Caleb for the a, b, c, and d type headcanons

lorettafryingpan:

Caleb! My boyyyyyy

A: what I think realistically

• that he learned magic entirely on his own, by stealing books where he could. If his family was as poor as he attested, there’s no way in hell he could buy magic tomes. And he said he was a self-starter, but I’m taking it to its logical conclusion. Caleb has never had a teacher, he got into magic without any assistance whatsoever.

B: what I think is fucking hilarious

• oh my god, the idea that he’s the author of that series of tawdry romance novels is so supremely funny to me, but ultimately I don’t think I want it to be true.

C: what is heart-crushing and awful but fun to inflict on friends

• I absolutely think he used to have a family, and they were all part of an uprising that got crushed by the empire. Caleb is so concerned about being able to circumvent the Empire’s laws, and knowing where you can get away with stuff. Also, he’s keeping himself at arm’s length from the party because he’s scared of getting attached to people he can lose so easily.
  

D: what would never work with canon but the canon is shit so I believe it anyway

• okay, this isn’t because “canon is shit”, but I LOVE the idea of him being a disgraced academic. Like, he used to be a professor at the Soltrice Academy who quickly fell under imperial scrutiny for being a Free Thinker™, was coerced to leave, and his students were told he fell ill/died/whatever
• It makes absolutely zero fucking sense in canon, but imagine The Mighty Nein finally arriving in Rexxentrum and one of Caleb’s former students recognizing him and just calling “Professor Widowgast? Is that you?” from like 50 feet away. Imagine the Drama.