Ciel Akil

An quiet, placid craftsman who always has his mind on a new creation. He is incredibly sensitive to texture and temperature - and conflict - so he prefers to remain where he is safe and comfortable.

After he graduated high school, he seems to have a clear path ahead of him - one he’s reluctant to begin.

• Loyalty to his parents - or, more precisely, his tendency towards submission - has strained Ciel’s relationships with his siblings, most notably his older brother Adam.
  • His twin sister, Skylar, has complained about Ciel’s inability to stand up for himself and fight for independence like she did. Fortunately, he still remains close with her, as they have stuck close to each other growing up.
• Of the three Akil siblings, Ciel is the most creative. He enjoys knitting and sewing, and much of the clothing he wears are hand-made and personally designed.
  • His favorite season is winter, as he loves planning, making, and wearing thick and layered clothes. His closet looks and feels like the soft hug of snow.
  • His parents encourage him to monetize this skill and pursue a professional career in textile manufacturing. They’ve funded his classes and professional development, which has greatly helped his abilities but also frequently exhausted him.
• Years of acquiescing to stronger, demanding personalities has made him a valuable asset to established polymath Rüzgar Esenyel. As a part-time assistant, Ciel is responsible for tasks ranging from menial labor to making sure his boss doesn’t break something during one of his pacing fits. Though he initially applied out of curiosity, as well as to make money on the side, he has since grown a genuine interest in becoming an apprentice of sorts for a scholar like Rüzgar.
  • Rüzgar has lauded him for his sculpting abilities in particular, as he has made many physical models based off of Rüzgar’s ideas. He financially supports Ciel’s private lessons at a local art university, claiming that it would be foolish to let such a skill go to waste.
• According to Skylar, one of her earliest memories is Ciel chewing on the sleeve of her sweater. He has retained this habit, putting the collar or sleeve of whatever he’s wearing in his mouth whenever he’s bored.
• Limitations are a necessary part of Ciel’s craft. He works best off of imposed constraints, such as not lifting the brush up from the canvas, focusing on soft shapes only, or using a maximum of 3 colors.
  • Giving him too much freedom will effectively lead to an artistic breakdown. He once dabbled in digital art but ended up being too overwhelmed by all of his options.
• Being closed-off and introverted does not mean that Ciel restricts himself completely. He dips his toe into all kinds of art - even that outside of visual and textile, such as writing, music, and theater. As long as he thinks it’ll help hone his craft, he demonstrates an unusual enthusiasm to leave his comfort zone.
• On special occasions, he likes to travel up to the mountains to snowboard. It’s one of the few sports he engages with, as it doesn’t require him to run around.
  • Skylar has tried to get him to skateboard with her, but without his feet attached to the board, Ciel will immediately fall off.
• Minimalism is of particular interest to Ciel, as he is enraptured by life stripped down to its essentials, free of meaningless distractions. Even before he starts painting, he’ll spend time admiring the canvas, since it resembles infinite possibility in a finite space.
• Billowfly, particularly Skylar’s, do not get along with Ciel.
• Years ago, when he was very young, Ciel had suffered an injury so serious that he spent months in the hospital. All he had to pass the time was a pen and paper. He was initially frustrated with the limitations, venting through haggard sketches and writing. However, the more he drew the same things over and over, the more he challenged himself to refine them, making fewer mistakes and lines. Even writing became an art when he focused on making the letters as beautiful as possible.
  • He vividly remembers the experience - particularly the cold, white room he stayed in.
• Xylophones are the only instrument he’s proficient at. He’s musically hindered otherwise.
• Moths have made their home in Ciel’s closet due to the vast array of material within. Rather than exterminating them, he sets aside old cloth to ‘feed’ them, keeping his more valuable fabric separated and sealed. He also makes sure they stay out of sight, as his parents would surely disapprove of them.
• One of the sacrifices he deems necessary for his craft is the abstinence of sex and romance. Rather than vehemently denouncing interest or flirting around experimentally, Ciel is wistful with the concept, as if the idea of intimacy is further away than he can reach.
  • Ironically, this has affected his work. It’s as if he’s creating the person of his dreams through clothing, or seeking physical comfort with soft fabric in the absence of people.
• Rather than lean on his parents’ finances, he tries to rely on his own money. This has resulted in a rather frugal lifestyle where he’ll look for free (or as cheap as possible) food and materials.
• Ink is his most recent artistic fixation. He enjoys traditional paintings and calligraphy in particular.