#The Guarded Heir

[lolablackwrites]

MC Mixer #2--Alice x Bastien

Here is my submission for week 2 of @choicesmcmadness​ ‘s MC Mixer!

Hello, Trend readers! Check out this online exclusive sneak peek from our upcoming exclusive interview with the Duke and Duchess of Valtoria, Alice Ayers and Bastien Lykel.

—Ana de Luca

***

Ana: As the newest duke and duchess of Cordonia, the two of you must have to attend a lot of parties.

Alice: I find them easier to stomach if I think of them as networking events.

Bastien: Which they are—from the outside it might look like just a party, but policies and international relations can be made or broken at these events. Alice in particular has been very adept at navigating these and strengthening Cordonia’s position on the world stage.

Ana: My other sources have said the same thing.

Alice: (laughing) You both give me too much credit. It has to do with my years of bartending and learning how to talk to just about anyone.

Ana: A skill I’m sure comes in handy, especially at events with an open bar…

Alice: I can neither confirm nor deny this…although I did once impress another member at court with my knowledge of top shelf whiskey.

Ana: I’d be remiss if I interviewed you for Trend and didn’t ask you about fashion—what are you wearing to these events?

Alice: If it were up to me, I’d exclusively wear jeans and my leather jacket. (Laughs). But in the best interest of Valtoria and Bertrand’s blood pressure, I’m very fortunate to have those with better fashion sense than me at my side—especially Hana.

Ana: Just to clarify, you mean Lady Hana Lee?

Alice: Of course. She’s an incredibly talented seamstress and the only reason I look even mildly presentable most of the time is because of her.

Ana: Lady Hana is quite talented—the photos of your wedding dress were stunning. Now, Bastien, I understand you had a hand in that?

Bastien: Only in that I recruited Hana to make Alice’s dress, I can’t take any credit for the final product.

Ana: And what about the fashion you wear to these events?

Bastien: I honestly wasn’t aware anyone was looking at me, seeing as I’m always standing next to her.

Alice swats his arm and smiles before taking his hand.

Alice: You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re particular about your suits and you always have them tailored so they fit you perfectly. Your style is timeless.

Ana: I have to agree—I’ve had a lot of men asking me about your suits.

Bastien: It’s like Alice said, it’s all about the tailoring.

Ana: Let’s talk a bit more about party prep—what do you do to get ready before any big event?

Bastien: Nothing too extensive, just a shower and shave. I can get away with a lot less than Alice.

Ana: It’s true, men get off easy. Alice, what about you?

Alice: It depends on the event, really. Sometimes I hire someone to do my hair and makeup so I’m sure things turn out right, other times I do it myself. Mostly my party prep includes psyching myself up to be “on” for the event. Despite how I might come across, I’m a homebody at heart.

Ana: As we know, you two are currently expecting your first child, so arranging for child care isn’t an issue quite yet.

Alice: (Laughs as she places a hand on her stomach). Not yet, for now this little one just goes with us. But that is something we’re going to have to consider sooner rather than later.

Bastien: Because of our obligations at court, we’re already starting that process now and reviewing applicants for a nanny.

Ana: I can only imagine what that process looks like, especially as King Liam as named your child as the royal heir.

Alice: Olivia is personally vetting each applicant.

Ana: Given the queen’s reputation as a Nevrakis, I can only imagine what that entails.

Alice: She’s…thorough. And a force to be reckoned with, which is why we love her, both as a friend and as the queen of Cordonia.

Ana: It’s true, our beloved queen is a powerhouse. Let’s circle back to your party prep—how do you usually get to your events?

Bastien: Given that we attend many events while being hosted here or at the homes of the other members of court, our travel usually includes walking downstairs. But when given the opportunity, I’ll drive us.

Alice: Bas restores vintage cars and I get to be the lucky one who is chauffeured around. Who wouldn’t love that?

***

The full interview with the Duke and Duchess of Valtoria will run in our next print issue.

[ayyy-imma-ninja]

*minor spoilers for Royal Guard!AU*

-wanted to make something a little indulgent with the gays-

You jeeringly order your new guards to kiss your hand every morning and every night. To get back at you, they take that order very seriously.

And of course they don't limit the gesture to just you~

(and friendly reminder Sun and Moon are NOT brothers in this AU)

[uniasus]

When your brother dates your secret, other brother...

Danny joins JLD as an axillary member - not a regular member of the crew but called in as needed based on 1) is the problem ghosts? 2) do they need the equivalent of a supernatural superman?

Normally a new JLD member is simply announced in the spirit of resource sharing at a regular meeting between JL and JLD, but Danny insists on coming when he learns the next meeting is at the Watchtower. As it happens, Nightwing is randomly on the Watchtower that day. One little pun "I've been dying to meet a Bat" and Dick is done for.

Phantom and Nightwing go from texting to calling to meeting to maybe dating to deciding they want to not just fool around and actually pursue a relationship. This means identity reveals.

Knowing Nightwing is Dick Grayson doesn't mean much to Danny, other than it really doesn't break his bank to pay for fancy dinners. Being that connected to a rich guy is a little uncomfortable, thank you Vlad, but he's known Dick long enough to know he's not a fruitloop (opinion on Bruce Wayne forthcoming, but Danny's not ready to meet the parents or introduce the Fentons)

Knowing Phantom is Danny Fenton on paper doesn't mean much to Dick, but his appearance to Damian in human form is so uncanny it makes him a little uncomfortable. And when they realize Danny is Damain's brother, Dick has to reevaluate his relationship.

[mxtxfanatic]

Notes on Inheritance and Succession in MDZS

Within mdzs, there exists certain tropes shared with other traditional genre cnovels set in similar “hazy-on-history ancient past” settings. One of these tropes is the issue of inheritance and succession, i.e. who gets to be the new leader. In every traditional genre novel I’ve read, while succession and inheritance is assumed based on birth order and ranking (eldest son of the main wife inherits over second son of the main wife or eldest son of the father but born to a concubine), this is not always the case. For instance: a major plotline in a lot of family conflict-driven stories is that a man who has had multiple sons born to different main wives (first wife has died or been divorced) may choose his successor based on which main wife he loved more or whose family has more political backing rather than who is eldest. A man who respects his concubine more than his main wife may scheme to legitimize his shu (concubine-born) son to allow him to succeed over his wife’s son(s). A man with no sons can petition or be petitioned by the clan to “adopt” one from another branch of the family in order to carry on the legacy of his branch of the family. And in very rare cases, complete outsiders are adopted in—though not without approval or challenge from the rest of the clan. Succession is not some set-in-stone process in the genre.

Likewise, we see this play out in mdzs. Taking concubines exists as a practice in the world of mdzs, but with none of the great clan leaders choosing to have any, there’s no issue of di (main wife-born) son fighting shu son. Instead, we have many di son contenders who… don’t content for anything lmao. Of the 5 great clans, 3 of them have 2 di sons, and one of them has a single di son and multiple unclaimed sons outside the home. The Jiang is the only great clan that has only a single son, di or otherwise, born to the clan leader. Let’s break it down a little further: the Lan clan have two di sons born of the same mother—a circumstance usually portrayed as harmonious in similar setting novels and follows, here, with the Twin Jades—and the QishanWen assumedly do as well, also without any signs of conflict between Wen Xu and Wen Chao.

But the Nie have two di sons born of different mothers, one who is the shining example of a Nie leader and the other who is considered a waste. In a traditional genre novel, the expectation would be that Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang have a poor relationship because of having different mothers, that they should fight over inheritance, and that Nie Huaisang’s “waste” reputation be either a personality cultivated in him by Nie Mingjue to prevent his younger brother from being capable of inheriting or a ploy by Nie Huaisang to deceive his older brother into not perceiving him as a threat. Neither is the case. Nie Mingjue inherits the Nie Clan leader mantle effortlessly, and Nie Huaisang rejects the idea that he succeed. In fact, Nie Mingjue succeeded to clan leader so early in life that he is the one who raises his brother, and rather than raising his “competition” to be a waste, he is the one who pressures Nie Huaisang into developing a golden core and practicing with his saber, against all of Nie Huaisang’s objections. Despite having different mothers who were both main wives and therefore giving them both an equal claim to inheritance, there is no succession crisis.

Ok, so what about the Jin Clan? On the surface, it should be very simple because Jin Guangshan only has one di son, only claims this one son, and even if he were to claim another, he does not want to change his successor. So even when Jin Guangyao comes in, there was never a crisis in succession because Jin Guangshan made it very clear that he would never make Jin Guangyao his heir. That’s partially why when Jin Guangshan claims Mo Xuanyu and brings the boy back to Koi Tower as his heir, Jin Guangyao doesn’t bother to kill Mo Xuanyu. He kills Jin Guangshan and has Mo Xuanyu exiled from the clan. The Jin never had a crisis of succession; Jin Guangyao simply killed the original heir, killed his father while Jin Guangshan thought he had another heir secured, then exiled that other heir post- their father's death so that others couldn’t be brought in to challenge him (and lest we forget the rumors that he was secretly offing the other unclaimed sons behind the scenes, if you want to believe that). Later, when Jin Ling inherits the clan leader title, his claim is tested by older clan members and established clan elders because he is young and seemingly defenseless, not because there was a breadth of heir apparents with legitimate claims to his title waiting in the wings for their chance. It was just a power grab.

So now we have the Jiang Clan, the only clan with only one son and one daughter from the clan leader. There is no succession crisis, and there could never be one. Despite the possibility of having a female clan member succeed (Lan Yi exists as example) and the prevalence of highly respected female cultivators in the story, Jiang Yanli is a weak cultivator and has been engaged to be married out since birth. Jiang Cheng is the only option. I've seen some say that if Wei Wuxian was officially adopted in, then that would cause a succession crisis, but that's also not the case, because Wei Wuxian would be neither Jiang Fengmian's di son unless he were adopted under Madam Yu's name (something she would never allow to happen) nor a viable successor if Jiang Fengmian, himself, did not name Wei Wuxian as a successor over Jiang Cheng, something he would not do. And this isn't even counting the fact that Jiang Fengmian would need clan approval to adopt Wei Wuxian at all (think how Lan Wangji needed approval to adopt A-Yuan as a Lan), let alone the uproar that the Jiang Clan would have as a whole at the idea of Jiang Fengmian making a former servant's son the new clan heir over his son and all the other legitimate sons of the Jiang Clan. Absolutely would not fly. Jiang Cheng has the only claim to the Jiang Clan, and if he dies without an heir, the clan dies with him. Nothing a married-out Jiang Yanli or Schrödinger's adopted son Wei Wuxian can do about it.

Where mdzs diverges from this trope with the traditional genre cnovels is that where this diversity of family types would be cause for conflict, mxtx pretty much ignores them because mdzs is not a dogblood drama. Therefore as morally weak or loose as a lot of the characters are, most characters still hold to a lot of the core beliefs of their society, such as filial piety. There's simply no need to fight over something like who gets to be clan leader unless you truly are a person willing to abandon all morals simply for a crumb of power. And wouldn't you know it, the only character to completely eschew all filial piety in pursuit of coveted power is the biggest villain of the novel who receives the most gruesome death when all his crimes catch up to him.

Some in-depth quotes under the cut:

Concubines exist in the world of mdzs and is not uncommon among cultivation clans:

[Jin Guangyao] never took in any concubines, much less had a relationship with any other woman. This was indeed something that many wives of sect leaders envied.

—Chapt. 47: Guile, exr

Why Jin Guangyao could never be heir under Jin Guangshan despite becoming a claimed son:

In comparison, Mo XuanYu and his mother were rather favored. At least Jin GuangShan still remembered that he had such a son and brought him back to Koi Tower. Meng Yao, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. The son of a prostitute was far from that of a good family.

—Chapt. 47: Guile, exr

[Jin Guangyao] spoke, “My whole thing? Which whole thing? Brother, you’ve always yelled at me for calculating people and being too dishonorable. You say that you’re a proud, righteous person, that you aren’t afraid of anything, that propen men shouldn’t need to play with schemes. That’s fine. Your background is noble and your cultivation is high. But what about me? Am I the same as you? First, my cultivation isn’t as firm as yours. Ever since I was born, has anyone taught me? And second, I have no prominent background. Do you think that I’m in a steady position, here at the LanlingJin Sect? Do you think that I can rise into power the moment Jin ZiXuan dies? Jin GuangShan would rather bring another illegitimate child back than want me to succeed him! You think that I should be afraid of nothing? Well I’m afraid of everything, even other people! He whose stomach is full believes not him who is starving.”

—Chapt. 50: Guile, exr

“This is what he said, ‘It’s especially women who’ve read some books who think they’re a level higher than other women. They’re the most troublesome, with so many demands and unrealistic thoughts. If I bought her freedom and took her back to Lanling, who knows how much fuss she’d make. It was best that I let her stay where she was just like that. With her conditions, she’d probably be popular for a few more years. She wouldn’t have to worry about her spendings for the rest of her life.’ “‘Son? Oh, forget it.’”

—Chapt. 106: Hatred, exr (Jin Guangshan's words recalled by Jin Guangyao)

The conflict in the Nie brothers' relationship:

Nie MingJue was on the school ground, teaching and supervising Nie HuaiSang’s saberwork in person. He didn’t acknowledge Jin GuangYao, so he stood at the edge of the field, waiting with respect. Since Nie HuaiSang was quite uninterested and the sun was bright, he was rather half- hearted, complaining that he was tired after just a few moves. ... Nie HuaiSang roared at Nie MingJue, “Saber, saber, saber! Who the fuck wants to practice the damn thing?! So what if I want to be a good-for-nothing?! Whoever that wants to can be the sect leader! I can’t learn it means I can’t learn it and I don’t like it means I don’t like it! What’s the use of forcing me?!”

—Chapt. 50: Guile, exr

[tartsinarat]

I don’t have much energy (on account of still being sick :/) but I still wanted to do something so dug up an old unfinished screenshot edit that I did a while ago but never finished until now

But yeah this is from the au’s version of Eclipse Lake, which happens a bit later down the timeline than the original.

It’s set just before Hollow mind instead and I’ll explain the timeline differences in much better detail in a different post but it’s basically because Luz isn’t focusing on going home like in the og so she is seeking on ways of getting revenge on Belos and saving Pip and Eda.

But Amity has been wanting to cheer up her awesome girlfriend so she’s been secretly researching ways to create a portal door as a surprise, so Amity was the one who found out about the titan veins through the echo mouse instead and went to go find some titan blood without telling Luz.

If you’re probably wondering where Hunter is…He’s actually taking an extremely well deserved break :0 (lmao, just kidding he’s still apart of the Eclipse lake events) as Pip is surprisingly extremely efficient at sorting out tasks (normal Pip could never, this is all the brainwashing tea lmao) and so Hunter has unwilling ended up getting all his work done by Pip…

Hunter doesn’t want to admit it but he is happy about finally getting a break because he’s getting to do normal teen stuff and play with flapjack more often but he does feel like he’s getting replaced so there is complicated feelings there (it also doesn’t help that Pip is now getting all the attention from Belos and is on top of that able to do magic so Hunter is switching between “I’ve got to do as much as I can so I don’t get replaced” to “it’s kinda nice not being in mortal danger every five seconds and being able to hang out with Willow”)

But yeah onto the episode; Much to the displeasure and horror of Kiki she’s having to be supervised by Pip during the titan’s vein assignment so she’s extra cautious and paranoid about not ruining the assignment especially when in front of the Prince…

Hunter wanted to go with Pip but was then explicitly told by Belos to take a break as Pip was handling an extremely special assignment but Hunter immediately flipped into panic mode because after getting kinda jealous of Pip and he wanted to show his worth again to Belos so he ended up secretly following along as a scout in order to be the first to find the titans blood.

Belos obviously already knew that the vein was already decayed and full of Fools blood from when he went there years ago, so the assignment Kiki is on was actually just a wild goose chase created in order for Pip to secretly assassinate Kiki (who’s fucked up one too many times and knows too much about the actual day of unity plans so she’s obviously got to go.)

Amity and Hunter end up working together after stumbling onto each other searching for titans blood, though they’re bickering and fighting each other the entire way but aren’t as antagonistic with each other as Hunter has slowly mellowed out after hanging out with the emerald entrails more often so they do actually end up properly bonding :)

Uh until they accidentally stumble onto Pip’s attempt on Kiki’s life…

I’m personally imagining the spiderman meme with Pip, Amity and Hunter happening and then Kiki scampering away at full speed in the background.

So yeah Amity is just majorly confused on the fact that she’s just randomly found Pip in the weirdest situation and place possible after months of no contact or communication…

It gets weirder for Amity as Luz never actually told anybody where Pip was and just vaguely said he was staying with family when asked as it wasn’t technically lying (Luz really didn’t want to break Pip’s promise on not telling anyone who he actually is so this is her guilt free way of avoiding questions on where he is)

Pip doesn’t even let Hunter or Amity think about the implications of this whole situation before running off to go catch Kiki and attempt to go for round two… Amity stops him mid way by grabbing his arm which wasn’t the smartest idea.

Because of the brainwashing tea and all the meddling Belos did with his memories, it genuinely makes Pips brain hurt when trying to recognise who Amity or anyone from when he lived in the owl house and so he usually gets really frustrated/aggressive when seeing someone from his past… so Amity interrupting his assignment genuinely made him kinda loose it and try to kill her instead.

The image is the aftermath but they both hit a draw because Hunter does manage to deescalate the situation by reminding Pip to focus on his actual mission instead.

I’ll probably continue this explanation through either a comic or text post :p

[emsartwork]

More swords~

Jester, royal hunt leader, healer, queen, king, royal heir, and royal guard

[winepresswrath]

What chengyao need to be perfectly happy is a shared enemy they can direct their ''trying to work out childhood and personal issues by subliminating it into child rearing'' energy towards. They are so itching for chance to play overly concerned parents whose kid got hurt.

why couldn't literally anyone else* have kidnapped jin ling and sent him up zombie mountain we could have had it aaaallll. unless they got into a fight about how to do sieges. but i really think they could have gotten their shit together for the joint stomp down.

* Wei Wuxian excluded because Jiang Cheng cannot focus on other people when he's in a Wei Wuxian spiral and Jin Guangyao would be unable to resist publicly implying it was Jiang Cheng's fault for not finishing the job properly. This is not the way to Jin Ling's happiness.

[lint-beetle4]

Gotta revamp the old classpects, because the first one I did was kinda ugly

[sboochi]

Heirs - chapter 16

When she had told Flynn her idea on how to access the dungeons, he'd stared at her with skepticism.

“Are you sure?” he'd said. “You'll have to do it alone. Can you?”

Yes, Rapunzel thought as she headed towards what she knew was the right door. To help her friends, she could.

Man translating this one took forever, it's 7k words when my chapters are usually around 5k :'D (and the next one is also chunky, pray for me)

[neo-zone]

I think it would be so funny if during the anime adaptation of FRIEND fight, Uryu will be the one watching over Haschwalth instead in return (not out of obligation like Haschwalth of course)

[endawn]

someone attempted to make a lore accurate size of the imperial city be upon ye

[lolablackwrites]

MC Mixer #3--Alice x Bastien

Here is my submission for week 3 of @choicesmcmadness​ ‘s MC Mixer!

Hello, Trend readers! Check out this online exclusive sneak peek from our intrepid arts and lifestyle reporter, Aisha Levins, and her interview with Lord Maxwell Beaumont about his upcoming book, The Royal Romance.

—Ana de Luca

***

Aisha: Lord Beaumont, thank you for taking the time to sit down with me to talk about your upcoming book.

Maxwell: Please, call me Maxwell, and thank you for having me.

Aisha: Your book, The Royal Romance, is one of the most hotly anticipated books in the last few years and from what I understand, preorders are through the roof. What inspired you to write this book?

Maxwell: In a word—Alice. She’s one of my favorite people and she’s really become a sister to me. And her story is a literal fairytale, starting as an American bartender only to rise to become the Champion of the Realm and a duchess, married to the love of her life.

Aisha: The Cordonian public has been fascinated by her from the beginning, and then the tumultuous stories in the press…can we expect to hear the truth behind the tabloids?

Maxwell: Absolutely. And trust me, the real story is even more exciting than what the public knows.

Aisha: How does Duchess Alice feel about you writing this book?

Maxwell: I think she was a little surprised at first because no one knew I was working on a book. (laughs) But she’s been incredibly supportive and at her request, a portion of the proceeds are going to Voices Unsilenced.

Aisha: That’s Duchess Rashida Masih’s organization for victims of sexual violence, correct?

Maxwell: Yes, and if you remember the tabloids, you’ll know why it’s so important to Alice, too. She, Rashida, and Olivia have been doing a lot for that foundation and I’m glad to help in my own way.

Aisha: That’s wonderful to hear. If I can, I’d like to switch gears a bit. Now I know you can’t reveal too much about the book—

Maxwell: Hey, I’ve gotta have a few surprises for you!

Aisha: Of course, of course. But despite being in the tabloids so often, Duchess Alice and Duke Bastien remain a bit of a mystery to the general public as they don’t often give a lot of personal interviews outside of the standard press conferences.

[Editor’s Note: Check back in next month’s issue when Ana de Luca sits down for a rare, exclusive interview with the Duke and Duchess of Valtoria!]

Maxwell: It’s true, I’m really the party face of the family. And I have the best dance moves!

Aisha: That’s certainly uncontested. Speaking of parties, I was hoping to ask a few questions about the duke and duchess and their party habits since the press is not often invited into many of the court events.

Maxwell: Sure, fire away!

Aisha: Tell me—do the duke and duchess arrive on time or fashionably late?

Maxwell: Bastien’s as punctual as all get out, probably from his time as the head of the Royal Guard. Alice is…well, not, but Bertrand would kill all of us if we weren’t on time so between Bertrand and Bastien, they’re usually on time.

Aisha: And what are their drinks of choice?

Maxwell: Bastien…well, he doesn’t usually drink much at court functions. Sometimes a glass of champagne or wine with dinner, but otherwise not much. Now, at private parties…oh, the stories I could tell about Bertrand’s bachelor party…

Aisha: I know our readers would love to hear them!

Maxwell: (awkwardly clearing his throat) I’d better not, I don’t know how happy Bertrand would be with me sharing those. Let’s just say there was beer and a bear and we all survived.

Aisha: As always, no one parties like the Beaumonts. Maybe in the sequel?

Maxwell: Most definitely.

Aisha: And what about Alice’s drink of choice?

Maxwell: Well since she’s pregnant, these days she just sticks to water. But as everyone knows, she was a bartender before we all came crashing into her life, so she has a refined whiskey palate. Red Spot was always one of her favorites.

Aisha: I imagine her bartending skills aren’t often needed at parties anymore.

Maxwell: Not at court functions, but I love having dinner at her and Bastien’s place because he’s an amazing cook and Alice always whips up the most incredible cocktails.

Aisha: Any chance for a recipe or two to end up in the book?

Maxwell: I could probably convince her to let me add a couple to the appendix. The one she made for my last birthday was amazing. I have no idea what was in it, but it was delicious. I had four.

Aisha: What are they like at court functions—are they wallflowers or social butterflies?

Maxwell: Bastien is definitely the more reserved of the two—he’s the strong, silent type, you know—but Alice is definitely the one befriending everyone. I mean, she managed to befriend most of her competitors during the social season, she won over Cordonia after she was unfairly maligned by the press after the social season, she’s raising a ton of funds and positive press for Voices Unsilenced, and she inspired the book I wrote that you’re interviewing me about today. Like I said before, she’s the best.

***

The full interview with Lord Maxwell Beaumont will be available in our next print issue.

[ayyy-imma-ninja]

Royal Guard!AU

You

Fourth ref sheet complete!

It's you! No surprise there. You're not particularly thrilled by this arrangement. After living a stuffy life in the castle you thought this quest would grant you the endless freedom you sought after. You were not expecting some day-and-night babysitter to accompany you.

~sole heir to your kingdom

~carefree

~must embark on a quest

~you don't think you need a guard watching them

~you do whatever you want. Much to Sun's annoyance, you little rulebreaker-

~you warm up to Moon first

~you're skilled with the pan flute

Who knows. Perhaps there's more to them than you realize...

[rusquared]

alright 3rd cup of coffee. i trust you, unlike those bitches before you.

[mycorrhizastar]

The great royal breakup is making her job harder than usual, but she's managing.

[tartsinarat]

Heres an extremely dumbass idea I thought of while rewatching parks and rec through clips

Belos: “Depressed? I’m the furthest thing from depressed. I mean, look at what I’ve accomplished. Do you see them? Do you think a depressed person could make this? No.”

Hunter:” uh…father who are you talking to? There’s no one there”

Here’s the live Caleb reaction

But yeah I just find Caleb showing up to haunt Belos’s ass at random points and judging every life decision he’s making, so then every time Belos has to miserably fail to try to justify everything he’s done ever to (quite literally) dead silent Caleb is kinda funny in a morbid way

This time he is showing off and brings up his two grimwalkers that have lasted the longest beating his record of two years as an example of a good life decision as well as proving that he totally doesn’t need therapy

Ngl I feel bad for Pip as the poor guy just wanted to nap and got picked up just for Belos to prove a point but he stayed asleep through all of it tho

Btw Caleb is trying so hard not to loose his shit just because there’s youngins there and he doesn’t want to wake up Pip by making Belos pissed off so he’s going to stand there in silence even more menacingly and judgemental

I like the idea that despite the weird as fuck origins of Pip and Hunter, Caleb still sees them as his nephews and likes to check up on them every once in a while when he’s not haunting Belos, Caleb checks on Hunter the most because he’s constantly in dangerous situations even inside the castle so it helps Hunter a lot to have Caleb staring daggers at Belos whenever he gets violent towards Hunter because it usually stops him

On the other hand Caleb does like checking on Pip because it’s nice seeing a version of what could have been if Philip had learnt to accept the boiling isles :( also I can imagine it’s nice seeing your great x(insert number) granddaughter continue your wife’s tradition of being a menace to a stuck up society and teaching those ways to your weird mini brother/ nephew.

also fun fact Hooty can see Caleb (don’t ask how) and greatly enjoys chatting to him as Caleb was the one who managed to convince Eve to let hooty stay in their house’s door as a “guard” but really Caleb just felt bad for the wee bug demon as hooty didn’t have a home at the time and thought so he would be a fun addition to the family hence why alongside Lilith, Caleb was one of Hooty’s favourite people

btw nobody really cares or finds it unusual for hooty to just be talking to himself so not one single person has asked about it lmao

Almost forgot to mention but this is actually still a weird memory that Hunter remembers and used to wonder why on the boiling isles did Belos have those random fits of “hallucinations” until he talked about it with Pip.

Pip was just causally like “wait you couldn’t see him?” And walked off… Hunter has never found out or gotten a clear answer if Pip was actually joking or if he could straight up see dead people, Pip refuses to reveal the real answer because he finds Hunter being confused as fuck hilarious

Also if your wondering why Belos doesn’t have the cool mechanical prosthetic staff arm, he usually hides it with a glove :p (this is because a) I’m too lazy to draw such a detailed prosthetic all the time and b) I doubt Belos would like people to know he’s missing an arm as I doubt he would like the idea of seeming “weak” because in his day this would essentially be a death sentence either due to infection or being classed as less than due to not being able to work properly)