Demons of the Past: A role-play based on AU Black Butler.

[RogueLady]

My mother always used to tell me that when our family lived in England, we were nobility. Not like, a king or a Duke or anything super impressive, but definitely nobility. We had an Earl in our family, or a Baron or something. And then she would show me the rings.

They were very pretty rings; one was wrought in gold with a crest on it. Mother said it was something called a signet ring and used to stamp wax seals, acting like a signature when a letter was sealed. Plus, you'd know who sent it just by looking at the wax.

The other was beautiful, and probably worth a lot of money. Made of silver that never seemed to tarnish, it housed an emerald-cut sapphire of the deepest blue I'd ever seen. Sometimes she would let me try them on and I would go around calling myself 'M'lord' and bowing to my mother, asking if she'd 'care to daaaahnce'. Oh, and I'd use the worst English accent I could... because our family was English, you see.

Well, it made sense in my head!

I'd tried to trace our family tree, but I was never able to find much information on them. Mum said it's because we changed our name when we emigrated and all the old records with the old name had been destroyed. Now we were known as the Fantom's. And we weren't nobility anymore. I went to a public high school, for God's sake.

In fact, in anything, my life was painfully normal. School, homework. More school. More homework. Bullies. Chess club. Bullies. The normal, you know? Having an ancestor that was an Earl certainly wasn't helping me survive tenth grade.

Every day was like the one before (but I wasn't in a poor, provincial town).

Until one day, it wasn't...

I had just got off the bus and was on my way down my driveway when the front door flew open and my mother, looking as though the devil was on her tail, came flying out to meet me. She pressed a velvet box in my hand; the box that the rings were kept in, and told me to run.

"Mum! What's going on!? What's happ--"

"Run!" She practically screamed at me, pushing me back down the driveway just as two other men emerged from the house. I couldn't see their faces, but they had guns.

Guns!? They had guns!

"GO!" She screamed again and I didn't know what to do. I took off running, but I was no track star. I pumped my legs as hard as I could but as two shots split the air behind me, my mother screamed again, and then fell silent.  I stumbled and fell shoulder-first in shock. Hitting the ground hard, I had the breath knocked out of me, but I didn't have time to try and recover. I had to scramble to my feet again keep running, I had to keep running because I heard the clatter of feet behind me, of people shouting, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Probably telling me to stop, but I couldn't stop. They *shot* my mother!

What the actual fuck was going on!?

Still running as fast as I could, I jumped a fence, ducked into an empty backyard and pressed myself back under a large flowering bush. I kept raking my hands through my thick, black hair, rocking back and forth and trying my best not to hyperventilate.
Help! Oh, someone ... anyone! I need someone's help, please!"

I could hear the two voices; they sounded like they were still in the street, but getting closer with every second. If they each picked a side, and flanked around the house, I'd be screwed. There'd be no one for me to run.

My breathing was faster now, I was wheezing I was breathing so hard. "Please, please, please, I need help. I don't care who, please, just help me!" I could hear the desperation in my voice voice, thick with tears that I was trying to hold back...

And then... then the air becomes strangely quiet. I can hear the voices of the two men, but they sound far away, like they're talking through water. When I look through the branches of the bush, it's as though the sky has gone dark, shadowy, like dusk. But it's barely four PM.

Cutting through the quiet is the click of heels on the concrete patio stones. I can't see a face, only two legs that seem to stretch up forever

"You have summoned me here. I heard the desperation," a voice from above me speaks smoothly and coolly. He speaks as though he finds my terror delicious, "and it drew me to you. That can never be changed."

I press a hand against my chest in an effort to calm the galloping of my heart, but my heart just races faster. I'm cold; it's like the temperature has dropped by at least ten degrees. "Who are you!?"

"I'm the one who will help you. But know that what is sacrificed can never be regained." That sibilant voice pauses. There's a note of predatory anticipation in his words. Like a carrion bird waiting to feast on the dead.

What is going on!? Am I in a dream? Or, maybe, a nightmare? I can't tell. But there's a man... or something... standing there, wanting to help me!

"Choose!" The voice hisses impatiently.

The sounds of the two men are growing closer. They sound much nearer than they were even a few seconds ago. "I-I... "

"Choose!"

"...Help me, please! I choose to accept your help!" I don't know who this man is. I don't know why he's here, but he IS here. I need him.

I hear him chuckle as though something amuses him and a white hand appears in the bush, outstretched as though he's waiting for me to take it. I lean forward to extend my hand but those long, slender fingers curl around my neck instead.

And then: pain. Searing hot and searing cold at the same time. I try to scream but I can't make the noise and then, as soon as it happens, it's over. I fall back, gasping, tears welling and then dripping down my face.

"What do you require me to do? What do you... command?" The voice is back to being chilly and formal, almost blasé except for an undercurrent of anticipation.

"Command? I command you to kill those men! The two of them; kill them!"* I manage to choke the words out as my shaking hands touch the spot just above the hollow of my throat, where the pain seemed to absolutely infuse my flesh.

"As you wish..."

Just like that, it was as though light and color and *sound* flooded back into the world. The voices of the two men were close; they were nearly in the back yard now. I had no idea what was going to happen so I pressed myself back against the wall, drawing my knees to my chest and covering my ears. Even so, I couldn't drown out the the wailing shrieks of the two men, followed by two boneless thumps on the ground.

Still thinking this was a nightmare, I slowly pulled myself out of the bush to see who *exactly* my mysterious saviour was....

This prompt is, obviously inspired by Black Butler. Think of this as an modern AU thing with an original character who is a descendant of the Phantomhive family.

How?

Don't think too hard about it. It's an Alternate Universe ;)

So my character is now on the run and needs protection. On the run from who, you ask? Haven't decided that yet. Maybe they're... oh, I don't know... cultists? They need a teen of Phantomhive blood to take back to England for nefarious purposes? Regardless, they killed my character's mother (father died a long time ago. Suspicious, you ask? Oh, quite possibly. Those cultists playin' the long con!) and now my character seeks both vengeance and answers.

Oh, and I'm not married to the cultist thing. If you have any ideas, definitely let me know!

But he's quite in over his head and needs help. That's where the demon comes in. You. You're the demon. If you *want* to be Sebastian, awesome! If not, and you have an original demon, also awesome! Look however you like, not picky there.

I'm looking for story with this RP, with maybe a little romance. I'd also like your demon to be the slightly more aggressive of the two, though he still can't disobey a direct order, he finds loopholes and ways to skirt around things that *aren't* commands.

Whew ... what else. I should probably stop writing before I too much, but I think that ship may have sailed...

Anyway, I hope this strikes someone's fancy!

[MicrowavePizza]

Hi! I'm interested in playing the part of the demon. I just now started on the anime and I read the manga a bit, though I never got to finish it. Most of my info on Black Butler comes from the manga. My memory is a little hazy about it but I like the idea of playing the part of the demon if you're willing to be patient with me. I can easily refresh my memory with wiki or something, just know I don't know everything there is to Black butler.

I would prefer not to be Sebastian but to make my own character. That being said, if we are to do some romance, what gender should my character be? To be honest, I kind of want their gender to be ambiguous because what does a demon need for gender? So they'll probably look neutral looking. I'm kind of digging Sebastian's black hair too.

What do you think?

[RogueLady]

Hi! Glad to see this caught your interest! I haven't really read any of the manga, and only season 1, but I've watched a bunch of clips from season 2 (though I know it's super non-canon) and also from Book of Circus -- but otherwise google is my friend and since this is AU, we don't have to stick so close to the main story anyway :)

You can absolutely make your own character, I'd really like that actually. An ambiguous gender is also totally fine, because like you said, a demon probably wouldn't give a thought to gender. I couldn't see it mattering too much to them.

Gotta agree about digging Sebastian's dark hair, though :D

[MicrowavePizza]

The manga is wonderful, the anime doesn't do it justice at all. If you ever get the chance to read it, I would absolutely recommend. Though I was only able to because of the library.



I would also like to mention that right now is Saturday on my end in the US. I work weekends, my off days are during the week so I'll have more time to respond during the week. I just don't want to leave you hanging.



So how old would 10th grade be, 16 I think?



I'll start working on it now and submit a basic character sheet.



I'm really drawing inspiration from a character in another show. Her name is Maze and she's from a show called Lucifer. She's basically everything you described you wanted like the demon being assertive, trying to get around her master's wishes but not technically breaking them. She's a bad ass too. Though just drawing inspiration, I'll tell you what I come up with after the weekend. Unless i find time on my lunch break or tomorrow morning

[MicrowavePizza]

Sorry for the typos, typing on mobile and I copy pasted it. I usually type on laptop and didnt't expect it to mess up. Im very new lol

[RogueLady]

Oh, no worries about typos! I know that pain all too well lol. I've heard of Lucifer but I haven't watched it yet. I'm always so hesitant to start new shows, even if I think I might like them. Instead, I just watch the same things over and over. But I'll check out some clips on youtube to get an idea of her character :D

Yep, 10th grade would be about sixteen. So old enough to function in the world, still young enough to be desperately frightened after his mother is murdered in front of him and he has no idea where to run or who to turn to, especially since there are really no other relatives that could help him out. His dad died years earlier and there are no grandparents or aunts or uncles or anything like that, so really, all he has to depend on is the demon.

[MicrowavePizza]

I'm the same way so it's fine. I think half the shows I have watched is just because my mom had control of the TV and I didn't have anything better to do. She loves the show Lucifer XD This is a good representation of Maze. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd45_GYjjn0

So what does descendant Fantom look like? First name? Oooo I have an idea. Fantom-sama should go to a private school like in the manga. Ciel looked adorable in a school uniform.

I haven't come up with a name yet but basically they have black neck length hair with a layer at the chin. Their hair isn't straight or wavy but both layers are styled to curve outwards. I'll have to draw the hair for you. Their hair is sometimes pulled into a low pony-tail or bun depending on the task at hand. Usually they wear button-up shirts, suspenders, a vest, slacks, and a tie. I'm leaving color out of their clothes because each day they'll probably wear a different themed color like a nice navy blue, pinstriped shirt or vest with a plain dress shirt. Idk, pinstripes always seemed very eye-pleasing to me. They'll probably wear a lot of them in blue, red, purple.... All dark velvety colors of course. Kind of imagine prohibition 1920's mobster style clothing. Like the Great Gatsby or the newest JK Rowling movie. Fantastic Creatures wasn't it? Both of their settings are in America in the 1920s era.

Their face shape is similar to Sebastian but a little bit more rounded. Sebastian's face is somewhat feminine to begin with because his cheeks are filled out more than other anime guys I've seen.  Their face looks rather timeless, like you can't really discern how old they might be. Their eyes are a striking silver. Their figure is very androgynous, their chest is flat, but their hips are too wide to be a man's yet too narrow for a woman because they aren't in line with the shoulders. I'll have to draw them for you, I can see them in my head with their hands in their pockets, their smile devilish.

That's all I have planned so far for my character.

[RogueLady]

Just to let you know, I sent a PM :)