ArgentNoelle

These are some of the Black Butler stories that I really like :) All pairings/genres. It’s so hard to find good longfics by just searching, so I thought I’d share some of my favorites. See individual stories for ratings/warnings. Everything here is complete.

• Arrow by itszapah
From a young age, Lau has always stood out as a charming yet cunning boy. Using this to his advantage, he plays the world around him to always get what he wants, even when he has nothing. He ends up balancing a double life on the two extreme sides of society, but it doesn’t come without consequence.
This story tells of Lau’s growing up; it’s a great & interesting look at the character, as well as having some action (more as the story goes along.)

-words: 55,700
-pairings: Lau/Ran-Mao
-pre-canon

•As You Wish by Yuri_MoonFire12
Fifty years have passed since Ciel was forever changed to an immortal demon and in that time Sebastian has grown to hate him, himself and the ties that bind them together. However, Ciel does not feel the same way and wishes to correct the cards of fate they have been dealt.
In which Ciel & Sebastian finally get over things and live evilly-ever-after. Pretty happy, all things considered. This is the shortest story on the list, but I decided to put it here because it reads like a longer story.

-words: 22,500
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel
-post-season 2

• Blue Jade by Araine
As a serial killer hunts down Chinese girls in London’s East End, Ranmao remembers how - from a Taoist temple in the Kunlun mountains - she became a prostitute in Anhui, met Lau, and how together they left China.

-words: 32,300
-pairings: Lau/Ran Mao
-supposedly canon, but with some departure in characterization/known backstory.

•Crescendo by BlackInkStains
As the melody dances through the painted labyrinth alone, many hands reach out to lure it into certain danger. Only one among them can lead it into safety. Or, at least, to safety on time. Modern Artist AU
This story is utterly amazing, with an almost magical-realism feel. It’s written in a very plot-driven mystery style, with only very slight focus on the pairing, and has a multitude of characters, twists, and turns. One of my favorite things about this story is the way it manages to write a human Sebastian that still keeps a lot of the eerie, non-human qualities of canon Sebastian, and how this is incorporated into his backstory and his ambiguous “curse”… I’ve also *never* seen a story with an Ash Landers that is this perfectly IC and creepy. This is definitely worth reading even if you’re not into sebaciel.

-words: 135,000
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel
-AU

•Devilish Impulses by KittyGetsLoose
He impulsively broke the covenant, then remade it. But can the trust, once shattered, be recovered? Sebastian must work twice as hard to rebuild what he briefly discarded.
This is one of my top 3 favorite sebaciel stories (by which I mean stories where that’s the focus, not where it’s just in it a bit). Amazing wordbuilding, a great plot & character development. It got a little bit too sweet for me at moments, mostly later on, but kept everyone IC… if you want a fic where Sebastian & Ciel get an actually happy ending that is believable, (and the ending is *amazing*) this is the one.

-words: 208,800
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel
-post-season 1 AU

•Domina Esques by Shu of the Wind
Or, The Lady Knight. At sixteen, Lizzy Middleford has been on a tour of the continent for a year. Now, she’s a different, sharper person than before…and she’s determined to take her place at Ciel’s side, whether he likes it or not. All hail the Queen’s Paladin.
Literally the most awesome Lizzy fic ever. I really can’t say how amazing this is. It has a wonderful, nuanced depiction of all the characters, and an incredible plot. It feels like a historical fiction with plenty of steampunk and action.

-words: 236,200
-pairings: Ciel/Lizzy
-canon AU

•Etch the Pain by Gambitgirl
When the demon’s lips first touched his young lord’s flesh and black tipped fingers slid along that young cheek, cool and smooth as marble, the demon mourned how dull his existence would become in the next moment. Yes, he would be sated, he would thrive on this soul for centuries, perhaps a millennia or more. But… Ciel Phantomhive’s existence would become mere footnote in the history of the world.
What a luminous little scribble he had been!
This is one of my top 3 favorite sebaciel stories (by which I mean stories where that’s the focus, not where it’s just in it a bit). Somewhat dark, mutual obsession & hate but definitely no romance

-words: 51,300
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel
-post-season 1 AU

•Eudemon Everlasting by tayziconable
Nearly a year after Ciel’s transition into a demon, he and Sebastian fulfill their first new contract together. However, their feelings alter slightly in their time together, in ways they never deemed possible, and on top of it, Sebastian discovers a very unorthodox method of tasting Ciel’s soul.
A fun plotline that sometimes veers slightly too much into romance for my taste, but makes it all work by the fact that everything is so IC. Not particularly angsty, but with a lot of humor, especially in the dialogue, which is the best rendition of Sebastian & Ciel’s banter I’ve ever seen. Plus you can’t miss the absolutely interesting, gross, and unique account of Sebastian teaching Ciel the finer points of how to eat souls.

-words: 42,500
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel
-post-season 2

•Hitches and Knots by Maiden_of_the_Moon
It’s Sebastian and Ciel’s wedding, and everyone is invited! …everyone.
If Black Butler were a romantic comedy, basically. Remarkably IC, somehow.

-words: 83,500
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel; Grell/Will; Ron/Finny
-post-season 2; modern day

• Inertia Creeps by Cennis
If everyone but you believes you’re mad, who is wrong? Ciel Phantomhive, patient D18, is not mad. Sebastian Michaelis, new orderly at St. Victoria’s Asylum, agrees. Eventual light Sebastian x Ciel, AU.
This is an incredible story. But it’s very, very dark - though at first (like Sebastian) you don’t realize what you are getting into. It’s an ensemble piece, though Sebastian & Ciel’s arc is the focal point, and multiple characters have great arcs. It’s got a lot of violence and is incredibly intense and honestly disturbed me, probably more than any Black Butler fic I’ve ever read. One of the things the author managed to pull off incredibly was to keep everyone, and their dynamics, IC while moving them to this human, no-powers AU, but the fact that everyone is human makes it only more disturbing… and that’s not even getting into the horror of the place itself.

-words: 241,400
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel; Soma/Agni
-AU

•Lay Me to Rest by BlackInkStains
Almost one and a half centuries after Ciel’s death, Sebastian returns to London where he and Ciel meet again. How is it that his former master is still alive when Sebastian himself devoured his soul many years ago?
Undertaker is a pretty major character in this, as is the curious relationship between him and Ciel, and Ronald has a great cameo as well. But the most interesting part of this story, to me, was the “unfinished” contract between Ciel and Sebastian, and way the power dynamics between them were flipped around a bit, and constantly being tested. It’s surprisingly sweet, as well as haunting. But fair warning, this ends tragically.

-words: 60,500
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel; Ciel/Undertaker
-post-canon

• Nevermore by BtchesLoveCannons
Ciel is adopted by the Phantomhives at the age of thirteen after being raised an orphan. He soon learns the family has dark secrets and the butler is more than he seems. Also, the butler seems to have taken an interest in him that isn’t completely innocent.
I particularly liked the Grell plotline in this story.

-words: 57,600
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel; Grell/Will; Grell/Undertaker
-AU

•Stain the Water Clear by objectlesson
The wind may come and scatter ash, but Sebastian is the fire. He will keep burning, and Ciel will continue to smolder beneath him, until kingdom come.
This is one of my top 3 favorite sebaciel stories (by which I mean stories where that’s the focus, not where it’s just in it a bit). I love how this fic features a Sebastian who is really alien and sees the world incredibly differently than a human would. Though it’s his pov, it’s really a coming-of-age story for Ciel. Fairly dark. For this Sebastian, “love” can be both twisted, and corrupting, but also transcendent and sublime. There are no paradoxes for him, in anything. He destroys what he loves, and he loves in destroying. Ciel is caught up in this and as he tries to make sense of his life, he changes from a boy to a bitter young man with a worldview inextricably influenced by Sebastian.
[The story hasn’t been marked as complete, but it actually is]

-words: 55,500
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel
-pre-canon, possible slight AU

•The Secret Name by smilingcrescent
Ciel never revealed himself as the Queen’s Guard Dog, even to the underworld. Instead, under Sebastian’s influence and an array of persona, he searches, ever more desperately for a way to get revenge and extend his contract. The contract, after all, ends 6 years from that day… If he can get Sebastian’s Secret Name, he may have a chance to live. Modern AU.
This is an interesting concept that plays out really well, with an almost fairytale-ish feel. The way the modern-day setting changed and affected the basic plotline, and the incorporation of minor characters in unexpected ways, especially Alois, made this particularly fun. Very slight ship, mostly plot-focused.

-words: 68,000
-pairings: Sebastian/Ciel
-AU

•To My Own Little Boy by KuroFan4235
A series of anonymous gifts and strange goings-on take place while Ciel is ill. How will Sebastian and Ciel handle this new mystery?
In which yet another creep displays too much of an interest in Ciel—in fact, he’s laboring under the delusion that Ciel is his son—only this time, Sebastian isn’t able to so easily save him. With Ciel kidnapped and Sebastian gravely injured, and the addition of an unknown demon whose motives are opaque, there’s nothing else for Sebastian and Ciel to do but play the long game.
This is a suspense story that is almost sickeningly tense at times; and it does something rarely seen with having even Sebastian set against a situation where he’s helpless. It’s almost impossible to put down, and the story takes a twist near the end that I’ve never seen in any other story. If you want a gen but very Sebastian & Ciel-centric, plotty story, where they have to match their wits against staggering odds, this story is for you.

-words: 131,300
-pairings: Sebastian & Ciel, gen
-canon AU