#i blame philip and caleb for this

[rulersre4chf4n]

My personal biggest pet peeve regarding analyses of Belos (obviously aside from “he’s just evil and analyzing him at all means you support his actions” and “he deserves redemption actually”) is that so many people take his hatred of witches completely at face value--as simply being the result of his indoctrination into witch-hunting as a child in Gravesfield, that these are just the beliefs he was raised with and that he never grew to see past his prejudice like Caleb did. But that is such an oversimplification of his character, and it also ignores what is in my opinion the main driving force behind all of his actions: Caleb himself.

Belos doesn’t think all witches are evil because he was raised to be a witch-hunter. He HAS to keep himself convinced that they are, because if the witches are not evil, then he has two realities to face: 

Caleb left him of his own free will, not because he was under a spell or led astray by the devil.

Belos murdered his own brother, the only person he ever loved, for nothing.

And these CANNOT be true.

Belos’s need to be the hero who saves humanity from witches is not the reason he killed his brother, it’s the result of it.

[maskednerd]

[try02line]

Random headshot of lil Philip Wittebane while I work on a lil animation

Say what you want, but Philip was an absolutely adorable child with those big blue eyes staring into your soul and I am willing to die on that hill IMAO that is how he got away with being such a menace at such tender age.

Enjoy 🦊

[levshany]

Tandem, this is an AU in which the Collector possesses Philip, and there are a lot of things happening afterwards. but now we’ll just retell how it basically started

@angstyhikka drew a couple of arts and helped me with coloring

This is an alternative development of events after the ending of the fanfic “At The Dawn of The Light” (it's not finished yet, but there is already an AU from the ending, yes). The idea belongs to @lasymit, and I (Lev) picked it up :3

Before King's Tide, all events take place according to canon. And then the following changes occur: the witches capture Philip and lock him in a cave in the Titan's skull. The draining spell is stopped without the help of the Collector, but he himself is not found. His mirror remains lying at the bottom of the pit.

For 10 years, Philip was under a sleeping spell. Everything would be fine, but when the Hexside squad wakes up Philip to make him help them with one super important problem, not only does he become mischievous but he also has problems in his head now. Luz and the team think that Philip is manipulating them (you can't blame them for this, Philip is Philip, even with a leaky memory and a leaking roof, he manages to be such an asshole), and therefore they torture him to force him to cooperate with them.

While Philip was sleeping, a cozy corner appeared in his head, in which there was nothing but a green hill, a small house and an apple tree. There, Philip, in his child form, lives with Caleb, who is a figment of his sick mind. During his 10 years in this mindscape, Philip convinced himself that this was reality. And the Boiling Isles, the cave and the witches who torture him are an endless nightmare. Because, on the Boiling Isles, he sometimes remembers that he killed his brother. But this simply cannot be reality.

At some point, Luz and Hunter realize that Philip is not pretending that he is seriously ill and no matter how much he denies it, he needs help, and they soften towards him somewhat. Although both have rather mixed feelings towards their dementia grandpa.

Even in the moments when Philip remembers himself fully enough, his attitude towards the Boiling Isles, Luz, Hunter and even his own mission has changed greatly in any case. He no longer cares about the destruction of witches and revenge for his brother. Philip is tired. Deadly tired. All he wants to do is sleep. He slept for ten years, and this was perhaps the first time in decades of his life that he felt peace and happiness.

While he is in this state, it happens that he encounter the Collector. This is a difficult meeting for both of them, but it all ends with the forgiveness of all grievances. They both don't want to lose each other now. The collector is still locked in the disk, but Philip has the opportunity to let his friend into his subconscious. Seeing the deplorable state of Philip's mind, he decides that he must help - after all, Philip is still his only friend. Collie asks Philip not to go to "sleep" forever, but Philip replies that he has no joy in waking up here. All he dreams of is never returning to the world of the Boiling Islands. The collector, frightened that his only friend is about to leave him, possesses Philip and promises him that he will get them both out of this nightmare.

This is how Tandem's story begins

a huge amount of detail has been omitted to avoid spoilers for "The Dawn". if you wanna learn more go check the fanfic *wink wink*

[volvolts]

spouting some wittebro headcanons (and my idea of their parents) because drawing is a struggle rn

the wittebane family drama

philip and caleb's parents are julia and dirk wittebane. dirk was a carpenter. they tried having more children but failed a lot. this strained their relationship

julia got closer with a farmhand that dirk worked with a lot named matthew ainsworth. they had an affair and through an (unfortunate) miracle, she got philip

philip mostly looks like his mother but he has his fathers bright blue eyes and dirk figured it out right away. they didn't do anything about it since it would look bad on them if the town got evidence of adultery

julia hated philip because, to her, he's a manifestation of her sins. him having strange quirks didn't help and she considered him a curse. she barely took care of him and caleb stepped up as philip's caretaker from then on

dirk hated philip too. he told caleb that philip was his half brother, hoping it would drive a wedge between them which did not work. instead it drove a wedge between him and caleb

ainsworth did not care for philip. he got together with julia to humiliate dirk, whom he felt inadequate to. he's only happy about philip in a sense that he's a living memory that dirks wife cheated on him

philip was vaguely aware that they didn't like him but he never knew why. he believed that he was cursed that that's why they're this way.

caleb couldn't bring himself to ever tell philip the truth and he probably figured it out on his own but didn't want to think about it

out of the two, caleb is the one who holds all the resentment. he was old enough to understand that he caught in their drama and forced to pick up the pieces.

caleb stopped believing in witches because all it felt like to him was people trying to push the blame to everyone but themselves. he saw no witches. just horribly selfish adults

just the brothers headcanons

caleb was born in the winter in january. philip was born in the spring in may. they have a six (6) year age difference

caleb is bi. he never knew you weren't supposed to find both women and men attractive and assumed people just didn't talk about the other one lol

philip is gay. because of what caleb told him he's like "okay i like men. when do i start liking women? this is taking so long."

caleb is really smart but thinks he isn't because he compares himself to philip. he doesn't realize that being able to understand and keep up with philip when he's in learning mode is not easy

he has a resting bitch face. caleb actually only started smiling more when he lived in the boiling isles and was pretty stoic and closed off when he was a teenager

by contrast philip has a "resting lost face" where he just looks sad all the time. people always asks him whats wrong. he hates it

caleb has a short temper and gets loud when he's angry. he's never hit philip during any of their arguments but the furniture around them can't say the same. usually he tries to leave the house when he's mad because he really hates being angry in front of his brother

by contrast philip shuts down. he's short and passive aggressive. he wont talk anymore and gives you the silent treatment. if he reaches a point where he starts screaming its very bad

the brothers are both introverts but where philip will simply leave when his social battery is slow, caleb will stay there even if he looks absolutely drained until someone pulls him away

beyond whistling, caleb doesn't have a musical bone in his body. philip can shred on a piccolo if he were inclined to

the brothers used to play a game where they would listen to bird calls and other animal sounds and call out what animal it is. caleb is really good at it.

theyre both really good gardeners

caleb actually thinks wolves are kinda overrated. he prefers birds and has a fondness for songbirds specifically

caleb left for the demon realm when he was 21. philip was 15.

caleb and philip were the roughly same height before he left. philip hit a second growth spurt in caleb's absence

philip was 22 when he makes it to the boiling isles

[sepublic]

            The way Belos stans complain about the Titan’s summation of what’s morally different between Luz and Belos, is that it seems what these people wanted, a whole flashback or spiel about how Belos was raised in a Puritan society, actually goes against the point they claim to be arguing, about how it’s important to show everyone’s capacity for evil by humanizing the villain, when Luz questions what difference there is between herself and Belos.

            Because bringing up how he’s a 1600’s Puritan, ironically, would’ve absolved Luz and any viewer, just on the basis that they’re not 1600’s Puritans and don’t have to worry about becoming one. It also absolves Philip because that’s just how he was raised, except… Caleb is right there, and I thought we established “That’s just how things were back then” is racist conservative rhetoric? And ultimately, it would not account for why Jacob Hopkins is like that, as someone who lives in modern Gravesfield, which decries witch hunters as greedy and insincere. It doesn’t account for any type of modern evil.

            What the Titan actually says about arrogant delusions and control is something anyone could theoretically relate to, it’s something Luz can, and it’s something she conquered, with ‘control’ being resolved in the prior episode, in that Luz’s attempts to prevent any mistakes by not trying at all was an effort at control. And Camila explains to her, no, you just need to try anyway because mistakes happen anyway and you can’t control everything or even everyone, anymore than the Collector could with their ‘friends’ or even Belos.

            Hopkins doesn’t just establish Belos’ witch hunting motives, he perfectly sums up who Philip would’ve been in modern times; The exact same type of mediocre asshole. It was never about his circumstances, it was about who he chose to be and what he chose to prioritize, that being his ego and the power rush of being a bully to make himself feel better about his own miserable life. The parallels make it clear, it’s not really because of his historical background, because IRL some people had happy lives and still chose evil anyway. Some people just refuse to accept that they’ve done evil and consider any criticism to be an attack on their perfectly controlled worldview.         

            And in addition to what I’ve also pointed out, I think it’s another reason why Boscha’s arc in S3 was the right call; She IS someone for whom cruelty, domination, and spite come naturally. And yet she still heeded the call to mature when confronted by someone she cared about and was possessive towards, because they had been through the same thing and could relate to a decent degree. So what excuse does Belos have, after centuries?

            Plus, the idea that anyone could be cruel because they simply don’t see themselves as such, means the evil of the isles can’t be solely blamed on Belos, because if people have a responsibility to know better, even if they’re given some grace for having been fooled, then it perfectly sums up the scene with Terra, Adrian, and Vitimir in the finale; Some people just continue to choose to be terrible and don’t really need an excuse to be.

            I mean, look at Adegast or Tibbles, who weren’t really affiliated with the coven; Or the Titan Trappers, who predate by eons! And one could attempt to blame the Archivists, but at some point, the show’s point on free will makes itself clear that this capacity always existed; But at the same time, fascism makes people way more mean-spirited because it’s a system where that attitude thrives, it’s built on that Us VS Them crusade.

[moonmeg]

What would Micah, Robyn, and Evelyn/Catherine's responses be towards Belos' actions? Or how they'd respond to Hunter? (And maybe Caleb's response to the large amount of grimwalkers)

I love your comics! Been reading them for a long time :) and I love the interactions with Micah and Robyn!

Thank you very much!! Happy to hear you enjoy it!

Robyn and Evelyn are more affected by it, since Philip/Belos is a relative. While Robyn would go "I have an evil uncle who not only killed my father - his brother - but also planned to kill my mother, me and the entire population of the Boiling Isles?!" upon learning all that at first, he quickly adapts his parents' disappointed-but-not-really-surprised stance for most of what Belos does.

It gets personal when Lilith gets into the Emperor's coven and clearly is being mistreated in some way or form and when Eda's about to be petrified. It agitated more than just Evelyn, Caleb Robyn and Micah. Generations of Clawthornes had to be held back in the afterlife, cuz they were not having it. But they can only watch in horror how Belos got his hands on their current descendants.

He's managed to before. He's raided villages and set them ablaze, I imagine he's destroyed a number of native plants including Palistroms, which... you know... the Clawthornes' entire lineage depends on. I don't think Lilith and Eda are the first Clawthornes since Evelyn (and Caleb) to suffer from Belos. I think he's made it difficult for Clawthornes before but unknowingly that they were Clawthornes. I hope this makes sense.

The whole grimwalker thing affects Caleb most, of course, since his corpse keeps getting mutilated and abused by the person he least expected it from. I don't know how many Grimwalkers there have been in total, but an adult human skeleton consists of around 206 bones and it's possible there were more than that. Do correct me if I am wrong. If it is indeed more than 206, that would mean Belos had to create more bones. Since he can only use a bone of the ortet, in this case Caleb, the only logical explanation is that he smashed or cut the individual bones up somehow else to use. Now imagine: you are stabbed and robbed of a life in freedom with your lover and child, your corpse is stolen from them and either not given a chance to be put to rest in the first place or disturbed as your grave is being dug up. Your bones are being used for the creation of clones. The person responsible for your death and disturbance of your eternal peace is trying to create the best, the perfect version of you. And not even your bones remain whole. I think Caleb's haunting look in For The Future is very fitting for that scenario and I think that's the face of every other Clawthorne who learns of it and watches it in the afterlife.

Evelyn and Robyn most of all. One is a wife who became a widow way too soon, who saw the life leave her husband's eyes, robbed of a husband in life and a place to properly grieve his loss and the other is a child, robbed of a father and part of his heritage and identity for his entire life as well as a place to properly grieve his loss.

They don't blame the grimwalkers though. Poor things don't know of it themselves and the moment they learn, they get killed.

TLTR; The entire Clawthorne lineage has beef with Belos.

[jess-the-vampire]

In the au where Evelyn is also alive, would Philip and Evelyn at some point start to get along or at least put their differences aside or would they continue to hate eachother forever?

personally i want to think they eventually would put their differences aside, even if it takes a long time

the way i've interpreted caleb and evelyn as characters, is caleb is far more empathetic then evelyn is, he's prone to being understanding of others and it's how he comes to understand witches to begin with

despite how much he bottles up his own emotions, and is constantly putting on a facade because he's grown up having to do so, he really does try to see good in others where he can

so despite how angry he is at his brother and hurt, and how much he torments and blames himself for what happened with philip, he still wants to forgive philip, especially after coming to terms with the abusive situation they grew up under and how bad it was

because for him, his brother is someone in need of guidance, and he feels entirely responsible for how he turned out

evelyn on the other hand, while also being empathetic, is characterized by me as being much more stubborn and far less forgiving

as far as she's concerned, caleb shouldn't be putting so much on himself and he's wasting his life trying to fix his brother, especially after what philip tried to do

she gets it, she really does, she doesn't want to dismiss how much caleb loves his brother, so she doesn't try and fight it, she just heavily disagrees that philip is worth their time and that caleb should be trying to help him

for her, philip betrayed him, no matter the circumstances, and caleb should care about the family they've built together and focus solely on that

neither of these stances are entirely invalid, evelyn and caleb both entirely get where the other is coming from even if they disagree

[prisi]

I feel TOH fails a lot with the treatment that Belos and his lore receive towards the end. I think his arc will feel so much more complete if the show was allowed to show us that he suffered in the past and wasn't like "nah he is just pure evil and he has always been like that". I don't like how the show wants you to believe that Caleb did nothing wrong or reprehensible when there's obvious implications that he abandoned Philip to go with Evelyn, it will be so much more interesting that the show recognized that Caleb was naive and selfish in abandoning his brother (who only have him as family and support figure) to his own in the puritan era, and how that action of Caleb deeply damaged Philip emotionally and mentally (kinda like Luz abandoning Camila to live her fantasy in the Boiling Isles without thinking in the consequences (I'm still pissed that she didn't apologize to her mom for running away at the end) but we are not talking about that right now, I love Luz btw don't get mad at me). And Philip, who probably entered the Isles with the sole intention to "save" his brother who at his eyes was bewitched and seduced by an evil witch to go with her, when he finally found his brother after many years and found out that Caleb actually loved Evelyn and DECIDED to leave him behind he totally lost his mind.

A confrontation escene between Philip and Caleb (it could be a flashback or something showed in Hollow Mind even) will be so interesting to watch, something like in the third season of Infinity Train when Simon confronts The Cat for abandoning him as a child, Caleb will try to justify himself at first saying that he is sorry, that he thought Philip was going to be okay on his own, that he didn't thought that he was going to miss him or something, making Philip more angry, sad and confused.

The situation will scale to the point that Philip, (who's original goal was to kill Evelyn to bring back Caleb in the Human Realm) now that he is angry, sad and out of his senses he tries to attack Caleb with the dagger he had in his hand which triggers the knife fight in which Caleb dies.

Philip, after realizing that he killed the only person he had in the world, he tries to justify himself in an internal monologue like: "oh well, I murdered you, but in doing so I freed your soul from the union with that sinful witch. That's what the witch hunting taught me, right? That's what YOU taught me, RIGHT?". Trying to shift the blame for what just happened onto Caleb but also letting us know and acknowledging that it was Caleb who introduced and instructed Philip in the witch hunt and did nothing to reverse it.

Coming to the end, when the fight ends and Belos and Luz are face to face, the scene would play out more or less as we see it in canon but at the moment in which the first drop of boiling rain falls on his hand and begins to see his body dissolve, he enters a mental breakdown in which he realizes that he wasted his entire life on a goal that made no sense, the witches weren't evil or a threat and he knew it, but he clung to his goal because he did not want to face the reality, he did not want to accept that he had killed his brother in vain nor did he want to accept that he had decided to abandon him, and he did not want to die knowing that he wasted 400 years suffering for something that was not worth it. At the end of his collapse he would crawl a little and see Hunter in the distance (because yes, Hunter should have been present in the end even a little), he would try to extend his hand in his direction but Hunter, noticing this, would close his eyes, look away and take a step back behind Eda and Raine. Philip experienced his brother's abandonment again but with the difference that this time it is merely his fault, because even if Caleb damaged Philip deeply with his abandonment, he is not responsable of the path Philip choosed to take.

Seeing and realizing all of this Belos would stop crawling and give up, lying on the ground, breathing hard as the boiling rain finally dissolves him and dies.

Or at least that is how I liked it to happen, let me know what you think.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

Do you think TOH made people care and then ripped them apart for it?

I was still in high school when I started watching the series and I loved it. I didn't have good grades, I am neurodivergent and bisexual and was thought of as a weirdo and bullied and condescended for crying at school or acting like I was younger than I was and things along those lines. I related to Luz SO HARD. I wanted to be in the Boiling Isles. I imagined myself finding a way there. I had little 'imagine spots' and loved the mystery and the wild and unconventional aesthetics and I even got into some of the stuff you see on r/WitchesVsPatriarchy because of it. I couldn't wait for more story. I was sure everything would be resolved by the end.

Somewhere along the lines, the characters were no longer characters to me. They were real, and had real feelings and struggles and experiences. And somewhere else along the line, the Collector came, and Hollow Mind happened.

I was terrified. I kept watching, though. I wanted to know what would happen to everyone I loved. Hollow Mind was a great episode though, and I thought it and the rest of Season 3 were building up to something big.

They were not. They were building up to something extremely poorly explained that was erased in the last episode. No flashbacks. No face reveals. Caleb and Evelyn do not speak. We still have no idea what happened. How old were he and Philip? What made him trust Evelyn? Why was Evelyn in the human realm? What were the circumstances of the knife fight? WHY did Philip kill Caleb? How long was he looking for him? So many unanswered questions hand-waved in the finale, and anytime someone complains the response is 'but thuh shortuhning.' Boo fucking hoo. They had the time to explain things and they did not. If you weren't knee-deep in fandom and didn't read social media, you may not even know Hunter was a Grimwalker. You'd be left extremely confused about what Belos is and what the hell he wanted. And yet people use 'blame the big bad Disney' as an excuse. Less wasting time in Hexside tormenting students, more on what we give a damn about.

Speaking of Hexside.

I know all that shit with the puppets was supposedly 'necessary', but imagine if you'd been hiding from a potential genocide and suddenly everyone you love has been turned into nonsentient dolls by some unknown god and you're forced to hide and your remaining loved ones are missing and you're barely surviving, your life has been flipped, everything you knew is a lie and you don't know when or if it'll end. That's what it was like for them, and it is not treated like the traumatic and horrifying event that it was. It is joked about and used as a punchline and at best is unneeded filler that creates problems. And then there's Boscha - a girl treated horribly by the fandom and show both. Her friends have been turned into puppets and she is being used by Kikimora, she doesn't know what's happening, it's the apocalypse, she's sad and scared and confused and doesn't know what to do. She lashes out at people because of it. Perhaps she was so clingy towards Amity because her friend had vanished for ages and she finally knew she wasn't a puppet or dead. She is laughed at. Treated as an obstacle for Amity to overcome. Abandoned at Hexside. Given no real redemption. Just left to cry alone. And outside the show, fans will treat her like garbage. I have known people who wanted to tear her head off, or wanted her expelled from Hexside after becoming the least popular girl in school and losing all her friends. This is a teenager going through an unspeakably horrible event that will leave her with PTSD. She deserves exploration. She deserves more from the show and more from fans. Even Dana was asked once if she'd be redeemed - she said 'I think some people don't deserve redemption'. Or something along the lines. Bravo, Dana. Bravo, everyone.

And then the aesthetic switch. I praised the unique aesthetic. All reds and dusty colours and widespread. It made me really think of something abandoned. Someplace really wild. The Collector took over and turned it all star-themed and pastel, and it stayed that way. The Archive House stayed up. They call it the 'king's crown'. It remains a bland galaxy aesthetic with no trace of what they had in Season 1. They might as well reward the Collector for destroying the Isles.

And finally, Luz having to go back to human high school where she was bullied and had bad grades and didn't fit in. I used the Isles as an escape. I wanted to attend Hexside *so bad* and it was clear the show wanted the viewers to want it. So to have Luz go back and spend three years rebuilding the Isles whenever she went there - it broke me. It felt like my guts being torn to pieces. Everyone having to rebuild the Isles. Bland construction. Luz missing three birthdays. If I wanted child labour and bland construction and a horrible high school experience, I'd look at the world today. Luz was forced away from her home and into the place she deserved to escape from. High school is hell. And to top it off, what with current events, I truly do not want Luz abandoned here, among the rise of the far-right and schools doing jack-all for their students and some days when it seems everyone wants to kill each other. Luz does not deserve to be abandoned here, going to human high school and spending all her time in the Isles rebuilding it. No more fun. No more fantasy. No more adventures. Just construction. Everyday construction and a bland pastel star aesthetic replacing what I love. It's not weird anymore. I have lost the Boiling Isles. I feel this is reflected in the door redesign. The wooden Titan Eye design was all wooden, rough, mysterious and possibly alive. The new design is just a blah plastic pastel star design. It's boring.

Maybe I'm being a bit extreme, but I have held onto this for ages and no one shares my sentiments and it hurts like hell. If you could respond, that would be wonderful.

But yeah. TL;DR: This show made me care and then killed my escape and broke me and every character I love.

The Isles is dead, and this show has hurt me in the worst possible way.

I'm sorry that the show has had such a negative effect on you; it absolutely sucks to become so emotionally attached to something only for it to all fall apart in the end. It can feel like all that time and energy was wasted and that you were foolish to like it at all. But no, you did not waste anything. I think it's helpful if you reframe your thoughts because I am concerned about how much this show has affected your mindset.

The show did not break you. Its ending did not meet your expectations and you were disappointed by it. That's ok. A lot of people felt the final season was lacking, even when taking the cancellation into account. The joy and connection you felt in the early seasons still matter. They still helped you in a time when you needed it. Hold onto the happiness you felt and use that as a source of strength instead of blowing your disappointment out of proportion.

It also seems like you're connecting your experiences with Luz. Luz is fictional. She can't be affected by the real world. Within the context of the show, rebuilding the isles is necessary because the Boiling Isles is her home, too. It signifies a new age in which wild magic can flourish. She's choosing to be there as part of the community to rebuild a place that was nearly destroyed. Luz achieved her dream of becoming a witch. She can study and live in the Boiling Isles and visit her mom whenever she wants in the human realm. There is still fun. There is still fantasy.

Going back to the idea of reframing your thoughts: if something has upset you in a story, take a step back and look at it from the author's perspective. What were they trying to achieve? Does this fit in with the established world building and characterization? Did it upset you for narrative reasons or personal ones? So much discourse in fandom can be traced to the fact that fans have their own ideas of how characters should act instead of what is established in the story and what makes sense for that world. You need to look at a story from a narrative point of view instead of a personal one, that way any potential disappointment is not so emotionally-loaded.

Finally, to answer your question, no I do not believe that TOH was made to disappoint fans. Quite the opposite, actually. In the Post-Hoots and on social media, the crew talk about how much the show means to them and how touched they are about all the fan support they have received. Toh is a show made with love and a desire to please its audience--much to its detriment.

I really think the crux of your issue is that the show deeply disappointed you while everyone else loved it. That can feel incredibly isolating and as a Belos fan, I can relate. My advice is to find like-minded individuals so you all can healthily vent together while coming up with goofy head canons of your favorite characters. That's what I do (and endlessly complain about the lost potential. There is catharsis in it). Finally, move onto other shows and other communities, you will find better stories that will enrich you.

Stories can have a profound effect on people but not to the point that they make you feel "broken." My old mentor once said to "take the meat and throw out the bone." Basically, take whatever is useful for you and ignore the rest. You can do this with TOH, take whatever "meat" you found valuable and don't let the "bones" get you down.

I hope you take whatever meat you can from my advice. Please take care of yourself and surround yourself with people and things you love. Explore new stories, meet new people, and continue to grow.

The fantasy is not dead.

[cheekybirb]

“Philip copied Caleb’s responses which made him Belos”

Caleb’s response to an IRL witch was to open his mind and be better. Philip chose not to do that growing up. It doesn’t matter if Caleb started off as a jerk, he chose to be better and Philip chose to ignore that his whole life growing up for selfish reasons.

And despite Caleb being there for him instead of Gravesfield, Philip still chose to listen to Gravesfield even as an adult because it had less to do with being shown kindness and more to do with being told he was special and superior to other people.

And DO NOT blame Native Americans defending their land for Caleb being men or Belos’ genocidal BS that shit is so unimaginably racist. Never blame PoC for white colonizers’ racism.

First off I'm not blaming anyone and and DEFINITELY not DEFENDING ANYONE

You are forgetting I'm writing this from the prospective OF A WHITE COLONIZER

And from 400 years ago when curtain things were normal than but very very wrong now.

People then WERE racist and WERE sexist and Caleb very much fell into that to fit in and so was Belos.

Caleb does have blame because he made Philip fit in and prioritized fitting in so they don't die!

This is exactly what I mean when I say that the Fandom now is so quick to downsize the Fandom when they bring up topics like this.

Writing racism and other topics DOESNT MAKE ME THOSE THINGS

History isn't pretty, and I'm writing what it was like back then

[crossroadsofchaos]

[Retired Leaders AU]

Now that I'm finally TOH posting again, I'm also gonna be RLAU posting, so I thought I'd briefly sum it up for new people, and for people who knew the AU before, but need a refresher.

Retired Leaders AU falls under the genre of Good Uncle Belos AUs, where Belos is a good parental figure to Hunter.

Belos (then known was Philip) was successfully deradicalized back in the 1600s, and he grew to love the Boiling Isles. He was becoming interested in the idea of uniting the realms, and became more serious and insistent on pursuing it after Caleb died in an accident. He distanced himself from the Clawthornes out of guilt about Caleb's death, even though Evelyn didn't blame him, and eventually they lost contact.

Over the following decades, he did extensive research into magic, including forbidden and/or lost magic. Luz and Lilith's visit to the past helped him acquire ancient texts from the Skull (no space child in this version). He started consuming palismen, though he felt guilty about that, and he was also cursed in a similar way to Eda, but with a different beast. The curses often acted up simultaneously and overlapped. They caused several alterations to his body, which included making him bigger and giving him sharp fangs.

Once he eventually took power, he attempted to unite the realms on the Day of Unity, but it went horribly wrong. The spell was stopped when his staff, through which the spell was channeled, exploded. The Hexsquad, Hunter and a weakened Belos barely made it out through the portal door in time to escape the blast. They were stuck in the Human Realm for a while, before they managed to return.

After this, Belos admitted to his wrongdoings, apologized and resigned. The rest of the top leadership - Hunter, Kiki and Seb - resigned as well. The Coven System was abolished, and the government was restructured. Belos is now a palisman carver, Hunter and Kiki are pursuing their passions in engineering/tech and history, respectively, and Seb is a P.E. teacher at Hexside, and also Belos's husband.

(Note: Seb was originally created pre-S2B and was the AU version/interpretation of Steve, of whom we only had one scene. Then we got more info and eventually a face reveal, which turned Seb into an OC, and I eventually changed his name. He's Matt's uncle btw, and his younger brother Jasper is Matt's father.)

[xxfaithlynxx]

Promenades and Imaginations

Pirate!Sylus x OC!Aria Harglow

Mentioned: Zayne, Philip and 'Blonde' Xavier.

Ice Dance- Ashton Gleckman (Edward Scissorhands)

ENJOY the next installment!

NOT PROOFREAD!

Please DON'T steal or plagiarize my work. Much appreciated! As always. ~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 2:

“You know, brother. One could misconstrue your insistence of being present during my bath as less than gentlemanly. I am a grown woman now.” I sat idly inside the deep copper bathtub, water and suds covering up to the upper quadrant of my shoulders.

“Poppycock, woman or not, you are still and forever will be my baby sister! And I can’t stand idly by while you waste your time galivanting about like you have nary a care in the world. You need a marriage match, Ari.” I dunked myself beneath the surface of the water, exhaling through my nose, letting the bubble smack the surface, some popping while others decided to stay, occupied with my breath, my lifeforce.

Closing my eyes, I could still hear the lilt of his voice, but the clarity was no longer pure. Garbled it was now, and drifting I was. My mind wandered back to that terrace, and that voice, and its hidden owner. Had quickly such a voice had been memorized within my mind, within my very nerves. I was sure… as much as I would have loved to put a face to it, without it, I could pick that voice out within a crowd and find my way to its owner.

“The darkness is no place for a dove.” Dove… he thought me a dove. Honestly, I should take that as a compliment, but they way he’d said it… made it seem like it wasn’t. Doves were beautiful birds, aviaries used them for passing along messages, used them for navigation and they bird itself was durable and had the ability to fly long distances. Something I couldn’t do…. Biblically, it’d been used as a messenger from one of the Gods, to show that the flood waters had receded. Not that I held any faith in such a thing, all of that seemed like a load of hogwash to me, but who’s the say. Opening my eyes from beneath the water again, I released the last of the air from my lungs, before curving my fingers up and over the edge to pull myself upright once again. Pinching the water away from my eyes.

“Ari, were you even listening to me?” I’d shoved my littlest fingers into my ear canals to clear them of water, only hearing Caleb speaking once the appendages had been pulled free.

“Yes, Caleb…” I lied, but then thought better of it, “Well, no not really. What did you say?”

“Father condones that of a love match, but things with the north and the south have been heating up as of late, and we need to rectify allegiances sooner, rather than later. So, we must consider some form of arrangement.” He paused, sighed and continued, “Did either the Viscount or the Baron catch your eye?”

“Caleb, those boys are like my own brothers, I could never see them as marriage material. I thought you perused the guest list, several times if I’m not mistaken, so why just invite them?”

I heard him release a rushed breath, a heavy sigh, “I did invite several other titled Lords of the realm, but none seemed to take an interest in you, for that I do apologize to you, dear sister. Why they even accepted the invitations leaves their allegiance to father something to be desired.”

“As sad as it is to admit, brother… you have no one to blame but yourself.” I lifted a leg from beneath the water, hoisting it above the surface just to run a sponge over my glistening skin, making sure to clean between my toes as I went, “You barely let the men who arrived anywhere near me, the only two you allowed me to dance with were the Baron and the Viscount. How else would you think the others would react to being first invited, only to be rejected by none-other than the invitee.” Repeating the action with my other leg, I could only hear silence from the other side of the black room partition divider. “I apologize, I did not mean to offend.”

“No, no. You need not worry, dear sister. You… are correct. I should’ve been less diligent in my, what do you call it? My mother-hen tendencies. By your leave, I hope you have a good night.” I could imagine him bowing his head, always the dutiful gentleman, before leaving the room. Sighing, I hoisted myself out of the bath, and with one hand resting along the edge of the tub again, I stretched to fetch the towel hanging from one of the metal stands. Damnit, Jen… why’d you move it so far away. Finally, I managed to pinch the plush fabric between two knuckles and pulled it quickly towards me.

I squeaked in a throw of panic as I felt my feet slip an inch over the bottom of the tub before catching myself. Sleep sounds nice right about now….

Drying myself quickly, I donned the silk scarlet robe that hung over that same partition wall and wandered into my room, toweling the mess that was my hair now that it was unbraided and free of all the ornaments and gems. Again, my mind couldn’t help but wander back to the little event that had imbued itself in my mind like a brand. The warmth, and jest of his words… but the underlying sadness that seemed attached to the man himself, not just his voice. How could I know that? I hadn’t even seen him… how would I know with just a few cryptic words?

“Miss, I’ve turned down the covers for you, be wary of the warming pan. I’ll be back to remove it later.” Yvonne, Jenna’s daughter and my other lady’s maid, said near the door to my room.

I nodded at her, showing a light smile, “Have a pleasant night, Nonny.” A nickname I’d adopted from her mother when she’d been employed. She preferred the use of her full name, but the monicker had stuck and she never complained about it. She smiled kindly at me before exiting the room, shutting the large wooden door silently behind her.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I braced my hands on the edges the mattress, hair towel forgotten where’d I’d absentmindedly draped it over a hanger near the fireplace to dry while lost in my thoughts. Who was the owner to that voice?

“Why do I need to know…?” I whispered to no one in particular. I could feel my eyes glazing over as my imagination ran rampant, picturing a face and body to match the voice. I was entirely sure the man I pictured would not be anywhere close to the likeness of the actual man, but… a girl could dream.

A vibrant image of a tall, handsome man with dark hair and hard eyes appeared in my mind. A narrow, but straight nose sitting between heavily lashed brown eyes, plush lips in the shade of soft pink blossoms. Broad shoulders, and long arms, leading down to soft but large hands. A wide chest and narrow waist, long but muscles legs. Clothed in the darkness, black shades of velvet and satin for his cloak and overcoat. Shined to perfection shoes and burgundy gloves.

Opening my eyes, I couldn’t help the tinge of blush that rushed into my cheeks and ears. I’d never willingly imagined the visage of a man before, and as dressed as my mind had made him, there was a small part of me that desired to remove those clothes. No… let’s not go that far. Striking up the image of the persona who I thought belonged to that voice was bad enough, let’s not wander down lecherous trails.

“If he even remotely falls under any of the categories, I’m imagining… he would be the ideal man, wouldn’t he.” Why was I talking to myself…. Oh great, I must be getting old. I recounted a time several years ago when I caught Caleb having a conversation with himself in his study. He’d been twenty-two at the time. I shuddered at the thought.

I slipped under the covers of my bed, pulled them up to cover my shoulder and turned to face the window where the remaining moonlight cast soft beams through the sheer royal purple curtains, beyond stood the stone rail of my personal balcony, it was lit up from the moonlight, and just as my eyes began to drift shut, I could’ve swore I saw a massive black bird hop along the railing, a bright red eye flicking in my direction.

~~~

My little rendezvous with the mysterious voice remained my very own secret as the days moved on, but I found myself looking for the image I’d conjured up, looking for a man whom I had no actual idea for how he looked like.

“Ari, are you even listening to meee?” My attention snapped back to Tara in that moment, my eyes had been scanning through the throngs of meandering folks promenading through the court’s gardens. I gave her a weak smile in apology before she started in on another scandal she’d heard from one of her lady’s maids. I tried to focus, I really did… but my mind was drifting. Between the dreams of that bird, the voice, and picturing an entire scene between him and I. Of course, my own imagination running rampant to fill in the blanks, the biggest of which was what the man looked like.

“… so, I suppose now she would be with child, no?” My eyes snapped back to Tara, having missed the entirety of her conversation once again. She looked hurt, but also curious. “Darling, you have been downright spacey all day, what is going on in that mind of yours?”

I smirked, always the observant one. Should I tell her? Of course. “The other night… at the coming-of-age ball… I met someone.” I glanced around for listening ears as I said the last three words. Thankfully Nonny and Tara’s maid were walking several paces behind us, giving us our privacy. I watched as her eyes blew wide and a broad grin stretched her puffy cheeks.

“Tell me, tell me, tell me!” She all but squealed, I patted the hand she’d left curled around my arm and smiled at her, another blush running up into my face.

We were coming up to my mother’s willow tree now and I dragged Tara to the base before casually taking a seat, my skirts draping around me like a fan. Tara followed suit and clasped my hands with her own. My eyes fixed on the little white lace gloves she wore for a moment before I took a deep breath and explained.

“It wasn’t exactly… a true meet.” That caught her attention tenfold, “right after you cajoled my brother into conversation, allowing me to escape… I went to the south terrace for some air.” I directed my gaze upward, seeing the underside of the same terrace above, “Only, I guess I hadn’t been alone.” I left out the bit about my crying, “He hid himself amongst the willow bows, I never saw his face, but he spoke to me.”

“What did he say?” She asked, completely enthralled with my Romeo and Juliet style fairy tale. She was an even bigger romantic than I was… than most girls our age who knew nothing different but expected entirely opposite results as we’d been told since childhood.

“Honestly, not much.” I looked down at my hands, thumbs twiddling together, the friction of my own lace gloves roughing up the edges of my fingernails. A small smile pulled my cheeks upward, “He called me a dove.” Not the entire truth, but he did.

I could feel Tara staring at me, “How romantic!” She reached out and gripped my hands between hers again. “What was his voice like?” She was breezing right over the fact that a strange man had basically cornered me on the terrace, I could’ve been scandalized- her favorite topic.

Yet another blush rushed up into my face, “It was….” I had no words. How does one describe a voice such as his? “Confident and relaxed but also seemed to hold a sliver of sadness to it.”

“Honey, that’s not what I meant… but I am surprised you picked up on those without seeing his face. What I was getting at was pitch.” I looked up at her, I was surprised as well.

“I suppose you could say gravelly and low. A baritone, with a rough timbre.” My brows pulled together as the image I’d come up with of what I assumed he looked like appeared behind my minds eye.

“Do you think you could pick it out if you heard it again?” She asked me, reaching up to brush a willow leaf from the braid that wrapped around my head.

I looked her directly in the eyes, allowing the gleam within my own to shine through, “Without a doubt.”

~~~

Tara and I had made it our mission to try and seek out groups of men throughout the promenade, and through town while we did our minor ribbon, bow and jewel shopping. Trying to hear the voices within the groups, attempting to search for this mysterious voice I’d heard.

At one point, I’d come close, or I thought I did, to finding the man. He was handsome, big green eyes that smiled down at you from his much taller vantagepoint, dark hair that draped over his eyes, although being a whopping five-foot-two made everyone around me seem giant. I’d focused on his looks versus his voice and had run right up to him on a whim, latching on to his arm. I’d been so embarrassed when I remembered that it wasn’t an actual man we were searching for, but the voice of one.

Tara and I were sat at one of the nearby cafés, a small bowl of sparkly apricot sorbet sat before us, delicate silver spoons sticking out of each edge. Apricots were a specialty here… My family had hundreds of massive orchards amongst the mountains around our land, that was another way our family to maintained wealth, not to mention the apricots we grew were one of a kind. An ancestor had managed to create a strain of fruit that sparkled upon being bitten. From then on, people deemed our orchards that of the sparkling Harglow.

“I don’t know what came over me, Tara.” I was bent over in my seat, in a very unladylike position with my face in my hands. “I saw that man and just lost control. Argh. I am such a fool.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Ari. He didn’t seem all that insulted by the fact that a beautiful young lady had thrown herself at him.” She giggled, which made me feel even more embarrassed. “Besides, he was quite gorgeous.” She snapped her fan open and waved it at herself, that shit eating grin in place, making me smile back and sit straight again. “Now, shall we enjoy the sorbet before it melts?”

“Yes, we shall.” I responded, pinching that tiny spoon betwixt two fingers and digging into the fruity dessert. We giggled and talked our usual gossip before mingling for a while longer just to try and listen in to the surrounding conversations.

It was only after the sun had dipped low in the sky did, I heave a soft sigh and shake my head forlornly. Was I ever going to find the source of that voice?

We were just standing to return to the castle when someone behind me spoke a single word, and I froze. “…like a dove.” That same timbre, the same gravelly edge, that confident brusque and relaxed tone. Tara saw me freeze in place and was already darting her eyes around. I snapped up once my shock had dissipated some and looked around. How do you find the owner of the voice when there were so many bodies already moving their mouths!

“A dove, you say?” Another voice said, a softer pitch, slightly higher in tone. I scanned every man I could see, looking to watch they way their mouths moved. I saw the tall dark-haired man with green eyes that I’d latched on to earlier, he was stood beside a taller man, looking at him. His back faced me, a tall hat sat atop his head, a long black cloak flowed down off his shoulders, stopping mid calf, to reveal shiny black shoes and black pleated trouser cuffs. The two of them were walking away from us, toward the pier, but the way that one word was spoke… that had to have been him!

“Tara….” My eyes were fixed on the back of this man, memorizing the cut of his shoulders, the way he walked. Even slightly hidden from his cloak, everything I could see my mind memorized. She came up beside me and wrapped one of her arms through mine, following my gaze. The two men were beginning to disappear down a hill that led to the docks.

“Was that him, do you suppose?” She whispered to me, but I couldn’t find my voice. My nerves were rattling with heat and recognition. It was him.

~~~

That night, I was pacing in my room. Okay, so I saw him… sort of. I saw his back. Wait, had he been standing with the dark-haired man when I latched on to his arm?! No… he’d been talking to a shorter… blonde man. With a groan of frustration, I threw myself on to my bed, burrowing my face into one of the lavender down pillows and screamed into it, feeling the resolute vibrations move from within my chest into the pillow, the warmth of my breath heating the fabric around my cheeks.

“Miss? Are you alright?” I peaked an eye to look towards my door, Yvonne had poked her head in, fingers gripping the edge of the door.

“Yes, Nonny… I’m fine, thank you for checking on me.” I pushed myself to kneeling on the bed, as I gave her an authentic, but soft smile to reassure her.

“Oh, good, miss. I was worried! Um… Master Harglow has requested your presence in his study.” Her soft voice betrayed her nerves. Caleb rarely summoned me, and when he did… it was usually to do with some near scandal that I may or may not have been involved in. Oh boy….

“Thank you, Nonny. Please let him know I’ll be right down.”

As I swept into Caleb’s study like a princess, albeit, clothed in my night gown and a robe, looking nothing the sort, I curtsied and lowered my head. “You summoned me, brother of mine?” Lifting my head, I came face to face with an angry looking Caleb. He looked like a puppy that was denied a treat!

“Dear sister, do tell me how your promenade was this afternoon.”

I blinked, what why? “It was fine, Tara and I roamed the gardens, we sat beneath mother’s willow and even enjoyed some sorbet at that cute café down by the docks! I even managed to find some ribbons that matched my color pallet! Truly, a splendid affair.” I tossed him a fake smile, only to find him with steepled fingers, white knuckles and a glare to end all. Yup, he saw right through that.

“Would you care to explain why gossip monger extraordinaire, Madam Burke, saw you dangling off the arm of a gentleman today?” Shit… Burke had the biggest mouth amongst the gaggle of women who took every ounce of information gathered and spread it around, no matter the consequences.

“It was a misunderstanding, Caleb. I swear, nothing untoward happened, I thought I recognized him, that was all. I apologized immediately after.”

“Did you see him at the ball? What do you mean you recognized him?”

Rock and a hard place… “I thought I might have, but I was mistaken.” I tried to keep it simple, less directing but with how Caleb was glaring at me, I knew I was in shit. It was always the same when I got called in here, it was never for anything good. No praises, no good news. Always bad, always the sour end of the blame.

“Fine. Just… make sure you look next time, please.” He looked down to the papers on his desk again, retrieving a quill from its stand before pausing with it above the paper, his head tipped up, his eyes meeting mine. “You may go.” I stuck out my tongue at him. Fumbler fop. Dismissing me like I’m a servant. Even I wouldn’t be so cold. I sighed as I exited the room, leaning against the solid surface of the door. He must be very cross with me to act in such a way. Silver lining, at least he said please.

I decided to head back to my rooms and met my father along the way. A loose fitted sleep shirt hung off his shoulders, a red velvet robe with black dressings hung atop. He smiled at me before he tied the belt around his waist. “My girl, what are you doing up at this hour? Should you not be dreaming by now?”

“Caleb summoned me.” He bit his lip and nodded, reaching out a hand. I took it and he curled it around his arm as he led me up the stairs to the living quarters.

“With you of age, he has had to pick up a great number of new dealings. He informed me of an incident this afternoon, I did try to admonish the situation as best I could, but he would not hear head nor tail of it.” I was cowed by my father’s words and stared off at the carpet as we walked. I felt his eyes slide to me once we were outside of my bedroom, he turned me to face him fully and held his hands over my shoulders, “He loves you, dearly, my little melody. Do not let one little thing ruin a vast lifetimes worth of experiences. It is simply a bad day, nothing more.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the crown of my head.

“I love you, father.” I whispered before wrapping my arms around his frail frame. Pressing my cheek against his chest, feeling and hearing the thrum of his strong heartbeat against my ear. He hummed as he hugged me in return, I hadn’t realized just how much today had gotten to me, not until now, being enveloped within the arms of my aging father.

“No more tears, my girl.” He leaned back and held me at arms length, before raising a single hand to grip my chin between forefinger and thumb, “Keep that chin up, darling. Everyday is a gift, treat it as such.” I smiled up at him and sniffed as he let me go and walked on down the hallway toward his chambers. I watched him go, folding away his words into the bank of information in my mind of things he’s ever told me.

Ever the wise old Duke. I smiled softly, before pushing open my bedroom door and stepping beyond the threshold into the dimly lit room.  I wasn’t sure who it was, be it Nonny or Jen, but they’d lit the hearth, the soft snaps of the thin logs drawing my attention as I stopped in the center. My head is always in the clouds… and it almost ruined me and my family today. That’s what rumors did, what gossip was. I needed to do better.

Once I’d calmed down before the fire enough to feel that familiar pull of the sand man at the corners of my eyes, I drifted into my bed like a ghost and laid down, pulling the covers to my shoulders. Rolling over on to my left, I bent my arms to grip the corner of the pillow beneath my cheek and stared out the window. The curtains had been pulled away from the doors, allowing a clearer view of the night to be seen. I could see the stars and their vast constellations, shapes and tales behind each one.

“Maybe I should just give up….” I wasn’t sure what I was giving up on, my dreams? My search? My one wish? My body, too tired to unwrap the thought, took it upon itself to slip into a daze of sleep and wakefulness. Just as the haze of sleep drooped my eyelids, I swore I saw that black bird hopping along the stone rail of my balcony once again, the beady red eye staring right at me.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but I could hear the silence of my room, if that made any sense. I could hear the rustling of the blankets as I moved, the soft subtle pops of the remaining coals in the hearth, my own breathing and the heartbeat that thumped away in my ears. What had woken me?

My eyes pried apart; the image of my room came into view through my lashes. My end table, with its small candle and its base, long since melted down. The book I’d been reading sat besides, the dried red datura flower bookmark placed between its pages. Beyond stood my small bookcase, lined with books and novels about fantasy and worlds unparalleled. Rolling, I faced the balcony again. Weren’t those doors shut?

“Sleep now, little dove.” My eyes fluttered shut at the sound of his voice, so soft, so melodic and gruff in its tone, as I swore, I felt the backs of fingers trace the curve of my cheek. I had to be dreaming, had my imagination gone so far? “You will see that horizon soon enough….”

Wishful thinking, even for me. Why would my mind conjure something so alluring? So asinine. Of course I wouldn’t see beyond what I was shackled to. Impossible…. The feel of another brush of fingers across my cheek drew my sleep addled mind back to its depths. Vibrant images of forests, animals, and adventure flashed behind my lids, causing my eyes to whip from side to side as I tried to grasp them all, experience them firsthand as the dream regaled me with the possibilities.

~~~

He watched, seated beside her on the bed, as her eyelids drifted shut and almost immediately started their rem cycle, flipping back and forth. Those eyes, the very ones that had stolen his breath up on that terrace. The eyes that looked out to the horizon, much the same way he did.

He canted his head, looking down at this young girl, with the vastness of the universe locked within her galaxy blue orbs. Crying for freedom. For something she couldn’t have. What am I doing…? He asked himself as he reached up to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear.

He’d been mesmerized from the moment he’d seen her that night. Something about her… reminded him of himself. A need for freedom, and desire for adventure. Not to mention she was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Hair that rivaled his own, a mouth as succulent as a rose. Cheeks that never quite gave up the pink hue of a blush. A slender neck and soft shoulders. He’d been drawn to her that night but had shooed her away instead. He’d seen the hurt in her eyes when he’d called her a dove, although, he’d meant it as a compliment. What she’d said to him had solidified his desire for her.

“Even a dove has more freedom to roam the darkness than I do.” He’d wanted nothing more than to protect her from that moment on, from the future that had been planned for her. Had been chosen for her. He despised society in its cruel banality. Always the same, wherever he went, never changing. Females by any title weren’t given the right to think, to choose, to want. Seen, not heard. Simply put, they were to bare children and nothing more. Continue the bloodline no matter what.

Where he was from, he’d made sure that people of every sex, race, and nationality were respected and accepted. An ongoing revolution.

When he’d seen her sitting outside that café, he’d nearly gone to her, but he’d stopped. Only to watch her run up to one of his men, Zayne, his doctor and cook, and latch on to his arm. Something inside of him had nearly snapped the man’s head off, a jealousy that surged through him like he’d never known before.

He’d been watching her for days now, even having his shoulder pet, Mephisto silently watching over you as well each night. He’d made sure to stay just far enough away, for he knew if she’d hear his voice, she’d come running. He’d seen it in her eyes. So, he simply watched, watched her mannerisms, the way she spoke, the way she carried herself and spoke to others. She never treated her lady’s maids poorly, she treated them like they were humans, not items. The few friends she had, she seemed to trust the smaller brown-haired girl the most, even having her join in on her little quest to search him out.

He chuckled in the dim lighting of her room, eyes drifting over her possessions. Minimal frivolous items that many ladies of her age would tote or flaunt. No… her room was far more mature than she seemed to let on. Opposite her bed stood a bookshelf, full to bursting with more books than he’d seen in some time. Not since he’d been home. He noticed that night at the party that she’d worn a vibrant dress of red, black and silver. A striking match to the outfit he’d chosen to wear.

I’d been invited to the soiree, but wasn’t given a chance to interact with the girl… was the boy who’d managed the event a family member? He had to be, older brother maybe? He stood, and faced the girl in the bed, eyes roaming over her face for the hundredth time. The way her lashes brushed her high cheeks made his lips part in wonder. She’s truly beautiful…. At first, after seeing her, he’d chocked it up to having been out to sea for too long, figuring that any female would seem as enchanting as she was, but he’d been wrong.

Philip had taken him to a brothel near the docks after he’d returned to the ship, out of sorts after his encounter, and the boisterous women held no salt to the young lady he’d met earlier that evening. What’s wrong with me…. He was known as the Serpent Emperor. Swashbuckling rogue of the Aetherium seas. His land dwelled where folklore had dubbed sea serpents lived, and he had no problem with that little fairytale, it kept the wrong people away, and the right people nearby. A typically hard mannered man, ready to fight at any given moment… and yet, had been rendered a mushy puddle of feelings and protectiveness by a single insignificant chat with the princess of the region.

By no counts had anyone successfully tame the man prior, not for lack of trying. Many a woman and some men had tried and failed. So why now… why had he fallen victim to the beauty of this little female? He crouched down beside her bed, leaning to press his nose to her hair, silently breathing her in. Apricots, honeysuckle, amber spice and the smell of the ocean wafted into his senses, molding to his memory, into the very fibre of his being.

“You… are my next horizon, my little dove.” Was all he found himself able to whisper, before he drew back, stood and strode to the balcony she always looked to, every night, with a single glance over his shoulder, he stepped up and on to the railing, and dropped over the edge.

~~~

[waywardsunlight]

I was thinking about Philip's religiousity about Caleb and how Luz mirrors Caleb, especially in the scene where she's finally wearing her witch hat and staring him down as he's on the ground in front of her. And the intentional choice that we saw Caleb in a witch hat too. Kind of about... how gods or echoes are created through obsession, how Philip created the concept of Caleb and made him a god completely against what Caleb wanted, and how Caleb appears as an omen of his death with Philip's other murder victims before he sees Luz with the same expression as the rain begins to fall.

It's interesting to me that Philip argues with Caleb and tells him that it's "all his fault". He's trying to put the blame on this outside figure that acts of it's own accord rather than facing that Caleb's been dead for centuries and while Philip has used Caleb and Luz and Hunter and Evelyn and Darius and Lilith and Eda- to justify himself, in the end the decisions that put him there are not from any outside force but rather by his own hand.

[sepublic]

Do you think Belos is a narcissist?

Short answer: No he just sucks.

Long answer: No he just sucks. Belos is not described as such in canon, and as far as I know no crew members in livestreams or other get-togethers have referred to him as one.

It’s ableist to characterize Belos and Belos alone as a narcissist, and I feel it goes against the point of his excuses in his death scene: Belos is attributing his atrocities to some Evil condition that made him this way in order to absolve himself of any responsibility.

(Unsurprisingly, I once saw someone talk about how they made Belos a narcissist in their redemption fic.)

The prior episode made it clear that Belos CAN feel remorse and guilt for his actions, that he is capable of empathy and love. He did care about Caleb on some level, he’s not some unfeeling monster. And this means he had every capability to know and do better.

Because also in this episode we see how Boscha IS someone who’s naturally cruel and does derive power from it, while also possessing an unhealthy attachment to someone who went through the same situation but matured in part because that cruelty never came as easily; But Boscha still grows when offered! People talk a lot of how being an orphan outsider to Gravesfield must’ve made Philip a repressed weirdo, and not at all about how he should’ve been able to empathize with Evelyn as Caleb did, but refused to. I’m not talking about missing his chance this one time, I mean he had the chance his entire childhood leading into adulthood, and then afterwards.

I dunno it feels like people want an easy answer for why someone is awful but not only does it absolve oneself by insisting that you have to be a ~narcissist~ to be evil (When the Titan summarizes Luz’s difference from Belos as something she could relate to but still got over), it also misses how Belos plays into the thematic point of the finale and show: That we all have the capacity to choose. And in the end Belos chose to be worse. His evil is 100% his fault, just as the curse he blames also was. It’s really quite simple in the end.

[sleraly]

so what did Clarence and Fergus do that was so bad that the other grimwalkers despised them?

And why do they hate Caleb? He didn't do anything (at least in the Demon Realm).

Oh, I really need to talk more about this! Toh Esquizo AU is such an extensive story that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of everything.

Let’s see:

Fergus and Clarence have very curious nicknames that more or less explain the situation. The Grimwalkers call Fergus "The Exterminator" and Clarence "The Genocidal." Whether by mistake or by their own will, both ended the lives of a certain kind of people that the Grimwalkers absolutely ADORED.

As for Caleb: He is blamed for all the misfortunes that happen to them now. The Grimwalkers blame him for arriving at the Boiling Isles and bringing the "monster" with him. They hold him responsible for the extinction of a species, the crappy lives they’ve had because of him, etc. Basically, everything bad that Philip/Belos did is a consequence of Caleb's decisions (according to the Grimwalkers).

I don't think they are bad people... They've just spent many years trapped with pain and remorse, and sometimes those feelings lead you to point fingers or do immoral things. Even so, it’s undeniable that the Grimwalkers are not going to make the best decisions. Possessing Hunter is going to be a bad move, but they are already willing to do anything to put an end to Belos and get their revenge.

They all need a lot of therapy ._.