#hunter loves willow so much. platonically

[starryemeralds]

THIS SCENE MEANS SO MUCH TO ME

[petriorchard]

a tribute to the yellow-green duos i became obsessed with at some point in my life

(that’s a lie—i’m still obsessed with all three)

[aaronymous999]

I will never shut up about one of the worst tropes in fiction THAT NOBODY TALKS ABOUT- and ahem the winner is: “Pairing off every main character, and I mean EVERY into a romantic relationship at the end of the story or sometime during the story” even if it makes no sense to the plot, or the character made it clear they aren’t interested in romance, all because some authors for some reason ( there actually is a reason but yknow ) think all the characters need to be paired off for a happy ending. Fandoms engage in this trope too sometimes and I very much so dislike it. And then there’s the weird cousin of this trope, “Most characters get paired off, but mostly the women, the men don’t need a partner and three kids, mainly just the women.” LOOKING AT YOU WARRIOR CATS DONT DENY IT YOU ARE GUILTY AS CHARGED.

[fan-dot]

hate how gus and hunter have scene after scene after scene together as friends & brothers and yet everything is about willow & hunter as a romantic ship

im glad for the shippers but im begging people to stop sleeping on gus in general

[whisperwillyou]

Listen.

Y’all can ship whatever you want,

But Luz Noceda did not hurt her back carrying Hunter’s entire rescue and redemption arc for people to claim that WILLOW is Hunter’s Evelyn.

My girl strolled in from a different realm and adopted Hunter like he was a rescue pitbull from a fighting ring that everyone else thought was vicious but really it just had so much anxiety and was in desperate need of some tender love and care.

Luz is Evelyn’s parallel.

She’s a girl from another world, one who embodies everything he was raised to see as dangerous and evil. She literally introduced him to Flapjck (best friend/emotional support palismen) and planted the initial seeds of uncertainty in his mind. She reaches out to him, protects him, and saves him from Belos, spiriting him away to be a part of her family instead. Belos literally said to her face “But thanks to you, I'll have to make another one.” Cant get much clearer than that. Evelyn corrupted Caleb. Luz corrupted Hunter.

Just because the relationship between Caleb and Evelyn was romantic doesn’t mean that a parallel for Hunter has to ALSO be romantic. It’s about love in general. Love and Family.

Do you know how rare it is for one of my favorite platonic pairs to be treated with the same level of importance as the romantic pairs??

You aren’t stealing this from me.

Platonic love wins this round 👊

[xjulixred45x]

Can i request the hexsquad with a reader like stolas from helluva boss?without all his creepy attitudes obviosly,a young noble that goes to hexside with an terrible parent and a very young fiance that is scared of,just some comfort to the reader with real friends(i cant imagine what would happen if stolas reader comes out as teenage parent💀but sure a loving one if u ask me)

Howdy! My límit is 4 characters, so i'm gonna pick up the ones i find more acurrante for this situation. Thanks for the Request ❤️(You didn't specify so i go for a Platonic one)

Hunter/Willow/ Amity x Stolas! Reader

Genre: headcanons

Reader: male

Warnings: Bad parents, Bad parenting, High espectetions, low self esteem, arranged marriege, i didn't use the case of the baby bc the guys have like 14 so no☠️, Reader has a Bad relationship with his "fiancee", Fluff.

Hunter Noceda

Hunter probably knew Stolas! reader when he joined the Hexquad or through Willow, because I don't see it as very likely that he had friends in the emperor's coven (I'll do a drabble about that one day).

to try new things (and be away from his fiancée) Stolas! reader decided to join the Flyer Derby team, which was a surprise in itself because he seemed like someone...very...weak, at least in Hunter's eyes.

but the demon quickly became almost the opposite, summoning monstrous specters with his haunted items and his book (grimoire?) and honestly left him in disrepair.

although Stolas!lector was definitely "weak" in other ways, mostly because he was so SOFT.

He had great destructive potential, yes, but when I got to talk to him, he was so damn nice that it was suspicious (to him).

At first Hunter pretended to be angry at the constant reader talk, but little by little he lets down his walls and joins in a little in their talks, especially if they have to do with magic.

Hunter has a LOT of questions about how Oracle magic works ESPECIALLY from Stolas' family! Reader, how do you see the future with such precision? How do you control so many monsters at the same time? they might even compare research notes :D

When Hunter comes into trust with the reader, it is quite easy for him to see through him and how things affect him. like the thing with his fiancée for example.

Now, Hunter, unlike the following cases, firmly believes that THE FIANCE is the problem of everything and is willing to go for blood (he's like, how dare you make my friend cry?)

Hunter PERSONALLY doesn't think it's appropriate for Stolas! Reader and his fiancée try to be friends, make things happen? Sure, but being friends after all the bad times they've been through? titan no...

As for the terrible father thing...he can relate...A LOT.

Similar to what he did with Gus, he would share his experience with the reader and try to make him feel better.

but MOST OF ALL he goes into big brother mode when the reader is around his father (Hunter would have an inhuman amount of BEEF on the man)

Hunter knows what it's like to be manipulated by the person who's SUPPOSED to take care of you and someone you ADMIRE on top of it, so if necessary he gives the reader a reality shock when they need it.

Does being like Stolas include being fluffy and like an Owl? If so, there is no WAY Hunter doesn't end up sleeping (whether on purpose or accidentally) on the reader's soft fur (he gets very embarrassed later)

I imagine Stolas! reader tends to be very VERY dense and Hunter would definitely make some harmless jokes about it (like when someone is BLATANTLY flirting with him and he's just like "do you know what the differences are between frogs and toads? :D")

Reader's gardening hobby definitely helps him serve as a matchmaker between Hunter and Willow, whether leaving them alone on purpose or leaving a nice atmosphere ;)

Despite this, Hunter definitely thinks that reader plants are a bit too nippy for his good 😅

Hunter doesn't understand much about Astronomy or how it relates to the Oracle, but he will happily listen to the reader talking about it and tries to listen and understand as best he can. instead the reader hears about his fixation on Lobos :D

When Hunter and Willow are together, Stolas! The reader becomes his third wheel, or rather, his "practice son" is quite funny.

In general you could say that Hunter is slightly more protective of Stolas! reader for his naivety and gullibility, but he does not believe that he is any less capable for that.

He is still a great friend to him :3

Willow Park

Willow knew a little about Stolas reader, precisely because of how relevant his family was and that apparently the boy would be in her same year.

low key, Willow was nervous about this news at first, she was afraid of running into Stolas! reader for fear that he would become a Bully on her similar to Amity and her group in the first season.

but one day she ended up drinking with Stolas! reader as he ran to class, both dropping several things.

To Willow's surprise, Reader was really friendly and apologized A LOT for bumping into her, helping her pick up the books while talking about how he was new and got lost easily and how his locker tried to eat his hand.

In addition, he was completely amazed when he saw the copies of Erbology books that Willow had for her plant class, and he began to ask her MANY questions.

What were the types of plants like? Do they have carnivorous plants? Can you see them? Can you feed them? Do they have species from all the islands? and the list goes on..

Willow was so stunned by all the questions and the fact that who she thought would be her worst nightmare turned out to be a super innocent kid that she almost forgot she had class.

After that, Stolas reader would spend his time looking for Willow to talk about plants, to his joy and Willow's dismay, who on the one hand couldn't say that he disliked reader, on the contrary, he was very sweet and friendly, but he feared this. It would end in him being swallowed.

But when he met his "fiancee" with certain frustration problems...

At first Willow tries to help Stolas reader hide, but eventually tries to get them on good terms at least.

If it works, great!

If it doesn't work and you still hate each other, well, you can try that plant that reader has been studying so much--

reader is very supportive of Willow with her grubgy Flyer career! He is going to encourage her with his carnivorous plants with signs to encourage her🤣

Willow helps with Stolas Reader Gardening Hobbies!, whether it's reminding him when to water the plants, helping him get rid of the weed that bites him, or even growing plants he wants when he's feeling especially down.

Stolas reader has even tried to use his Oracle magic to make Willow get better grades, sometimes it works and other times they spoil half their lives, at least they know they will be friends in 20 years!

Willow is very emotionally supportive of EVERYONE, this does not exclude Stolas! reader, not only with his complicated fiancée, but also with the fact that his father is a TERRIBLE role model and treats him TERRIBLE.

Willow has tried to suggest that the reader take two classes, both Oracle and Plants, but the reader is TOO afraid of her father to tell her that she doesn't want to study what he says, which leaves Willow quite sad.

One thing's for sure, there are sleepovers at the Park house! and definitely try to include the reader in plans with friends as much as possible.

just like Willow is a safe place for Reader, Reader is a safe place for Willow, they are each other's shoulders to cry on, in a way.

Reader is definitely the ultimate shipper Hunlow (although he threatened Hunter that if he did anything to Willow he would put a curse on her, tear her to pieces and feed it to his plants. Hunter understood).

Both can be terrifying when angry or using all their power, although they are usually rays of sunshine.

In short, two rays of sunshine that help each other to relate to the group (don't mess with them, they are much more dangerous than they look)💚

Amity Blight

ohhhhh boy, she understands ☠️

She probably know Stolas! reader thanks to his parents being friends and/or business colleagues, similar to Boscha's parents.

Odalia insisted that Amity try to be her friend so that she could improve her relationship with her family (a very important one among the covens, especially the Oracle's).

So Amity took note and prepared herself for a capricious and pedantic prince, similar to Boscha.

Imagine his surprise when Stolas! reader ended up being the complete opposite, someone very reserved, shy and wanting to make REAL friends.

If we talk about Amity from the first season, at first she had difficulty accepting Lector, precisely because of his reputation, but they found that they had several things in common.

books for example.

Amity ended up running into Reader several times in the library while working, mainly in the reptile and botany areas, which seemed strange since he was in Oracle classes.

They would end up having conversations about frogs and what they were like outside of the boiling islands, it turns out that the reader's family could use Oracle magic even in the human world, but he loves to see the "rare" specimens they had, like the opossums or giraffes.

Being the least mean to him, Reader spent his time stuck next to Amity, and she eventually warmed up to him and she would keep him company, even open up to him.

He definitely knows about her arranged marriage, and he didn't like how it scared him, he can bet that on a couple of occasions Amity threw her away with her abobinable.

(although I think it is not impossible for him to accept her as a friend of himself and the reader if he shows he really wants to change or at least try not to take out his frustration on the reader)

defends him when someone tries to take away from his abilities as a member of the Oracle, he's like "do you think you know more than HIM??" and it definitely gets into hands sometimes😅

Amity HATES the reader's father, she considers him to be even worse than ODALIA. What kind of father commits his 14-year-old son?? (she hopes he finds out that they have been engaged since they were 11😬) and can't stand the way he talks about his son . If I could, I would send you the Alador abobinables.

✨bonding through shitty parents ✨

She highly encourages reading hobbies, especially plants and reading, you can even read to the kids together!

she defends Stolas a lot! reader from her family when she has to see them, especially from her father, if she and the reader's fiancée get along at this point, they will most likely make an alliance to protect Reader.

Amity even tells him about Azura's books that she reads! and compare notes and drawings they make of the characters

Listen to any babbling or rant that the reader has to give, whether it be frogs, plants or prophecies he saw on his own in the stars, astronomy, etc. Even if she doesn't understand shit, she just nods and won't let anyone take away that beautiful moment from the reader.

Imagine Amity introducing Luz to the reader! she would be SO happy to see that they would both get along because they are "nerdy" in different ways, but that they complement each other well.

I think Amity is definitely rooting for Stolas! reader to confess directly if he has a crush, after all, he is cute, comes from a good family and has a big heart, who wouldn't want to be with him? It even helps you make a note!

She wants the reader to find REAL love and not be forced to have a partner for something like status.

She supports the reader all the way when she decides to reveal herself to her family, she knows how scary it is, so she even offers him not only a shoulder to cry on, but also to stay with her for a while.

She tells him how brave he was and how happy she is for him.

Overall, rich, misunderstood best friends who stick together 💜

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

Thanks for the Request ❤️

[lollytea]

When it comes to Hunter's side of huntlow, one of the most compelling aspects to me is him getting comfortable with wanting, even when he doesn't feel entitled to it.

Hunter's experience with love is very depressingly one sided, with him putting everything into his devotion to his Uncle, and receiving the bare minimum (at best) in return. He's never dared to ask Belos "Can you sit and talk with me for a while? Can you please think fondly of me? Can you be kind to me?" because he's been programmed to believe that this is far more emotional labour from Belos than he deserves to ask for and he should be grateful with what he is given.

Hunter has resigned himself to not expecting much from relationships. Any trace of kindness will have Hunter pledging undying loyalty to whoever offered it to him, because he believes that person is going above and beyond what Hunter deserves.

He's not going to stop them from being kind to him. He will do anything for it. But I wonder if he sometimes feels guilty for accepting it so wholeheartedly. For being too weak to resist the warmth because he's been starved for so long.

Anyway. This friendship with Willow, the budding romantic feelings and the (eventual) relationship.

The popular consensus around the time that Labyrinth Runners aired, was that Hunter wouldn't even be sad if Willow rejected his feelings because her friendship is enough for him. And while I agree that remaining friends with her is first and foremost Hunter's priority, I don't know if he wouldn't be sad. At least a little. Because in this hypothetical scenario, if Willow rejected Hunter, that means that he must have taken a huge leap and done something that he never thought he had any right to do. He asked for more. He revealed to her that he wanted more.

This is a tricky concept to articulate without giving some people the impression that I'm saying Hunter would believe he's entitled to Willow's romantic attention and if she rejects him, he would get all mopey about it. I'm stating quite the opposite.

Would he gracefully accept being rejected? Yes.

Would he make her feel bad about it? No.

Would he continue to treasure his platonic relationship with her because he still adores having her in his life? Of course.

But would he be sad? Even a little? Well....what I'm saying is that I think it would say a lot about his growth and his feelings of self worth if he was a little sad.

He deserves to feel sad.

I think very early on, when Hunter first cut off Belos, he thought he had everything. He had food and shelter and clean clothes and books and a sewing machine and safety and warmth and fun and love. Everyone was so nice to him. This was practically a utopia.

But as time goes on, he should eventually come to terms with the fact that he's not the luckiest boy in the world, but he simply has what everyone is entitled to. These aren't luxuries. They're rights.

And I think an interesting mental journey for him is realizing that it is not disgustingly ungrateful for him to continue wanting, even when life feels idyllic.

It's not selfish to want to kiss Willow, even when being her friend is already so wonderful.

It's normal to want. It's human nature. And he is somewhat human, isn't he?

I like the idea of Hunter taking initiative in steering his relationship with Willow in a more romantic direction (with her consent, obviously). I like what it says about him and how secure he's become in himself.

It demonstrates that even if his insecurities still linger, he is willing to seek out things that he would have once believed himself unworthy of.

Maybe this thing with Willow won't work out. And that's okay. It's just life. But he at least wants to try. He wants to pursue a relationship. He wants more.

I think it puts him in a humiliating position. But also a brave one. Empowering too.

I would like Hunter to stand in front of Willow and unapologetically ask "Will you love me please?"

[awesome-normal-heroes]

The Problems with how Lumity is handled...

Lumity isn't toxic, but it isn't the healthiest relationship either...

One of the problems with Lumity is that Luz and Amity started dating, when they were just starting to be friends and they kinda rushed into it.

The only thing they knew about each other at the time is that they both like the same fantasy stories, like Azura, and that Amity is a hard-worker coming from a messed-up family.

Which Luz and the show kinda use it as an excuse to sugarcoat Amity's meanness... including how Amity treated Willow.

Luz and the show kinda forget/ignore for a while that Amity was Willow's bully, while Luz was bonding with Amity.

How would you feel if your new friend tried to befriend your bully behind your back?

I know that Luz doesn't have the best social skills, but even she should know that befriending and dating your best friend's bully is NOT OKAY.

Willow and Gus might as well not exist, since the show focuses so much time on Luz and Amity.

Amity also stepped on King's cupcake, which was rude.

And after they became friends/girlfriends, Luz is secretly kinda afraid of Amity or at least afraid of disappointing her and I can't blame her.

Before they dated, Amity tried to have Luz dissected (were not sure if that knife was fake or not), tried to make her give up magic training and tried to beat Luz up with a giant abomination during their duel (while seeming to enjoy it).

She also gets angry at Luz a lot, even over things that aren't Luz's fault. And Luz almost always loses her backbone. Luz even cried once in Season 2, cause Amity made Luz feel guilty over Amity losing her library job.

Even during the episode where Luz confesses her feelings, Luz is scared Amity is gonna be mean to her again.

That's why Luz kept secrets from Amity, because Luz doesn't want Amity to blame her again and/or break up with her.

Again, I don't blame Luz, but trust is important for any relationship both platonic and romantic...and Luz cares about Amity but doesn't seem to trust her sometimes.

In fact, Luz is more willing to talk about her secrets with Hunter (who was also her enemy) more than Amity.

Meanwhile with Amity, after Amity dyes her hair purple (which is Luz's color, despite her claiming it to be abomination colored) and starts dating Luz, her personality changes almost completely. Now, Amity went from a cold and smug yet ambitious girl to simply 'Luz's love interest'. Amity almost never gets angry with Luz now and is kinda obsessed with her human girlfriend.

I think Amity is patient with Luz while dating her, cause when Amity saw Luz cry, she realizes how much she is hurting Luz with her words... which is nice but creates a different problem.

Amity doesn't know how to be her own person anymore. She went from being the person that her Mom wants her to be, to being the person she thinks Luz would want. Trying to be a better person is great, but changing who you are too much to please someone isn't healthy.

In my opinion, Amity should've taken a bit more time figuring out who she truly wants to be, before entering a romantic relationship with anyone.

How would I fix this?

Well for starters I would either have Luz bond with Amity after Amity apologized to Willow OR have Amity not be a bully, just a cold and serious girl that wished to join the Emperor's Coven.

And after Luz and Amity become friends/girlfriends, Amity is still a serious girl, but she's softer around Luz and Willow (similar to how Tigress is with Po in Kung Fu Panda 2, or how Astrid is with Hiccup in How To Train Your Dragon).

Amity also has a new dream as a teacher for kids, after she learns Emperor Belos is evil.

[fagbearentertainment]

Owl House hot take

Lunter is better and make more thematic sense than Huntlow

Not saying I would’ve wanted Lunter to be end game, I love the found family dynamic they have and I love Lumity, but in my opinion it works way better than Huntlow as a Caleb/Evelyn parallel and makes way more sense for the story. Even purely platonically it just makes so much more sense that Hunter and Willow being implied to get together in the second to last episode of the show

[yourlocalracoon404]

thank you @brainrotqueen for requesting! (i actually did fluff and angst i hope you dont mind- o_O)

Paring: Luz x fem!Reader

Warnings: None

Request: Yes/No

A/N: hiiii guuyss.... sooo i finally crawled out of my cave to write? honestly the last few weeks were kinda stressful for me because i just started working and a new school so writing hasn't really been an option for me? BUT I'M BACK WHOO

Luz x Fem!Human!Reader

first of all, the question of how you got to the boiling isles

maybe you followed Owlbert because he took something from you like Luz in the first episode, or you just somehow stumbled upon the door and just went in

it's honestly up to you

second, meeting Luz

maybe it happened on accident, maybe you were looking for her because you heard of "Luz the human"

nonetheless Luz is happy to meet you, you both can relate to each other! she can teach you glyphs and you can meet her friends and family (Eda and King)!

Luz, who i think cannonically is, is a little oblivious to feelings she'd first connect the feelings to just being glad to meet another human

by the time she herself realizes those feelings aren't platonic, Hooty already planned a wedding for you two

just as in "knock knock knocking on Hootys door" he'd try setting you both up just like he did with Luz and Amity, how that plays out, the angst and so on, is up to you ^^

Dating her

Luz loves physical touch, she's always hugging you or holding onto you in some way, like hand holdin, hand around your shoulder, hand around your waist, ect.

she's also an cheesy type of romantic, she will quote Azura and/or something from the books just to make you blush or smile

she tries extra hard to repair the door to the human realm so you both can go home and so she can introduce you to her mom

dates consist of reading the good witch Azura books, studying phjillips diary, finding new glyph combos or just cuddling together and watching whatever is on TV/the glass ball

now to the angst >:3

so where you land after kings tide plays a big role

now, if you got stuck in the boiling isles, I don't think luz would forgive herself that easily

she'd work herself even more tired because you both should be back home not just her.

also an important thing is what happened to you, if you somehow got to hexside and not turned into a puppet, she'd feel so much better after reuniting, you can finally meet her mom!

a realy sweet reuniting with lots of hugs and kisses

however.

If you got turned into a puppet?

she'd feel so bad and somehow responsible for it, she'd feel like she should've been back sooner

seeing you amongs all the puppets running crazy as the collector "saved" them just... broke her

the others had to hold her back just like Hunter did with Willow so she wouldn't run up to you

but if you got back to the human realm with her?

things would be better

she would try and convince you to stay in the human realm because she was so scared of you getting hurt or worse because of Belos or anything else

if you stay or not is up to you ^^

I hope you guys like this and i hope you guys have an great day/evening/night/whatever and don't forget to eat and drink enough!! ^^ <3

[anthurak]

Shout-out to the ships and character dynamics that AREN’T big, dramatic One-True-Pairings that have to be a ‘Big Deal’ and this huge defining aspects of the characters, yet are interesting in their own way. The fake-relationships that really are fake, the casual flings and one-night-stands that don’t become something more, the friendships that aren’t pre-romance or even some intensely close, emotionally intimate, platonic-life-partners or found-family thing.

Just as an example I’ve been thinking about lately; take your standard casanova/manwhore character who’s always having flings/sleeping around with lots of women and/or men who then has this incredible one-night-stand with someone that they just can’t stop thinking about afterwards. After so many casual hook-ups they have finally caught feelings for someone else. Basically your standard ‘Ladykiller in Love’ plot.

But, when this character starts spending time with this person they’re falling hard for and try to make their feelings known, it becomes clear that she/he/they simply doesn’t feel the same way. Sure, they like this character, perhaps think they’re fun to have around and even might enjoy having more occasional hook-ups with them. But they simply aren’t interested in some serious, committed, monogamous relationship with them, and it’s clear they never will be. More than that, this character also quickly learns that there are a fair few other people this person is MUCH closer with and perhaps even sleeps around with too in a full-on polyamorous sense.

Basically, this isn’t just ‘Ladykiller falls in love’. This is ‘Ladykiller falls in love with a Harem Protagonist and also realizes they aren’t even going to be that high-ranked in the harem’.

And I just think that’s rather interesting as a character dynamic. A relationship that isn’t just casual, but is outright predicated on BEING casual and is simply not capable of being more than that. One party might like it to be more than that, but the other pointedly DOESN’T. And it’s clear that any serious attempt by the former to make the relationship more than that would simply END the relationship.

Is this simply too much of an ask for the former party and they have to end things? Do they actually TRY to force it and destroy the relationship in the process? Or do they find that they’re actually alright with this arrangement?

For another, more specific example from a fandom, in this case The Owl House, of the ‘not EVERYONE has to be part of the adopted/found-family’ point; I’ve found more and more that I am simply not a fan of the whole ‘Hunter-is-a-Noceda/Luz-and-Hunter-are-adopted-siblings’ idea that much of the fandom gravitated towards.

Luz and Hunter are certainly close friends to be sure, I just feel that treating them as full-blown adopted siblings is a bit much. I feel like Luz’s friendship with Hunter is really more comparable to her friendships with Willow and Gus. Like they’re all super close ‘ride-or-die’ best friends, but we don’t exactly treat Willow and Gus as being Luz’s adopted siblings either. 

And I think one big advantage of treating Luz and Hunter as a simple ‘close friendship’ is that it serves to better highlight the closer and more consequential relationships they have with OTHERS. In Hunter’s case, his own friendships with Willow and Gus.

I’ve already discussed this in other posts, but I feel that the fandom fixating so hard to Hunter’s friendship with Luz has kind of detracted from the fact that his friendship with Willow and Gus is both closer and more consequential to his character. Namely in that Hunter became friends with Willow and Gus BEFORE really becoming friends with Luz, and that is was his friendship with them which really served to break Hunter’s indoctrination to Belos. Note that despite the multiple encounters Hunter has with Luz over the course of Season 2, it’s pointedly not until Any Sport in a Storm where he befriends Willow and Gus, plus the rest of the Emerald Entrails, that Hunter really starts to seriously doubt Belos.

Likewise, it’s equally notable that after Hunter has his big breakdown following Hollow Mind, it’s NOT Luz but again Willow and especially Gus who end up helping him through his trauma in Labyrinth Runners. Speaking personally, this episode solidified Gus as an ‘adopted younger sibling’ to Hunter more than Luz ever would be.

Not to mention I feel like that’s a pretty cool twist that the show did here. Instead of the main heroine facilitating the resident edgy, traumatized bad boy’s redemption arc and become super-close besties in the process, it’s actually the heroine’s two best friends who get that role.

Plus, I’d argue not treating Luz and Hunter as siblings also better highlight’s Hunter’s relationship with his ACTUAL adopted father-figure, Darius.

And on the flipside, I’d argue this also likewise serves to better highlight Luz’s bond with her actual adopted siblings, King and Vee.

This is where I think the real value comes in recognizing and valuing more casual relationships/friendships between characters: It helps to vary and diversify the various dynamics between a group and show more unique connections rather than just lumping people into a ‘found family’ and calling it a day.

I mean, consider this: Luz’s and Hunter’s bonding during Thanks To Them over their respective doubts and trauma is specifically BECAUSE they aren’t as close with each other as they are with Amity and Willow/Gus respectively. Ie; both felt like they couldn’t talk about their problems to the people they were really close to, so they talked about them to someone they weren’t as close to. That’s a character dynamic that isn’t just between two characters who aren’t as close as they are with others, but one PREDICATED on these two not being as close as they are with others.

All in all, I think it’s really worth recognizing when certain character relationships and dynamics AREN’T these super close, intimate, ‘big-deal’ bonds, but are simply more low-key and casual than others. And that this doesn’t devalue what this relationship may represent but rather makes it interesting in its own way.

[mdhwrites]

What do you think about the four most popular ships in Amphibia (Sashanne, Sasharcy, Marcanne, and Sashannarcy)? Even if shipping and romance aren’t that important and only used to teach a lesson or for a comedy episode, it’s pretty obvious that the relationship between the girls can be seen either as platonic or romantic.

So I'm going to first give my one sentence thoughts on each by concept and then canon before going in deep on this:

Sashanne: A unique dynamic that is actually very context specific so hard to actually recreate and I'd argue most people don't even try or get close in fan works (myself included)/I do like them but I 100% think they needed a couple years to figure out their lives away from each other or else post Amphibia they would have likely become toxic in a new way.

Sasharcy: Classic nerd and popular pairing/FUCKING NONEXISTENT.

Marcanne: A bit more nuanced since it's much more the slacker and the passionate one as far as a dynamic goes but not in the way you expect./Held back by a lot more tell don't show, especially in the first couple episodes that Marcy is introduced but it's cute and you can EASILY see how this whole trip will have made Anne be able to appreciate her oldest friend more.

Sashannarcy: In concept these are actually a GREAT polyamory trio and I love that it has such mainstream appeal with a fandom/I don't think it works from the show's perspective because of how well defined Sasha and Anne's relationship is while Marcy struggles to have a presence.

In case you didn't notice a running theme, these ships have essentially the same problem as my greatest problem with the show: Marcy. Her weaker writing compared to the rest of the cast and the fact that she serves a narrative role more than she acts as her own character makes it hard for me to be compelled by her canon self in ships. It's akin to why Willow and Hunter don't appeal to me from a shipping perspective. I like characters, not plot devices. Yes, Marcy is better than both of those characters as she actually has a firmer character than either but that doesn't fix that her narrative utility comes before who she is most of the time.

The other big element that maybe has always held me back from shipping them in canon once I watched the show is actually the fact that I agree with the show: As teenagers, they were AWFUL for each other. Marcy needs her own, personal strength that she found some of in Amphibia but needs to actually put to use in the real world. Sasha brutally changed so much of herself and was clearly struggling with that, over correcting or still wanting to run even to the end. She asks if it's okay for her to abandon Marcy after all, even after she's gone so far to make up to Anne as to give up ALL power in her life which isn't healthy either. Anne is the closest to being ready for a relationship after Amphibia but Sprig's Birthday/Give a Frog a Cookie showed that her self sacrificing tendency for her friends and her desperation for approval still. She may do it for better people than for Sasha but she is still struggling.

They all just need time to figure themselves out as people because your relationships SHOULD NOT DEFINE YOU. That's kind of part of the point of the ending. Take the good and grow as a person, whether you lose someone by choice or by circumstance. That includes for the trio as friends or romantically.

Okay, but I did mention something potentially quite controversial which is my Sashanne take. See... Their dynamic in most fandom works is the overzealous, brash one versus the patient, more responsible one with Sasha and Anne respectively. That is accurate post Amphibia but it also carries NONE of their baggage and usually leans a lot more on Sasha's tomboy nature instead of the fact that Sasha is a girl who can both kick your ass and then worry about having chipped a nail. The complexities of Sashanne that make it so compelling in the show just don't show up as much except as an obstacle to get over to get together. That works for shipping but it's not why their friendship is as complicated and interesting as it is in the show. It doesn't have the punch it should and it's damn near impossible to replicate because that level of history is hard to depict. It only functions in the show as being well depicted because of how much time is spent essentially breaking Anne out of Sasha's control, which is part of it. Anne is someone who pretty much left a cult and Sashanne is her having to decide to now be with her cult leader but not slip back into the mentality the cult taught her. That's... not easy to put it mildly.

But then again, a lot of people just take Sasha and Anne working together for a greater cause to mean they have literally no issues anymore despite Sasha's Angels existing. I guess that happens when somehow the entire fandom doesn't give a fuck about Amphibia but only the trio. sigh

Let's end this on a positive note though which is that if I am so rough on essentially all the Sasha relationships for needing time for Sasha to genuinely internalize her lessons, Marcy is the opposite. While I complained about her above, the strength to the fact that she's a pretty well defined, nice character who can be used mostly to support others arcs is that she more neatly fits into a position for shipping. Her awkwardness and nerdiness is PRIME romance fodder (there's a reason a shocking amount of romantic protagonists are clumsy but that's for a different blog) and her passion makes it easy to understand why someone would want to be with her.

And I do want to say some thoughts on Marcanne. Even if they start on a rough place with more tell instead of show, it actually does kind of work in this context. A complaint I've had about other relationships is not actually knowing what the other is interested in their partner for besides "That's the hot one." There is ZERO ambiguity here. Marcy likes Anne because of her compassion, something she probably has worried about wearing out herself. Anne has always appreciated Marcy's intelligence but Amphibia has made her understand Marcy's passion far better than she did before and Anne clearly actually is into that now that she better cares about others properly. This also clearly shows their chemistry as we know the strengths and weaknesses each of them cover for the other, though not perfectly as they're both still human and the same things they admire in the other can cause anxiety and worry in themselves from comparing themselves to their partner. Marcy in Wartwood and Scavenger Hunt are all it takes for all of this to come out and it leads to more romantic chemistry, and a genuinely dynamic look at what they could be, than a lot of romance movies manage in their entire runtime.

In conclusion, I like all of them in general. In practice, I find most of them deeply compelling within the show. It's just... It doesn't drive me to want to write them during the show romantically because I agree with the show. They're complicated, both as a trio and as themselves, and they probably could use a more solid ground for themselves before they really start working on each other.

And that is honestly even better to me because it just makes them all the more interesting.

======+++++======

For anyone curious why I didn't talk about Sashannarcy at all despite literally being a polyamory writer, it's because I kind of wanted to keep it to the ships that I think are properly represented in the show and Marcy and Sasha get essentially zero time together to try and form a relationship beyond "Marcy thinks Sasha is really fucking cool while Sasha barely gives Marcy the time of day if she's not also giving attention to Anne." The theoretical would be fun to talk about but it's pretty much only the theoretical and I decided to keep the blog more focused on the practical.

Also had a moment after this of going "Huh. I wonder how much of me being demiromantic is playing a part in how I see these.?

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[autisticwriterblog]

Hiiii a little late but here are some Hunter prompts! Sorry it's a lot and I am absolutely not requesting you do all of these, just some ideas for you to pick and choose from if you like! :)

1 - self-done stitches: Hunter having to do his own stitches after Belos hurts him, because Belos won't let him see a healer as they might figure out Hunter's being abused. I headcanon Hunter first learned to sew clothes from doing his own stitches. Bonus points if the wound is on his back and he has to twist awkwardly in front of a mirror to try to see the wound well enough to stitch it up.

4 - massage: Hunter has chronic pain post-possession from all of the scars on his body. Someone he loves (your choice!) gives him a massage to help.

8 - migraine: Hunter gets a bad migraine one day when they're in the Human Realm. He tries really hard to get through the day without his friends finding out as he doesn't want to be a burden on them. Luz notices and asks him to come help her with planning for the portal, but once they're alone she just gets him to lie down and rest for a while.

10 - forced to work while ill: Hunter is suffering from a high fever, but Belos sends him on a mission, so he has to just try to get through it. He encounters Luz and Eda and attempts to be threatening/fight them, but he's extremely delirious. They decide to take him back to the Owl House to help him, despite his weak protests.

20 - get me out: When Hunter has his panic attack at the end of Hollow Mind, he tries to run out of the Owl House, but Eda has Hooty shut down the house before he can get out because he'll be safer there. His panic attack gets worse as he realizes he's trapped, and he tries frantically to find an exit, possibly even lashing out and attacking Eda or Hooty.

23 - allergic reaction: Camila is serving dinner when they're in the Human Realm, and when Hunter starts eating, his mouth stings so bad he wants to cry, but he looks at the rest of his friends and they don't seem to be in any pain, so he convinces himself he's just overly sensitive so he keeps eating. It's only when his skin starts breaking out and his breathing gets uneven that they realize something's wrong.

24- rescue breaths: When Hunter drowns in Thanks to Them, Camila and Luz take turns giving him CPR in an attempt to save him.

30 - breaking point: In For the Future, when Hunter starts tearing up at the picture of Flapjack and Willow and Gus leave the room, he doesn't run after them and instead collapses to his knees on the floor. He starts having a panic attack and Luz and Camila rush over to help him through it. He finally just breaks down crying over Flapjack, sobbing so much he can barely breathe, and they comfort him.

alternate prompt - seizure: Hunter develops epilepsy after drowning. Your choice if his first seizure is when he's alone and he has to suffer through not knowing what's happening to him or when it will be over, or if someone like Camila is there to comfort him.

I decided to pick the migraine prompt!

Rest a While Fandom: The Owl House (Cartoon) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hunter | The Golden Guard & Luz Noceda Characters: Hunter | The Golden Guard (The Owl House), Luz Noceda Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Headaches & Migraines, During Timeskip in Episode: s03e01 Thanks to Them (The Owl House), The Human Realm (The Owl House), Hunter | The Golden Guard Needs a Hug (The Owl House), Protective Luz Noceda, Platonic Relationships, Friendship, Pain, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Caring, Whump, The Owl House Season 3, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, seth-whumps' Whumperless Whump Event July 2024, One Shot Summary: When Hunter has a migraine, he hides his pain from the others. But Luz notices and refuses to let him suffer in silence.

Written for @whumperless-whump-event day 8. Prompt: Put your head on my shoulder: Migraine / Light & Sound Sensitivity / “I can close the curtains…”

[foundfamilynonsense]

I don’t ship things. But I’m getting pissed as hell when I see people saying that Huntlow was forced.

Like. No? Sure it had less build up than Amity and Luz but that’s just because Luz is the main character. Not to mention the show was being cancelled and they literally had less time to do it all. Rant under the cut.

I personally could not give a shit if Hunter and Willow became an item or just stayed friends. That show already has strong friendships like Luz, Gus, Willow friendship and Gus and Hunter and etc. and I never need more romance. But as far as writing romance into the plot the Owl House did a perfectly fine job with Willow and Hunter.

When they first meet, Willow, who has been working hard on her own self confidence, basically corners Hunter and forces him to do something fun with kids his own age.

This is where we see the parallels to them, because they’ve both struggled with performance and rejection. They’ve both been called “half a witch” and Hunter is way further back on the road to acceptance.

Hunter let’s them all go, and he addresses Willow specifically.

Then we have just small stuff. Hunter going out of his way to save Willow during a fight, when Hunter gets filled with bad memories while saving Gus one of them is when he made Willow upset. Hunters memory of that one meeting with Willow is so attuned to her he knows fake willow is an illusion immediately. When Willow thinks Hunter’s been captured she’s the first one to race to the airship and angrily starts snapping about how do you turn it on. Once they realize it’s Luz who is actually captured, Amity is the one snapping about going faster, meanwhile Willow is sitting in the back with King. There’s a clear parallel there.

And then season three happens. Hunter wears a stupid outfit and Willow fucking loves it. She legit tells him to save it for later and then winks at him, in which he blushes hard. I didn’t bring up any blushing before this, bc as far as I’m concerned this is the only one that matters. Then episode two is the first time we see Willow being the one who’s about to lose it. Bc she’s had such an excellent character arc so far that she’s become this capable and calm headed leader. And Hunter hears her refer to herself as half a witch. And it literally drives him to tears.

Look. I am literally the last person who would say “they can’t be platonic look how much they mean to each other” bc I literally want to kill people who say that. But as far as storytelling goes they did their due diligence with Hunter and Willow. They put in the work just fine. Especially with the half a witch parallel. With limited episodes where neither of them are a main character they gave us plenty of hints about what’s coming while also letting us see Hunter’s friendship with Gus as being just as important of a relationship!

I don’t know if people are confused at the m/f ship that doesn’t bow to any gender roles or common straight couple troupes or… they’re upset that it’s a m/f ship in general? I mean we have no proof they’re both straight and even if they are who cares it’s still a gay show. With huntlow that makes two straight couples, one of whom is getting a nasty divorce. So.

Or maybe people are upset that the cute little elf boy with depression fell for the plus sized Asian girl before she even really noticed him? Although I shouldn’t just assume the worst.

Like. To put it another way. If I saw it coming, the aroace who legit is surprised by almost every bit of romance in media, then it was not out of nowhere. It’s a legit relationship they spent time on, and if you were blindsided by it maybe there’s some underlying reason why you didn’t expect them to be in a relationship?

[amrwantonblog]

Referring to Huntlow as ambiguous is really generous  The crew were not attempting to hide much of anything at all in the finale regarding the nature of that relationship.

A lot of folk go with the whole "oh they didn’t kiss, so it’s not canon". Ignoring that not every pair needs to kiss aside, there were sooo many unnecessary details handed out that doesn’t really even try to pretend to be platonic.

Example I: The Grom Photo

Could’ve had them doing something more whimsical with Gus and Vee. Instead, we get a blushing Hunter and amused Willow looking like they are off in their own little world.

Example II: Flapjack’s resting place

Flapjack: The literal symbolism of love that began this whole mess? The only people around for that closure are Willow and Hunter. Yes, the whole group does have matching tattoos as a way of showcasing how much that palisman meant to them but as far as direct closure is concerned, it’s no coincidence that Huntlow is alone.

And most telling? The star shower final scene.

Example III: The rest 

Addressing the obvious, Raeda and Lumity get small interactions right after Willow/Hunter which means the intent is to consider the newest pair in a similar vein as the latter 2 despite not being as explicit (I do think there’s a lot to say about that as it is very deliberate that the M/F pair is handled this way and will do so another time).

All that said:THE BODY LANGUAGE ISN’T SUBTLE AT ALL. Reminder that this season began with Hunter not being able to look at Willow without blushing just as a result of her slightly flexing. 

Now, at the end of the show, he’s comfortable enough with her  to attempt the classic arm around the shoulder routine. With how awkward that guy is there’s no way he’d attempt something like that unless their relationship has already progressed a decent amount to where he’s able to initate physical affection.

Even when Willow retaliates and it catches him slightly off guard, he still doesn’t blush, implying that physical affection between them is pretty normalized by now.

And as one final telling moment? Their last moment on screen has his hand around her waist mirroring Willow pulling him closer to her by the waist. Speaks for itself really.

[whisperwillyou]

Okay I lied

I’m going to talk

I can not BELIEVE they sidelined Hunter for the Belos fight????

THE FUCKING BELOS FIGHT AND THEY STUCK HUNTER IN THE B PLOT OF SAVING PEOPLE FROM THE COLLECTORS TOWER.

Cause I guess if Hunter was over helping fight Belos he wouldn’t be able to stand next to Willow in literally every frame. God forbid.

We literally got NO Hunter and Luz interactions in the epilogue?? They barely got to interact after Thanks to Them. They really gave me a totally unrealistic expectation with Thanks to them for how much sibling content I’d be getting… Outside of them talking at each other NOT the same as actually interacting we got like a solid two interactions.

My dumb ass was really out here like “Hunter and Luz are going to act as the closure to Caleb and Evelyn’s story. Caleb and Evelyn were building a family together only to have it cruelly ripped away from them when Belos killed him. The next 400 years are spent repeating that cycle, as Belos creates and kills each grimwalker, until the adopted daughter of the Evelyn’s descendant reaches out to Belos’s most recent grimwalker and invites him to be a part of her family. And like every time before, Belos resigns himself to destroying this attempt and starting over again. Except this time something different happens. This time Belos FAILS. Luz and Hunter save each other, break the cycle and escape. And now, they get a chance to do something that no one before, all the way back to Caleb and Evelyn, had ever gotten the chance to do, they get to Fight Back. For Caleb and Evelyn, for Darius and his mentor, for every grimwalker killed and the people who loved them. They get to stop Belos from doing it ever again.”

And the finale was like “haha yeah, noo~ no.”

I hate the ‘splitting the party’ trend at the best of times, bc my platonic/familial relationship almost ALWAYS get separated into the A plot and the B plot. But I’m in utter DISBELIEF that it happened in this case too. So much for my beloved siblings getting equal treatment to the romances.

An entire fully animated sequence of Hunter and Willow stumbling down a hill but they couldn’t give us a SINGLE moment of Hunter and Luz together.

I’m not giving them the “they had a lot to wrap up in three episodes” excuse anymore. There’s SO much space for Luz and Hunter sibling moments if you take out the completely pointless Basha Kikimora villain subplot.