Agere Ciel

I forgot how to color🥴

Forget-me-not

i love love love how much sebaciel fandom is SO dedicated to go on a deep dive on them !!

This is quite a subjective opinion; but I am endlessly fascinated by how the romanticization (or sentimentalization) of Sebastian and Ciel’s relationship is such a big, important part of Kuroshitsuji—partly due to Sebastian’s own nature as a demon, but also due to Ciel’s character himself.

Sebastian is evil, and he is meant to lure people into damnation. He is the embodiment of a poisonous yet appealing temptation. He speaks sweet, gentle words. He is undeniably physically attractive, and generally, people find him charming. I can go on forever, but you get the gist; all of him is designed to slowly attract and lull people into complacency with him—into not seeing the predatory nature that lurks beneath that gorgeous skin.

This powerful creature, who can kill people with his bare hands, prefers to use sweet promises over threats—finding physical torture less effective than honey; so confident in his ability to understand human desires and tempt any person into the route he designs for them. He presents people with two choices; one of which seems infinitely more attractive than the other—but would certainly lead them to damnation. And it delights him very much when they inevitably chooses the sweeter option. It seems to be essential to the demonic contract that the contractor gets to choose (even if the choice was most likely—almost always—highly uninformed).

Now; if the contractor was an unassuming human who was tempted or fooled by the demon, or if the contractor was someone who’d kill and sacrifice another person on purpose, maybe we would say, “Well, he did that to himself.” Or even, “He deserved that.” But not only did Ciel manage to summon Sebastian by happenstance; he—arguably—did not have much choices other than to agree to the contract; it was either the contract or death at the hands of the cultists.

His consent was highly dubious (not that Sebastian ever cares); he was in a state of emotional distress—unfit to be making choices that would define the rest of his life—not to mention his youth, his vulnerability, and the glaring power imbalance with the predatory adults and demon surrounding him. From that moment on, his soul is forfeit; no matter how many times Ciel states that he is firm on his revenge and that he is doing this for himself—you can always argue that he is only saying this because the choice is either this or death.

Still, instead of highlighting the dubious nature of this agreement, the author shows that despite his young age, he is perceptive enough to read through Sebastian’s lies and see Sebastian’s true nature for what it is, and still “chooses” to have the contract. The author repeatedly, over and over, shows Ciel “choosing” this road for himself, Ciel saying that he has no need for the past and will not look back—and the whole time that Ciel charges unwaveringly into the darkness, Sebastian looks at him and smiles meaningfully.

Since we have no idea what “souls” present in Kuroshitsuji; the concept of what Ciel is actually paying with in order to get his revenge is exceedingly vague—it’s difficult to feel loss over something with an unknown value. This is exacerbated by Ciel’s easy acceptance of his own fate, and the practical logic on how it’s simply fair to pay a servant for his services.

Sebastian, for his part; always revels and delights in how Ciel chooses him. He basks in it, and gloats about it; the dubious nature of Ciel’s agreement forgotten, or frankly does not even seem to compute in Sebastian’s mind. What’s important is that Ciel made a choice; and that choice was Sebastian. We know that Sebastian will eventually kill Ciel, but we may contend that Sebastian is good for him. Sebastian saved Ciel and Ciel consented to having Sebastian. Sebastian gave Ciel the autonomy and independence and protection he desperately needed. And this does not come out of nowhere; as the author too, seems to deliberately romanticize/sentimentalize their relationship—the readers are simply picking up on the context cues.

They are certainly predator and prey; but people may love their appeal as a pair of lovers, like Bonnie and Clyde; or as found family along with the rest of the servants; they are partners-in-crime; soulmates; always understanding each other with just a glance, simply meant to be together, there is no Ciel without Sebastian and vice versa, etc.; it’s all a terribly romantic and sentimental view of their relationship.

The portrayal of Sebastian as a loyal and caring protector (although he is always hiding his hunger and fangs) and Ciel as a brave and pitiable victim resolutely seeking justice (although he arguably never had much choices) are done on purpose to allow their relationship to be romanticized/sentimentalized by the readers who want to root for them. If Sebastian was not portrayed attractively enough; if he wasn’t a handsome, gentle caretaker, who is devotedly loyal to Ciel and protects him from kidnappers and assassins and whatnots (see how he treats Ciel so much better compared to Ciel’s fellow humans?), this romanticization of him will not be possible. Likewise, if Ciel was portrayed as an innocent run-off-the-mill ten year old—instead of a smart one, a perceptive one, one who is “mature for his age”; if Ciel was a regular noble instead of the Queen’s watchdog; one who is meant to be the Earl of Phantomhive despite being born as an underdog (which makes the readers want to root for him and believe him to be capable of besting a demon on the negotiation table)—we will not be reading the contract scene and thinking, “Can he outsmart the demon?” Or even, “Well, certainly this ten year old understands what he is doing.” We would have instead understood the contract to be an exploitation of the child’s vulnerability and circumstances. Instead, Ciel is portrayed as wanting the contract; willing to sacrifice his soul to get his revenge; a fully-consenting party in a mutually beneficial agreement. When Sebastian offers his hand, Ciel consensually places his own hand in Sebastian’s.

What is truly “good” for Ciel becomes a moral dilemma that the readers cannot solve, and Sebastian’s true “feelings” (or whether he has any at all) is never explained. The readers are left to guess and come up with our own theories that will remain unanswered—we insist that Ciel needs and wants Sebastian, that Sebastian cares for Ciel beyond seeing him as food; and the whole thing is so morally dubious, but we are given a lot of incentives to see them in a positive, sentimental light. Every once in a while something may happen that seems to reinforce our beliefs in their relationship, but never fully confirm how they feel towards each other. The occasional “warning bells” reminding us of Sebastian’s nature as a demon are—more often than not—ignored, as the future when the contract ends still seems so far away, and regardless; Ciel is far too dependent on Sebastian to even think of living without him.

sebaciel fact:

sebastian was the one who pierced ciel’s ear(s?)

Old drawing.

He just got a kiss from Ciel!

[Template credits: @ Mitzubao on X]

FELLOW BB FAN

BB HYPERFOCUS!!!!!

tucked in and kissed goodnight

oMG I'M HAPPY YOU LIKED IT TY !! i have a bocchan version too, which shows my downgrade artstyle, but still bocchan kiss (idk how to comment on reblogs, sorry i'm still getting used to tumblr)

Old drawing.

He just got a kiss from Ciel!

[Template credits: @ Mitzubao on X]

Sebaciel Childhood Sweetheart story：

*I had some Sebaciel fan art made based on story below:

*English is not my first language

*It is just a concept story under Modern AU, where both Sebaciel living as normal human, met each other in their childhood. In this setting, they both have a normal family, and living in a normal life.

*[Ciel] do exist in this setting, so Bocchan will be called as he\ little one in this fiction. It’s annoying not to know his real name, but I do not want to make it up :

There is a home party held in Phantomhive ‘s house. As always, the elder brother is standing in center of the spot light. His younger brother, watching the elder one, who is doted on by everyone in the party. The younger feels like he is just an audience of this party, so he escaped,going to the balcony without light turned on so that no one will see his loss.

“Are you all right?”

He looked up and saw a boy five to six years older, might came from one of his parents’s friends. The maroon eyes sparkled like rubies in the dark. The black hair reminded him of the big, scary, loyal dog in the house, but at this moment, it gave him a sense of security that overflowed.

Even so, the little one is nervous about meeting strangers for the first time, and he suddenly into panic.

“Oh, I'm, I'm sorry, I. . .”

“I know, It's boring to go to grown-up’s parties, right? I was forced to join this party , but it is so boring, so I escaped.” The boy in front of him has realized the elephant here, so he start to talk himself to clear its way. “Hey, If you don't mind, would you like to have some chat with me? I thought we two can get well .”

[Chat? A conversation with me must be further boring! There are other kids in this party, why he asked me? Oh, I see, he must have mistaken me for Ciel!]

“Sorry, I-I'm not...”

“Yes, I do know you are the younger one from Phantomhive. Oh, apologize for not introducing myself. I'm Sebastian.Nice to meet you”He reached out his hand for a greeting.

[Sebastian… our guard dog also called this name]

Since Ciel is his twin brother, people used to mistake him for Ciel, his own existence is always thin when his brother is here. But this time, someone gave a notice for him, it is so out of blue, and confused. It is his first time meet Sebastian, why he can know the difference so quickly? Maybe because he isn’t such a weak person as I am so Sebastian immediately recognized him. Is he feel pitiful for me, being alone?

He just looking at hand in front of him, trying to read the mind of Sebastian —smiling with sincerity.

A pair of ruby only reflect himself, waiting for his response patiently.

First time in his life, he felt he have been seen by another person.

Somehow....it let the little one feel kind of happy that someone could recognize him at the first place.

So he took the hand just for him.

”... Nice to meet you…too “

This is their first met.

A moment to once again appreciate the wonderful appearance of Sebastian with glasses...