Ship or skip?
Summary:
- The discussions of whether it’s okay to ship Sebastian with Ciel or not are still going strong in the Black Butler fandom.
- A big number of fans see this pairing as completely inappropriate.
- We should all learn to let others enjoy things, if they are not harming anyone with it.
So, Sebaciel. To quote CJ from GTA: San Andreas (but in a polite way): ah, damn, here we go again. “Why are we even still talking about it in almost 2024?” you may ask. The answer is extremely simple: because fans are.
The relationship between Sebastian and Ciel from Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) seems like the main sticking point for the fandom. And with Season 4 of the anime on its way, we have a feeling that this issue might come back to haunt us once again. Because let’s be honest, Black Butler wouldn’t be itself without at least a couple of Sebaciel innuendos.
What is the issue with them?
Ciel is very young, and Sebastian is an ancient demonic creature, do we need to say anything else? This pairing and all the people who ship it receive tons of allegations every day, and fans keep talking about it being extremely problematic all the time.
On top of that, Sebastian, being a demon, is much stronger than Ciel, so it creates an unhealthy power dynamic between the two. Moreover, they say Sebastian is there just to devour Ciel’s soul, so shipping them is just weird.
It wasn’t always like that
Still, a good ten years ago, the Sebaciel shippers were the driving force of the Black Butler fandom. Not many people really saw an issue with shipping them, and the manga and anime themselves provide tons of fanservice and even sexual innuendos connected to the pairing.
Besides, the anime community’s moral standards have changed quite a lot over time. Back in the day no one really cared what fanfiction you read at home, and now everyone takes their chances at screaming profanities at the ones who disagree with them.
The solution to this conflict is rather simple: let people enjoy things. If Sebaciel disgusts you, it’s totally okay, and we understand why. After all, Black Butler has a lot of problematic themes, and you don’t have to enjoy all of them. That’s why all social media has a feature that allows you to block or ignore the content you dislike. Just try using it, and you’re safe.
But if you find the pairing enjoyable, just keep enjoying it like it’s nobody’s business. Sebastian and Ciel are both fictional characters, and you’re not hurting anyone by reading a couple of fics once in a while.