#not spop

[adorawasright]

Hello! I just saw ur post saying g hintlow is badly written in your opinion. Could you please tell me why you think so? I'm kinda curious?

I also didn't really like huntlow since it kinda came outta no where all of a sudden but what do you think??

*cracks knuckles* (just kidding lol)

Honestly, I just think H/untlow has several writing problems. I'll be pointing out the main reasons I think so under the cut. If anyone who follows me or comes across this post ships H/untlow, it's totally fine, just please don't send me hate for what I'll say here:

Hunter and Willow have nothing in common. The show forces the "half a witch" thing onto Hunter despite the fact he was never called that anywhere in the show, he's usually just called annoying or a brat. Besides, Hunter could be a metaphor for disability considering he doesn't have natural magic powers (until the show decided to kill off Flapjack, but I'll get into that later). However, Willow is not the case. She may not be good at abomination magic, but she's incredibly powerful with plant magic. But for some reason, the show treats these experiences as equals, even though that's a thing Hunter has more in common with Luz than Willow (and in this case I'm not talking through a romantic lens).

Hunter and Willow are out of character. Hunter, the prodigy and the emperor's right hand, becomes utterly pathetic and wimpy just so Willow can look like a badass girlboss. And Willow then just comes off as cruel sometimes. I appreciate Willow for being nice but also being a badass, but even then, Willow was never cruel prior to her meeting Hunter. She apologized to Luz when she realized she could've hurt her, and when Willow met Gus she was patient and understanding, teaching him a breathing technique to calm him down. I'm not saying Willow has to be overly nice, but she just randomly captures Hunter to make him join her flyer derby team. And at this point she doesn't even know that Hunter is the Golden Guard, so she just... attacks a random kid and scares him for no reason. Worse yet the fact that she drags him into the ground THE SAME WAY BELOS DOES in Hollow Mind. Even after Hunter tells her he's "half a witch", Willow isn't patient with him, she's just a brute again. Which is my next point:

Unhealthy power dynamic. Hunter refers to Willow as "captain", and it's honestly a red flag to me. I am NOT saying Willow is abusive. However, we have to remember that Hunter's abuser uses his position of power to mistreat him. Hunter looks up to someone who's not an equal to him and in turn, he does not value himself. And Willow never seems to realize it and explicitly say that she's not his leader, she's his friend. This pairing is basically the girlboss/malewife model, but not only does it not make sense, it's not healthy for Hunter to fall in love with someone who has power over him, and who might be paralleled to his abuser as I pointed out before.

Ruined character arcs. I think most of us agree that Hunter's character arc was unsatisfactory as he became another Caleb without ever processing it, but Willow was definitely done dirty as well. Willow never had her own episode, not even Understanding Willow was about her, it was more about Amity. Any Sport in a Storm also focuses more on Hunter. Even Gus had more character development than Willow, despite the fact he was also done dirty in the end. Willow's breakdown wasn't carefully developed, it was never hinted in Thanks to Them or anywhere before that. It came out of nowhere in For the Future, and in turn it just pushed Hunter's character (and Gus, literally) aside so he could save Willow. And this is yet ANOTHER point I hate:

Willow only reciprocates Hunter's crush when he gains powers. Seriously, for the longest time I didn't even think H/untlow was going to be mutual. Only Hunter seemed to be attracted to Willow, by blushing and being shy around her. Willow never seems to see Hunter in another light in the following episodes, not even in Thanks to Them despite them living with each other for months. That only happens in For the Future, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Like I said before, Hunter might be considered disabled, but his disability is "cured" with magic, and ONLY THEN does Willow fall for him. That contradicts the entire message of the show, which welcomes and celebrates disabilities.

And overall, Hunter and Willow never have a genuine emotional connection. Hunter has more connection and things in common with Luz, Gus, and even Amity (and sadly, his parallels with Amity were never really explored after Eclipse Lake). Hunter and Luz don't have magical powers. Hunter and Gus are both taken advantage of by others, and they have an identity crisis, not knowing how to trust themselves anymore. Hunter and Amity then, they were both raised in an abusive household and they're expected to be someone they're not, and they have to push everyone else down so they can be better. But Hunter and Willow don't share this kind of connection. They might touch on the "half a witch" thing but that never deepens. And in For the Future, it comes off as rushed, and Hunter has to push down his grief for Flapjack to save Willow. Not to mention Gus and Hunter never get to talk about Caleb - Gus always knew about Hunter's secret, and not even THAT gets a satisfying payoff because the show is more concerned in making H/untlow canon. But that would have to be its own post.

Sorry this got long, lmao. I have very strong feelings about how H/untlow was handled. I actually used to ship it at first, I think it COULD'VE worked. But they don't even seem to be close friends at the very least. It sucks because even R/aeda was written better despite the fact it had less screentime than L/umity. Sure, Eda and Raine were ex-lovers, but I thought their relationship was written very well for the most part. I don't know how the writers dropped the ball with H/untlow this way.

[foolforshera]

Want a moment of irritation? Go look up the Animated Feature Film Oscar winners, and who they won against, over just, say, the last fifteen years.

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2024

The year that Big Hero 6 won over Song of the Sea is definitely a stand out for me. So is Zootopia beating Kubo and the Two Strings.

[syaamethyst213]

(ID: Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, in color.

Calvin’s mom: any good mail today?

Calvin’s dad: not really. Here’s a “your not covering the cost of all these mailings” charity request. you got a “you’re not attractive enough” women’s magazine with an article on swimsuits that minimizes your body flaws. here’s some “you’re not stylish or ostentatious enough” catalogues… and coincidentally an invitation to go deeper in debt from a credit card company. And here’s our news magazine to identify the trend of the week we’re missing… and I got a hobby magazine featuring new equipment I ought to have. Yikes.

… why do I get the feeling that society is trying to make us disconnected with everything we do and insecure about who we are?

Calvin’s mom: I suppose if people thought about real issues and needs instead of manufactured desires, the economy would collapse and we’d have total anarchy.

Calvin’s dad: so pitching this junk would me make me some kind of terrorist, huh?

Calvin’s mom: yup, it’s our patriotic duty to buy distractions from a simple life.

Calvin: hey mom I saw a bunch of products on TV that I didn’t know existed but now desperately need! End ID)

[azhavia]

"By god, it's Falin Touden with a steel chair!"

Glad people are realizing that while Falin is the healer that even minimizes the pain her party members have to go through when healing, her combat style is bashing things head in with a blunt weapon.

Average Cleric.

In one of the covers she was even drawn with a meat tenderizer.

[radi0activelob1ani]

I drew adora yay

[dramamccringe]

Me when something LGBTQ+ happens in the LGBTQ+ series with the LGBTQ+ characters that I watch because they are LGBTQ+ and have LGBTQ+ characters: 🤯

[snoozemoose]

[quentin136]

Three Kingdoms yeah!!!

fansubbers out there translating han dynasty poems for $0 per hour while making it RHYME and netflix has the fucking audacity to give me [sings in Japanese]??????

[backtoaugust-ts]

I have realized that the perfect form of media must have a delicate balance between absolutely heart wrenching pure emotional devastation and the most ridiculous nonsense you have ever seen in your whole life

[somanypetals]

couldn't stop thinking about this tweet I saw

[oliviajoytaylor]

[adorawasright]

Honestly I agree with you. I also couldn't see anything in common with hunter and willow and it just feels rushed as hell

Yeah, it sucks! I think the minimum the show could've done for H/untlow to feel more natural was have Willow show signs that she liked Hunter in return. Like, maybe have Willow blush more often at him - as far as I remember, she only blushes at Hunter in For the Future, not anywhere before that. Or maybe Willow could talk about her crush on Hunter with other characters (especially Luz and Amity, who are already dating and could give her some advice).

But I don't know, it just looked like an one-sided crush from the beginning. I actually would've preferred that. Sometimes we have crushes that won't really go anywhere, and that's okay. That needs to be more common in kids shows IMO.

[wingedcorgi]

in their girlnap era.

part of the birthday gift for @maria-tries 🫶

[snixx]

ND Stevenson when presented with an angsty gay blonde-brunette best friend duo who are both brainwashed and manipulated in a military upbringing until one of them starts to question things and realizes their life is a lie but the other believes their best friend betrayed them which results in them becoming mortal enemies who try to kill each other before finally saving the world with the power of love and getting together...

[rinniiart]

Catra just enjoying being married to this dork ~ Join my Patreon for exclusive content. #catradora #sheraandtheprincessesofpower

[tippenfunkaport]