#wittbros

[cheekybirb]

I deeply headcannon Caleb to have some kind of internalized homophobia.

I dont entirely go with the fandom when it comes to Caleb being Bi. However, if he was i can see it play out where he knows he has interests in men as well but think he's falling into sin/witchcraft and never speaks on it.

I see this mindset also going into the Boiling Isles as well, right away I don't see him coping well with being in a realm that was so deeply burned in his head that he was born greater than the Witches around him. (A mindset similar to Belos but not as extreme)

When he notices that he finds men attractive there it spirals into more of a hurt ego and realizes he is doomed as a Puritan/Christian. Falling in love with Evelyn was the final nail in the coffin to make him want to accept the Boiling Isles more and eventually enjoys it. Seeing the flaws in his own faith.

Its a headcannon that I dont see as often with many just makeing him accept it and Evelyn right away so I thought just to share my take on it 😅

[mybrothercainmybrotherabel]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Okay, I know I've said this before but I think I'm actually done (for now) with the addition of two new chapters 53 and 54.

[cheekybirb]

Okay, okay, I might be on something, but HERE ME OUT ON THIS

I definitely believe Caleb holding a book, and Philip holding a scroll definitely represents something, so I got a few ideas because I personally don't think Caleb likes to write as much as Philip does and with his stance on the statue showing a more heroic and soldier like stance proves it further but anyway

Idea 1 Representing the Grimwalkers

The average book length is about 200 pages or more. An adult would have 206 bones. And with Philip holding the scroll, it could represent him holding onto either Caleb or Hunter out of the 200 pages of Grimwalkers.

Idea 2 Power indifference

Caleb holding a book would possibly represent that Caleb is more important than Philip, who is only holding a scroll. ESPECIALLY with their poses, Caleb has a more confident stance while Philip looks nervous, fidgeting with his hands, keeping an alert straight posture. Philip was only a page while Caleb was the entire story. People would want the entire story over a small fraction of it.

Idea 3 Christian representation

Caleb might also be holding a Bible showing that he knows the true teaching while Philip only picks and chooses a small bit. And with Caleb having a looser grip that could mean that he let go of those teachings and lived his own life while Philip holds his scroll tighter than Caleb does. Showing that he doesn't let it go.

[cheekybirb]

I did actually write a fic dedicated to if the Wittebanes were historically accurate!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65917744

There are things that obviously changed, but the story will stay the same. What changed right away was that Caleb and Philip have a larger family to keep with the time, Caleb is aged up to have the mentality to know how to survive, and the time period is jumped ahead to when the witch hunts started in the 1640s but takes place in 1636 as of the first chapter to when they first migrated to America.

KEEP IN MIND WHILE READING:

This is being told from the perspective of a colonizer in a period with different social standards. I did a ton of research to make sure every minority group in this fic will be well represented, but keep in mind that the social issues related to them might make it seem the treatment they suffer with seem normalized when it's very wrong.

I firmly believe that these issues should be brought up if im writing about the period uncensored.

Also, both brothers will be in the wrong in some shape or form. There is no good and evil in this story. It's no good brother vs. bad brother. It's meant to be a tragedy that the two of them made themselves.

[cheekybirb]

I FORGOT I HAD BELOS IN A JAR LMAO

[cheekybirb]

What Remains Of The Wittebane Name has been updated!!

Something Wicked This Way Come~

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Still dwelling on what Agnes meant by Stafford's plans with Caleb, Frith decides to ask Stafford himself. While Frith is away, Annabell speaks with Agnes and finds out something she shouldn't have known. Philip questions more about possible witches and finds 2 witches that could possibly dwell in Gravesfield. but one comes at a price that might not be worth the pay.

Shout out to @azure-blaze92 for beta reading to make sure I didnt word anything stupid :>

[cheekybirb]

Okay, I've said a bunch that I don't headcannon Caleb leaving on purpose.

Buuuut, I can definitely see that there is a chance he could have left Belos on purpose.

Here's what might have been the reason:

First off, back then, children were an "out of sight out of mind" kinda thing. They were objects to not get attached to because of the high chance of death. So Gravesfield most likely hated the brothers. Philip especially, because not only was he the youngest, but he's canonically schizophrenic. So, there is a chance peer pressure came into play because Caleb was an artist in woodworking (which was a job that PAID) which also could explain why Belos keeps trying to one up Caleb with his dynamic with Hunter and the Grimwalkers. (But it's also cannon that Gravesfield favored Caleb more)

Next is the fact that both brothers have terrible communication. Caleb never told Philip that he didn't want to be a witch hunter (because Caleb is stuck in his own head), and Philip never talked to Caleb about his dislike of Evelyn until his hate boiled so bad he acted. Caleb must have thought that he wasn't needed and left without a word.

Going off of that, back in the 1600s, you would only live to be in your 20s or 30s, especially in America during that time. And Caleb never had a parental figure to rely on, so he couldn't comprehend the fact that Philip would still needed him despite being a teen. Caleb became an adult at a young age, so he could have thought Philip could too.

Evelyn's influence could also have a part to play (as Caleb is seen caveing into peer pressure all the time) especially when he did go to the boiling iles and saw that things were much calmer there that also could have played into it as well.

Not only that, but Caleb was definitely in a survival mode a majority of the time due to the fact that hundreds die just in the winter the rest of illness and starvation. So, seeing a place without that might have convinced him.

But religious pressure might have pushed him into silence until he left.

I honestly rarely see this done well, so I thought I would share my view on it

[cheekybirb]

So I finished a short one-shot featuring Belos struggling to cope! I felt bad that I hadn't actually used my writing ability as of my other chapters so I thought to put more effort into this one

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Belos struggles to move on from Caleb's death nearly 20 years ago. and now he appears to haunt him, bringing unwanted emotions to the surface