#canonvsau

These types of ships require a delicate balance between the relationship with the enemy and the protagonist; otherwise, it will break everything and make the ship a bit toxic. This only applies to canon-ish universes. AUs where the enemy isn’t an actual enemy don’t count since they don’t have the relationship their canon counterparts have, so it can be fine. 

To illustrate this, I’ll compare two ships that exemplify this trope. The first is good old Hanamusa, Aka: Jessie x Delia from Pokémon. The second is Camila Noceda x Beard era Philip Wittabane from The Owl House. In my opinion, Hanamusa works, while Camila x Philip doesn’t, for the core reason above.

To explain further, examine the relationship between Jessie and Ash. Ash and Jessie, along with the TRio, have a Frienemy situation going on. Yes, the TRio tries to steal Ash’sAsh’s Pikachu daily. The three are part of a terror group (although they have been fired in the Hanamusa verse). Still, the general vibe is that the two sides are willing to put their differences aside, usually when a rival team tries to destroy everything. Generally, Jessie is a goofy villain. Vain, haughty, rhyming intro with James and Meowth, the works. It makes bigger villains, like Team Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, Flare, and Team Rocket Proper, more terrifying. She can be with Delia because deep down, Jessie isn’t a bad person. This allows her to bridge the gap with her stepson, Ash, in this case. 

Ash’s problem with Jessie is threefold. 

 He doesn’t trust her (who can blame him)

He thinks she’s now competition for Delia’s affection (he’s still a kid after all)

He’s still working through his Dad’s absence, so when Jessie shows up to replace him, Ash’s complex emotions find a perfect target.

This may seem problematic, but thanks to their existing semi-positive bond, these obstacles can be overcome. Ash can come to accept a changed Jessie, and the two will become amicable. It also helps that Ash’s love for his mom counteracts any existing grudges with Jessie, meaning that even if he never comes to mend the fence, he will still accept the two. Even if that acceptance comes from giving Jessie the Shovel talk. 

Phillip and Luz, on the other hand, are too broken to even think of mending fences. To start, Phillip isn’t a recurring nuisance or a joke to make an off-screen villain seem powerful. He’s not The TRio, He’s Giovanni himself. Every time Phillip is on screen, he does something horrible. He gaslights Hunter, he manipulates families against each other, and plots to kill all the people in the Boiling Isles to fulfill the goals of the Puritans. Luz is no exception to his cruelty. Whenever they meet, Phillip attempts to hurt her—whether it’s as Belos, forcing her to become trapped on the Isles through a terrible choice, or as Phillip, trying to sacrifice her to get access to the Collector. He later uses this to traumatize her with the idea that she had “helped” him.

Luz’sLuz’s relationship with Phillip is purely antagonistic, and there’s very little that can be done to heal that. It also doesn’t help that, unlike Ash and Delia, Luz and Camila have a strained relationship due to stuff like Reality Check camp and initially trying to keep Luz from the Boiling Isles. That, combined with her sharing Ash’s situation of being fatherless, may result in a Phillip x Camila relationship ending with Luz tolerating the two but remaining distant at best. At Worst? Luz burns bridges and rejects Camila and the Human realm as a whole. Phillip has too many sins on his belt to build bridges with Luz.