унылое чмо

one.

this is sebastian in his most feral, demonic state. he's just so different from the sebastian we know now. he's scary, manipulative, and completely ignorant of (if not oblivious to) human emotions, exactly as a demon should be. he tries to manipulate and trick ciel into a contract that benefits him, and he clearly takes amusement in messing with ciel by pretending not to understand what actually counts as an order. on top of that, he seems bothered by the fact that ciel's revenge might take years to achieve (something he undoubtedly ends up enjoying down the line).

he's the very epitome of a demon, which makes it incredibly interesting to see how much he changes over the course of the story. and it's not just about learning human nature and mimicking it perfectly, or fitting into the "perfect butler" role. he didn't simply learn how to appear less demonic—he's actually becoming less of a demon. though, more accurately, he's becoming more human.

two.

we can see him growing fascinated by ciel in real time. sebastian even admits that he didn't expect ciel to see through his deception. he even acknowledges how cleverly ciel used his three wishes, and he seems genuinely satisfied with the soul he happened to stumble upon.

moreover, i love how ciel's insistence on killing the perpetrators himself surprises sebastian. because sebastian can't fathom why a human wouldn't choose the easy way out. the same goes for when ciel insists on retrieving the ring from his brother himself. here we have a demon who is thousands of years old, and we watch him become intrigued by what he initially believed to be a broken, rage-filled child, only for that child to be revealed as a fascinating soul he looks forward to serving and cultivating.

while his asthma made a reappearance during BoC, we promptly learn that sebastian didn't know it was a preexisting health issue. there's also zero discussion/voiced concern about the possibility of ciel having another asthma attack during BoA, which always struck me — cold+wet+exertion are kind of a crazy triple threat. is his asthma a non-issue at that point?

we also don't know the full spectrum of chronic illnesses ciel dealt with as a child. it's possible that it was only the asthma, and his symptoms were just significantly worse, so it made him bedridden more frequently. sebastian has certainly made fun of ciel for his lack of athleticism & low stamina, but he doesn't seem to be aware of any more serious health concerns — at least not now, three years into their contract. but i wonder if there were originally other chronic conditions at play as well.

all of this is to propose: sebastian can't cure a physical malady within the bounds of his contract with ciel, but he can influence the likeliness of his contractor getting ill if he knows the illness to guard against.

maybe sebastian can't cure him outright because ciel actually forbade him from interfering, during the early days of their contract — out of lack of trust in sebastian and out of his own pride, in equal parts.

maybe ciel was ill much more frequently during their first couple of years together, and sebastian just slowly learned the signs, and read family physician books, and bit-by-bit figured out how to protect his little lord from these invisible threats without violating his contractor's order not to interfere.

(if his reaction in BoC is anything to go by, he must have absolutely panicked the first time ciel fell ill and he realized his tiny contractor was even more fragile than most humans.)

and maybe, thanks to sebastian's machinations, ciel's immune system has been able to slowly, slowly get stronger over the last three years because he isn't already compromised + sick all the time.

back then, his whole aesthetic was carrying out orders to the letter, even if it meant putting his master’s safety at risk. now everything he does is with ciel’s well-being in mind. he grows a little herb garden. he tries to make mixtures to fight fatigue. he learns how to sew. he enjoys household duties. he worries about the other servants. he’ll stop playing with a cat the moment he senses something is off with his master. he’ll even put revenge—the very foundation of their contract, the reason he’s with him at all—on hold because ciel needs rest. he thinks about things ciel doesn’t bother with, even when they concern ciel himself. he eats meals only because he enjoys the company, not the act of eating. he’s noticeably happier because they’re traveling together again. his smile feels genuine, not laced with irony. his behavior is silly; he’s no longer playing the perfectly composed butler whose greatest concern is serving tea on time. he takes care of ciel’s their business interests and does things that will boost sales. he takes initiative in the investigation instead of being a pawn waiting for orders.

the ship in question:

thanks for the tag @iamyourwayout

kinda close, i do have a "mission let the horrible fictional man be happy for 5 dang minutes" tag that i've used quite a lot

hell yeah

@bambicoded @cielslop @onehellofajellyfish @ulixneriadne @yaoiadderall @yimpyapologist @uniloechmo @kisskisscantfallinlove

No. 2

This is by far one of my favourite pieces by Yana. Now, I've been sucked into this fandom since 2008, at the first anime trailer. It impressed me so much, that I immediately searched for the manga and found this. Naturally, I had zero doubts this was going to be a legit yaoi story. I was a bit disappointed when I found that the story didn't include anything explicit. (Yet) Cuz I was hungry for some edgy demon/teenage boy romance. If only I had known what I was in for.

So. In this picture what strikes me most is that it screams scandalous! It screams debauchery and indulgence. Back in those days I had an idea of Ciel being this sassy brat (which he was in some chapters of the manga, but later Yana shows him as someone more reserved and, for a lack of a better word, proper with his outward-projected image.

So here I see the inner life of Ciel, and his kinky play with Sebastian. From later manga chapters we know that Sebastian treats him like a dress-up doll, and that Ciel doesn't object. He lets Sebastian do it. In this picture I am absolutely sure they're taking part in a private costume play mainly for this reason:

I cannot imagine a single viable reason why a Victorian nobleman would put on a jacket over his naked body without a shirt of some kind. They just didn't do it. So, we can deduce that this is not an instance of Ciel being dressed-up for an event NOR it is him getting undressed after any event.

Yes, Sebastian's undressing him, BTW, as we can judge by the discarded boot on the floor.

So, get this: Sebastian is undressing Ciel for pleasure. After having dressed him very sloppily. For pleasure. And Ciel endorses it. And revels in it. I mean this is scandal, guys. They're engaging in some carnal game, and they both get off on it.

But my favourite detail about this picture is this:

A strand of Seb's hair sliding casually off Ciel's skin. This is such an intimate detail, it shows just how comfortable Ciel is in Sebastian's presence. How relaxed he is with Sebastian's physicality and his touch. How everything in this picture shows Ciel indulging in carnal pleasures.

And I love it how they're looking at the viewer as if they've been interrupted amidst something ahem... important.

It's evident that Sebaciel's dynamic and bond shifted compared to their first years together. One development stands out cutely, though.

The art of doing more than what Ciel asked somehow became a thing.