#im feeling confident

[lauratheghost]

Why did I choose to do 3 POV's per chapter ?! 😂😭

It's ok, I got this (maybe)

[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.

[swagging-back-to]

wish me luck bestiesssss haaa just four hours left

[glitchdollmemoria]

actually. that post about how its important to have weird kinky queer friends. i think the same is true of really every type of ostracized person but in particular i wanna point it out wrt mentally ill people.

if you watch a movie villainizing DID or schizophrenia or something, and you think, "hey, this seems sort of like its based on what my friend has and theyre just a chill person, why are they making my friends condition seem threatening?" thats good.

if you see someone use narcissist as a synonym for abuser and you think, "what, no, im friends with someone who has NPD and i know theyre a kind person, this isnt true at all," thats good.

if you hear politicians try to frame addicts as violent criminals who should be locked up and you think "no, my buddy sam is just sick, their withdrawals are really painful and they dont have a good support system, they shouldnt be locked up for that," thats good.

being able to counter ableist rhetoric with "i know from experience thats not how these people are" is a good thing. like yeah obviously dont make friends with mentally ill people just for brownie points but also try to make the conscious effort to be open to friendship with people who have stigmatized mental health issues. and maybe even more importantly, be someone who makes it clear to others that youre safe to be open about these things with, because chances are youre ALREADY friends with mentally ill people even if you dont realize it, because a lot of us with more demonized conditions try to hide those conditions out of fear, and it helps a lot to know our friends are allies - and then we might feel safe discussing our experiences, IF we want to, and in turn that can help you better understand the realities and diversities of our situations and be less susceptible to ableist rhetoric.

[mienar]

the wandering painter, part one

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[laddercat]

hey!!! after my 300 year sleep ive come back with squid sisters art !

+ 4 wearing a bucees shirt

[sciderman]

How did your meeting go with the surgeons?

it was memorable

[amygdalae]

its interesting to me how self-deprecation neatly ties into making others feel bad. like. if you constantly assume that you’re stupid no matter how informed or skilled in a topic you might be, people who are a bit less learned or skilled than you might see how you, someone who is obviously skilled, talk down about yourself, and assume that if you think YOURE an idiot you must think theyre an even bigger idiot and lose confidence or find you intimidating as a result. its fucked up. and its part of why it can be so important to break out of cycles of self-hatred--not just for yourself, but for people around you

[apt502-if]

decisions decisions 😆

the choice to simply leave rainn standing outside is very funny

[lucabyte]

heres your highly requested fluff you fucking animals

[echodrii]

Gen Narumi fans do i dare ask how you are feeling rn

[blackbatcass]

donna’s inherent honesty vs dick’s tendency to be manipulative.. speak to me

[gilly-moon]

Guardians of Affection (and Pitch)

[tradingjack]

There's no turning back.

... Is there anyone who'll be able to survive what lies ahead?

[xxplastic-cubexx]

chat if i may speak

[rottengurlz]

try to be gentle when you are ripping me apart 🔪

w/ @kashisun