General:

Name: Grell Sutcliffe

Age: Estimated to be over 250, physically appears 24-26.

Canon: Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) by Yana Toboso, manga, canon point - chapter 65

Status: Officer in the Grim Reaper hierarchy

Mundane: Mira

Original application for Queen of Hearts 

History:

London, late 1888: The time of the London social season, beloved by all who attend it. It is also the time of Jack the Ripper, the notorious serial killer who was never found. The time that Grell Sutcliffe came to the human world to bestow havoc on England.

Grell was one of the Grim Reapers, or "gods of death". Her job was merely to transport souls to the realm of the dead and judge whether or not people on her list would be left living or not. But that all changed one night. While going to collect a soul, she witnessed why the person was on her list in the first place: a beautiful red-haired woman was viciously stabbing a prostitute to death and cutting out her uterus. The blood from the murder was all over the human woman, on her hair, clothes and face. The red, being Grell’s favorite color, attracted her, and she carefully listened to the woman’s rage and understood why she did that. The prostitute had been the woman's patient for an abortion, and the woman was twisted with jealousy, wanting to be able to have a child like any other woman. Unfortunately, she couldn't, as she had been in an accident and her uterus had been removed. Watching the prostitutes casually abort their babies had infuriated her, and she couldn't stand it. Grell felt the same longing for a child that could never be, in her own case limited by her physical gender; she sympathized with the woman. She revealed herself to the human, complimented her on a job well done, and offered to help her complete her vengeance.

The woman, whose name was Angelina Barnett (but more popularly known as Madame Red) accepted the offer, and Grell became Madame Red’s butler as her cover. Dying her hair dark, changing her glasses and acting for all intents and purposes male, she was able to create the illusion of a mild-mannered, somewhat incompetent man with no hints to her true identity. She assisted Angelina in her murders, creating alibis for her and breaking the laws of the Reapers to kill the ones they wanted dead. During this time, the murders were attributed to "Jack the Ripper". Then Angelina's nephew Ciel Phantomhive showed up, along with his butler Sebastian. Ciel was ordered by the Queen to solve the Jack murders, and Sebastian was going to help him. For Grell, it was an instant attraction when she saw Sebastian. Though she couldn't reveal her feelings without breaking the disguise, she harboured a secret crush on him.

At a party they all attended, Grell was sent out to go kill another woman. She did so, knowing Ciel's suspicions lay on a certain human, making it easier for her to kill without fear of being caught. After that, there was one more woman left on Madame Red's list. Grell went to go kill the target, but she was surprised on her way out by the appearance of Ciel and Sebastian. They were holding stakeout outside the woman's home, and caught her as he left. She tried to deny it - while still in her role as the incompetent male butler - but it was futile. Abandoning care, she revealed herself as the Reaper she was, admitting she'd been captivated by Madame Red and that was the reason why she helped her. The Madame herself appeared at that moment, intending to take down Ciel. Grell went to take down Sebastian, who quickly stopped her reaper scythe (which was actually illegally modified into a form like a chainsaw). Ciel ordered Sebastian to capture Grell and Madame Red, but Grell distracted Sebastian from attacking by flirting with Sebastian and making dramatic declarations. Angelina, on the other hand, was just about to kill Ciel when she hesitated, seeing her sister in his face. Grell was set off by watching Angelina falter after killing so many, and easily killed Angelina, expressing her disappointment in Angelina's actions and taking the red coat off her back to wear herself, as the Madame was “no longer fit to wear red.” Grell began to walk away, but Sebastian came after her on Ciel's orders.

They began to fight, with Grell adding some sort of poetic phrase every now and then. Sebastian was extremely put off by Grell's lines, and continued to aim to kill. Grell was genuinely having fun while fighting, dramatizing the combat as similar to the story of Romeo and Juliet. Sebastian being a demon and Grell a reaper, the comparison fit, except that Sebastian wanted no part of her fantasy. She ended up cutting Sebastian, and wanted to view his memories through the power of Cinematic Record. She was greatly disappointed when she realized that nothing interesting - in her opinion - was appearing, given the fact that Sebastian had been at Phantomhive Manor for the past year. During her distraction, Sebastian somehow recovered and jammed Grell's chainsaw with his coat. Taking advantage of the situation, Sebastian came up to Grell, who was now defenceless, and beat her up severely. After that, he got the coat out of the chainsaw and was about to use it to kill Grell, when someone appeared and stopped him. That person was William T. Spears, a fellow reaper, and Grell's superior officer sent to collect her and take her back to the reapers to be punished for her crimes: killing people not meant to be killed yet and using her illegally modified scythe.

Updated changes: 

After the Jack the Ripper incident, Grell is placed on suspension from the field until the Campania case, during which she returns with Ronald Knox to reap the souls of the over 1034 on board and investigate the reports of the undead on the ship. She doesn't seem to take it too seriously, until she tells Ronald that "soul reaping is the most important part of a reaper's job", and then steps up her pace. They fight against the undead, though she remarks that a soulless corpse moving on its own is "impossible in the world I know". The reapers run across Sebastian, Ciel, and Elizabeth in their work, and Grell instantly starts a new fight (she uses the term "death match") with him, ignoring the undead in favour of going after the demon. When a new flood of undead appeared and was subsequently dispatched by Elizabeth, Grell found herself just about to face Elizabeth's blade, but Sebastian intervened before the fight could begin. Shrugging the incident off, she was about to resume the fight when Ciel interjected and pointed out that one Andrew Ryan was believed to be controlling the corpses. Grell and Ronald decided to then abandon the fight in favor of finding Ryan.

They caught up to him easily, and the fearful man admitted that in his room there was a device to make the "salvation"-Ryan's word for those brought back from the dead-fail, though when they arrived there, the device had disappeared. It ended up that the device was now in the hands of the Viscount Druitt, who had once again appeared on the scene. Druitt proclaimed that he would use the device to create a new empire of corruption and decadence by passing the "salvation" off as his own creation and thereby winning the hearts of the people. Grell cared not and was about to strike out at him until Druitt threatened to destroy the device should anyone attempt to hurt him.

A new, extremely large wave of the corpses made their debut, and Druitt's continuous refusal to activate the device sent everyone's murderous intent through the roof. They managed to barely contain it as they did a ridiculous pose to satisfy Druitt, who then proudly pressed the button that was meant to stop the undead. Yet, it didn't work, and Ryan began berating Druitt for the machine's failure. Grell grew sick of the exchange and leapt down to finish her intended attack, only to be thwarted by the Undertaker. Undertaker, who previously in the series had been assisting Ciel and Sebastian in solving cases for the Queen, stopped her death scythe with a mysterious sort of pole, and in a single sentence revealed he also knew of her true nature as a reaper. Catching Grell off guard, he attacked her and sent her flying into the glass ceiling of the room.

With a simple pushing back of his bangs, it was revealed that he was also a reaper-or rather, used to be one, as he commented that "it's been half a century since someone last called me that." Ryan launched into a fit at Undertaker, and through his words also brought forth the truth-that Undertaker was responsible for the moving corpses, and had done so by manipulating the deceased's Cinematic Records in such a way that the bodies were alive, in a form he called "Bizarre Dolls". The Dolls were on-board the ship as a test of how well they could be weaponized against the living.

Grell and Ronald, meanwhile, had been stewing over how a reaper could dare interfere in the course of life and death like that, though with Ronald's observation about how Undertaker lacked glasses, the possibility was raised that he was a deserter from the reaper ranks. Grell had her own personal vendetta to further her anger-when she had been thrown into the ceiling, her face had been cut. Her dual reasoning set, both she and Ronald rushed at Undertaker, intending to take him back to their superiors. However, Sebastian threw himself into the middle of the fight, stating that he and Ciel also had a duty to capture Undertaker, and despite Grell's objection that "outsiders" should stay out of it, he would be attempting to take the former reaper into custody. The parting shots were given, and all four launched into combat.

Undertaker proved himself a tough opponent, and with time running out, both reapers rushed at him-only to have both their death scythes blocked as Grell's had been earlier. The reason soon became clear-a death scythe can cut everything that is not another scythe. With a single slash, Undertaker sent them flying, pride and bodies wounded. He declared that he would now hunt the others, and began to destroy the support columns of the room. Sebastian still continued to fight, but Undertaker saw an opening and took Ciel hostage. Playing on Sebastian's devotion to the boy, he waited until the butler was close enough before flinging Ciel away and cutting the now vulnerable Sebastian open with his death scythe. Like the others before him, he was curious as to why a demon would be a butler, and had taken the chance to view Sebastian's Record.

Sebastian's past two years as a butler were revealed, from his initial meeting with Ciel to his learning how to serve the young Earl and care for him while swearing to deliver him victory. The Record caught up to present day, the demon fell, and yet he still lived. All returned to reality just in time for the ship to start tilting greatly, on the verge of sinking below. Grell was still firm in her desire to capture Undertaker-now even more so with their lack of time, but briefly apologized to Sebastian for it. He tried to argue, but Ronald stepped forward and claimed he'd handle the "weakened" demon.

Grell, meanwhile, was locked in battle with Undertaker, who finally recognized her from the Jack the Ripper cases as Madame Red's butler. He questioned if she didn't also meddle in people's lives, but she was quickly dismissive, saying "no one likes nosy guys". Declaring she wasn't going to leave just because there was a time limit, she leaped forward to attack-and promptly had a flying Ronald collide with her, sending the both of them off to the side. The young reaper's arrogance and lack of experience had been all too easy for Sebastian to exploit. But before anyone could properly react, the ship began actually sinking, and Undertaker set off to take his leave. With Grell and Sebastian still functional and still driven by their duty, they attacked him simultaneously, though he still dodged their attack. Bidding farewell to Ciel, Undertaker swung his scythe once more, expressing a wish to meet him again. The boat cracked in half, and when the debris and water cleared, it was shown that both reapers survived, being pulled up by the returning William, who ordered the both of them to get back to collecting so they could write a report about the incident later.

Personality:

A first glance of Grell shows a sociable person. She'll easily welcome people into conversation, has no difficulty voicing her opinions, and loves asking questions, especially about others and their views. Grell seems truly interested in what people have to say, especially if it's controversial. Then she adores nothing more then basking in the drama that results, watching emotions in turmoil as one would watch a great movie. Drama in general is a concept she understands well; her clothing, actions, and words calculated to boldly state what's on her mind without giving a second thought to whether it's politically correct. Give her the chance, though, and she'll substitute a literary figure's words for her own.

Fitting with her love of classic literature, Grell tries to be a lady, swearing only in extreme cases, remembering her manners, and the like. She carries herself with grace, takes her responsibilities seriously, and loves traditionally feminine things like flowers, dresses, makeup, etc. Really, she's a girly girl who's not so much a girl as a woman who has seen much but decided to take only the pieces of wisdom she liked from it. One of the things she's near obsessed with is her concept of the beautiful. It could be a simple as a rose blooming, as complex as the mind of a philosopher. She wants to lead a life that is as beautiful as possible...but it's not just the sweet that fits her aesthetic, the macabre and violent hold just as much, if not more appeal, being more theatrical and more likely to invoke higher amounts of emotion.

Grell is very mentally unstable, with moods that change for inexplicable reasons and a penchant for death and blood. With the prostitutes, she saw nothing wrong in brutally slaying them, in fact she loved "making them over" with their blood in murders that seasoned investigators call "abnormal". In the same breath she professes her attraction to Sebastian and her desire to kill him in the bloodiest way possible. Violence isn't the last resort for her, it's the first, with sadomasochistic undertones. She fights for the sake of seeing blood fall, and truthfully she's happiest while murdering. Grell will deliberately go into dangerous situations or provoke them when none exist if she has a good opportunity to do so, but when needed to present a calm picture of sanity, she can restrain the urges enough that killing smaller things or causing some form of destruction holds her off. In game, of course, she’ll likely get into trouble from this.

Being a sort-of immortal, she will be reckless and disregard advice for the sake of alleviating her boredom in a way that pleases her; a perfect scenario would involve copious amounts of drama, energy, and emotion, and all conclude with a death. She'll do a lot simply because it interests her, but she likes best to find a person that takes her complete fascination, and become their friend, even after the initial curiosity is satisfied. Those who get closer to her will find she is a very empathetic person; thinking with her heart instead of her head has given her enough experience to relate to nearly all emotions and try to offer assistance as best she can to the person. Her trust is hard to gain fully, but if you have it, she will prove herself quite loyal and fiercely defend any who speak against her friends until death.

She isn't a liar, per se, but neither is she an honest person. Grell has declared she is an actress, and that's a fair way to describe how she presents herself. Deception, manipulation, veiling the truth, all come naturally, and she tends to be subtle enough in misleading people so that she can pass it off as not her fault. When she truly wishes to act, like making herself Madame Red's butler, she can envelop herself so completely in the role that she could seem an entirely different being than what she is, perhaps making slight faults but overall carrying it off extremely well.

Even with this confidence and energy she throws into her life, Grell doesn't have high self esteem, and is normally expecting rejection and denial. She feels that she is the victim of a mistake by God, her entire life spent wishing that she was a physical woman while having to act as a male. Grell will call herself a woman and use female pronouns such as saying she’s an actress, but it still isn’t easy to reconcile her feelings on herself and the views she gets from society. She still knows she is a woman even while others call her a man or worse to her face. Constantly having to shield herself from these repeated emotional blows, she doesn't expect many, if any, people to understand and accept her for what she is. In fact, it took her a long time to accept herself, being very influenced by those around her that she was some sort of deviant. But as her feelings have stayed, and she knows of historical situations similar to hers, such as the case of the Chevalier d’Eon and the writings of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, she finds the strength to still call herself Miss Sutcliffe and know it to be true.

One of her deepest wishes is to have a child of her own-not by being a father as she technically could do, but to actually bear a child and nurture it as a mother. She understands that it’s physically impossible for her, but it doesn’t stop her from longing and dreaming that she could, one day, be able to give life instead of just taking it. The other great wish of her life is to have a sex change; she says she wants it the most of anything she could do.

[Notes: On the Chevalier-specifically how she lived half of her life as a woman after living half her life as a man and was even recognized as a woman by the King. She was known as such beginning in 1777. On Karl Heinrich Ulrichs-specifically the idea of anima muliebris virili corpore inclusa (female psyche in a male body). That was in 1862. Grell is taken from August 1888, so she could have found these stories and read them.] 

Gender:

Grell in Queen of Hearts is being played as transgender MTF. This is related to this interview from the Kuroshitsuji character book in which Grell calls herself a lady and explicitly states she desires a sex change. That information combined with her calling herself an actress, a lady, and such in the chapters led to the decision to play Grell as such. The term "transgender" is used to refer to this in OOC, as transgender is a broader term that accurately explains what is trying to be conveyed with her. Given that she is such in a historical context, not modern, she is sensitive about this subject, afraid of such things as judgement, having people attempt to "cure" her, social ostracization, and even death for her way of life.  

Related to this, Grell does many things to present a female appearance. Some of them are as follows:
--Raising her voice to that of a lower-voiced woman/androgynous.
--Wearing long sleeves, gloves, or both to conceal her wrists.
--Wearing clothing that softens her body lines and accentuates what curves she does have. She prefers skirts and dresses, but will wear tailored pants occasionally.
--Preferring shirts that don't draw attention to the shoulders.
--Normally wearing higher collars to hide her throat.
--Careful in how she walks to be more graceful and fluid than she is naturally.
--Wearing makeup to soften her facial structure and jawline.

As of June 2011, Grell has begun hormone therapy in the Gardens.

As of September 2011, due to Zenobia's wish from the phantom event, Grell has gained a female body.

Abilities:

Physically, Grell has high speed and strength due to being a reaper, very good reflexes, and excellent endurance. She's capable of holding her own in a fight; as long as her glasses stay on and she has enough room to move, she won't give up.

Her main power is her scythe, a weapon that she claims can cut anything. Though the validity of that is unknown, the scythe has been shown to tear up stone and solid metal (with effort) as well as bodies. The scythe comes with an additional ability called the Cinematic Record, a power which can only be used by the reapers to judge souls. If someone is cut with the scythe, their memories will play out like on a film reel. This means that Grell and any other people around are all able to see it. The specific memories witnessed are related to the degree of injury; the worse damage, the farther back it can go. Likewise, if the cut is very shallow and non-life-threatening, then less than a year’s worth of memories are all that appear. Because this is circumstantial, if this ability comes up in play, each player will be consulted on a case-by-case basis.  

Timeline:

December 2010:

- Arrival

-Beaumont is created

-The mistletoe event takes place

-Angelina Barnett/Madame Red arrives, Grell resumes her post as butler

-The snowing in event takes place, Grell is matched with Kouya

-Ciel Phantomhive arrives, Grell arranges a truce - if she does not inflict harm upon any members of the Gardens, Ciel will remain silent about her past.

January 2011

-Grell arranges a meeting between some of the women to pool their information

-The monsters event takes place- rescued by Sora

February

-The flowers event takes place - Grell takes care of hers and fights murderplants with Souji

March

-Has nation conversation and future shock with Canada

-Takes an interest in Dahlia Hawthorne after anonymous conversation - realises information can be kept anonymous

-Gruesome appreciation and an odd sort of relationship began with Dot

-The Labyrinth event happens - tries and fails to find the Queen

-Dreamwalking with Fela Luisa Delmas

April

-Ciel leaves Beaumont - confrontation that leaves Grell emotionally broken

-Anonymous advice sought on blackmail

-Murders Ciel under the guise of "Victoria" - ends up in the Labyrinth as punishment

May

-Opens Beaumont to other residents - Dot, Zenobia, Loly, and Sweden accept

-Returns home for what feels like months - canon updated to 57

June

-The phantoms event takes place - Grell sees a female version of William T. Spears

-Offers to become Zenobia's lover - relationship begins

-Assists in searching for the source of the phantoms - gains one wish from the Incarnae

-Sebastienne Michaelis arrives - classy snark ensues

July

-Second dreamwalking with Fela

-Attends the party in the Viridian Pavilion - dances with Zenobia, Dot, Prussia, Sephiroth and takes an interest in Momoko, Johanna Cabal, and Kuja

August

-The dream event takes place - takes an interest in Jessica Boyette, Gal Cecil, Gabrielle Monsigny, and then views Kuja as Lady Death

-Pulls up flowers and meets Laura Ambrose - adopts her in her heart

September

-Writes anonymous gossip post for the Gardens - decides this is going to be a monthly thing based on the reactions she got

-Zenobia wishes for her to have a female body - alliance firmly settled with the Gardens and loyalty to Zenobia

October

-Second post up, ends up teasing/annoying a lot of people and nearly daring Sanae Kochiya to find her, chooses the pseudonym of "Beatrix"

-Has awkward/not awkward cooking incident, depending on how you look at it.

-Speaks anonymously with Kuja about the role of an agent of death

-Hollow event-goes fighting with Gavril, helps out Nanako, and at the conclusion gains the information that the Healer knows about the subversion of death in the Gardens

-Casual conversation with Beatrice

November

-Third post, ends up deciding "creep" is a nice new nickname

-Zenobia departs the Gardens, leaving Grell distraught-Beamount is nearly levelled, she meets Black Jack after breaking her hand, and speaks with Gavril, Jessica Boyette, and Ukraine on love.