#Torch Palisman

[veronikamagic1214]

It was boring and I decided to draw Luz more in my style. And also drew Torch much better and more like a fire 🔥 than last time.

[mdhwrites]

I feel like I remember you mentioning Luz inheriting Owlbert as her palisman instead of Stringbean a while back (I've checked but nothing comes up, so idk if I'm just imagining this or tumblr is just being tumblr lol) and if you did, how would that work exactly? I'm very intrigued by it, but I wonder how it would play into the story, especially if Eda stays alive. I'm curious to hear your thoughts!

(Sorry if you haven't haha, I just remember reading somthing about it and I'm 70% sure it was you but..)

This is kind of both where I've mentioned it, so Tumblr should be able to bring it up, but I've never talked in depth about it I think. Let's fix that here.

So I still believe this take. The core premise is that it is a passing on of who Eda once was to someone who can now hold her rebellious torch. For Luz it is true acceptance of her being Eda's apprentice and her daughter, a family heirloom effectively passed on. Also, Owlbert would have been carved while Eda was still at her most rebellious and probably has missed the side of Eda that could do a lot of that but the curse tamped down and now Momma Eda just can't act on as much. Not like Luz. Owlbert is also more family for them than Stringbean literally had time to be. All of this is thematically WAY stronger than almost anything to do with Stringbean, leaning into new homes, found family and the mentor/student side of the show. I've DEFINITELY talked about why Stringbean doesn't work though, as cute as they are.

All of this would also have paid off the Owlbert episode in S1 or felt like it was happening already with how Luz kept borrowing Owlbert in early S2. She was growing a bond with the palisman and Owlbert is even why she's able to trick Belos during the S1 finale because otherwise she wouldn't have been able to activate the glyphs remotely.

This is also without getting into the fact that once Eda has Harpy Mode... She just doesn't need Owlbert. She can fly, she uses glyphs, it's potentially dangerous for her to use her old friend who might still want to spread their wings, etc. like that. The palisman is no longer required, kind of like how we don't see Lilith's palisman in the finale because she has her own wings now. I am happy they have their wings but... Are their palisman just being left at home, without their companions?

That starts getting kind of close to why the Bat Queen didn't trust Luz in S1. And hey, it would have been a GREAT way to end Hunting Palisman. Rather than a brick of wood that was going to take a REALLY smart hand to make eventually work without either feeling awkward in execution or feeling pointless because whatever Luz said was going to end up feeling like something she could have said here, both of which are Stringbean frankly, it's that Owlbert comforts her. Eda sees this, smiles, frowns then shuts her eyes. When they open back up, it's to Luz and Owlbert, now in first person perspective from Eda's eyes, looking up at her and asking if she's okay. She wipes her tears, knowing what's right for her friend and her daughter and tells Luz that until she figures out what she wants, what fits her, she can use Owlbert. He has been getting a little chubby sitting around The Owl House after all and she's more likely to keep him from getting into mischief. Owlbert hoots in indignation while Luz puffs out her chest and goes "And what if I want to get into Mischief?" and Eda just smiles before saying that then they BOTH can keep each other out of trouble.

It's a genuine Mentor/Student moment that also has SO many shades of when someone hands down the old car that's been around for so long and meant so much to the older generation. Now it can be useful and ride anew with the sons and daughters who originally ran those tires into the ground. How it can cause mischief all anew while the old generations also knows how reliable it can be.

It even fits with what Luz's statement is eventually. "I want to be understood." Why not the family who took her in and showed so much understanding? Hunting Palisman is one of the genuinely good moments for Luz, Eda and King, brief as it is, in part because it is showing so much understanding of Luz. That she would appreciate the gesture, needs time, needs opportunity and doesn't need pressure. But that understanding never really goes anywhere. Eda never passes anything on to Luz. She barely ever teaches her anything, even when that was ostensibly what the show was about. This could have at least been a gesture bringing the elements closer together, rather than keeping them apart.

Instead, even when the family is all together to fight Belos, Owlbert just... Isn't there. He's gone from the finale until the endings start. Someone who always protected Luz, helped her, even back in the first episode when Eda tries to send Luz away with Owlbert and he's just... gone. Left by the wayside like so many elements that seemed to matter at one point.

Left to rot like so many abandoned palisman. That doesn't feel like how things should have gone. Not when there was so much to be gotten out of keeping him around.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[orangejuicetoast42]

Coli was right by their side, being uncharacteristically quiet but that made sense due to the setting. They were staying right beside Luz, occasionally looking up to their friend to check in. He was also making sure to keep a fierce guard of Torch, who also sat on the blanket.

The palisman wasn’t awake yet, nor had he shown any big signs that he’d wake up soon since the near incident a few weeks ago. Neither of the children minded, even if it meant they had to wait a little longer to truly meet their new friend. Both liked the fact that Torch was comfortable enough to take his time, or that at least was the reason they agreed to be true.

So until he was ready, Luz and Coli would take him wherever they could to make sure he was safe. That even included the graveyard where it wasn’t too hard to keep an eye on the scorpian.

Speaking of being watched over, Luz wasn’t the only human occupying the blanket. Their mami, in a fierce show of strength, had managed to stay mostly composed as she sat with Luz. The pain in her eyes was clear and the stiffness of her posture showed her inner struggle. Not that Luz faulted her for that, how could they?

It hurt them just as much to stare at their father’s grave. But the fact that the two Nocedas were there together this time made it a bit easier.

“Do you think he misses us?” Perhaps a little too easy as the words slipped out of Luz’s mouth with no resistance.

A few more glimpses of the years leading up to Luz and Coli's departure to the Boiling Isles.

[aspenonpawzzz]

hollow mind rewrite!

It was supposed to be a normal day for Hunter wittabane, nephew and right hand of Emperor belos, The famed golden guard, and head of the Emperor’s coven. Supposed to be a normal day, but, as with everything in his life, it went horribly wrong. He groaned, and rolled over, opening his eyes slightly. “Why does everything… hurt..” he thought, trailing off when he saw his surroundings. Instead of the cluttered mess of his room, there were imposing gold and beige walls, with torches along the walls. “Did I sleep-walk into the halls?” was his first thought, until he saw the paintings. Hanging everywhere were gold framed paintings of scenes he knew. He was in some for titans sake! Everything that had happened came rushing back. The potion, those rebels, and the human came to him in a stream of images like on a staff at full speed. With a sinking stomach he realized where he was. “ No,no,no,no,no,no! This can’t be happening!” he thought, “This is uncle’s mind!” “Imdeadimsodeadunclesgoingtokillmeitsalloverwhywasinotmorecarefulandwhosgoingtotakecareofflapjack-” “wait.” “Flap?” he whispered, glancing around for his palisman. The little cardinal was nowhere to be seen, however, he did see that darn human, lying on the ground. “Oh right.” , he thought, “Palisman can’t enter mindscapes, stupid.”. He had read a lot of stuff on mindscapes. “What is this place?” “Does she seriously not know?”.

“You know exactly where we are human.” He said as the human whipped her head toward him  “You got us trapped in the emperor's mind!” “HUH!”

{ INSERT TITLE/  }

“We’re in the emperor’s mind?!” cried luz (Huh, when did he start calling her that?) “that's Bananas!” “What are those?” he thought, before voicing his mind “I don't know what those are, and I don’t care to. Remember what happened at the night market?” After Explaining why they  were here, he burst out laughing. “You want to prove my uncle is evil, and you thought I would help?” “ His uncle, evil? That was hilarious!” he thought. “Well, now that I'm in his mind I can find out the truth for myself. Weird though, I've been in Willow's mind before and it had more, uh, trees.” she said, confused. “she was in the captain's mind? Never mind, just focus on showing her that uncle is a good person.”  “ meh, makes sense, mindscapes reflect the individual. I’ve read a lot on this subject.” “woah, look at this memory!” he said, walking to a painting of belos helping people away from a burning town. “You know, wild magic wiped out our family. That's why Belos took in the survivors, and dedicated his life to making the coven system! It's why he’s so well liked!” Then he noticed a memory that he knew well. “ oh, and look, this is when I inherited my staff!” he felt his pride swell at the memory. “Bet you didn’t know i'm the youngest scout to become golden guard! I- uh, never found out what happened to the previous one.” he continued to ramble, not caring that Luz was slowly back away. Then, he felt his senses tingle. “We aren’t alone.” he thought. Sure enough, there was what must be inner uncle, striding towards them. “Emperor! ”  he called, bowing  “you’re here! We beg  for your assistance to return to the real world, so i may capture your enemies.” “and so she can ruin someone else's day” he thought, darkly. Suddenly, a small figure wearing a mask jumped out, waving it’s arms frantically. “REEEEE!” went the inner belos, large blue eyes opening on its back. “HUNTER!” yelled luz, running forward, tossing a fire glyph toward uncle’s form. “Waahh!” they yelled as the two teens rolled backward through the wall. 

Part 2: the real belos.

“AHHHH!” yelled hunter as he fell through the void. He felt luz grab the side, and just before they hit the ground, they stopped, hovering briefly before dumping onto the ground. “Where are we now?” he asked. “This must be his real mind.” “what do you mean ‘real mind’ that gallery-” “was made of all the lies he tells. He’s not who you think he is!” yelled the human. Then he noticed a dead bird palisman shell and walked over too it. He spiked it up before it crumbled in his hands. “We’re probably being punished because YOU provoked his inner self.” he yelled. “Well his inner self had a thousand glowing eyeballs!” she said, spooked. “oH nO! eYeBaLlS! Pft- you’re so easy to scare.” “BOOO” “Ahh!” he yelled as luz pulled out a pink bunny walkie talkie. “Hey, kid, where did you go?” the owl lady's voice said . after explaining the situation they both heard a snapping sound “huh?” the figure from before  came out of the trees. “Its you! Kid belos!” said the hooman “what?” “Thank you for helping us before. You don’t seem nearly as scary as your inner self. “RAHH” yelled inner belos from somewhere else as the kid clung to luz. “If strong emotions can take form, then maybe it's his, idk, sense of guilt?” said the human “why would uncle need to be guilty?” “What? Belos has never done anything worthy of feeling guilt. It's obviously his, uh, sense of innocence! His pure intentions!” “Well, whatever it is, I think it can help us stay safe!” said Luz, before whispering to the kid something he could not hear. “What was that?” “RAAHHGGHHHH!” “No time! Let's go go go!” she said before running to a memory. “You’re going to invade his memories? That's sacrilege!” he yelled. “It's a way to survive!” said luz before plunging into the memory.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 *wheooshh* “belos was lying! Wild witches weren’t attacking him!” “How could you help someone like that?” she yelled. “That was probably a special technique to get people to listen to his message! It-it's for the greater good!” said hunter, but he thought, “what if she is right?”

THE END

Thank you for read ing!

[litfeathers]

Before Hunter's Palisman Observations... Before Lilith's Letter... Before Luz's Diary Entry...

A witch's quill scratches on paper, her eyebrows furrowing in thought as she fills a well-worn book with her thoughts and desires and fears.

She smiles at the yellow bird who is fast asleep on her extra pillow, and with a snap of her fingers extinguishes the light spells that had been illuminating her cozy bedroom.

She sleeps.

She dreams…

She dreams of a strange world. A world without magic. A harsh world of rules, and penance, and fear.

A man stands in front of a bonfire, the glow of the firelight dancing on his wild blond hair. He is surrounded by a screaming crowd, torches and pitchforks and fists waving in the air.

"No," she begs. "No, no, no, no."

She calls his name over the cacophony of violent chanting, her voice muffled by the roar of the growing conflagration.

He turns.

She screams.

Blood. Smoke. Fire. The flash of a knife. It all happens too fast.

He is gone.

...and she wakes up.

Welcome to Evelyn's Journal.

Credits: -The phenomenal cover art was drawn by the absolute legend @bananadramaaa. Thank you so much for your help! -The script and Evelyn's voice were written and recorded by Birdie (that's me!) -It's probably pretty obvious, but this project was directly inspired by the audio recordings a few of TOH's VAs did for one of Dana's charity livestreams. Look them up if you have never heard them. They are fantastic!

The audio and script will also be available at AO3 on (or some time after) Sunday, March 26th. You may find it at litfeathers if you would like to give this project some love over there too!

The complete script can be found under the read more, so you may follow along if you wish.

Grab a snack and get comfy. We have an almost 15 minute runtime! Enjoy! 🔥🪶

Scaburary 10th

I had to cover for Bileadona at work. She never showed up for her shift, and so Goldie and I were forced to make an unexpected trip to Bonesborough.

Extra disappointing, since I was planning to spend the afternoon in the garden with my sketchbook. I wanted to redo my blue jay drawing, as I am not quite satisfied with it.

Ah, well. I’ll draw in the garden tomorrow.

Scaburary 11th

UUUGHHH DAMN RAIN!

Goldie has been moping and staring out the window at the sizzling forest all morning, desperately wishing she could have her early morning flight through the trees. I have given her a handful of seeds to help her feel better. She seems pouty still, but has cheered up slightly. She is currently ordering the seeds from most to least appealing. Heh. This should take her a while.

Only two days are left!

Scaburary 13th

Work, work, work. I couldn’t stop watching the sunlight and shadows slowly move across the library floor and sighing impatiently. Bileadona happened by my cart as I was shelving books, and asked why the calendar at my desk is so strange. I told her it was an old-fashioned solar calendar from the bloodievil period. She didn’t seem to buy it, but didn’t push the subject.

I also made a quick…detour before I went home. Just to say hello to some dear friends. Some very special friends who are going to severely regret their actions from last week.

*evil witch cackle*

As an added bonus, I finally managed to nab one of their…creative drawings of me. It is now proudly displayed on my living room wall, just above the couch. Truly, it is a work of art, and I am humbled by their kindness.

I just hope they find my return offering just as humbling ehehehehe.

I have been getting more and more excited for every visit to the Human Realm. Not that I have been there recently. I most definitely have not. Don’t be absurd.

But anyway. This week has dragged endlessly! I cannot wait for tomorrow.

It’s nice to have a friend.

Scaburary 14th, Human Realm year 1623

Today was nice.

It was a Friday in Human reckoning, so Caleb and I enjoyed the usual supper on a blanket in the snowy woods. I made sure to include dragon bacon sandwiches and deviled griffin stew in the spread, as they are his favorites. And of course, a thermos of hot apple blood to warm us up. It was a marvelous feast!

He looks a bit better lately. His skin is less pale, and the shadows under his eyes are less prominent.

The moment I landed at at our spot, Caleb immediately asked me if I had anything to do with the recent vandalism of the Gravesfield meetinghouse. I plead innocent. He grimly informed me that someone had scribbled all over the siding, and that one of the drawings bore a striking resemblance to Goldie. I expressed my deepest sympathies for the poor soul who would have to clean it up. He further informed me that the words “Evie was here” were scrawled over the front door. I told him that since my given name isn’t Evie, it’s Evelyn, he was clearly looking for another culprit. He grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me dead in the eye, and told me, in the most fed-up of tones, that the drawings could move.

“Huh,” I said. “In that case, it sounds like you might have a witch on your hands. I hear they are pretty tricky to deal with, but seeing as you are such an expert witch hunter, you surely won’t have a problem rooting her out!”

At that he made such a ridiculously frustrated face, I could no longer hold in my laughter. It was the look he gets where his cheeks flush and his nose flares. The red even reached his ears this time! Fantastic.

He gave up at that point. He just sighed deeply and shook his head. But I could tell he was desperately trying to hold back a smile.

While we enjoyed our meal, we got on the topic of weather. After my previous deception, he didn’t quite believe me when I told him that rain boils in the Demon Realm. When I cast an illusion to show him a typical Boiling Isles thunderstorm, his eyes lit up brighter than the sun. As fun as it is to tease and banter with him, I think I vastly prefer those quiet moments between us. When the storm clouds lift from his eyes.

*trails off*

I can tell he’s lonely.

Last week, while we were on our owl watch, he mentioned offhandedly that he hasn’t received a proper hug in years.

I was about to feign ignorance and pretend to not know what a hug is, until I realized that…err. Well, we are two galdorpeas in a pod in that regard, aren’t we?

And no, I did not offer myself up. Because some walls are built for a reason.

Caleb is surrounded by pitchforks and torches and prying eyes.

His village is dangerous.

His brother has been asking more and more…questions.

I know I shouldn’t keep doing this. I know I can’t keep doing this. There is a line, and I am terrified that I am gleefully dancing towards it, and one day I am going to be unable to stop myself from crossing into something…

*deep sigh*

…something I cannot come back from.

I am unwilling to admit this anywhere but here. And this is difficult to write, even if my eyes are the only ones that will ever read it. But…

He scares me.

Hah! How silly is that? We’re the closest of friends. I am a powerful adult witch. And I am scared of him?

It makes no sense. Witch hunter my butt! I trust him completely. He is kind. Sweet, even. No matter how much sass and grumpiness he sprinkles into his words, it is abundantly clear that his heart is made of pure gold. His smile could melt snow. His soft words could tame the wildest slitherbeast. His laugh is pure music.

*embarrassed cough*

So, then. Why the fear? Why have I been finding myself so on edge around him lately? It’s incredibly frustrating.

Words are difficult to get out. My pulse quickens when he sits too close. I can no longer look him in the eye without my face heating up. What else could cause this but fear? It is clearly my body warning me that what I am doing is incredibly foolish.

Or perhaps it’s just the apple blood.

*sighs in frustration, then there is a long moment of silence*

No. I’m not that naive. I know it’s not the apple blood. It’s just that…I’m…

I’m not ready.

I don’t have much more I would like to say on this topic, so I suppose I shall end this entry and tuck myself into bed with a good book. Perhaps Goldie would like for me to read her another story.

Here’s hoping for some nice dreams. Titan willing.

Goodnight.

Scaburary 15th

I had the day off from work. I tried to draw in the garden, but my redo of the blue jay sketch came out even worse than the original. I ended up spending most of my day on the couch, half paying attention to a book I could barely focus on enough to read.

I had dreams last night. Dreams I absolutely refuse to relive by writing them down.

Please. Please, please, please let tonight be better.

Scaburary 16th

Oh, Titan. I hate this.

I have made a decision. A decision I am absolutely miserable to be making.

It’s something I can absolutely not back out on. Something I should have done ages ago.

Something I should have done before I got…attached.

No matter what, this will end in pain. But it must end. Before he is harmed. Or worse. I know what I must do. But it hurts. I have to protect him. This week will be rough. Please wish me luck and courage.

Scaburary 17th My chest hurts. My eyes are sore. Everyone has been giving me space at work. I am sure they can tell something is very wrong, but no one has pried. At least I managed to keep it together until I was halfway home. Be proud of my fortitude.

After I was done being sorry for myself, I got an idea. I am unsure if I will be able to follow through with my plan. But if I can find my courage, perhaps I can at least try.

When we say our goodbyes, I can at least ensure Caleb still has a friend.

I haven’t carved a palisman in years. Not since I made Goldie with Mother and Father. And not since they…

*chokes up for a second*

I don’t even know if I remember how. But there is a grove of healthy palistrom trees in the backyard. And I still have my knife.

I even know what he would want.

Fine. Tomorrow I will start carving.

Scaburary 18th I opened my journal to write, but I have nothing substantial to say. This week has been miserable. I wish it were Friday so I could get this over with. Goldie keeps offering me seeds to cheer me up. I’m sorry, Goldie. I appreciate the gesture, but not everything can be fixed with a tasty seed.

Scaburary 19th I sent Goldie to deliver my final rebus message. I got such an excited response back, I nearly lost it again. He has heard a saw-whet owl in the woods by the fields. He wants to take me out there to listen for it. Sounds lovely. I suppose it’s nice to look forward to one last owl watch. What should I do with the remaining Titan’s blood? Dispose of it? Donate it to a researcher? All I know is that I cannot keep the vials. Lest I be…tempted. I’ll miss the birds. Caleb’s gift is drying on the kitchen table. I wonder what wish he will make.

Scaburary 20th I am surprisingly calm. There is something to be said for allowing yourself to…feel. To let your emotions exist, acknowledge them, let them out. That isn’t typically how I operate, but perhaps it can be advantageous to…sometimes…occasionally…not bury everything? As much as I hate to admit it. I was even able to laugh at Goldie’s antics. She brought home a rattle worm and pretended to feed it to our new scarlet friend. She even feigned offense when he refused her gift by remaining silent and wooden. Silly bird! I don’t know what I would ever do without her. I think I will be fine. Once the dust settles. We will all be fine.

Scaburary 22nd I do not know where to start. It is late evening. I am sitting here in bed, journal in lap, as usual. But Goldie is perched on my shoulder instead of her usual spot on my extra pillow. Because my extra pillow is occupied. It is occupied by a blond human and a small red bird. Oh. He just reached out in his sleep to hug my waist. I suppose I’m trapped now. I’ve never been so happy. I’ve never been so happy, and yet so anxious? I can’t stop smiling. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling or swooning or giggling since last night! How embarrassing. How completely and utterly embarrassing! ...Goldie, I know you are reading this. I can hear you laughing! Quit it! I think I’m still in a bit of shock-GOLDIE THIS IS PRIVATE. I haven’t quite processed any of this-I KNOW YOU CAN FEEL MY EMOTIONS AND HEAR MY THOUGHTS! I DON’T CARE! YOU’RE STILL BEING NOSY. WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE WERE BOTH SO OBVIOUS? I SAID STOP LAUGHING!!! Fine. You were right. Is that what you wished to hear? Are you happy now, you smug little feather brain? Good. Anyway. Where was I? Everything happened so…fast. The last 24 hours have been absolutely wild. And terrifying. And…intense. But I think I can finally admit something important, even if it’s only here for now. Let’s see if I can manage to actually write it. Goodness, my hand is shaking. Alright. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. Here goes… *swoons a little* I’m in love. Goodnight, everyone. Sweet dreams. *snaps fingers, and light spells are extinguished* Sung: You are not alone No matter how far you have flown Together we feel we’re at home In darkness light shines in your bones *As she hums the song fades out*

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

Observations on the Hollow Mind Portraits

Rebecca Rose has answered my wishes today by releasing HD versions of the portraits used in Hollow Mind. Here are some things I noticed:

They're churning butter <3 This is one of the pictures we saw more clearly, so there's not much to say here. Liddol bois <3

Another picture we've seen pretty clearly in the episode. Someone's already noticed that the rope trap Phillip sets to catch Caleb looks kind of like the one he set in Hollow Mind to catch the palisman monster. Parallels, I guess.

Here the boys are getting ready for a witch hunt. Again, we've seen this. The expression on Caleb's face seems more aggressive than Phillip. Guess he's older and therefore understands what the witch hunts mean better.

These boys only have one shirt and one set of overalls. Judging by the rip on Phillip's overalls, and the fact that they each only have one strap, I guess it's an indication of how poor they are. How did they even manage to get a house on their own? I doubt little boy Caleb could have built it himself. Must be an already vacant house or the townsfolk did chip in because they can excuse hanging innocent women but god forbid these two boys be homeless.

The brothers are older in here. They still have similar hairstyles, but their proportions definitely look less "baby." Phillip still has the same overalls, but Caleb either got new ones or got a new strap for it at least. They also got new boots. While in the previous picture of a witch hunt, the brothers were playing with sticks while the adults did all the work, here the brothers have a torch and a pitchfork and are going with the adults.

We can't see Phillip's face, but it's notable that Caleb looks both excited and malicious here. It's not either of the brother's faults that they were indoctrinated into a puritan society where witch hunts are okay. But this does indicate that Caleb wasn't as horrified by the witch hunts as fanon makes him out to be. I like that. I like the idea that the brothers both started out as bigots, a byproduct of their upbringing. The difference between Phillip and Caleb is that Caleb decided to change when given the chance. Phillip didn't.

We also saw this one pretty clearly but here's some more detail. They look even older here. Phillip no longer has the buttoned shirt, I think? And if this takes place right before the next picture, then Phillip has tied his hair into a ponytail as well in this scene. Plus, Caleb was holding a torch in the last witch hunt, but now he's holding a pitchfork. So this is probably a different hunt. Moreover, Evelyn's fire looks like it has a purple-pink hue? Maybe that's just the color palette.

And here it proves that Caleb entered the Boiling Isles through the gate in the graveyard. From what I can see, part of it was also a lake back in the 1600s, though it was definitely more flooded in Thanks To Them. While Caleb is rushing in, (which is definitely reminiscent of the scene where Luz entered the portal door) Phillip seems to be lagging behind.

If this is the first time Phillip entered the Boiling Isles, then there was definitely a timeskip between this picture and the last. His hair is longer, he looks older, he has a bag and a journal, and he's wearing a whole new outfit. This looks like part of the outfit Phillip wore in Elsewhere and Elsewhen. He isn't wearing his brother's jacket, though, but he may be holding it with the arm that isn't shown well in the picture. I guess after Caleb ran through the portal, it closed and Phillip was trapped on the human side? And somehow, he managed to go through the portal again after a timeskip. He still looks young here. But more like in his late teens than early teens like in the last few pictures.

Not sure what order these pictures should have come in, but this happened a lot later than the last pictures. Phillip's hair is already fading from brown to blond. Perhaps a side effect of palisman magic? Or maybe he's just graying weirdly.

I've seen people point out this picture as Phillip misremembering "Luzura and Dirtrude" but now that we have more detail, they...really don't look like them. They're wearing nothing remotely similar to what Luz and Lilith wore in that episode. Plus, they both have their palismen. The only similarity is that one is tall with black hair and the other is short and has brown-ish skin. But they're both obviously demons. I assume these are just some followers he's trying to brainwash.

(Also, it's funny that they had black garbage bags even in the 1600s in the Boilins Isles lol)

Phillip is going Sonic the Werehog on Caleb and his wife! I guess this means Evelyn did have brown hair. Unfortunate, because I kind of wanted the Clawthorne sisters to have inherited their red hair from Evelyn. Also, it looks like both Caleb and Evelyn were in possession of The Hair Skrungly. I wish Eda and Lilith also had it.

This one's also really commonly talked about. Nothing much to add here just Phillip being outraged that his bro is slutting it up with a hot witch I guess.

This one's also commonly talked about. What I'm unsure on is when all this happened. Phillip's beard is around the same length in the last few pictures so I assume at around the same time. But then, what? Did he see his brother with Evelyn and get mad, making the curse flare up, and after Caleb hugged it all out of him he left, only to come back later to kill Evelyn? Or did his curse flare up during the fight? I love those angsty fanarts where Caleb's trying to hug Phillip only to get stabbed. Also, why is Evelyn facing her husband, not Phillip? This is commonly thought to be Caleb trying to introduce his wife to his brother, so it would be weird for her to stand like that if that's the case.

:((((((((( But also, where are they? Are they in Caleb and Evelyn's house? Why are they in a forest later, then? Maybe I just read too many comics of this scene where Caleb died in his house. They've probably been in a forest the whole time. But now that we have more detail, Phillip is very clearly not looking at Caleb, but to the side, where Evelyn would have been standing previously. Guess it's pretty much confirmed that Phillip wasn't trying to kill Caleb, but Evelyn. Also other people have mentioned this but Caleb fighting his brother to save his wife, using the knife he used to carve his brother's mask???? :'''''''')

Again, when did this happen? Looking at it again, I feel like Phillip isn't even cursed at this point. At least, the curse isn't flaring up here. He's not goopified at all like in the show. You can even still see his sleeve. I think here, and the other picture where he looked like this, are just him looking extra demonic bc of how much he wanted to kill Evelyn. The picture where he's charging at Caleb and Evelyn looks like the background is on fire. And the couple is even positioned the same as the picture where Caleb is trying to "introduce" Evelyn to Phillip. Phillip wasn't out of control due to the curse in here, I don't think. It's lighting, plus dramatic effect that he looks like this. He found out where Caleb has been, flew into a rage and tried to kill Evelyn, and Caleb tried to hug him and calm him down, because his brother loved him anyway...

...and in return, Phillip kills him. Caleb is posed the same way as the Boiling Isles is. Looking at the reflection in the knife, Phillip also hasn't been punched in the nose by Lilith yet, either. Guess those bones we see in Phillip's lab in Elsewhere and Elsewhen really were Caleb's. And also Phillip has already long since started his descent to madness by the time he met Luz and Lilith. Kind of weird to think that they may have run into one of Caleb and Evelyn's kids running around in that episode, if they happened to travel a bit beyond Bonesborough.

We've seen this picture too but goddamn, they really did this over Caleb's dead body. Before I didn't agree with the idea that Evelyn gave Phillip his curse, because of the pictures we saw of him in black and having glowing eyes while Caleb was still around. But if All That was indeed for dramatic effect, then yeah, I believe the theory now! Evelyn Clawthorne still fucking up Phillip 350 years after the fact.

So with Flora Desplora's appearance in Elsewhere and Elsewhen, her appearance here, and her name on the book Bill the titan trapper was reading in Edge of the World, I'm certain she was meant to be more important. Again, while I'm pretty sure The Shortening was announced after Eda's Requiem was finished, with how cartoons are produced, I wouldn't be surprised if they already had work done for episodes up to Reaching Out. It would explain the Azura B-plot in Any Sport in a Storm, the Edric B-plot in Reaching out when they couldn't give Emira a B-plot elsewhere to balance it out, the implication that Warden Wrath and other EC members were suspicious about the Day of Unity, and of course, Flora Desplora's existence. They probably established all of this expecting to have more episodes to explore it. But they got shortened and had to cut some follow up episodes. But they weren't given more resources to rewrite the old episodes to not include any plot threads they couldn't follow up on.

Flora Desplora didn't need a whole backstory and relationship with Lilith, as well as a whole character design, to serve her purpose in the plot. She just needed to be someone Lilith knew in the EC, who was doing better than Lilith was, and rile her up enough to do the whole time travel thing. Lilith already has a track record of mentoring multiple EC members-to-be. They could have had a character say they're her old student and accidentally rile her up. They could have done that with Steve. But originally, I guess they wanted to set up Flora Desplora to use her later.

We already saw this picture too, of Belos mutilating his ear to look more pointed. But now that it's clearer uh...that's...that's his ear floating in the sink right there! He's a lot more blond than some other pictures, so I guess this is later into his conquest. But the green streak across his face isn't as big so I guess it isn't THAT late? Also, the mirror and sink look pretty fancy, so did he already have a castle by then?

Here he is, carving some glyph combos onto his arm. He's bleeding green here, which I guess would be from Evelyn's curse? Either that, or the color palette, or the knife is rusty and Belos got tetanus after this. We never found out if the curse or these glyphs were responsible for his goopy appearance.

He's snorting a palisman! This is still pretty early on in his journey, since his hair is still brown and his beard is shorter. In fact, it's only slightly longer than it was when Evelyn cursed him. Maybe this is when he discovers that palisman magic can help his curse?

Ah, the Golden Guard graveyard. This was the guard in Belos's first flashback in Hollow Mind, where he blew up that town. Look at that collar. This Golden Guard's staff has been shattered, and he's probably being killed by Belos's own staff, red magic and all. Funnily enough, this Guard didn't have a staff in the flashback. Guess Belos made one for him at some point.

Here's Belos's lab to make grimwalkers. Notice the ribcage in the background, probably Caleb's. I guess it's confirmed that you can use fragments of bone instead of just one whole bone, since some of the ribs are snapped. Guess Belos really did do the Biblical thing like some people said, where he used Caleb's rib to make a grimwalker. In fact, based on his outfit, this may have been one of the first grimwalkers he made. He probably ran out of rib bones by the time Hunter came around.

People speculated that this Golden Guard was Darius's predecessor, who was likely petrified in the public ceremony that Kikimora mentioned happened 30 years ago in Young Blood, Old Souls. However, this Guard's outfit is the same as the one who was with Belos in the mountains. Phillip seems to have ditched his journal by this point, so Belos definitely knew the petrification glyph. This Guard also got a staff at some point when he didn't have on in the Hollow Mind flashback.

Yo it's the guy with the really wild hair! You know, the one we saw as a hallucination in For the Future! Not much to say about him. He looks polite. Maybe HE was Darius's predecessor. He definitely has the Clawthorne genes with how his hair looks.

Portal door! I don't think I actually saw this picture when I watched Hollow Mind? Guess I just missed it. Me and most of the fandom lol.

And lastly, another golden guard. He looks like he's from Gurren Lagann lol. Maybe HE is Darius's predecessor. He's also being killed by Belos's red magic, it seems.

I think that's all the pictures? Feel free to chime in with anything that I didn't notice. These portraits kind of recontextualizes some of the fanon around the Wittebanes, I think.

[waywardstraysau]

It’s Showdown Time!

By: Mod Nightmare

During a routine shift of helping out in the Portal Room, Jack, Hunter, and Edric accidentally get transported to another world

One Jack is intimately familiar with

Let the action/Rom-com shenanigans begin!

(This is the first of a series of one shot shenanigans Mod Nightmare will usually be writing when she needs a break from her own projects! And maybe Aeon, but probably only Nightmare)

……….

The first indication that something had gone wrong, at least in Hunter’s perspective, was when he started to regain consciousness, despite not remembering what knocked him out.

The second indication was a hard boot slamming into his back-

“YEOW!”

Hunter bucked up to throw off his assaulter, whipping around with a snarl as he got to his feet. However, his anger was quickly washed out with confusion as Edric hastily motioned for silence.

He looked… scared.

“Whats wrong?” Hunter questioned, voice low to not startle the greenette as he finally took in their surroundings. 

This is NOT the portal room, what the fuck

“Jack’s in trouble” Edric answered, gesturing at the entrance to their dingy prison cell, where an angry-looking jungle cat was prowling back and forth, glaring at them. “Long story short, you’ve been… “out of commission” for two hours”

“What could have-“ Hunter started to demand, before memories of an overloading portal invaded his brain. “Actually, better question, what did I miss”

“Long story short, portal overload, we ended up in the “treasure room” of some evil overlord Jack knows, guy was NOT happy to find us there” Edric explained, ticking off fingers. “Jack talked the guy out of outright killing us, but now we’re essentially hostages unless our resident robotics whiz tells aforementioned evil overlord how we got in”

“…Chase Young?”

“From the stories we’ve been told, most likely” Edric replied as he followed Hunter to the bars of the cell. “I’ll warn you now, Jack was not exaggerating, dude’s hotter than the surface of the sun”

“We’ll torch that distraction when we get to it” Hunter replied, tapping a claw against the bars of the cage. 

As expected, the big cat lunged for him, clawing at the empty air where he witch had just been. 

“Okay, Vex, wake up, we need you” Hunter ordered, pulling his hoodie collar a bit so his little palisman could dart out, hovering attentively next to his head. “You’re gonna be our recon scout here. Without letting anyone see you, find Jack, give us his location, then wait in hiding for further orders”

“As you command” She responded, dipping her head a little bit before disappearing into the shadows along the wall. Edric, meanwhile, had crouched down and flicked open his enchanted school satchel, which was basically the groups infinite storage space for all their valuable shit. 

“What are we looking at?” The greenette asked as he pulled out his portable “potions” set, mostly stocked with dangerous chemicals and a near endless supply of spherical glass bottles, enchanted to contain all substances safely until thrown.  Hunter turned back to eye the big cat still clawing fruitlessly at them through the bars. 

“Obsidian reinforced with steel, I think. Mostly steel to keep functionality” he mused, checking underneath his nails. “Go with a melting solution, I want it to look like we escaped quietly out the front”

“Got it” Edric muttered, quickly filing through his available chemicals and selecting the ones he needed. “And the cat?”

Hunter simply snapped his fingers, and a spike of shadow shot up from underneath the big cats head, killing it instantly. 

“They can draw their own conclusions”

…………..

Of course Chase Young would finally be interested in me after I stopped idolizing him

It was honestly hilarious, in that ironic way, but also so, so, irritating. Mostly because the evil warlord was trying to leverage admiration that no longer existed. 

“How many times must I tell you, it was pure bad luck I ended up in your little horde room” the redhead huffed, glowering at the intimidating man staring him down. With time, the memories of servitude and being the butt of every joke had soured Jack’s opinion of Chase Young and everything he stood for. Actually, he hated every single villain he’d ever formed an alliance with at this point. All they’d ever done was use, then dump him. “I don’t even have anything you could want on me. Just let me and my friends go, and I promise, I won’t come back”

“Friends? Oh, thats a riot” Quite possibly the only voice Jack despised more than Chase’s chimed from the Heylain’s side. Wuya, restored to her physical form, was cackling her evil little heart out, clearly mocking the redhead. “I’m more likely to convince Chase to give me all my powers back than you are to have even one ally who genuinely enjoys your company”

“If this were a bet, you would have your powers back, you bedraggled old cunt” Jack sniped back, smirking at the downright offended reaction he got out of the nasty hag. “What? Did you expect me to just sit here and take your shit? Sorry to tell you, but therapy has done wonders in helping me grow a nice, shiny spine”

“You little-!” The Heylain witch snarled, looking prepared to tear the redhead a new hole, but was blocked by Chase’s arm, the overlord shooting her a warning glare.

“Your misplaced confidence aside-“ Chase spoke, putting his arm down after his point was made, then turning to face the young inventor. “-you still managed to get into my vault, with no signs of forced entry, without the Golden Tiger Claws. Clearly, you know something that could be of value to me”

“Even if I do, there’s nothing to be gained from telling you” the pale redhead replied, keeping eye contact despite the painful reminders of shitty past decisions. “I can’t go home, and I got my friends dragged into my old problems on top of that. Theres nothing you can do, or offer me, that’ll get me to do anything for your benefit”

Wuya made some sort of snide comment on his statement, but Jack just focused on keeping eye-contact with the intimidating man at her side. The redhead knew he was out of his depth, with no chance to fight off either adult if they decided to kill him, but he’d be damned if the only people he cared about suffered because he talked to save his own hide. 

He wasn’t expecting the warlord to roughly grab his chin to get a better look into his eyes. Still, Jack kept a brave face, hoping the Heylain couldn’t feel his trembling. 

“… It appears I have gravely underestimated your value” He finally hissed, jerking the boys head to the side before releasing him, turning to face some of his Jungle Cat Warriors. “Lock him up in the west wing. He requires re-education”

“WHAT”

“Chase, you must be joking” Wuya sneered as the jungle cats stalked towards Jack, who was now actively struggling against his bonds. As Chase turned to address the witch, probably just to shut her up, Jack was distracted by the feeling of a familiar set of paws scrambling up his back, underneath his trench coat. 

“Knock yourself over, you have five seconds”

Not needing to be told twice, Jack kicked out at one of the jungle cats who’d prowled too close, shifting his weight so the driving force knocked his chair to the side. However, before the second jungle cat had time to avenge the dishonor suffered by his brethren, a very big, very angry green wolf tackled it to the side, sinking its teeth into its throat. 

Chase’s reaction to the sudden intruder was quick, knocking Wuya out of the room as he lunged for Jack, but unfortunately for him, at that moment, the wall behind the redhead exploded in a glorious inferno, from which a streak of purple plowed into the Tai-chi master, knocking him back before materializing in front of Jack, the violette behind it snarling in warning. 

“Sorry we took so long, had to make the escape look physical” Edric apologized quietly, sawing at Jacks bonds with a pocket knife while Hunter intercepted Chase again, knocking the warlord back and returning to his previous defensive position. 

“You have no idea who you’re messing with, child, step aside or face the consequences” the tyrant hissed, eyes flickering to a familiar, sickly yellow. “I have need of your ally”

“The only thing you “have need” of is a good punch into the center of that pretty face” Hunter spat back, catching Vex as she darted out from Jack’s trenchcoat, eager to return to her master. “Bring it on”

Chase roared as he shifted into his draconic lizard form, lunging for Hunter directly that time.

However, instead of sinking his fangs into the small witch as expected, he was instead met with a wall of dark grey scales, ones that easily deflected gnashing teeth. As the annoyed warlord made an attempt to redirect, golden claws dug into his hide and hurled him through the door and several fortress walls. 

“Alright, we’ve lost the element of surprise!” Hunter shouted over the chaos of crumbling walls, while Edric helped Jack to his feet. As Chase poked his scaly head up from the devastation, the violette drew a circle in the air, returning Cedric to his palisman form as he blasted out another wall with magic from his free hand. “Vex, we’re out! NOW!”

Needing no other commands, the enlarged dragon slung Jack and Edric onto her back and took off, quickly followed by Hunter leaping onto her back right before she gained too much altitude. 

The euphoria that Jack experienced when he realized how much destruction the trio had just gotten away with had him shouting victoriously as Vex flew them off into the sunrise.

…………

By the time Vex had touched down again, the sun was just reaching its highest point, and all three boys had their fill of flying for the day.

Mostly because they discovered Jack got pretty airsick when he was riding on something that required a lot of movement to fly. 

Edric ended up settled at the redheads side as he threw up what little food had been left over from the previous day, thankful the trio had decided to take the pre-breakfast shift to help out with reconstructing the portal. 

It shortened the poor guys suffering.

When the pair re-emerged from the bushes, Jack still a bit disoriented from being sick, they found Hunter had stretched out on a flat rock, purring audibly as he basked in warm sunshine. 

“Um… what are you doing?” Edric questioned as Cedric jumped into his arms, eager to see his master again, despite the relatively short time they’d spent apart. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed strong, uninterrupted sunlight” He replied, like that answered any questions the greenette had about his behavior. “I know this spot wasn’t chosen for my enjoyment, though. Why did you want us to fly here, Jack?”

“Oh! Right, that” Jack muttered, violently shaking his head to reorient himself. “I set up a secret base in this area a while ago, somewhere to hide out and live in when Wuya was refusing to send me back home. It’s nice, but… I haven’t used it in a while” 

“You forgot where the entrance was, didn’t you?” Edric accused, making the shorter teen turn a little red. Which, adorable, but not helping the problem at hand. 

“Well, its not like I can label it! It’s a secret entrance for a reason” The goth defended, crossing his arms and refusing to meet the tall witches eyes. “I just know it’s somewhere in this grotto, because you can’t easily get into it without flying”

“Which is a damn shame, this would make an amazing sun spot if it wasn’t mostly cut off from the sky” Hunter cut in, rolling onto his stomach to stare at them from his little perch, Vex taking the opportunity to jump onto his fluffy head. “Where was Jack sick at, this is basically going to be our front lawn, I don’t want it stinking”

Edric simply gestured to the cluster of bushes behind them, then passed him by as he started his search for the entrance trigger, Jack heading in the opposite direction. 

Their search didn’t end up lasting too long, as a loud scream from the bushes they’d emerged from had the Christmas colored duo darting back to check on their friend. 

They instead came upon a hole, with Vex hovering over it.

“Jack, why the fuck does the entrance trigger open up the ground UNDERNEATH it!?” Hunter screamed just as the duo’s heads popped up over the hole that had opened up, glaring at the redhead while his tail puffed out from rage. “I almost broke my neck!”

Edric had to duck back down to stifle his giggles from how cute the violettes enraged reaction was, while Jack hurriedly tried to explain his reasoning after mounds of apologies.

“If we’re still stuck in this world by sundown tomorrow, you are going to fix that stupid design choice!” Hunter finally yelled, sounding much calmer after Jack’s near incomprehensible rant. “Now get your asses down here, this place is a fucking mess, and I refuse to live in such grimy conditions!”

………..

By the time the sun had set, the trio had managed to deep-clean the entire base, to the point even the previously fucked up kitchen almost sparkled in the gentle lighting. 

Their accommodations in their temporary home were rather luxurious, including, but not limited to: a video-game room, heavy duty lab space, reading nook, and a large, welcoming living area. It alone included a nicely furnished corner in front of a huge television, a five star kitchen (which Jack had almost destroyed in his time using the place alone) with accompanying bar space, and a large dining table with comfortable-looking chairs. 

“Gotta admit, Jack, you know how to put together an awesome secret base” Hunter purred as he leaned on his palisman staff, Vex having overtaken one of the couches in the “living room” to sleep. “Despite the unholy destruction you inflicted upon the kitchen, this place looks pretty top-notch”

“The wi-fi is quite a nice touch” Edric added, and Jack found himself having to fight off a rather strong blush as he tugged at the collar of his trench coat. “Though it is pretty odd you only have one bedroom despite having a dining table that easily fits eight”

“Oh, the couches pull out! And I also have sleeping mats in a closet somewhere, I just wanted to have one private space for me” The redhead admitted, scratching his cheek as his blush got stronger. “Never really thought I’d be able to share this place with anyone long-term”

“Eh, thats because you’ve only been interacting with assholes before” Edric hummed as he threw an arm over the redheads shoulders, grinning smugly. “Now me and Hunter got your back, and we’ll make sure you’re treated right from now on”

“Thanks, that… that means a lot” Jack replied, trying to suppress a happy smile. 

“Ack, Vex, what the fuck!?” Hunter suddenly yelped from the living area, bringing the duo’s attention to him just as he dodged another attempt on Vex’s end to bite him. 

“Living room for palisman! You three share!” She warbled in that creaky, unnatural way she did whenever she physically spoke. 

“Vex, you are vastly underestimating my willingness to strangle you for a good nights sleep” Hunter hissed dangerously, fingers twitching.

Both Jack and Edric took a step back, as it just occurred to both of them Hunter had a total of eight hours of sleep in the last three days thanks to a combination of bad nightmares, insomnia, and a whole night of tracking down two preteens after they got lost in the woods. 

The sunbathing and sheer ruthlessness of his blatant feline homicide that morning now made a lot more sense.

Vex, however, was unbothered, choosing to land on the backing of the sofa. 

“You underestimate this ones knowledge” the palisman purred back, shooting the other two teenagers a sly look. “We get living room, or all secrets exposed. Choice yours”

 Hunter visibly stiffened at the threat.

“Fuck this” He finally muttered, storming off in the direction of the bedroom. When Vex leveled her gaze to the two other boys in the room, she received dual notions of surrender.

“We really need to get some dirt on her” Edric muttered as the female palisman ducked out of view. Jack simply shuddered in response, the thought of his personal fears and insecurities being put on blast enough to resign himself to his fate. That was, until Edric flung an arm over his shoulders, and in a teasing tone whispered “See you in bed then, sweetheart”

Jack was left in the room with his brain essentially fried as Edric giggled and sauntered out, only moving again to slap his hands to his face as the automatic doors closed behind the greenette.

Jack was left in the room with his brain essentially fried as Edric giggled and sauntered out, only moving again to slap his hands to his face as the automatic doors closed behind the greenette.

Jack was left in the room with his brain essentially fried as Edric giggled and sauntered out, only moving again to slap his hands to his face as the automatic doors closed behind the greenette.

[spinaroos-47]

Hunger Pains

I’ve been working on this for almost the whole month of october, ever since I saw this meme @sparrrorow made, and decided to make something more serious jhdshdh. It really did inspire me a lot, even if the mood is wildly different from the meme

(Btw it happens in the time between Hunting Palismen and Eclipse Lake)

Word count: 1694

Warnings: hunger weakness, implied physical abuse, abuse, Belos being an ass, Hunter is on abused survival mode, mild ableism (accidental but yknow, can be accidentally read as that so doesn't hurt to warn)

It was better to not go out of his room this late, but the grumbles in his stomach didn't care about it. 

Hunter had been focused on his studies for the past four hours, way later than he should have been. But it wasn't like there was a safer moment to do so. Belos could easily get suspicious if he disappeared for a few hours during the day, with no reason given, and lying about what the reason was usually wasn't easy to pull off. It was as if there were eyes on almost every part of the castle.

Now that there hadn't been any operations or missions assigned to him in a while, no recent night shifts, and the patrols had changed to mostly just around the castle and streets of Bonesborough, safe and quick jobs, there was plenty of new free time he could use for the research. But he wasn't going to risk it. Something felt off about this.

So doing this in the middle of the night was the safe choice. 

It wouldn't end well anyways if they found any trace of wild magic out in his room, even more if it was several books and notes about it. Or a palisman — That thing really wasn't going away then, was it? —, who was snoozing on his pillow while he read on the desk, bleary eyes messing up his vision. 

His mind couldn't take any new information now, and the hunger didn't help at all. He had to do something about it.

 Dragging his feet through the corridor, barely avoiding tripping on a stray crack or two, he slowly made his way deeper into the castle. The guard tried to ignore the dull pain and complaints from his body, clutching the cloak closer as the cold breeze of the hallway blew past him. 

The castle was dead silent at this hour, save from the vague distant sounds of the nightly rounds, the dark halls illuminated by the faint glow of the moon and weak lights of the torches. No living soul was awake there, for sure, but even then, any sound, even as quiet as it could be, felt too loud. 

His legs were shaking, his arms struggled on getting a firm grip on the fabric. This weakness wasn't that uncommon for him, but at least it wasn't a daily thing either. Hours would pass and he wouldn't realize until too late that he was starving, so he started to keep some small snacks on him most of the time when he was away from the castle or staying in his room. But tonight it wasn't enough, he needed something with more sustenance.

The kitchen was a few levels down, the same as the portal room. Going past the throne room, the relics room, the uncountable tapestries, his stomach growled the more he got closer to it. Temptingly close. 

 A shiver ran down his spine.

His legs froze.

There was something near.

Patient footsteps continued on the crossway in front, to his left, from where the portal was, approaching Hunter. 

— Hunter. What are you doing down here this late? — The emperor appeared, masked, hair messily put into a low ponytail. The usually pristine cloak had quite a few dark tar-like stains, followed by a faint unpleasant smell, one that Hunter could tell as he approached the guard.

— Oh, uhm… I... I couldn't sleep. And I got hungry. — His fingers fidgeted with the mask, adjusting it. Belos seemed to buy the lie. 

Well, it wasn't a lie. Just not... telling the full picture. 

— Well, that makes us two then. Mind if I join? — He rested his hand on Hunter's shoulder, guiding the him away from the portal room, and into the kitchen. 

— ...Is it another flare up? I can- —

  He gripped tightly the witchling for a moment, making him shut up, not seeming to realize what he had just done.

— It is not a flare up. The portal is nearly ready, some adjustments had to be done.

Then why were you insisting on keeping the mask on?

The emperor didn't glance at him, always looking straight ahead. Even with the dim light, he swore he could see a dark substance drip from below the mask. It was a flare up.

— ...At three in the morning? 

— A few less hours of sleep are inconsequential if it is necessary to complete the Titan's will. We cannot be late. 

Hunter opened the door for him, taking off his own mask, picking up a tea packet and placing it near the stove as he made his way to the cabinets.

 The kettle was put on the fire, quietly warming the water, no other sound being made there besides the hurried shuffling Hunter did while searching for something to prepare. His hands now were trembling even more, the painful feeling that his stomach had turned into an endless chasm, throwing off his sense of balance. Nothing really seemed that appealing, but he wasn't in the place to be that picky about it. Bread, spoat cheese and some ham would have to do. 

Belos stood still, watching the water heating up, silent as always.

 — Hunter. — Belos broke off the silence when the water started boiling, pouring it on the mug beside the stove. Hunter froze, having barely taken a bite from his simple snack.

Did he even buy into that half truth? Did he see through his words what he really was doing?

— ...Yes? — He kept an eye on his uncle, at his hands, expecting a twitch, a warning, something. But nothing like that happened. They were resting on the countertop, one on top of the other.

— Look at my face when I speak to you. — Belos' voice harshened, to which Hunter darted his gaze at the empty sockets of the mask, every last inch of his body tensed. — Thank you. 

 — Are you actually having trouble sleeping, or is it… something else you haven't told me about? — He continued, his tone flattening.

Oh no. Oh no no no no no. This was all going so wrong.

— … I-I… — The feeling of a huge drop where his stomach should be got even more intense, his mouth drying and throat closing, the tremors getting worse. 

— Have you been hiding something from me, Hunter? — He asked again, turning away from the witchling for a moment, sweetening the tea. — A reason for why you have started coming down here this late at night? 

Panic continued to rise while his mind blanked out. What could he say?? That he was doing the exact thing Belos explicitly asked, demanded him not to delve into? That he was searching more and more about wild magic?? That he had been hiding a palisman on his room for the past three weeks?? Anything he could say would put him in trouble. And not saying a thing was even worse. It would mean he was hiding something, that he was doing something wrong. He already was on thin ice, why did he have to risk it like that?!

 — I've... I've just been having some rough nights, that's- that is all. 

Good answer. Not revealing anything. Maybe he could buy this one. Deafening silence was all the answer he got, for what felt like hours. 

— Then how does it explain the ink stains on your hands?

Crap. 

How did he even see that when the light was so dim? They weren't that dirty. But Hunter still checked them, as if he hadn't noticed the ink smudges before. 

— How did you-

— Answer my question first. 

Think. Think…

 — ...I had a nightmare. I couldn't sleep, so I...started working on some papers for the preparations of the Coven Day parade. — He muttered, staring down at his boots, barely able to hear his own voice as the thumping of his own heart rose to his ears.

Said papers were shoved to the side on his desk right now, barely even touched. But Belos didn't need to know that. 

The feeling of burning daggers going through his head was immediate. Electric blue eyes were staring at him, analyzing his answer. 

— I will accept this. For now. — He picked up the mug, finally looking away from Hunter.

He nodded, eyes still glued on the ground. This was bad. Belos wasn't that close, maybe he could escape if-

— And don't start making this an every night occasion. I don't want to see you awake this late again. Understood?

 Like that, somehow, when Hunter looked up, the emperor already was at the other side of the room, near the door and holding the handle. He was staring at his eyes again, pining him in place. Nausea started to climb to the back of his mouth. 

— Understood? — He repeated, all the lights dimming with his voice getting harsher again, never breaking sight with his nephew. 

— U-Understood! — The sandwich almost fell from his weakened hands, looking straight ahead at the mask, but nothing really coming into focus, bouncing around it, from point to point, avoiding the eye sockets. 

— Don't stay down here for too long, alright? — His voice softened, not that it brought any comfort at the moment. A twist of pain made Hunter coil. He'd almost forgotten how hungry he was, having barely started eating before Belos interrupted him.

 It was safer now. Still on thin ice. But safer. He had bought it for now, Hunter could forge something about it for the next day, it would be fine. It had to be fine. He'd have to hide a lot of his research, but it's not like it would be the first time this happened. Just needed to avoid getting caught. Work harder to cover his tracks this time.

It could work. 

— ...I won't. — the witchling almost didn't answer, not really focusing on anything right now, staring at the wall next to the door. 

Belos nodded, opening the door and exiting the kitchen, without another word said. Just the sound of the boots clinking on the floor. 

 — ...Goodnight for you too… — His muttering wasn't answered, the dark void in the doorframe occupying the space his uncle was mere seconds ago, leaving him alone with his hunger pains. 

[riaria93]

Okay, this is something really odd I just noticed during a rewatch of the Owl House “Yesterday’s Lie.”

We know the depiction of the Wittebane brothers that Jacob shows.

And that on one brother’s shoulder there is a noticeable, familiar cardinal and in presumably Philip’s hand a glyph and something else, possibly a torch.

But earlier we see this depiction in an article by Jacob in the newspaper Luz has Vee look at.

But here’s the big thing. There’s two big differences, ones that Jacob should know having seen the other depiction and it being pretty much the same almost like a cropped copy.

Let’s take a closer look though.

Okay, while Phillip is cropped (which is odd) you can make out his right hand and what he’s holding behind his brother. The bigger thing here that should be very noticeable and is throwing me off…

The absence of this little guy on the brother’s shoulder.

Yeah, something’s up here. I thought it was weird how the brothers were depicted with a known Palisman and glyph in what was presumably their first meeting of a witch. Then again this was from Jacob, a member of the Flat Earth Society so he’s not the most reliable. But why is the Palisman in the book but not in the article photo, and why crop out Philip? This is definitely going in my megatheory later.

So yeah, any thoughts on why the differences would be appreciated.

[anguigenus]

My Hunter thoughts summary before this episode comes out:

Hunter is in fact a grimwalker

Hunter is part of a line of grimwalkers, since apparently he had predecessors

these grimwalkers are all clones of Belos' brother, who we see hints to but we haven't actually seen around 🤔

Philip fucking murdered his brother I'm just saying it outright

Flapjack was the palisman of Philip's brother, based off of this woodcut, where one brother has a glyph (philip) and the other has a bird

image description: an illustration on old, blotched paper of two brothers in colonial clothes, one shaking hands with a witch in stereotypical black robes and pointy hat. The brother shaking hands with the witch has a cardinal on his shoulder, and the other brother is holding a torch in his right hand and a piece of paper with a lopsided hexagon on it in his left. Image is from the episode Yesterday's Lie from The Owl House. End description.

like look at that, philip's brother was accepting of the witch and had a palisman and everything, that's probably part of the reason Philip killed him

we also hear that Hunter's predecessor was Darius' mentor. Because of that, we can probably assume he had magic

if Hunter's predecessor had magic and he doesn't, and they're both grimwalkers, that means something is different about Hunter. I believe that he's missing the galderstone, listed as "Heart/power" in the grimwalker recipe, which is why he can't cast magic.

This will end up tying back to the graveyard: either the reason Belos didn't have a stone for Hunter was because the illusionists hid them away when they realized what he was using them for, or Belos is going to send someone to steal a galderstone.

before you say "oh but how is he alive if he doesn't have a heart" it's magic or whatever, we're in the boiling isles, the replacement heart just doesn't have the magic power of the galderstone

that's pretty much it, I just wanted to get my thoughts out before it's too late.

[nightmarebound]

@ursidaem | from here

GODS, FUCK HER FOR TRYING--RIGHT? EVELYN LOOKS DOWN AT THE YOUNGER BROTHER, trying not to let her frustration show. She just wants to be kind to him, and he is making it very difficult to not set him on fire right here and now. Cardinal rests upon her shoulder, little palisman chirping softly and sweetly into her ear--the age old ‘danger, danger’ that he’s been chirping since Evelyn met this awful little brat.

It’s not his fault, she reminds the peeping critter, gently. He was raised this way, after all--not by Caleb, not entirely, but by this entire town. Gravesfield is quaint and pretty, but...

Evelyn doesn’t like to dwell on the witch-hunters for too long. She shudders, pulling her cloak tighter about her shoulders. “ I don’t mean you any harm, Philip. I don’t know why you’re so caught up on that. “

She’s not trying to--to steal his brother away! She just... thinks he’s funny, and charming, and he’d been so fascinated by her magic, and her world, and she wanted to share it with him. It had been his decision to stay for those few weeks, weeks that had turned into a month before little brother had come back with torch and tears and rage. How genuine they had been, she doesn’t know--but she’d promised to come stay in their world for a while, it was only fair, and only after both of them had seen the other’s home would they decide where they wanted to stay.

... it’s safe to say, they already know the answer. Already, Caleb has endeared himself to her parents. He’s got a palisman and everything--Flapjack is a lovely, mischievous creature, and Evelyn was more than willing to part with him when the little guy had chirped and wanted to follow Caleb home.

( Truthfully, she’d wanted the excuse to follow him, too. )

And then he’d carved her a new one, and while the little yellow bird is most certainly not the same, Eve loves him just as much as she loves Caleb--and it had been something of a promise. An engagement. A Boiling Isles tradition.

It had been perfect. It is all perfect--except for this one little snag.

Gods, why can’t Philip just like her?

“ I don’t understand why you dislike me so much, “ she says, softly. “ I mean--certainly you don’t believe all that stuff the town says about witches ? Real witches aren’t like that, Philip. You’ve seen us. “

" I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'VE SEEN, " HE MUTTERS, gripping the quill tightly. bristles bite and bend at his palm. " you and caleb might have had a time and a half in that -- that place, but if you'll recall, i've had nothing but bad experiences, though i'm sure that was so easy to overlook with the thrill of... young love. forgive me if i'm not keen on the idea of my family being subjected to that kind of life. some of us deserve better. "

it's awful, this confliction. philip decides that he hates it. he never wants to doubt himself or his actions. he doesn't want to think that how he was raised was based on a lie. the boiling isles were as close to hell as he'd ever gotten. it had brought him nothing but pain and misery; when he had finally found them, torch in one hand and bloodied cloth in the other, he was bedraggled and bitten, burned and bruised, chewed up and spat back out. how could anyone possibly like it in a place like that?

but. . . he doesn't want to be cross with caleb, and he doesn't want caleb to be cross with him. he just wants to have a family. he just wants a family. why does it have to be so hard? why does life seem to constantly want to make him the butt of its jokes? why can't caleb just be happy with him?

the questions rise up, up, and up in philip's head, emotions swirling and mounting until it accumulates into the slam of a quill against a desk. ink smears across the parchment.

" you don't understand— " he scoffs. " do you even know what it's like? caleb's — all i have. all i've ever had. even when we had nothing, we had each other. nothing ever changed that -- until you. if i hadn't come back to remind him i still existed, you two would still be off together, wouldn't you? "

this was the closest evelyn had ever gotten to a glimpse inside his head. he doesn't know why he's opening up, doesn't know why he's even trying; witches will be witches, won't they? won't they?

[iflipforrizzles]

My Wild Theory About Dell Clawthorne’s Ancestry

I think Dell Clawthorne is descended from the witch who traveled to Gravesfield and Philip’s brother.

Here’s why:Dana said that birds are generally a Clawthorne thing…It’s been heavily implied that Philip’s brother was the original owner of Flapjack, the cardinal palisman.

Gwen said the Clawthorne’s have a history of palisman carving. 

The only way for Jacob’s book to have an illustration of the brothers with the witch and the cardinal would be if the witch brought the palisman or palistrom wood to the human realm. 

Here’s my theory:

I think the witch was a Clawthorne and traveled to the human realm to get inspiration for palisman carving. She ended up taking a strong liking to birds, influenced by Gravesfield’s bird motif (just look at the town sigil).

There she met Philip’s brother, who was curious about magic. She showed him some magic, helped him carve Flapjack, and they ended up falling in love. But there was a problem; the Wittebanes were witch hunters. 

Considering that their name is not a real name as far as I could find, and I don’t think Dana just made up a last name randomly, the meaning of it is likely “witches’ bane.” We see in 2x12 that Philip harbors strong anti-witch beliefs, and in 2x10 we learned that 1600’s Gravesfield was very anti-witch.

The 1600’s were the height of anti-witch sentiment in America, and Connecticut had the first large-scale witch-hunt in the colonies. This is known as the Connecticut Witch Trials or the Hartford Witch Trials. Gravesfield is a made up town, but it was founded the same year as Hartford and a year after Wethersfield, which is in Hartford County and was one of the locations of the witch trials.

So when Philip learned his brother planned to follow the witch to the demon realm and stay with her, Philip tried to burn the witch—hence the picture of a building on fire in Jacob’s book, as well as Philip holding a torch in the other picture.

The witch opened a portal to the demon realm for herself and the brother, but Philip tried to pull his brother back and ended up being pulled into the demon realm with them. Philip hated the witch for “corrupting” his brother and tried to kill her, but his brother sacrificed himself to save her, resulting in Philip killing his brother (a betrayal of blood). The witch got away, and unbeknownst to Philip she was pregnant.

Idk how likely this theory is, but I think the pieces all fit and it sure was fun to come up with!

[loosescrewslefty]

Not sure what’s more ominous - the reveal that there were actually TWO brothers who went to the Demon Realm in the 1600s, or the fact that Luz’s dad has is face mysteriously concealed from view in pictures the same way they do.

I'm not worried about Luz's dad. Pretty sure that was only shown to paint the Nocedas as a nuclear family when Luz was little, and drive home how even though they love each other, Camila and Luz need different things in life and they're going to run the risk of hurting one another if they don't talk things out and make their needs known.

The two brothers thing was a surprise though, but I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet. I guess it all depends on how things play out from this point and how that plot thread weaves into the story. Though I do find it interesting that in the picture we're shown, one brother seemingly has his hand extended in a show of friendship while the cardinal palisman sits on his shoulder while the other one is holding a lit torch (which implies an intent to burn the witch) while holding a paper with a hexagon drown on it in his other hand.

I'm wondering now if there's more to this story that we don't know yet. I saw someone else point out that the story we're told of the Wittebane Brothers in Yesterday's Lie is different than the one we hear in Philip's diary- that Philip wasn't lured into the demon world by a witch, he just came through accidentally. But, what if it's a half truth? What if a witch made a deal with Philip's brother and HE was the one who found a way to force the opening that took them both into the Demon Realm, him intentionally and his brother an unwitting tag along, and then he just made a life for himself among the witches while his brother desperately looked for a way back home? Also, there is the revelation that Philip DID create his portal back home, and then, apparently, did not to use it because History states that neither brothers were ever seen again even though we know Philip's portal was stable.

So either he decided to stay in the demon realm intentionally, or something happened to him after he made the portal that meant he couldn't use it. Like, maybe, he realized his brother was in the Demon Realm as well and went to talk to him to try and convince him to come home with him, but something happened during that conversation and Philip never got the chance to go back to his portal? Which could explain how Belos knew about the portal, but doesn't know how to create it himself and didn't see fit to take Philip's journal out of the Library and put it in his personal collection or something before Luz could find it (he's the Goddamn EMPEROR. Is a Librarian really gonna say no to him if he demands a book?)

[smallpwbbles]

What's your palisman's name?

I’m thinking torch maybe

[mythicandco]

I have 1% Battery Left And I’m Wasting it on This

A.K.A. Philip B. Wittebane (in which the “B” stands for “Belos”)

Warning: More than 90% of this is pure headcanoning and theorizing, based on the evidence that’s arisen and the ideas of many other members of the fandom. This theory has been circling the Owl House fandom for months, I DID NOT ORIGINALLY CREATE IT. Brooke and North are from this and so is some of the story, but the majority of the details are the work of my own convoluted brain. This was kinda disproved by Yesterday’s Lie but I want to post it before my computer dies. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this summarized monstrosity… 

Everything is once again below the cut

Philip stumbles into the Boiling Isles by complete accident while on a hike through the woods, tripping into a rift in the fabric of space-time created by Titan’s blood interacting with other various magical substances. He doesn’t realize he’s in another realm until he actually stops to look around, and is startled to come face-to-face with a trio of witches. 

The first witch, Brooke, is taller than their companions, with a big ol’ witchy hat and a pair of grey, tasseled earrings. North, only slightly shorter than Brooke, has a similar hat along with a matching cloak and blonde, curled hair. Her face is covered in scars. The last witch is Kirani, who ends up being a minor character but eh.

The trio is here to collect Titan’s blood for Brooke’s experiments with magic. They believe that by using their knowledge of potions, they can create an elixir of some form to allow witches to perform magic without the use of glyphs. The exact recipe is a work in progress, but they know that Titan’s blood will be a key ingredient. 

When the group first encounters Philip, they are startled by his small, round ears. The bemused human assures them he means no harm and eventually they decide that even if he does want to hurt them, he doesn’t have access to the magical knowledge to do so. This is further proven when a dragon nearly eats Philip (more on that later). They take him to their village to help him find a way home and survive until then. 

Over the next five or so years the group spends a lot of time together, Philip begins writing a journal, and North, Brooke and Philip form a friendship, often going on adventures together with the help of their palismans. North even trusts Philip enough to let him use her staff for transportation until he eventually gets the chance to carve his own. During this time Philip also learns a lot about glyph magic and the creatures of the Boiling Isles, and is surprised at how naturally it comes for him to draw the glyphs from memory and get them right. 

At one point Philip and the others travel to the Knee to retrieve some Titan’s blood from Eclipse Lake. Brooke stays behind to start collecting the other, more local ingredients to their spell, and North is forced to stay behind due to injuries sustained after fighting off a swarm of small, dragon-like creatures.

The expedition is a disaster, and after mistaking fool’s blood for Titan’s blood, Philip is the only one who makes it out alive following the cave-in. Philip is horrified at this turn of events but simultaneously relieved that Brooke and North didn’t accompany him on this particular mission. He comes back with the Titan’s blood, but not the rest of the group, and has to explain what happened. 

The village begins spreading rumors that he killed them to take the blood for himself, or that he is too incompetent to continue leading these expeditions. Brooke and North also get a share of the blame, being the ones who brought the human to their village in the first place. Brooke retreats to their study for a few weeks, taking the Titan’s blood with them. 

Things get even worse after the Titan’s blood excursion and the neighboring witch tribes hear about the dangerous human who supposedly kills witches and other creatures in cold blood for his own gain. (Rumors are nasty things, slightly more terrifying the longer they’re out there.) Philip finds it almost ironic that in this world of freaks and monsters, he’s the target of the torches and pitchforks. 

While out trading at a small market shared by a couple of the tribes, North is confronted by the leader of another clan and accused of betraying her kind. Things escalate quickly and she barely gets out without things coming to blows. 

Philip starts worrying that he is becoming a burden and a danger to the others, not because he actually wants to hurt them, but because they will get in trouble for sheltering him. He offers to help out Brooke with the portal, which is nearly finished. While they are distracted, he pockets some of the Titan’s blood and some other magical supplies from when Brooke was experimenting with improving a witch’s ability to perform magic. 

Philip uses the potion on himself, but because he is human, not a witch or demon, and isn’t connected to the Titan, he can only use magic by taking it from another source. He starts off using various plants and the horns and tusks of the creatures the village usually uses for jewelry or tosses aside after, I dunno, making a pie with it or something, and practices using spell circles in secret, making sure he can defend himself and the others should the need arise. 

Soon he discovers that he needs more and more magic to stay powerful - to stay stable - and slips up in front of Brooke, losing control for less than a moment before using a spare flower he’d been keeping in his back pocket as a gift for North.

Brooke, understandably, is freaked out by what the fuck just happened and Philip begs for them to keep it a secret. He admits that he stole some of Brooke’s concoctions so that he could protect himself from the witches of the other tribes, and that he needs a reliable source of energy to continue using magic. Brooke argues that what he’s doing is dangerous and unnatural, and that a human shouldn’t be able to use magic the way he does. 

Philip is furious, yelling at Brooke for hogging all of the magic for themselves. He says that where he comes from, witches were supposed to be burned at the stake or drowned. Brooke, horrified, backs away. Philip realizes he’s gone too far and flees back to the home he and the witches constructed when he first arrived in the Boiling Isles. 

His state continues to worsen, and eventually he is driven to snap his own palisman in order to consume its essence. With horrified awe, Philip discovers palismen hold far more magical energy than the little table scraps he’d been collecting before. He is able to briefly rejoin the rest of the tribe, but Brooke doesn’t speak to him and he keeps thinking about his broken palisman.

A few days later Brooke finally finishes the portal and gives Philip the key. The human doesn’t get the chance to test out the door before one of the rival tribes attacks the village out of nowhere and Philip joins in defending the people he’s spent years with. North is stunned that he can weave magic without the use of glyphs, but she doesn’t have the time to consult Brooke on where the human gained this new ability. 

At some point Philip corners the leader of the rival clan and nearly kills her, running out of magic just before the final blow is dealt. He reaches for the nearest source of power - North’s palisman - and snaps it in half. 

For a few moments, North and Brooke process what just happened amidst the chaos. Then the fighting stops and everyone watches as Philip finishes consuming the palisman’s essence. 

Philip looks up with glowing eyes and pauses, confused at everyone’s expressions. The fighting picks back up, this time directed at him, and someone throws a spear straight through his chest. It goes in one side and comes out the other, but the human(?) remains unharmed. The witches and demons start freaking the fuck out, because wouldn’t you in this situation? 

Finally registering what he’s done, a horrified Philip backs away and makes a break for the trees. He never sees Brooke or North again. 

In a clearing in the woods, Philip summons the door to the Human Realm but doesn’t have the courage to step through. He realizes that he is no better than the other monsters of the Demon Realm. He’d probably be shunned if he went home. Would anyone even recognize what he’d become? He once again briefly loses control of himself before giving up and throwing the key to the portal into the trees as hard as he can, before disappearing into the foliage himself.

North burns everything Philip touched, his books, home, everything in her fit of anger over the loss of her palisman and one of her best friends (or maybe something more). She is furious with Brooke for not telling her about him sooner and the two witches engage in an argument. Afterwards, Brooke discovers the journal Philip was going to donate to the market library, the one with all of his recorded notes and diagrams about the fantastical horror of the Demon Realm, and instead of burning it, donates it in their lost friend’s name.

A few centuries go by and Philip Wittebane’s name is practically lost to time, save for the journal that still resides in the almost-constantly growing library in what is now Bonesborough. 

A powerful, controlling figure arises, claiming he alone can communicate with the Titan, and that the wild magic used by witches is wrong. Emperor Belos unites the witches of the Boiling Isles under the Coven system, ascending the throne and becoming the most powerful being (both physically and politically) on the Boiling Isles. 

The rest, as they say, is history.

[talldren]

So

We see a witch, Phillip, Little Rascal, and the Mystery Wittebane brother.

I made another theory about Belos being the brother and NOT Phillip, but I've got more stuff to back it up now.

Look at the positioning of the picture. Phillip, the scrawnier brother, is the one closest to the witch, and is shaking hands with them. His brother on the other hand is further away, and is holding a lit torch (witch hunt parallels) and what might be a glyph? (Idk what that means, but it is doing me a concern) What I get from this is that Phillip was more open to the world of magic. He found it fascinating, and embraced it (even possessing a palisman, Little Rascal). But his brother wasn't. He seems a bit more wary of it all, even aggressive towards witches.

Now from this point on it's my own speculation, but I've got a general idea.

Phillip was the brother to document it all, to find fascination. He wrote things down in his journal, donated it to the Bonesborough library, and made enough of an appearance in public that he's remembered by older citizens, like Eda's mom. He found a witch partner, he learned how to do magic, and he was overall the Luz of this story. Phillip's brother was the opposite. He almost never showed himself to the natives, instead dedicating all his time to trying to leave the Isles. Phillip eventually decided to stay in the Boiling Isles, but his brother wanted them both to leave. They had a falling out over this, which resulted in them seperating for a time.

But then Phillip's brother comes back, and tries to kill Phillip's partner and possible family. Phillip defends them by cursing his brother, but in the following chaos he kills Phillip, but retreats.

Phillip's brother is in a state of endless denial, refusing to accept that he (at LEAST) had a hand in his brother's death. Instead, he increases his hate for the Isles tenfold, and blames wild magic for Phillip's death.

He begins his conquest as Belos, weaponizing the people's respect for the Titan, and eventually creates Hunter to fill the void, or possibly worse.

But that's just a theory... a CRACK THEORY!!