#phantomhive brothers

[cielphantomhive321]

Overprotective brother.

Original artist: https://x.com/yikemeiguow?mx=2

[scliffe]

From this

To this

I don’t like these two romantically but I do think Ciel must have enjoyed such elated and positive reaction Elizabeth always displayed towards him in the past—she always looked so happy to see him. I’m sure he loves her if at least platonically, despite her blatant preference towards his brother (which is understandable of course, as he is her fiancé). It’s very cute how hard Ciel tried to keep Elizabeth and his remaining family happy but alas…?

I believe the Midfords will eventually side with o!Ciel since the Undertaker and r!Ciel are killing (a lot of) people (and not very discreetly too), but their relationship will never go back to the way it used to be. I’m not very good at making theories so I don’t know where Yana Toboso is going with this; this could be an opportunity for the Midfords to reassure o!Ciel that they still love him and he is still a precious family member to them even if he is not his brother—but even if they do, will o!Ciel believe it?

And yes, I also think Elizabeth also cares for o!Ciel, and she is reacting this way because she feels guilty to both twins—to r!Ciel for not being able to recognize his twin (which frankly would be an insane feat for anyone since any noticeable changes on “Ciel” could be blamed on the life-changing traumatic event he went through), and to o!Ciel because she realized she could’ve had such a heartless thought.

Actually, the way she had these self-introspective thoughts also shows that she cares about o!Ciel. If she doesn’t care about him, she would not have felt guilty. And while everyone was still wondering why o!Ciel impersonated his brother, she instinctively knows the reason—even if she might not have fully realized it yet.

She was placed in a difficult situation, and in her confusion, felt like she ought to at least stood by r!Ciel’s side, her fiancé who is now sickly and needs her support. She could not bear to lose him again. Everyone else can choose to side with o!Ciel, but not her, his fiancé—“I, for one, cannot return to that side.” As for the rest of the family, they are likely unable to take any decisions yet since they practically have no idea what is going on, but again, after they figure things out, I believe they will eventually side with (or at least assist) o!Ciel.

Another person who is often criticized for “siding” with r!Ciel is Tanaka. Now, Tanaka said he was not leaving r!Ciel’s side because he has always been loyal to the Phantomhive family, and it’s easy to take this as confirmation that he considers r!Ciel’s to be the real Earl Phantomhive. But in my opinion: Tanaka is loyal to the family; both twins are his little young masters. Tanaka’s stance is understandable; he is staying with the person he believes needs his support more—because our Ciel already has Sebastian and the rest of the servants. If Tanaka had also left, then r!Ciel would be left alone with Undertaker, whose purpose is still unknown.

Perhaps after a while, Ciel will also understand why these people made the decisions that they took. In the meantime, at least he still has—and will always have—Sebastian.

[anxiteyandsleep]

How about one with Ciel and the reader who is his younger brother?

This is so cute wahh😭 thank you for the request🙏

° you're one of the only people Ciel refuses to have as a pawn in his games. He cherishes you deeply even if he doesn't show it very often.

° you're also the only one who makes him genuinely smile anymore

° he made it very clear to Sebastian, you're to be kept safe and anyway from danger at all times. He doesn't want you to end up like him. Ciel doesn't let you know that he's sold his soul, the truth about Sebastian, or the dirty work he has to do.

° Ciel is often busy so you don't spend as much time together as you'd both like. When he does have free time, he makes sure to play a few games with you and sometimes he'll let you have a 'sleepover' in his room.

° sometimes he'll tuck you into bed and read to you instead of Sebastian doing it. He's a bit awkward when reading childish stories and be doesn't act them out as much as Sebastian might.

° he sometimes can be a bit harsh, if you're crying over something he doesn't think is worth it, he'll be snarky about it. However if Ciel ever does something that makes you cry, he tries his best to apologize and make you feel better

° if you steal Ciels clothes and dress up as him??? he finds it adorable and laughs about it a little. Sometimes he'll play along, bowing or telling Sebastian to follow your orders for a few moments. "Sebastian, the young earl asked for sweets before dinner, you must obey, he's your master after all"

° the servants take care of you the most, Ciel knows they'll keep you safe if needed, even if they're not the best influence on you. He caught Baldroy letting you play with a flamethrower once and nearly had heart attack.

° Ciel will absolutely force Sebastian to play silly games with you, the more embarrassing it is for Sebastian, the better. He'll even whisper ideas to you on how you can make Sebastians job as a butler even harder.

[blondeaxolotl]

Happy birthday to these creatures

[applestorms]

i don’t think people give ciel nearly enough credit when it comes to his emotional intelligence/how self-aware he is.

like, yeah— ciel is a brat, he’s a stuck up little privileged rich kid, he’s pampered and spoiled and struggles massively when he’s forced to live without the luxuries he’s always grown up with. but he also recognizes that, in a way that is actually quite mature for someone of his age and class. he’s cynical, he’s pessimistic, he has incredible little (if any) respect or hope for humanity left— but this is something he applies to himself and the others at his same social standing just as much as anyone else, if not more. he clearly connects and empathizes with finny (and honestly all of his servants) because he sees himself within him, trusting him like a (his) brother during the emerald witch arc. he understands where joker is coming from with regards to his desperation to take care of his family and doesn’t pass judgement on him, to the point of even planning to take care of the very family he thought he’d left behind after joker dies. he even seems to have some degree of genuine respect for lizzie, assuaging her insecurities by trying to see her for who she is and not who she wants to be or feels like she must be.

honestly, i think that in most of the cases where ciel is being a full on Brat™ it all goes back to one thing— ciel trying to asset his Power, and take back control over the situation.

ciel is a character who is very very very easily underestimated at first glance by most people who have just met him, and even a few people who know him longer than that. he’s literally a sickly victorian child with asthma and CPTSD-motivated panic attacks, the kid is frail as fuck, not to mention— a kid. the fact that ciel might have something of an inferiority complex is obvious enough even if you don’t bring the whole lesser-twin thing into it, his minute stature is something literally every fucking character brings up upon first meeting him.

sometimes, ciel can use this to his advantage, so he does. he puts on the cute little boy face and flutters his eyelashes and uses other peoples’ empathy against them to achieve his own goals (see: arthur, and also like the entire public school arc, etc.).

most of the time though, ciel doesn’t really want to do this, not only because it’s somewhat demeaning but also because he Does have a reputation to uphold. ciel needs to constantly be both on guard and on the attack for his job as the queen’s watchdog, he is basically obligated to constantly stand as the biggest threat in the underworld. much of ciel’s Brat behavior to other people comes down to this— him asserting his status, not really out of any pride for the title, but because he is a Threat and other people need to fucking know it. sometimes, this means shoving his (and sebastian’s) power in their face until they get the fucking picture and/or die trying to understand it, particularly in the case of more asshole-ish characters like all the random evil businessmen with criminal agendas that ciel puts through the evil haunted demon house schtick. other times, this manifests more in the form of a kind of genuine empathy— you Should get the fuck away if you actually care about the things you claim to care about cuz i will not hold back, etc.

speaking of— in the case of sebastian specifically, the fact that this is ciel’s desire to take back agency becomes even more clear.

sebastian and ciel’s dynamic is one of, if not the most compelling aspects of this series to me, in large part because of how goddamn codependent they are while simultaneously being inherently at odds with one another. this series Will end with sebastian eating ciel’s goddamned soul— i honestly think that even if the rest of the cast eventually becomes more aware of the specifics of sebastian’s demonic nature or their contract, ciel himself will stop them from trying to save him or break the deal somehow, and sebastian himself certainly doesn’t have nearly enough of an attachment to humanity as a whole to bother actually stopping himself from chowing down, even if he may regret it somewhat more than he expected afterwards. yet at the same time, right up until we reach that exact point, they have every reason to need and want to collaborate with each other— something that they do, even if it is with full knowledge of the exact sword hanging over their heads the entire time that they’re playing nice.

i really love the analysis from this post, which points out the fact that all of the three core rules ciel establishes for their contract are perfectly designed to turn sebastian into someone that ciel can trust. highly recommend reading that essay, but to elaborate a bit more in my own words— ciel knows that sebastian is going to eat him one day. he is incredibly physically fragile and aware of this, perhaps even aware of the ways in which he has been made mentally weak due to his traumas, and especially of the fact that he is vulnerable specifically in comparison to sebastian. every single time that sebastian saves ciel, it is another reminder that This is who ciel is going to die to. he is chained to this starving, rabid monster just as much as the monster is chained to him, and one day, those roles are going to flip. he’s not going to be in power forever, and he knows it.

therefore: when ciel is a Brat™ at sebastian specifically, i read this less as ciel actually being unaware/childish/stupid/etc., and more as ciel tugging on the proverbial chain to make sure he is still the one pulling the strings. ciel has a habit of emphasizing the fact that he is Ordering sebastian when he is in a stressful situation or panicking for any given reason, focusing on the language that he Knows sebastian will respond to. and it’s a trauma response. IT’S A TRAUMA RESPONSE!!

what i think ciel Hates, above all else, maybe even more than he cares to consciously admit, is not having power. he can’t stand to not be the one in full control of a situation. he can’t stand having his agency taken from him, not after Everything that he’s been through.

if there’s one thing that watching his entire family be killed while also being viciously abused by a cult taught (not) ciel, it is the feeling of having No power. he was helpless to stop his parents’ murders, he was helpless to stop the cult from violating and abusing him, he was helpless to stop his own brother’s death. ciel connects more easily and often more deeply on an emotional level with the lower class characters in the story because he knows what it feels like to be completely powerless in the face of the absolute worst of humanity. thus, when ciel acts like a Brat, when he asserts his title as an Earl, someone Respectable, or as The Queen’s Watchdog, someone Threatening, when he demands that everyone bend over backwards to serve his will— it is ciel taking back all the power that he can and gripping it as tightly as he possibly fucking can, because he knows what can and will happen if/when he lets it all go.

and there is no character for which this is more true than sebastian. one of the most powerful entities in the series, easily the one closest to ciel, who he depends on so incredibly— but who is also Destined and Required to bring his end once all this is over. ciel kicks sebastian around, treats him like shit and shows him rare moments of kindness and care, all for the affirmation that He is still in control. absolutely nobody can ever meaningfully hurt ciel again, so long as sebastian is there— and sebastian won’t hurt him either. not yet. but, instinctively, he needs to keep testing that bond. just in case. just to be sure.

honestly, i think that’s where the real tragedy of the series comes from— ciel never really grows, never really changes, because he Can’t. he guaranteed that for himself. at his absolute lowest point, ciel lost all faith in humanity and god and Himself. he lost his childhood naïveté, and the ability to believe in goodness in any form. ciel knows that one day, he’s going to be hurt again, that someone is going to snatch him up and chew him alive— all he wants now is the control to dictate for himself when that inevitable end will happen.

[sut4tcliff]

Stares directly into the camera

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Choose your fighter. Sebastian Michaelis or Undertaker. The demon versus the reaper.

It is uncanny, but seeing the way Undertaker holds the vulnerable, almost lifeless body of Ciel’s older twin brother reminds me of Kuroshitsuji II.

People don’t want to be reminded of it, but somehow we are seeing hints.

Sebastian and Ciel from “Kuroshitsuji II.”

Or Yana just loves this dramatic holding of the twins from their adult protectors.

[deevotee]

I've been thinking about it, and madam red definitely knew ciel wasnt his brother, and ciel knew she knew this

so i find it kind of interesting when she says there must have been another way for ciel to live, and even specifies her older sister when shes talking about his mom, it just sounds more obvious now that she probably meant to be a bit patronizing about how he wasnt trained to the watchdog like his brother but came back as it anyways, and ciel insisting he doesnt want to depend on anyone could be him responding also to the expectation that he'd be the useless spare forever

[ociels]

his brother died and one of his first thoughts were that it should’ve been him instead because now people are going to be disappointed…

[lithth]

doomed sibling relationships oh how you wound me.

[abybweisse]

After the real Ciel returns as a doll, I don't understand his feelings for our ciel. After all, does he love him or is he looking for competition and is angry with him?

He claimed that he was not angry with our Earl. He said he likes to see his development . Defended Earl's lie about his identity to Francis. He told Undertaker that he just wanted to spend time with his brother.

But he also left the blood in the basement of the mansion and called the police to accuse his brother. And he asked Tanaka to burn the rabbit dolls and he doesn't want to see them again. I also feel that he killed Agni personally. just for make our Earl and Soma enemy.

because he was jealous that someone getting close to his brother.

I understand that his brain probably hasn't developed since he was 10 years old and is childish. But still seem contradictory.

Real Ciel's emotions

I've touched on this subject before, but I always find it a bit difficult to read this character.

We don't know too much about him from before, but he seems to have always been a little bit fickle minded. One minute he's happy and wanting to know about his brother's life goals, but when it means his brother might move away, he tries to change his brother's mind and control his decisions. Then he's all of a sudden against being the heir, if it means not getting to do as he pleases and being with his brother all the time.

And elitist; when Vincent tells them about keeping the workers on their land happy and productive, our earl ponders how hard it must be to keep everyone happy... while real Ciel compares them to sheep who must be provided with the basics to keep them from going astray.

With a big helping of "big brother syndrome", where he thinks he knows what's best and feels a need to be the protector all the time. And to be right all the time, like telling our earl the truth about Santa and where the presents really come from. Oh, and being competitive -- typically the winner -- like at chess. It's a little condescending when he says our earl and their dad are the only ones who can even present a challenge for him. Getting kidnapped and sold to the cult gave him a serious reality check, but it doesn't seem to have stuck too well.

Like I've said before, the process of turning him into an advanced bizarre doll (using all his life goals as "episodes") seems to have brought his negative traits to the forefront.

We see that when he confronts our earl, Sebastian, and the rest of the household. Even Tanaka winces when real Ciel puts Sebastian in his place as a servant. Then there's the whole blood transfusion thing: he could accept any whole blood donation (since Rh factor doesn't seem to be a thing in the Kuroverse), and Blavat apparently knows this. So, why does he only use Sirius blood? Does he not also know... or is he simply refusing any other blood type, with the belief it's too inferior for him? 🤔

There's a strong dichotomy to his thinking. On the one hand, he wants to be with his twin, just like before, but he also wants to punish him for taking the ring and pretending to be him. He calls our earl a liar but then says he'll have nothing to do with anyone who says the same thing... then doesn't seem to care when Lizzie almost immediately points her finger, doing exactly what real Ciel said others shouldn't do. He quickly learns to appreciate and even admire what our earl has managed to accomplish in the past nearly four years, but he has no personal interest in the same things, like the toy and confectionery company. He would have invested in the railway system or something. It seems likely that he was invested in Blue Star Line, so he's way more into transportation and infrastructure than he is into providing the simple joys of toys and sweets. Like he'd rather be an industrial tycoon. It's really sad to me that he basically tells Tanaka to get rid of those toys because he is still upset with our earl for wanting to pursue such a career. Like he doesn't think it's a particularly serious occupation. Maybe he truly thinks it's not worthy or proper for a member of a noble family to do that sort of work. He even says something like that in ch132.

Real Ciel has, since that moment (if not before), wanted his little brother to be dependent on him. Forever.

So, yeah, at the point where he's had the blood planted at the manor and is calling his younger twin by "Lord Sirius", he's perfectly willing to have him arrested and detained for questioning. Things would have played out quite differently if Sebastian and our earl hadn't gotten away from the Yard. After a few days of letting our earl think about what he's done, sitting in some jail cell, he might have gone down to the station and dropped the charges -- making who knows what excuse about the blood and the deaths -- on the condition that his younger twin would return to the manor and stay there, doing whatever real Ciel wants him to do. Maybe he would pin the entire thing on Blavat and let him rot there. Considering how Druitt keeps getting out of situations with the law, I'm sure real Ciel could talk or bribe his brother's way out of legal trouble.

Since real Ciel now runs entirely on his personal goals and desires, what we see now is a much more selfish version of himself. So selfish and elitist that he'll:

Have Lord Polaris kill Agni to turn Soma against his younger twin

Have his brother locked up just to physically contain him

Destroy what his brother has built for the estate and Funtom, despite recognizing the effort it took

Belittle the servants that his brother showed compassion and leniency to

Use his fiancée as a bodyguard but otherwise barely speak to her

Drain people dry to accept only Sirius (AB) blood when he could accept any type

I'm sure there are things I've left out that I intended to include, but this seems pretty thorough to me... for now.

He does love his brother, but as a soulless bizarre doll, it's a cold sort of love. The self-centered aspects of it remain. Not what he can truly do for his younger twin but what his younger twin can do for him. And he is angry... and still competitive.

ETA: Real Ciel's lies to Francis/Frances aren't really to protect our earl; the excuses he makes, etc. are to help cover up the dark truths about himself. Just imagine him trying to explain it truthfully and in relatively good detail. It wouldn't go over well at all.

[yami-in-leather]

hehe I got all of them! went to four different familymarts even though I found one that still had them all bc I didn’t wanna look like a crazy person buying eight ice creams at once lol

I had an entire bag full of coolish and pino by the end of my little adventure~

[nullbutler]

Null now I'm curious what other new anime bb characters would think of season 1 version, like New Ciel verses season 1 Ciel lmao

while the sebastains aggressively make out, the Ciels are huddling up crying like wet kittens

[falling-star-cygnus]

i don’t plan on ever officially finishing or starting or making content for Black Butler bc frankly- the fandom scares me {which is saying something bc fairy tail, sailor moon and mha were my first animes}

BUT LOOK AT THIS LITTLE CUTIE -> look at Ciel's face and his instinctual hold at Soma's arm

he’s such an asshole {for good reason all things considered} but he is my favorite character

[blondeaxolotl]

Omg!!! Vincent and Rachel are so cute in your art style! I've got to see more of those cuties in your AU 💝

Kissing the twink husband before you go teach your youngest son how to kick ass in fencing/sword fighting!!!

[anawkwardlady]

OCiel : you're the worst.

RCiel : oh? if that so, I am sorry, should I maybe kill myself ? 😊

OCiel : *sigh* please don't... you're going to come back even wronger...