#and i'm on the current arc | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

applestorms · 23 days ago

Text

sebastian/ciel relationship dynamic breakdown (pt. 2)

For a clearer breakdown of what this post will entail, please read my little intro for part 1 (linked here). Also: this section will be covering the latter arcs of the series, so please pay EXTRA attention to the spoiler warning on this one. <33

SPOILER WARNING !! (obviously.) there is a lot of summary in this, albeit hopefully narrow/focused, and filtered through my own thoughts and analysis. be warned. this is also not inherently a ship post, though you may certainly read it as such. have fun 🫶

6. LUXURY LINER ARC: VACATION GRANTED

Backstory time!! :D This arc is delightful in that it provides us with some really clear insight into the greater trajectory of Sebastian and Ciel's relationship over the last few years, especially when it comes to showing just how far they've come since their first meeting. As Sebastian's memories show us, Sebastian was not always the hyper-competent butler we know and love today, and Ciel himself was not always as settled into his position as head of the Phantomhive House or Funtom. (We also get the incredible reveal that Sebastian was, in fact, named after Ciel's dead dog, which will never not be funny. <3)

The big thing here is the reinforcement of the fact that, as much as Sebastian and Ciel love to fuck around and get on each other's nerves, they have also put a lot of work into learning how to get along and function like a team. And they do! What's also neat about this flashback sequence is that it comes in the middle of an arc that is generally quite high-stakes and tense, action-heavy in a way that means both of them are consistently on high alert and not as inclined to fuck with one another since a Whole Lotta People's lives are on the line. Sebastian is really giving his all for most of this trip, and Ciel is cognizant of that enough to grant him quite a formal break. They care about each other!! Perhaps even to their mutual embarrassment at times, and not entirely without some level of selfish motivations on both sides-- but there is also clearly something deeper starting to be established by this point, at the very least a habit and instinct to collaborate that will not be easily broken, though whether or not it will stand up to any tests will have to wait for a later arc. (Hint, hint.)

But back to the flashback-- obviously, the juiciest part of this for SBCL specifically is the fact that this is the first time we explicitly see Sebastian try to test the limits of Ciel's dedication to his whole revenge plot. This is great for two reasons: first, it is one of the more notable pieces of evidence we get this early on about just how untrustworthy and scheming Sebastian can be, as well as what his instincts are like as a demon, and second, it reinforces Ciel's unwavering dedication to their contract. For the latter point in particular, this is the first arc to really show some notable Ciel character development in this sense, which is important as this unwavering dedication to his revenge is obviously going to play a massive role in some of the next few arcs.

sidenote1: With regards to motivations, you could maybe argue that this is just Sebastian getting sick of his job or even Ciel and wanting to punch out early, but considering how much he seems to enjoy his whole butler cosplay schtick later on, I'm not as inclined to agree with this interpretation. Personally, I think a more interesting take on this is that Sebastian is reverting back to what he knows about humans from previous contracts, that they are selfish, power-hungry, and greedy for money and romance/sex, and applying that to Ciel to try and push at his limits and see if he'll take the bait, only to be caught off guard when Ciel defies him and doubles down on his original intention. At this point in the story Sebastian is, at the very least, still dedicated to the idea that Ciel's soul is going to be this drawn out, slow-cooked gourmet meal that will totally rock his shit, and he wants to be Certain that his initial prospecting was correct. This is new for both of them!

Ultimately, this arc as a whole functions as reinforcement: of Sebastian and Ciel's growth in their relationship, of their respective dedication towards Ciel's protection and revenge, and of their capacity to work as a team under stressful circumstances. It is certainly not perfect, and this connection will be tested in the future-- but for now, they've got other shit to worry about.

7. PUBLIC SCHOOL ARC: UNDERTAKER STRIKES BACK

Unfortunately for our purposes, this is the arc in which Sebastian and Ciel seem to interact directly the least, largely because they are once again forced to play distinct teacher/student roles and dedicate most of their meetings to scheming meaning that we're mostly back to just watching SBCL working at peak cooperation, with Sebastian once again bending to Ciel's will even if it means a ton of extra work for him (lol). That being said, there's still a lot of gay shit happening more generally at Weston, and we notably have one major moment between Sebastian and Ciel at the very end of the arc, which points at another idea I wanted to discuss:

If there is One (1) Thing in this entire series that makes it the most clear Sebastian and Ciel's relationship is the core of the story upon which all else revolves, it is the fact that Undertaker is the series' primary villain. Or rather, to put this the other way around: Undertaker himself makes it clear that Sebastian and Ciel's relationship is the central by constantly threatening to snatch Ciel away and break the two of them up.

This threat was clearly established by Undertaker in the last arc, and it becomes Very relevant yet again in some of the most recent arcs, but it's the brevity of the scene in this particular arc that causes me to view it like a kind of microcosm of these three's dynamic throughout the entire story. UT really doesn't do much once his identity is revealed during the tea party-- other than talking, his only notable action is to reinforce himself as a threat to Sebastian by proving, which he manages to do without even actually doing much other than anticipating the situation so that he can position himself closer to Ciel than Sebastian is. It's a very slick, subtle move, but one that Sebastian picks up on and hates.

It's because of this that I actually kinda view this scene as more fundamental to establishing UT as KURO's primary/endgame antagonist than his reveal as a shinigami in the last arc, as this proves that UT is someone who is dangerous, calculating, and capable of fucking up Sebastian to a previously-unseen degree. Quite impressive, really.

Notable as well is the fact that this approach to exploiting Sebastian's weakness (namely, Ciel) is not without its precursor either-- as I mentioned back in P1, Ciel himself even uses this weak point to his advantage, putting his own health and safety at risk due to his own stubborn determination during the Circus arc. For all his overpowering strength, his one greatest desire is also his most obvious soft spot, and the biggest players in this game are very much aware of that fact.

8. EMERALD WITCH ARC: OH MAN.

Oh, man.

I'm gonna try to keep the recency bias off of this one if I can since the anime is currently still coming out at the time of writing this, but OH FUCKIN' MAN. Two big things for this one: tentacles, and trust.

To start with the tentacles: hey, remember in P1 when I mentioned Sebastian and Ciel's close connection and dedication getting tested? This is that-- or more specifically, a kind of internal test served from Sebastian to Ciel, to check and see whether or not he still has the same kind of Dedication that he originally had to their contract. This is obviously also quite similar to his initial testing of Ciel's will right after his meeting with the queen as seen in the LLA, though with notably quite different circumstances: now Sebastian isn't just fucking with Ciel, not just testing him or trying to see if he'll adhere to his preconceived notions of what humans usually act like/want, but rather trying to see if this will be the thing that breaks him. He seems to be genuinely disappointed by Ciel's reversion and inability to break out of his trauma, taking to extreme measures to either ensure he gets his meal or, hopefully, break Ciel out of it.

Which he does!! To the great relief of basically everybody involved. And not only that, but we come out of this with an important reinforcement of not only Ciel's commitment to their contract and his revenge, but a valuable gloss on his claim to revenge-- a clarification of his pledge, that he is getting revenge for himself and nobody else. Ciel is grieving, but he recognizes that the dead will never return. His relationship with Sebastian is thus one that benefits him for himself and for himself alone, and nobody else will ever get in the way of that. This is Ciel regaining his self-confidence, his trust in himself, and growing closer to Sebastian because of it.

Thus: at the end of this arc, when Ciel says that Sebastian is, "the one he can trust the least," I really do believe that he is being truthful. He doesn't trust Sebastian, or at least not without some caution-- he is not nearly foolish enough to put his full faith into the monster trying to eat him, and (as we shall very soon see) hasn't been since the very beginning. They are closer now, certainly, but that is due in no small part to Ciel's trust in his own abilities to use Sebastian as he pleases and exploit his weakness (himself) to get what he wants.

The irony of this is that, overall, I think Sebastian and Ciel's relationship does have a greater positive impact on Ciel, on his self-confidence and strength and his ability to regain his agency after having it so viciously ripped away from him. Ciel doesn't want a strong, capable hero to save him, not after all that has happened to him by the time he and Sebastian finally meet-- he wants power and vengeance, the strength to stand on his own legs, and Sebastian, intentionally or not, gives him that. And it's that soft undercurrent of their relationship that paints their relationship in a much more interested, nuanced light than the surface level observation of "evil demon preying on a traumatized child," that is still true, but doesn't quite capture the full picture.

9. MUSIC HALLS ARC: PEEKING OVER THE EDGE

This arc once again features a mostly submissive Sebastian, with a majority of the emphasis falling on Ciel while he gets his shit freaked. Lots of this perhaps comes from the fact that the PSA kids are back, meaning that the cast of somewhat major characters is once again quite large and spends a lot more time bouncing around, setting up some of the REALLY major shit that's right on the verge of being revealed. Most of the pressure is either on Ciel or about to be, so their relationship specifically isn't under enough tension to be tested again in any major ways just yet. There are still some minor moments of friction, of course, but none that really feel character-defining like in the previous few arcs-- the story is foreshadowing a lot here, with tensions from the last 100+ chapters rising, but not quite tipping over the edge... until the end, anyway. When it comes to interactions with other characters, Sebatian and Ciel are pretty in sync this arc, falling back into a more typical dynamic as they team up to train and terrorize their new boy band.

That being said, there is ONE slight exception to this, and that is the slight interlude we get with the Halloween chapter (approximately chapter 119.5), which is one of my favorite specials so I must ramble about it at least a little. As a reminder, here's the last few pages:

I just love this. The symbolism!! THE SYMBOLISM!!! I know I just went on a whole spiel in the last part about how Ciel doesn't trust Sebastian without question, and I still do believe that, but this does point to the fact that Ciel does have some assurance in Sebastian's ability to keep himself safe for as long as it takes to get his revenge. Functionally he believes in him, at least enough to light the way forward, and even to snuff out that flame when the appropriate time does come. Fates intertwined, etc. etc. etc.

The symbolism of Sebastian putting Ciel in a devil costume is also Very intriguing to me, though I'm not entirely sure that I have one clear answer for it. While it is in part just a very funny costume for Ciel to wear, I can't help but feel like there is some kind of greater meaning behind it-- Sebastian's mutual influence on Ciel, perhaps? Grooming him into something more like him, even as Ciel willingly hands over his life and affects him just as much? It seems obvious to me that something a whole lot Bigger than just the contract has been coagulating in the deeper bond between these two, but I'm not entirely confident that I can place the specific nuances of what that is just yet. And looking at Sebastian's face in that second to last page... I'm not entirely sure that either of them have the words to place exactly what it is either.

sidenote2: Could this be interpreted as romantic? Almost certainly-- but it is the nuances within that which interests me most here. How much do they actually trust each other, and how aware are they of this? They're clearly pretty codependent-- but are they themselves even willing to recognize this? When does the predator/prey relationship end, when do the master/servant roles stop, and where do they begin to legitimately care for and respect one another? As we see in the most recent arcs, there is still plenty of room for their relationship to be tested, for the limits of what they are/aren't willing to admit to be put in conflict with what they want above all else. Their conclusion is still a ways off, I guess is my main point here.

10. BLUE MEMORY ARC: LEASHING THE DOG

Sebastian is fucking FERAL in this arc and it is so unbelievably incredibly hot narratively interesting. This entire section has some of the absolute BEST interactions between any two characters in the entire series, istg. Easily my favorite section in the whole entire comic. They're unbeatable. Incomparable. Unmatched meet cute at the demon summoning ritual. What if I was next in line to be sacrificed on the altar, and you were the devil who showed up to snag my twin brother's soul 👉👈 tee hee hee!!1 :3 Soulmate behavior. I'm getting sick to my fucukging stomach just thinking about it oh mgygoddd sedate me >__< (ok not yet i need to finish writing this BUT STILL)

There's just Something about being able to see some of the earliest interactions between Sebastian and Ciel here, to see the stage how it was originally set, that really makes so many of their later interactions that much more fascinating. Like I really cannot emphasize enough how delightful it is to see such an unhinged side to Sebastian from before he was collared and domesticated, back when he was still a liar and a monster and not quite settled into the fact that they were going to be playing the long game. And on the other end, it is wildly impressive seeing Ciel actively in the process of figuring out how to chain Sebastian down-- not falling for the lure of endless power or wealth or whatever other sins Sebastian might like to pull him into, but rather solidifying his first pass at the whole "revenge" idea and figuring out how to limit Sebastian's power so as to better harness it for himself, rather than going the more typical Faustian route of trying to get so much power it immediately bites him in the ass.

One of the most intriguing aspects of some of these flashbacks to me personally is also seeing just how quickly Ciel undergoes his outward personality shift from the shy, sickly, anxious kid that he was as a young boy, stuck back in his role as The Spare, the one stuck inside, to the more sullen and aggressive "Earl Ciel Phantomhive," that we see in the present day. He really does feel like a whole other person after Everything that happens, an amalgamation of intentional changes to try and appear more like his brother to fit his new identity as the confident, capable, outspoken one and the natural shifts that come with his trauma and grief and complete loss of faith, all of which is very much mediated by the new, constant presence of a certain demon butler lurking right over his shoulder.

Similar to EWA, what I further really appreciate about this arc is the way in which it sets up Sebastian as something legitimately dangerous, as one of the biggest, most powerful threats in the series that is absolutely dying to sink his teeth into Ciel. This is easily one of the most openly manipulative Sebastian's we get in the series, really the only time we ever get to see him lie outright to Ciel's face, and it establishes the tension between them perfectly, calling back to their spider couple games in the earliest chapters. Honestly, while it's pretty easy to read both Sebastian and Ciel as the protagonists of KURO, it is also wonderfully easy to read Sebastian as the "true" antagonist and Ciel the primary protagonist-- and ultimately it's the tension between those two sides that keeps the story rolling.

This is also one of the most clearly we hear Ciel speak in reference to the underlying lack of respect that he has for himself, and what I read as his thinly veiled suicidal tendencies. In this arc in particular, Ciel really gives me the vibes of a kind of mundane self-hatred, one that is not necessarily actively self-destructive or even very overt or noticeable to the people around him, but more along the lines of a simple acceptance of himself as something lesser. As is hopefully clear by this point, I really do view Ciel's self-confidence as a key aspect of not only his own individual arc but his relationship with Sebastian and their mutual development as well. It's why the twin reveal is so crucial to understanding who o!Ciel is as a person, imo-- from the very start of our story, o!Ciel has been living under the assumption that he can only ever have power or agency or receive love as his brother, that his own existence is one that can disappear and be swept away without excess grief from the people who remembered him. What his relationship with Sebastian reveals, and really everybody he meets and connects with who isn't attached to his Phantomhive Past, is that this absolutely is NOT the case. For better and for worse, o!Ciel is the one that Sebastian picked-- and, as UT so loves to point out, his life is not replaceable.

sidenote3: Agni. :( Can't let this post go without talking about his passing at least a little, particularly considering all of the parallels between those two couples that I discussed in P1. In particular, it's the parallels between him and Ciel that really gets to me here, and the ways in which we might view his death in conjunction with the sword of Damocles that has been hanging over Ciel's head for this entire series' run... Probably gonna talk about this more in another post on all the master/butler relationships in the series, actually, but the big thing here for me is comparing Soma's reaction to Agni's passing, and specifically Agni dying for Soma, to protect him, to the distinctly more predatory and cannibalistic dynamic that SBCL have going on.

sidenote4: Additionally, after re-watching the ending of S1, I've been struck by the thought that I seriously doubt the ending of the manga will look very much like the ending of either S1 or S2. Like, on a surface level I wouldn't be surprised if there were some similar aesthetic elements or if the greater set-up had echoes of either ending, but I just don't think that a direct recreation of S1's ending would hit the same or even work at all with how the story currently looks. S1 Ciel just feels like such a wildly different person to current-manga Ciel, in his relationships w/ other characters alone if not his underlying core personality. S1 Ciel can drop himself off a bridge, sit quietly on a bench, and let Sebastian easily chow down on his soul. But current manga Ciel? Current manga Sebastian? I don't think it will be nearly as easy, and I'm inclined to keep a sharp eye out for any further developments in Soma's reaction to Agni's passing in particular for the potential parallels it may present to SBCL.

11. BLOOD SPLIT ARC (current): THE FINAL TESTS

This whole section is interesting in that we get another experience of SBCL that feels a LOT like when we took Arthur's POV back in the Manor Murders, only now it happens a couple times in succession with Mey-Rin, Bard, and (a little bit of) Snake's backstories. We are also largely relegated to seeing Sebastian and Ciel purely through these backstories, with very little to no insight into the present-day actions (until very recently, anyway) which is quite different to the kind of masked performance they were doing way back in Murder.

What's fascinating about these depictions to me is just how much Sebastian and Ciel are idolized and practically deified in the eyes of their servants, standing as this image of some kind of unbreakable power couple that certainly gets up to some questionable shit, but is also to a degree untouchable to anybody else. It's actually been somewhat strange for me to see them interacting normally again in the most recent chapters after months and months of seeing them through this lens of the eyes of the people they saved, returning to the usual antics but with the lingering flavor of their mutual overwhelming power still present at the back of my tongue. Since very little time has actually passed in-universe over the last few years there isn't much to sink my teeth into with this section in terms of Insane Developments in their relationship-- instead, I feel left with this distinct thought of just how simultaneously loved and isolated Sebastian and Ciel are together.

Since Sebastian's true nature seems to (miraculously, frankly) still be basically unknown to every other character in the series, save for the shinigami + Arthur + whatever other humans they happen to be terrorizing at any given moment, those two are somewhat uniquely situated in the sense that they are the only ones who really seem to Get what's happening between them. Of course, everybody picks up on the closeness, on the deep bond and apparent trust that is undeniably between the two of them, but the true depths of their codependency and the nature of their contract seems to confine them away from most other characters. Naturally, Undertaker comes closest to figuring it out, but as I think we're likely to see in the upcoming chapters, even he doesn't seem to fully Get It either (or at the very least is biased by his own desires/feelings surrounding the Phantomhives).

SO. Speaking, of... where is all of this going, anyways?

I'm certain there are things that will come out surprise me about this series as we begin descending into the final stretches of this manga's run, but if I had to list my suspicions/thoughts/questions surrounding where I think the story is likely to go, considering everything that has come thus far (and still staying centered on SBCL), it would look something like this:

o!Ciel has still not yet fully dealt with the fundamental insecurity at the center of his psyche: the idea that he is inherently lesser than his brother. As delighted as I am by his adamant refusal to give up the title of "Earl Ciel Phantomhive," there's some deeper shit there that he's still not addressing. This is not at all to say that I think he needs to go back to using his old/birth name or some shit (frankly, it's more of the opposite)-- but if he really is committing to the "Ciel Phantomhive" route, I think he still has a ways to go when it comes to defining that name for himself, to take his power and agency as the Ciel Phantomhive that he wants to be, and not as some dubious stand-in for someone that he thinks better of.

Sebastian has not solidified his commitment to their contract in the same way that Ciel continually has. I feel like this is going to be the most relevant when it comes to whatever shit Mr. Modri Vladis starts digging back up with regards to Sebastian's past-- clearly, there is something Different about this current contract for Sebastian, and I don't think he's fully processed that yet. Personally, I don't really doubt that Sebastian is still perfectly capable of chowing down on Ciel the second his time comes, dude's been blueballing himself out of that meal for literally almost 20 real life years by this point, but how is he actually going to feel about it? Will he hesitate? Will he regret it? He may not have a past in the same way as the humans of this story, but what is his side to all of this? Who is he, if not the Earl Phantomhive's butler?

AAAAAAAAARRAHAURAGHHG YANA-SENSEI PLEASE. PLEASE. I don't even know what I'm begging for at this point. Just Please. Where are these bitches gonna end up, I still feel like I Just Don't Know. I really do think that Ciel is gonna get eaten. But the specifics of how, and why, and when, I'm really not sure I can tell. Regardless, as I said in my little sidenote for the Memory Arc, I really don't think it can be quite so straightforward as it was at the end of S1 by this point-- the connections, the blood, it all runs too deep now. None of this is going to be easy.

We're in the midst of Some Shit now. The story is clearly picking back up, the plot moving forward as we start to near the point where these bloodlines converge, back to the perspective of the two Big Ones. Frankly, I don't think I have any real fuckin' idea where this shit is actually going to end up. But fuck if I'm not excited out of my mind to find out >w<

#astronaut rambles #kuroshits #black butler #kuroshitsuji #sebaciel #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. locked tf in and finished this at last 👍everybody clap #does my ciel bias come thru in this one?? i feel like it does lol #also also do u like my title of 'blood split' for the current arc. cuz they split up to get all the blood #<33 i'm gonna use that forever and ever sorry it sounds way cooler than blue revenge #^__^ yay okay onto my many many other projects lolol #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis

64 notes · View notes