Effie ♡

The early relationship between Ciel and Sebastian is actually so damned adorable to me. To say that Sebastian, being a demon, is unequipped to take care of a young traumatized child who’s just lost his entire family would be a severe understatement. And yet here he was, the demon trapped by the contract, forced to protect and attend to his little master while also having to learn how to cook and provide for a human being without simply magicking his way through everything. It results in this comical sight of a grown man completely inept at basic housework, bickering with a ten year old orphan over how to prepare bath water or how to brew tea. An invincible nearly-all-powerful demon has been completely blown out of his elements.

Much to his credit, Ciel wasn’t intimidated at all either by the demon who could snap his neck like a twig. He wasn’t scared—he had no time to waste by being scared, anxious, or even to grieve over his lost family. He had one goal in mind and Sebastian was his weapon to get there—he needs to hone not only himself but also Sebastian. It was both tragic and admirable—that such a young child could be this ruthless towards himself; showing an unwavering, cold-blooded determination on revenge. He was clearly much smarter than his peers—this ten year old somehow hoodwinked a hundreds-of-years year old demon into practically babysitting him; bathing and tucking him to bed, teaching him how to do his homework and how to ride a horse, etc.

It was only at night when he laid down alone in his bed, that the nightmares would haunt him. Ciel asking Sebastian to stay nearby so he could sleep was the only display of vulnerability he allowed himself to have. And Sebastian, with all his sarcastic attitudes and occasional impudence—despite looking down on human beings so much—said nothing about it.

Sebastian could have been a more fickle, crueler demon and Ciel could have been a more forlorn, powerless child—but somehow Sebastian was not, and somehow Ciel could hold up on his own against him. Sebastian isn’t just a mindless beast, and Ciel isn’t just a traumatized child. That’s why their negotiation for the contract was symbolized with chess—where even if one must make the first move, both sides are equal. This is such an important point in their relationship dynamic and Yana Toboso made a point to declare that they have been equals since the very start—Ciel was punishing Sebastian as much as Sebastian did him. And I think the way they formed such a bond with each other is only possible because Sebastian and Ciel are the way that they are; just two similarly stubborn kindred spirits—one insisting on his aesthetics and the other persisting on his revenge.