#it would absolutely affect kiki and darius and possibly lilith

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Something that is super fascinating to me about the concept of Good Uncle Belos AUs is how Hunter is affected by how differently his uncle treats him vs how Belos treats everyone else.

For further clarification, this refers to AUs where Belos is basically "bad person, good parent" and nothing about him changes except for his relationship to Hunter (and possibly his relationship to Caleb and the rest of the grimwalkers), not AUs where Belos is a good person/has good intentions.

Because Belos would still be his canon, shitty self mistreating and manipulating his subordinates, and then the doors would close and he'd turn to Hunter and be all nice and caring and parental. Like, how does Hunter deal with that? How does Hunter deal with constantly facing the fact that his uncle is Not A Good Person?

This isn't canon Hunter, who has no reference for what a Healthy and Good Relationship looks like, and thus thinks its normal. This is a Hunter who actually has a pretty good picture of what love and care looks like, and has had it since his childhood. So how Belos treats others would register to him as something Different, as something Weird, or maybe something Bad.

Would Hunter accept it as Just How It Is for people who are of vastly different ranks? Or would Hunter turn to apologism and victim-blaming to deny the fact that his loving uncle could ever be capable of doing something like that? (Especially if Belos tells him that it's because they "deserved it" when Hunter asks why.) Maybe Hunter just turns a blind eye to the mistreatment. Maybe he just pretends that side of his beloved uncle doesn't exist, and avoids any situation where he might have to see his uncle lash out.

Maybe there's a part of Hunter that knows that his uncle is a shitty person, even if he is doing his best to cling onto his impression that Belos is someone good. And that part would urge him into taking the blame whenever missions would go wrong, even if he really had nothing to do with the mission's failure. Maybe Hunter would learn how to distract Belos, how to redirect his anger, how to manage his moods and cheer him up, all so that others don't have to face the Emperor's wrath.

Alternatively, Hunter can be an asshole about it. Like, a smug, spoiled, entitled asshole. He demands what he wants and he will get what he wants unless you want to get reported to the Emperor. The type of guy where you'd love to deck him, but you can't because he'll go running to his politically powerful, rich dad uncle and make you regret it.

It kinda irks me when people say that Hunter is fundamentally a good person, because personally it would be a lot more interesting if he had to learn how to be a good person, or has to put effort into being good. Maybe Hunter was an entitled brat when he was younger, maybe Hunter actively tries not to be like the Emperor, or if he has nasty voice in his head that tells him that "hey, Kikimora's being a real bitch lately. Why don't you mess something up and blame it on her?" Even if Belos genuinely loves him, he is still a horrible role model for a developing child.

Hunter's struggle with reconciling his Uncle Belos with the merciless Emperor Belos is something that I wish more creators would explore (hell, it doesn't even have to occur solely in a Good Uncle Belos AU, it's still applicable to canon) more. Because (fully) realizing that your uncle, your only remaining family, someone that you love is a Bad Person is hard. Hunter goes through this in canon, in Labyrinth Runner's "I spent my life believing I was doing something good for someone good, but it was a lie." But now, there's the added layer of realizing that Belos had the capacity to be someone good. Hunter knows that his uncle could have been someone good, his positive relationship with Belos is proof, isn't it? But instead, Belos chose not to change. Belos had over 300 years to change, and is self-aware enough to filter out most, if not all, the emotional manipulation from his interactions with Hunter, and yet he still remains a complete and utter ass.

Or maybe... Belos also lied about how much he loved Hunter. Maybe Hunter wasn't exempt from the Emperor's manipulation, and all his kindness was just a facade. Maybe Belos was just a bad person, incapable of being anything resembling good. Hunter wouldn't know if it's true or not, wouldn't trust Belos's answer if they even get a chance to talk about it, but at least believing it alleviates the guilt he would feel for resenting him.

#bad guy with a heart #the owl house #toh #toh hunter #emperor belos #philip wittebane #mentioned child abuse #mentioned abuse #rusty ramblings #this isnt even getting into how such a scenario would affect the other characters #i mean. it makes sense. everything except hunter-belos dynamic stayed the same #but when a butterfly flaps its wings etc #it would absolutely affect kiki and darius and possibly lilith #and luz would go Crazy for the trope #though if she would have the opportunity/time to rope hunter into forcing belos to undergo a redemption arc #is very very questionable