#(coven scouts to each other: NOT IT!)

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Philip Wittebane's Nightly Nourishment (A cute crack fic with zero context that's hilarious and weirdly wholesome in some parts)

Camila's eyes were heavy with weariness as she trudged up a set of stairs in her nightclothes, carrying a Bible and a steaming cup of tea.

A massive yawn was released from her lips.

Once upstairs, she turns to enter a room.

Inside the room, Philip was laying on a bed.

The old man appeared to be awaiting her arrival.

Taking a seat on a stool beside the bed, she sighed.

"Comfy?" She asked the former emperor in an annoyed tone.

"Very," Philip politely replies with a calm smile. "Would you mind tucking me in?"

The request earns him a groan as Camila arranges the covers around him.

"Thank you," he tells her, his smile still present.

Camila holds out the tea cup toward him. "Here," she mutters, expecting him to take it.

Philip silently stares at the steaming cup for a bit before looking up.

He forms a frown at Camila, brows furrowing in disapproval.

She knows how this goes.🤨

A second groan is given as Camila pulls out a silver spoon and dips it into the black tea.

Scooping a spoonful, she gently blows the steam away, lowering the spoon to Philip's lips.

He slowly sips the liquid, letting out a satisfied sigh.

Much better.😌

"I'm full," he simply states as he sees Camila going to scoop up a second spoonful.

Frustrated, she huffs, setting the tea down before picking up the Bible.

"Ah, just as I requested," Philip hums, pleased to see Camila with the holy scripture.

"You can never go wrong with the word of God, I always say," he chuckles.

Camila rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Flipping through the ancient text, she stops at a certain page and begins to read.

This was music to Philip's ears as he shut his eyes. "You know, Camila," The Puritan began, "Back at the castle, before bed, I'd order one of the coven scouts to massage my feet," He admits with a soft sigh.

Those scouts were deeply scarred for life.

They needed SO MUCH soap and therapy.

"How it relaxed me so. I was wondering if--"

"Goodnight, Philip." Camila leaves the room, shutting the door.

She knew EXACTLY what Philip was trying to get her to do, and she was QUICK to curb stomp the super gross suggestion. 🤢 🦶

She had her limits.

Good for her.👏 👏 👏

[salamander-spark]

Disguised forms for the other Basilisks!

(Including my interpretation of Number II's appearance)

+ headcanons, as well as backstory for my AU highlighted in green.

Number II, aka Tulip🌷

Age≈ late 20's/early 30's (~15 years older than Vee)

Goes by They/Them, Is the second oldest of the experimented Basilisks. They firsthand witnessed Number One(Greater basilisk that attacks Hexide)'s descent into madness and animalistic hunger. They were scared of what they could become, so they fought extra hard to retain their sanity, vowing to protect their younger kin. Tulip often risked taking punishments from the captors in the other's stead.

(Hight comparison for Tulip's true form (Vee for reference)

At around 15 years old, Tulip hears scouts talk about a new test subject that hatched recently and will soon be ready for experiments. Tulip breaks out and rescues the infant number five. A month of laying low later, and they are both hiding in a cave. Tulip finds a pool of Titan's blood trapped deep within, and they both enter into the human realm.

Tulip can't stay. They know they need to protect Treble and Ivy. So they watch in the shadows as Vee is taken into the care of a couple of humans before leaving her behind, where she can grow up in a place far from the Emperor's grasp. They absorb the remaining magic in the portal, severing this temporary link so that nobody can follow their child.

🎼Treble & Ivy🌿

Ages≈ Mid twenties

Treble: She/Her, Ivy: He/They

I got the idea to name her Treble from The Angel of the Owl house, by OwlHouseAngel on A03. I thought fit well, considering she's playing Eda's Citern in the finale, and the Idea of a basilisk playing instruments sounds cool. (even inspired some things for my AU)

Both were created from the same set of samples, making them almost like twins. They've got a close-knit sibling bond, very protective of each other. Treble gets headstrong and does risky things like attack coven scouts. Ivy often has to reign Treble in to prevent her from being too reckless. He tends to take an overly cautious approach to anything new.

I'm still not entirely sure how they play into the AU, but they meet Vee and are introduced to Camila to be accepted into their family

I loved this shot when I first saw it, I'm glad to see at least someone in the crew cares about them

& 🌺Viola "Vee" Noceda

I like to think she has a collection of different sweaters and chooses to wear them to keep her warm. Basilisks are mostly cold-blooded but passivly use up their magic to keep warm in cold temperatures. Vee likes to conserve energy by dressing warm during the colder months

She ended up in the human realm thanks to Tulip and was quickly adopted by the Nocedas. Not knowing about her origins, she's horrified learning what her kin has gone through.

She's less timid when confronting danger and hasn't gone through her canon trauma (minus a few fears like sharp objects and dark basements from ). She does, however, have trauma and grief from Manny's sickness and death.

[zibiscusloon]

Gustholomule girlies go—

-Twila Tholomule-

•Twila Aleth Tholomule is a human and is the adopted daughter of Gus & Matt.

•Keeps up a cool persona to mask how insecure she actually is about her place in the Demon Realm.

•Took in Jukebox, a palisman who had been confiscated from an Emperor’s Coven scout. He managed to escape from Belos and hid in the castle walls for years. The damage he took from Belos caused him to lose most of his magic. Him and Twila developed a deep bond as they found someone who didn’t quite fit into their world.

•In the Construction, Potion, Illusion, and Beast Keeping tracks.

•Very close to her Aunt Luz! She gives Twila advice to adjust to being a human in the Demon Realm.

-Jane Tholomule-

•Jane Mari Tholomule is a lizard demon and Gus and Matt’s second oldest adopted daughter.

•Despite being younger than Twila, Jane was actually adopted first

“I’m the oldest!”

“I was in this house first!”

•The way I can best describe her is a Disney Princess who commits various felonies. She takes heavily after Eda (though admittedly less in an act of rebellion type of way and more so a “I crave violence” way. (Authorities aren’t able to hold anything against her as she’s great at getting rid of evidence. Concerningly good..)

•A theatre kid through and through, she joined the Bard and Illusion tracks. She’s the president of Hexside’s Drama Club.

•Unlike most witches, Jane keeps two palisman! Her palismen were already bonded to each other before she adopted them so she gained two lil accomplices!

-Mara Tholomule-

•Mara Khari Tholomule, Gus & Matt’s baby!

•She’s their only biological kid and was more of an accident as Gus and Matt weren’t intending to have any more kids after Twila & Jane. (They’re still as happy as they can be to have her<3 )

•She’s an absolute sweetheart and always insists on helping around the house, always wanting to prove her worth.

•Mara carries a blood curse that developed in her toddler years. Its damaged her magic to wear roots have begin to grow within her veins, reaching into her bile sack, to wear she is only able to use plant magic. Her arms have moss growing out of them, which rise as the curse becomes stronger. She begins to overgrow when her curse is left unmedicated for long periods of time, losing sentience and becoming a mess of vines and roots.

•Joined the plant track in the hopes of better understanding and learning to live with her curse.

[jamscandraw]

A Heart At Arm's Length is an Alternate Timeline/Royalty x Knight style AU where Murph replaces Darius as Coven Head after he mysteriously disappears. Steve is assigned as their personal bodyguard when they move to the castle and they start a secret relationship 🤫 More lore under the cut!

In an alternate timeline, MURPH is headhunted as a promising Abomination witch at a very young age and receives special training and mentorship from Darius. They officially become his apprentice at 16; they still attend school but are seen as a minor celebrity and incredibly isolated from their peers.

When Darius vanishes from the Boiling Isles with no trace, rumours swirl about his disappearance and Murph must take his place. Appointed at 25, they are the youngest Coven Head in history. Darius taught them a lot about power and political influence, and they maintain a careful act to gain the respect of the public and fellow coven heads, while also getting what they want. The power of appearances is very important and they permanently have a concealment stone active that makes them look flawless and glamorous no matter what. They appear calculating, sharp and a little detached when at court, but behind closed doors they are very lonely and wish for an easier, more "normal" life.

STEVE got his childhood dream - accepted into the Emperor's Coven at 18. But it hasn't been quite what he wanted up until now - lots of prison duty, late-night patrols and guarding empty corridors. So he jumps at the chance to be an escort for an important public figure - he might get to go somewhere interesting! - but is taken aback when he is assigned to Head Witch Hearthstone, who after several years in power has finally agreed to move into the castle permanently. They were never close friends, but he knew them in school, and now they're one of the most famous people on the island. He decides to remain professional and keep his identity a secret from them, but up close they're nothing like what the news says about them, and he can't help but be drawn towards them. Still, they're acting very suspiciously and Steve is worried they might be up to something other than their coven head duties. He vows to keep a close eye on them and try to learn more - you know, as part of his job...

Over time, the two gain each other's trust and their relationship grows into something more than what would be considered appropriate between a noble and their loyal bodyguard. A public romance between a coven head and a lowly scout would surely cause a scandal, and maybe even punishment for the both of them. Desperate to stay close to each other but not get caught, and afraid to reveal their true feelings too soon in an unbalanced power dynamic, they promise to keep their meetings a secret.

Both of them have to navigate political intrigue, corruption, social decorum and deceit in order to keep their affections undetected. But with the Day of Unity fast approaching and talk of treason running through the castle, can they even trust each other, and will they choose love or loyalty in the final moment?

[the-stolen-century]

I absolutely adore the "Eda is Howl and Raine is Sophie" AU (and am sharing links to art and fics at the bottom of this post because they're all so good!). But may I suggest - that's what the story looks like from Raine's point of view. From Eda's point of view, it looks like this:

Update: here's the coloured version:

Reference, further thoughts and links to other fanworks under cut!

Just look at Raine Rizzpers. They're this handsome, dashing, incredibly powerful magician who wears a dangly earring and a glorious off-the-shoulder coat.

Imagine:

- Eda has to hide from coven scouts and Raine uses their magic to whisk her away. Of course where Sophie is initially terrified of walking in the sky Eda is immediately delighted and laughs instead of yelping. And Raine literally does the same "soldiers/scouts turn away and march away" magic in the BATTs intro as Howl does in the movie intro, right? Same magic! So Raine and Eda have a lovely time together (longer than Howl and Sophie, maybe even the whole day?) because they form an immediate  connection, just like in "Them's the breaks, kid".

- Then Eda gets cursed, which makes her age prematurely and run away from home. She finds an old house in the wilderness. Unlike in TOH canon, the house is inhabited not only by Hootcifer but also occasionally by Raine. (Or maybe the house is not the Owl House but the BATTs headquarters, and the 3 BATTs are the equivalent of Calcifer, Markl abd Heen?)

- either way Raine going on BATT missions, disguised as a bat, is the equivalent of Howl going to war in bird form.

- unfortunately Raine doesn't seem to recognise her. She thinks it's because of her curse, but finds out that Raine's heart and memories seemingly have been locked away (Terra's potion).

- since Eda lost her magic to the curse, now Raine is the only magician in this relationship. But even without her magic Eda refuses to leave. She just kind of aggressively adopts Raine, citing old woman privilege, because of course she's immediately worried about the effects of the curse on the person she met that day and couldn't forget since.

- some kind of confrontation between Eda and Terra (madam Suleiman equivalent). Raine was going to go themself, unlike Howl, but Eda somehow preempted them and went instead of them, using an illusion to look like Raine, just like in canon! And then Terra sees through the illusion and everything falls apart but in the end they still find each other...🥺

*Slaps AU* This baby can fit SO MUCH mutual pining in it!

The reason why I love Raeda so much is that both of them are the Howl and the Sophie in this relationship.

Anyway here are the amazing other fanworks!

AND ALL OF THIS TAG ON INSTAGRAM!!

[myobsessions247]

A Hunter Au, it might not be for everyone but there is mama Eda and a younger Hunter, also big thing: Hunter is cursed (but you’ll have to wait to find out how!)

Runaway Owlet

Chapter 1 - A Lying Emperor and His Ward

He thought he should look up to his uncle. But once Lilith and he started to get close, they became more comfortable around each other. He realized the stark contrast between Belos and Lilith, how he could talk to Lilith about wild magic but his uncle… The atmosphere when he’s around Belos is very different to Lilith, shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t he be able to talk about his interests to his uncle freely?

Hunter stares at himself through the mirror, with a far look on his face. He watches the blood stream down his neck soaking into his sweater, staining it. The last six minutes were a blur. The strike across his face was a blur. The run back to his room, leaving a trail of tears and blood was a blur. He thought so many different thoughts staring at his bloody hands and face, as all the colors around turned vivid and blur, was a blur. 

Would Lilith do this to him? He wouldn’t blame her if she did. He doesn’t know if she would. No, she wouldn’t. Lilith would never have to hit him. Not even if he’d mention how life might be better without the coven system, or being able to cure his uncle’s and his curse with wild magic. She’s too kind to hurt him for thinking there’s a better way to live. 

Hunter feels unsafe around Belos.

He should’ve known this for a while now. 

His heartbeat races. His breathing shortens. His bloody hands shake. He feels the feathers forming on his arms, face, hair, legs, and chest. His eyes widened. He frantically searches for a golden yellow potion. He finds it in a drawer and chugs it down, face furrowing in disgust. The feathers lift as he sticks his tongue out, I keep forgetting how bad this tastes! He remembers.

He looks back at the mirror, it suddenly reminds him of the wound. Now calm, he grabs his healing kit and gets to work cleaning up his injury.

He doesn’t feel safe around Belos.

It’s patched up, though you can see where the blood dried and the splotches of a darker red in his sweater.

Hunter doesn’t feel safe in the emperor’s coven.

He wants to leave so badly, yet he doesn’t. He doesn’t know where else to go. But wouldn't living homeless be better than living in a place that doesn’t feel like home? How would he eat, he barely eats here anyway. What about Lilith, what about Belos?

Hunter isn’t safe here.

He finds a bag to pack his stuff in. Two pairs of clothes (he’ll have to deal with not being able to wash them), some extra bandages, and… he doesn’t need anything else, does he? Though he does want some things. One of his favorite books, and a stuffed frog. 

Oh! Elixirs! 

…

He doesn’t have any more. He looked in the dresser drawer, desk, under his bed even! No sign of a golden yellow potion. He won’t get that stressed, would he? If he can survive without food, he’ll be fine, maybe.

Hunter, you are not safe there.

He waits until it’s two in the morning before leaving his room. He lived in the castle, he knew the scouts’ schedules and the layout like the back of his scared, gloved hand. Sure, it’s not like the entire building is empty, there are plenty of guards still guarding. But the only flaw: is shifts. Hunter waits near the entrance until the security walks away to get the next shift of scouts. That is when Hunter takes his chance to leave the castle. And then, he runs.

He runs for a good hour until his legs give in and he collapses on the cold forest floor. He doesn’t know how long he’s been crying, he only notices once he leans against a tree. Keep running. A little voice in his head nags. He ignores it, no, I’m tired. 

Belos will find you. Keep. Running.

No one knows I’m gone. I’ll worry about it in the morning.

Hunter’s breathing slows, and his legs ache. It’s cold, his nose is running, and he can feel his cheeks wet from the tears. Why is he crying again? 

Snap! Hunter jolts awake, he didn’t even know he drifted off. His ears twitch, in whatever direction the sound came from. It’s Silent. Is he going crazy? He hugs his legs, why did I leave? He hates that he wants to go back. He hates that he would rather get hit again, but still stay and rest in his bed. But I don’t want to! He keeps contradicting himself! 

He can’t get what he wants, a place to stay with a bed and food, and not to get hurt for a thing he says or does. He wants Lilith and not his uncle. He has to choose. Go back. Stay here.

He didn’t notice he started crying again. Oh well. Lilith would comfort him if she was here. Belos would just say “Quit crying, that’s not how you handle things.” He would say to grow up, and no one else is crying about not getting dinner. 

Like most nights, Hunter cried himself to sleep. Hugging himself and his pink stuffed frog he got out during his crying fit.

NOTES:

This will be a short chapter just like another few after this, I am trying to write a lot of the chapters ahead of time. I have so many ideas for this and for fluff I write what ever feels right in the moment. And most of the mysteries will stay mysteries until it either needs to come up or the truth will come out later(hint hint for Hollow Mind >:3) I do hope you like this idea enough to stick around, and don’t forget to let me know if any of it feels unnatural, like characters or anything else.

And lastly thank you for reading! Have a good night/midday/morning!

[polyhexian]

Okay, so, y'know those AUs where Hunter can see the ghosts of the previous Golden Guards? Yeah okay so that except with your OCs, so it's immediately a clusterfuck.

The millisecond the Grimwalker Ghost Zone realizes this is an option, Jasper slaps a moratorium on that shit. Absolutely NOT. The deal was that Hunter lives as long as he stayed loyal. I DIDN'T MAKE A DEAL WITH BELOS TO SAVE MY BABY SO THE REST OF YOU COULD FUCK IT UP FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE PIT.

Everyone else is like okay, okay, yeesh, sorry, fine, we won't haunt Hunter. If nothing else they can respect the fact that Jasper himself is refusing to make contact with the kid he loves so much. And the excitement of this newfound aspect of their existence would've died down pretty quickly…if it wasn't for the fact that Enoch exists.

Enoch isn't gonna let this go. This is the perfect opportunity! They can actually make contact with the current Golden Guard and convince him to kill Belos, giving him all the intel gathered from nearly 200 Grimwalkers and their ortet over 4 centuries. They can't let this chance pass them by. She is GOING to talk to Hunter.

Jasper is NOT going to let her.

Hunter really wishes that these ghosts would stop fistfighting when he's trying to DO HIS JOB TITAN DAMMIT.

Jasper's plan to make sure no one ever talks to Hunter predictably falls apart upon making contact with the enemy (Enoch). Sure, Jasper manages to prevent Enoch from talking to Hunter, but everyone else is just kinda hanging out watching the chaos so like. Chit-chat is inevitable.

Granted, no one else tells Hunter anything Enoch actually wants to tell him, because most of the ghosts don't want the kid dead and the others don't want to face the wrath of Jasper and get dragged into the fight with Enoch.

But Hunter's smart. He knows all these ghosts are past Golden Guards, that's obvious because they're all in uniform. They've been haunting him since he started scout training, and for the most part they're pretty chill…except those two. He's 99% sure these people are his family, tho it's weird how similar everyone in his family looks and how many of them are Golden Guards. He has questions, but Jasper and Enoch's…everything…makes him think it's really not worth trying to get the answers. He kinda wishes they'd all go away, but he doesn't have the heart to sic the Oracle Coven on them.

Basically, just Hunter being haunted by the Golden Guards and being annoyed by every second of it while Jasper and Enoch are slapfighting in the background. He's like Stan Lee in that one Spiderman movie, except instead of being oblivious to the fighting going on behind him, he is well aware that it's happening and is refusing to acknowledge it.

Hunter lying in bed staring at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes at 3am while Jasper and Enoch wrestle and yell at each other on his bedroom floor until he finally snaps "WOULD YOU TWO TAKE IT OUTSIDE, SOME OF US HAVE TO WORK AT 4AM."

And while the other ghosts are not as obnoxious as Jasper and Enoch are, they are, unfortunately, useless. Hunter has tried to get something out of this haunting and there's just nothing to get, aside from the dubious pleasure of the ghosts' company. He asks Tell about coven policy and Tell distractedly answers while watching Enoch pull Jasper's hair and Hunter is just like "that hasn't been a thing for 50 years" and Tell is like "lol yeah it wouldn't be." He tries asking Dust for tips and Dust just glares at Enoch where she has Jasper in a headlock and tells Hunter to never ever EVER take some creepy little girl on as an apprentice and Hunter is like oooookay. He tries asking Virtue for tips and Virtue is like "dude, I only lasted 11 months" and Hunter's like. WTF. He asks for help with his homework exactly one time, sliding his textbook across the table and asking Caleb to quiz him, and Caleb looks at the book and says "I never learned how to read", and Hunter just throws his hands in the air and gives up.

He thinks he understands why his uncle never wants to talk about their family. Sure, it's probably because the pain is too much. But it's also probably because they are all fucking lunatics.

Of all people, Temperance ends up being the one Hunter gets along best with, and also the one who gets the plot/reveals rolling. Temperance knows what it's like to wonder about the family you have no idea about and no way to learn about them. Temperance knows how much that sucks. Temperance never learned the truth and was barely given a lie; he died looking for his family, and in death he found them, at which point he realized 1) Shit, the truth sure is messed up! 2) His family is a collection of maniacs connected only by their shared trauma and one man's DNA, and 3) You know what, he's going to get to know and love all of them anyway, fuck you Belos.

Temperance just starts casually hanging out with Hunter and making remarks that answer a number of questions Hunter didn't know how to ask and cements himself as the least-annoying, semi-useful ghost, whose company Hunter might actually sorta kinda enjoy, just a little.

At some point Temperance casually refers to Jasper as "your dad", which--well, Jasper often yells at Enoch about "leaving his baby alone" so now Hunter has two 2's to put together and he's like. Huh. Okay then. His father is the sort of person who will spend his afterlife slapfighting a teenager. No wonder Uncle never talks about their family.

Hunter: And why is…my dad…constantly bodyslamming a 15-year-old?

Temperance, sagely: Because he's a braver man than any of us.

Hunter has seen Enoch fight, and heard some of the things she shouts, and knows full well that none of the other ghosts want to deal with her, so he has to conclude that yeah, Temperance is right, his dad is braver than the rest of them.

Hunter still doesn't know how his overgrown family tree is supposed to be laid out, but he does glean that Enoch, for some reason, doesn't like Belos, and may have tried to assassinate? him?? at some point??? And seems to potentially want to tell Hunter to do the same, which. No. Hunter is not going to do that. But once he realizes that's what the constant fighting is about, he's a little more grateful for Jasper's intervention, even if he wishes they'd KEEP IT DOWN when he's TRYING TO CONCENTRATE, GOD. And also maybe wishes that his dad would take five minutes from strangling Enoch to properly introduce himself to his orphaned son, like, it'd only be polite. All the other ghosts have introduced themselves. Or at least kinda introduced themselves. But all the other ghosts have also made it clear that they refuse to get tangled up with Enoch (and that they're honestly relieved Enoch has been focused on Jasper instead of them for the last few years) so maybe his dad really can't take five minutes to introduce himself. Hunter doesn't really want to know what Enoch might get up to if Jasper stops holding her off.

Hunter, watching Jasper narrowly roll out of the way of Enoch's diving elbow drop: It's good to know that my father is so loyal and devoted to his duties as the Golden Guard that even in death he's doing everything he can to protect the emperor.

Temperance: *chokes*

I don't have any specific plot ideas for how things would unfold as we lead up to the show timeline, but I think it'd be funny if Jasper and Enoch are so preoccupied fighting and screaming at each other that they're just completely unaware that Hunter is just. Figuring stuff out. Either cuz Temperance tells him or cuz he's smart enough to put it together.

And I think every reveal needs to happen the most anti-climatic way possible. It starts with grimwalkers casually mentioning how they died while Hunter is like wait, what? Belos killed you? Well, you must've done something--Belos killed you too? And you? Well surely he didn't kill all of you, I mean--aha, see, he didn't kill Virtue! Wait, what? Not directly? Uh…okay.

At some point Caleb's like "well when I was your age, 400 years ago" and Hunter's like, wait, you said Belos was your brother. How are you his brother if you were alive 400 years ago? I'm sorry, he's how old??

Every reveal is just another moment of "this might as well happen." Hunter's brain is numb to it. By the time Hollow Mind happens, all he does when he finds the tree tunnel of Golden Guard memories is go "Oh, okay then. Cool" and walk in.

Luz: Hunter, this is awful, omg, are you okay?

Hunter, about to climb into a painting: Sure.

Luz, dragging him out: WHAT ARE YOU DOING??

Hunter: I just wanna see how Dust died, apparently it was really embarrassing and he never wants to talk about it.

Luz: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Belos: Yes, Hunter, what are you talking about?

Belos calls him a grimwalker and tries to kill him and Hunter is terrified but there's also a part of him that's like, ah, okay. A lot of things are suddenly making sense.

Can the ghosts show up in Belos's mindscape? Maybe the ghosts can show up in Belos's mindscape. Jasper and Enoch are going at it same as always and Belos watches Enoch suplex Jasper and is just like, well, there's no way that I would ever imagine this, so…this must actually be happening?

Enoch realizes she's inside Belos's mindscape the exact same moment Belos does and abandons Jasper to launch herself at Belos like a maddened chimpanzee.

Jasper lands hard next to Hunter and just lays there for a second, winded.

Hunter: Hey Dad.

Jasper: HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT??

Hunter, knowing better than to rat out Temperance: You haven't exactly been subtle these last few years.

Luz has completely lost the plot.

Okay okay: Hunter pretends he doesn't see them. At first he thinks he's just insane and is like "well that's inconvenient but I still have to go to work I guess" and then is like "oh actually I think these are previous golden guards actual ghosts. That makes sense. They want to impart their generations of knowledge to me, their successor. Maybe this is a spell that gets cast when you get your mask or something. Anyway they've never been very helpful so I'm just going to keep ignoring them." Enoch keeps trying to haunt him and leave "KILL YOUR UNCLE" messages on chalkboards while Jasper is trying to claw her eyes out. He's also set down the firm "hunter will die if he is disloyal, so he must stay loyal until he is old enough and strong enough to escape." So basically the deal is NOBODY tell Hunter SHIT until he's like 18, and then it's loredump time. Well, telling people the truth has never really worked in the past. So. May as well.

I'm also imagining a kind of. Ghosts can't die but they can like. Reset. If you're a ghost and you get stabbed in the chest you go POOF and you're back in the ghost zone and have to get out again and it's deeply inconvenient. Jasper and Enoch keep poofing each other so they're not always around. Eventually the other ghosts realize Hunter can see them and decide that Jasper and Enoch should probably NOT know that.

So whenever jasper and Enoch are both temporarily benched Tell offers vaguely parental advice and avoids the question when asked what his actual kid was like. Dust is kind of a dick who isn't particularly invested but he WILL critique Hunter's form when he's practicing. Temperance is definitely the most sympathetic whom Hunter likes the most. Virtue tries to avoid conversation because he has no idea to talk to Hunter without him realizing he lived less than a year and he's not supposed to know that.

Miles isn't invested in shit. He doesn't care if Jasper or Enoch "win" but he likes being rude. He's also twelve and makes fart noises when Hunter is trying to stand silently at attention. Miles is the one who keeps fucking up and dropping lore because he's not even paying attention, he's playing games on Hunters phone (he made him get a scroll he does not use)

In Hollow Mind when the other Grimwalkers are there helping Hunter and Luz get out of there Hunter knows them all by name and jasper is like YOU COULD SEE ME THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME??? and that's how Jasper and Enoch finally came together to kick everyone else's asses

[thousand-winters]

It's very interesting how while in Labyrinth Runners the scouts genuinely think that Belos is worried for Hunter and would be relieved to have him back, Graye already knows that Hunter is afraid of him AND that Belos probably doesn't care that much for his well being, considering how he has no qualms in kicking him down and pretty much stepping on him (which you probably wouldn't want to do if you assumed the emperor will have your head for hurting his nephew), and he's the one who makes the Belos illusion to frighten Hunter and take advantage of that distraction.

It's unclear how much the Coven Heads knew about that relationship, but at the very least we know that Darius very much didn't know and Graye apparently does. Seems like Graye was VERY observant.

It's not just that but it almost seems like him and his scouts might have been at Hexside possibly since classes started? Enough time to have observed the students a little, because they know to use Willow to try and deceive Gus, and a bit of a baseline of how they act around each other. What caught my attention there was that the Willow illusion specifically calls him "Augustus" in that scene, which Graye wouldn't have a way to know since everybody calls him Gus now. Perhaps he dug on the student files to find out more about Gus before trying to hunt him down personally? He did have a particular investment in him because of the Looking Glass Graveyard.

All of this to say... from what we got to see of Graye in the show, it doesn't really seem like he's a particularly powerful Illusionist, at least not at the same level of expertise that the other Coven Heads have with their respective tracks.

BUT this makes me think that it was not raw power what got him his rank, it might have been him simply being clever. The kind of person who gets obsessed with the small details and as such knows how to use the information he gets from that and from snooping around to threaten or intimidate people with his illusions.

Once he's a Coven Head, he has scouts at his command, and it seems like he delegates a LOT of his work to them, which probably makes it way easier to just dedicate himself to observe and see what's useful so he can bribe and threaten people.

[kiiwiigii]

Pretending

Alec x Fem!Reader

You are sent on your first mission. With Alec. Alone.

Warnings:

Sorta NSFW I guess. If you squint. Really hard.

I still suck at summaries.

Word Count: 1,188

A/N: Alec, as always, is aged up.

My throat ached as I took in the blaring music and erratic-colored lights in the distance. It was my first scouting mission, and I was barely out of the newborn stage. I would try to take a deep breath if it would help me calm down, but I feared it would only make the ache in my throat flare up. 

"You're doing well, Y/N." 

I looked at Alec next to me. This was also our first mission together. Alone. While Alec and I had finally reached the stage where we weren't at each other's throats constantly, we weren't exactly what I would call friends either. We tolerated each other at best. Truth be told, I wasn't even supposed to be on this mission, but Demetri's services were needed elsewhere at the last minute. So, I was given the honor instead, and Aro seemed oddly giddy about it. 

"Thank you." I said quietly. 

Alec tensed ever so slightly in response, and had I still been human, I never would have picked up on it. But I wasn't human anymore. I was a vampire, with nothing but the sweet silk of blood being the only thing keeping me alive now. I couldn't help but grin. Apparently, my civility still took him by surprise and secretly I loved it. Throwing him off his game, even by just a little bit, gave me life. 

"There." Alec's voice broke me from my train of thought. 

Ah, yes. There she was, the vampire in which rumor had it she could easily hypnotize any creature on the planet, vampires included. Which would be rather interesting to see, since it was a power I had myself. The plan was to simply keep an eye on her and see her movements. If the rumors were true, we would extend an invitation to join the guard. I won't lie and say that I didn't feel threatened, because I most certainly did. But even I saw the use of having more than one hypnotist in the guard.  

However, if she were to refuse, she would pose a serious threat to us. There's no telling where she would end up or whose hands she could fall into. Or worse, starting a rival coven… which is what had been reported. 

I zeroed in on her as she entered the club, two burly looking vampires trailing behind her. 

"She already has a guard. Quite full of herself already, no?" 

Alec hummed from beside me. "Or perhaps she has hypnotized them." 

I nodded my head in agreement. There were so many variables up in the air, and I was itching to find out just how different her powers were from my own. I could hypnotize someone, but it lasted, at most for an hour, unless I was maintaining eye contact. And usually it was only used to get answers when Aro wasn't at hand, which was very rare, but it would be very useful during missions such as these. I wonder if I'd be able to put her under my spell, and vice versa. 

The feeling made me uneasy. I didn't like the thought of being completely helpless like that. I was the hypnotist, not the victim.  

"Let's go." 

I followed Alec from the rooftop, dropping down into the alleyway on the backside of the club. With a simple flick of his fingers the lock to the back door broke and we entered into an empty hallway. Alec paused, straightening his shirt before holding a hand out to me. 

"Come, mio cara." 

If I could still blush, I'm sure I would have.

And if the smirk on his lips was anything to go by, he was well aware.

I grabbed his hand, and he led me through the maze of back corridors, pausing to listen every minute or so. I stayed silent, letting him take the lead, and decided to take those few precious minutes to admire him. 

Given that the mission was essentially an undercover one, we had both forgone our black guard uniforms and instead dressed in modern garb.  

For me a simple black lace dress with matching heels, a little on the racy side and *cough* inappropriate *cough*, but I couldn't convince Heidi otherwise. But Alec was a sight in dark black skinny jeans and rather tight blue button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top button undone. 

It left little to the imagination considering that I could see the taught muscles of his back and arms moving every now and again. 

'Don't do this to yourself, Y/N. You've only just become friendly, now is not the time.' 

Then again, the boy had gone around calling me darling for a while now. I couldn't be certain if he was just trying to get under my skin or if there was something else behind it. 

I suddenly wished I had been paying attention because before I knew it Alec had me pressed against the wall, hiking one of my legs over his hips, keeping one hand on my thigh and the other coming up to my neck. My hands immediately clutched onto his shirt in shock. 

"What are doing?"  

If my heart was still beating, I was sure I would be having a heart attack. 

"Relax." He whispered before pressing his lips to mine. 

I sucked in a sudden breath, confused as hell. When he pulled away, he made the slightest movement of his head to the left, his eyes following the movement. He then bent his head to my neck and began placing kisses along my neck, his thumb rubbing slow circles on my thigh.

It was our target and her two buddies standing outside of a room, talking with what looked to be an employee. Oh. Well, that explained a lot.  

And I totally wasn't feeling disappointed. Or distracted. Not at all. 

I let out a breathy moan for the sake of our act, and pretended to flutter my eyes shut, leaving them barely open enough to watch them. 

Aside from a general once over, the guards barely gave us a glance and the trio entered the room, the poor employee being dragged along. He probably wouldn't come out of there alive. 

The burning in my throat flared up at the thought and I clutched at Alec's shirt even more, causing the second button to pop off completely.

He raised his head, eyebrow arched ever so slightly. 

"Sorry. The smell of blood is making me thirsty." 

His eyes roved over my face for a minute before nodding. That was the only gesture I received saying that he understood before he leaned back in and brushed his lips softly over mine and nibbling on my bottom lip.

I tensed. "Alec, they're gone. Th-there's no need to pretend anymore." 

He didn't say anything, and simply gave me one last lingering kiss before setting me back down on the floor and turning away. He leaned against the far side of the wall, listening intently to the conversation on the other side. 

I tried to do the same.  

Then after a few minutes: 

"Who said I was pretending?" 

{Masterlist} // {Request Guidelines}

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[pincushionx]

AU where the coven heads actually get along…sort of.

They’re all still awful people but they realize they get more out of working together rather than against. They don’t quite like each other but theirs no bad blood. They all hang out and be lil bitches together.

They even let Hunter hang out with them due to the fact that he’s so good at acting like an adult (as sad as that is), a ‘bratty’ one but he does know a lot.

Rather then just brushing Hunter off as some brat like in canon, they see the potential in him and think ‘yeah we can make this kid into an absolute beast’

It’s mainly to have him do their dirty or difficult work for them but they also grow fond of him.

Idk I just want to give Hunter a dysfunctional family out of the Coven heads

Extra:

Hettie teaches Hunter anatomy so he knows where to hit his enemies and healing spells to heal himself and scouts he works with.

Darius teaches Hunter how to sew like in canon but sooner and teaches him all sorts of abomination magic like the translocation.

Vitimir teaches him all sorts of potions and how to incorporate them in fighting. He also teaches Hunter potion tolerance and how to resist certain ones and mithridatism

Adrian teaches him some illusions and even acting skills so Hunter becomes a better liar.

Eberwolf brings him out to catch and train with beasts. They bring him all sorts of bugs and little critters. Hunter often goes on retrieval missions to bring Eber stuff for the beasts he keeps.

Terra let’s him hang out at the garden and green house and teaches him all sorts of Botany and plant magic. She likes info dumping on him.

The previous Bard and Riane teach him Bard magic. Hunter summons his own violin.

Orsan teaches oracle magic to him but mainly likes to teach Hunter mind games

Mason teaches Hunter construction magic and how to use to use it to fight and fix damage done after a fight.

Lilith though jealous and annoyed, still recommends him all sorts of book and in good moments they info dump on each other

A lot of theses skills I think Hunter would have in canon like the anatomy and potion thing but he had to learn those on his own. In this Au the Coven heads are actually bothered to teach him.

Due to these changes Hunter is more comfortable with doing all sorts of combo magic like how we see Lilith does in the shows. He also carries a belt of potions with him. Certain stuff in the show goes different as well since he does form a bond sooner with Darius and Adrian.

The coven heads aren’t aware he doesn’t have a bile sac they just think he has a weak one. They help him learn how to translate their spells into his staff spells.

They all still can be cruel to Hunter like Adrain’s and Darius cruel jabs at him or Terra giving him plants that can harm him (like tea that makes him hallucinate ). They still do some back stabbing but overall they are less worse then in canon.

Though any signs abuse from Belos they chalk up to being from missions or reckless.

I think this gives them some fun depth. Like yeah they are all messed up but they are messed up together.

(Sorry if any grammar issues )

[crimeronan]

Leaving Amity — aka one of the empress’ two protege aka the current favorite to become the coven head of the empress’s coven aka the “ruthless” scout who has always risen above and needed to “hide” in the empress’ quarters because her fellow scouts may try to assassinate her in her sleep aka who even knows what may happen — Blight powerless while still in the coven is so freaking reckless I stg Lilith 😭.

Bro she was obviously struggling SO MUCH and as the final nail to the coffin her powers, the comfort she found in the strength she built, is taken away living her stripped bear. It’s *going* to work, because Amity seems to have a mental block where she kinds of panics and runs back to abominations as soon as things don’t go her way (either through fear or a wild fight-flight) BUT Omgmgmg

Idk man, Hunter is going to enjoy this for like 5 minutes but as soon as he realizes Amity is *really* not going well he may freak out. Don’t even get me started on Luz.

All the while Lilith is like i hope i wasn’t too harsh i hope i wasn’t too harsh i want to help i’m scared she wants to leave me help blblblbl

TRULY. WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE GETS ATTACKED, LILITH.....

luz voice "can you guys simply Stop killing each other. i'm trying to be so nice all the time and you cannot even manage One Fucking Day-"

hunter is indeed going to be Worried Sick once the schadenfreude wears off. albeit in his sort of abrasive hunter way. he does not actually enjoy amity being this vulnerable. it's no fun when she's upset, it feels like kicking a kitten :(

and luz. well. luz has a lot of feelings about a lot of things!! that are complicated!!

[disco-girl]

An unnecessary and in-depth analysis of magic colors used in TOH (Part 2):

Part 1 here

Purple:

Darius

Purple is associated with luxury, ambition, independence, mystery, arrogance, and inferiority

Darius is pretty much the embodiment of the color purple based on symbolism. He’s independent, he’s mysterious, he’s arrogant, he likes to live in luxury. He doesn’t act super ambitious but he is a Coven Head so we can assume he is somewhat. And the fact that he’s so competitive with Alador suggests that he may experience feelings of inferiority.

Magenta:

Amity, Alador, Tibbles, Gavin (possibly Kikimora and Malphas)

Magenta is associated with kindness, character, change, harmony, cooperation, and self respect but also impatience, arrogance and volatility.

Note: Kikimora and Malphas are listed as having purple magic on the wiki page, but it looks more magenta to me and I think that magenta makes more sense for them as well.

Impatience, arrogance and volatility are traits that are shared among these characters for the most part, though with Amity they’re mostly presented early in the show. The positive traits, consequently, have a lot of significance for Amity, who has gone through tremendous development and change over the course of the show. She’s become kinder and has learned to respect herself in a way that her parents couldn’t. She’s invited harmony into her life. If the show wasn’t cut short, I think we would have had a similar (smaller-scale) development for Alador and maybe even the other antagonists; at the very least Alador has taken initiative to change and better himself.

White:

Emperors Coven Scouts, Adegast, Detention Monitor, Oracle Teacher

White is associated with purity, innocence, perfection, safety, simplicity, illumination, emptiness, and unfriendliness

This one is interesting. For the Emperor’s Coven, since they are working for Belos, I can see their magic being sort of “sanitized”, void of their own creativity or free will. Similarly, for the teachers, maybe their magic is somewhat restricted when they’re on school grounds. They have to stick to the rules and regulations. For Adegast, maybe the white represents how his true nature/form was “illuminated” in WBW. Note: Jerbo is also listed using white on the wiki page but it actually looks like more of a white green to me, which makes more sense for him.

Yellow:

Eda, Mattholomule, Luz, Raine, Hunter (flapjack)

Yellow is associated with sunlight, positivity, intellect, creativity, and confidence. Some shades of yellow are also linked to magic and diversity. On the other hand, yellow can be a symbol of deceit, depression, or cowardice.

This one is fascinating to me. Yellow being associated with Luz makes perfect sense, her name literally means light and there’s so much symbolism in the show associating her with light. It also fits well for Eda, who is sort of the personification of magic and diversity, as well as sharing other traits with Luz. Eda and Raine are the only couple to share the same magic color and I think that was very much intentional, they are each other’s light. Hunter switching from red magic to yellow with flapjack must have significance as well. He goes from having every aspect of his life controlled by Belos, to finding a sense of autonomy and confidence in himself. Deceit, depression and cowardice are also all themes that recur for these characters throughout the show.

Now for the odd one out: Mattholomule. This is one of the things that got me interested in the colors in the first place. Matt having the same magic color as Luz, Eda and Hunter? Maybe he will have plot relevance in the next episode? Okay, most likely not. But a girl can dream. He’s definitely shown cowardice and deceit before. And he has a loud (overly-confident) personality. Maybe we will get some other hints of how the color fits him in WAD. Also curiously, Matt is one of the characters shown to use a different magic color at some point (more on that below)

Cyan:

Gus, Lilith, Edric, Emira, Adrian Graye, Titan Trappers, Keeper, Reviewnicorn

Cyan is associated with compassion, clarity, calmness, concentration, and communication. It can also signify narcissism, stress, secrecy, boastfulness. It’s also the opposite of red.

Many of the characters using this color are illusionists. At face value, concentration, clarity and communication are all important traits for illusionists to have. But I think for the twins, the color might also represent their connection and ability to see and understand each other. Likewise, Lilith’s color may be a symbol of her bond with Eda; her character development and how she grew to accept and understand her sister.

Adrian is a talented illusionist but his narcissism blinds him when it comes to really seeing and understanding others. The Reviewnicorn I could also see being somewhat boastful or narcissistic. And the Keeper, in addition to being compassionate and a skilled illusionist is definitely keeping some secrets. What about the Titan Trappers though? Is the blue a symbol of their secrecy? What do you guys think?

Finally, Gus. He really is the embodiment of this color as much as Darius is purple. He’s compassionate and understanding. He’s intuitive and able to see a lot of things that others might miss, even without magic. He’s able to get through to people and to see the good in them when others can’t. At the same time he can also be somewhat boastful and narcissistic himself at times. And we see how much he struggles with pressure and secrecy in particular.

Back to Matt for a minute, he’s seen in this image from the FTF credits using what looks to be cyan magic. Maybe it’s an accident or supposed to represent the use of illusion magic, but I like to think that perhaps it represents a connection to Gus. If you guys know of any other examples of characters switching colors, let me know!

[avatarmerida]

So on twitter the other day, @rebeccaartsy mentioned she was thinking about how different things would be if Hunter was there from the beginning and it really got my mind moving.

So like my totally self indulgent headcanon or whatever,is that Hunter in season one is spending his time hunting wild witches and no one really takes him seriously so the whole time he’s trying to prove himself by trying to capture the most famous wild witch, Eda. But I like to think he doesn’t have a very strong artificial staff at this point and isn’t seen as much of a threat. He’s also either not the Golden Guard yet or just wears normal scout stuff to draw less attention. So he is always setting traps and stuff and Luz meets him and his vibe is like an annoying neighbor kid. He just gets roped into the occasional adventure because he’s there and just when he's starting to question life in the coven he gets promoted to coven head and he works even harder to be taken seriously.

Because I love how Hunter and Willow meet so much where they see the true version of each other right away in a way no one else has, I imagine their first meeting is still outside Luz and everything. Like, Hunter is messing with something plant related (maybe making a trap or liking for a rare plant to help Belos, idk) and gets tangled in some aggressive vines and Willow finds him and helps him. But the vines are from like a really complicated plant that requires extreme patience and talent and he’s like even Terra would have trouble with it and while his spitting facts Willow just untangles him effortlessly. She’s just like “boop! You’re good :)” and at first he’s worried she’s gonna tell someone or blackmail him but she’s just “no prob yo.” But she’s also very impressed that he found the plant that he did, cause they're super elusive and he’s like uhhh thanks.

So he offers to walk her to where she’s going and they start talking and he’s info dumping things on plant magic and they’re vibing and he realizes no one has ever let him talk so much before. And she likes talking to him. Then he realizes exactly where they are and before he can make an excuse to leave, Luz comes out to greet Willow and when she sees Hunter she groans. And they dive into their sibling banter slinging shots back and forth and Willow just stands there thinking like “huh, this is the guy who’s always annoying her? He’s not that bad.”

And so it’s just like a little bit where he’s always like “ugh you guys are the worst! But not you Willow, you’re great obvi.” Like he has no idea anyone would ever think she’s weak because he still met her in her element and she just thinks he’s a dork. But the crushing doesn't really start until Understanding Willow because I love that episode and I say so:

“Gus, listen,” said Hunter, as he walked through the open door of the Owl House. “Obviously, there is much I can’t divulge but upon consideration I am willing to grant you an interview for your class. The Emperor’s Coven values education, and so I could definitely offer you information on our selection process which I’m sure your teachers will find impressive and- why is Willow upside down?”

“Oh, Amity set Willow’s mind on fire and now she’s losing all her memories,” said Luz with a nervous chuckle. “But uh, what’s up with you?”

“What?” He said running over to her side and helping her sit correctly on the couch. “Is she okay?”

“Don’t worry blondie, we’re gonna get these knuckleheads in there to set things right,” said Eda. “Or at least less wrong.”

“You’re gonna entrust Willow’s mind in the hands of… them?” Said Hunter in disdain as he glared at Luz and Amity who honestly couldn’t argue with him. “They were the ones who put her in this situation in the first place! Not to mention, this location isn’t zoned for a spell of that caliber and as a member of the Emperor’s Coven I could-.”

“Listen, do you want it done soon or do you want it done legally?” Asked Eda. “Cause by the time we get the permits to do it your way Goldie, there won’t be any of Willow’s memories left to save.”

“Very well then,” said Hunter, pretending as though it was a hard decision. “I’ll allow it. Just… be careful with her.”

“Alright then,” said Eda. “Lemme whip up something to put her to sleep. She’s not gonna wanna be awake for this.”

“Oh look, the prince is here,” giggled Willow, leaning on Hunter’s shoulder for support as she noticed his presence for the first time. “Helloooo, your highness.”

“Uh, hi,” he said, not expecting her to be this close to him. “A-re you oka-.”

“Shhh,” she said, putting her finger to his lips, whispering as though it was the most serious thing on earth. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?” he said despite his lips being smushed, hanging on to her words with concern.

She took a deep breath. “You have beautiful eyes.” She whispered with intensity.

His face turned bright crimson as he tried to laugh, assuming it must be a joke of some sort. But Willow’s voice didn’t carry the disdain most jokes at Hunter’s expense carried. She wasn’t in her right mind, but maybe that didn’t mean she wasn’t serious.

“Oh uh… thank you?” He said, clearing his throat. “So uh so do you?”

“Hmmm,” she giggled then hiccuped, squinting at him and then leaning in closer as though she couldn’t quite see something. “Do they make you wear that mask because you're so handsome all the time?”

“What?”

“Woo, you could cut something with that jaw ouch,” she said, her voice low and playful before erupting into another sea of giggles.

“I uh, I don’t think that’s-.”

“Nap time!” Said Eda, and Willow instantly fell asleep, leaning forward onto Hunter’s shoulder. He was unprepared to say the least, but tentatively put an arm around her to keep her steady, his eyes wide as his movements were careful.

“Alright coven boy, you keep Princess Planter comfy while I tell these two how to keep things from getting worse,” instructed Eda, pointing to Luz and Amity.

“Yeah sure okay,” replied Hunter, barely listening. Eda was telling Luz and Amity something but all Hunter could hear was the gentle sound of Willow snoring, her breathing slow and deep and peaceful. He has never been so close to her, he could see every delicate freckle that decorated her face. Her glasses were askew so he carefully removed them, because it just seemed like the thing to do. Her mind was on fire, the least he could do was make her more comfortable.

—

He watched as her eyes shifted behind her eyelids as she… dreamed? Would she think this was all a dream? She would mumble things occasionally, hopefully that meant something good? She just looked so-

“Hey Hunter, you want in on this?” Asked Gus.

“Huh?” He looked up quickly as though he was being accused of something. He hadn’t been listening. Hadn’t he been tasked with monitoring her? Is that what Eda said or had he just done it naturally? “Sorry, what?”

“King and Eda are competing to be the subject of my interview,” repeated Gus. “You want in?”

Hunter had forgotten all about being the subject of Gus’ report as he became engrossed in watching Willow sleep. Was that creepy? He didn’t mean it to be. He just felt… protective. He felt responsible. He could never fall asleep like this with anyone unless he trusted them completely. He had never fallen asleep around anyone. And he knew Willow did not have a choice in the matter but he wanted to be worthy of her trust anyway.

“Uh, no thanks maybe next time,” he said, uncharacteristically soft. “Someone should keep an eye on Willow.”

“Eh, she’s not going anywhere goldie,” said Eda as a twinkle entered her eye. “Buuuut when she does wake up, she’s probably gonna be hungry. Having the essence of your inner being threatened really takes alot out of you.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” said Hunter, looking at her in wonder. She seemed to be doing fine, but no doubt there would be brutal side effects. “Should I-.”

“Snacks! Snacks! Snacks!” chanted King.

“Oh yeah, uh I guess I could… do that,” he said softly. He wasn’t sure why he was being quiet, no one else was. But his usual tone didn’t seem fitting now. Normally, he would not take orders (or even suggestions) from civilians but if it was for Willow then it didn’t feel like succumbing to rank. It felt like helping. It felt purposeful. He carefully removed himself from Willow’s presence, mourning the loss of warmth for only a moment, and placed her comfortably on the couch. As he made his way to the kitchen, his eyes were glued to her until it was impossible to continue. Eda,King, and Gus were too occupied in their debate to notice.

---

Willow was going to be fine, she had to be. Everyone would be acting more worried if she wasn’t, right? She had always been strong and capable, he knew her mind couldn’t be much different. He turned his focus from concern into purpose. He wouldn’t admit it to the others, but he was thankful for the distraction. He felt foolish just sitting there not being able to do anything for her. He had never actually made something before, but how hard could it be? He had studied under the head of the Potions coven, how different was baking from that?

As he looked through Eda’s cupboards, Willow’s words echoed in his ears. Well, not all of them. There was one in particular, occupied by the way the ends of her mouth turned up as she said it that made his stomach flip.

Handsome.

No one had ever called him that before, not even ironically. Did she really think that? Why did he care so much if she did? Why, suddenly, did he want so much for her to?

Was it really suddenly though?

Ugh! Why hadn’t he said something cooler? He wasn’t sure she’d even remember saying it, but if she did he didn’t want his surprised reaction to prevent her from possibly repeating herself! He had never had issue thinking of clever retorts (though, to be fair he did do a fair deal of practicing in his bedroom mirror each night) and they often fell into a comfortable conversation. But sometimes she would say something a certain way or look at him too long and it would throw him off. Not in a bad way, no nothing at all like that, just… unexpected. She laughed at the jokes people would roll their eyes at or ask him to continue where normally he was cut off and all the little things just kept adding and piling up until Hunter didn’t know how he was supposed to carry them. She was so many little things, like the way she tilted her head when she asked him a silly question or how her glasses would slide off her edge of her knows when she got excited or the way she would stand close to him and sometimes their hands would brush like she didn’t care if they-

Focus! He thought, taking ingredients from the cabinets. There wasn’t much and what there was seemed to have no organizational system but he could resolve that after he figured out what to whip up. Something simple, something to show Willow he wanted to help. He didn’t know her well enough to enter her mind with Luz and Amity, but secretly he hoped he was getting there.

---

He managed to make something that resembled cookies, the smell filled the kitchen and it surprisingly wasn't an awful smell?. He remembered Willow mentioned once she was eager to get home as her father had made some and they were waiting for her. Truthfully, Hunter had never tasted a cookie but he had seen them when he walked by the bakery in town and knew the basics of their structure. Surely if he had taken a wrong turn the smell would reflect that, right? He imagined the look on Willow’s face when she saw his creation, and maybe even liked it. The flipped feeling returned to his stomach and spread through his whole chest like a wild fire when the potential look of delight on her face graced his mind.

In his efforts, he had made quite the mess. But he couldn’t help but feel pride as he quickly plated his creation, eager to return to Willow’s side. He didn’t think too much into this, he was always excited to see Willow. He tried not to think too much into that, chalking it up to the fact that she was interesting and a good listener and funny and smart and pretty and-

The point was she didn’t find him totally annoying, so why shouldn’t he enjoy her company?

And if she happened to think he was a little handsome then, well, that wasn’t the worst thing.

As he set the cookies to cool, he heard a sudden commotion from the next room. He quickly ran to see the cause, hoping it was a good sign. There was a bright flash and then he heard Luz and Amity. He stood back a moment, trying to deduce their tone before he heard Willow speak. Her voice was horse and soft, but he could tell she was back to normal. Good, he thought, feeling as though he could finally breathe again. She’s okay, she’s okay.

He went to greet her but before he could leave the kitchen, he was stopped by Luz. Before he could offer a snarky question as to what exactly she thought she was doing, she looked at him with wide, concerned eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, furrowing his brow. He tried to looked past her to see what was going on. “Is she okay? Did something happen to-?”

“Willow’s fine.” she assured him, putting her arm up to stop him. “There was just some… complications.”

“What complications? Was she hurt? Does she need-?”

“No no, nothing like that but um there were some memories… we couldn’t save,” said Luz carefully.

“Like what? Did she forget something for a test she has? Because I can always-.”

“No, no uh there were more… recent memories,” Luz tried to figure out the nicest way to say this. ”Hunter, I’m sorry but we were still figuring out how things worked and it all happened so fast but… Willow doesn’t remember you.”

“What?” He felt something shatter.

“I’m so sorry, but hey, it’s an easy fix! Right? We can just introduce you now!”

“Yeah, uh I guess…” he said, looking at his current state. He had thrown on an old apron and was covered in flour, his hair a mess. This night was already so chaotic, it hardly seemed like a time Willow would want to meet someone new.

And then it dawned on Hunter: he had a second chance at a first impression.

Their first meeting had been… interesting. If you count hanging upside down by your ankle until a girl who took a wrong turn stumbles upon you helps untangle you interesting. Hunter did. But he had been so grumpy and flustered, and he wouldn’t have been had he only known who exactly had come to his rescue. She didn’t seem to care or be bothered by it, but he had come to value her opinion and he’d like to start again on the best foot possible. He had a chance for her to see him exactly as he wanted to be seen from the beginning and it felt like a chance he needed to seize.

His mind made up, he looked around for a way out before the human could return with Willow. Quickly, he climbed out the window and landed in a bush, He ducked beneath the window and pressed his back againythe wall as he heard Willow and Luz enter the kitchen,

“Huh, where did he go?” he heard Luz wonder.

“Who was this again?” Willow asked, her voice still raspy as though she was utterly exhausted.

“Uh, it’s kinda hard to explain,” Luz admitted. “But, he’ll be around again. I know he really wants to meet you!”

“Okay,” said Willow, uncertain. “If you say so.”

He couldn't help but think about the chill that went up his spine when she looked into his eyes. He didn’t understand exactly what it was but he knew it wasn’t nothing. He wanted Willow to know a better version of him. He cared what she thought. When she met him this time, he wanted it to be a meeting worth remembering.

—-

And so for the rest of the series up until ASIAS he’s trying to work up the nerve to meet Willow again as Hunter. Just when he’s ready, he gets promoted to coven bead and that’s when I’m also promoting him to Golden Guard or maybe like Golden Guard full time. So now he has more on his plate and he gets a more advanced staff and now he’s a real threat. But of course because he’s a loser and can’t stay away from her so they do interact when he’s the Golden Guard and he has that masked confidence. He’s still getting to know her so he’ll like run into her in the market or something and flirt but didn’t realize it’s flirting and he’s planning the perfect way to “re-meet.” The whole time Willow is like bugging because there’s something so familiar about him but she doesn’t know what and the others don’t tell her because they’re like still figuring out his deal. So when he does come to Hexside during ASIAS it’s much more thought through and intentional and feelings have already been caught.

Anyway sorry for a long pointless post but that’s just been on my mind k thanks bye.

[darrowfire15]

Random Coven Head HCs

Just for fun, and I'm avoiding HW.

Mason and Vitimir are both perfectionists. Mason because he accidentally constructed one of his school projects wrong and he had to start all over the night before it's due. Lil' Mason got his first few gray hairs that night. Vitimir because he wanted to try and get his parent's attention by being top of his class. Even thought that didn't work, it's also so he doesn't have his potion blow up in his face. Literally.

Hettie has multiple "projects" going on, involving some TF2 Medic-like abominations. Belos is glad, yet terrified to have her on his side, or else his heart may not be his own one morning. Also literally, she is insanely fast.

Adrian has a 2 hour morning and night routine that rivals Darius' 30 minute morning routine. When in college, his suite mate and roommate had to time their trips to the bathroom very carefully. That, or try to convince Adrian to wear a concealment stone.

Osran briefly had a job of being a fortune teller. He was fired for seeing the customer's future all the way until their deaths. He still does it and knows when and how Terra will die. And has told her. She might as well drop there with how close it is.

Eberwolf has brought fleas into the palace not once, not twice, not even thrice, but a total of 15 times. No one knows how, but it's a week of hell each time. It takes Mason, Vitimir, Darius, and Osran to just hold him down while the Scouts try to quickly draw a bath. All but Osran get fleas since he uses his spirit hand and they envy him for it.

Terra tried to poison Hettie out of spite by putting crushed up poisonous berries in her drink. Well, what she thought was Hettie's drink. It was actually Vitimir's, but because of his corrosive breath/acidic saliva, it had no effect. But he says it made the drink taste sweeter!

Raine and Eberwolf have this "duet" where Raine plays their choice of instrument and Eberwolf howls along extremely off key and off beat. Raine tolerates it because it agitates Terra in the morning and karma is a bitch.

Mason, when overwhelmed, curls up in a ball and makes a sort of "cave" around himself for a bit until he feels better. The one downside is that he forgets to deconstruct these "caves", so there's just nests made from the ground all around the castle grounds. He gets overwhelmed by his students mostly, so Raine lends him some sympathy.

Darius accidentally told Adrian to "try and relax" after Adrian realized he has a cowlick. In a nutshell, it wasn't a pretty sight.

Kikimora almost got eaten by one of Terra's plants. No, obviously Terra isn't sorry. No, the plant isn't sorry either. No, the plant didn't want to eat her after tasting her. Yes, Kikimora taunts it after that.

Adrian and Vitimir hate each other. Adrian has rearranged Vitimir's messy, but organized potion room multiple times. Once, all of his ingredients were in alphabetical order, another time was by color, and the last was by the height of the containers. Vitimir gets his revenge by switching his shampoo with hair dye. Adrian's hair has been every color of the coven system.

[aloii]

Haven interactions with TOH cast!

Luz and her shinanigans with the owl lady and King werent unseen by the emperors coven, as they would occasionally wreck chaos in their establishments and fellow scout partys. On one of these instances , Luz captured Haven , holding him hostage ( Edas idea ). Though Luz soon felt bad for such thing, as Haven was noticeably anxious at the fact that the moment he would be released, his superior scouts would belittle him for not being enough . Luz ended up Offering friendship to Haven, which as confused as he was , and still is, slowly accepted her offer. He ends up warming up to Luz overtime, quickly making his nervous ish persona dissapear, and leading into who he really is.

Amity didnt like Haven at first, afterall he is— or well, was an emperors scout. She didn’t understand why Luz accept Haven so quickly as her friend, but yet again its Luz, and thats one quality of hers she loves. Their time in the human Realm is when things started to shift her perspective of him. they quickly found a friendship within one another, relating to eachother as both are hard workers, and come from a place where they have to be perfect. To everyones surprise, they become best friends , and share secrets amongst each other that they wouldn’t dare telling anyone.

Gus and Willow gave Haven the benefit of the doubt when learning he used to be an emperors scout. After all , they knew not all people who belonged in that horrible coven where bad, Hunter being a prime example. Besides being stuck in the human realm with him helped seeing who he really is; just an over-thinker, gentle Boy. Haven , while still feeling nervous around people he met a while ago, appreciates their warm energy, even if its too much for him sometimes.

Amongst the countless Scouts, Steve was one of the few who didn’t mistreat Haven, he was rather welcoming of him when he first joined the scouts, and always looked out for him whenever he could. Haven never understood why Steve was so.. Steve. But nontheless He liked his company, you could even say Haven looked up to Steve as a father figure. However if Lilith was around Steve, he would pretend he doesn’t know who he is, as he was frightened by the head of the coven.

Haven was a people pleaser, wanting to look good to others, so he would often take different shifts that other scouts where supposed to do. This included the night shifts, where he had to guard the emperors library. Unlucky for him, the golden guard was a frequent visitor of the library, who would once in a blue moon strike a conversation with Haven for who knows why. Perhaps it was the fact that he learned both shared the same age, or maybe it was the night time that affected his mood. Whatever his reasoning was , those small talks soon lead to longer ones about the books he reads, his missions , small facts of his findings.. And while Haven at first just listened out of respect, he soon started sharing stuff about himself to him too.

Getting to know the boy behind the mask was a long endeavor, as gaining his trust was no easy task. But it was worth it to meet Hunter — who he really is. Hunter would share more about himself , personal things he wouldn’t imagine telling anyone , and Haven would return the favor. He was the first person he could trust about Flapjack, and He was the first person to make him feel as if time would just stop when it was just them. They grew to be comfortable around each other more in the Human realm, despite the butterfly like feeling in their stomachs growing and the awkward flustered moments they would share.

[sleepingdeath-light]

laidback observant s/o hcs ; hunter

requested by ; just-call-me-m00n (01/05/23)

fandom(s) ; the owl house

fandom masterlist(s) ; main | hunter-only

character(s) ; hunter wittebane

outline ; “Hunter with a gn! Laid-back! observant! s/o?

Reader is super chill and is like, never mad, they also know what's going on through the castle bcs of their observation (reader is in the emperors coven and hunter is in his gg era) and they know all the gossip”

warning(s) ; none, just fluff!

your demeanour is a breath of fresh air for hunter given how hectic things can be whilst working in the coven

it’s like crabs in a bucket, everyone trying to pull each other down in order to better their own position in the coven

and then there was you — someone who was content where you were and who nobody had ever seen in any state other than calm

after working there for three years you were more legend than colleague as people were sure that you must have been hiding a horrible temper or trying to manipulate others into trusting you

but, no

you really were just that laidback

and being so laidback and quiet meant that you were often able to play the silent witness to all of the drama and gossip that circulated through the castle

you knew everything about everyone, but you never said a word — because there was no need to

your boss didn’t need to know that catie was struggling to keep her new triplets in line, or that one of the scouts was down horrendous for one of the coven heads and was planning on confessing soon

it wasn’t relevant to your job so you kept your lips sealed

… except for your boyfriend, that is

no secrets between spouses, after all

you’re one of two people who gets to see him without the mask — without the fake persona and all the cockiness and bravado that it brings

you get to see the real hunter

the geek who can spend hours happily infodumping about wild magic if you let him

the lovable boy who you have matching plush toys with, which he won at a carnival years ago

the sweetheart who loves your calmness and will seek you out after some of his more stressful meetings with his uncle — since he knows you never get angry

the man who is more nosey that anyone gives him credit for, and who will seek you out regularly to discuss and exchange the latest gossip you’ve found out about

these catch ups occur on a daily basis, where you’ll meet up on your lunch break and exchange your tales over good food and drink — all pretences dropped and his mask left aside throughout your chat

then, once your break is over, you’ll share a kiss and promise to meet up again after your shifts are over

and the mask goes on again and your sweet, loving boyfriend goes back to being the overly confident golden guard

ready to do it all again tomorrow