Getting on my soapbox once more to say that I feel very strongly that Beldaruit was NOT the Wise in Teachings when he took Qifrey in. (I was rereading my fic to get into the writing zone and aaaa okay I need to talk about it again)
Also sorry for the all caps exclamation marks I’m not yelling I’m just really passionate lol 😭🙏🏽💕
Chapter 35:
Beldaruit tells Coco that Qifrey is his "very first apprentice". Do we really think that Bel would have been the Wise in Teachings before he even had an apprentice?? That makes no sense 😭😭
We know that the Pointed Caps value the Master-Student relationship quite a lot. More, perhaps, than family relationships. Here are some proof points for this:
In chapter 97, Vinanna offers to make Luluci her apprentice, and Luluci points out that "that would mean succeeding you as the Wise in Principles". This is how we know that the Wise get their position through their Masters. This is a really interesting detail. Deanreldy is a king, to be succeeded by his son, Prince Eoleo. That's succession by bloodline. The witches follow a succession by teacher. To me this directly indicates that the Master-Student relationship takes precedence over the parent-child relationship in witch society.
In chapter 32, the Knights Moralis, whose job it is to uphold the Pact, behave like THIS with Kukrow when Euini goes missing:
LOOK AT UTOWIN'S FACE. LOOK AT KUKROW'S!! They see a master disregarding his duties to his apprentice, and they take this VERY seriously. And I mean, it stands to reason. As early as chapter 2, Qifrey tells us that after the Pact, knowledge was passed down only to trusted apprentices, solidifying the Master-Apprentice relationship as the primary chain of authority in Pointed Cap society.
So, with that being said, being the Wise in Teachings is actually a very significant title. I cannot wrap my head around the idea that the Pointed Caps, being this authoritarian about their Pact and their Principles, would give that title to a man who has not had an apprentice yet. If he got that title without earning it, frankly that would ruin his character. Beldaruit is supposed to be this mystically powerful witch. If he just boyfailured his way into the Wise in Teachings without doing anything to earn it, that would just...be kind of sad. It would ruin his mystique and dull his power to the audience.
Aside from the fact that I don't even think the other witches would accept this type of unearned promotion.
Back to ch 35
So the version I'm looking at now has this dialogue. Coco asks if Beldaruit was Qifrey's apprentice, to which he replies, "Just so. In a long time past. These days, as the Wise in Teachings..." THESE DAYS!!! He was Qifrey's master "in a long time past". Now his role has changed. Now he's been promoted.
In another translation (idk which is more official), Beldaruit says "My role now is the Sage of Instruction". MY ROLE NOW!!!!
In chapter 90, when Qifrey and Beldaruit are walking the Hall, the witches are gossiping about them. Within their earshot. And they don't call him "Wise Beldaruit" or "Sage Beldaruit". Just Beldaruit.
Would they be talking about him this way if he was the Wise? Just look at how people are bowing to Beldaruit in chapter 31, when he IS the Wise in Teachings. Even OLLY is bowing, and Olly knows him well. That's his husband's dad. The formality here is insane. The Wise is a very senior position, so much so that even if you grew up in front of Beldaruit's eyes, you feel the need to bow to him.
Mind you, Olly doesn't even fear Beldaruit the way Luluci fears Vinanna. He's bowing because Olly respects the position of the Wise (jury's out on whether he respects Beldaruit the man lol)
None of the gossiping witches are bowing to him!
Also, I think Beldaruit was a lot younger in these panels, he doesn't have any wrinkles. He was probably in his thirties here. I don't think he's done a single thing yet to earn the title of Wise in Teachings, plus I think he's too young and inexperienced. (Chapters 89 and 90 respectively)
PLUS, in chapter 36, Beldaruit says something that I believe is very, very significant. "I batted away all opposition". Again, a Wise is an extremely powerful role. People defer to them. Bow to them. Luluci is intimidated by the very idea of being apprenticed by a Wise, because she doesn't think she deserves to be one herself. Who in their right minds would oppose Beldaruit from teaching Qifrey, if he was the Wise in Teachings?
I think this Beldaruit and Qifrey thing becomes a whole lot more interesting if we consider the very strong possibility that Beldaruit wasn't a political figure at this point. Yes, he was a powerful witch. Trusted to help the Knights Moralis in the Forest of Thristas. But NOT a Wise. Because suddenly that also raises the stakes a whole lot more. What opposition did he face to teach Qifrey? Qifrey seems to be gossiped about a lot in the Great Hall, would they really have treated him that way if he was the apprentice to a Wise One? Wouldn't that be like bullying a crown prince?? Who would do that??
ALSO,
It's been talked about that the witches have a very broken teaching system, where a lot of abuse goes unchecked. If Beldaruit had been a Wise the whole time overseeing this system, that just means he's bad at his fucking job, which is an interesting idea, but doesn't feel realistic given that he a) canonically loves children b) canonically loves magic c) seems quite passionate about keeping children safe from dangerous people (Riliphin, Coco).
It makes a lot more sense to me that he's somewhat new to the role, actually. Maybe only a few years in. Perhaps he's the one who started the Watchful Eye system to try and change the way kids are taught, and bring more oversight into this broken institution. Which then makes a lot of sense why Olly got the job, despite his connection to Qifrey: it's a new system. There's less formality or clarity on how it's supposed to work.
Anyway. All this to say this is a hill I'll die on. Beldaruit wasn't the Wise when he took Qifrey in. He was some guy. And that's okay. I actually think that's better, because it kind of tells me he became the Wise after Qifrey passed the Fourth Test. Because he has then successfully trained an apprentice completely, and not just any apprentice, but the Problem Child. This would IMMEDIATELY raise his stature in the political sphere of the Pointed Caps. They would have to take notice of this, bc Qifrey is a) an extremely powerful witch b) evidently well-adjusted because he is a functioning member of witch society. Proving that c) Beldaruit performed a miracle, nobody expected him to succeed at this.
And then that makes his promotion to Wise in Teachings make a LOT. MORE. SENSE.
big big big fan of platonically, horrendously codependant grace & stratt.
like it starts with sharing passwords and whatnot, but then they have the keys to each others' rooms. grace is glued to her side like they're conjoined twins. she brings him along to meetings to science translate like he's her emotional support dog. he brings her lunch because she always forgets. they both fall asleep working in one office or lab or another all the time.
eventually they straight-up form their own way of communication. grace can say something on the same level of incomprehensible as "carl and i made a baby" and stratt will respond with some obscure hand gesture, and both of them will completely understand. they hold entire conversations like that. one day ilyukhina pops her head in the door to ask grace a question, witnesses this, and wordlessly backs away. she'll ask dubois.
there's a betting pool going on on whether they're hooking up, but one day someone finds out that grace is aroace or something, and it becomes immediately and violently clear that something much more concerning is going on with them.
Y’know how some schools do a teachers vs students kickball game during the last week of class before finals? Yeah i think Ryland Grace goes fucking crazy during that. The UNESCO rumors get overshadowed by the time weather moved their game into the gymnasium, where Mr Grace punted the ball with so much fucking force that it took out one of the ceiling lights
everyone joking that "bad bad bad" is actually more accurately translated to "shit shit shit" or "fuck fuck fuck" but consider that "amaze amaze amaze" is more accurately translated to "FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES"
There is a part of me that wants someone to tell the avengers that Loki took over Asgard in a couple of hours and what he did as a king, because I wanna see their faces.
GOD YES PLEASE WE NEED MORE CHUNKY AND FAT GRACE AROUND HERE!! CHUNK FAT AND DISABLED GRACE TOO???? LETS GOOOOOOOOOO I love this depiction of him! Plus your artwork of Adrian their apron is absolutely HILARIOUS!
You think Adrian knows what it says? Maybe the print has a bit of a lift so Eridians can see it
ellievsbear
baratheonpilled
germansingergirl
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
stormborns
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