he appears. He mocks and torments the demon Sebastian simply because he can and derives a twisted satisfaction from that, he's quickly to snap at people who irritate him and insults them without thought, he tries to shirk his work and lessons, and he is an absolute brat. He's rude and pushy and beyond a bare minimum level of interaction, he dislikes strangers and people in general. He's irritated by and uncomfortable with socialising because people get on his nerves easily, and also because his time as a slave has left him with some trauma. The trauma of his time as a slave has stuck with him fiercely, even if it doesn't always show on the surface; physical contact is something he despises from anyone but Sebastian, and sometimes he'll go so far as to slap or shove others away if they get too close, he reacts extremely badly whenever someone sees the slave mark on his back, and the only thing that can really scare or rattle him is if he re-experiences those memories for whatever reason. When he's riled up badly, his composure doesn't simply slip, it crumbles, and he's quite capable of going into a blind rage; when Elizabeth breaks his treasured ring, he's unbelievably furious and attempts to strike her, but Sebastian catches him and calms him down.
It also must be kept in mind that Ciel is still a child, even if he may be an exceptional one. He enjoys sweets and games and toys. He whines and complains and dislikes work, especially hard labour of any kind. He may not enjoy the company of many, but he prefers one presence to being completely alone. He's not unbreakable; nightmares have him wake up in a moment of sheer, blinded fear, and during the Jack the Ripper case, the gory sight of a corpse absolutely terrifies him despite that Sebastian attempts to shield Ciel from it as quickly as possible. In these moments, he desperately needs Sebastian, who holds him close and speaks calming words until Ciel is in his right mind again. He is also not heartless - he still shows concern for the well-being of others at times, particularly those close to him, and not for reasons purely pertaining to the protection of important "pawns". He jumps in front of Elizabeth without a second thought to protect her from a bear attack - and shockingly, for her, he's also capable of swallowing his pride and being kind for a short while to please her.
Sebastian is the closest person to Ciel, but he is an excellent example of Ciel's cold and manipulative nature; he is the most important person to Ciel, but also the person he cares for the least emotionally. Sebastian is the Queen piece to the King that represents Ciel - the most powerful and vital piece to him. He's extremely reliant on Sebastian and allows Sebastian closer to him than anyone else, not even complaining when the demon touches him, picks him up or holds him, but this is because he doesn't regard Sebastian as a person and therefore holds no worth to him in that regard. Sebastian is a tool, something less-than-human, and he is appropriately given the name that he holds - the name of Ciel's deceased dog. However, once again, Ciel is not inhuman; he looks to Sebastian as some sort of company, he's more playful and open with the demon than anyone else, and he has shown concern and a softer, even weaker, side to him on rare occasions. He does not trust Sebastian as a human trusts another, but he's unfailingly confident in the demon's abilities and devotion to its master; he trusts Sebastian because Sebastian literally cannot go against him. Only Sebastian is never allowed to betray him, or leave his side.
Other:
He makes a very convincing girl. ♥
First Person (entry type):
What do you consider to be the greatest insult? I'm not necessarily limiting it to verbal assault, it can be any form you please. A filthy word, or a physical act, or perhaps an action against you - betrayal and such.
I'll be entirely forthright here and admit that this isn't a matter of curiosity. No, I'm only asking you such a trivial question to avoid the paperwork on my desk, but please, don't let that stop you. Think of it as assisting me, albeit in shirking my duties. Isn't it nice to be helpful? I'm sure Sebastian will appreciate your efforts too.
Third Person:
Ciel's morning routines were generally monotonous; completely boring and repetitive. He was woken at an exact time by Sebastian, given his breakfast and tea, allowed himself to be dressed, and then he was run through the schedule for the day. Events didn't tend to hold his interest for long; a meeting with someone from an associate company, someone who had the gall to challenge the Phantomhive household, a discussion with someone connected to the underworld, someone associated with the Phantomhive family. Lessons, study, organising later events - he worked through them all mechanically and found little entertainment and no joy in them. It was only on the occasions where he turned over the letters he had received and found that particular seal there that he knew something worth his while was going to happen.
Or not, but he had little choice in the matter anyway. The Queen's "dog", they called him, and he supposed that it was a true enough title; all she had to do was raise a concern, and he would have to sniff it out and eradicate it for her. He had been handed the "collar" that was passed down through the Phantomhive family, and now he was leashed. A fact of life. Pre-dispositional.
Besides, being so immersed in the sinful underworld was the best chance he had of finding his revenge, so he didn't particularly care how that immersion was achieved or how far he had to sink. He would find the thin thread that would lead him to his goal, he would grab it, he would follow it and he would not let go. This was what he had chosen and it was a path that he would doggedly (ha, who were they to say he didn't have a sense of humour?) follow to the end alone.
... No, not alone, was it? A dog and his...
Ciel considers all of this one morning while Sebastian is picking his clothes out for him, watches the demon move around the room and sips at his tea; Sebastian feels eyes on him and stops, turning to look curiously at his young master. Ciel stares back for a long moment before his eyes flash wickedly and a smirk slowly twists his lips.
"Poor Sebastian," he says, and there is not the slightest trace of sympathy in his voice; it is cold and cruel and for some reason, he thinks, this feels like some sort of routine itself. An inside joke of sorts. "How does it feel to be the dog of a dog?"
Sebastian pauses, surprised for a split second, and then he smiles. His smile is not the same polite, humbled expression - appropriate for a butler, the perfect butler, a Phantomhive butler - that he gives to all others who see him; his eyes are half-lidded, gaze heavy, and even the grin itself is wicked. Sinful. He bows deeply before the child that rules over him.
"I'm honoured," he responds, and once again, there's that hint of something that is so very funny; a joke shared between the two of them that no other will ever know. "It's my pleasure, of course. I will always wear this collar that my young master has given me with pride."
Liar, he thinks, smirk widening, and there is a dangerous glow in Sebastian's eyes that matches the glint in his own when their gazes lock. Sebastian is his for now, yes, he will stay beside Ciel and protect him even beyond his own death, he will obey every order without question or hesitation, he is the most important, reliable, invaluable piece, he is a faithful dog to whatever Ciel may become, he is collared and leashed beneath Ciel - but there will be one day when his dog tugs back at its leash and opens its jaws wide to catch this master that holds its chain.
And Ciel will accept that day when it comes, because he will have completed his goal and he will never regret.
"Until the end," he hums thoughtfully and slants his gaze away, staring out the window instead.
Sebastian chuckles as he approaches, nods, he drops to one knee before Ciel and inclines his head in a bow; he would take Ciel's hand but both are occupied by tea and a scone respectively, so he places one hand over his heart and the other on his young master's knee. "Until the end," he agrees, and stands. He turns away and suddenly pauses, apparently considering something. "... However, I do wish the young master didn't insist on referring to both of us as dogs; I'm much more fond of cats."
He rolls his eyes, a silent I know, idiot. "Cat just doesn't have the same ring to it, don't you think? Come, Sebastian; clear this away and get me dressed, I'm in no mood to dawdle this morning."
"Yes, my lord."