Gustholomule: spoilers for For the Future

So we saw Matty again, got lots of him interacting with Gus and Gus friends, and we learn about three new things about him

Spoilers below

1.) He is actually a real good Leader/planer/strategist when he works at it. Wow. Well the planing thing I guess we did have some proof. His take over of the HAS was really well planed, and adapted, especially for a 13 year old who was in a completely new environment and didn’t know any allies/have friends who he knew for a fact would take his side.

Still on a note. I said in my Gus Appreciation post that the HAS club was Gus (unintentionally) at his worst. That he said he created it so he could “build a place were everybody had a voice” but if you look at the way he ran his club (only he brought things in, only he could touch things, he made himself a crown, and referred to voting as “anarchy’,) it seems more like he wanted to create a place where he was in charge of older kids and they had to listen to him. I also said that I believed leaving the club was necessary for Gus’s maturity, and that Mattholomule would be just as immature and unfair a leader as Gus. Just as surprising to me as Matt having such good ideas and plans for “New Hexsides” refuge camp, is seeing that he crossed out some of Gus’s more unfair rules and made the club more inclusive towards all members. I misjudged you Matty. Your a good club President. But you know Gus better now, you’ve seen that Gus has matured and become more considerate since. Please let him back in as a subordinate member.

2.) Matty is a dramatic AF who used a (easily smudging) marker to draw facial hair on himself, tried to get people to call him Man-Tholomule (buddy no one will ever call you that), and used a bad “dramatic twist “ theater line in the big fight when addressing a robot. HAHAHA

3.) The Big one... His name is actually Matt Tholomule. All those times when the fandom asked “ Why does he have such a weird first name?”, “How did his parents come up with it?”, “His Brother is named Steve. IS Steve short for something weird? How do you get one child with a name like “Steve” and then the next is named “Mattholomule”. Times I have personally searched his name on Tumblr and thought “ at least him having such a made up first name makes searching a character without a last name much easier”. (Note I have the  same thoughts on Skara’s name. Is her full name going to turn out to be Skar A?). 

But back to the matter at hand, here is one more reason, besides fan’s questions on the difference of the half brothers names, besides this meaning that the ship name Gustholomule is actually Gus’s first name attached to Matt’s last name. Even besides what that one genius poster pointed out about how Matt always calls Gus “Au-Gus-Tus” with the syllables spaced out and suggested that that was Matt trying to give Gus a really cryptic, unhelpful, hint to try putting more space in his name.

No it’s also funny because of this picture on Gus’s wall.

Matt has a party hat, so we know this was a birthday. Matt being the one in front, the one sitting down, and the absence of Willow and Luz implies that this is Matt’s birthday, and Gus is visiting his house to help celebrate it. Let’s think about that for a moment.

Did Matt’s cake not have “Happy Birthday Matt” written on it? Or if it did did Matt say/Gus think that it just said Matt because Mattholomule would take to mch room? There was nowhere in the house where Matt’s name was written out correctly and nothing saying “Tholomule Family” on it? Neither of Matt’s parents introduced themselves to Gus as “Mr./Mrs. Tholomule”? No confusion was expressed by one of them as to why Gus called their son by his full name? If Steve was able to be there he never pulled Gus to the side and said “Hey FYI Tholomule is actually our last name. My brother’s first name is just Matt.”? Going over all of that, I can only assume that Matt told is family about his little prank before inviting Gus over, and they all played along. Which would mean that the entire Tholomule family are devious, prankster, gremlins, not just Matt. This is a fact that I feel needs to be acknowledged.

Oh lastly while we are on the subject of Matt’s family this name thing just makes me think more that Mason, the construction head, is the Steve & Matt’s father and shared parent. Matt was running his father’s booth in “Covention Day” while Mason outfitted new members with construction seals.  The only reason I can think of as to why such a young, inexperienced, and unsigled, witch-let would be representing a coven subgroup at such a big event: he was helping his parent. Then Mason came back before the Emperor’s coven show, because Matt wanted to attend and to try and see Steve. The reason Mason’s last name was not on the coven list, was because if we saw Mason Tholomule it would have spoiled the joke to early.

Hunter once again tearing up in the face of people telling him they care about him, and I’m making it everybody’s problem.

I think it’s really interesting that The Collector never touches Francois.

He asks to hold him while he sleeps but when King is uncomfortable he backs off and just accepts it and suggests a compromise instead. He doesn’t throw a big tantrum or anything, just gets salty about Luz.

Even when King leaves he doesn’t grab it and hold it anyway, he doesn’t even grab it after he saw King conspiring to take him out!

Idk, it’s a really small detail but I think it really shows how much The Collector actually likes and respects King

Hunter, are you okay?

I don’t know...

For the Future fan theory - MINOR SPOILER WARNING!!

Why does the vision of Caleb, Phillip/Belos sees look all gaunt when previous memories of him show him alive and well before Phillip/Belos kills him?

I thought it was because he's supposed to a corpse. Keeping in mind Phillip/Belos probably didn't know how to create grimwalkers when he killed his brother, I assumed he may have buried him (or Evelyn did) then came back later once he needed Caleb’s remains to create grimwalkers. So he doesn't see him at the moment of death because Phillip/Belos would have considered his brother saved from the witch's "corruption" upon his death.

Rather he sees his brother as the moment where his own morals and desires conflict - i.e. he wants a perfect version of Caleb but needs to desecrate the grave of said brother and use witchcraft to achieve this. Presumably the first couple of tries - when he was still more Phillip than Belos - might have been more trying on his psyche as he tried to mesh the conflicting ideals in his mind, especially after each Golden Guard “betrays” him. As we’ve seen in the show, by the time we get to the current storyline, Belos no longer sees his grimwalkers as anything more than the means to an end – bringing his “perfect” brother back – and relishes at the opportunity to cut them down the moment they show any sign of betrayal, whether its actual or imagined.

In “Separate Tides”, Belos has Hunter looking for ingredients for the grimwalkers without telling him what they’re for and without any sign that he’s even hinted at being disloyal; in fact, he’s portrayed as being almost slavishly loyal to Belos. He’s the perfect version of Caleb that Belos wants – he’s loyal, he looks like him, he’s willing to do anything Belos asks. In Hollow Mind, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that Belos is an absolute monster,  Hunter still defends him, up to the point where even he can’t justify or explain Belos’ actions. And Belos immediately tries to kill him for it – no explanation, no trying to manipulate the facts to keep him loyal – just straight up murder. And still it’s shown that Belos never intended for Hunter to survive the Day of Unity, even if he’d never defected.

Going back to Caleb’s ghost in “For the Future” I think this is why Belos sees Caleb as this emancipated corpse. Because killing Caleb destroyed Phillip Wittebane’s soul. Bringing him back as a grimwalker (repeatedly) is what turned him into Belos. And when we meet him season 3, Belos is Belos – Phillip Wittebane no longer exists. So, to me, Belos is being haunted not by the brother he murdered, but by the decisions he made that turned him into the monster he physically is now.

That’s why he also sees the previous Golden Guards as well once he’s in his lair – he’s not being haunted by guilt or sorrow but rather by the fact that his perceived reality was never going to happen. He was never going to get the perfect brother back because he never existed. The Golden Guards were never going to become Caleb because, like him, they knew what Belos was doing was wrong.

I see these ghosts haunting Belos less as a guilty conscience and more like a reality check. After everything he sacrificed, everyone he hurt, all the time and effort put in place to create this perfect world and perfect brother, he’s the exact same as when he killed Caleb – alone and an unrepentant monster. Basically, I see this look as “you’ve done all this, destroyed so much – what do you have to show for it?

And the sad thing is, Belos is too far gone to know this. He tries to possess the Collector because deep down he’s still convinced he’s doing the right thing. Part of him has to know this isn’t what Caleb wants – hence the haunting – but he’s just not willing or able to understand it. Those ghosts aren’t haunting him to make him feel guilty. It’s a warning.

And Belos just won’t listen to it.

TOH 3x02 (For The Future) got leaked yall, not just clips but the FULL episode. Be mindful of spoilers!

now that it’s been a week since the official release of 3x02, i won’t be tagging toh spoilers anymore. just giving the little heads up!

In that moment, we were all Camila

King being put off by Eda’s giddiness and Lilith’s complete obliviousness to what’s going on behind here LMAO I love them all so much

The animators and designers POPPED. OFF. this season with the new hair styles!!! First Luz and Camila and now Eda and Lilith’s new dos?!?!?! They went ham. 10/10. I would dare say peak

Is Terra wearing the fucking skin of AMY ROSE????????????