#while. i don't really ship huntlow how it was in canon.

[averysherwood]

I ship Huntric more than Huntlow because Huntric has more potential even though it has little screentime.

Willow's arc isn't going well with Hunter's. She's just a normal citizen in the Boiling Isles and a student at Hexside, her family has no connection to Belos or the environment that Hunter is living in, that's it. No connection to the Coven Heads or Belos. The whole ‘half a witch” thing is forced. Besides the Flyer Derby, they have nothing in common.

Meanwhile, Edric is from the Blight family that works for Belos to create weapons. Both Hunter and Edric have family issues. They understand how it feels to live in an abusive environment. Both have to cope with loneliness. Edric feels lost without Emira while Hunter feels the same without Flapjack. Both of them are interested in wild magic and especially in animals. Edric is in Beast Keeping track, he has a bat named Badric, while Hunter is interested in wolves. Both of them have to hide their true selves: Edric has an illusion stone, and Hunter has to wear a mask. Edric is flirty and mischievous, that trait is natural to him more than Willow.

Hunter can still be his sassy self when Edric is flirty and mischievous with his prank, instead of being a blushing mess who can't stand up to Willow.

Huntlow may have more screen time but their potential is zero. Like people have to change her personality to be the flirty girlboss or make her the Plant Coven Head Terra's daughter in fanon to make that ship more fitting.

I have to agree with you. Huntric isn't the best Hunter ship, and I don't really know, if it's possible to write them naturally with the time toh had, but characters-wise, they would work so much better. Not only they have many things in common, but also Hunter could have believable relationship with Edric without becoming blushy usless malewife. Not to mention that after understanding that Belos was abusive (and evil, but it's not for this theme) and running away from him, Hunter needs equal partner, not someone who would be his "captain" or "girlboss". So, on condition that Lumity is still canon and Hunter needs love interest, Huntric is the best option anyway.

[rulerzreachf4n7]

I hate how people who don't ship Huntlow make it like this extremely stupid and unnecessary ship that makes zero sense and everything about it is terrible and it's forced and bland and overall a shitty ship

And today lady's and gentlemen, non binary folks in the back, is the day I prove them all wrong >:3!!!

A brief disclaimer, I am not nor do I consider myself a toxic shipper, I am just simply stating why the reasons don't make any sense in my eyes, so please don't come at me for my opinion

And with that let's get to the reasons!

Terrible first impression

Hunter got a crush on her too quickly

It's forced and rushed

No chemistry

Willow only serves Hunter for support

They're better off as friends

Okay so right off the bat if you've ever watched any episode containing Hunter and Willow you'd know all of these reasons are fucking stupid

Recently on my first post made on Tumblr was a TON ship rating, and some dumb fuck gave me attitude and said "girlie, have you ever been in the fandom?" And I was like thinking to myself, yes bitch ever since 2021, I don't really have time to respond to people in my inbox cause I'm not looking to fight with some bitch on the internet for my opinion, and I just went through their profile a bit and found a post either they made or reblogged about how Huntlow is supposedly "unrealistic" and I didn't even finish it due to how dumb the reasons were, which are the ones on the top that I remembered.

1. Terrible first impression

I actually hate it how they make it out that they met soooo terribly, cause if I remembered correctly in ASIAS how they met is Hunter being chased by puddles and Willow yanking him down with a vine, automatically making it so terrible and making her soooooo damn unlikeable, may i remind you this barley had an affect on Hunter, he was just scared and confused for like one second of the episode then just leaving Willow until he saw the pamphlet say "the best and the brightest" which lead him to join the Emerald Entrails, yet again, sure, their first encounter isn't a good one but Lumity's first impression was by Amity deadass shaking Luz back and forth, both equally terrible first impression yet the both ships still come to be canon >:3

2. Hunter had a crush on Willow the moment they met/too easily

I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HATE THIS REASON, they keep on overexaggerating their interactions, cause first of all, no, he didn't develop a crush on Willow on the spot, most likely in between Reaching Out and Kings tide, although Hunter isn't in Reaching Out he's only shown talking to Luz through Penstegram, and how they think Hunter already had a crush is by, I'm assuming, in ASIAS in the ending where Hunter saves the Emerald Entrails and Willow says "cmon guys, we need to find a replacement, after all, it's only 52 weeks before Caleb's next day off" while smiling, and Hunter blushes slightly, automatically that's a red flag cause I absolutely hate it when people think blushing is only exclusive to romantic attraction, IT'S GETTING ON MY DAMN NERVES, the most realistic reason to why he'd blush is he was probably embarrassed/flustered that Willow would still let him be in the team after nearly kidnapping them to be in the Emperor's Coven.

3. It's forced/rushed

Omg, y'all, you can uncancel your show now!! NO YOU DUMB FUCK YOU CAN'T, SORRY POOKIE DANA CAN'T BE MAKING EVERY EPISODE ABOUT HUNTLOW IF YOU WANT IT TO BE MORE NATURAL SO DAMN BADLY, it's not rushed, in my opinion it's not rushed at all, with how much time skips there are (like the one in TTT, the four year time skips, and the one with Hunter and Willow chatting on Penstegram) it's kinda up to the viewers imagination to realize it's a lot of time they'd have together, and it's not forced, that's the equivalent to you saying gustholomule and aladarius and veesha are forced ships cause they don't interact much together, and like half of the TOH community who don't ship Huntlow and use that excuse most likely ship one of those three ships, fucking hypocrites 🖕

4. No chemistry

Y know maybe, JUST MAYBE, I might be pulling out every damn interaction that they have together...yeah...IMA DO IT BITCH!!!!

They're first interaction is in Any Sport In a Storm where Hunter is pulled down by vines by Willow after he got chased by Puddles, Viney's pet...? I think it's a pet, she calls him an assistant though lol. Hunter uses the fake persona, with the help of Flapjack, (and may he slay in peace with Caleb and Evelyn) of Caleb Jasper Bloodwilliams, Hunter isn't interested in flyer derby until it says it'll attract the best and the brightest, they go on to talk about it for a few seconds, then leave

This isn't a really romantic interaction, more just letting these two characters interact for the first time

A while passes and Hunter shows of his cool as fuck flying skills as Gus and Willow hand out pamphlets to the crowds of teens, as Hunter finishes Willow introduces him to the team, Gus, Viney, Skara, and Willow as herself, Hunter is obviously disappointed given they look like they don't have any experience, leading him to walk away and argue with Willow, calling them loosers, and calling himself a half a witch

THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! people tend to misunderstand this part, mainly because Hunter isn't a witch he's a grimwalker, but may I remind you this was made before Hollow Mind, he's convinced he's a powerless witch and not good enough LIKE WILLOW, IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY THING REMOTELY TO DO WITH BEING ROMANTIC, IT'S A SIMILARLY!!!

They go on to do the game and obviously win it because of Hunter, and in the part where he was grabbing the flags from Willow people said that he supposedly "wanted to hold hands with her" which is obviously not even true, there's nothing to back this up, and coming from Huntlow shippers too, thought y'all were better than this

Then Hunter goes on to say he misunderstood them and apologized, then to revealing himself as the Golden Guard and the scouts coming to take them away, which leaves Willow to realize she made a mistake

When she's in the cell she says she's made a mistake and calls herself "half a witch Willow" for letting Hunter onto the team

Hunter is obviously regretting this decision while talking to Steve, Steve saying "Steve is beginning to regret his choices" and Hunter says "I think Hunter is too", which he gets on Flapjack to try and save all of them

He stands in front of the team and admits to Darius that they're unfit for the coven and that HUNTER HIMSELF isn't worthy of being the Golden Guard, (now realizing how fucked up that is oh my Titan), Hunter let's Willow and the rest go, which Willow says "cmon guys, we need to find a replacement, after all, it's only 52 weeks before Caleb's next day off" and Hunter blushes slightly

This interaction isn't really much romantic other than Hunter saving Willow and the rest

They're next interaction is Labyrinth Runners where Hunter and Gus meet the illusion of Willow, but Hunter obviously knows this isn't here by first of all, calling Gus "Augustus", and the weird little noise she made at the end (idk wtf it's even called) Hunter knows it's not her because of the way the scout acts, Hunters known Willow for at least a few weeks depending how regularly Hunter texts Willow and when he first started to chat,

Hunter then goes unconscious by the guards and wakes up in the Healing Homeroom, explaining to principle Bump that he's not with the Emperor's coven, talking about the sandwich Gus gave him, showing him around hexside and trying to find the others, and most importantly the breathing technique Willow showed Gus in the beginning of Labyrinth Runners, immediately cutting off Hunter and convincing Bump to let Hunter stay

This interaction could possibly be romantic if you interpret that way by Hunter knowing Willow seemingly very well, kinda like a strangers to friends to lovers typa troupe

Their next interaction is in Clouds on the Horizon, although not talking they show extreme care for one another, while under Gus' spell, Hunter (looking like Luz) tackles Willow to the ground with his dashing powers to save Willow, also when Luz (looking like Hunter) gets captured by Kiki. She's enraged and darting at Kiki but that stupid bitch hid behind Luz forcing Willow to stop, as Luz gets captured Willow is in a rush, panic, and hurry to save Hunter, or so she thinks it's Hunter

No, just because it's not Hunter doesn't mean she doesn't care, she thought it was him, and by her actions she cares along about him! Which makes this possibly or already romantic, they're care for each other is a romantic aspect that could be easily be seen in any type of relationship, whether it be fictional or not

The next interaction is in Thanks to Them, Willow cuts Hunters hair, Hunter is flustered s bit and blushing at Willow, a common sign for CRUSHES IN PEOPLE, they tend to be nervous or anxious around the people they like, so this interaction just reeks of romance, when they're gonna search town Hunter gets in a Cosmic Frontier cosplay, which Willow shuts Amity the fuck up, complimenting Hunter on his outfit, implying she doesn't see anything wrong with it, before they leave Willow says after Hunters done reading Cosmic Frontier she'd like to borrow and read it, making Hunter blush, a sign of having a crush with the context of the moment

Then at the end of Thanks to them after the possession Hunter let's Willow craddle his head, obviously in need of some type if comfort

Not really romantic just fucking sad cause Flapjack died, and may he slay in peace

The next interaction is in FTF where Willow tries to find her dads and Hunter has to take her away or get risked by getting seen by the collector and turned into a puppet

Not much to say other than Hunter doesn't want Willow to get hurt and get collected

When they're in hexside Willow hands Hunter a flyer derby card with him and Flapjack, since Hunter is now showing more strong emotions he's not sure how to react to it, even though he's thankful, which leads Willow to thinking she made Hunter sad and left in a hurry, leading to her breakdown

As Hunter hears Willow self deprecate on herself by saying she's a half a witch and can't control her magic, Hunter immediately snaps and uses his Flapjack powers to cut through the vines and comfort Willow, LEGITIMATELY SAYING HE CARES ABOUT WILLOW, NOT JUST GUS, WILLOW, and saving them both from the cave thingy, dunno what it is

This whole scene reeks of romance and that both Willow and Hunter care deeply about each other, WHICH IS MOST COMMONLY ROOTED IN RELATIONSHIPS

Willow also says in the end of FTF whole doing the little pinky holding with Hunter "Thanks Hunter, you mean a lot to me too" which Hunter replies "Sure...no problem"

And that my friends, is all of their interactions

NOW THE NEXT FUCKING REASON DAMMIT I HAVE SO MUCH TO TYPE

5. Willows only there to be a supportive character

That's...thats literally her fucking personality, granted not her whole personality but it consists of her being the reliable friend for the hexsquad, the group wouldn't exist without her, and she's not just here for "comfort" but this is about Huntlow and not Willow so you can do that analysis on your own time XD

6. They're better off as friends

Well...if you just read my whole entire analysis of they're interactions then no...I don't think they'd be better off as friends... 0_0

AND THAT IS IT MY LADY'S AND GENTLEMEN, NON BINARY FOLKS IN THE BACK YOU TOO, I AM FUCKING TIRED Y'ALL 😭😭😭💀💀💀

[some-pers0n]

Sorry Anon but Tumblr ate your ask lol. I'll have you know I literally just finished TOH. Like five minutes ago it ended. Let's do this.

Favourite character: EDA EDA I LOVE EDA SO MUCH. Okay in all fairness I also adore Lilith, Alador, Camilla, and Raine, but Eda was my favourite since episode one. I adore her laid-back wine aunt-esque personality and how she genuinely has so much love and care in her heart. I love how her curse is treated and works really well as a disability metaphor. I found myself relating to her a lot with her struggles with being put into boxes and a want to just run free regardless of what others want from her. She's such a fun and great character. I adore her.

Least Favourite: Amity's mom. Bitch

Top ships: Oughhh I love Eda/Raine!! Also Lumity of course. I don't have too big of a shipper's heart for this show shockingly enough. Like I enjoy the two canon ships and pretty much that.

Most attractive character: Eda next question (also Darius)

Character I'd marry: Raine or Lilith for the tax benefits <3

Character I'd be besties with: Willow (and also Gus)

Random thought: Tbh I never sensed any tension between Alador and his bitch wife, which makes me think there was literally nothing there at all. Alador does love his kids though. He's aroace in my heart idc what shippers say I know more than them

Unpopular opinion: I don't know?? Uh... I wish Gus was focused a lot more on. He generally felt shafted and some episodes that felt like they should've been about expanding his character were overshadowed by being shared with other characters. Also his design barely shifted at all while the other characters constantly got changes and glow-ups. I did like his epilogue design a lot though. Give that boy a black hairstyle yeah

Canon OTP: Raine/Eda no questions asked

Non-Canon OTP: Uh...I dunno. I like Gus/Willow I guess? Like I said, I didn't concern myself with too many non-canon pairings this time around

Most badass character: EEEDDDAAAA!!!

Pairing I'm not a fan of: Tbh Huntlow. I didn't really care for it. I dunno how to describe it. I also don't like that Alador/Darius stuff too much. They're buddies to me

Character I feel screwed up on: Gus me boy...

Favourite friendship: Ohhh so many!!! I love Eda and Lilith's sibling dynamic so very much. I also really like Lilith's interactions with others in general, namely Hooty. Also Camilla and Vee. They're previous

[trust-ceremony]

Your tags on the Mei agency post are so true. Especially the shipping part, people really act like her and Red Son are just like. Hunt|ow with a different coat of paint, it completely erases Mei's whole entire character.

Anyways, say more

I love complaining thank you for giving me an opportunity

I've watched TOH but it isn't really my thing so I never really cared about Huntlow much but I think I get what you meant and honestly I think the characterization of Redson in the fandom erases a lot of Redson's actual character too

I feel like the fandom tends to erase his character and infantilize and that unfortunately happens to most traumatized/abused characters which. As someone who has gone through abuse is really gross imo. I don't really think about Redson that much so I don't have too many points for him but yeah mischaracterisation sucks

Onto Mei, who I have a lot of points about. I feel like the fandom reduces her personality down to “bubbly girlboss” when she’s really not. Honestly I think the only time that she actually is bubbly (that i can remember atm) is when she’s making fun of or mocking people (main example that comes to mind is her with redson in rotsq) her temper is kind of just removed from her character by most of the fandom even though it’s a reoccuring trait that she’s had since the pilot. I guess the reason could be that she was more angry than usual in s4 ep9 and since it was one of the main things in that episode people actually noticed it (because no one in the fandom actually notices Mei unless she has something major in an episode) but there was a reason she was so upset. I think anyone would be upset if their best friend had a breakdown in front of them and then flew away to where you wouldn’t be able to find them and then you were forced to wait around and do something that you perceive to be useless instead of stopping the person who caused all of this. I’ve seen some people call it out of character which is already bad but seeing it attributed to Redson just feels worse because she’s already only ever talked about in relation to other people. In general I feel like some people don’t really get the point of Mei’s character and only talk about her in relation to OTHER PEOPLE (even with how people talk about the samadhi fire thing for some reason??)

I think Redson and Mei work together so well because they’re so similar. With stuff like both of them feeling out of place in their families (small complaint again but the fandom generally doesn’t talk about Mei’s family issues either and imo they probably effect how she deals with emotions which is interesting), feeling like they will never live up to expectations, they both seem to have a few shared interests and their personalities bounce off eachother very well beause they have similarities but not too the point where they’re the exact same person. I think the whole samadhi fire training (while unfortunately mostly off screen) developed their characters and relationship with eachother so much. Their friendly banter (idk if that’s the word) actually seems friendly whereas before the training it was a bit antagonistic. Both of them having the samadhi fire at one point causing Redson to be able to help Mei in a way that no one else probably could have. Speaking of that I think it’s also really interesting that Redson doesn’t seem to want the fire back at all people also never talk about that.

I think this problem exists with every character in the show actually. Everyone gets put into small character archetypes just to fit into the view of shipping and other stuff to a degree where people just miss the entire point of a character. I think people should have fun with what they want but some people treat it as if it’s canon. The reason it annoys me so much with Mei in particular is partially because she’s my favorite character and partially because there’s literally no other content of her alone which is exclusive to the fandom actually I’m pretty sure she has the most centered episodes out of everyone in the main crew (aside from MK but he’s the mc so it makes sense)

Have a silly image of her

[luzity]

i kind of feel like people don't care about lumity anymore, and it makes me really sad. as a lesbian it's such a huge deal for me to see two girls get to be in love and openly affectionately with each other, especially on a children's show. even before the most recent ep came out i was struggling to find lumity comment in the sea of huntlow posts. huntlow posts get thousands of notes while it's difficult to find a lumity post with that many notes these days. i liked the idea of huntlow but like... they've barely interacted and it already seems like they're more popular than lumity, the revolutionary main wlw couple the show was building up from the first season.

as someone who does make content for the show, i definitely see the trends and know that people are engaging more with huntlow content than lumity content these days - however i do think it's due to the fact that the ship technically wasn't canon until the most recent episode (it was implied anyways) and so every new moment with them is a bit monumental

i wouldn't try to discredit the steps that have gotten lumity to where they are now, i mean everything about the ship is definitely revolutionary for the future of animation! but i think every ship should have their own celebratory moments and the recent episode definitely highlights the relationship of huntlow in a new way we have not seen before, canonically anyway

it's easy for a ship to get overshadowed when new content arises between another ship but that's not to say that every moment shown with lumity isn't monumental, because it is! every interaction shown between the two of them is honestly so great at showing how healthy their relationship is and they set up a good example for any kids watching the show

given that, your feelings are valid! everyone has their favorite ship and i totally understand where you are coming from. after the initial excitement from the recent episode kinda slows down, i can ensure you that there will be lumity content as well so don't worry! both ships are loved here on tumblr :)

[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.

[peculiarnation4u]

Why (i think) Huntlow confuses some people and myself (Very long post)

I don’t hate Huntlow, don’t even think it's bad. Felt the need to say that right off the bat for those of you who just saw the title and assumed the worst. So put your “Leave Huntlow alone!”, and “God I thought I was the only one who hated this ship” comments away, that’s not what this post is for. I made this to try to explain my complicated feelings towards this ship and how they came to be specifically why I feel the way I do. I also hope to shed some light as to why people may not be as fond of this ship as the other main two we have in the series. Now i only mean to give my thoughts, I can not speak for the bulk of the fandom and people who don’t like the ship, but maybe I can enlighten those who don't understand why the hate is here, and help the haters contain and focus the reasons they don’t like it outside of bias and petty ones. I'm also making this with the sole hope that'll i'll be proven wrong in For The Future and that my arguments will be invalidated (I don't believe you should ever hate a ship, just writing)

Huntlow, or Winter as some people call it which i refuse to do because like, winter is an already established word. Why would you name a ship after something that already exists and is used in daily conversation outside of the fandom? Isn't there a tumblr thread about why it’s a bad idea to name ships after already existing concepts.

Back to where I was, Huntlow is the ship between willow and hunter, established as canon in Labyrinth Runners. Despite that, the ship existed in the fandom prior to being confirmed and really started during the episode Any Sport In A Storm and fans of it only having to wait about a month till said confirmation. Unfortunately, it being confirmed somewhat divided a portion of the fandom with both sides being convinced they’re the minority. One of the main arguments against Huntlow was that it was rushed, which I don't actually agree with and will explain why later. Even so, it was still massively popular as Hunter’s only real understandable ship partner. With the four he had prior not really being well received by a majority of the fandom, Willow seemed like the best option handed to us on a silver platter and it wasn’t just a fanon ship either like most of them. That paired with the fandom eager to see Hunter get some sort of happiness and it not having any of the toxic tropes that usually come with teen mlw relationships in media it seemed like another hit from The Owl House relationship department and an obvious outcome. But was it?

Now like most of the fandom, I was right there watching all these episodes come out every week and the fan’s reactions to them as well as my own. I was personally really fond of Any Sport In A Storm as Willow, as well as Gus, was one of my favorite characters when the series started and I was happy that she finally got an episode or a moment to shine that didn’t feel overshadowed by Amity or Lumity. A little salty that it took being significant to Hunter for the fandom to finally give Gus and Willow the time of day but beggars can’t be choosers.

While watching the episode, one thing I and many others knew just from this episode alone was that the fandom was gonna start shipping Hunter and Willow, it was inevitable. However I wrote this off as the fandom just shipping as it does and didn’t pay it any mind, especially since I didn't see any of their interactions in the episode as romantic. So when Labyrinth Runners came out and confirmed that Hunter had a crush on Willow, my reaction was

“......what?”

No really, it was “what?”, I was confused. I mean I thought it was cute and was happy that Hunter had developed positive feelings for once, but seriously I didn’t see this coming at all, I was surprised, and that’s not a good thing. I wasn’t happy it was confirmed, I wasn’t even dreading it as either would imply I knew this was going to happen, but i didn’t, and i can explain why.

Now I will admit that I'm definitely biased. As you may have guessed, I'm not the fondest of Huntlow. But furthermore, I'm not the best at understanding what may lead two people to develop feelings for one in media and irl *cough*A-spec*cough*. So if Hunter or Willow had some sort of connection that I didn’t pick up on, that's on me. Though even with that drawback, I still think i’m not completely crazy when I squint at the writing

I mentioned before that Hunter's crush on Willow confused me, from a writing standpoint at least, so in order to understand it we have to look at what came before it, their meeting in Any Sport In A Storm. Call me crazy but this episode wasn’t enough to convince me Hunter would gain feelings, again from a writing perspective, not an emotional one. In terms of emotions I could completely get why he’d find her appealing, it was just poor at setting up that it was going to happen.

I think the main reason why is because there was no emphasis on their relationship specifically. Willow spoke to Hunter as she would any other member and as she did any other member. Gus got in a moment of speaking too. Hunter as well since he is shown interacting with and liking every member.

This downplays Willow and Hunter's presumed relationship and it raises the question of “why her?”, since Hunter showed that he liked everyone on the team equally, granted he put more focus on Willow but that was because she was the captain.

Hell, everything Hunter did with or to Willow, he did with or to Gus in the same episode, (meeting, complimenting their skills, a sad moment, a deep moment where they showcase their inner thoughts) he even goes on to have more moments and even an episode with gus.

Actually he had an episode with everyone except Willow , again I don’t count Any Sport In A Storm as it felt more like a group relationship episode than Willow and Hunter specifically, you wouldn’t consider Wing It Like Witches a Luz and Amity episode would you? (actually knowing this fandom, y'all probably would).

All this does is make Hunter and Willow’s chemistry look weaker by comparison, and only raises my questions. Hunter has more in common with everyone else on the team than Willow. The only thing they really had, that was stated and not assumed by the fandom, was that half a witch comment, which I want to talk about for a moment.

I remember hearing that line when I first watched the episode, back before the ship was really a thing, and even then I thought that they pulled this out of their ass the moment I heard it. Like it makes sense on a surface level but then you start thinking about it and it feels a little off.  Like Willow was called half a witch because she wasn’t good at magic, but Hunter can’t do magic at all, so would the term still apply. Where did he even hear it from, I find it hard to believe that a high up establishment like  the emperor’s coven would use playground insults, and Hunter couldn’t have just called himself it as we know this guy doesn’t know anything about slang. But all that is nitpicking, it just feels like it doesn’t hold as much weight for Hunter as it does Willow. We know Willow has been called it multiple times throughout the series and things adjacent to it, we see how she’s struggled with it and why she was called it. But Hunter doesn’t get any of that and I guess it lessens the impact, which is concerning since this is supposed to be their big connecting moment.

I feel like this could’ve been fixed if Hunter being called half a witch was brought up in an earlier episode, maybe when he was talking to Luz, that way the audience already knew this fact and didn’t learn at the same time Willow did.  Because at the moment, Hunter and Willow’s chemistry feels a little dry. There's a reason Gus is Hunter’s best friend and Hunter hasn’t spoken to Willow since the episode they met.

“But Hunter has a crush on her and he’s nervous so he’s not going to talk as much” . And that I understand, even noticing that it was a parallel to how Amity acted around Luz, and it was cute, but that’s the thing, cute, not efficient. It was sweet at first but then I started fearing that he actually wouldn’t talk to her ever again. It’s reminiscent of, and I don't want to compare the two because Huntlow is a thousand times better, Adrienette from MLB. In that show our mc Marinette has a crush on perfect model Adrien however is basically incapable of speaking to him without tripping over her words or backing out. At first it was cute how nervous she got but then it became detrimental to their relationship because she was unable to make a move and even the audience started to notice. How were we supposed to support this relationship or believe it’ll be ok if the mc had to get dragged to it by her friends or couldn’t do anything on her own, and Huntlow is giving me the same feelings. Nowhere near as bad as it just started and didn’t drag out but with only three (at the time) episodes left, i was paranoid.

Another way to explain my disposition is to simply look at the other two canon ships in the show, Lumity and Raeda and how they handled their ships. Earlier I stated that I didn't think Huntlow was rushed and I still stand by that. You can tell because it follows the same pattern as Raeda and Lumity, that the two characters become friends and almost immediately after, one of them catches feelings. Actually Eda got a crush on Raine faster than Hunter did Willow, both in story and irl. So it’s not rushed, however it does have an issue that led people to believe it was rushed, the aforementioned lack of chemistry and talking to one another before the crush came. Luz and Amity, and Raine and Eda were repeatedly shown talking to each other specifically and enjoying the other’s presence as well as getting to know them, Huntlow didn’t have that.

“But the show got shortened, they didn't have enough time to give Hunter and Willow their own episodes and moments”. And to that i say you’re right, but why even put in a ship if you know you won’t have the time to flesh it out. Also I can only agree with that statement so much when we’re constantly shown Hunter interacting with and having moments with Gus after their introduction.

Honestly I had a theory that Huntlow was always planned to happen back when they had more episodes, but then the show got shortened, however they still wanted to keep that so they left it in, which i'd be completely fine with.

It just feels off y'know, Raeda and Lumity were so good at avoiding tropes and doing something different. Amity could’ve just remained a stuck up bully or befriended Luz and become the angsty Lancer, but she didn’t. Their relationship could’ve been dragged out or Luz could’ve never shown signs of being interested until the show ended and they got together, but it didn’t. Luz and Amity could’ve gotten into stupid drama or jealousy after getting together, but they didn’t.

Raeda follows suit too. Raine could’ve just been the shitty ex who we forget about an episode later or they could’ve just been used for sexual tension instead of showing how they and Eda care for each other. Even more so, the reason why they broke up wasn’t left vague and it was actually worked on, instead of most exes tropes where the audience is never told why they broke up, or the two characters get back together without the initial reason they broke up being fixed. On top of that, all of their moments and episodes actually served the plot, world building or character development and it never felt like the plot stopped or like these moments could be taken out.

Raeda and Lumity did so many things differently, so it feels weird watching Huntlow come in and repeat so many tropes from media with teens as its main characters.The only thing I think Huntlow did differently was have a plus sized girl in the relationship, which I really like since plus sized girls usually aren't seen as desirable in media. Not that tropes are bad or that the ones Huntlow did were bad, it just makes me squint. Huntlow following so many tropes in comparison to Lumity and Raeda, plus flapjack (hunter’s closest friend for half a season) dying, plus Hunter being the character the writers like to torture, plus the weirdness of how it was written, makes me nervous because I really hope Huntlow isn’t going to be used just to hurt Hunter, mostly cause of fan backlash. Even I'd be a little upset if I got dragged along on this ride for nothing.

Now despite all of the things I've complained about, I still think Huntlow is fine, however I do think it could be better and fix the issues I mentioned earlier. Now the best fix would be to simply give them an episode, but we obviously don’t have time for that so the next would be to give them more moments together. Moments where Hunter is actually speaking and Willow isn’t doing all the work. Or give them more things in common, canonical things not stuff assumed by the fandom. Huntlow can definitely work, I even believe that that was the reason we were all able to overlook the negatives simply due to the ship having a lot of potential. (I really think that For the Future will give us this)

I have hope that my opinion will be swayed in these last two episodes and that my confusion will be put to rest. I feel like I'm missing something, like there was some sort of connection I didn't see, and if I didn't, then that's on me.

[welcometogrouchland]

for the character ask, Willow and Amity!!!

Willow!

favorite thing about them: I love a lot of things about her! But for now I'll be a bit general and say her arc of continuing to get back up and prove people wrong. I wanna call it perseverance or strength, but it's more like stubbornness lmao. In the early episodes she's prone to defeatism and that's such a far cry from who she is now. She gained hope and belief in herself and leant into the righteous anger she felt watching people she loves be treated like dirt! AUGH I love her

least favorite thing about them: ooh not sure. Maybe that early episode defeatism? Both in an encouraging way where I want her to get back up but also in the sense of "GIRL THIS ISN'T YOUR FAULT NOR THE END OF THE WORLD. TALK TO SOMEONE ABT THINGS!!!" You can see it a bit in for the future too where she interprets hunters ambiguous response ("I don't know") as negative. It's the warped self perception for me /j

favorite line: GRRR THAT'S HARD!! I'm not in encyclopedia mode rn but rn I'm thinking of some lines from Understanding Willow ("you said I was hurting Willow? I was just finishing what you started!" And "it's...a start"). uhh there's also "not if I never look down!" and "it'll be 52 weeks before Caleb's next day off"

brOTP: JUST ONE??? SHE HAS SO MANY GOOD FRIENDSHIPS MAN!!! But either her and Luz or her and Gus

OTP: sigh. Huntlow (I am predictable)

nOTP: her and Boscha. I wasn't in the fandom much during season 1 but I really never got it even back then. That is not a girl who's mean bc she likes you that is a highschool war criminal

random headcanon: OUGH I'VE HAD SO MANY OVER TIME AND NOW I'M BLANKING! Uhh would like magical girl anime (cardcaptor sakura and sailor moon specifically I think). Likes hyperpop and riot grrrl bc it releases her repressed rage and scratches her brain

Unpopular opinion: OKAY I get it. I also want willow to go apeshit, to have her catharsis and maim and kill. But some people characterize Willow as a lot more bitter than she is to compensate for this and I personally don't care for it, lol. It's Awful or anything it's just Not My Girl. She would not fucking say that

song i associate with them: CRIES. SO MANY!! Mona Lisa my mxmtoon

favorite picture of them:

^ this Dana pic!! There's more but I don't wanna make this any longer

Amity!

favorite thing about them: probably how far she's come from being a lonely, image obsessed girl who lashed out at others to a pretty silly but ultimately very emotionally mature person. She takes care of people more often now, while still having learned her lesson about respect and boundaries from labyrinth runners. Also her design/aesthetic

least favorite thing about them: bit wishy washy but a lot of the early season 1 scenes of her bullying Willow, Luz and Co are like. Hard for me to watch sometimes lol. Same with her and Willow in labyrinth runners. Mean girls just hit too close to home sometimes lol.

favorite line: ECLIPSE LAKE SPEECH HANDS DOWN!!! "There are people out there who won't make you feel worthless" SO PROUD OF HER. CRYING RN

brOTP: probably her and Willow since they have the most developed platonic relationship! But also her moments with Matt in for the future lmao (also Gus and Raine. In my head)

OTP: sigh. Lumity (I am predictable. Again)

nOTP: ooh I'm not sure I really have one! At least one that's based in personal squicks/opinions and not stuff like. Shipping her with men. If that's the case though, Amity/Hunter. Gag

random headcanon: she used to play piano as a kid! Was decent at it too even if she only got to play classical. But when she committed to abominations her mom cut her off of her lessons and pushed her away from it since there was no "practical use" for it anymore, not like Amity was going into the bard track. She gets back into it post-canon though :] would also like to jump off that starting point and play bass

unpopular opinion: hhh okay. While I think they could've made things more explicit/dwelled upon/whatever in order to communicate more clearly to the audience, I'm overall fine with the direction they took in Amity's "redemption arc". Bc like. She's just a highschool bully who's already being punished by her family when the audience can't see her. The solution to this would not be to punish her more. Maybe she should've gotten to talk things out more, somebody once pointed out that, in the main big redemption arcs in TOH, nobody really says sorry (ON SCREEN. Apologies are very much implied), just makes a gesture and does better, which I understand but also I like apologies they give closure. But overall I prefer them just giving her the chance to follow through on her promises.

song i associate with them: Babyface by fresh maybe?

favorite picture of them: I DONT HAVE IT RN BUT THE FACE SHE MAKES WHEN BOSCHA GETS DOWN ON ONE KNEE IN FOR THE FUTURE AND SHE GOES "heh????" IT'S SO FUNNY

[keithbutgay]

💕

💕 -> what is an unpopular ship that you like?

aaa okay this is a weird one, but i really do like pinescone. it's not that unpopular, but like. idk. i know they're from two completely seperate shows but i think that they really would get along and also something interesting is that even though they're technically 13 and 14 in their shows respectively, people often draw them meeting in college which i think is a really cool thing to think about and also how they would have met. it also gets especially interesting when you add beast wirt and bipper into the mix, because if beast wirt was canon and dipper ever died, he would meet wirt in the unknown which i think is really cool and also i found a really really really good comic about that (not pinescone, just dipper ending up in the unknown) :)) it's also interesting to think about because canonically wirt is back in the unknown everytime he sleeps (this applies to greg as well) which is just so cool (can you tell i love the otgw comics so so so much especially distillitoria)

i would go on for a very long time about the otgw comics because i'm actually obsessed with distillitoria and circus friends but i don't know if you've read them and/or want to hear about them---

the other one is that i do really like goldric. i don't necessarily ship it (i did for a while but it was just to like spite huntlow so...) but it's the ship between edric blight and hunter deamonne :). i actually do really like their dynamic and think that if they every *cough* met more than once *cough cough* they would like. get along pretty well it would just take them a while which also makes for a good ship and i should probably stop talking before the entire fandom comes for me but yeah. i like them :)

[aquaaquila]

Ok, I may become blocked or hated for saying this, I'm really sorry I bother you like this, and I will try to be as respectful as possible, but I have to speak up because this behavior contributes to TOH's fan base toxicity as a whole, even if it comes from a place of genuine frustration and exhaustion caused by it already existing.

First things first, I want to establish that there's nothing wrong with liking other ships that are non-canon or ships that are canon. We can all co-exist peacefully, but we won't if we're going to assume that shippers of other ships by default must be sexist or delusional or just the worst. Yes, I know you had an encounter with a terrible Lunter shipper and I'm sorry that you had it as I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, but trust me, they aren't the norm. Unfortunately, you just have the worst luck imaginable when it comes to TOH's fan base (my condolences), but it goes to show just how as a whole TOH isn't a healthy collective and it could never be as this fan base is much larger than people internalise (you can't have so many people invested with this show for the fan base to be supposedly chill, like fat chance).

Second of all: multishippers exist. Some people like both Lumity and Lunter and there are Lunter shippers who like Amity, me included as Amity's one of my favorite characters. It's disingenuous to assume Lunter shippers are by default lesphobic or just hate Amity. Heck, the reason Lunter shippers dislike Amity is less about her and more about the fan base's attitude. Imagine being constantly harassed that you don't ship mainstream ship by being specifically reminded that a specific lesbian exists, even if this isn't about her. You would be tired of her too because "good for her to be a happy lesbian", but Lumity may still not satisfy people as it's basically all fluff at this point. People are so overjoyed with them being together they hardly explore now possibilities of them going through something. At most, they will use green-haired Amity but people still will be waiting for green to turn into periwinkle, and fluff will just overwhelm anything else. And don't get me started on how both of them also end up being flanderised and dirty because of each other (as it goes both ways). People can just not vibe with that or be indifferent, but because people get harassed for daring to not love Lumity or Amity, they just end up hating it more. The issue is not Amity, the issue is Amity being the only option allowed. And gatekeeping people from enjoying other ships isn't ok. It really makes you feel like people erase aspects of their characters just to conform to a specific image of them and how can you accept something like this when the show is all about embracing weirdness and differences and not conforming to anything. Loving Lumity is a norm, not a break with convention.

Third of all: I'm sorry but Lunter is either trading white girls for white boys or one woman of color for another woman of color. I don't see where racism comes into this other than an obsession with white people in general, which is its own can of worms.

Fourth: I'm sorry but considering Evelyn and Willow as literal parallels because they both fell in love with "Caleb" is disingenuous to both of them. No one would draw this connection if Willow wasn't romantically involved with Hunter. And while I don't disagree that Huntlow is goated and canon/semi-canon, their relationship is still left to interpretation and they are only implied to have a thing but not confirmed to be downright an item. We don't know 100% if they're dating, playing the long game, engaged, or amicably broken up. And that's great as both of their characters work in their own right and they don't need an established relationship to be fulfilled. And Willow being dressed up AS A STEREOTYPE just doesn't help the case. Luz was dressed as an actual witch character (even if said witch is also not how real witches operate either, but it's still closer in meaning than Willow being dressed up as a devil as if Evelyn indeed charmed Caleb and he didn't fall in love with her like a normal person or that Evelyn was ever in the wrong to like a boy).

And as for Evelyn: please stop just summarising her up to Caleb's love interest for Titan's sake. We may not know much about her but we know that they did start as friends according to Dana's livestream and later on they would become parents to their child (if Belos didn't ruin it). Not only it's different from Huntlow as Huntlow didn't establish where they stand in their relationship at the end while it's clear that Evelyn and Caleb fucked, but Evelyn and Caleb had their love story that did take time (Huntlow at most is just getting started but for all, we know they could still break up in the future cause why not, it's their choice, first love isn't necessarily the only option). My point is that Evelyn's life didn't revolve around her love for Caleb alone so saying Willow and Evelyn are parallels because of them being lovers of our favorite white boys pretty much erases both of their characters. Evelyn's worth as a character doesn't end on getting pregnant, but also being a catalyst of all the events within the story, along with being a Clawthorne ancestor and original wild witch living between worlds.

Fifth point: this is where I bring Luz into this as the parallel. People draw the connection because aside from having no romantic feelings towards Caleb, Luz is also a wild witch (wild as in both wild personality-wise, wild as in everything Belos stands against (and side note: Willow being someone Belos wouldn't approve of is not a high bar because Belos would literally not approve of ANYBODY within our cast, so Willow's not special in this regard, heck Belos doesn't even know Willow all that much), wild as in using the very magic that came from the titan and wild as in a wild card that changed the course of history) that traveled between realms and came from another world (let's be real, Hunter is a witch from boiling isles, not a human from the earth, so Luz by a longshot matches the description better than Willow who's just a regular witch born in the demon realm to Hunter that frankly wouldn't be hurt or restrained by the coven system as she only uses plant magic from her bile sac and didn't go against the empire until season 1 finale and even then she didn't do it as a wild witch but child witch railing witches belonging to the coven to release Eda). Both of them also have loose association with Clawthornes as Luz isn't legally one but just a surrogate daughter of one and Evelyn's surname isn't known, the clan could've been established much later down the line or Evelyn's descendant married into Clawthorne's family, making Evelyn just an ancestor at best and distant at worst. I also already mentioned how both of them are catalysts to both the rise in power and the death of Philip while having massive guilt over it (Philip died on the inside as he killed Caleb, crossing the moral event horizon along with setting on the journey of destroying the entire realm. Plus I cannot imagine the survivor's guilt Evelyn must have felt over Caleb dying and orphaning their unborn child - which parallels Luz thinking she doomed her palisman by carving into an egg thinking it could never hatch because of how "she keeps on messing up constantly"). And of course, it's clear as day that Luz kickstarts Hunter's redemption arc by introducing Flapjack (and Evelyn did the same with Caleb, meanwhile Willow's only interaction with Flapjack is her giving him flowers on his grave), making him question what he knows (a witch hunter falling in love with a witch - existential crisis is warranted, along with tones of guilt) and making him "betray" Belos (Hunter disobeyed Belos in HP and then questioned him directly in HM; Caleb "left Philip behind"). Like I'm sorry but Willow did nothing but wait till Hunter gets his shit together by himself (the only thing she actively tried to change his mind about is not judging a book by its cover but that's where it ends; she didn't call him out on doing the utterly terrible thing of kidnapping them to his cult nor anything else he did that wasn't morally correct) while Luz openly defied him and his worldview for him to come to his senses ("You're really going to take all those Palismen? I know what he does with them. I thought you were a good guy, but that was just wishful thinking" Hunter proceeds to protect Luz from Kikimora, reveals his name, and lets Luz go with the Palismen just like that). Trivia: Evelyn also has brunette hair that is wild and tied back, Luz used to have them too early on but shorter, and currently they're curly.

That's where parallel comes from. That's what Evelyn us to Caleb: catalyst of change. Yes, Luz isn't in love with Hunter, but we could headcanon away that Caleb would be merely an uncle of Evelyn's kid, who's going to stop us from doing that? We can even make it that Philip felt replaced by Evelyn by her being Caleb's "new sibling" just for the fun of interpretation of the character. Since when Tumblr is against being delusional and mentally unwell towards our blorbos?

But even if we won't do that (as no one forces us) then we must remember that parallel characters are not 2 characters being one and the same. Evelyn and Luz would still be separate entities and there's no crime in that. Luz not falling in love with a blond white boy is fine because that isn't and shouldn't be Evelyn's defining trait. Evelyn's defining trait is kickstarting change in Caleb which kickstarts Belos's vendetta against Witches. Romance was a bonus.

My sixth point: Last but not least let's finally talk about the elephant in the room that is parallel between Philip and Luz. All interpretations are valid, if you're choosing to interpret them like that, it's your valid choice and opinion. But saying that it's THE thing that happened within the show is just not correct and let me explain why before you discard me altogether if you haven't already.

Luz projected into Belos and Belos took advantage of that.

There, I said it, that's the ultimate truth of the show, you literally cannot deny this isn't how it happened.

Luz pretty much only had Philip as a point of reference to someone who shared her experience of a human in the demon realm. However, if she got to know Caleb instead of Philip, he would be the one Luz would compare herself to him. Ironically, she would be more correct as both of them are humans who run away to the demon realm after being possibly rejected by the closed-minded society and leaving behind unpleasant reality and their only living family member who they didn't realize how much they've hurt for choosing to leave them for the world that made them happy and helped them flourish (compare starved Caleb in Belos's vision to Caleb living in the demon realm and introducing Philip to Evelyn before he decided to kill them,). But unfortunately, Luz doesn't know Caleb as well as the audience does, all she knows is that he used to be a witch hunter who fell in love with Evelyn but that's about it. She doesn't know that he even has a connection to the portal door or Clawthorne ancestry.

So with no one else as a point of reference, Luz is going to compare herself to Philip Whattabitch. She assumed that she must be as bad as Belos because she thought he sincerely thought he was doing everything for a genuine reason and not because he was just a douchebag. Sure Philips's motivations are complex, but they don't come from a good place in the slightest. The Titan himself literally tells Luz if she's drunk on Eda's apple blood for thinking she's just as bad as Belos.

Like seriously, Luz stumbled on the Isles by pure accident. It was never for a reason or a higher purpose. She was never "destined" to go there, but it was her actions and decisions that led her there and changed the world around her. She didn't know the reason why she landed on Boiling Isles because there never was any reason or a prophecy to justify her presence there as it was never needed. This is not the same as Belos who willingly went to the demon realm to both find his brother and destroy all the witches. Luz very quickly grew out of "I'm the chosen one" whereas Belos made himself a false messiah. Even the Titan said that she's not chosen to be given Titan powers but for her actions and kindness she's given them to support her but it was her decision to accept them. Not to mention that she respected the Isles, the inhabitants, and the magic that was part of this world, while all Belos ever did was destroy, murder, and steal it all for himself.

The show doesn't tell you Luz and Belos are foils, the show tells you that Luz VIEWS herself as Belos's foil, but she's nothing like him. Even their respective hero complexes are different. Luz seeks self-improvement to find a community for herself to belong to. But Belos? Belos wants to get praise and glory for slaughtering "the evil". Those two are not the same because Belos doesn't care about anyone but himself while Luz is all about what other people feel and think about her and she sacrifices herself multiple times for other people's sake. Belos would never do that. Belos wasn't even happy that Caleb was actually well and healthy in the demon realm, in contrast to the vision where Caleb is starved and sleep-deprived because he had to look after him ever since they were little orphans, sacrificing his own well-being. But Luz would rather give up her own hopes and dreams just to not see anyone she cares about ever put themselves on the line like that.

At most, I can agree that Luz represents what's best in humanity and Belos represents the worst, but that is still an incredibly broad concept that just doesn't contribute much to the actual story of TOH which isn't about humanity as a whole.

And I'm sorry but you just said yourself that this parallel is just used to woobify Belos and villanise Luz, something Lunter shippers don't do and something that certainly is not right. Because even if you made Belos a hero and Luz a villain, they'd still be nothing like one another.

Even Luz's dynamic with Hunter is nothing like Caleb and Philip. Caleb and Philip grew up together and they were the entire world to one another growing up. But Luz and Hunter didn't even have each other when growing up, they didn't get to know them until their teens, and the first time they meet they were at each other's throats which is different from Wittebane brothers having a loving relationship early on only for Belos to stab Caleb. Arguably, even if liked the idea of Luz and Hunter being siblings, I'd be disappointed with how much the show didn't do anything with them and it's always the fan base that pulls heavy weight on them being sibling-like. Like Hunting Palismen is them not even being friends let alone family and it's still supposed to be the pinnacle of their sibling rivalry, even though they were actual enemies and Luz is just as petty and immature here as she is with Kikimora? Luz supposedly didn't go after Hunter after he ran away from the Owl House whereas she did chase King when he learned the truth in Echoes of the Past? Supposedly we never had an on-screen scene where Hunter officially becomes a Noceda? I'm sorry but I will take a "You're family" from Afro-Latina with a grain of salt when it comes to either viewing me as a friend or a sibling when both could apply, especially followed by Willow's "You're one of us now" and preceded with Camila's "I'm a mother of six". Are Hunter and Willow siblings too now? Hunter didn't even get to be in a photo of the Noceda family in the epilogue, what kind of brother would that be?

Camila is more of a Caleb to Luz considering it was her who raised Luz through trials and tribulations, sacrificing her own quirks and encouraging Luz to do the same just to conform to the norms of Gravesfield. But quite frankly it's Luz who ultimately runs away because of a certain Clawthorne Witch leaving Camila behind. Hunter literally has no such story with Luz, unless you count him running away in HM, only to return to COTH a week later and then finally live under Nocedas' roof.

Even when Luz didn't like Hunter's guts, she would never kill him. And despite being dressed up as Belos in the nightmare sequence, there's never a parallel between Philip and Caleb, because truly this isn't their relationship. And while we're at it, the whole nightmare sequence is once again a play on Luz's insecurities and doubts, but none of them are the truth. None of Luz's friends blame her for what happened, none of Belos's crimes are her crimes, and Luz would never willingly destroy the Boiling Isles because she doesn't destroy the things or people she hates. Even Belos was not finished off by Luz but by boiling rain and her family.

FINAL SUMMARY: listen, I understand that shippers can be obnoxious and TOH's fan base has a serious issue of being delusional, but quite frankly a minority of people is not the problem, the problem is the majority usually vibing with the takes of the minority, but Lunter shippers who are ultimately a minority as they are outnumbered by Lumity shippers along with also having a bad rep would not have any of their takes taken seriously thus they would not be the actual problem with the fan base. Even if you have your own interpretations and headcanons, other people are entitled to have their own and the real issue comes from not accepting that, so if you really want to do the right thing then I just ask to not villainize a part of the fan base that was villanized enough already for neither vibing with your headcanons nor admitting they're true to the text when even the text itself doesn't acknowledge it whatsoever and it's purely a choice of fans to interpret it as such.

What makes the Lunter people so insane is that LUZ ISNT EVEN ATTRACTED TO HUNTER.

Dana is not unwilling to show Luz be attracted to other people. She showed Luz at Emira, Edric, and the shirtless ripped tan puppet. 3 people besides Amity that Luz has shown attraction to , you know who is not on that list of 3 people HUNTER!

The ONLY reasons people ship Hunter and Luz is because they have an irrational hatred of Amity, are SUPER homophobic, or are trying to make an Evelyn and Caleb connection and are RACIST.

Two out the three characters she was into before Amity were guys to, so she liked an equal number of guy and girl characters. But somehow it's "biased" that she ends up with one of the girls.

(Although there was some guy DeviantArt who made a TON of ship art of Luz and Edric. Because they did want to ship Luz with Amity and Edric was the only (white) guy at the time. They were ALL OVER Google images including art of Amity crying while Luz chooses a guy over her)

Also people who hate Amity but love Hunter are baffling to me, it's giving sexism. Like they're the exact same type of character, they just have different types of dynamics with Luz (and they BOTH tried to hurt Luz at first before anyone tries using that excuse)

But the "Hunter and Luz are a parallel to Caleb and Evelyn" has got to be the epitome of the fandom making shit up. The show made it obviously clear that Luz and Hunter are meant to parallel Belos and Caleb.

They LITERALLY showed Luz dressed as Belos. And the fans LOVE bringing up that parallel to villianize Luz or woobify Belos. But suddenly say she's actually Evelyn to ship her with Hunter?

Willow is obviously the Evelyn parallel. The WITCH girl he fell in love with that Belos wouldn't approve of. She LITERALLY dressed up as a evil version of a witch.

[moonrose-mortem]

I don't usually post stuff like this, but I feel it's necessary to support something that connects to "The Owl House."

The show is under enough pressure between season 3 almost getting completely cancelled and Disney treating Dana Terrace and her crew like absolute crap when they have created a masterpiece of a cartoon that I would have loved to see as a kid, and I have a niece who LOVES it. She came out as demi/lesbian to her parents, my husband and me (her cool aunt, a title I feel honored to be.) I told her about "The Owl House" because she likes witchy stuff, weird cartoons and is into nerdy things as well. She binged the first season and it became something we could bond/talk over. Let me tell you, when Lumity became canon in season 2 she was so happy! Why? Because she felt SEEN.

I loved Lumity when it happened as well because it was history making and the cutest ship I've seen in a while.

But they weren't the characters I was interested in most. The character that really pulled me into TOH fandom was Willow Park.

Why? Because I saw myself in her the most.

Chubby. Glasses. Loved plants, nature and animals. Had a sweet and shy personality but was insecure and held a little darkness inside from wanting to be angry but couldn't. Didn't have many friends and was dropped by her childhood friend (s) because she was different. Was bullied and had her own name used as a tool for her tormentors to pick on her to the point where she lost so much confidence in herself.

That was exactly me growing up! But like Willow I eventually found my people who loved me for who I was and I'm so protective and caring for them. Watching this character confront her bullies, showing she's capable as a witch, happier, thriving and going after she wants is something I wish I could have done more as a kid. Seeing this show as a nerdy, plant loving, plus size girl I feel seen in this fictional character.

I can also see why many love her because she wasn't forced to have a romantic interest like so many female protagonists that Disney and other cartoons that liked to force this down our throats. Seeing this trend decline in recent years is very refreshing indeed.

But when it comes to TOH, I noticed Dana likes to surprise us with the unexpected.

So about the recent episode with Hunter...the division and arguments coming from this ship war surprised me.

Twelve year old me had so many crushes on fictional characters from anime, movies, and not going to lie I had a thing for Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. But deep down, I was disappointed because I never saw any girl that looked like me or Willow get shipped with any character, male or female. So much media likes to show the cute, nerdy, fat friend as just a side character/friend of the hero and nothing more. No love interest. No positive messages of "guys can like chubby girls too." Nothing.

So when this episode dropped and all of the hype over Winter/Huntlow came out, I was happy. Happy because of how far things have come and knowing other girls who like Willow for the same reasons I do are happy too.

Yet, here you guys are making up excuses as to why they can't happen. Yes, he's a little older than her. Yes, he's got to go through some serious mental health work. Yes, he's got issues. Yes, he might be a freaking clone doll Grimwalker and he might go through an existential crisis.

But the point is, Willow is a good influence on him and he has shared parallels to her that she understands. Plus she should be allowed have anyone she wants if she goes for it! And if you look at the symbolism between Flapjack being a cardinal, a bird of change and finding your own path, and Willow's name being a tree of healing, hope, safety and FREEDOM, then the signs are pretty clear of the two biggest influences on his redemption arc.

I can see them as a best friends first then romance later. At the same time, I am a hopeless romantic and think they'd be cute together.

But if it is Dana's will to make them endgame canon ship you guys should start praising and less hating. Let people ship them peacefully, please.

[sakebytheriver]

This fandom had no problems shipping Willow with her lifelong bully Boscha, but the moment Willow is shipped with someone who respects and is clearly interested in her suddenly everyone and their mom are clutching their pearls crying about age gaps and trauma (nothing against bosch//low but all this discourse is really grinding my nerves)

Oh God, don't even get me started on B*schlow, remember those Notps I talked about?🤮 (tbh i could prolly write a pretty long rant post about that ship and my points would have a lot more logic in them than any of the antis in the Huntlow tag, but guess how many posts in the B*schlow tag you'll find written by me)

Tbh I think a lot of people see a gay ship and think that that automatically makes it somehow better and healthier than a m/f ship without even thinking about the dynamics or how the characters fit together. Like no doubt people have been making posts about how Huntlow isn't as good or subversive as B*shlow or H*ntric because it's an m/f ship instead of being gay without taking into account the fact that it's an interracial ship with a fat woc.

But also shipping and the romantic relationships the show makes canon are not about how many boxes you can check off to get diversity points. Huntlow is a ship that was clearly meant to have some more kind of depth and development to it from the little we can see from the show so far, like the parallels of them both being considered "Half-a-witch", the way their character developments basically start and end in the opposite directions, how they both came from a place where people put them down and belittled them for their shortcomings but they've both found people who help them find their greatest potential, the mutual respect and admiration they have for each other, it is clear to me that the writers are trying to speed up a ship timeline that was supposed to be a lot longer than the timeframe they're forced to work within, with the multitude of different ship dynamics they have clearly tried to inject into this couple with what little time they have left. There's a reason why B*schlow was never going to canon, the characters don't fit together the same way, the dynamic is one that was always meant to be one dimensional bully that serves more as a plot device for Willow's character development than the Lumity dynamic the fandom tried to push it towards, not to mention that if the ship was to become canon then Willow would be acting as Bosha's teacher and redeemer which she basically already had to do with Amity, but with Huntlow they're both meant to be fully fleshed out main characters that come together in a dynamic that strengthens their characters in a mutually beneficial way that serves both of them individually as well as a couple, they meet each other near the end of their original character developments meaning they meet at the right time to walk together towards their next character developments, because the two of them went through entire arcs individually learning to stand on their own, the next obvious step for their characters is them learning how to be their new selves while with another person

Tbh I just really don't get what the issue with Huntlow is here, like why is this the ship that broke the fandom? I mean, the obvious reasons are there, of course, the racism, the fatphobia, the general uproar that comes when the fandoms favorite white boy falls for a woc instead of the other pretty white boy or girl they wanted him to fall for, but like God I was not expecting to have to fight this hard for this ship when we've only got 3 more episodes left before this show ends for good. Like are there not more pressing things we could worry about other than a very cute, very nice, very healthy ship between two traumatized kids who have never been seen as anything worth looking at twice until the other person saw them

[jess-the-vampire]

its funny your the only person ive seen that has managed to make a swap au about the owl house that works

eh i wouldn't knock anyone else out, i've seen plenty of other interesting ones as well.

for me i just think it's a little easy to just slap belos's face on eda and call it a day, because the screenshot edits are fun, and there's nothing wrong if you want to do something like that and keep it simple, some of those are really cute and creative....i just tend to think it's more interesting to think of it outside of just the swap itself.

Like how would this character react in this other character's shoes? Would they do the same stuff? Would their relationships be the same? What if their setting better fitted them in canon? What if you considered this from the show?

I think the best kinda swaps for me, and the ones that really stand out, are the ones who think outside the box, you keep the base of a swap au but make it more then just the swap in itself and think more deeply about the characters your swapping.

Especially if you want the au to have longevity, i would know, i have a couple star vs swap aus of my own, one was so canon divergent it got it's own fic but the other was mostly just the simplified swaps and that makes it hard to do new material unless i get creative. (I'd love to get back to it soon if i can come up with a good idea)

i'm more likely to remember a swap au that is an amity/hunter swap au where emira and edric are older guards alongside her and amity's pressure on her comes from always having to prove herself and be the best, (Like getting both hunter and amity's motivations cleverly mixed in there) while she always gets picked on by her older guard siblings, then say...an amity/hunter swap where amity just takes hunter's role without any of that unique drama that ties back to amity in canon, and her siblings just take luz's place because well...i dunno the blight twins are popular ships for hunter.

People get invested in the unique drama your au can bring, that's the kinda content that really makes your au unique and people remember.

and again, if you wanna do just that, go right ahead, some people don't want something like that, but if you are looking to do something unique with it, then these are ideas to keep in mind.

And sometimes i think aus can be held back because some creators get too scared to try that stuff cause it might not work for people and i get that.

Remember, huntlow was like, a crackship, when i put it in, i mostly put it in because the idea i had to swap amity and willow just worked out super well and i really liked it...but i was constantly getting comments of people just.....assuming edric was my "amity" without any evidence because "They're popular so they must be together in your au".

And pretty much 90% of hunter/luz swap aus are goldric btw, which makes most of those aus hard to tell apart a lot of the time.

And that's well and good if that's your thing, but it didn't work for my au, this worked better for what i wanted to do.

i think it's important to get help if you need it, getting second opinions is great, but be confident in your own choices too, don't succumb to peer pressure if it doesn't work for you.

Arofam is just me doing what what works for me and having fun with putting these characters in unique scenarios and playing with the idea, it might not be for everyone but hey if it works for you and you like my takes on swap aus then thanks, i appreciate it.

swap aus can be really fun, arofam is an example of the kinda swap aus i personally really enjoy and i'm glad it's really stood out for people because that was partially the intention.

[childlikegoblinqueen]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @fairytales-and-folklore♥️ No pressure tags: @immortalmint @threegoblinart @unniebeans @fenth-eiria @rfswitchart @gakriele-lvs-blog @twogoldenflowers ... it's early so whomever I missed I am sorry!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?: Right now 16!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 526,571

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently I am in full TOH brain rot mode. In the past I have written for HP (Ick. I know. I didn't back then.) Tenchi Muyo, Gundam Wing, Princess Bride and Scream. Also in a way Stranger Things. More on that later. (No I will not be posting where my other fics can be found! Sorry!)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sweet Child O' Mine , Words like Violence , The Future's Overdue, Back to the Beginning where I feel Forgiven. Stranger Tides

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes!!!!! I adore hearing readers thoughts and theories etc. it feeds me and I try to engage with commenters when I can.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I suppose Words like Violence.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ohhhhhhh! I feel like it was You Strange as Angels -- Maybe it's just me? I swear Sweet Child O' Mine will have a happy ending!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Meh. A bit? I wouldn't call it hate on current fics. Some folks don't love the direction I go with fave characters -- or the ship I mainly write in. I got hate on some of my older fics but they were posted on a different site. Ao3 seems a bit more tame than other fic sites.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I kinda wish I could? Maybe one day? It would likely be emotional fluff and angst smut.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? OHHHH Yes. And while I won't really mention all of them (again, not revisiting my past writing) Stranger Tides is by far my favorite and my craziest! It's a TOH fic set in the human realm between Kings Tide and Thanks to Them. Basically, the Hexsquad begins watching Stranger Things to pass the time and try to recreate Joyce Byer's Christmas Lights method to contact the Demon Realm. Aspects of TOH and ST begin to blend together for Luz, Vee, and Hunter as they begin bonding as siblings and identifying with the various characters. Lots of great Camila moments too.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, but I believe I've had headcanons referenced, which is cool!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

YES! One of the fics I wrote under my other alias years ago. It was INSANE when I found out.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yep. Under my other alias.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? (S)

Just one?

Huntlow, Korrasami, Lumity, Raeda, Aziraphale X Crowley (what's their official ship name?), SkorFuma, BoldenLoin (Not sure id that's Ambrosias and Bal's shit name but it is to me!) McKinley and Ben from Wet Hot American Summer :D

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I am a completist and will finish everything. I do have an idea for a follow up to Sweet Child though, but I can't really think about how that would go until I finish SCOM.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I am good at portraying emotion and making my writing feel like it's canon?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I over complicate things. I am a thriller/horror/suspense fan so that's how I roll. I like stories with twists and lots of red herrings.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I try to be as responsible with it as I can. I'm not perfect by any means.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Tenchi Muyo

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

It was Stranger Tides -- but I am still really in love with writing Sweet Child O' Mine .

Thank said, You Strange as Angels makes me giddy.

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @marimbles! ♥️ No pressure tags: @litfeathers @lollytea @ashanimus @greyhavenisback @princecharmingwinks @tails89 @nutellarghh @ash-mcj @childlikegoblinqueen @daydreams-and-honeybees @avatarmerida @asarcasticwitch @sailahina @secretly-of-course @sapphic--kiwi @haystarlight @zyrafowe-sny @peachytea04 @slightecho

1. How many works do you have on AO3? just hit 100 last month!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 479,814

3. What fandoms do you write for? I've dabbled in quite a few over the years, but the ones I've written the most fics for are doctor who (eleven/amy) teen wolf (sterek) and the owl house (huntlow)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Error 404: Brain Cell Not Found (teen wolf | sterek) You Always Want What You're Running From (sleepy hollow | ichabbie) What To Do When Your Emotionally Constipated Werewolf Boyfriend Gets Cursed By A Witch: A Guide (teen wolf | sterek) Gold Rush (the owl house | huntlow) Lovesick (the owl house | huntlow) 5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! Every kind comment means so much to me, so I always take the time to respond to all of them (though I'm not always great at getting to them on time.)

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm probably The Courtesan and the Writer (doctor who | eleven/amy) I used to dabble in angst a bit more when I first started writing fic, but these days all my fics are pretty much guaranteed to have a happy ending, because real life is hard enough lol

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Pretty much all my fics have happy endings, but one of the happiest I wrote would probably be my huntlow college AU Until You Meet Someone Who Makes The Fall Feel Like Flying

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I wouldn't call it outright hate, but I have gotten a handful of rude comments over the years (complaining that I don't post often enough, telling me my headcanons are wrong, telling me how they think my story should have ended — one time someone yelled at me in all caps because I said that a character chilled red wine lol that one was wild)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Smut is fun. Mine is typically more focused on the emotional aspect than the physical, is usually the result of a long tension-fueled slow burn buildup, and is usually tooth-rottingly fluffy, soft, and sweet.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have! Back in the days where superwholock plagued tumblr, I wrote one of the silliest cross-overs imaginable, combining doctor who, torchwood, bbc sherlock, supernatural, the avengers, and sleepy hollow: Lords, Gods, and Madmen

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yup 🙃

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! But most of them never saw the light of day 😂 one that did is called An Eggcellent Morning For Cooking Lessons co-written with @ash-mcj @tails89 and @nutellarghh

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I think my top three ships are reflected in who I've written the most fic for: huntlow, sterek, and the eleventh doctor/amy pond

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Luckily, everything that's posted to AO3 is finished, but at this point I'm thinking I'll probably never get around to writing the little nightmares, reylo, and captain swan WIPs I've had sitting in my drafts since 2019

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I capture the characters really well, which means a lot to me. I've also been told that my writing is cozy and comforting and fills people with warm fuzzy feelings, which is always nice to hear 🥰

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I will sit there and agonize over the same paragraph trying to make it sound perfect instead of just letting the writing flow, so sometimes a fic will be in the works for a very long time until it's finally ready to be posted (by which time I'm probably sick of it and never want to look at it again 😂)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've dabbled in this a little bit, but it's usually been plot-relevant, like a character learning to speak the language (i.e. when Hunter tried to learn Spanish in Being Human.) When I do write in another language, I always do my best to research and try to get the translations as accurate as possible, and I always include the English translation either in the fic itself or as an author's note so readers don't have to break away from my fic to google anything. (And also so that they know what my intention was, on the off-chance I translated something wrong and accidentally wrote something offensive.) 19. First fandom you wrote for?

Does anyone remember that vampire show that came out back in like 2009? Moonlight? Yeah, that one lol

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? God, that's like asking me to pick my favorite child. Okay fine, it's Until You Meet Someone Who Makes The Fall Feel Like Flying

[edalynn]

I personally love how people were adamantly mad about how Amity stole screentime and development from Willow, but then cheer when she is awkwardly glued to Hunter and never let her exist on her own or even make content for her to make up for the shows lack of development with her. I feel there were so many interesting threads of story that could have been done with Willow that just kinda, vanished? mainly supression of emotion, 'out of sight out of mind'. They could have explored her relationship with her dads, is she resentful that they decided her track for her? is she able to even communicate those issues with them? was she mainly putting up with Amity to placate Luz and ignoring her deeper anger? The most we got was a meh side story with Amity and Willow in labyrinth runners, and honestly that whole episode is frustrating outside of the legend Gus, it legit has a plot hole where Hunter SOMEHOW knows Graye is in the gym despite being knocked out AND he was just being randomly dragged around the halls instead of being watched by Graye, who knew he was a high value target as the Golden Guard???? Sorry for the rant, its just cathartic knowing others are irritated by the ocean of Huntlow and its shoehorned 'just because ig' vibes.

Yo I didn't notice the insane amount of plot holes in Labyrinth Runners until you just pointed it out lmfao. But for real. It's the same people complaining that Willow didn't get the development or screentime she deserved now adamantly insisting hunt//low is canon and she's in love with Hunter despite her having even LESS development now. I REALLY thought we would see something about her tendency to suppress her feelings, which I know we don't have much time left, but the fact that she seemed so happy-go-lucky in the human realm while everyone else had some type of distress about not being able to get back except for her. So she's clearly still bottling up her emotions or her character is being disregarded again in favor of other plotlines (which, like I said, I don't blame the writing for since we have very limited time left and Dana had to cut out bits that weren't absolutely necessary to the plot). Sticking her with Hunter and putting them in a relationship would take away her personality and character even more when we already don't have the available screentime Willow deserves :/ I really, REALLY would've liked her and Amity's friendship and struggles to be explored more thoroughly, too. The potential full arc and friendship we could've had with Willow and Amity is so much more interesting and plot important than a potential romance with a boy she's barely talked to. Honestly, Hunter and Amity's friendship being explored in regards to the events of Eclipse Lake would've been way more interesting than the possibility of hunt//low. I will never not be mad at the albeit miniscule amount of screentime, but still screentime nonetheless, that's been stolen because of fanservice for a bland, white toast ship. Give me Willow struggling with her own mental health, give me Willow and Amity fully reconciling their past with actual closure, give me Amity struggling with trusting and being friends with Hunter and Hunter having to deal with the bad things he's done in his past and having to reconcile with apologizing and growing from it to become a good friend, give me Hunter and Amity making active, noticeable strives to move past it and become close friends despite it all.

[discet]

So regarding that Marcy in Boiling Isles AU, does Hunter still befriend Willow and Gus at some point (sparking Huntlow shipping) with them joining his friend group of him, Marcy, and Amity? Would Amity and Willow still reconcile here?

This... is interesting. And complicated, first we need to look at how things in this AU have shifted things for Willow and Hunter.

Willow: So unlike Canon, Willow (and Gus) are not our protagonists first friend on the isle, which has been replaced in this AU by Hunter and Amity respectively.

So I'm not totally sure Willow is even on the plant track as early. More so since Marcy is solidly on the potions track in this AU rather than shaking things up with multi track studying, she doesn't interact with willow and the abomination track for a while.

Honestly I think there would be an episode where Marcy and Willow meet outside of the context of school, maybe while Marcy is hunting for some obscure plant ingredient and they get to talking about botonny. Willow is surprised since wasn't Marcy Amity's friend? And Marcy doesn't really get it cause she's never seen how Amity treated Willow before. And I think we get an episode where Marcy is kind of struggling with reconciling the Amity she's grown to know with the bully who needlessly harassed Willow.

I don't know if I would do the mind scape trick again to bring that confrontation to a head, but it would definitely put the two on more even terms.

Either way do to the changes to the AU Willow gets a lot less confidence boosters that turn her into the juggernaut of confidence she is in Season 2, which brings us to Hunter

Hunter: So in Canon I think a big reason the Emerald Entrails were such a big deal for Hunter was that they were the first friends that Hunter had made on his own terms. Which in this AU has been replaced with Marcy and a lesser extent Amity

But as mentioned, I doubt Willow is in the headspace to really be championing a Flier Derby team.

However I think I'd actually focus first on Gus and Hunter bonding as friends if anything in this AU. I think the two end up partners in some class project and after learning of Gus's interest in humans keeps making allusions to the human in disguise that goes to their school. Only for Gus to misunderstand and think Hunter is secretly a human spying on Hexside (do to his shifty behavior in general) this little misadventure ends with Gus promising to protect his secret (Gus thinks he's talking about Hunter being a human, Hunter thinks Gus is talking about him being the Golden Guard)

Then in a separate episode later we get one of Hunter and Willow bonding over their insecurities regarding skill with Magic. Willow who still hasn't embraced the plant track, though that's fixed in this episode. And hunter who completely lacks power.

I think Willow is a bit mopey but Hunter says that she shouldn't give up, that Marcy had shown him that with a little hard work and ingenuity, anything was possible and he shows her one of their early glyph combos they had designed

Willow asks what someone like Marcy would know about all this (being that at this point Marcy is rocking the potions track and had already dethroned Boscha) and Hunter lets on that Marcy is a human basically (Gus is nearby and scandalized by the news) and she found something that she had talent in (potions) and embraced it.

Which I think is part of what gives Willow the confidence to pursue the plant track, even if its relatively late compared to her canon self.

And then maybe some Huntlow shipping.