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asherisawkward · 1 year

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What did you think of Season 3 and its episodes? Also, do you think fans who weren't satisfied with Belos, Caleb, or Wittewife being ungrateful? I saw on Twitter that people who are upset are because Philip, Caleb, and Wittewife got more compared to other characters. Also that we didn't need to see a flashback because we already know from the Hollow Mind portraits what happened. Finally, what do you think of the Wittewife interpretations? How do you interpret her?

Get ready, because you’re in for a doozy of a rant, because Season Three was full of mixed feelings for me.

Thanks To Them:

I loved TTT because it felt incredibly suspenseful and horrifying to watch Luz and Hunter search for Philip. The exploration of Hunter’s personality and interests are heartwarming, and I can completely relate to him about wolves. It’s also interesting to see the ways Hunter grows and reacts to his Grimwalker situation and the similarities between him and Caleb.

Masha was obviously amazing, and I loved their depiction of the Wittebane Brothers’ Tale. I did notice that the local legend supposedly took place about twenty years before Gravesfield was reported to have been founded on the sign. That may be a sign that their story was incorrect, but who knows.

What really interested me was the implications of the story. Philip was an orphan with very little connection to his parents due to losing them when he was very young. Clearly, he was heavily dependent upon Caleb for his sense of safety and security, as well as his stable point to interact with the world. With Caleb leaving with Evelyn, Philip must have been left traumatized and terrified.

And Caleb…If Evelyn truly wasn’t evil, then he abandoned his brother by choice. It doesn’t really matter if he thought he’d be better off. His brother needed him, and he left.

Evelyn shares less of the blame, in my opinion, because Caleb might not have mentioned that he was an older brother or spoken of Philip. I tend to imagine her as a kind but spirited person who likely made Caleb realize there was more to life than the strict rules of Puritan society. She would likely have been a friend before they became lovers.

With that analysis done, I’ll get back to TTT.

During the possession scene, I was pretty conflicted. The animation was beautiful, and the voice acting was amazing. But I feel like it was needlessly cruel to Hunter to possess him, scar him for life, kill his therapy animal, and re-grow his hair so that he looked like his Ortet when his whole arc was about becoming his own person and learning he is not Caleb. Additionally, I’m mildly bothered by the writers making him want to carve palismen like Caleb when he had already demonstrated interest in sewing.

For The Future:

Philip’s travels were so interesting. It was horrific to watch him slowly fall apart as he desperately searched for a new body, even possessing an unfinished grimwalker to try to do the job. Some story boards and behind the scenes content revealed that Caleb and the Golden Guard ghosts were, in fact, hallucinations.

This was extremely impactful to me because it indicates that Philip had some inkling that what he’s doing is wrong, but he has fallen into the sink cost fallacy: the idea that something can’t be wrong because you invested so much time, energy, and resources into it. To put it simply, his guilt is driving him mad, but he has to continue because he knows there is no redemption for him.

New Hexside was okay. It was mildly annoying due to the change in tone feeling forced and disrupting compared to the extremely serious tone of Philip’s section. It was cool to see the way society had turned out for those who survived. I adore that it was an absolute mess, because it’s incredibly accurate for something run by teenagers.

I disliked the bit with Kikimora because it felt like a retcon of her arc in Kings Tide. She had been so obsessed with pleasing and serving someone in the pursuit of approval and greater power that she forgot she was also in danger from her hero’s plans. To restate it a way I’ve heard, “she was so focused on the boot she had on others’ necks that she didn’t notice the one on her own.” It was very gratifying to see her get retribution against Philip and play a part in saving the Isles. So FTF felt like a backslide to her.

Boscha was an interesting parallel to Philip in feeling abandoned by someone she cared about. So she attempted to force that person to stay. However, she is able to move on and accept that things have changed. It’s what would have happened if Philip had been able to let go, and I like that.

Willow’s breakdown was understandable, but not handled the best, and I dislike that she was “saved” when she doesn’t really like that sort of thing. It would have been better if Hunter and Gus had talked to her and let her slowly unload her feelings instead of being “saved” by Hunter.

I also dislike where their arcs end with them holding pinkies. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Huntlow is adorable and has a lot of potential. I just think that should be dealt with after they are more emotionally stable.

King and the Collector’s story was the least interesting to me, though I think the “new” Collector is adorable. I loved the dynamic they had as a somewhat malicious and irreverent being that will poke and prod at anything for some amusement. It really made him feel like a threat, and I liked that.

The new interpretation revealed by the interactions with King was sweet but less compelling to follow. I would have found it much more interesting for King to help him slowly come to understand human/demon/witch morals and the way what they did was wrong.

Philip’s tricking of the Collector felt like a little bit of a stress, but potentially in character as someone who was desperate to regain the power he had likely lost due to Vee. King’s dialogue for that bit felt kind of forced, but I can excuse it.

Watching and Dreaming:

Oh crud, here’s the real doozy. Watching and Dreaming was the biggest let down for me. It was stunning visually, and the animation was fluid as a whole. It looked amazing, and I was thrilled with the episode the first time I watched it. But the more I thought on it, the more issues I’ve found.

I thought the nightmare sequence was going to be far more significant than it was. I was hoping for a deep analysis on the ways that Luz and Philip mimicked each other in their desire to be the hero, protect the people they care about, and escape the unsatisfactory reality that they had previously lived in.

I thought we would see Eda face and potentially live out some of her greatest fears. Maybe she would accidentally hurt King or Luz. It would have been interesting to see her grapple this during an intense battle that would decide the fate of the Isles! It was disappointing for that to be over in fewer than ten minutes without any of the depth. I don’t really have much to say for King’s nightmare sequence.

On a far more minor note, I disliked Philip’s design during this episode. Yeah, Kaiju Philip was interesting looking, but he doesn’t carry any of the same weight or fear that he used to. The lack of detail and speech from him felt off, because he is a character who puts so much weight into words and manipulation, and we never really get to see him.

I also dislike the way that his color scheme changed. I really liked the dark green and glowing blue thing he had going on. It felt like ooze and rot, like the decay and destruction of a person’s very soul until it’s so twisted it’s no longer human. The lighter green feels sickly, and it gives me the same feeling I get when I touch a grainy eraser. I shudder, and I don’t know why. However, that’s about all on Philip’s design, now to the more major concerns and thoughts.

Luz’s death would have been far more effective if she had died more slowly and if people had noticed she was dead. Without anyone else acknowledging it, I just felt kind of hollow for the whole thing.

I thought that Papa Titan was cool, but I really dislike what he did to the narrative. This fight was set up to be horrific and challenging, that it would take every ounce of the characters’ strength. And King’s parent just kind of took that away.

Additionally, she denied all the buildup that was put into Philip’s character. Philip was set up to be tragic and sympathetic. It implied that anyone could become an extremist and hurt others because they got in too deep, and I related to Philip a lot as a character, as well as Hunter. To see him called just plain evil was disrespectful to the rest of the work put in and everything Wittebro fans hoped to see.

Some people believe that the backstory we got was sufficient for Philip’s character. Respectfully, I disagree. The pictures that were in the background of Hollow Mind were exactly that—background. It implied a tragic character that went off the deep end when he lost the only person he loved.

It suggests that, in a better world, Philip could have moved past his biases and the manipulation he experienced the way Boscha and Caleb did. He could have had a happy ending and been the person that Luz thought he was. By saying he was just evil and ignoring his backstory, Papa Titan and Luz do the exact same thing that Philip does: dehumanize the enemy and say that the group/person should be killed without remorse. It also dehumanizes or hurts those that connect with him due to religious trauma or other reasons.

It feels wrong when only a scene ago, Luz was telling the Collector that things weren’t that simple. But now, they magically are.

Papa Titan also breaks all of the themes that were set up earlier: the idea that you have to choose yourself, that there is no divine being that is going to make you special, and that Luz got where she did because she was open minded and hard working. By making the Titan gift her the runes, it discredits all the hard work she did and supports Philip’s comment that the reason he couldn’t get glyphs easily was because the Titan was making it difficult (as opposed to him being a closed minded individual who couldn’t connect to the Isles).

Luz didn’t really have a choice, and it’s never really addressed the way that the found family theme is ignored as a result of her being chosen. It also implied that all the growth she did over the previous two seasons was pointless, because she was the chosen one.

After that, the tone is distinctly more action based and exciting as opposed to the horrific and stressful encounter I was expecting. It felt like the fight wasn’t being taken seriously by the characters or the writers, and it made it hard to stay invested or take the stakes seriously.

The fight could have been the whistle Hexsquad taking on Philip and supporting each other. Hunter could have helped get people out of the way when they were being attacked. Gus could have distracted Philip and help people escape or even left him open to attack. Willow and Amity could have grappled him and harmed him. Camila could have given it her all with the bat. It could have really pushed the theme of community and connection and the way they impact people.

Finally, I want to talk about one last thing: Philip’s death. I laughed at it the first time I saw it. It was amusing and more than a touch satisfying, but it’s not what Philip deserved.

Philip was a tragic, hurt character who sacrificed his health, his morals, and everything about himself in the pursuit of protecting humanity from witches. He was evil and irredeemable, and I do not want him to be redeemed.

I wanted him to learn that it was all for nothing and that his guilt was justified, that he was fed lies by the people he admired and told what he did was right when it wasn’t. I wanted to see him break down at the knowledge of his actions and their consequences, the sins he committed. Then, I wanted him to die.

In later watching, the scene where Raine, Eda, and King stomp him to death feels cruel. I agree that he needed to die, but Philip couldn’t fight back. It doesn’t feel like something that good guys would do. And Luz just watching them do that felt wrong.

Epilogue:

I liked the epilogue as a whole, except for a bit on Hunter. The thing with him and Willow was cute, but he didn’t cut his hair again, and he went on to carve palisman. I feel as if it violates everything previously set up about him choosing to be himself, and that makes me a bit sad.

In Conclusion:

I think that the people who weee unsatisfied with the Wittebane lore have every right to be. It was the most impactful series of events for the future of the Isles. It was built up for ages and never carried through. Obviously, my opinion would change if there was a series or movie on them.

Evelyn was “spring” to Caleb, as she introduced him the first life and light that allowed him to be who he wanted to be.

Season Three had amazing animation and visual depiction, but it fumbled on the themes it had previously established and some of the character development.

I am so sorry for rambling/ranting so much on this. I hope I haven’t scared or upset you. Have a great day!

#Philip Wittebane #Caleb Wittebane #Evelyn Clawthorne #Season three #The Owl House #TOH #commentary/opinion #some TOH criticism #Gravesfield #Flapjack #Luz Noceda #Eda Clawthorne #King Clawthorne #Hunter Noceda #Kikimora #Boscha #Raine Whispers #rant/ramble

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divinemiracles · 11 months

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I will always be upset with how people state that Lunter is an invalid relationship. Allow me to give my responses to anti-Lunter statements. I’ve said these before but I’ll say them again since some people can’t understand them.

“Luz called him family, therefore they’re family.”

In Thanks To Them, Luz specifically said the line “You’re family now” to Hunter. Calling someone family doesn’t automatically mean that you view them as literal family. There are multiple different kinds of family: literal family, parents’ friends, found family, your own friends, etc.

People call their friends family.

It is also SO VERY COMMON for people that are Hispanic/Asian/etc. to call their close ones “family.” I should know, I’m Filipina. People seem to forget that Luz is Afro-Latina, meaning that it is common for her to call her close ones “family.”

More importantly, this line is practically the same to when Willow said “You’re one of us now” in For The Future. Being such a close friend to someone to where they call you family is the same as “being one of them.”

Also, tweets outside of the show are not canon, just the crew’s headcanons. Only things inside of the show are canon. When Zeno changed his twitter name to “Hunter Noceda,” that was a headcanon. Yes, he’s a part of the crew, but when things are canon, they’re in the source, not outside of it.

Camila has never legally adopted Hunter on screen. You can say that she could have legally done it off-screen but that’s a headcanon, not canon. Look at Camila’s house in Watching and Dreaming, there were lots of photos of Luz, Vee, and herself excluding Hunter. In the finale, it was also shown that Darius took in Hunter.

All of the Hexsquad members likely viewed Camila as a mother figure, not just Hunter. Amity’s mother was abusive, Gus and Willow had no mother, and Hunter had no healthy parental figures yet. Camila viewed all of them equally as her children, which is why she called herself a mother of six. Why would she view Hunter as her kid more than the others when she knew them all for the same amount of time?

If you’re going to say that he’s related to Luz from being Eda’s ancestor (Caleb), remember that he’s a clone of Caleb and not actually Caleb Wittebane himself.

“It’s erasing sapphic representation.”

How? Tell me: how is it erasing sapphic representation?

Luz will canonically always be in a relationship with Amity. Shipping her with a man is not going to erase her canon relationship from existence. Luz and Amity’s relationship is not going to magically disappear from the show.

Besides, Luz is bisexual, which means that she is attracted to women and men (2+ genders). If you believe that she should only be shipped with women, then you are erasing her bisexuality by only viewing her as lesbian when it comes to being in relationships.

Yes, sapphic representation is buried beneath heterosexual content but Luz and Hunter do not classify as a heterosexual relationship, they’re both bisexual, making the relationship a bisexual one.

*Bisexual wlm relationship are still a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Bisexual wlm relationships should not be viewed as anything less than wlw and wlm relationships.*

“You would rather ship Luz with a man than a woman.”

Most people who ship Lunter are people who believe that the ship had much more potential for the story than Luz and Amity did. The whole purpose of Luz and Amity being a couple was for sapphic representation (which was lovely since they are pretty healthy if you don’t look too deep into it). Lunter could fit so much more into the story narrative-wise.

Luz and Amity = Sapphic representation and light-hearted for the story.

Luz and Hunter = Deep and narratively-great (Wittecouple “reincarnated”) for the story.

Which one you ship depends on why you watch the show. Do you watch Owl House for the representation or for the lore? People watch shows for different reasons.

“Luz has already shown interest in men, therefore she shouldn’t be shipped with one.”

What I’m getting from this is that you believe Luz shouldn’t be shipped with men even though she’s bisexual since it’s “erasing sapphic representation again” and there was “already enough bisexual wlm content.” This is stating that she should only date woman in another format while trying to not sound biphobic.

This is a biphobic statement. Once again, Luz is attracted to both men and women. I don’t see a problem with shipping her with men. Erasing sapphic representation? Reread the second section of this. She will always canonically be with Amity and Lunter is not a heterosexual relationship, it’s a bisexual relationship.

If someone said that a bisexual female character who was dating a man couldn’t be shipped with women since it would erase her attraction to men, how would you feel? Upset that the character isn’t allowed to express her sexuality? It’s the same situation only swapping the genders.

TLDR / Recap

Since both Luz and Hunter are bisexual, Lunter is a bisexual relationship, not a heterosexual relationship. Bisexual man x woman relationship are just as valid as sapphic ones in the LGBTQIA+ community.

Luz/Amity is liked for having cute representation and Luz/Hunter is liked for lore reasons. Luz dating a man is not lessening her attraction to women because she is bisexual. Luz and Amity will always be canon.

Luz and Hunter aren’t siblings because calling someone family does not automatically mean literal family. There’s different kinds of family. It’s also common for people that are Hispanic to call their closed ones “family” and not mean literal family. Camila viewed all of the Hexsquad as her children (including Amity), why would she prioritize one over the other?

Also, things are only considered canon if they were outright stated inside of the show.

“Why do Lunter fans feel the need to defend it so much?” Because people don’t know how to respect harmless ships/interpretations, see that headcanons aren’t changing canon, and see that bisexual man x woman relationships are just as valid and LGBTQIA+ as sapphic/achillean ones.

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freakystrashdump · 6 months

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🔮The Oracle Bakery🔮

Emperor Belos|Phillip Wittebane/OC

Slow burn, enemies to lovers, Belos is a content warning by himself

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Chapter 16: Forget-me-not meringues

Hunter had felt like, perhaps, that lying on the cold, hard earth, waiting for death to claim him, would have been an easier option. As opposed to, well, being forced to come face to face with the woman he was so horrible towards, all the while she was nothing short of kind to him in return.

And yes, by now he was seriously considering the scenario where Selena Fortuna was, truthfully and honestly, nice to him, with no nefarious reasoning behind her actions.

He heard it in passing last night: Steve, her assigned guard, was muttering to himself about how much it sucked that this all happened “Just as they stopped fighting over you- oh crap, I shouldn’t have said that”, before nervously bidding his farewell to the young royal and making his exit without giving Hunter the chance to stop him.

What did he mean by fighting over him?

As if the guilt hadn’t been enough, eating at him from the second he knocked that cake out of the baker’s hands. Now it was hitting critical mass with the knowledge that she was poisoned and was in critical condition. And it happened whilst she was protecting the Emperor.

That was his job, damn it. If someone was to get hurt, then it should have been…

And as he paced nervously in front of the Emperor’s chambers last night, waiting desperately for any news, he felt even worse as the oppressing, hostile aura emanating from Magnus, Selena’s uncle, weighed on Hunter like a bag of bricks.

And here Hunter thought his uncle was intimidating.

So, as he made his way back to Belos’ chambers, having received a summon from Hettie, Hunter once more considered the option of maybe just waiting for death to come and take him.

He didn’t do it, of course, but he considered it.

Arriving at the doors of the Emperor's chambers, the first thing that Hunter had noticed was that the terrifying presence of Magnus was missing - thank the Titan. One less stress to add to this entire fiasco. The young prince stood in front of the doors, picking dust off of his uniform and smoothing out any wrinkles, buying himself more time to gather up his courage. With one last adjustment to his mask to make sure it was on straight, Hunter breathed in deeply and knocked on the Emperor's doors.

“Come in.”

Well. Might as well get this over with, as it can’t get any worse. Decisively, Hunter opened the doors and stepped inside. To his surprise, he found his Uncle not in his empirical robes - Belos sat on one of the sofas, dressed casually, leisurely, though his mask was still on. It made Hunter wonder if someone else was there.

“You called for me, uncle?”

Belos looked at him pointedly, the hollow eyes of his mask making Hunter shudder "Ah, Hunter. You came quickly." He spoke absent-mindedly, letting his elbows rest on his knees and lacing his fingers together to make a place for him to lean his chin on "The Fortuna is going to be making a full recovery." He informed courtly "She is in my bedchambers as we speak, along with her uncle. They are currently informing her family of her health."

The relief Hunter felt upon hearing this news was instant. “I am…” he hesitated as he felt his chest constrict, fighting the tornado of emotions inside “...incredibly relieved to hear that, uncle.”

There was a heavy pause in conversation between them, Belos staring the boy down, mulling over his words.

Hunter felt himself break into cold sweat.

After a moment that lasted far too long, Belos spoke again “I have been meaning to ask you, Hunter.” he started as he rose to his feet, beginning to slowly close the distance between the two of them “During the night, Selena and I spoke, has something… transpired between you two?” he stopped in front of Hunter “From what I heard, the girl is under the impression that, ah how to put it, ah yes. That you hate her.” he tilted his head slightly towards him “Poor thing seemed so very hurt by the prospect.”

Hunter swallowed hard, yet he remained silent.

“Such a shame.” Belos tutted “I have tried my best not to mix you up in all of this, you understand. But, alas.” he sighed, disappointment oozing out of him “I knew you weren’t fond of her, so I tried sparing both of your feelings. But, bleeding heart that she is, Selena insisted on treating you every time she visited.” there was a flash of blue under the mask, brief but threatening “We even fought over her stubbornness as she went explicitly against my wishes to leave you be. Unfortunate as it was.”

As if the guilt hadn't weighed on him heavily already.

The boy swallowed thickly, feeling nausea wash over him "So… it is true." He muttered to himself, gaze focused at the floor "She wasn't… she wasn't malicious..."

"Hmm?” He heard Belos through the brain fog of his own thoughts ”I couldn't hear you, Hunter, do stop mumbling to yourself."

Hunter shook his head, clearing it of rushing thoughts “I do not-” he cut himself off, opting not to go on the defence immediately “It’s true, uncle. I was… less than courteous to Miss Fortuna the last time I saw her.” he let out a shaky breath, not sure how he managed to keep his voice from breaking “That may be where she had… gotten that impression.” he looked up at Belos with eyes wide in mild panic “And I feel horrible about it! Especially now! I- I don’t know how to make it better, I-”

“Have you tried apologising?” Belos cut off his rant, successfully de-escalating the boy's rampant thoughts “From our talk, I am certain she holds no ill will towards you. An honest apology for your actions may do wonders.”

The suggestion made Hunter grimace under the mask “I’m not sure-” he started, uncertain, but straightened out when he felt Belos place his hand on his shoulder.

“It’s a start.” he persisted “And if you do it honestly - and from your heart - I'm sure she will accept it.”

Hunter felt heavy under his uncle's gaze and he looked away, taking the time to let his words settle in his head. Just an apology? Hunter scoffed, what good will that do? He thought bitterly, the image of the woman’s face welling up with tears etched into his mind at this point, haunting him with guilt every time he closed his eyes. The anxiety laid heavy in his throat, like a stone he couldn’t fully swallow. It almost felt as bad as the disappointment he could sometimes see in his uncle’s eyes as he failed him yet again.

But, he tried to reason, if Belos insisted that an apology would be enough, then who was he to doubt him. Afterall, Hunter has dealt with worse before - so what is a little apology in comparison?

There was the sound of laughter which, surprisingly enough, came from Belos’ bedroom, catching Hunter by surprise. Seeing the boy's head snap in that direction, Belos chuckled “Ah, it seems her family is in good spirits, now that she’s recovered.” he said, turning away from Hunter to go and sit back on the sofa. Hunter followed after him diligently “Now, I wonder. Do you remember what I’ve told you about the Fortunas, Hunter?”

The boy stood obediently by his side “Yes, uncle.” he said, staring straight ahead as he thought back “The Fortuna’s are one of the strongest and most influential clans of oracles in the Boiling Isles, going back generations, even before the implementation of the Coven System.” he recited in a way where it was obvious that this was something he had heard repeated a hundred times before “Their current matriarch is one of the first to receive a sigil, and she was also one of the biggest turning points when it came to getting public approval in implementing the system itself.”

“Correct. You remember well.” Belos praised him, and Hunter felt his chest swell with joy “It was Madame Isabella Fortuna, I know her well.” he filled in what the boy missed and sighed as nostalgia washed over him “Ah. Madame Isabella. How she hated my proposition for the coven system. But - she cared for her family more .”

Hunter’s head snapped to stare at his uncle in shock.

“The Fortunas have always put the needs of their kin above the needs of the rest.” Belos chuckled, “And that is exactly why they still remain one of my most loyal allies.”

“But…” Hunter hesitated “...you just said-”

“That Isabella opposed me every step of the way as the messenger of the Titan? That she hated the sigils, despite being one of the first to receive one?” Belos laughed softly to himself “Oh, that much is certain. But, Isabella had given her full public support to every decree I’ve ever made, and remained loyal to my rule, all for one simple promise on my part.” Hunter could hear the smile he wore under the mask “Every Fortuna that bows to the Emperor’s crown will always be kept safe under my rule.”

Belos straightened in his seat and turned to Hunter, before continuing “And that is an important lesson for you to learn, Hunter.” he said matter-of-factly “Every person has a price on their loyalty, and you should always put extra care into finding what that price is, especially for those who wish to oppose you.” he tilted his head slightly downwards as he gave Hunter a knowing look behind the mask “Your worst enemy can easily be turned into your fiercest ally, as long as you know what their loyalty costs.”

Hunter let his words settle slowly, carefully, picking them apart inside his head.

The Fortuna family was one he had known of his entire life, even crossing paths with them - with how involved Belos was with them. Magnus, in particular, was a familiar face in the palace, and Hunter had crossed paths with the matriarch as well - an older woman with eyes of fire. The fact that Belos himself regarded them so highly made this confession all the more surprising: that their loyalty had not always been one inclined to his Titan-bestowed rule. That Isabella herself opposed him.

That is, until she didn’t.

Until she became a key figure in popularising the, at the time controversial, coven system. Isabella Fortuna's staunch support during this time became an open secret nowadays, in a way, after most of the main family became more recluse, and sources on what happened half a century ago became lost.

People forget fast, afterall.

But Hunter did not. Even if these events all happened way before his time, Belos never let him forget - he seemed way too pleased, way too giddy whenever the topic of the Fortunas would get brought up in any way, shape, or form. Like he was savouring every single moment of their undying support.

Perhaps he enjoyed the irony of it? Who's to say.

Hunter’s attention, however, was soon stolen away, as the door to Belos’ bedchambers opened. For a brief moment, the sound of laughter was louder, and joyful conversation reached his ears. Magnus stood by the now open door as he continued to speak to the woman inside “I’ll be waiting patiently to take you home, then.” the older man spoke in a tone Hunter had never heard come from him before. Not in all the years he’d seen him shadowing Osran.

Soft and loving. Happy.

Hunter didn’t know he could do that.

As soon as Magnus closed the doors behind him, it was an instant change in demeanour. The cheerful facade dropped, and Hunter had to stop himself from buckling under the aggressive energy emanating from the man.

Yeah, that was more familiar of what he knew of the Fortuna.

“Emperor.” Magnus acknowledged, now in full business mode “Golden Guard.”

“Magnus.” Belos nodded back “From what I could hear, I trust she is in good spirits, yes?”

Hunter could not help but notice the man's lips twitch, just barely, into a deeper scowl "My dearest niece is doing well, my lord." He let out, voice even and contained "And it is all thanks to the expert care you have provided." Magnus bowed his head as he continued "You have my gratitude, my lord, as well as the gratitude of my entire family. Truly we are in your debt."

"There is no need for that. After all, I have grown to cherish your niece dearly - making sure no harm comes to her is the least I can do."

The glee behind his words was more than obvious, Hunter noted. Bubbling just under the surface.

"Of course, Emperor." Magnus answered courtly, then grimaced for a short moment, before schooling his expression back "And I do apologise if I was at any point short with you during these past critical hours. Emotions were high, and I let them overtake me despite knowing better."

Belos got up from his seat, hands placed neatly behind his back as he casually walked past the sofa and to the Fortuna prodigy "Worry muddles even the most rational of minds." He placed a hand on his shoulder, tilting his head before he continued "Do not dwell on it, as I have not taken any offence." Belos removed his hand from Magnus’ shoulder and placed it behind his back once more "Now." He started cheerfully "Feel free to go back to your duties. I shall call for you when Selena is ready to go home."

Magnus gave a curt bow of his head, hand to his heart, and made a swift exit.

It was a full minute of uneasy silence before Belos spoke again, as if waiting to make sure the man left fully out of earshot. "See how easily even the most brutish of witches can be tamed, Hunter?" Belos hummed in a low tone "As long as you know their price."

"Yes, uncle."

Belos chuckled softly, amused "Now, let's check up on our little hero, shall we?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

With a knock, and not waiting for a proper response, either, Belos let himself - and Hunter - into his bedchambers.

Hunter could not pinpoint the weird feeling of seeing… well, anyone , really, occupying his uncle's bed, let alone in such a state. Sure, Hunter reasoned, she was in there to receive care, no other reason. But he had never seen anyone enter his uncle's bedchambers, ever . And - Wait, was that his uncle's sleep shirt?! Thank the Titan for his mask being in place, because Hunter couldn't stop the cringing grimace he made.

It felt similar to the feeling of realising your parents were intimate together. Even though they weren't his parents, and they for sure were not intimate in any sense of the word.

"Emperor, Hunt- Golden Guard, it's a pleasure to see you." Selena quickly corrected herself, all the while smiling brightly at the two "Thank you for giving my uncle and I a moment of privacy, my lord."

"Miss Fortuna!" Hunter jumped in, nerves getting the best of him. "I, uh, I'm glad to see you in good health, ma'am." Hunter spoke formally, back straight and head held high.

"T-thank you, Golden Guard." Selena was sincere, if a bit nervous. Still wary of accidentally stepping on his toes like she did before - she did not want to address the boy too casually, lest he got angry with her again.

"I hope you don't mind-" the two turned their attention to Belos, feeling thankful for his interruption and breaking up the weird, awkward air between them "-but Hunter was incredibly worried last night, I just had to let him see you."

Using his name in front of her, on purpose, and not sounding angry whilst doing so? Selena raised an eyebrow, feeling as if something had changed, but wasn't quite sure what .

"Oh, no, no I don't mind, not at all. I'm touched, actually, that you were worried, Golden Guard." Selena's lips twitched upwards, giving a lopsided smile. Hunter just nodded, not sure what to say.

"I knew you wouldn't." Belos sounded smug as he said that. "Ah, and I believe you had something you wished to tell our guest, if I'm not mistaken?" He pushed, one hand placed on Hunter's back "Isn't that right, Hunter?"

Hunter looked up at his uncle, nodding, and turned to Selena once more. He cleared his throat and placed one hand behind his back, the other clenched in a fist on his chest "Thank you for protecting the Emperor, miss Fortuna. Your acts of heroism are an inspiration to me and my entire coven."

Selena blinked owlishly as he gave her a short bow "Your coven...oh, oh right, you're now the head of the Emperors Coven!" No wonder he always seemed to be stressed, with the weight his uncle put on him. A coven head, at his age? "And, uh, you're welcome, Golden Guard. I like to think I've done what anyone else would do, if put in my place, so don't dwell on it too much, haha."

Please. Don't dwell on it too much.

As Hunter stood there, Belos by his side, his hands fidgeted - fingers flexing anxiously as he tried to form words. He practised them! He really did, thinking of any and every possible way to put his thoughts in order and to speak to her as soon as she was better. But now, he was pulling up blanks, which in return made him all the more nervous.

The hand on his back put a little more pressure "Ahem." Belos chimed in "Are you sure that's all you wanted to say?"

"I, uh, no, there was… there was more." Hunter stumbled over his words "Miss Fortuna, I-" his uncle clearing his throat again took Hunter's attention and he looked up at him. The man very casually brought up his free hand close to his own face, and with one finger rapped gently on the mask twice. A clear sign that Hunter was quick to react to "Oh right." He fumbled a bit, posture relaxing as he did, and brought his hands up to his head. In one swift move, his mask was off, revealing a pair of crimson eyes and a nervous, gap toothed nervous smile.

Selena's hand flew to her lips on instinct to muffle the gasp that escaped her.

"I wanted to-"

Hunter started on his speech which he has repeated so many times to himself the eve before, but was quickly interrupted. The woman on the bed was scrambling out of the sheets - she sat upon her knees at the edge of the bed, pulling on the long men's sleep shirt she wore to cover her legs as much as she could, and grabbed her glasses from the night table, putting them on.

"Goodness, Darius wasn't kidding when he called you little prince , look at you!" She started, giddy beyond belief "Come here, closer , I gotta take a good look at you!" She made grabby hands, beckoning him over, all the prim and guarded air around her from seconds ago gone.

Hunter, rightfully so, seemed nervous, eyes flying up to Belos for a hint, anything , on what he should do. Maybe even hoping he'd get him out of this all together, but alas, Belos simply tilted his head in a "well go on" gesture, and pushed on his back before withdrawing his hand fully. So there was not much he could do apart from obeying the awaiting woman, crossing the room until he stood a foot away from the bed.

He saw the oracle's eyes sparkle, comically so "Oh, now I get why you wear the mask - if you didn't you'd have to beat the teenage population of the Boiling Isles away from you with a stick!" She joked, giggling to herself.

"Why…would I beat up teenagers?" Hunter asked so truthfully, it almost hurt

"Wha- Hunter, I'm not saying literally , I'm calling you handsome !" Selena was somewhat taken aback by his response, but laughed either way, finding it endearing "Haven’t you ever received a compliment before?" Behind him, Hunter heard his uncle stifle a laugh. Selena frowned as she looked over his shoulder. She twisted her lips, before they widened into a smirk, eyes sparkling for a brief second.

"Is that why your uncle hides behind a mask as well?"

Belos immediately broke his laugh with a cough, turning quiet at that comment. And in return, Selena's face beamed with pride and mischief, before turning her attention back to Hunter.

"You…think I'm handsome?" The boy blushed, hand smoothing his hair back nervously as he did.

"Look at you! Fair hair, striking eyes, such royal features! Witches your age dream about boys like you, for sure!" She assured him. The little smile growing on Hunter's face was the sweetest thing Selena had seen all week. It was always sad to her, just how little boys got praised in such a way: given compliments, called pretty, when they were so hungry for them.

Every single person likes being called pretty, it doesn't matter who or what they are.

The little bashful smile didn't last long, as Hunter seemed to have gathered his wits and shook his head, trying to concentrate and get back on track "Wait, wait, wait, stop ! That's not why I wanted to see you! Stop doing that!"

"Stop doing what?"

"That!" He huffed, annoyed "You - interrupting me! You- keep breaking my train of thought!"

"Oh!" Selena put a hand to her lips, faux aghast "Okay, okay, I'll stop, go ahead please." She sat more properly, placing her hands on her knees and straightening her back, looking poignantly at the boy. She gave him a little nod and put on the most serious face she could muster.

Finally, Hunter thought, and cleared his throat "Miss Fortuna. I want to apologise for my behaviour when we last met. It was unbecoming of me, both as the heir to the throne and as the head of the Emperor's coven. You did nothing to deserve such horrid treatment, and I hope you can forgive me." He bowed his head low, waiting for her response.

But, for some reason, he got… none . Nothing, except silence. And it was starting to make him nervous. Slowly, just enough so he could see her expression, he lifted his head, peering through one eye, only to snap his head completely up, fully in shock, once he caught a glimpse of her face. The Oracle in front of him was absolutely giddy. Her hands were clasped together in front of her face, palm to palm, and then there was her smile - so wide it looked like it hurt her cheeks from the strain. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, with little tiny tears in the corners. And, all the while, she kept making the weirdest, high pitched noise, rising in pitch the longer it went.

What…what in the world…?

"You even sound like a prince!" Selena finally let out, albeit too loudly and high pitched. She squeezed her hands into fists, which in return started shaking with excitement, all the while bouncing up and down on the bed "Oh, oh I'm doing it again, aren't I?" She sounded apologetic, even though her face didn't quite show it. "I'm so sorry, I can't help myself, you're such a sweet young man!"

At this point, Hunter was sure his face was red from how hot it felt. He couldn't even tell for sure if he was embarrassed, or flattered, or annoyed, or maybe all three - he didn't often deal with people complimenting him. With people… being so nice .

"You're, uh, not mad at me?" He let out, meekly. The tone of his voice seemed to have finally put an end to Selena's bubbly outburst.

"I mean, I was more distraught than mad." Selena cleared her throat, chasing away the former high "The last thing I wanted to do was upset you, and that ended up being exactly what I did. So that didn't…feel good." Her eyes fluttered behind him briefly "Especially since the Emperor warned me not to be so pushy with you, and I insisted I knew better." She let out a nervous laugh "If anything, I should be the one apologising to you both."

The young royal was about to tell her there was no need for an apology on her part, he just wanted this entire thing to be over and to make sure she didn't hate him. Even though, he thought, she had every right to. However, he was startled into silence by his uncle, who somehow managed to sneak up on them both without either noticing.

"Oh, there is no need for that, Selena." Belos spoke as he passed him, going straight to sit on the edge of the bed, right next to the oracle. Her shoulders tensed as he placed a hand against her cheek, turning her face towards him "Despite your… lapse of judgement, I cannot hold it against you, as I know it came from a heart full of compassion." His fingers moved, pushing stray hairs behind her ear "Naive as it is, unfortunately."

"Unfortunately." She muttered under her breath, half-heartedly. The feeling of fingers pushing harder behind her ear, however, made her elicit a small hiss through her nose.

A warning, for getting too cheeky in her responses.

"I do admire the love you hold for all the children of the Isles." Belos continued, like his nails weren't currently leaving indents in her skin "But it is a tedious thing, I admit, having to make sure no one takes advantage of such childlike naivete." The pressure finally lessened, and Selena's eyes twitched as she felt the nails unstick from the flesh they were pressing into "Do be careful of lesser men, will you?"

The way Belos gently, just barely, tilted his head to the side, adjacent shoulder rising up as he did, it felt incredibly mocking - condescending.

"Of course, Emperor." Selena did her best to smile back, biting her tongue "I will try my best. As you should as well, not to mistake my compassion with naiveté, that is" She added in cheekily "Though, compared to you, any man is a lesser man. Who can measure up to the messenger of the Titan, afterall."

Belos exhaled loudly through his nose in a barely stifled laugh. And if she could see his face, Selena would have been greeted by the most smug, annoying smirk ever to grace a witches face, a clear show that what he thought about that statement of hers was "Yes, exactly. So do not trust other men but me."

"Now, don't be cheeky." He answered instead, hand moving back to her cheek, giving it a gentle pinch as he did. He gave her head a tiny shake, as if she were a child being greeted by aunts they see twice a year. As soon as he let go, Selena's hand flew up to her face, cheeks puffing up in an indignant pout, as she proceeded to rub the (not really) sore spot.

What a cute expression, Belos thought, it reminded him of a feral little kitten trying to look big and scary.

The two had their attention taken away from each other when Hunter - still awkwardly standing next to them - let out a nervous cough. Selena was the first one to gain her composure, smiling widely at him, as if nothing happened just seconds before "In any case, Hunter! Thank you for apologising." She exclaimed brightly, " I'm happy to know there is no ill will between us."

"Of course not, miss Fortuna." Hunter was quick to respond, head still spinning from watching the two interact so … casually? More importantly, seeing Belos , of all people, interact with someone so casually. All he saw was friendly banter, of course, not the threat behind the Emperor's touch, and it felt wildly unnatural to witness.

Like he was intruding on something intimate.

Hunter saw how Belos eyed him carefully. "If the worries you have carried from last night have been lifted, Hunter, then you're free to go back to your duties." He gestured to the woman next to him "Our miss Selena here needs to rest as much as possible before Hettie dismisses her from our care, you see."

"Oh, there is no need to send him away." Selena quickly interrupted, eyes flying between Belos and Hunter. She felt more confident, somehow safer , when not alone with Belos. So, going by what she knew of him so far, and desperate enough to attempt such a thing again, she pushed a little further, covering the Emperor's hand with her own "If he wishes to stay, he should feel free to do so, don't you agree, my lord?"

And it seemed to work, at least she thought it did. She felt the man next to her freeze up, if just for a brief moment, as her hand gently covered his own, palm so small compared to his. Selena gave him a hopeful look, hoping it would aid in breaking his determination.

It took longer than usual for Belos to answer her.

"Hunter has his duties to think of, both as the Golden Guard and a coven head." Belos started slowly, building up his resolve "I am afraid he really can't stay long." He turned back to Hunter, staring him down "Isn't that right, Hunter?"

And the boy's reaction was instant obedience, just like Selena had seen many times before "Emperor Belos is right, miss Fortuna. I have my duties to attend to."

Oh so close, but she was afraid to push his good graces further. Selena tried her best to not purse her lips in disappointment "Of course, I understand."

With one last bow, and with his heart feeling lighter than a feather, Hunter bid his goodbye to the two, leaving the room in a swift manner. He took the mask he held in his hands and secured it back in place, jumping back into his Golden Guard persona.

And as he did finally leave, Selena let out a deep sigh. While the boy felt lighter than a feather as his guilt alleviated, she, in fact, did not.

Especially not while she was stuck alone with him .

"Don't sound so disappointed." Belos chimed in "Am I such bad company that you do not wish to be alone with me?" He teased - very brazenly so, in fact.

The way her entire face lit up red in a matter of seconds was comical to behold "Wha- no! I'd never- I never said that, Emperor!" The woman stuttered as her voice reached entirely new heights in its pitch. And as soon as she did, Belos broke into a laugh, pleased to have caused the exact reaction he wanted from her "Mean! That was mean of you, Emperor!" Selena let out a whine, as it didn't take her long to figure out that he was intentionally making her fumble over herself.

It was instinctual, the way she hit his shoulder with her open palm. Afterall, she was the youngest of three, and used to being (lovingly) teased and fighting back when it did happen - in the same loving way, of course. And being the youngest, even she was aware that she was more spoiled than her older siblings, so it wasn't a rare occasion that her bratty side would come out.

But it usually came out with people she was close to, who she was friendly with.

Not with the man who, if he knew who she truly was, would want her dead - or worse .

Selena caught herself only after her palm made contact with the Emperor's arm - not a hard hit by any means, but to her it felt like it burned the second she had done it. She gasped as the mortification hit her all at once, struggling to decide whether to soothe the place she hit, or get as far away from him as possible, that she just remained rooted in place instead, so paralysed by horror, that she didn't even notice that Belos barely even registered what she had done.

"Oh, Titan below, I am so sorry, I didn't - I mean I, I don't-"

Belos, laughter still in his throat, turned to look at her "What ever do you mean?"

"I- I just - my lord, I was - I didn't mean to hit you, I forgot myself-"

"Goodness, Selena dear, you're working yourself into a tizzy." His laugh had subsided into a chuckle "Weren't you the one who broached the subject of us being friends first?"

Selena was caught off guard by that. She was , wasn't she? When she asked for his favour in dealing with Odalia Blight, that's when she officially marked their relationship a friendship. "I suppose I was, my lord."

With both hands, Belos took hold of her face, squishing her cheeks together "Then what is this all about, Selena?" He chastised playfully, his face very close to hers "If we are to be friends, you can't be having a panic attack whenever you behave friendly towards me, hmm?" He chuckled. His eyes were in clear view, Selena noted, the smiling crinkles in the corner of his eyes and the deep blue shining even in the shadows of his mask, making her head spin "Why, how do you think that makes me feel, having to walk on eggshells around you all the time?"

Selena quickly looked to the side, suddenly feeling ashamed. "Not… good, I suppose."

"Not good indeed." Belos sighed "Promise you will try for me?"

"Yes, Emperor Belos."

She heard him exhale through his nose in a small laugh "That is what I like to hear.” Belos spoke, pleased as one can be, and reached over to the night table adjacent to the bed. “Now, I have been thinking of ways to make sure both you and I stay safe in the face of current events.” He opened the drawer, taking out a box that comfortably fit in his open palm. “I wanted to assign guards to watch you, to make sure you are safe. However, perhaps this needs a more… subtle approach.-'' he presented the box to the oracle, opening it for her to see inside.

Selena felt cold sweat wash over her instantly, goosebumps running down her spine.

Bad news . Real bad news .

The oracle sixth sense never slept. Not really. And the moment Selena saw the rose gold brooch, shaped like a blooming carnation, it instantly sent off blaring alarms in her head.

Her throat felt dry as she struggled to speak “Ah, well…” she paused, trying her best not to grimace “Hmm, that's a very pretty brooch, how… how exactly would it work?��

Belos placed the box on his lap, taking the brooch out and holding it up to let her have a closer look. “Nothing too complex, it carries a magical insignia embedded inside of it.” He moved closer, making Selena freeze as his adept fingers attached the brooch to the men's shirt she wore. To her left side, above her breast “And when it is in contact with a specific wearer, the insignia will let off a unique energy - one which I can effortlessly recognise.”

The moment the pin was safely in place, Selena could feel exactly what he described. She could sense the hum of magic coming from the brooch, it felt like it was calibrating to her own magic.

She hoped to Titan that it wouldn't see past her removable sigil.

“There we go.” Belos purred, pleased. With his right hand, he pressed his middle and forefinger, now glowing red, to the carnation, his magic seeping into it as he did.

And Selena felt the calibration lock into place, now replaced by a steady, unique magical aura. She let her fingers gingerly graze over the petals.

“Did- did it work?” Selena asked, looking down to inspect the jewellery piece.

“Like a charm.” He answered, satisfied.

That only made her feel more uneasy. She couldn't wait to say take the damned thing off.

“Do… you like carnations, Emperor?” She tried switching the subject, hoping to lessen her unease.

“They are… satisfactory, as far as flowers go.”

Selena licked her lips nervously before continuing “Did you know, pink carnations mean that one will not forget you?” She blabbered absentmindedly “You know, since this is rose gold and all.”

“Ah, the language of flowers.” Belos chimed in, almost too gleeful “Hmm, is that so? I must say, I'm not well versed in this specific art.”

“It's somewhat old and forgotten, though some knowledge of it still remains, especially in potion making.” Selena remained focused on the brooch “I had a phase when I was younger, thinking I was so smart, when I learned a lot about it and wanted to send secret messages. Turns out it's not effective when the one receiving flowers does not know the meaning.”

Belos chuckled, “Yes, I see how that could pose a problem.” He continued “So, giving a pink carnation would signify that I will never forget you, then?”

“Y-yes, that is correct.”

“Well then, I suppose the gift fits perfectly then, in more ways than one.”

The oracle felt her entire face warm up, and quickly turned away from him in an attempt to hide it “W-well, it's a good thing you hadn't picked just gold then. Yellow carnations mean rejection and disappointment.” she let out a nervous laugh “Wouldn't that be something, haha~”

“Hmm, if that were the case, I'd have had the entire thing remade.”

Selena paused, somehow that statement made her mind go blank. That was sweet. Why was that sweet?! Worst of all, why did she consider it as such, because even if it was objectively a sweet sentiment, she of all people should not have considered it to be one. Not from him. Not towards her.

So why did it make her heart skip a beat for just a single, solitary second?

Her hands were shaking as they reached for the brooch, jaw clenched tight as she struggled to take it off. “I'll make sure to wear it whenever I come to visit, then.” She let out with all the niceness she could physically muster, feeling instant relief when she finally unclasped the damned thing “But for now, it'd be a shame for something to happen to it, don't you agree?” she took hold of his hand which held the jewellery box, bringing it closer to her. Forcing the shakes off, she managed to place the brooch back into the velvet box, gently pushing the Emperor's hand back to him.

“Please, don't let me forget to take it when I leave?” She asked sweetly, letting her thumb trace a pattern into the back of Belos’ hand “I'd hate to leave such a thoughtful gift behind.”

And it seemed that this time, at least, her charm worked, as Belos’ posture seemed to relax, and without objecting he placed the jewellery box back on the night table. Turning back, he mirrored her actions from before, his hand covering hers as his thumb pressed softly into her wrist, feeling her heartbeat.

“Of course, Selena. I'll make sure you remember.”

#the owl house #the oracle bakery #philip wittebane #philip wittebane x oc #emperor belos #emperor belos x oc #fanfiction #reader insert #self insert

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try02line · 7 months

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The Owl House: Charis!AU

Context: the Wittebane brothers get tragically separated in their youth. One is thrown abruptly in the future, while the other remains stuck in the past, how will this change their story?

I am very happy to officially welcome you in my own personal AU of the show TOH, which I am creating in collaboration with @magpieddd (literally, none of this would have been possible without this amazing person-).

I will not spoil too much in this post, as I plan to gradually release the information thru blogs and building a small wiki as well so everything is much more organized! Just know that if you enjoy TOH and heavy Wittebro angst this is the place for you! Do not let the bright colors trick you, things will get dark pretty fast.

I want to dedicate this post to talk about my personal design of Young Philip Wittebane, because there are some details I am very proud of!

- The 9-years old design is very straightforward. Like hunter’s, it is simply a personal interpretation of his canon outfit. In this case, I wanted to remark the dire situation the two brothers were living in, with the clothes being clearly old and ill fitted for the small boy, and of course, i couldn’t not include his precious stag wooden mask.

- Now, for the second design, we get into interesting territory. For the hair, he decided to let it grow so that he would be able to tie it up, as a silent small tribute to his older brother.

- As it can clearly be seen by the first image, Philip is much smaller both in height and body type when compared to Hunter. This is due 3 factors: age, diet and lifestyle. In my au, Philip is around 12 years old, while Hunter is around 17. Hunter trains intensely to be the best of the best, a soldier and a perfect golden guard, even more than in canon as he is held to much higher and stricter standards, so he is of course more buff. And finally, the boiling isles offer a rather poor diet for a small human child.

- Philip has a belt with a bag attached to it, in which he carries his precious notebook

- the embroidery at the center of his outfit is meant to resemble a stag, but from the distance it may appear a demon as well

- AND FOR MY FAVORITE DETAIL: THE CLEARER SPOTS ON HIS CLOTHES. Okay, this has actually a double meaning! First and foremost, his outfit is meant to represent fire. This element can have many interpretations, something warm, but dangerous, that can give life and death in equal measure- but I personally mainly wanted to make a subtle nod to the witch hunting tradition of his home town, having him represent a pire on fire on which the people accused of being witches would be burnt alive. On the other side tho- the spots represent something much more innocent! When stags are still baby deers, bambis, they tend to have their back covered in white spots, which disappear as they grow up. This is to symbolize that even if he wears the mask of a stag, Philip in this AU is still very much a small child who has a lot to grow up to do, and no mask can change that as he wears barely disguised the signs of his naivety.

These are all my favorite details! I am so proud of this and I really hope you will enjoy it as well. More content will be soon posted in which I will go into more details about this AU.

PS: Charis is the fake name Philip uses in the Boiling Isles :3

#philip wittebane #fanart #caleb wittebane #hunter wittebane #wittebane brothers #wittebros #kid belos #kid philip #the owl house #the owl house au #try02art #Charis!AU #toh hunter #toh belos #my very first au #i am so proud #fan design

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catboymoments · 1 year

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CW CSA mention/incest /// (no description, just a question about your take on the owl house)

I was curious to know if this is a repeat behavior for Belos in your take on The Owl House? Did he hurt other grimwalkers/Caleb before Hunter? And if he is motivated by that (why he went after Evelynn)?

If you could,, would you be willing to elaborate on Belos's obsession with Caleb? I don't mean to call attention to the perpetrator at all,, not really asking for his motive,, I want to know where you are coming from with your take on this. It changes the context for me when interacting with your content.

Okay so as I go into this please know I don’t fuck with incest ships or romanticize them and I think that shit is GROSS!!!!!! Whenever I discuss topics that are dark or taboo, it’s all done for the purpose of a diverse and compelling story because we all know that only fluff does not a good narrative make, and my reasons for writing these things doesn’t come from a place of perversion, satisfaction or gratification. It comes from a place of me healing from my own trauma and for the first time, stepping into writing content that goes outside of my comfort zone.

I think that Philip Wittebane is a fucked up, evil and hypocritical man but he’s also a product of his environment and what we know of his childhood. He thinks what he’s doing is rational, and it’s not. Maybe he knows this! Maybe he doesn’t. I don’t know. But I do think that Belos was very possessive towards his older brother, and had some (obviously unreciprocated and also. Unknown to Caleb) behaviors/thoughts toward him that weren’t ok. I joke about him being “grandpa yandere” but it’s mostly a lighthearted joke about bad tropey things in anime and how it relates to how I view Belos’ character.

Whenever the “yandere” trope comes up in anime it’s mostly portrayed as the character being in genuine love with fluffy romantic feelings, and their violent behavior surrounding it played for laughs, or in worse cases, it’s romanticized as something tragic or beautiful. I’m not here to say that watching something that does this is problematic or it makes you a bad person, but in the real world and around a narrative where the characters have common sense (say, TOH,) this behavior isn’t a good thing at all- it’s abusive. It’s predatory. It doesn’t come from a place of love or affection as much as characters like yuno gasai would like to say- it comes from a place of a need to control and intent to harm without regard for the victim’s feelings, only the aggressors feelings matter. It’s like how rape isn’t about love, it’s about selfishness and control and violence. (This extends to the grimwalkers. It wasn’t about pure intentions or affectionate feelings. Ever.)

I feel like Belos, with his Puritan-Christian upbringing (that we all know sucks) and the shock of Caleb, his only caretaker and the only person he ever cared about abandoning him for someone else (an “evil demonic witch” nonetheless!!) caused a slurry of feelings that make for a complex narrative and a horrifying character who’s actions go on to hurt so many people.

Philip Wittebane is a horrible, complex, formidable and terrifying villain, and he only gets worse when you peel back the layers and start to speculate for yourself.

#rape mention #csa mention #ask to tag

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deconstructthesoup · 4 months

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The Web House

Full disclosure—I did not have this all typed out before today, but this won the poll, and I do nothing if not deliver.

*cracks knuckles*

So, this is kind of an inverse to my already well-established AU, The Wittebane Archives, over on AO3—Luz is the Archivist and going through the horrors, there’s an equal amount of deep character moments as well as incredibly chilling encounters, it’s great, it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, please go check it out. You got tragic Lumity, tragic Huntlow, wholesome Veesha, Skara and Boscha content, and Belos being much more morally grey than you’d expect. Also, there’s some fucked-up monster content.

ANYWAYS!

I finally decided to do an AU where a young Jon ends up on the Boiling Isles, and I took a similar approach with the tone that I did with Wittebane Archives. In that story, while I still highlighted the horror of the world they live in, I decided to make it more manageable for the characters and give them chances to still find ways to feel human, reflecting the fact that TOH is a more gentle and optimistic show (and I much prefer happy endings to sad ones). So, with The Web House, I decided that the Isles in this world are the Isles we would’ve gotten if Dana had been allowed to do her original vision… which is to say, all of the scary and horrific parts are kicked up to their extent. No sugarcoating here, the demon realm is explicitly referred to as Hell.

Now, to the characters!

Jon: He is, of course, in the role of Luz. Rather than being a naive ray of sunshine from Connecticut, he’s a prickly, anxious, and socially awkward kid from Bournemouth who gets in trouble for his constant refrain of correcting the teacher, having no interest in the assignments, and his habit of reading during class. This eventually leads to him nearly getting sent to a camp for “troubled kids…” until his habit for wandering off and getting distracted by things that are out of the ordinary leads him to stumble in through a portal to the Boiling Isles. Once there, Jon is absolutely blown away by the wonder and horror of the world, and he finally finds something that he’s truly passionate about—though, time and time again, he’s told that he can’t do magic because he’s a human, and he gets very defensive about it. It takes him a while for his walls to come down.

Gerry: He’s Eda—a snarky, anti-establishment, laid-back criminal with a lot of trauma and a habit of unintentionally adopting kids. Instead of an Owl Beast curse, he has a Spider Beast curse, and is referred to as the “Web Witch” by the denizens of the Isles. Gerry was actually pretty happy pre-curse, mainly because his mother died before she could do a lot of real harm… but after getting cursed, everything came crashing down, culminating in Gerry accidentally blinding his father and running away to hide in the woods. Since then, he has a hard time really letting people in, and the fact that he’s a wanted criminal doesn’t help. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t regularly take in strays. (Also, the curse turns his hair black, but it’s naturally red. You’ll see why in a sec.)

Annabelle: She is a slightly more mature version of King—a spiderlike demon child that Gerry found and took in at a young age. Knowing full well that she’s adorable, she takes advantage of the fact that people think she’s sweet and naive to get what she wants, which leads to a lot of shenanigans in the first-season arc. As the story goes on, and she finally takes the push to learn more about her past, she starts learning how to be responsible and to be more honest with herself and others, though she never loses her talent for deception. She’s a curious and devious little kid.

Helen: She’s a Hooty equivalent. Just a sassy door being who helps keep the Web House in tip-top shape.

Agnes: She’s Lilith—Gerry’s older sister and the head of the Emperor’s Coven. Of course, Agnes being Agnes, she’s a lot less tightly wound than Lilith at first and is genuinely sweet and caring, just deeply misguided. She truly believes that Gerry joining the EC is the best option for him, and she’s always been tormented with guilt over cursing him. After leaving the coven, Agnes tries her hardest to make up for lost time, both with Gerry, Eric, and their great-aunt Gertrude, even if she really has no idea how to interact with people outside of being the polite and perfect role model. It’s a learning curve.

Basira: She takes the place of Willow, though her character development is less about being insecure and slowly gaining confidence and more about being stoic and apathetic and learning to express her emotions and fight for what she believes in. Basira has natural talent in both Beastkeeping and Plants, and while she initially thinks that switching to the Plant track would be better for her, she eventually decides to take both classes once it’s approved. She’s painfully logic-minded and has a lot of internal doubts about the coven system, though until she meets Jon and hears his casual breakdown of how valuing certain types of magic over others just doesn’t make sense, she doesn’t yet have the courage to voice it. On her end, Basira turns out to be just the friend that Jon needs—someone who believes in him, but isn’t afraid to tell him when he’s being an ass.

Georgie: She’s in Gus’s position, though instead of being a prodigy at Illusion magic, she’s a prodigy at Abominations magic… and is more than a little terrifying as a result. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a wonderful person, but her keen interest in both humans and in subsects of magic that are more than a little macabre can be a little off-putting to some, which is why Basira’s her only real friend at first. After their initial meeting, which consists of Georgie excitedly asking Jon for a blood sample and him being incredibly spooked by her amazement at meeting an actual human, the two end up getting along like a house on fire, and are basically enablers in each other’s chaos. Georgie’s family doesn’t have a lot of money or social standing in the Isles, so she works twice as hard in order to prove herself and get better opportunities. This leads to burnout. Frequently.

Melanie: She’s… okay, so, she’s Matt in that she’s a fellow member of Georgie’s human appreciation club and a new student at Hexside, though she and Georgie don’t really have a rivalry beyond friendly ribbing. However, she’s also Viney, in that she’s a member of the Detention track who helps kickstart multi-track studies. She and Jon don’t get along immediately, mostly due to the fact that he unintentionally ratted her out for studying both Oracle and Construction magic the first time they met, but the two form a begrudging alliance during a basilisk attack and later become actual friends. Melanie’s a sucker for drama and conflict, and she carries that with her—whether she’s in the Human Appreciation Society, the Flyer Derby team, or just hanging out with Georgie and the rest of the gang. She’s fun.

Martin: He’s Amity, in that he’s a depressed rich kid who’s severely isolated due to parental expectations. Due to his incredible talent at Illusions, a lot of kids end up coming to him when they need to cheat, though they never actually become friends with him due to everyone seeing him as a quiet weirdo who never had to work for anything. When Jon comes along, Martin is distrustful of anybody claiming to want to be his friend, and he doesn’t help things by accidentally demeaning Jon’s interest in magic—which, in Jon’s eyes, cements him as a rival. After a string of miscommunication and failed interactions, the two eventually reach a middle ground and become friends… which later leads into Martin developing a gigantic crush on Jon. Which is later reciprocated. Aside from the romantic drama, Martin learns to both become more open and to stand up for himself, becoming the kind yet bitchy individual we all know and love.

Tim & Danny: They’re Edric and Emira—Martin’s class-clown yet charming older brothers who love teasing their little brother and getting into general mischief. Tim’s the oldest, and he’s usually the one who shows a lot of actual worry towards Martin, though he’s still a very flashy individual and tends to do a lot of crazy things just for the hell of it. Danny, on the other hand, has some identity issues that stem from being a middle child who doesn’t quite know who he is outside of his family, and he tends to throw himself into something if he thinks it’ll make him stand out. They’re both illusionists, like Martin, and while Tim and Danny are biological brothers, all of them are adopted. (Also, Tim eventually starts taking Bard and Beastkeeping classes, while Danny starts taking Potions.)

Daisy: If my decision to make Basira Willow hasn’t tipped you off, Daisy is Hunter—the Golden Guard of the Emperor’s Coven, praised as a teen prodigy yet possesses no magical talent of her own. She’s loyal to the emperor and genuinely believes in everything she’s been taught, and she is absolutely horrible at expressing any emotion other than smugness or anger, believing fear and sentiment to be weaknesses and being deathly afraid of being perceived as anything other than strong. Daisy is a very vulnerable person underneath her hard exterior, and she can be incredibly soft with people she cares about… though, of course, she’s not given much opportunity to connect with anyone outside of the castle, or inside, for that matter. In the canon of TMA, Daisy is a truly fascinating character to me, and I knew that the only character she could feasibly be is Hunter—hey, person who did bad things for a cause they believed was just and had that illusion stripped from them, meet other person who did bad things for a cause they believed was just and had that illusion stripped from them. And they both love wolves. So, yeah, she’s a very traumatized child soldier who makes the gradual evolution into a protective big sister friend and a disaster lesbian.

Sasha: I had to make her Vee. I had to. Even if you take away the whole fact that she was NotThemed and how similar that is to the basilisks, the fact that she was almost made the Archivist makes her perfect for that role. Her general story is pretty much the same as in canon—she’s a basilisk who was created in a lab for the purpose of studying magic draining and ran away to the human realm, falling in love with it almost as soon as she arrived. Once in the human realm, Sasha develops a love for computers and manages to make friends with the people she meets at the camp (I’m not sure who they are yet, though I’m leaning towards making them Sam and Colin—Alice already has a role), and when she and Jon actually have a chance to meet, they almost immediately bond as siblings after the distrust and animosity is thrown out the window. Also, Sasha’s existence helps Jon finally fully connect with his grandmother, so… bonus!

Oliver: He’s Raine. As much as I love Doorkeay, I have a different role in mind for Micheal, and Oliver’s dynamic with Gerry as two gorgeous witchy goth men connected with The End is something that I’d love to see more of. Anyways, um… so, Oliver and Gerry’s story is pretty similar to canon—they met when they were in high school, were best friends from that point on, and eventually started dating, though they broke up due to Gerry being tight-lipped about the curse and Oliver eventually making the decision to join the Bard coven. Oliver didn’t start being a rebel leader right away, though, since he initially believed that the best way to fix things was by changing it from the inside, but after years of that not working, he finally caved and started the BATs. He’s very practiced at pretending that he’s just an unassuming workaholic, and he often claims stage fright in order to continue operating under the radar. Oliver’s a smart dude.

Trevor: He’s… well, he takes the position of Eberwolf as the Beastkeeping coven head, but he also acts as Darius for a lot of the story beats—mostly because he takes the role as Daisy’s actually decent paternal figure. Trevor comes off as an old grump who doesn’t like people or fun, and he’s seen many a Golden Guard die in his time as a head of a coven… so, when he sees Daisy be rebellious for the first time in her life, his wolf dad instincts kick in. Not quite sure where Julia fits in yet, but she’ll fit in. Somewhere.

Jane: Terra. She has to be Terra. Gross plant woman who pretends to be sweet but is actually psychotic. She’d definitely suggest turning children into mulch as an apt punishment for failing a small challenge.

Nikola: Same deal, she’s Adrian. She can’t be anyone else.

Peter: He’s in the position of Odalia—an antisocial yet jovial businessman who reeks of old money. He also deals in security and weaponry, though he primarily uses oracle magic instead of Abominations, and he’s very interested in studying the effects illusion magic has on the mind. Of course, he can’t actually practice illusion magic, so he has to turn to other avenues for research… such as adopting three gifted illusionists. Needless to say, Peter is not a good parent by any measure, and he kind of holds the fact that he adopted his sons over their heads so they don’t step out of line. Unfortunately, the kiddos don’t have an Alador equivalent (as far as I’ve decided), so the only person they can really go to outside of each other is Peter. Not a good environment, really. And it’s definitely complicated by the reason why their dad has all this standing and power, beyond just the family connections…

Elias/Jonah: So, he is in Belos’s place as the emperor who’s secretly a human witch hunter, but his motivations aren’t the same. Rather than planning on killing witches simply because he hates magic, his intention is to drain the magic from them and take it for himself—well, for humans, but mostly himself. Elias is also a lot more… shall we say, lax about interacting with other witches, which is why he has zero qualms with having an on-again, off-again relationship with Peter Lukas. And several other men throughout his time on the Isles. Yeah, Philip may be too deep in a Puritanical mindset to claw his way out of Narnia and admit that he’s not straight, but Jonah is a harlot and that’s a part of his character that stays constant. I’m not gonna go into his backstory, for spoiler reasons, but I will say that Gwendolyn is a Caleb equivalent, and Alice is her Evelyn. I’m riding on the Dyhard train and you can’t stop me.

Micheal (Distortion): And last but not least, I couldn’t make our boy Micheal anybody other than The Collector! I know that technically, he and Helen are kind of the same character, but she just doesn’t have the silly vibes that he does. All I can really say is that his story is… well, it matches up with in canon, except he’s more of a preteen than a kid. We know so little about Collie’s past outside of the events that led them to be trapped, and what we know about Micheal himself—pre-Distortion, of course—is equally as murky and unclear, so… yeah. He’s a funky neon star kid who originally manifests as a funky shadow kid.

And yeah, I think that’s it for now.

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idoodlestuffsometimes · 10 months

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You've expressed the desire to keep the Brother's Keeper AU consistent with the general tone and age range of TOH. What's the motivation behind this? I'd be curious to know what (if there are any) Brother's Keeper concepts occupy your mind but will never write/draw because it's not consistent with the tone.

lmao my forbidden concepts are the same thing but with swearing 🤣

Honestly though? This is actually something I'm debating right now.

To be fair, there was never actually any particular desire to keep the TONE consistent with the show (I tend towards character drama rather than children's comedy), however keeping things reasonably PG, yes, that I was going for.

It actually stems from before Brother's Keeper. I used to draw Gravity Falls stuff, and I'm aware that when I make fan art it's often for animated content, which, when it's American, (unfortunately) tends to be aimed at kids. And kids are both interested enough in their favorite media to want to see art of it and fully capable of using google.

I didn't want to be an adult responsible for ruining a kid's favorite thing. (I also wasn't invested enough in making adult style content to try to hide my blog from search engines entirely.)

As it wound up turning out, some of my BK stuff does in fact turn up pretty quickly in google image search if you look for Wittebane related content, so I was right to be cautious.

Anyway, because of those concerns my rule since long before Brother's Keeper has been that when I publicly share fan art, it stays in the general range of appropriateness for the original media's target audience. If it's an R rated movie, then I'm fine with doing R-rated fan art. If it's rated G, then the fan art either stays G or goes behind some kind of privacy shield where it's less likely to pop up in a casual search without warning.

As far as BK goes though, more recently Tumblr has added better content warning protections (I haven't tried it out but it's nice to know it's there). And in addition, I've been spending more time considering exactly how I'm handling the ending, and have been toying with the possibility of going darker and debating where exactly the line is.

I'm sure I am and will be toeing the line regardless, lol. I'm not a big fan of gore and am not that interested in sexual content, so those aren't that likely to show up that much even if I went full Adults Only. But I DO like exploring emotional complexity, even when it gets very heavy and dark, which are things American kids media is allergic to. Where is the line when it come to "dark themes"? How heavy can your story be before it becomes inappropriate for kids, even if there's no risque content and all the violence is bloodless? How hard can I go with the violence before it becomes TOO violent, even when completely absent of blood and gore?

Originally I planned to wait and see how the show ended and then build around that. Presumably that would have automatically resulted in a child friendly end. However, unfortunately, I... don't really like the finale and don't find it satisfying for Brother's Keeper's storyline. Which means I have to invent something completely different myself.

I'm in the process of inventing that something, but lately I've begun to think that what I have in mind will have fight scenes and may also work best if I include some real world modern close-mindedness (for the purpose of paralleling Belos' old timey anti-witch nastiness.) There are PG ways of doing that, but if I go down that darker route I do find myself reconsidering whether it might be better to just lean into it and up the rating a bit.

#Brother's Keeper AU #doodlereply

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maddies-chronicles · 1 year

Text

pinned.

tarot readings: CLOSED | tarot rules

name: maddie 💜

current interests: marauders hp lore, the arcana (game), tarot and other forms of divination, witchcraft

pronouns & gender identity: she/xe/ze/they, i don't even know anymore. just use my pronouns and don't ask me questions please

rules:

don't be a bigot

don't be an asshole

NO israel-palestine asks. why don't i allow these anymore?

anti-shifters keep scrolling

shiftokkers are welcome i guess if you promise to be normal

if you have any questions about my DRs PLS PLS ASK!!! i love to answer asks about my DRs literally so much!!

you can absolutely use my script layouts! i'll link them here if you'd like to use them.

dividers are usually from @cafekitsune and will be reblogged as #dividers

sometimes i post content with sexual undertones lmao 😭 these posts will be tagged as #minors avert your eyes

DR names: hale (toh DR), eliana (pjo DR), riley (fnaf DR), morgan (DC DR), abella (miraculous DR), braelynn (mcu DR), izabel (royals DR), phoenix/fae (old hp DR), cassia/cassie/cass (marauders DR)

MAIN DR: marauders crossover DR

archived DRs: the london institute (tid), royals DR, rosewood, pa (pll), fnaf:sb DR - child, fnaf:sb DR - technician, boarding school DR, hogwarts - golden trio era (hp), resort DR, windenshire DR, encanto DR, hurricane, ut (fnaf), liar, liar DR, columbia DR, second chance DR, alt CR timeline

active DRs: waiting room, boiling isles (toh), crossover DR, ny institute (tmi), hogwarts - marauders era (hp), paris, france (mlb), stark tower (mcu), gotham, nj (dc), stardew valley, bc, gravity falls (gf), inheritance games DR, aurora cycle DR, camp half-blood, ny (pjo), arcana DR

main DR s/os: jayden finnegan, aven whitmore, asra alnazar, muriel the outsider

DR s/os: *hunter wittebane-noceda (toh), *boscha bennett (toh), jayden finnegan (oc), aven whitmore (oc), *pacifica northwest (gf), *via scully (pr), *tyrone pines (gf), *james potter (hp), *harley keener (mcu), *kit herondale (tda), *michael afton (fnaf), alex aiden mullner (sdv), haley (sdv), shane (sdv), sam (sdv), *luke castellan (pjo), abby bourgeois, julian agreste, mika couffaine, *emira blight (toh), *leo valdez (hoo), noah (codename, CR guy), wyatt (codename, CR guy), bennett (codename, CR guy), *conner kent (dc), *garfield logan (dc)

possible DR s/os: *livia blackthorn (tda), *draco malfoy (hp), *pansy parkinson (hp), *michelle jones (mcu), *shuri (mcu), *merula snyde (hphm), *edric blight (toh), xander hawthorne (tig), jameson hawthorne (tig), *tyler jones (ac), austin (codename, CR guy), wesley (codename, CR guy)

* - has been aged up/down depending on how you look at it (possibly significantly depending on canon)

other blogs: @ohgodimashifter (old shifting sideblog), @niche-writings (fanfic), @stembies (studyblr), @enbygirlblogging (girlblogging), @muscle--mommy (fitness & nutrition).

lore: canadian, keeps bread outside of fridge, hates pickleball, was a pole dancer briefly

#reality shift #shiftblr #shift #shifters #shifting #shifttok #desired reality #shifting community #reality shifting #shifting realities #shifting antis dni #shifting tips #shifting advice #shifting attempt #shifting affirmations #shifting to toh #shifting to mcu #shifting to fnaf #shifting to hogwarts

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the-salem-devil · 2 years

Note

ok now I really want to return the favor ^^ [in response to your jealously post]

HUNTER WITTEBANE X READER [ORAL: HUNTER RECEIVING]

Oh yes, 😏 I’m pretty sure I have another hunter oral post but I’m not quite sure, thanks for the request love ❤️

-Hunter would be totally content to just lay in bed with you, but despite being sweaty and extremely satisfied, you thought he deserved to be treated too.

-You’d wiggle out of his grasp, and he’d give a confused and slightly concerned look, “Is everything alright?” but you just gave him a cheeky smirk.

-He was still dressed, despite your apparent pants-lessness, and you chose to fix that, tugging down his pants softly and he flushed when he realised what you were doing.

-“You don’t have too…” “Shhh.”

-You pulled down his boxers, you could see the affect you were having on him, and he looked away, embarrassed.

-But you didn’t waste time, you took the tip of him into your mouth, and to further his embarrassment, a small, light sound slipped out of his mouth almost immediately.

-He’d taken you slowly, building you up over time, but by the barely contained buck of his hips you knew that wasn’t what he wanted, by the tight grip on the sheets you knew he couldn’t handle that.

-He never fared well with getting teased.

-You took pity on him, getting to work and taking as much as you could, continuous small whimpers and breathy gasps, once you reached the base you gave a sharp suck and he opened his mouth, tipping back his head and moaning softly.

-The pace was quick, and sharp, the build up was quick, his noises become more desperate, silently pleading with you as his hips pushed up ever so slightly.

-You took him all in your mouth, and with a final, hard suck, he’d let go, letting out a loud, breathless moan and release into your mouth.

-Weirdly, he didn’t feel so jealous anymore.

#hunter wittebane #hunter the golden guard #hunter headcannons #hunter x reader #toh hunter wittebane #hunter toh #toh hunter headcannons #toh hunter x reader

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wackulart · 1 year

Note

Reader meets Elsewhere Philip. Reader offers to carry Philip's satchel for him. Carrying style is across the chest like Philip has it in the ep. Reader shuffles through the satchel on the way, sees the journal, the Collector's disc, and his jagged knife.

you guys..... how did you know i wanted to write a bit of spooky philip...?

[rubs my hands together like an evil little fly]

(also im sorry if its not what you meant but im assuming that reader is from the deadwardian era-)

Content Warning; he does grab you at one point but nothing farther than that

Philip Wittebane x Reader

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

When you had agreed to house a traveler you had no clue it would have led to all of this.

First off, you didn't know you were housing a human. It wasn't that it bothered you but you were concerned if you could provide for what a human might need compared to a demon.

What if you didn't have the right food, the right temperature or the right.. bed sheets?

You didn't know anything about humans.

Yet you seemed to be able to make due once you had sat down and spoken about it. From what he had told you, you were able to figure out how to take care of a human.

What you weren't prepared for was taking care of a human like him.

Secondly, the reason you had decided to do this was because you had needed help in taking care of your business. You were one person and you had been getting far too much work to keep up. So you posted letters all around the town and waited for someone to come and take your deal.

The deal was that someone could stay at your home while you provided a bed to sleep and food to eat under the conditions that they would help you with transporting goods and organizing in the store.

Philip Wittebane, that was the name of the human who had picked up your ad and had been living with you for a little less than two months now.

When he first moved in he had told you that he had been struggling with finding a place to stay and you told him that you were more than happy to provide. Within the first two weeks, you were starting to understand why he struggled with keeping a place.

In the nicest way possible? He was insufferable.

Despite the fact that you had been letting him live with you, he had made it clear he wanted to interact as little as possible with you. He would leave the house early and avoid you when he got back, walking past you like you weren't even there.

The only time you were able to finally get a few words out of him was during dinner or when he helped with work.

It was progress and it did work.

A month in and you two had begun to get along, he would eat breakfast with you, ask if you wanted to join him while he went out and even called you friend a few times. Needless to say, things were improving.

Towards the end of the second month, Philip said he had to travel far and he wouldn't be back. He had been telling you about how he was searching for his brother and that once they had found each other that they would need to leave. You didn't understand why but you didn't try to change his mind.

Before he left you had prepared him with food, a shovel and a kiss on the cheek.

He took it all and left with a thank you.

A few weeks went by and while you had still missed him, you had begun to get back into your routine of things. Before you could even try and reconsider a new roommate however, he had come right back.

You had been in your kitchen talking to someone about them moving in when a loud knock had sounded on your door. There was a twinge of paranoia as you asked the demon to give you a minute when you went to answer the door.

There he was shaking like a leaf, eyes wide, his nose broken and his hair was a complete mess. You took him inside and ushered the other demon out with an apology. No matter what you tried you couldn't get a word out of him, so you stopped trying and did your best to comfort him. You gave him a hot drink and put a blanket over his shoulders. You couldn't do much but sit with him until it got late and asked him if he wanted to rest in his room.

Philip took a deep breath and looked up at you. "..Yes."

He stood up and slowly walked to his room, he couldn't imagine telling you of his adventure.

Finding his brother, killing him, digging him up, meeting those two insufferable witches, finding the Collector and moving on to the next step of his plan.

You were good to him and his goal was righteous but how could he be sure a demon would understand?

Alas, you were none the wiser as you picked up his satchel from the kitchen and pulled it over your shoulder to bring it to him. You put away your cups and folded the blanket that Philip left on the chair before you went to head in and check on him.

The sound of glass clinking made you pause, you didn't want to embark on his privacy but you thought it might reveal to you why he had been so distraught.

You looked down into the bag and noticed familiar things, you saw his pens, his ink bottles and the journal he had carried around with him. Then you saw two things that you hadn't seen before, a round glass plate with a moon encrusted on it and a knife.

Surely you should have stopped looking but now you had more questions than you did answers, so you took out his journal and turned to the most recent page.

You sped through the words, skimming the logs about his morning and focused in on a strange sentence.

What in the world was a Grimwalker?

Before you could flip the page you heard your name spoken with a tone that made you jump and look up at Philip, who had been standing at the doorway of his room. His eyes moved from your face to your hands where you had been holding his journal.

"I-" Before a word could come out of your mouth, Philip ran up to you and grabbed your wrists, forcing you to drop the journal.

You tried to explain yourself but all words died in your throat at the dangerous look in Philip's eyes. Now you were the one shaking as you didn't know what to expect.

It was almost like you didn't recognize the man in front of you.

"What were you doing?" He spoke barely above a whisper.

With all of the fear that had been running through your body when you had tried to speak all, that had come out had been a frightful whimper.

That seemed to change something in Philip's mind as his grip loosened and he sighed. He seemed to shift back into a calmer look of exhaustion opposed to the murderous one you had just seen in his eyes.

He brought your wrist to his lips and kissed it. "..Forgive me."

You weren't completely off guard yet, but you were at least sure he wasn't going to do anything brash. Your eyes didn't leave his face for an instant yet your shoulders relaxed slightly.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." Philip mumbled as he let go of you and moved to pick up his things. "It has been a.. less than favourable few weeks since I have left."

Maybe you could understand that and you were looking through his things.

You took the satchel off of your shoulder and held it out for him as he put his journal back into it. He pulled it onto his own shoulder and took a deep breath.

Not sure of how to continue you on, you mumbled to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- I just wanted to understand how to make you feel better."

Philip watched you intently, searching your face for something you weren't sure of until he lifted his hand and held your face. Your face grew warm as you both just sat there for a moment, only to be broken by his hand moving to your shoulder.

"We should rest." He told you.

You nodded and bowed your head before going to your room. When you passed by Philip took your hand and your head snapped back to him, still a little on edge from before.

He looked worn out. "May you stay with me? Just for tonight."

A small smile pulled on your face and you both headed to his room, passing out next to one other. Though you had fallen asleep first, not conscious Philip playing with your hair in your sleep.

He hoped that perhaps there could be a spot in his future for you

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