Ciel Phantomhive (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
demonicdealings) wrote2037-06-11 07:16 pm
demonicdealings) wrote2037-06-11 07:16 pm
info/permissions
Ciel Phantomhive
Ciel Phantomhive
NAME
Queen's Watchdog
NICKNAMES
12/14/1875 - 13 y/o
BIRTHDAY / AGE
Male/Single
DATING
Kuroshitsuji
CANON
London
HOMETOWN
London
CURRENT LOCATION
Alive
STATUS
HISTORY
Please note that anything marked with a ** is headcanon. I will use this sparingly and only when canon lacks details. Weaknesses are combined with Abilities for those looking to get a leg up. Kuroshitsuji seems to take place in a normal London, England, late 1800 setting. However, though not known by the general public, Grim Reapers, Demons, and such do exist. Ciel's history and synopsis can be found at the wiki here. A timeline can be found here.
Most of Ciel's time is spent in his manor which can be referenced here.
MEDICAL
An ongoing medical issue is Ciel's asthma. It can often act up and cause not only shortness of breath but fevers as well. Ciel's also allergic to cats. Due to the eyepatch, his depth perception is often off, but the patch isn't medically needed so this isn't always relevant. While undiagnosed, it's very likely he has PTSD as well considering his reactions to certain triggers such as being touched. Ciel also suffers from constant nightmares.
PERSONALITY
TDLR; cruel, calculated, vengeful, protective of those important to him, damaged.Cold, cruel, and calculating, Ciel is a product of a traumatic event that has shaped his personality. His once innocent demeanor has shifted to something more appropriate for his mission: revenge. Now in charge of running the family business and being an Earl, he's had to learn to navigate the difficult social situations and to hold his own among those who would take advantage of his age and fortune. The result is someone who can make harsh judgmental calls that sometimes border on (or crosses into) evil. This is further extubated by his prideful nature and arrogant way of thinking. Often, these traits work together in order to create a very dangerous individual. For example, he doesn't hesitate to take human life, or allow human life to be taken, when it belongs to the enemy.
It's worth noting that even these qualities aren't on display all of the time. He does eventually congratulate Sebastian on a good job which is a far cry from his usual attitude toward the demon. Still, it still remains a rare moment.
Some of his actions can be justified by logic, some by emotion. For example, his treatment of Sebastian can often be seen as cruel. Even with Sebastian working hard to fulfill his every wish, Ciel is prone to dismissing or insulting him. It would seem particularly harsh if one forgets their relationship isn't as one-sided as it seems: Sebastian is waiting to eat Ciel's soul and his actions are guided by that desire. That much is a logical response. A good example of emotionally-driven decisions comes during the Circus Arc in which Ciel, traumatized by his time in captivity, orders Sebastian to burn down a building holding caged children even while knowing children are inside. It's a uniquely perfect combination that overrode whatever good that was left in his heart at the moment. Under most circumstances, he would've made the opposite decision, but trauma took away his moral compass. It's hardly justifiable, but for Ciel, his emotions won out.
Surprisingly, he does have a moral compass. It's often difficult to see, and it rarely comes out in everyday situations. The cold and arrogant seems to be his default, but Ciel is in a habit of saving the common folk when possible. While hardly the typical shounen hero ready to sacrifice himself for everyone, the boy nonetheless isn't prone to ignoring someone innocent in trouble under most circumstances. This becomes even stronger in regards to the few people he cares for. Elizabeth is the most obvious example of someone he's willing to protect, even going so far as to risk his life for her on numerous occasions. Likewise, he's sent Sebastian to save his aunt and uncle instead of staying behind to save him. This can even show up after some of his cruelest acts. The children that were burnt were connected to a group of circus performers that, while working for the Baron who kidnapped the children, had become Ciel's friend when Ciel was in disguise. After they die trying to capture Ciel, and after he kills the children, Ciel visits the workhouse they had come from in order to become their new patron.
However, there are definitely shades of gray between the very black and white pieces of his personality. Ciel is known as the Queen's Watchdog and is often sent out to catch certain criminals. When in this line of work, he's prone to having Sebastian kill his opponents. There's even the occasional moment outside of work in which Ciel will order a kill against someone who is attacking him. While self-defense is justifiable, he does so with a cold, detached attitude that shows no concern or appreciation for human life.
In addition to being cold, Ciel is also arrogant and competitive, justifiably or not. On one hand, he's horribly spoiled. Unable to dress himself, he's the perfect picture of an aristocrat of his time. Furthermore, he's horrible at most physical endeavors. Likely due to asthma limiting his stamina, he's never enjoyed playing outdoors. However, where his body lacks, his brain excels. Ciel is a successful business and has rebuilt the family's fortune. Whereas they'd also focused on agriculture and the like, an industry that, he was able to realize that there would be an upcoming market for children and women and thus created a company based around toys and candies. This created a surge in the Phantomhive's wealth. Even his ability to fall into certain roles when needing to be undercover can be attributed to his intelligence though some roles do come to him more easily than others. He's also known for his skill in chess, a metaphor for his engagements in the political world around him.
Chess. As he engages in this complicated game in the real world, we see a good representation of all things Ciel. He's intelligent enough to think ahead and connect the movements of his opponents, he's cold and calculating, he's arrogant and prideful. However, the most important thing to note is that he finds it very important to play the game. Spoiled as he may be, Ciel's most willing to go against his own wishes in order to play the role of a nobleman. In spite of preferring his own company, he'll go to parties. In spite of being picky, he'll eat the food he dislikes if served by a host.
Finally, we can talk about Ciel's emotional strength. He's far from immune to emotional pain. The person he became is entirely due to the trauma that occurred around his 10th birthday. The loss of his parents was so great that he refers to them as his predecessors because thinking of them as his parents is too painful. It's also difficult to deny the cracks in someone's armor when it causes them to burn children. However, he does have considerable emotional strength. There's no denying that he's come through something horrible, continues to go through horrible things, and still pushes forward on his mission. His primary motivation in life has become revenge.
APPEARANCE
Ciel keeps his black hair short with fringes that frame his face. An eyepatch can normally be found on his face, hiding one of his blue eyes. Beneath the eyepatch is the demonic contract that ties Sebastian to him. Ciel is small and hasn't grown very much over the years. At 13, he stands at 5'0. He's also very thin in spite of liking sweets and hating physical activity. Ciel's clothing may seem odd by today's standards but are fashionable and appropriate for the time. Instead of describing, it's much easier to see the pictures. However, he'll almost always be wearing his ring and walking with a cane if out in society. Beneath his clothing is a brand that he received during his captivity.
I'll include some canon reference images. Clicking on a picture will take you to a larger version.
ABILITIES
THREADING
What: Angst, hurt/comfort, dark, and recovery stories are among my favorite. I'm also open to fluff, slice of life, smut, gen, light-hearted, and most other genres. I like action enough to write fight scenes and for the occasional meme. I'd prefer crack to be limited, but I'm fine with comedic/fun threads.
Who: Canon, cross canon, LAs, OCs, etc are all welcome. Evil characters are just as welcome as nice, and there's no canon exclusion. I'm also open to those from Kuroshitsuji season 2. Basically, if you're worried about tagging me, don't be. I'll work with you. The only exceptions are canon doubles.
As a rough example of what to expect if you interact with Ciel: if someone of high society or someone with useful information, he'll play pleasant and polite. If he's an enemy, he'll play up the doublespeak until the plan to kill you comes into play. If we do assumed CR, there's a chance for a softer side.
Where: I default from the manga but have seen the anime. For people from the second season, I'm still happy to work with you.
A note about AUs: I can AU him into other worlds but he's a fairly squishy kid so he'll be a fairly squishy kid no matter the world.
Want to AU them into Kuroshitsuji but don't know how? Talk to me. I'll help with that, too.
When: I'm very flexible with this. Canonmates, we can work this out. For crosscanon, it depends on the meme. By default, I keep it open and vague.
Shipping: I'm open to it. For crosscanon, it will be a slow build or assumed CR. Canonically, he's engaged to Lizzy. Kind of. It's complicated.
One-sided crushes are fine Likewise, if you want to try and ship with him but don't know how, feel free to message me.
MISCELLANEOUS
Family: Father (Vincent Phantomhive, deceased), Mother (Rachel Phantomhive, deceased), Brother (actually Ciel, it's complicated)Ciel lives in a large mansion. Outside references can be found here, here, and here. A layout of his personal quarters can be seen here. Dead body not necessarily included but don't be surprised. The wiki page for this location is here.
Ciel has asthma and is allergic to cats. However, he enjoys dogs and horses. Sebastian's name comes from the dog the family-owned before the fire.
He enjoys reading and can be seen reading famous authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle. He can also be seen reading books on topics such as Economics.
While he dislikes spicy food, Ciel seems to enjoy sweet food. He also enjoys horseback riding and sterling silver roses.
Ciel's blood type is Sirius which is likely the equivalent of real-world AB.
WARNINGS
Dark content. Click to expand
PEDOPHILIA - Ciel was held captive and raped for an extended amount of time. There are also several characters, including adults, who have an interest in Ciel. This is played straight and shown as very traumatizing for him.
EXTREME VIOLENCE EVEN AGAINST CHILDREN - The series can often go to extremes when approaching violence and children are just as likely to be brutalized as adults.
CULTS/HUMAN SACRIFICE/HUMAN TRAFFICKING - The three topics often come up and can often be linked to one another.
If you wish to opt-out of interactions with Ciel, please comment here. If you want to leave a note, please feel free, but an explanation isn't required. For those interested in tagging with her but would prefer to avoid the topics discussed above, I can certainly work around them.
opt-out
Ciel's canon has a lot of very dark subject matters. Even aside from how it's handled, the subject matter can be a sensitive one for a lot of people. Ciel himself may not be your cup of tea. Whatever it may be, if you wish to opt-out of any interaction with him, feel free to reply to this comment. If it's a problem with my writing, please consider using the how's my driving entry as well if you'd like to leave a critique.
Also, please leave a list of your journals for reference. I completely want to respect your decision across all of your journals and without that information, I may accidentally tag an account I don't realize is yours. If the wish to avoid Ceil is more character-specific, and you don't mind interacting with him under other accounts, I'd appreciate that information. Likewise, let me know if you want to tag with him but want to avoid any specific content.
All comments are screened.
tldr;
cold and calculated, traumatized, good at playing the game, intelligent, physically weak, seeking revenge, pleasant when need be, can sacrifice himself for some people, will kill his enemies
pedophilia, violence against both adults and children, cults, human sacrifice, human trafficking
If you'd wish to opt-out of interactions with Ciel, or just with any specific topic, please reply here.