Claire Stanfield

Felix Walken (フェリックス・ウォーケン Ferikkusu Wōken), also known as The Rail Tracer, introduced as Young Conductor, and born Claire Stanfield (クレア・スタンフィールド Kurea Sutanfīrudo) is the legendary freelance assassin Vino (葡萄酒 (ヴィーノ) Vīno), and considered one of the best in his profession.

This article will refer to him as Claire, the name by which he is most commonly known.

Appearance

Claire is a handsome young man with a lean build, blood-red hair, and red eyes. As a conductor on the Flying Pussyfoot, he wears a custom white uniform that later becomes coated in the blood of his victims. As a civilian, his signature outfit consists of a long black coat over a close-fitting black shirt and trousers.

When he disguises himself in 1932, he does so via a cheap set consisting of a hat, thick glasses, and a fake beard. He later reuses them in 1935 when visiting Firo's casino 'undercover', albeit wearing a black business suit rather than his normal attire.

Personality

Claire is a solipsist. He believes that the world is a dream of his own creation, and all the people are figments of his own imagination. He cannot picture the world without him in it, and so in his mind, he "can never be killed." If he does die, he will simply 'wake up' from his dream. His solipsism has led him to eschew the idea of immortality, as "it can do nothing for him." He considers himself the center of the world and takes pride in being such a cynosure.

That he may be dreaming the people in his world does not mean he does not care for them; like dreams, they can still be hurt or wronged, and leave his world upon their deaths. He is irate over Tony's murder, pursues Keith Gandor's kidnapper with a killer's intent, and is similarly more than displeased when a murder attempt is made on Luck Gandor.

As the President of the Daily Days puts it, Claire operates outside the law through his own warped sense of justice. Claire is considerate of those he deems innocent, going out of his way to ensure the safety of people who are not his targets and/or pose no danger. Co-morbid with his sense of justice is a sense of pride and duty; he takes seriously the responsibilities of the jobs he takes on, even for jobs which he dislikes or poses personal problems. Occasionally, he can go overboard with his professional zeal; for instance, when he encounters a stowaway on board the train he briefly considers confronting her despite being in the middle of a bloodbath.

Claire immensely dislikes it when people attribute his skill to God or natural talent. He emphasizes that he worked extremely hard to improve himself, and he wishes people would acknowledge the effort he put in rather than dismissively calling him a prodigy. Such pride sometimes leads to bragging on his part, and on at least occasion sincerely asking others to praise him for his skill—and on another, to mock the weakness of those he defeated However, he does not believe that there is inherent pride in being a hitman, for society looks down on killers and places no trust in such social outcasts.

His pride and confidence in his abilities make him rather self-absorbed, which in itself has made Claire somewhat insensitive and socially oblivious—lacking any "common sense" when it comes to "other people's hearts." Prone to making tactless remarks on top on already lacking any particular eloquence, he has additionally failed to pick up on sarcasm at least once and in matters of love can be a tad awkward. It is rare for him to apologize, especially at the request of someone else, but when he does his apologies are usually sincere.

The same can be said for when he praises others; in both instances, the other party has often earned his respect, and just as he is also honest in his criticism of others, he is honest in his praise and any accompanying enthusiasm or begrudging attitude. The value that he places in hard work and effort leads him to recognize and appreciate it even in those he might disdain as weak. He openly acknowledges the strength that he admires—going so far as to call Firo a "genius" in 1927. This natural sincerity can both endear him to or aggravate others; due to how straightforward he is as a person, his sincerity (whether in his beliefs, feelings, intentions good or bad) is difficult to miss or dismiss. When he proposes marriage to Chané and promises to protect her father, it is his unmistakable sincerity in his intentions that gives Chané no choice but to believe he is serious. On the other hand, while Claire protects Melvi Dormentaire for Huey's benefit and out of a sense of duty toward his job, he does not bother to hide his contempt for Melvi nor that he plans on making Melvi pay once the job is done.

Claire has retained a sense of showmanship from his circus days, on one occasion sticking his landing with a performer's flourish, and on another catching and juggling knives thrown at him with malicious intent. During the Daily Days' raid of 1932 and the events leading up to it, he was especially fond of quoting the movie one-liner "You ain't seen nothing yet!" for dramatic flair.

Gallery