First of all, the funny thing about Sebastian's negative CR is that with a few exceptions (that are always over something stupid), the negative part is usually extremely one-sided, and Jason is no exception. Before they ever met, Sebastian knew a little bit about Jason, which isn't wholly surprising considering, well. Sebastian. But Jason definitely made a name for himself with the Junko fiasco, and having heard about that, it was actually a point in Jason's favor!
Then they actually meet, and while Jason was pleasant enough, the fact that his tone immediately changed as soon as he found out who Sebastian was more or less added another point in his favor. This might sound odd and contradictory (and it really is tbh), but the way Sebastian works and thinks about things is fundamentally different. For once, Jason's hatred is more a sign of Jason's competence in Sebastian's eyes, because considering Sebastian's first event in Haven was Team Havan and The Assorted Fiascos, his opinion of Haven's competence was pretty dang low...
So when Sebastian runs into someone that's actually intelligent and purposeful with how they proceed in Haven, they're more or less automatically put in good graces with Sebastian, and since he's very much aware that his own purposes are selfish and self-serving, he actually deeply respects people that are a bit more far-reaching with how they look at things. Jason's willingness to do what's necessary, his ruthlessness, and his pragmatism are all things that Sebastian considers to be very, very good qualities, and on Sebastian's side? He trusts Jason to not be a fucking idiot, and in turn, he's willing to trust Jason with certain things he wouldn't trust most people with, like sensitive information.
However, that's obviously not to say that Sebastian trusts Jason completely. He's very much aware that they're opposed to each other despite the fact that they can keep a cordial working relationship most of the time. Which leads into that one-sided rivalry. Sebastian is completely full of himself and arrogant because he does have phenomenal cosmic power, which is what definitely makes all of Sebastian's rivalries so one-sided. He knows that he has the ability at any time to more or less crush anyone that opposes him without much effort at all, but... he doesn't. Like 99% of that is more because that's rude as shit to RP and I wouldn't do it OOC, but I can come up with some IC justifications, thank goodness.
So for Jason, Sebastian views him a lot like an especially interesting person like he did for Ciel, because there's the unique combination of having purpose, but also being ruthless in it. It makes Sebastian respect him, but also totally want to mess with him, which is why Carolinebastian kissed Jason without caring at all, and would casually admit that later just to mess with him. Sebastian isn't exactly idle in how he finds people amusing, buuuut he's not actively malicious so much as playful
YOU'VE ALREADY TLDR'D FOR SO MUCH OF OUR CR... i'm sitting here cracking up because i'm looking at the ones that haven't yet like "well soujirou won't have anything to tldr about"
MAYBE NAOI+JASON OR SEBASTIAN+CHARLES OR JACK??? whatever would be most interesting to write about
So! With Oz's side of the friendship, it's more or less everything that's good about their CR, so let me take you into the magical journey that is the less-than-good part of it, brought to you in Technicolor by All of Ciel's Insecurities!! I won't rehash the Dreamland part, since even if I didn't do a CR meme comment about that, we've talked about it enough that none of that should come as a surprise. Instead, the important idea to hold in mind with their continue CR in Cerealia is that Ciel didn't expect it to continue, which has led to a lot of issues for Ciel that he's never had to deal with at all ranging from the lighthearted to the extremely serious, upsetting ones.
And you can guess which ones I'm starting with.
First of all, though the end of Dreamland was very bittersweet in itself, it's exactly the sort of end that Ciel wanted all the same. There's several reasons why, from his sense of duty and responsibility to his guilt, but ultimately, it's an ending he wanted because Ciel definitely prioritizes detachment. While we knows that Ciel does harbor no small amount of guilt about the things he's done, it still remains his motto to move forward without ever looking back, and so as that means heading towards his own death, he feels a great need to isolate himself. So with Dreamland, even if it was bittersweet, the idea that he would return home and never see any of them again was something he found comforting, because he had grown closer to people in the park, and he had opened himself up to the slew of issues that came with that. The idea of leaving that was a good one, because it's how he considers himself able to move forward.
So the fact that he came to Cereal with Oz (and others, but Oz is definitely the most important) suddenly meant something very new for Ciel. He wants to always move forward and never look at his past, but with Oz being present, it's not something he can just avoid dealing with. And because Siz went tURBODESTRUCTO, it's not just the matter of Dreamland that Ciel can't ignore and compartmentalize, but Oz also ended up getting entangled in the most painful parts of Ciel's past, which is why Ciel is struggling so much with reconciling what he did. Unsurprisingly, if he had killed Oz in a different way, even if it wasn't on his own terms, this would be very different, but. For Ciel, the fact that he killed Oz the way he did is not only deeply traumatic for very literal reasons, but also for very symbolic ones.
Because Oz has gotten tangled in that without either of them ever intending to, it does at least make Ciel confront his wider range of issues, for better or for worse. So for worse, even though it's not something I play out because it's angsty as shit and not fun to RP, Ciel would definitely be having awful, recurring night terrors like when he had freshly returned to the mansion with Sebastian. But for better, it does mean Ciel is having to open himself up to someone, little by little, because since Oz has gotten entangled in this deeply messy part of Ciel's life, he also feels obliged to share some parts.
This, along with a few other factors (like just the fact that Ciel is a helpless nerd) has also made Ciel extremely reliant upon Oz. He definitely prefers to think of himself as someone that doesn't need help, as competent and capable in his own right, and in some ways, he is! But in a lot of ways, Ciel is still a kid, and one that needs a lot of emotional support. This support comes mostly from Sebastian in canon, which is also part of why Ciel is such a dang mess, because that is definitely not support, but Sebastian is constantly there for Ciel and able to deal with him at his lowest, messiest points more or less without question, which is what Ciel needs, but. Obviously this isn't ideal.
Oz in Cereal has held a very important role for Ciel for that reason, since while Ciel really, really prefers running away from his problems or compartmentalizing them so much that they get really twisted, he can't run away from Oz because Oz is the support system Ciel needs to function. You can see him trying to run away from them elsewhere with his other Dreamland CR, because as much as Ciel did/does value those relationships, he also considers them to be a path to a very weak part of himself, which is why he purposefully isolates himself. With Patchouli, there was another issue, but even with Anise, Natalia, and now Mabel, he purposefully avoids all of them because he's deeply afraid of opening up. Oz is enough for Ciel, because opening himself up to one person is hard enough, which is also why he retreated so drastically when Patchouli tried to force the issue.
So Ciel has a lot of trust and faith in Oz, when it comes down to it, because he's very deeply grateful and respectful of the fact that Oz listens without trying to push, and also handles what Ciel tells him appropriately. It's really important to Ciel, because of course he's more or less looking for reasons to push everyone away, and with his hair-trigger to taking offense to things, it really is a very delicate balance. But even though he relies on Oz, there is a part to their friendship that does go two ways, maybe surprisingly, because a lot of this has been like ME ME ME for ciel so far... After all, the reason that Ciel opened up at all in the first place was a perceived similarity between the two of them. It ended up not being quite as close as Ciel thought, and that revelation was honestly terrifying to him, but he does know that Oz understands to some degree, and in turn, he understands Oz's situation. Sort of. He tries, but Pandora Hearts is weird and hard for him to understand...
This is also why Ciel starts making death pacts, which for Oz is like "oh it's tuesday" but for Ciel is something much more serious since the idea of continuing forward and living is so important to him. But Ciel has become fiercely protective of Oz and their friendship, especially with the idea of wanting to make sure that Oz lives. The way Ciel views life is very much in logical black and whites, so to him, Oz's life is more valuable because Oz has such a warm, bright personality and so many people that care for him. So Ciel tries much harder with Oz over other people to ensure his safety, which is why he is such an anxious babysitter, but also why he'll shoot a Ghozt, because he knows that if Ghozt had done something terrible, Oz would feel horrendously guilty about it. Also note Ciel's hypocrisy here because he can't reconcile that for himself bUT
All of this said, there's another important part to their friendship other than the support system, death pacts, and everything traumatic that comes with them, and that's, well. Remembering that it seems like the Ciel brothers were pretty isolated as kids, Ciel's first chance to interact with people on his own came when he came back to the mansion. So with a few exceptions, the relationships he built were all with ulterior motives, and as such, Ciel doesn't actually consider anyone in canon his friend. So Oz is also deeply important to Ciel just because underneath all the trauma Ciel has, there's also a skinny, wheezing nerd punk, and Oz is the first person that Ciel has accepted as a friend.
It's also the area where Ciel needs way more help, clearly, since if shonen exodia is your first friend because you were too stubborn to accept any others, I'm pretty sure that qualifies as an intervention.
So most of the time in the sort of handwaved interactions they have, Oz also just gives Ciel a chance to act his own age, even if he's incredibly reluctant to do so. The gentle bullying frustrates Ciel about 100% of the time, but it's also a good thing, since Ciel is learning how to be a normal person rather than someone that has to consider everyone around him a threat and think about how they can be used towards some end. He still definitely struggles with that, and it manifests as his extreme tinhatting, but with Oz, there's an absolute trust that Ciel has in him that allows him to be subject to that teasing and normal human interaction without Ciel being on edge the entire time.
There's a lot of Oz's efforts that fly completely over Ciel's head as a result, like his grandpa-relating teasing and Oz pushing him to get more friends. Ciel just... doesn't get that... Oz is an exception because of the experiences they shared, but otherwise? Ciel doesn't see any point in making friends except for ulterior motives. Even the people he likes (like Zara) are because they're useful to him in some way, or at least, that's what he genuinely thinks and is too stubborn to admit it's for other reasons too. It also doesn't help that Ciel doesn't exactly have a winning personality, so he's very naturally offputting, and sees absolutely no reason to change that. Oz just deals with it out of stubbornness, and Ciel really doesn't know how lucky he is for that in particular...
So overall:
ciel loves oz, is confused by those feelings, wants to burn all bridges as a result
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can i get garry and diva... and ada and sebastian? AND ZARA AND CIEL?? i'm sorry that's a lot of people...
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jason is colbert of course
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First of all, the funny thing about Sebastian's negative CR is that with a few exceptions (that are always over something stupid), the negative part is usually extremely one-sided, and Jason is no exception. Before they ever met, Sebastian knew a little bit about Jason, which isn't wholly surprising considering, well. Sebastian. But Jason definitely made a name for himself with the Junko fiasco, and having heard about that, it was actually a point in Jason's favor!
Then they actually meet, and while Jason was pleasant enough, the fact that his tone immediately changed as soon as he found out who Sebastian was more or less added another point in his favor. This might sound odd and contradictory (and it really is tbh), but the way Sebastian works and thinks about things is fundamentally different. For once, Jason's hatred is more a sign of Jason's competence in Sebastian's eyes, because considering Sebastian's first event in Haven was Team Havan and The Assorted Fiascos, his opinion of Haven's competence was pretty dang low...
So when Sebastian runs into someone that's actually intelligent and purposeful with how they proceed in Haven, they're more or less automatically put in good graces with Sebastian, and since he's very much aware that his own purposes are selfish and self-serving, he actually deeply respects people that are a bit more far-reaching with how they look at things. Jason's willingness to do what's necessary, his ruthlessness, and his pragmatism are all things that Sebastian considers to be very, very good qualities, and on Sebastian's side? He trusts Jason to not be a fucking idiot, and in turn, he's willing to trust Jason with certain things he wouldn't trust most people with, like sensitive information.
However, that's obviously not to say that Sebastian trusts Jason completely. He's very much aware that they're opposed to each other despite the fact that they can keep a cordial working relationship most of the time. Which leads into that one-sided rivalry. Sebastian is completely full of himself and arrogant because he does have phenomenal cosmic power, which is what definitely makes all of Sebastian's rivalries so one-sided. He knows that he has the ability at any time to more or less crush anyone that opposes him without much effort at all, but... he doesn't. Like 99% of that is more because that's rude as shit to RP and I wouldn't do it OOC, but I can come up with some IC justifications, thank goodness.
So for Jason, Sebastian views him a lot like an especially interesting person like he did for Ciel, because there's the unique combination of having purpose, but also being ruthless in it. It makes Sebastian respect him, but also totally want to mess with him, which is why Carolinebastian kissed Jason without caring at all, and would casually admit that later just to mess with him. Sebastian isn't exactly idle in how he finds people amusing, buuuut he's not actively malicious so much as playful
so, in summary:
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MAYBE NAOI+JASON OR SEBASTIAN+CHARLES OR JACK??? whatever would be most interesting to write about
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nah i'm kidding, i gotchu
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And you can guess which ones I'm starting with.
First of all, though the end of Dreamland was very bittersweet in itself, it's exactly the sort of end that Ciel wanted all the same. There's several reasons why, from his sense of duty and responsibility to his guilt, but ultimately, it's an ending he wanted because Ciel definitely prioritizes detachment. While we knows that Ciel does harbor no small amount of guilt about the things he's done, it still remains his motto to move forward without ever looking back, and so as that means heading towards his own death, he feels a great need to isolate himself. So with Dreamland, even if it was bittersweet, the idea that he would return home and never see any of them again was something he found comforting, because he had grown closer to people in the park, and he had opened himself up to the slew of issues that came with that. The idea of leaving that was a good one, because it's how he considers himself able to move forward.
So the fact that he came to Cereal with Oz (and others, but Oz is definitely the most important) suddenly meant something very new for Ciel. He wants to always move forward and never look at his past, but with Oz being present, it's not something he can just avoid dealing with. And because Siz went tURBODESTRUCTO, it's not just the matter of Dreamland that Ciel can't ignore and compartmentalize, but Oz also ended up getting entangled in the most painful parts of Ciel's past, which is why Ciel is struggling so much with reconciling what he did. Unsurprisingly, if he had killed Oz in a different way, even if it wasn't on his own terms, this would be very different, but. For Ciel, the fact that he killed Oz the way he did is not only deeply traumatic for very literal reasons, but also for very symbolic ones.
Because Oz has gotten tangled in that without either of them ever intending to, it does at least make Ciel confront his wider range of issues, for better or for worse. So for worse, even though it's not something I play out because it's angsty as shit and not fun to RP, Ciel would definitely be having awful, recurring night terrors like when he had freshly returned to the mansion with Sebastian. But for better, it does mean Ciel is having to open himself up to someone, little by little, because since Oz has gotten entangled in this deeply messy part of Ciel's life, he also feels obliged to share some parts.
This, along with a few other factors (like just the fact that Ciel is a helpless nerd) has also made Ciel extremely reliant upon Oz. He definitely prefers to think of himself as someone that doesn't need help, as competent and capable in his own right, and in some ways, he is! But in a lot of ways, Ciel is still a kid, and one that needs a lot of emotional support. This support comes mostly from Sebastian in canon, which is also part of why Ciel is such a dang mess, because that is definitely not support, but Sebastian is constantly there for Ciel and able to deal with him at his lowest, messiest points more or less without question, which is what Ciel needs, but. Obviously this isn't ideal.
Oz in Cereal has held a very important role for Ciel for that reason, since while Ciel really, really prefers running away from his problems or compartmentalizing them so much that they get really twisted, he can't run away from Oz because Oz is the support system Ciel needs to function. You can see him trying to run away from them elsewhere with his other Dreamland CR, because as much as Ciel did/does value those relationships, he also considers them to be a path to a very weak part of himself, which is why he purposefully isolates himself. With Patchouli, there was another issue, but even with Anise, Natalia, and now Mabel, he purposefully avoids all of them because he's deeply afraid of opening up. Oz is enough for Ciel, because opening himself up to one person is hard enough, which is also why he retreated so drastically when Patchouli tried to force the issue.
So Ciel has a lot of trust and faith in Oz, when it comes down to it, because he's very deeply grateful and respectful of the fact that Oz listens without trying to push, and also handles what Ciel tells him appropriately. It's really important to Ciel, because of course he's more or less looking for reasons to push everyone away, and with his hair-trigger to taking offense to things, it really is a very delicate balance. But even though he relies on Oz, there is a part to their friendship that does go two ways, maybe surprisingly, because a lot of this has been like ME ME ME for ciel so far... After all, the reason that Ciel opened up at all in the first place was a perceived similarity between the two of them. It ended up not being quite as close as Ciel thought, and that revelation was honestly terrifying to him, but he does know that Oz understands to some degree, and in turn, he understands Oz's situation. Sort of. He tries, but Pandora Hearts is weird and hard for him to understand...
This is also why Ciel starts making death pacts, which for Oz is like "oh it's tuesday" but for Ciel is something much more serious since the idea of continuing forward and living is so important to him. But Ciel has become fiercely protective of Oz and their friendship, especially with the idea of wanting to make sure that Oz lives. The way Ciel views life is very much in logical black and whites, so to him, Oz's life is more valuable because Oz has such a warm, bright personality and so many people that care for him. So Ciel tries much harder with Oz over other people to ensure his safety, which is why he is such an anxious babysitter, but also why he'll shoot a Ghozt, because he knows that if Ghozt had done something terrible, Oz would feel horrendously guilty about it. Also note Ciel's hypocrisy here because he can't reconcile that for himself bUT
All of this said, there's another important part to their friendship other than the support system, death pacts, and everything traumatic that comes with them, and that's, well. Remembering that it seems like the Ciel brothers were pretty isolated as kids, Ciel's first chance to interact with people on his own came when he came back to the mansion. So with a few exceptions, the relationships he built were all with ulterior motives, and as such, Ciel doesn't actually consider anyone in canon his friend. So Oz is also deeply important to Ciel just because underneath all the trauma Ciel has, there's also a skinny, wheezing nerd punk, and Oz is the first person that Ciel has accepted as a friend.
It's also the area where Ciel needs way more help, clearly, since if shonen exodia is your first friend because you were too stubborn to accept any others, I'm pretty sure that qualifies as an intervention.
So most of the time in the sort of handwaved interactions they have, Oz also just gives Ciel a chance to act his own age, even if he's incredibly reluctant to do so. The gentle bullying frustrates Ciel about 100% of the time, but it's also a good thing, since Ciel is learning how to be a normal person rather than someone that has to consider everyone around him a threat and think about how they can be used towards some end. He still definitely struggles with that, and it manifests as his extreme tinhatting, but with Oz, there's an absolute trust that Ciel has in him that allows him to be subject to that teasing and normal human interaction without Ciel being on edge the entire time.
There's a lot of Oz's efforts that fly completely over Ciel's head as a result, like his grandpa-relating teasing and Oz pushing him to get more friends. Ciel just... doesn't get that... Oz is an exception because of the experiences they shared, but otherwise? Ciel doesn't see any point in making friends except for ulterior motives. Even the people he likes (like Zara) are because they're useful to him in some way, or at least, that's what he genuinely thinks and is too stubborn to admit it's for other reasons too. It also doesn't help that Ciel doesn't exactly have a winning personality, so he's very naturally offputting, and sees absolutely no reason to change that. Oz just deals with it out of stubbornness, and Ciel really doesn't know how lucky he is for that in particular...
So overall:
ciel loves oz, is confused by those feelings, wants to burn all bridges as a result