#and i actually did really like the hunter and gus bonding thing

[scootersscooter]

Thinking about the wasted potential that was Augustus Porter...

[wolfsnooze]

Heya!

we’ve talked about hycalon!hunter, but what about Gus?willow? Amity? More Luz? VEE?

how did they react to their bestie going missing?

also did Hunter just get too close to the animatronics or did BELOS do evil shit.

OOOO. Caleb and Evelyn. What. About. Them.

-🐺🪶 (he/they/it)

oh i have so much thought out for all the characters. im really excited about what i’ve been working on for them! i can’t say a lot of it yet because again i wanna save a lot for the actual project, but —

1) so, a big thing in the au is dealing with grief. a lot of the characters have already lost somebody, and losing hunter is like, their world has just completely crumbled down around them. it’s the unexpected blow to whatever sense of normalcy they’ve achieved. their friend is just gone. they don’t even know if he’s dead or not, there’s no closure. it really, really turns their reality upside down

some of them manage better than others, at least outwardly. willow still has a lot of that “keeping it together for everyone else’s sake” that she has in the show. some throw themselves into their hobbies or coping skills and some, like Luz, dedicate nearly all their time to trying to bring things back to the way they used to be (even if that’s impossible). the group is really strained after what happened

everyone has their “thing” that sorta gets them by. gus is really into supernatural phenomena, willow her photography, etc.

aside from that — they’re all in school together (minus hunter, who was homeschooled). luz writes short stories for the school paper, while gus does journalism and willow photography. amity is in STEM classes and robotics with mattholomule. vee is doing dual enrollment and takes art classes. outside of school, they used to hang out in freddy’s (minus vee. she hates the place. i wonder why?) or at each other’s houses for movies and game nights and all that. they all have a really strong bond <3

2) hunter’s death was definitely someone’s fault🙂

3) caleb and evelyn… :) they’ve got some fun stuff going on lol. they’re hunters parents, but there’s a reason why hunter ends up in belos’s care and a reason why no one wants to associate with the Clawthorne name

[sea-creature-things]

Grimwalker things

Chapter 2: Palismen

Hunter has a special bond with the Palismen. It’s cuz he’s BUILD DIFFERENT. Literally.

This chapter was very fun to make. I gave Flapjack some old man-wisdom. Ghost is just like Amity. Clover is just a sweetheart and Emmiline is… unique.

You can read here under the cut. Or on AO3 eith this link:

It has been 3 weeks since they arrived in the human realm. The teeth incident was still fresh on Hunter’s mind. Another thing to keep him up at night. Not of the nightmare variety though, which was nice. This was just embarrassing.

And it was making him think about the whole Grimwalker-business. He definitely didn’t need more of that.

It was Friday and 6 am, but Hunter had been awake for even longer. Insomnia sure was fun! He got out of bed quietly, to not disturb Gus on the couch beside him.

He wanted his thoughts to steer clear of the Grimwalker topic. Or his uncle… or the fate of the Boiling Ilses, Darius, Eda, if they could even find a way back home-

So, he did things around the house. It had become his role here. Not officially, nobody wanted him doing this. But he did it anyway.

He wanted to be useful.

He wanted to keep Camila happy. Who wouldn’t be happy with a clean, organised house?

Besides, he liked doing it. It was a healthy distraction, like Luz always says. So he dusted every corner of the house, cleaned the kitchen several times and put everything where it belonged. Vee even taught him how to do the laundry, but it was still extremely early. Only quiet cleaning for now.

The bright, summer sun was slowly coming up. Would that make it 6:30 now? The sun rays through the curtains gave the room a warm energy. The natural lighting was a very welcome change.

It also lit up the clouds in various different colours. It reminded him of home, those purples and oranges. But they weren’t they same. The human realm was a lot more peaceful.

He didn’t trust it.

He wanted to, but this place still didn’t feel real. Every failed attempt at a portal, grounded them more. Every block in their creativity, made it feel so permanent. And it made him feel guilty.

His missed home, but he wasn’t really in a hurry to go back. He was sad, but not for himself. He would never in his life tell the others! He felt awful for wanting to stay here longer.

In this peaceful house.

The sun had another benefit, it made more dust particles visible. Which Hunter was actually grateful for. His brain was starting to wonder again. Not. Enjoyable.

He could technically also talk to distract himself, because he wasn’t alone. Flapjack and Ghost were keeping him company. And judging him.

Which is why he didn’t really feel like talking to them. Giving them the excuse that they needed to be silent. He had promised Amity no noise before 7 am after all. She is the lightest of sleepers.

But if those forbidden topics were barging back in... Ghost headbutted his shin. She had decided for him.

“Put the duster down, nerd.” She meowed.

“Don’t go stealing Amity’s nicknames now,” Hunter whispered back, “please.”

The white cat palisman licked his ankle. Her sandpaper tongue made him jump back, giggling. It meant that her name-calling was out of love, much like her witch.

“Put it down!" She meowed again.

"Stop cleaning, Hunter." Flapjack chirped. He flew down from the fridge onto the counter in front of his witch.

Both of them were now looking at him with even more judgement. Hunter didn’t think that was possible for a bird and a cat, but here they were. He sighed.

The fact he could understand Ghost at all was making his brain go places. Flapjack was his palisman, they had a strong bond and always knew each others intentions.

The fact he could talk with him proved that. However, he was able to talk with the others as well. He has understood every active palisman he’s ever come across.

He used to think it was normal, but learned his lesson quite early on. His commander back then thought he bonded with the deer palisman they were "retrieving", just because he—

Doesn’t matter.

It’s a Grimwalker thing.

So he’s been careful about talking to Ghost, Clover or Emmiline while their witches were around. One more thing he was hiding from them.

He hated this! At this point he would rather have a nightmare.

“Do something fun, find something else to distract.” Flapjack chirped.

“Read a book.” Ghost purred. “You nerd!”

“Not a bad suggestion,” Hunter said, “still don’t like that name though.”

“A tree can’t change its home.” Flapjack said amused, as he landed in his hair.

“What does that even mean?” Hunter walked over to the living room. Camila’s book collection was fair game. She had promised him many times.

“It means I can call you a nerd, because you are one.” Ghost mewed, bouncing alongside him. Flap confirmed it with a strong chirp.

“Alright alright, I get it.” He picked out a book on fossils. “But cleaning is not a bad distraction.”

“There is literally nothing left to clean.” The cat climbed on his lap the moment he sat down on the couch.

Ah. This was his fate now. They had successfully trapped him.

“There’s always dust.” Hunter mumbled.

“I am going to break that duster one day.” Flapjack settled comfortably in the blonde locks. Comfortable for him at least.

“Please don’t. It is Camila’s, she'd be very mad at me.”

“She wouldn’t be mad at you.” Ghost reassured him.

“Camila is a very nice lady.” Flapjack bonked him on the head with his beak. “And a spectacular mother.”

“Yes… I know, but still—” Hunter sighed. He played with the pages, not yet able to focus on the text. “Luz is very lucky.”

Ghost licked his hand. Hunter giggled again, jerking his hand away from her.

“Stop licking me!”

“Well hello there~” Gus came into the living room. Instantly in a good mood, seeing his bro so cheery. To Hunter, he came out of nowhere.

“Gus! Uh- good morning. Did I wake you up? Im sorry-“

“Nah, I just woke up on my own. It’s almost 7 ya know.” Gus said nonchalantly. He knew how to calm his friend.

“Oh.” Hunter relaxed. The house had finally entered the world of the living. Rest easy now, brain.

“Watcha reading?” His best friend came up to scratch both palismen under the chin.

“It’s a book about fossils.”

“Oh cool! Are human fossils very different from ours?”

“I don’t know… I haven’t actually read anything yet.”

“Oh. Well you do that then. I’m gonna grab some juice.” Gus said as he walked towards the kitchen.

“Do you need help?” Hunter gestured to Ghost to get off. Going non-verbal now that the others were waking up. She refused.

“No, I think I got it!” Gus laughed from down the hall.

“Read, nerd.” Ghost meowed lovingly.

Hunter reluctantly did as he was told. He’d have to combat her name calling later. Not that he really minded, he never felt hurt whenever Amity did it, but 3 times in 1 morning was a bit much.

Gus came back from the kitchen, two glasses of juice in hand. He didn’t bother asking Hunter if he wanted one two. The answer would always be no, when he meant to say yes.

He joined him on the couch and they looked at the pictures of human dinosaurs together. Discussing the similarities with their own extinct reptiles. A few minutes later, Amity and Vee appeared in the doorway.

“Hey nerds!”

Hunter couldn’t help the desperate sigh that escaped his mouth. The girls looked at him funny. He looked away embarrassed. He could just feel Ghost’s evil grin radiating from his lap.

“Good morning.” Vee chuckled.

Gus greeted them both. He showed Vee the book, but she had already read it and subsequently showed him her favourite page.

“So the ‘hey nerds’ was warranted.” Amity smirked. “What was that sigh for?”

Hunter met her eyes awkwardly. Her sassy expression matching perfectly with Ghost’s entire being. He’s been called a nerd 4 times in a very short amount of time. So his sigh was just as warranted.

“Flap has been calling me a nerd all morning.” He lied. The bird bonked him on the head for blaming him.

The actual culprit made a ‘mmrrrp’ sound. The white fluffy monster was laughing at them! Then she climbed down to greet her witch.

“You guys wanna have breakfast? Luz and Willow won’t be here for a while.” Vee said.

At that moment, Camila walked in. Hunter’s first instinct was to grab the book from Gus. It took an embarrassing amount of effort to ignore that instinct.

“Good morning kids,” She said cheery. They all said their good morning’s back. “I heard something about breakfast?”

“Yes, because those sleepyheads will take at least 2 more hours.” Amity laughed.

“Luz is usually a morning person,” Gus interjected, looking at Vee amused. “Did you swap or something?”

“No!” Vee crossed her arms with a playfully sour expression on her face. Then her face dropped and her voice got more serious. “Luz actually didn’t sleep well last night...”

She looked at Camila carefully, Hunter couldn’t help but do the same. Amity tapped the basilisks arm, she was probably not supposed to say that.

“Another nightmare?” Camila asked, but she knew the answer. She had one of those ‘worried mom’ expression that they saw very often. Hunter hadn’t been able to place them at first, being extremely foreign to him.

But Camila quickly had one reserved for him too. Luz had to explicitly tell him she wasn’t angry, just worried. He didn’t know how to feel about it yet.

“Poor girl.” Flapjack’s chirp was the only thing that could be heard, because the room was filled with an awkward silence. “You should talk to her.”

Hunter scratched his feathers to discretely tell him he understood. He would try, Luz was more likely to talk to him about her nightmares. Maybe because he had them too? Hunter didn’t feel like he could really help her though.

“Oh, is that ‘Guide through the Fossil Record’ you have there?” Camila finally broke the silence. She pointed at the book in Gus’s hands.

“Yes!” Hunter shot up. “I took it to pass the time, I hope that is alright.”

“That is quite alright, Hunter.” Camila reassured him once more. “You can take any book you like.”

Amity’s understanding look was a lot better than Ghost’s pitiful one. Vee gave him some grace by ignoring him, talking to Gus about her favourite fossil again.

“So breakfast then?” Amity asked.

“Yes, let’s do that. Does anybody want eggs?” Camila rubbed her hands, ready to make breakfast just a little bit more special.

Hunter smiled politely. He did want eggs, but of course he didn’t say anything. Gus slung an arm over his shoulders, making him bend down quite a bit.

“We do!” He called out enthusiastically. Forever his saviour when it came to asking for things.

———

“Good morning.” Luz yawned as she entered the kitchen. She saw her mom and her friends (except Willow) all at the table. They greeted and welcomed her, but were already done with breakfast.

“Feeling better sleepyhead?” Amity kissed her on the cheek when Luz sat down next to her.

She nodded and returned the kiss. She still felt horrible, but an itty bitty bit better. And that’s what her girlfriend asked.

Clover and Emmiline had hitched a ride on her. Luz appreciated the company after a night like that.

“There you are buddy~” Gus cooed as his palisman stepped on his hand.

Clover flew over to Hunter and Flap. She buzzed up a storm when she joined the little cardinal in the blonde nest.

“Aye que lindo~” Camila cooed and the kids laughed. Hunter felt his face get hot from embarrassment.

Still, he’d never tell the precious creatures to leave. He had accepted his fate as ‘palisman free real estate’ long ago. Besides, Clover was always fun to be around.

He understood the constant buzzing and was trying his best to hide it. Apparently, Clover had tried to get her witch out of bed early for once. It didn’t go well. It was near impossible for him to not laugh as Clover described the things Willow miraculously slept through.

Buzzing next to her ear, sticking a paw in her nose, tickling her nose with bee-fuzz. He could clearly picture it.

The bee had even considered dropping something heavy on her. Luckily for the unaware witch, Luz came to the rescue. Or ‘disrupted her creative process’, as Clover saw it.

The aforementioned saviour looked at him curiously. Luz knew. She also knew he wanted to hide it. In her opinion, he was scared for nothing.

They would all think it was awesome he could talk with their palisman. A sharp pang of jealousy shot through her heart. ‘Their palismen’. That didn’t include her.

“Should we wake Willow?” Hunter asked.

“I’m NOT doing that again!” Vee burst out. Whatever she was doing was put on abrupt hold.

“Have you learned nothing?” Gus joined her passion.

“I still haven’t fixed that hole in the wall.” Camila mummed, squinting over her coffee.

“Sorry Mami…” Luz laughed awkwardly and her mom ruffled her hair.

“It’s alright Mija. When you live with 4 witches it was bound to happen.”

“Yeah…” Amity laughed in the exact same way as her girlfriend, “so not a good idea.”

“Luckily you don’t have to.” Willow chimed in as she entered the kitchen. “Also, I’m still very sorry about the wall.”

The group greeted her. Camila also reassured her about the wall again. She offered to fix it together to make her feel better. The plant witch happily agreed.

“I’ll make you two some eggs.” Camila got up, taking the empty pan from the table.

“You had eggs? Without me?” Luz gasped in fake-offence. She got up and put a hand to her forehead, like a Regency woman about to faint.

“How dare they. Such betrayal!” Willow joined her demeanour. Interlocking her fingers with her bestie. Those historical romance movies were leaving their mark.

The girls hooked their arms together, turned around dramatically and walked those 4 feet to the stove as fancy as they could.

At the table were 4 sets of eye-rolls. But they couldn’t say they weren’t amused. Amity snickered lightly and Hunter chuckled into his hand.

“Does that count?” Willow spun around and pointed at him. Then looked at Gus overjoyed. “Does that count for the game?”

“Sure!” Gus laughed. He smirked wide at his bro, whose expression soured. Hunter pouted and crossed his arms. This game was ridiculous if you asked him. “One point for Luz and Willow, I’ll write it down later.”

“We’re still behind Flap though.” Luz giggled.

“It’s not fair, he’s too cute!”

After the girls finished their breakfast the group got to talking about their plans. They wanted to do something fun and Camila came up with an idea. She offered to take them to the mall since she had an unexpected free day. Gus was insanely excited to explore and soon enough everyone matched his energy.

Except Luz.

She was smiling and cheerfully talking, sure, but she seemed off somehow. Hunter knew what Luz was normally like. She clearly wanted to go, but was apprehensive for some reason. He could guess what it was.

Willow and Vee, under leadership of Gus, ran upstairs to get out of their pyjamas. Camila followed at a calmer pace, after looking down at her bathrobe and fluffy slippers. Amity wanted to follow them too, but stopped in her tracks.

“Are you coming?” She asked Luz.

She had also noticed her girlfriend’s attitude was not as bubbly as it normally would be. Luz loved getting out of the house to show her friends the human realm.

“Oh I’m all set!”

She showed off her lame cat-hoody with pride. A black cartoon cat was on it, with the text ‘cats are clawsome’.

“Um.. alright.” Amity reluctantly agreed. She couldn’t think of anything to say. Maybe it’ll be easier for them to talk at the mall.

“I’m also ready to go.” Hunter said, gesturing to his own normal sweater and jeans. “You go change, and I will clean the table.”

“I’ll help!” Luz called out, jumping on her bro. She was doing too much now, looking overly excited, trying to conceal her feelings.

They grabbed the breakfast supplies as Amity went upstairs. The resulting silence while the put stuff back in the cupboards made Luz uncomfortable. Hunter thought it was quite nice, but she felt the need to fill it.

“So~ what did Clover say when she was all upset?” Luz bumped her shoulder into his.

“She was describing very vividly how she tried to wake Willow up early.” He smirked as he patted the little bee.

“Oh yeah,” Luz laughed and patted her too, “Sorry, baby, but that’s mission impossible.”

“So… what’s up with you?” Hunter questioned. Luz turned to him slowly with an uncomfortable expression. Now she missed the silence.

“When did you get so good at that?” She pouted. Hunter shrugged, credit belonged Flapjack for this one. But he had gotten better at it. Somehow.

“I heard you had a nightmare?” Flap was still in his hair, happy that his witch had listened to his advice.

“Who snitched?” Luz joked. She really didn’t appreciate Vee or Amity telling him that. Did they tell her mom? Was she worried?

“Vee did, but go easy on her. You shouldn’t keep those things to yourself.” Clover flew onto his shoulder and Emmi walked upside down on his arm.

“I’d rather tell you myself.” She pouted again. She couldn’t be mad at her kinda-twin for long. Vee never lied to mom and it was probably better to share anyways. She just didn’t want to admit that Blondie was right.

“Then do so.” He said, proud of his wit. He absentmindedly picked up Ghost, holding her like a baby.

Luz looked at the very serious boy covered in tiny magical animals. He looked so happy with his smart-ass respons. She wanted to brake out into a belly laugh. But instead she felt broken.

The nightmare had come back to the forefront of her mind. She thought about how her own palisman couldn’t join them in using Hunter as their playground. They were still stuck in the egg.

She didn’t even know if they were alive.

This sight made her laugh with tears forming in her eyes. It startled Hunter. He fumbled for a second, unsure and concerned.

Then he moved Ghost over to one arm and reached out with his other hand. He held Luz’s head. As she sniffed, he lightly pushed her towards him.

She immediately gave in and moved into the awkward, palismen-filled hug. Her head was resting on his chest and she looked down to Ghost in his arm. She mewed. Luz tickled her belly, laughing weakly through her blurry vision.

“She says ‘there there’.” Hunter translated. Rubbing her hair like she was also a cat. Considering everything, this awkward hug was quite impressive. Luz blinked away her tears and sighed.

“My nightmare was about my palisman. My egg… and Eda.” She paused to wipe her eyes. “I dreamt I was with her, carving the palistrom wood. But this time when I was done, she told me I made a mistake. That I shouldn’t have made it an egg. That I- that I… killed it.”

She pressed her face into Hunter’s chest when the tears filled her eyes again. She regretted telling him now, what if the others walked in? What if her mom saw her like this? Once the floodgates opened, she couldn’t stop.

“It was so messed up! How could my brain make Eda say those things?” Her voice was breaking, she was staining his shirt. She felt Clover rub against her cheek and Ghost licking her hand.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Hunter shushed her. “Nightmares are funny like that. They put your fears right in your face in the most horrible, screwed up way possible.”

“Yeah!” Luz turned to Ghost again. But forgot Clover was there, getting a face full of bee. It made Hunter snort. He quickly regained his composure and continued with a gentle voice.

“But don’t worry Luz. Your palisman is alive, I promise.”

“Can you promise that?” She pulled back to look into his eyes.

“I can. I’m sure they are alive. I can feel it.”

“Thanks Hunter!” Luz barrelled back into the hug. It made Flapjack fall off his head. She squeezed his lungs out as the little cardinal chirped aggressively. “Sorry Flap.”

“He says he forgives you.” Hunter smirks. Luz’s chuckle was still weak. She sighed and let go of her friend.

“I’m just so scared something is gonna happen to it.”

“I understand, but listen Luz. Your egg is save. It’ll hatch and you’re gonna show your palisman to Eda.”

Luz looked up at him, smile big and genuine.

“And before that, I’ll guard it with my life.”

The boy covered in magical creatures, shining brightly like the sun, was now back to looking hilarious. Luz broke out into the belly laugh she wanted before. She definitely felt better now.

———

The gang was outside getting ready to get into the car. Luz felt a little restless again. Her talk with Hunter helped a lot, but her fears didn’t just magically disappear. She wondered if there was a spell for that.

She looked at Hunter. He did say he would guard it right? No. No, thats not fair. He should not have to-

“Can I stay here?” Hunter looked at Camila nervously. Standing in the doorway, still half inside.

The kids stopped in their tracks and turned to him confused.

“I want to, uh, take care of the palismen.” He tried to explain. Picking up Emmiline from the ground as he smiled anxiously. “We shouldn’t leave them alone.”

“We’ve left them in the house before.” Gus pointed out confused.

“Ah well yes. That’s true…” Hunter trailed off.

“I understand, but it doesn’t feel right to leave you behind.” Camila tapped her chin. She didn’t want to force this kid to go to the mall. She still struggled with how to treat Hunter.

There was deafening silence. Guilt crept up on Luz, but he smiled at her. Did he really not mind?

“I can stay?” Willow offered suddenly.

“Huh?” Hunter’s eyes shot to her instantly. A tiny blush crept over his face. “No no no, thats not necessary! You wanna go to mall, right? You should go, have fun.”

He waved his hands, laughing awkwardly. He cursed his voice and his face. Titan why?

“I will stay. I’ve been to the mall enough times.” Vee said, snorting at the stupid boy and prodding him in the side. “Plus, it’d be boring without this guy stumbling through stores and cafes.”

Hunter was conflicted between being grateful and offended. He pushed her away with a hand on her face, earning a laugh from the others. Then he remembered Camila was there too and his back straightened.

“Okay, then the problem is solved right?” Amity asked, rearing to go.

“Yup!” Luz took her girlfriend’s hand and led her to the car. Glancing back to give a silent thank you to her bro.

“Are you guys sure?” Gus asked.

“Oh yeah, we’ll be fine.” Vee waved him away.

Willow looked at them confused, silently questioning Hunter if he was really sure. He smiled at her as genuinely as he could muster. She accepted it, and got into the car with Gus.

“I forgot something!” Luz ran back suddenly. Basically running through Hunter and Vee into the house and up the stairs. Hunter walked after her a little bit, watching the stairs from around the corner.

She flew back down holding her egg. She slid to a stop in front of him. Hunter held out his hands and she gratefully put the palisman in them. He saluted her and she beamed at him.

Then she flew past Vee, saying goodbye, and entered the car. The stragglers waved the off, while Hunter kept the egg behind his back. Camila drove off and the gang was in for fun mall-day.

Hunter and Vee retreated into the house. Vee stared at the palisman in his hands while they walked to the living room. Something stirred in her.

“So… What was her nightmare about?” She asked while giving him side-eye.

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to share that.” Hunter looked at her confused.

“Was it about the egg?”

“Vee!”

“Yes or no.”

“That’s not fair, you know I can’t lie!”

“So yes then.”

Hunter gave her a disappointed look. Her behaviour was surprising. And annoying. Where was this coming from?

“Okay, I’m sorry. I was just…” She looked down at her claws. A little ashamed of herself. “I asked her, ya know?”

He did know. It made sense now. Hunter didn’t fully drop his disappointment, but looked at her intrigued. He waited for her to continue.

“She didn’t want to share it with me, but with you it’s like immediate.” Vee made an explosive gesture.

Hunter’s expression softened. An upset Vee wasn���t easy to comfort, but he could understand her.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“I’m not.”

“I was just curious, okay?”

“Sure.”

Vee was about to defend herself, shoulders tense, a finger pointed at him. Basilisk-fury burned in her eyes. Then her arm dropped and she looks more sad than anything.

“I still don’t know if she even likes me.”

“Aww Vee, of course she does!” Hunter put a hand on her shoulder, but removed it slowly when she turned to him irritated. “I mean uh- it’s Luz! She wants to be friends with everyone.”

“I took her place for months!” Vee plopped down on the couch, hugging her tail to her chest. “She said it was okay but what if it really wasn’t? She doesn’t trust me…”

“Just because she didn’t want to talk about her nightmare, doesn’t mean she doesn’t trust you.” Hunter sat down next to her carefully. “It was just a… difficult subject.”

“Then why did she tell you so easily!?” Vee buried her face in her tail with a defeated sigh.

“I don’t know! Probably because of what we’ve been though together.” Hunter tried not to think about the mindscape too much. “Because I get nightmares like that too. And last time, she told me just because I was the only one still awake.”

She still didn’t look fully convinced. Hunter tapped the egg in his lap. Gently running a finger along the grooves.

“Or maybe because I’m a Grimwalker…” He said softly. Vee lifted her head. “She knows palismen are different with me.”

Vee opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of any words. Hunter’s expression was bittersweet. His true identity was a difficult subject too. They rarely talked about it after the reveal.

She had hoped to bond over the fact they were both (part) demon. But she respected his wish to keep it hidden. Maybe this could help him think more positively about being a Grimwalker?

“It’s a pretty cool trait.” She patted the egg. Hunter sighed.

“I don’t know why Luz tells me those things.” He’d rather to stay on the first topic. “But she doesn’t tell Amity either and I’m pretty sure she likes her.”

“You’re right.” Vee giggled. She patted Emmiline as she climbed on the side of his head. “I mean it though, it’s a cool trait to have.”

“Thanks.” Hunter shifted uncomfortably. “I just know it’s not normal.”

“And?” Vee jumped up from the couch. Basilisk-fury returned to her eyes. She shifted into pastel version of Hunter with a clown nose on. “Normal is boring!”

“Hey!” Hunter put the palismen aside to chase her. Which gave Vee a substantial lead, running around the house as clown-Hunter.

They chased each other for a while, the palismen even joined in. Eventually they tired themselves out and Vee retreated to her room to watch a show on her phone.

Hunter wanted to start cleaning again, but Flapjack and Ghost threatened to actually break the duster. So he returned to reading ‘Guide through the Fossil Record’.

He’s always been a fast reader though. Finishing the book under two hours. He put it back on the shelf and boredom took over.

“You look tired.” Clover buzzed.

“He didn’t sleep at all last night.” Ghost mewed at her.

“Thats not true!” Hunter protested. “I slept like 3 hours.”

“That’s still horrible!” Clover flew into his cheek, like a fuzzy punch.

“Yes.” Flap joined his bee friend by pecking his other cheek. “You know that is not a sufficient amount.”

“Yeah, tell em Emmi.” Ghost pushed the chameleon with her nose. The blue palisman stuck out her tongue as her eyes drifted in different directions. “She agrees.”

“Take a nap Hunter.” Flapjack chirped, prodding into Hunter’s cheek again. He averted his eyes with a ‘hmpf’ sound.

“Yes. Nurse Clover demands it.” The little bee said, floating pointedly in his face.

“Nurse Clover?”

“Doctor Flapjack’s orders.” The bird joined in flying in front of his face, to look at him very serious. Hunter just thought they was cute.

“You with them?” He looked at Ghost and Emmiline who had laid down next to the egg.

“With them?” Ghost elegantly crossed her paws. “I run this hospital.”

“I’m a brain surgeon!” Emmiline called out proudly. The other palismen exchanged uneasy glances.

“Yeah… I wouldn’t let you operate.” Hunter tickled her under the chin.

“Anyways.” Clover landed on his knee. “Nap.”

“Yes nurse.” He sighed.

He held Luz’s egg to his stomach and laid down. The carefully carved wood was brimming with potential. Hunter could feel the life softly emanating from the inside. They weren’t quite there yet, but the creature would join them soon enough. And they would be a little menace, just like their witch.

The rest bunched up together and found a place on his legs. Turned out they were right, he drifted off almost immediately.

———

Hunter woke up to giggling and something fluffy in his nose. He heard a camera shutter.

“Shit my sound was on.”

His eyes flew open when he heard Luz. He flinched back, but didn’t get up fully. His head spun from the sudden movement.

He was once again surrounded on the couch. His friends were standing behind the coffee table. Luz was closer in a photographer position with her phone. The giggling had not yet stopped.

Hunter finally investigated the fluffy thing that had been tickling his nose. Ghost. Of course. It seemed he had turned on his back in his sleep, hugging Luz’s egg to his chest. Then the other palisman found their way to curl into his stomach, while Ghost had planted herself in his neck and against his face.

“Welcome back guys.” He yawned when he managed to sit up just enough to lean against the armrest. He snuffed the remaining cat hairs out his nose.

“Good morning~” Amity teased.

“Is this what you meant by ‘watching the palismen’?” Vee poked the Grimwalker in his cheeks.

Luz slapped her sister’s arm and gave her girlfriend a look. If they teased him, Hunter might never sleep again! This was the first time she had even witnessed it. It’s totally not important that she was the one taking pictures of him, not at all.

“I had no choice!” Hunter joked, relieving her concerns. “It was nurse Clover’s orders.”

“Aww that’s so cute!” Willow cooed at her bee still sleeping soundly against his stomach. A soft pink quickly formed on Hunter's face.

“And she’s not wrong,” Gus added, saving him from saying anything stupid. “You need to sleep more, dude.”

Hunter wanted to fire back a snarky respons, but Amity noticed something. The noise she made brought everyone’s attention to her.

“Wait. Why do you have Luz’s egg?” She asked, visibly confused.

A few ‘oh hey’s and ‘wait yeah’s filled the room. It was like everyone just now noticed the blue palisman resting in Hunter’s hands.

“I asked him to keep an eye on it for me.” Luz answered for him.

Hunter carefully handed her precious carving back to her. Luz smiled very gratefully, she was able to have fun at the mall without worrying.

But if he wasn’t opposed to teasing right now…

“Still, this was sight to behold.” She smirked. Hunter’s warm and selfless aura dissipated as he squinted a look of betrayal at her.

“I’ll say!” Gus laughed. “We didn’t expect to come back to this pile of palisman on the couch.”

Hunter sighed. He guessed he should be more embarrassed by this. But those two could tease him all they wanted, because he really didn’t care.

He was stopped, for the second time, from making a smart-ass respons. His attention quickly snapped towards Camila, who just rounded the corner of the living room.

“Ohoho~ look at all the sweet babies together.” She said, when she witnessed the Palisman cuddle herself. “Tan lindo~”

Hunter’s eyes were now locked on their host. His hands fidgeted, picking at his fingernails. He looked at her with a hopeful smile. This was good in her eyes, right? Lindo meant cute, right?

Was it okay to be proud of this? Or should he come off as humble? Wait, was he supposed to say something now?

“I just put the groceries in the kitchen, who can help me put them away?” Camila continued with what she actually came for.

Hunter sprung to his feet.

“Yes! I can do that!”

The huddle of still-sleeping palisman got a rude awakening. As one collective, they slid off his lap. Hunter cringed when they hit the ground with a loud thump.

“Sorry guys…” he grimaced.

Ghost hissed at him and Emmiline made some disgruntled noises of her own. Flap en Clover laid on the ground, absolutely dazed. Nobody was hurt, they were made of wood of course, but that was still stupid.

Hunter cautiously lift his head towards the matriarch. She looked more surprised than anything. What did that mean? What was behind that expression? How could he be so forgetful?!

Amity broke into a snicker. Everyone turned to her and she tried to hide her laugh. But she failed. Luz gained her own wobbly smile from looking at it.

“Sorry, that was really funny.” Amity said as she walked over to Ghost. Who yowled when the witch picked her up. “Oh hush, you little drama queen. You’re fine.”

Luz was about to crack. Vee and the other witches were starting to have amused expression as well. Even Camila put a hand over her mouth, wrinkles formed in the corner of her eyes.

So, she wasn’t mad?

Soon, everyone was giggling again. Willow and Gus picked up their own palisman to shush their whining. Hunter looked at everything a little dumbfounded.

The laughter washed away any feelings of shame. He didn’t feel ridiculed, even though the were laughing at him. He felt a little stupid, sure. But the energy surrounding him was warm and soft. Like the morning sun was shining in his face again.

Hunter bend down to pick Flapjack up. The cardinal was still a bit dazed, but gave him a look anyways. He’d get a righteous amount of hair-tugging later.

“Alright then!” Camila sighed her last chortle away. The Dominican mother gestured to the vague direction of the kitchen. “Shall we?”

Hunter gave her a sheepish smile and a diligent nod. The awkward boy happily followed Camila into the hallway.

Maybe, just maybe, Vee was right. Maybe it was a pretty cool trait to have.

[theprinceandthewitch]

So... does anyone else get the impression season 3 was a giant middle finger to Disney? Like a whole "Oh, you want to cancel TOH? Fuck you. We are going to give you an ending so bad people are gonna shit on it forever."

While TOH always had an issues in the writing department there's just something about Season 3 that's particularly awful and kind of malicious tbh. Season 3 doesn't feel like there was any care put into it.

So... while I do like Thanks to Them because Hunter/Luz bonding and Caleb/Evelyn=Luz/Hunter tidbits... it's actually really, really bad. There is no logical explanation for why the characters are fucking around for literal months. Philip should know where titan blood can be found as he had SOMEWAY to get to TBI's. He also knew of Calebs and Evelyns relationship - thats why he even went to TBI's to begin with. He wanted to look for Caleb and convince him to come back to the human world. Philip met Evelyn when he and Caleb were teenagers and he was PROBABLY friends with her before he decided to double down on the witch hate.

Another thing: Flapjack did not need to keep quiet about there possibly being a rebus in the house and the existence of rebuses in general FOR MONTHS. He could have said the moment they came to the human realm something like:

"Hey so, Caleb and Philip were friends with a witch named Evelyn for years. There's titan blood hidden around Gravesfield. I know the landscape has changed over the centuries but you can probably find a vial somewhere by using glyphs near the location shown on the rebus. Caleb and Evelyn made maps to titan blood in the form of rebuses because they needed to keep their relationship a secret. This dilapidated house you guys arrived in when you came to the human realm is Calebs house because the doorways fixed location in the human realm is Caleb's house. There's probably a rebus somewhere in the house. If there are no rebuses in the house, I can show you the last known locations of other rebuses."

Because nobody does anything proactive to find a way home UNTIL Amity accidentally steps in the hole in the floor FLAPJACK made while looking for the rebus. Not only did Flapjack not bother to tell Hunter about there being a rebus that leads to titan blood in the house they fixed up and have been using as a base of operations for literal months - none of the characters ever thought to look around the town for some clues that could lead them back to the demon realm. All the characters try to do is build doorways. VEE could have mentioned there was a witch who came to Gravesfield centuries ago, which would have kickstarted their journey around town. Vee knows about the story because of Yesterdays Lie - and they fucking mention Vee's confrontation with Jacob and show us Jacob in Thanks to Them. THERES LITERALLY a whole museum full of rebuses that were dug up around Gravesfield the characters could have gone to. You cant tell me Gus, Amity, Willow and Hunter were too afraid to explore the demon realm as if they weren't literally living in the human realm for months and went on trips during their stay. As if they weren't gungho about exploring the human realm right after finding the rebus. AS IT they didnt have Vee as a reliable guide around town.

There's also no reason for Luz to go back to school when she has to find a way to get everyone back home. Luz going to school is another time waster with no reason to exist.

On top of that Flapjack doesn't tell Hunter a damn thing about Caleb. We dont even get a "Flapjack finds it difficult to talk about Caleb" moment to explain Flapjacks silence. We dont know WHY Flapjack doesnt say anything about Caleb even though Flapjack clearly belonged to Caleb and not Evelyn. He just lets Hunter read these history books about Caleb which might not even be completely accurate because history can be omitted and changed to fit certain narratives. And the stories about The Wittebane brothers and Evelyn are proven to be incorrect because they paint Evelyn as a stereotype AND as the person who killed Caleb.

But yeah, Thanks to Them is alot less enjoyable when you realize ALL of the characters are wasting time for no reason.

[emeraldart]

2, 9, 18 from this ask game

2. Labyrinth Runners! This is honestly a pretty random episode but I’m obsessed with it for many many reasons. Mostly being Gus characterization. We get it in other episodes (Looking Glass Ruins, Something Ventured Someone Framed) but I didn’t really relate it as much? (I was the youngest in all my classes, which Gus mentions in SVSF but just due to a late birthday, I didn’t actually skip a grade.) But OH MY GOD, Gus’s whole thing on worrying about friends with ulterior motives got to me. He’s so me fr. Plus, Hunter got a found family! They have Luz, Amity, and Willow! My babies have a support system! Also, the whole Amity and Willow subplot was nice because I could tell they wanted to talk about it more but they made it work with the shortening. They made Amity like the perfect mix of her condescension we see when she’s introduced along with her desire to change. Also, there’s so many little ship crumbs within a found family friendship episode so it’s very fluffy and nice and sweet. I did miss Luz but I kinda love “what’s up with the other guys” episodes in shows. 9. There’s some pretty clear indication Hunter would’ve stayed at the Owl House, so I think we would’ve got that. There’s a few subplots I think they’d touch on, like with the Bat Queen’s whistle and the Galderstones. Probably a lot more silly bonding episodes to work on character dynamics. I think there’d be at least one subplot (other than the Hollow Mind one) of Raine Darius and Eber. 18. Mostly the redeemed antagonists. Here’s a little list:

Amity: She just seemed like she was there to add drama but by Covention I had a feeling there was more to her. I didn’t see her becoming a love interest at first but discovering the mean girl was actually a disaster lesbian won me over. Lilith: I was pretty suspicious of her but I didn’t think she cursed Eda at first. When I found out she did, I wasn’t really that mad because I felt we’d get an explanation soon. I was just kind of annoyed at her for picking fights with kids a lot. I think around Keeping Up A-fear-Ances, when we see that most of her rudeness and childishness isn’t actually from a place of malice and she does care for King and Luz I liked her. Hunter: Kind of a more basic story. I kind of expected another Kikimora but then he wasn’t another Kikimora. Yay. Mattholomule: I honestly still don’t like him. It’s just an affectionate hatred now. Little weasel rat man. Skara: Idk why I didn’t like her at first but I didn’t. Maybe she was mean to Willow? At some random point I saw art with her or something and decided she was just a silly little guy.

[mdhwrites]

What are your thoughts on Willow x Hunter?

I… don't care? They're fine. Cute enough, they have something to bond over, both good to each other and exceptionally boring as a couple. They're almost the same person even except one likes lifting weights and plants while the other likes sci-fi and actually matters to the story.

I do not get the hype I guess is what I'm saying. Not that I'm entirely surprised either. It was finally a ship for Willow that wouldn't get you accused of enabling abuse or evil like Boschlow would (seriously people, what the fuck? I don't like the ship but you all need to learn to breathe.) or just all alone like Willuz or Amillow would. For Hunter it was an even bigger reprieve. The show finally told you "Ship them" with a scene without it either breaking up Lumity or being with the CANONICAL LESBIAN.

Seriously, I will not drop that they tie his character arc, effectively starting it three times over, with three different girls and that would be bad without one of them being AMITY. Because each one really does get that "This could be the start of a friendship or a romance" moment with Hunter and that makes me roll my eyes some.

So yeah, they're the safe option. They're the show approved option with no conflict between them, little contrast and it does a good job of entirely making you forget that while Willow questionably worked out before the show (we actually have nothing to go off of one way or another), Hunter almost certainly did. Because child soldier.

Going into that goes into everything that's a mess about Willow though and how much the writers just do not care about her.

So instead, I actually want to talk about two of the complaints about Huntlow that I just think are… The complaint has a purpose but its target is wrong.

"Huntlow stole time from the show."

I actually severely disagree with this. After all, Hunter was always going to get time and his arc is already rushed, to the point where it doesn't really have a middle. It just starts a few times like mentioned above, then Hollow Mind forces a climax on it and we get a little bit of resolution. That was always going to happen because it was a well established as part of the story.

The only question was with who and… Well, Willow was the choice the writers made and they made it for the sake of Huntlow over narrative. And that's the problem. Your complaint is that Hunter's arc is not good and the unfortunate consequence is that giving the arc more focus would have meant Willow just… Not being in S2. Not in a meaningful way because Willow always has to have an excuse from another character to exist.

And the time Huntlow did take? Effectively none. Because they allow Hunter to just consume Gus' role as closest person to Willow, all the Huntlow moments actually get to flow naturally because they have one personal, one on one conversation and then just know EVERYTHING about each other so the rest of it is just glances, blushes, etc. that take no time and you can just move on from.

It's really fucking bad writing but hey! Part for the course.

"It's ableist."

I think the argument for it, what little I've seen, is… dumb. And puts way more importance and impact on the two's magical handicaps WAY more than the show literally ever did. And again, the complaint is kind of missing the real problem.

Eda's curse was an AMAZING disability allegory. Unlike so many shows where the dude in a wheelchair is actually in a SUPER WHEELCHAIR SO HE CAN KICK BUTT LIKE ANYONE EL-

No. Eda was genuinely held back by the curse. She didn't let it hold her back though. She instead took her medicine, watched out for the things that may trigger her and the curse, etc. like that. It wasn't a super power but it also didn't stop her from being an exceptional person. From living the life she wanted. As someone struggling with disability myself due to anxiety and depression… That's what I want.

I don't want characters being super powered from it is not. Or being cured. And Eda gets a super saiyan form, Gus takes out a fucking coven head and Flapjack DIES and their sacrifice gives Hunter magic. The cure to his disability (and I know this was not the intention since Hunter was dying from other things but it still matters) is another person's LIFE.

When I can say for myself that my number one goal in life is not to be a burden for others due to my jacked up brain.

So… I would say people are right to say this gets borderline offensive to disabled people but it's REALLY not Huntlow's problem.

Huntlow's problems really are about the show's problems. The problems inherent to these two characters. But, as I've shown in this blog even, for being able to say SO MUCH about the two characters… There's really not a lot to say about the ship. It's there, it's cute, they don't do anything that would make people hate it outside of… I dunno, being straight? At least there is a positive straight couple in the show that isn't dead.

It's a mess but only because the show is a mess. But it's hardly one worth actually throwing a fit over.

[voidnoidoid]

TOH For The Future Thoughts

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET!!!

This new episode was nothing short of incredible!! I have so many thoughts about it so this post isn't gonna be very organised at all.

I love how Camila reacts to the things in the Demon Realm, and her freaking out at all the weird stuff is really fun to watch. But also, I enjoy how she looks out for all the other kids and is a reliable adult for them. She saw that Willow wasn't doing okay and reached out to her, letting her know that she had people to fall back on, even if she wasn't ready yet. And then, she reassures Luz that everyone makes mistakes and apologised for not supporting her in her time of need. Oh and the scene where she hugs all the talisman is soooo adorable!

Hunter's been pretty great this episode too, he's consistently been shown as antsy and worried about the dangers that lie ahead, especially considering everything that happened the previous episode. The development between him, Willow and Gus was fantastic and I'm so glad the three of them got their time to shine this episode. Hunter and Gus have a strong bro bond, and it's heartwarming to see how Gus cares for Hunter so much. When Hunter got emotional from seeing his flyer derby picture, Gus and Willow thought they did something wrong and ran away. Willow out of fear of hurting Hunter and Gus to follow Willow, while telling Hunter to stay put. Both of them care for Hunter but don't want to show their vulnerability and let Hunter care for them like they do for him.

Willow's stress and tension manifesting in the form of her vines is a great touch. Like in the Owl House where she left a trail of vines in her wake, and when the vines grew up around her feet and finally when she smothered a whole room with her vegetation. The vines snaking around her legs and victims gives a suffocating feeling, like Willow is restraining herself from showing any weakness, and also showing how her feelings are overwhelming her.

Hunter's flapjack magic activating when his friends were in danger was so cool, he was zipping around everywhere! Flapjack still lives on in him and that's amazing to see. Also... Huntlow Real. (like omg... the protective hug, hunter carrying willow, the blushing and hand touch aaaaaa. like cos willow's been saving his ass all the time and now it's his turn!)

Ok now to talk about Hexside. Unfortunately after all the adults got puppetified, the school turned to chaos lord of the flies style where Boscha somehow becomes reigning President with the help of "Micky". Mattholomule is a surprisingly effective leader to Gus and everyone else's surprise. Also im still not over how Mattholomule is actually Matt Tholomule. So... Steve and Matt Tholomule huh. OKAY. Gus's smoothly animated slow head turn was HILARIOUS tho. It provided a lot of lighthearted comic relief. "MANtholomule" kandfjknsdk. But I digress. Hexside becoming a chaotic mess under Boscha and Mickey's leadership is honestly pretty realistic. Also I'm slightly disappointed but not surprised that Boscha is still as mean and egotistical as ever. Like COME ON after everything that happened she's still gonna be a major b and run the school like a knockoff regina George?

The real culprit behind this though, is "Mickey" or should I say... Kikimora. When I saw her being Boscha's mouthpiece and pompously dictating what people should do... it felt weirdly familiar but I couldn't really put a finger on who it was until right before the reveal. The way Kikimora manipulated Boscha into taking leadership while she was the real one pulling the strings from the side reeked of insecure, power hungry crony. So glad she got her ass beat. Willow's confrontation with Boscha was such a treat to watch, but it was also painful. Seeing Willow stand up for herself but also let her anger and vulnerability show was so compelling. Boscha was honestly selfish and cold for brushing off Willow. I don't understand why people ship them especially considering Boscha BULLIED Willow and still hasn't apologised. (again I digress but as someone who was bullied I absolutely despise bully x victim dynamics. not cool.) Then in the detention pit, where boscha met amity again, what she did and said made me dislike her more, but also sympathise with her a bit.

When Boscha and Amity met again, Boscha lashed out saying Amity abandoned her friend group, hung out with Luz and basically left her behind. Like yeah duh she dropped you for a reason!? Boscha is a toxic and spiteful person. But I can also see from her point of view. Until Luz showed up, Amity was the top dog, one of the mean girls and part of the clique. To have someone like that just leave the group for good would hurt. And Boscha even got on her knees and begged Amity to come back to her. She wanted things to go back to normal and wanted her friend back, but what Boscha didn't realise was that she was the one who needed to change. I'm glad she changed for the better in the end, she just wants her friends back. (She's still a meanie though)

Alright, now it's time to get into the important stuff. The Collector. (and belos) It was jarring to feel on edge when seeing a happy colourful pastel world, knowing the sinister intentions behind it all. Watching the Collector play with people like dolls creeped me out, especially since they were once... living people. And it just reinforces the fact that despite it all, The Collector is just a kid. A superpowered, immortal kid who doesn't really understand that what he's doing is really truly hurting people. They just want to play. And I can't blame them, being isolated and alone for so long. He calls King his best friend, which I think is really sweet. But unfortunately King is too afraid to reciprocate. What I find really nice about the Collector is that he's willing to compromise for King, the one he cares about. Even when King isn't willing to give them Francois, he doesn't throw a fit, just asks for King to let Francois watch over him because he doesn't want to be alone.

The book that they ask King to read to them is very intriguing, because it's essentially a history book about the collector race. And apparently, they're known as powerful, godlike immortal beings who preserve planets and life forms. But the moment they encounter any resistance, they destroy the planet. Wipe everything clean. The Collector has scribbled this part out, saying that "the others are mean". This means the Collector has encountered others of his race, and actually is one of the nicer ones??? Since he disapproves of the killing and destruction. However, despite this, he is completely okay with hurting the inhabitants of the boiling isles. Yikes.

I'm glad Eda and Lilith are okay though! I'm loving their new looks. Eda seems to have accepted Luz staying in the human realm, which is sad... it's clear she wants Luz to stay but she can't. King, Eda and Lilith are hatching a plan to take down the Collector for good, and you know what this means... MISUNDERSTANDING TIME.

As we all know Belos is back in action, trying to take back control or whatever. I especially enjoy that he's literally falling apart into a goopy mess and is being haunted by the ghosts of Caleb and the other golden guards. He seems to have backup bodies... sealed in a tomb of maroon goop stuff. Buttt that body in the box was incomplete so yeah. I feel like this reinforces the theory that Belos was possessing the bodies of some of the old golden guards, because he said that he "needed a new body". How else has he been living for this long? It also explains the blonde hair. Him making his way to the Archives and meeting Odalia was so funny. She wanted to be more useful outside of being a nanny for the Collector, and now that she kinda got her chance, she got tossed aside once again. But now that means instead of possessing Odalia, Belos possessed Raine. Oh No!!!

Then the usual happens, using the new body he sneaks to the Collector's room and manipulates them into distrusting King! The Collector is way too gullible for their own good like this is the second time he's being bamboozled by Belos COME ON. The way they can just spy on King whenever is so chilling because they just pulled on their hood and boom, they found King. This meant that they could have spied on King whenever, but didn't because they trusted him. Aww... But now Belos has successfully manipulated Collector AGAIN, who believes that King is trying to kill him. But actually King just wants to talk things through. King seeing himself in the Collector, his loneliness and being of a special race, is sad but also comforting to know that he can relate to someone like the collector. I guess we'll see what happens in the final episode of TOH.

And last but not least... LUZ'S PALISMAN!!! Ohhhh man this one has kept the entire fandom on edge forever. Her palisman seems really powerful, given that even when it wasn't fully formed, it blasted the ground with a super laser! When it formed into a ball I was like "is that it?" but of course not lol. I love how before the palisman fullly formed the gang was guessing, "is it a bat? snake? dragon? otter?" The writers and animators know the fandom so well haha... And turns out... IT'S ALL OF THEM!!! According to Luz, her palisman is a snake shifter! I thought it was a chimera but this is cool too, given how Luz has been associated with snakes a lot, it would make sense that a snake would be the main animal. I love how her palisman, Stringbean (cutest name ever!) can shapeshifter because it represents how Luz can't be put into a box. She's creative, adaptable and fun, and Stringbean represents all those qualities.

All in all, fantastic episode, but im worried how the last special will go down. Hold on tight TOH fandom...

[swizzee]

Ok ok, I don’t have any art to share cause I’m in the heat of the moment but I need to rave about the new ToH episode for a second

I was bummed about the leaks and made it my mission to go spoiler free until the premiere so I could enjoy it the way Diana intended

AND HOLY FUCK SHE DID NOT DISAPPOINT

I love all the new lore we’ve just got from the new episode cause it really ties everything from season two in. The ancient rival races of collectors and titans killing each other off so one race could prevail but then their endlings become…. Friends? Also the supreme being of the universe is literally a toddler? So silly, so perfect. One thing I’m dying to learn more about is the collector code cause it’s hinted about a tiny bit and also how the Collector just changed it cause he wanted to play hide and seek?? SO SILLY. King literally reads it and doesn’t question anything, he walks down the halls of the palace and ignores the depictions of his ANCESTORS LITERALLY GETTING MURDERED!!? Hello sir your fat head is hiding the lore! I am excited to see King learn the full extent of his powers cause if they’re equally as powerful as the Collector’s, the final show down is gonna kick ass!

One of my biggest regrets was embracing literally every Thanks to Them spoiler I could get my fingers on so the whole story was kinda meh when I actually watched it. One thing that no one even bothered mentioning was all the Star Trek references! The whole season we learn about how Luz’s parents got together over a shared love of Star Trek. Gus and Hunter dress up the whole episode, I mean twist my arm and kiss my soul Diana!! I love Star Trek so much, almost as much as I love crossovers. So Star Trek x any of my other interests? Just steal my heart already!

BEAM ME UP??? Hunter dressed as Data, Gus as maybe Riker or Forge??? I am in love

Willow coping with her emotions and her friends helping her realize she’s more than just the rock of the group was so wonderful and really embraced so much of the Willow character development we never got to see. Her and hunter holding hands at the end was adorable too. Fingers crossed for a tiny cheek kiss by the end of the next special 🤞

Luz and her mom finally being able to understand each other was so adorable and done with so much passion, the whole scene left me in tears. Her mom relating back to Luz of how she was a weird, nerdy kid in high school and just wanted to protect her daughter from relentless bullying honestly hit way to close to home. I’ve always been a weird kid (ie. Sci Fi enthusiast, artsy fartsy, lover of cartoons, hater of sports) and have had the same conversations Luz had with her mom in season one. “You need to calm down, try to relate to other kids more. There’s nothing wrong with you, you might just be a bit… much for some people”. It broke my heart seeing their strained relationship but that just made me even more in awe of them bonding over their weird passion.

“All I ever wanted was to be understood”. She’s just like me fr ☹️💔

Luz’s palesman reveal was so long awaited by everyone and Diana definitely did not disappoint. I saw so many videos on theories about her palesman but I never considered every single theory would be right lmao. Anyway, string bean is so perfect and a great reflection of how Luz is so much more than a silly otter or a sulking sparrow, she embodies everything. I love String Bean, especially all the different forms they offer for her, can’t wait to draw all of them!!!

More girlfriend content! I love them sm, mmmm young love, so yummy, GET IN MY MOUTH EGGEGEGDHJDJKE 🤬💖

I understand that the third season was meant to be more than three specials but tbh, I can’t imagine seeing such a beautiful piece of artistry separated into episodes. The colors, character designs, plot, everything. It was all leaps and bounds ahead of Thanks to Them so my hopes are even higher for Watching and Searching

This is one of my favorite screen caps, enjoy!

The glittery eyes, the flowing tears, the way the light reflects off her face in a way the separates her from the scenery??? PLEASE OH MY GOD IT WILL KILL ME VGFTVGTDVGYDGVHDHUCUDHCUDJ

[justmenoworries]

thoughts on “For the Future” in no particular order

let’s rip the band-aid off: apart from like one or two scenes, to me this special felt like a giant waste of time. very little of what we were told we didn’t already know. like oh, the Collector is an all-powerful child? Belos is gigantic, rotting sack of shit? everyone is scrambling through pretty much the apcalypse? those are all things we’ve known about since “King’s Tide”

Belos really should have been defeated in “Thanks to Them”. literally nothing would change if he was already dead by the time Luz’ team entered the Demon Realm. “what about the Collector spying on King?” funny you should ask, since we already had the perfect character to push him into that direction: Odalia. she was vying for his attention and more power the whole time, you’re telling me she wouldn’t be jumping at the chance to dethrone King as his best friend and confidant by tattling to Collector about his, Eda’s and Lillith’s plans? instead we have Belos stealing screentime away from characters who were desperately in need of it (Willow, Gus) for basically no reason. what did we find out about Belos in FtF that wasn’t already obvious? we know he’s an old bigoted asshole who will never change. we know he’s more monster than man at this point. we know he’s a manipulative scumbag who preys on easily influenced minds. I honestly don’t know what Dana is planning to do with him in “Watching and Dreaming”, he’s seriously overstayed his welcome as a villain

I cannot be the only one who didn’t buy that the heroes were struggling against freaking Kikimora??? Literally all that makes her threatening is her giant slime-robot. just pull her out of there and then punt her into the Boiling Sea like a football. Willow could’ve just plucked her out of the cockpit with a vine and that could’ve been it. but no, instead we need an entire sideplot about Kikimora trying to take over Hexside as some sort of mini-Belos

LUZ HAS HER PALISMAN, I REPEAT: LUZ HAS HER PALISMAN!!! HER NAME IS STRINGBEAN AND SHE’S PERFECT AND I LOVE HER AND I WANNA SEE HER AND LUZ KICK SO MUCH ASS, PLS LET THEM MURDER BELOS IN WaD, THAT WOULD MAKE HIS INCLUSION AT LEAST A BIT WORTH IT

Camila continues to be best mom, she tries so hard, she just wants Luz to be happy and for the other kids to be safe, i’m gonna cry

Lumity continues to serve, even with small moments. Luz blushing at her awesome girlfriend being pretty gave me life

not a big fan of how Willow and Gus were pushed to the background to provide more character development for Hunter. Willow had a whole arc about discovering how powerful she actually was and gaining confidence, and it culminates in her having to be saved and told what she already knows by a white boy. thanks, I hate it

hey, quick question: why was Luz’ group so nerfed this episode??? some of the most talented witches of their generation, on par with the Emperor’s Coven, and they get pushed around by freaking Kikimora and Bosha???? no. Kiki and Bosha should have been reduced to smears on the floor as soon as they tried to start shit. Luz and her friends were beating the crap out of Belos one episode ago, why are these two even remotely treated as a threat????

I immensely enjoyed the Collector as an antagonist, they’re just a small child, but he’s a very powerful child and that’s a disastrous but also weirdly adorable combination. his bond with King was also surprisingly heartwarming. I really would have liked it if Dana went in the direction of just having King be the responsible angel on Collector’s shoulder who eventually gets them to see he can’t just treat people like toys. but nah, let’s have Belos as the villain. again.

King, smol child. he’s trying his best, I feel so sorry for him.

is it weird that I unironically love the makeover Collector’s been giving the Boiling Isles? maybe it’s just me being a sucker for the space and stars aesthetic. and brightly colored horror.

[aquaaquila]

Thank you for tagging me, honestly didn't expect that but I'm not complaining. Now @stanlunter beat me in the chase with plenty of valid points but I shall also add some more.

I do have to agree that it looks more like looking for problems than having actual problems but oh well. Here comes a long one

I have to admit that Stanlunter brought valid points to this one not even I thought of at first. I will add that much like Hunter, Luz also needed a moment to calm down and collect herself because HM was rough for her too. The ending with her looking completely broken and hopeless is a fantastic send-off to such a dark episode and the follow-up with her confessing what she saw after some time is great too. I do have to admit that Luz certainly herself was not in the right place to try to console Hunter (so I also approve of the LR episode giving some more screentime to develop Gus and Hunter's bond as they have precious bromance alright) or look after him anyway, however, I do have gripes with how the entire Owl family just let him run away this easily. If it was more emphasized how Luz is just too stunned and shaken to follow him (like devoting 3 seconds to Luz's shaken state at Hunter rather than just quickly bolting after him only to stop and then look at Flapjack as if he would take care of it), or if Hunter bolted so fast he already was lost in the woods, or created some sort of smokescreen to not be followed, I'd understand. I would also love it if following the episode there was a confirmation in which the owl family tried to locate Hunter only to lose track of him or Luz even looking worried or feeling bad over the mention of GG by Salty, because as it stands it really feels like Luz didn't care much about what happened to Hunter as she only left rushed and incomprehensible message to Amity and call it a day, along with her not even looking much relieved to see him again even though they haven't seen each other for a week after he almost got killed (and with Luz's mental state I can see her blaming herself for it too). But to be fair, this is a general criticism for the writing of the show not wanting to focus more on Luz and Hunter probably out of fear of providing too much shipping fuel to a ship that would never happen (ironic considering how hellbent the fan base is on making them siblings, though even from that perspective the show did them dirty because what kind of sister just casually lets her brother run away while he's in mortal danger and not worry at all? The bigger irony is how many people just don't talk about it either, which shows me how much people truly care about their so-called "sibling dynamic").

Hunter never threatened to tell Luz's secret. He genuinely asked if Luz shared her own secret. If she said that yes she did (and did share her secret with her friends), perhaps Hunter would even follow her example and genuinely consider it. However, Luz didn't tell her secret as she was not ready and too afraid to share it which helped her understand Hunter's case on why he wanted to keep being Grimwalker a secret, as she originally didn't understand.

In a vacuum out of context sure one could assume that if Hunter wasn't there, Luz would also keep secrets from him, but the thing is that Hunter can see right through Luz's BS as it was established right from HP. He clearly sees right through threats and even points out something about her that Luz didn't even realise herself. Lying to Hunter just would fail and I'm sure Luz is aware of this. Heck, her own shtick was that she always wanted to be understood, even if at that point in the story it was more of a subconscious desire that she herself didn't realise yet, but it still was there and what do you know, Hunter understood Luz perfectly very early on. So I can see why would Luz feel more comfortable with sharing more of her thoughts and secrets with him because he understands her, something Luz appreciates on a subconscious level. Luz knows she can't and doesn't need to lie or hide around him and that he would perfectly understand how she feels.

I assume this point exists as a criticism of the point that "Luz and Hunter trust each other more than their girlfriends" hence bringing up an example of Hunter not trusting Luz, but mind you, usually when people talk about them trusting each other, it speaks about their dynamic after COTH once they were established as friends. Of course, it would be harder to trust a frenemy at the time, especially if you saw each other only three times (and funnily enough, it also took Luz and Amity three times before they could call each other friends too). However as StanLunter pointed out, it was less about Hunter not trusting Luz and more about him not wanting to believe that Belos is evil as it would be too much world-shattering for him to believe. King himself pointed this out in the episode perfectly "No one wants to think they followed the wrong person". I would also add that Luz then did in fact know that Belos was rather shady and evil, but didn't know just HOW evil he truly was. Luz knew Belos was full of BS but she didn't know what's the truth behind his lies and she tried to find it in HM, and boy did she find it...

Those two are nerds with similar experiences in life that also aren't their issues and traumas. I'm sure they would find plenty of things to bond over, especially with how nicely their personalities complement one another along with how comfortable they are with each other. I'm with StanLunter that just because you run out of one topic to talk about, you shouldn't suddenly end the entire friendship, especially with how close those two became by the time of season 3. And heck, Luz and Amity in the show only have one thing in common which is their interest in Azura, but I would even argue that they have probably more interests to bond over and we didn't really see them because it is still a show about fictional characters and having to come up with 100 different topics would be a bit excessive and Azura not only is the first thing they bonded over thus making it quite sentimental, but the fans would be pleased enough with just that. Lunter having more to talk about without even trying is just a happy accident.

In Luz's defense, Hunter was dying, she was panicking and she genuinely didn't know Grimwalker's biology (Luz would subscribe to plenty of dumb takes and theories the fan base made on Grimwalkers as if Hunter is not just a clone with witch's physiology) so she would ask if doctors could potentially save his life when he's not exactly human. Was it bad, sure, but it wasn't on purpose, it was a concern.

Hunter in that episode also snapped at Gus and Willow and palismen. I'm pretty sure Hunter would snap at everyone trying to approach him because he's not in the right place at the moment after losing Flapjack. Him "not caring" about Luz isn't anything different because I'm sure he genuinely cares and is worried for her, but right now he's more focused on getting revenge. For the Future didn't do either Hunter or Willow's justice in spite of giving us a moment with them. I think the episode tried to teach Hunter a lesson to not fall into the same rabbit hole Philip did when his trauma of loss made him focus on revenge that started to destroy him and the relationships with people he loved. I'd argue it was a bit too early as Hunter didn't even have time to grief Flapjack properly so this lesson while good, is too rushed and out of place. Like let Hunter grieve even in an ugly way for a moment, don't make him feel bad about how he feels. Hexsquad in general was quite insensitive towards Hunter's potential grief, but with how much there's going on in everyone's head at the moment I can see why everything here is a mess. All of them are certainly not in the right mind state to give a proper fuck about pretty much anything at this point, because pretty much everything is falling apart and they're still supposed to save the world, one heck of a crazy trip, we really needed more time.

I also think that Willow's outburst, while was good, it was made for the wrong reasons. Like honestly, what Willow should've really been upset about was not missing her dads (as no shit everyone did and everyone knew and everyone was comfortable with it) but rather because she may have also blamed herself for Hunter's near death and Flapjack's death. After all, her whole thing is that she wants to protect everyone she cares about, but she failed, and Hunter being hurt is a painful reminder of that. I also think it would serve Huntlow more justice if Willow was upset because of that. Heck even Boscha confronting her while she too also lost her friends would work nicely. But no, it's just "I miss my dads 😭😭", it's as if Bubblegum was truly upset about just losing a hat back when she was breaking down underground with Marceline there, not that Bonnie feels upset about pushing everyone, especially Marcy away and apologizing for that.

That's it from me. While the show itself had some writing hiccups here and there, I do think that anon in fact didn't genuinely care about them and was looking more for reasons to dislike Lunter.

I'm a multishipper and I love Huntceda's potential but there are still unresolved critical problems.

1.When they get out of Belos's mind, Hunter runs away due to overwhelming trauma but Luz doesn't go after him. She just stops right at the door.

2.When they meet again, Luz tells Hunter to open up with Willow and Gus since they get along well with him, but he just refuses. He mentions Luz's secret of her helping Belos, so she won't tell anyone about him being a Grimwalker. It's like blackmailing her. “Tell my secret, and I'll tell yours.”

3.Also, Luz has a bad tendency of lying to not only Amity but also her mother, Eda and her supportive friends. There's no doubt that she can also keep secrets from Hunter. He only knows she accidentally helps Belos because he was also in Belos's mind. I don't know how their relationship is gonna progress, with Luz constantly keeping secrets and Hunter discouraging her not to open up. Amity tells Luz not to be afraid of opening up, while Hunter tells Luz the opposite.

4.They don't seem to really trust each other, from what I've seen. In Hollow Mind, he doesn't trust Luz about Belos being evil even after seeing things he did to other witches. He only leaves Belos when his life is threatened, not because he trusts Luz.

In TTT, whenever Hunter says he sees Belos, Luz's first reaction is doubt, like “Really?” and “Are you sure?”. It feels like Luz is dismissing his fear and feelings.

Hunter himself even says that she doesn't believe him. He has to tell Flapjack to steal Amity's map then faces Belos alone. He doesn't trust her enough to face Belos together.

5.They bond by trauma and guilt, but when they finally heal, what else can they connect to each other?

6.Hunter doesn't want anyone to know his secret, but Luz still tells that to everyone. Maybe it was an accident but it still doesn't sit right with me.

7.While everyone is worried about Luz being stuck in the In-Between Realm and what may happen to her, he doesn't ask anything or at least look worried. Instead, he just gets mad at trivial things like her not saying Belos’s name. Luz means well, she doesn't want to mention Belos directly since it may trigger Hunter's trauma earlier, given how he was literally possessed and almost dead. Meanwhile, Willow straight up gives Hunter a picture of Flapjack, directly triggering his trauma again. But he doesn't even get mad at Willow. He even has to ignore his grief to chase after her. What she does is even worse than Luz, yet he is angrier at Luz than with Willow.

personally as another multishipper, i've gotten so used to every part of media i like being criticized, so i've learned to be okay with my ships having their issues.

i don't have the spoons to discuss any of your list of points, in fact i'm actually not really sure what i think of some of them yet or how much i (dis)agree, so i hope it's okay for me to just leave this open and allow anyone else to interact with the post if they want to.

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

ngl i kind of miss the era of fics after hunting palismen but before season 1b where hunter slowly befriends luz’s friends and family under the guise of studying wild magic/espionage/whatever they were setting up with hunter spying on luz in season 2a that they didn’t have time to pay off in the show. and he finds a loving mother figure in eda and gradually realizes that belos and the emperor’s coven are bad before bravely standing up to his abuser and permanently moving into the owl house to be luz and king’s grumpy older brother.

i know his arc in canon didn’t go like that and tbh despite having more episodes to interact with him than darius or camilla eda ended up being like. the least parental towards him out of the three. but i really like that fic concept? not very action-y so i get why they played his arc out this way in the show but hunter’s heel turn in the show didnt. really feel like it was in his control? he has doubts about helping belos in every episode he appears in bc he was growing to care about luz and her friends. and ofc he finds out that belos is evil in hollow mind and ends his redemption arc by choosing to help hexside fight off the scouts.

but he was forced into all the realizations about belos by outside factors. he leaves the emperor coven not because he made an informed decision about how it was bad but because he knows belos would kill him if he didn’t leave the coven. and then when he helped the students at hexside it was because the teachers were about to trade him for gus if he couldn’t prove that he was trustworthy. i guess in the human realm he does get to learn what counts as a normal childhood and loving family, but that ties more into his post-redemption arc about found family rather than this being what makes him realize that belos was evil.

(this is also why i like to compare hunter to peridot from steven universe rather than zuko. i know on a surface level hunter and zuko are both angsty boys with a scar and an abusive father figure. but zuko had a journey bonding with civilians and the gaang where he learned why exactly the fire nation was wrong. and his decision to leave the fire nation, after zuko got back all his privilege and his fathers favor, was meaningful because it showed he was willing to give all that up to do what was right. meanwhile hunter, like peridot, had nothing left to lose by the time they join the protagonists. they fought against the villains because they were trapped with the protagonists and would die if they didn’t. i’d say even peridot had more agency in her redemption arc than hunter because she was given a chance to go back to homeworld but instead chose to save earth anyway and tell off yellow diamond.)

every confrontation between hunter and the villains during and after hollow mind was forced on him. in his earlier episodes, hunter did some small betrayals towards the coven to help luz and willow. but during the final part of his redemption (hollow mind & labyrinth runners, where he fully does a heel turn towards the protagonists’ side), saving gus from getting his sigil was the only major action he chose to do. in every other instance, his options were either help the protagonists or be killed.

this isn’t a bad thing. i like hunter’s character arc. it’s definitely more about coming to terms with one’s trauma than about anything bad hunter actually did. so they kind of brush aside his redemption arc once it’s over and the major focus is on what comes after. which i think is how toh does most of its redemption arcs? like with lilith or to a lesser extent amity. hell even mattholomule. once the character realize they’re wrong they get on the protagonist’s side and there isn’t much lingering tension about the harm they did. because once they’ve dedicated themselves to helping the protagonists, there isn’t much more they can do to make up for the past harm and toh definitely isn’t trying to preach anything about punitive justice.

so for hunter he realizes belos is evil and going to kill him in hollow mind and decides to help luz’s friends stop him in labyrinth runners. and after that he permanently joins the gang and helps fight belos and the rest of his arc is about finding himself after his redemption. which with how they wrote his backstory and arc so far i am more interested in this than seeing him haggle with the moral quandaries of working with belos and slowly realizing that he wants to be a Good Boy.

but man. those season 2a fics are so good. they’re like an au where hunter’s redmption arc is more like zuko’s than peridots and they give him a LOT more agency. in those fics he might get forced to stay with the owl family at first out of plot contrivance, but by the end he chooses his new family. and he chooses luz and eda and the rest of their friends and family over every privilege he had in the emperor coven, and over belos. and even though it might be a bit cliche, i still think that idea is really powerful.

[pageofheartdj]

Can't stop thinking about how Adrius, but can't stop thinking about Dadrius at the same time, so I fear I have no choice but to dump Adrian and Hunter HCs on you. Hope that's okay. If not, feel free to disregard.

First off they are the definition of trying to get along for someone else's sake. Adrian softens the tiniest bit towards Hunter after stoping the DOU, because clearly Belos was crazier than he thought. (Basilisk AU Adrian softens a lot more, because while he doesn't know all of what Hunter went through, he gets it)

Adrian has many feelings about Hunter being friends with Gus, and none of them are positive. Hunter finds it kind of funny, because it's not dissimilar to how he thought Darius would react to Hunter hanging out with the Blight kids. He tells Adrian this, and Adrian offers to throw a fit and 'play the bad guy' to give Hunter an out of hanging out with them if he feels uncomfortable with them. Hunter assures him that's not necessary. The offer still stands though.

Adrian loves movies. Hunter has never seen one. Adrian takes it upon himself to educate the boy on matter. Hunter actually really appreciates it, because he can tell Adrian a quote or reference his friends made that he didn't get and 90% of the time Adrian knows the movie.

Adrian tries and fails to teach Hunter is how to act. He does end up helping him become a decent liar though. Darius was pretty proud of them for that, though a little concerned that lying acting and movies are what they bond over.

At one point Hunter breaks down over how he looks (he can't get 'you look the most like him' out of his head) and Adrian gives him an illusion stone. Hunter considers it the kindest thing Adrian has ever done for him. He did not feel that way when he found out that he had told Darius about it. Adrien refuses to apologize because he knows from past experiences that while illusions can help with self image, they don't fix the problem. Hunter forgives him eventually. He tries to give him the stone back and Adrian tells him to keep it.

They never get super close, but they do eventually make each other list of 'poeple I care about and want to protect.'

AH Don't worry! That was literally my first thought before the episode was even out "Gay dads for Hunter! Gay dads for Hunter!"XD

And I do make them close because I am sucker for this kind of scenarious XD It won't be easy or perfect, the past biases play the part! They do start from doing it for Darius but then get to know each other on not antagonistic territory xD They all learn to be domestic <3

OHHJGHF This is actually hilarious XD Adrian not approving Gus and Darius not approving the Blight kids XD They know it's irrational(and outdated xD) but they can't help themselves XD Cue to that Turning Red scene:

Hunter: You shoud go now!

Blight kids/Gus: But Hunter-

Hunter: Go-go, my dad already doesn't like you.

Blight kids/Gus: Wait he doesn't?

I love how they bond over movies and theatricals in general! Just you wait until the human movies start to appear! Movie nights!! And there are things that Adrian doesn't know about human filmatography, and Hunter's general desire for knowledge will land them in their own movie researches! Although Adrian is not that strong(or willing) to keep himself up for hours and hours XD This is a good thing because he will wrap Hunter with his tail, rip away from his piles of books and force to sleep XD

JHG This is amazing, Adrian, Darius and Hunter were technically government workers yet they behave like potential criminals who don't do crimes just because they are content enough now to be on the side of the law XD The more specific reasons differ for each one of them, but they are literally one step away XD Adrian and Darius should teach Hunter that smug smile that promises trouble xD

And I LOVE the idea with illusion stone, especially in Basilisk AU! Even without it he and Darius stand on opposite sides of this argument, but with it this is just something Darius has to give up on(for now), because Adrian and Hunter have completely different point of view! Hunter does try to learn to accept all of himself and unfortunately Adrian's whole experience does the opposite. But they can still meet on shared links!

[lampmanliveblogs]

Where we last left off, Hunter was doing his best to ruin a good thing. Let’s see the Emerald Entrails’ reaction to this revelation.

Pictured: The Golden Guard, the Emperor’s right-hand man. Remember when he was first introduced back in episode one of this season? Remember that cool entrance with the water hand? Good times. It's nice to see they got him a new mask at least. Still working on the cape.

Man, Little Rascal is just going with it, huh? He’s really not gonna tell Hunter that maybe this was a bad idea? I thought the thing he bonded with Hunter over was some innate  desire for freedom or something like that but nope, turns out it was their mutual inability to make good decisions.

On the bright side, Willow’s first instinct on finding out Caleb was the Golden Guard wasn’t to immediately strangle him with plant vines, so all hope’s not lost yet. How much exactly did Luz tell them about Hunter? How much did Amity?

THIS IS NOT HELPING YOUR CASE, HUNTER!

Okay, so he did not call on the scouts, Darius sent them, but Hunter is still not doing much of anything to help his case. Was the ”take you away from your friends and family” part really necessary, Hunter? You wouldn’t want to be taken away from your family, right?

…

oh wait-

Hey, it’s Steve! My sister mentioned him! He’s her favorite character.

She also keeps asking me if I’ve gotten to that episode with the revelation at the end. I thought she meant last episode, but apparently not… so I’m a bit nervous now.

Almost as nervous as Willow, Gus, Viney & Skara have got to be, being in jail. At such a young age too… tragic. What has society come to?

I just want to quickly bring up something Hunter says here.

Gus says that real friends don’t stab each other in the back, to which Hunter replies that the Head Witches do it all the time. There is of course Raine, but they’re one person who betrayed the others one  time and was subsequently put under mind control. No, he’s saying that the Head Witches betray each other regularly. Obviously not in a ”I’m actually leading a group of rebels to overthrow the Emperor!” sorta way, but in a more personal way. 

The reason this is notable to me is because Belos likes to talk about the Day of Unity, about how they’re perfecting the Coven system and all that garbage. He wants to paint a picture of unity under his rul-oh. sorry, the Titan’s rule. Yet those closest to him, the very elite are squabbling and can’t get along with each other. So much for ”unity.”

[100gecstree2]

before i start ranting i need to preface-

I respect Dana for her accurate depictions of abuse from a parent/guardian in the owl house, she did what she could and honestly i think its enough for what it is. This is just a grievance i have regarding the depictions of parental/guardian abuse with Amity and Hunter.

Something that bothered me when i watched escaping expulsion and any sport in a storm was the way amity and hunter were expected to act in regards to their abuser. My abuser shares a lot of similarities with both odalia and belos, i dont hate these characters for it, contrary i really like how they have been handled so far. theyre good characters in the sense that they are accurate (as much as they can be in a kids show) to what abuse from a parental guardian can be like. Now because i am and have been in similar situations such as hunter and amity i found it really easy to relate to both of them in this aspect of their backgrounds. However the thing in question that bothered me was how both amity and hunter are seen to only progress in their respective character arcs AFTER they stand up to their abuser.

Ill start with hunter first because his is more important to me for varying reasons. to be clear darius is NOT an abuser to hunter. he seems to be the opposite, however we don't really know this while watching this episode. Neither does hunter. to hunter, darius is another connection to his actual abuser, someone who can and will tattle on him. someone who as we've seen is prone to fits of anger or atleast seems to be. during this episode hunter is insecure about his standing as the golden guard, to which darius tells him to recruit more scouts. so hunter does as instructed. (i know it wasn't an order, rather a passing comment, but those things can mean a lot to someone like hunter especially in the position, aka after disappointing belos twice in a row.) Im not going to recite the whole thing because this isnt an argument against the portrayal of hunter or amity WHICH IM REPEATING AGAIN because i dont want anyone to think thats my point. anyways, at the end hunter sees that turning in his friends in to darius was the wrong move. He stops darius fully expecting darius to hit or otherwise punish him. darius however does the opposite, proud of hunters actions telling him he did the right thing. this moment is where i start to feel uncomfortable. dont get me wrong i love darius and i love the bond that him and hunter are forming, i love that hunter has someone for him. the part that is iffy to me is the expectance of hunter from both darius and the hexside students to fight back in order to be a redeemable person. fighting back and standing ground against your abuser is hard and i hate the idea that you're not thought of as a good person if you do something out of fear of your abuser without trying to fight back. Im aware that if this was belos instead of darius things might have been drastically different, but hunter doesnt know that darius would be forgiving, to hunter in this moment, darius is an extension of belos, someone who works for him, especially when he raises his fist and makes it seem that hes going to hurt hunter. again im not saying theres anything wrong with how this episode went nor is there nothing wrong with hunter fighting back. this is just something personal to me- that i have yet to see a character in media who isnt demonized (im not at ALL saying that hunter is) because theyre too afraid of their abuser to fight back, a character who can still be redeemable and a good person regardless of whether not they're free of their abuser yet.

with amity this was handled a bit better (in my eyes). after odalia expels willow gus and luz, they arent mad at amity. They don't show any bitterness to her and luz is understanding of the situation that amity is in. whereas in hunter's case, willow and the other flyer derby members would have most likely stayed upset with hunter, hell, they even are suspicious of him during labyrinth runners. i am aware that the defining difference is that willow and the flyer derby team dont know what hunter is going through. I suppose its just a hard pill to swallow for me personally. amity fighting back against odalia was strange, on one hand, she wasnt judged harshly for not interfereing, on the other hand, unlike hunter who's fighting against an extension of his abuser, amity is protesting against her actual abuser. making the situation a lot scarier in her eyes. alador while not a star father, really is her saving grace here. he calms odalia down and at the very least forces her to take back her previous punishment to amity.

Im not entirely sure what i was trying to prove with any of this. I like amity and i like hunter. Im happy that theres more awareness around abuse coming from parental figures especially in something like a kids cartoon. I spent a long time thinking what i went through was normal, god knows if i watched toh as a kid i wouldve recognized the signs sooner. This was just me complaining about a trope i suppose. If you read all of this, thank you, a lot, i mean it. if you want to add something to this, feel free to. i'd rather not argue about this because there is nothing to argue about really, im not putting either of these episodes/character arcs down in any way. these are just my two cents on the 'abused character must fight back to their abuser in order to be seen as willing to change or redeemable. because as someone who's been learning to change while unfortunately still living and fearing my abuser, id hate if someone disregarded my growth as a person simply because the effects of my trauma wouldnt allow me to fight back.

[theprinceandthewitch]

This is a little difficult for me to talk about because I am having A Day today:

Just because one character is crushing on another character doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be a couple.

Hunter crushing on Willow doesn't mean she's going to reciprocate his feelings. I mean, she's lived with him for months and STILL hasn't expressed any romantic interest in him. It would have been so easy for them to start a relationship in Thanks to Them because they have a good rapport. They're pretty much besties at this point.

Yeah, Willow cradles his head on her lap when he's unconscious - but that's not necessarily romantic because Willow would do that to any one of her friends if they're badly injured.

Willow and Hunter have a set-up where two things are going to happen:

Hunter is going to learn a lesson about unrequited love.

A subversion of romantic expectations. I don't like to call this "shipbaiting" or even "shipteasing", because even though this show talks about shipping, it's not the kind of show that'll shipbait or shiptease you like Avatar the Last Airbender did.

Okay so I want to talk about point #2 more. This is a little difficult to put into words but Hunter having a crush on Willow is there to make the Luz and Amity break-up less obvious that it's coming. Because AGAIN, Hunter is the type of boy Luz likes - so you need to create the illusion that he's "taken" - therefore Luz and him couldn't possibly get together. Good storytelling is all about set-up with a satisfying payoff - and you need to do it without making it too obvious what the pay-off is. You can't show your hand right away - you got to draw people in and make them wonder what's going to happen next.

The Caleb/Evelyn parallels are there as another indication that a break-up is going to happen without actually telling you a break-up is going to happen. Just like how Willow showing no interest in Hunter is an indication that they're not going to get together without actually telling you they're not going to get together. As a storyteller you need to create these kinds of situations as a way to get people engaged with your story - to get them to say "oh man, what's going to happen next?"

Another thing I want to point out about why I don't think they're endgame is that they made Gus his main source of emotional support when Luz and Flapjack are unavailable. That is not something you do with a pairing you intend on making endgame. Because one of the foundations of a healthy romantic relationship is how the characters help each other when one of them is going through an emotional upset. But... they made Gus the guy he confides in when Flapjack and Luz can't help him with something. They also gave Hunter's most vulnerable moment to Luz and not Willow...

Again, it was really easy for Hunter and Willow to start a relationship in this episode and to give Hunter's most vulnerable moment to Willow... but they didn't... lol. Hunter has a stronger emotional bond with Gus, Luz, and Flapjack than he does with the girl he's crushing on.

So this doesn't scream "Hunter and Willow are endgame" it's more like what I said before - his crush on Willow is there to make the actual payoff less obvious.

[eternalowl]

Incorrect quotes to help cope with our impending doom part 3, the final part

I’m scared for the finale

Luz: Remain CALM! *slaps Hunter multiple times*

Hunter: What's gone wrong, Luz?

Luz: Hey! That’s one hell of a thing to say to a person. Just because I’m calling doesn’t mean there’s a crisis.

Hunter: That’s technically true, I suppose. Why are you calling?

Luz: Well... There’s a crisis.

*Hunter falls over*

Gus: Hunter! Are you alright?

Hunter: Is that you, God?

Gus: What?

Hunter: It's just, you sound a lot more like Gus than I expected.

Luz: Sometimes I'll start a sentence and I don't even know where it's going. I just hope I find it along the way.

Hunter: So oxygen went on a date with potassium, it went... OK.

Amity: I thought oxygen was dating magnesium, OMG.

Hunter: Actually oxygen first asked nitrogen out, but nitrogen was all like NO.

Luz: I thought oxygen had that double bond with the hydrogen twins.

Willow: Looks like someone's a HO.

Amity: NaBrO.

Gus: I'm done with all of you!

Hunter: What happened to your nose?

Luz: I used it to break some guy's fist.

Eda: Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, and wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Steve: That's deep.

Hunter: That means that ketchup is a smoothie.

Steve: That's deeper.

Raine: ...You guys are idiots.

Hunter: I’m in love with you.

Willow: We called off the prank war last night at midnight, dork.

Hunter: I know.

Willow: Ah. Okay. Um. Cool. Neat. Very cool. Cool. Cool. Coolcoolcool-

Darius: How did you break your leg?

Raine: Do you see those porch stairs?

Darius: Yes.

Raine: I didn't.

King: It's not our fault!

Luz: Yeah, but... Come on, the least we can do is talk to them.

King: No, the least we could do is nothing!

Hooty, when Eda walks in: Oh, hey, I'm just making King some pizza!

Hooty: *accidentally smacks King in the face with the baking sheet*

Lilith: *holds a gun out to Gus*

Gus: I-I don't believe in guns.

Lilith: Well, trust me, they're very real. Now take it.

Steve: *sharpens knife* We've got ways of making people talk.

Steve: *cuts piece of cake*

Kikimora: ...Can I have some?

Steve: Cake is for talkers.

Lilith: I'm a nice person, but I'm about to start throwing rocks at people.

Belos: I’ve invited you here because I crave the deadliest game...

Luz, nodding: Knife Monopoly.

Belos: I was actually going to play Russian roulette, but now I'm really interested in whatever knife Monopoly is.

King: A mosquito tried to bite me and I slapped it and killed it.

King: And I started thinking.

King: Like, it was just trying to get food.

King: What if I went to the fridge and it just slammed the door shut and snapped my neck?

Steve: Are you ok?

Lilith: I’ve been sleeping so little the past few nights that when I go to the alarm app, I click on the “power nap” button. I don’t set up alarms, I set up timers, Hooty.

King: I will send my army to attack!

King: *releases a dumpster of raccoons*

Kikimora, ordering coffee: I’d like a light roast.

Darius: You're kinda ugly.

Lilith: If I punch myself and it hurts, am I weak or strong?

Luz: Strong.

Steve: Weak.

Darius: An idiot, is what you are.

Gus: So according to the cease and desist order I got, apparently you can’t ‘legally’ be a lawyer if your license is ‘cut out of a cereal box’.