face claim: ciel phantomhive, kuroshitsuji

Smooth, pale skin, a feminine frame, and long hair that curls at the tips--at first glance, anyone would assume he was a girl. This is completely intentional, and it is something that he does not get all huff-puff about. Forced to grow his hair out, his slate locks fall past his waist. He often puts them into rather long pigtails, not having much desire to do anything else with them in the morning. Really, all he has the motivation to do by himself in the morning is basic makeup and a quick brush through of his hair. Shiori stands at 5'3", not very tall for someone of his age. He tries to hide this by wearing shoes with heels, but this usually only adds an inch or two to his height. As for clothing, his mother only allowed him to take women's clothing on his journey. As such, he only has women's sweaters, shirts, dresses, pants, skirts, and shoes. He tries to dress up to the best of his ability for his mother's sake, though he has days where he will walk out in an oversized sweater, jeans, and old sneakers that he may or may not have packed without his mother knowing. Whoops.

The most interesting part of Shiori would probably be his eyes. He has heterochromia, and his right eye is purple while the other is blue. He hates having attention be drawn to his eyes, so he often wears an eye patch over his purple eye; however, this just makes people question the eye patch.

Growing up with a tear between education and the arts, Shiori has had quiet the mental strain put on him. With many fine tutors, his father had him taught everything from higher mathematics to science to history. He wanted him to grow up intelligent and well-educated, something that did happen. He enjoys learning, and his curiosity knows no boundaries. He would much rather settle down for the night with a good book than to waste the hours away staring at the ceiling. He naturally questions the world around him, something that gets him into trouble more often than not. He has yet to learn how to keep his mouth shut.

The artistic influences primarily involve his hobbies, something he usually only does on the side an when he believes himself to be alone. His mother forced tutors of the fine arts onto him, teaching him how to draw, act, and sing. He can play the piano and the viola, though any instrument beyond that never seemed to suit the young boy. Dancing was also something that not even the finest of tutors could teach him. He has two left feet, and he steps on the feet of anyone who tries to guide him through the steps. He would must rather people watch at a party, anyway.

His parents never gave him too much of a chance to be the person he wanted to be. His father aimed for success while his mother wanted a daughter to follow in his footsteps. Since she was never given a daughter, she raised Shiori as she would have a daughter, puberty talks he did not need and all. He was forced to sit up straight, bow in respect whenever someone passed, and to never burp at the table. His mother forced him to become a refined woman, something he never wanted to be, something he continued being regardless, even when she was not in the room.

This is not to say that he tries to act like a woman twenty-four-seven. Oh, no. There are times, when he believes himself to be all alone, that he will allow himself to revert into a sense of... Calm, if you will. He allows himself to relax, to let his shoulders slump. If it were up to him, he would be walking around in his boxers all day, every day. He can't keep up such an act forever, no matter how many acting lessons his mother forced upon him. Even he has his breaking point, and it usually comes with high levels of stress or anxiety. Speaking of which, Shiori has a history of suffering from panic attacks. After the first one, his parents took him to see a psychiatrist since his father only specialized in physical health, and they prescribed him pills to keep him calm. They even found out that he has Claustrophobia through another panic attack.

MIZUSHIMA, mizaki -- thirty-seven years old -- Shiori's mother comes from Ecruteak City, Johto, but she moved to Fuchsia City, Kanto, when she was only four. She is a nationally-known Geisha and performer who is known for having a voice as sweet as her personality. However, the personality that her fans know is completely different from the personality that her son knows. She originally wanted a daughter, but, instead, she got a son. Her relationship with Shiori is strained.

MIZUSHIMA, yuudai -- forty-five years old -- Shiori's father grew up in Fuchsia City to a very traditional family. They forced him to study medicine, and he became a local doctor. His marriage with Mizaki was arranged, and there seems to be a cold tension between the two whenever they are in the same room together. He and Shiori are quite close, though his father seems to be ashamed that his son is forced to live as though he is his daughter.

ITO, ichiro -- fifty years old -- The butler. He has served the Mizushima household since he was only in his teens, and he has watched over the growth of Shiori. He is more like both a mother and a father to Shiori, and he was almost always by his side while Shiori was in Fuchsia City. Shiori wanted to bring Ichiro along, but his mother refused to allow it.

When a man and a woman have an arranged marriage, not all is well. Marrying a stranger is bad enough, and it is worse when he happens to be eight years older than you. The marriage between young idol Mizaki and a certain Dr. Yuudai seemed picturesque to their family members and peers. Yet, behind closed doors, the couple barely spoke to each other. It was only after a year of their parents pestering for grandchildren that they actually did something together. You better give me a daughter, Mizaki said, yet not even the doctor could promise her that. So, instead, she received a baby boy, Shiori.

His childhood was not one to be envious of. Sure, he was born into a rich family, yet he was not allowed to act his age... He wasn't even allowed to act his gender. Whenever he wanted to play in the mud, his mother would throw a fit. She confined him indoors for days on end, forcing him to watch the other children play from the window of his room on the second floor. He was forced to play by himself while his parents were away with toys he never wanted. His mother forced him into itchy dresses whenever they had company, and she had even tricked his grandparents into believing that their grandson was their granddaughter. His only company was in his butler and his father, whenever the man could be home for something other than sleep.

His butler was the one who truly raised him. His parents often only focused on his future or his appearance. Each day, they kept him busy with the tutors that would come in and out of the house throughout the day. Downtime was spent bored in his room. The butler tried to make it up to him on various occasions, but even he couldn't change the minds of the boy's parents. As the years passed and Shiori grew, it seemed like he would never be able to leave the house. His mother threw large parties at the house every other week, so it wasn't like he couldn't socialize with anyone other than the butler and various maids. He did not like her parties, though. They were always filled with drunkards and giggling, gossiping women who pinched his cheeks. It was also at one of these parties that he suffered his first anxiety attack, and then another when his mother invited too many people over.

Shiori turned to technology as a release. He spent the free hours of the day online. There, he could be a teenage boy. No one could see him, no one could judge him. He turned to forums and online massively multiplayer games, and it was through that in which he made some actual friends. His parents never believed them to be actual friends, and his mother was rather blunt in saying that he was socializing with pedophiles and rapists. He chose to ignore her comments. While he was lost in his own little world, he failed to notice the growing tension between his mother and his father. A few months after turning seventeen, his parents announced their divorce. Then came the long, drawn out lawsuits over who would keep their child. His mother won in the end, and his custody was handed over to her.

He was told never to see his father again, but this was an order that Shiori was more than willing to break. After all, the court had ruled that he could see his father on Saturdays. Though, Shiori often sneaked out of the house and went to the hospital that his father worked at. He hated living with only his mother, who had turned to alcohol not long after the divorce. Thankfully, as soon as he turned eighteen, he was able to move out. If only his mother would have given him the money to buy new clothes...