#one day I will draw actual huntlow

[rantceratops]

Liked this doodle out of my previous batch(here), wanted to clean it up! One version is normal boy, the other is harpy!Hunter because the concept is cool and lives rent free in my head. (I don’t think it’s gonna happen but man are the fan designs so cool!)

In my mind, there’s some Huntlow happening here. Willow is fighting alone, Hunter notices, freaks out and goes all floofy harpy mode, flies over and then they are the badass battle couple helping each other out.

[sepublic]

Writers’ Post-Hoot!

            As the title suggests, we just had a Post-Hoot with multiple writers from the show! Those present included John Bailey Owen, Cissy Jones (Lilith), Sarah Nicole-Robles (Luz), Rebecca Bozza (ItsRebeccaRose), Mikki Crisostomo, Madeleine Hernandez, Zarch Marcus, Avi Roque (Raine), with Zelda Black as our cameraman! I took notes, including on some cancelled storylines involving characters such as Vee, Odalia, Edric, Eda, and Hooty!

         Firstly, Zach Marcus has been writing on the show since the developmental pilot. It was confirmed Barcus was not based on him (unlike Jerbo for JBO), but he did say Barcus was ‘his’ character. I believe it was confirmed that Kikimora’s alias Miki was a reference to writer Mikki Crisostomo, and we also learned that The First Day had to be rewritten within a day! Mikki revealed she got hired for the show because she wrote a violent sample script in which someone had their rib cage kicked out, which convinced Dana she had to be on TOH!

         The development pilot is very different from the show according to Zach; It had the classic blood smear moment (in which Luz draws herself and Amity together, gets a paper cut, and uses her blood to simulate a blush as improv), and alas will never be released. JBO also said there are three poems in the show that the fandom hasn’t found yet…?!

         Dana was watching and commented a few times, such as when Avi, Cissy, and Sarah were doing the classic “Then why were you so easy to curse?!” line, commenting “Legendary Cissy line”.

         In regards to cut Season 3 storylines, Zach mentioned that there are so many versions of Thanks to Them that they went through (Dana gave a comment giving approval for them to speak on concepts). He revealed there was a version where the kids would’ve piloted Abomaton mechs in the desert…?!

         (I wonder if this is related to Kikimora, who pilots an Abomaton herself and comes from the desert of Palm Stings. Would Amity have helped in the creation?)

         Mikki also revealed Hooty was a Big Bad at one point in the writing process?! He’d have had as many legs as rib bones, poking through, as well as smoke.

         Huntlow was acknowledged as a major goal by Mikki and Madeleine (who kept asking why can’t they be happy???), and Zach joked that Huntlow wasn’t canon but c’mon. We can thank Mikki for writing the haircut that Willow gave Hunter!!!

         Dana was glad to keep the Star Trek reference, since so many crew members are Trekkies. Emmy also alluded to a ‘bog setting’ where the kids fought ‘bog bodies’… Unfortunately, her internet connection wasn’t so great so she cut out a bit and I couldn’t make out everything. But does this mean Belos would’ve reanimated corpses in the graveyard for the kids to fight?! Or the Grimwalkers?!

         JBO liked doing Luz in the human realm, as it was a different vibe than usual; More melancholy but also creepy. He wanted to explore the idea of what if a kid DID go to Narnia, and how that would affect them afterwards, and he’s happy with how it turned out… Same JBO, same.

         Emmy revealed there was also going to be a storyline where Vee was uncomfortable with having Hunter in the house!!!

         Sarah mentioned a question in the chat about the other coven heads, which could’ve been my question actually… JBO says that there was a lot they wanted to do with them, he really likes Hettie in particular. He considered exploring what Darius did to achieve his Abomination transform, speculating it’d probably take a dark sacrifice to do that. In general they wanted to see the coven heads plot with and try to kill each other; Lots of intercoven drama according to Zach.

         Zach also praised those who designed the coven heads; He lamented how designers often visualize concepts submitted by writers as so much cooler than the writers think they can do justice when writing, once they receive them back.

         Zach Marcus was described as the pun man of the writers, and when asked about what Darius’ Penstagram, they all agreed upon Goo Daddy. He was torn between Darius being a luddite, or nonstop posting what he eats, with a reflection of him in something. The writers discussed stuff like a Darius skincare routine, and him getting up every morning like a Disney Princess with animals, except they’re Abominations (fanartists were encouraged to depict this).

         JBO said he would’ve liked to see more of young Terra, Zach wanted to see more of her and Faust! As a reminder, a previous Post-Hoot had him put forth the idea that they were exes until they messily broke up and Terra tore off Faust’s lips and kicked him out, hence him living at Hexside and being so strict as a means of regaining a sense of control in his life.

     ��   Zach also joked about everyone dying in the original Season 3 plans, but they allegedly changed it to a happy ending because the pandemic meant people needed something uplifting! They were barely in the exploration for S3 when they received news of the shortening.

         They joked about Barcus episodes, and also made a point about limitations actually being pretty good for writing, as it encourages writers to cut out the fat and leave the most essential bits. They said it was fun seeing Dana write on spite, and she thinks about a lot of the stuff they do for the story as the mastermind.

         Zach revealed him and Dana disagree on Mattholomule’s name, with Zach insisting it’s Mattholomule; His only compromise is saying his last name is also Tholomule… So Mattholomule Tholomule canon??? Zach also wanted a character named Corvus.

         Eda was a ‘horn dog’ in OG scripts for TOH, breaking hearts and all that. There was an episode with a B-plot in which Eda went on a date with playboy merchant, just so she could get a deal on crow heads, but Disney didn’t want a ‘horny old lady’. Dana commented that it was jut Eda on a date, but Disney was being weird about it.

         The writers also mentioned that they considered ‘Mom Tholomule’ and ‘Dad Tholomule’ in what they called the racing episode (I presume Eda’s Requiem’s B-plot), and they planned Steve and Mattholomule being brothers from S1! Zach joked that if the Tholomule parents showed up, they’d have taken attention from everything, with fans losing interest for Lumity, Raeda, and Huntlow in favor of them.

         They brought up their weirdest failed episodes, such as a race (which might be what they meant regarding the Tholomule parents) as well as an episode where Eda and Odalia had beef. It’d have been based on the Rats! musical poster –the one that gave Raine stage fright- and would’ve had musical elements, but alas Dana doesn’t like musicals herself due to her own experiences with them (which might be the Doylist source for Raine’s own trauma as well now that I think of it).

         Odalia would’ve been one of those obsessive parents, entering an Abomination disguised as a child for the role. Edric would’ve been angry and formed a rivalry with this fake child, wanting to be Momma’s Boy, and it’d end with the fake child getting decapitated and their head sliding off as the big reveal.

         When asked about doing ‘Blaine’ (Belos-possessed Raine), Avi explained they didn’t need to watch Rhys to copy Belos’ inflections, having watched the show plenty. They were surprised about the Blaine development when they went in to voice Raine that day and were told about it!

         When asked about favorite characters to write, Zach said he loved Eda because he didn’t need to go into anyone’s headspace when writing her, it was basically just him talking. Madeleine brought up how Matthew Rhys would charm the entire zoom call with his recording, and Emmy mentioned how twice she wrote for a bloodcurdling scream only for a VA to give more of an Ahhhhh.

         Specifically, Edric would’ve had a more bloodcurdling scream when he broke through his body cast to hug Amity (Zach wrote that, Emmy did the art for it), with everyone agreeing he should be in pain. A ‘piercing scream’ was specified, though Sarah joked about how hard VAs worked, and said a bloodcurdling scream might be done for an Oscar nomination (doing such a scream is taxing due to multiple takes).

         Mikki loves writing Lilith, calling her a big dweeb; Madeline loves Hooty the most, as he’s a wild card and she loves writing those. One example she brought up was in Hollow Mind, when Hooty shut down the Owl House. Madeleine loves it when Hooty goes from zero to sixty in either direction, fully insane.

         JBO also liked Hooty best, as well as King! They referenced the B-plot from Adventures in the Elements, in which Hooty negotiates a drawn body for himself from King, which Emmy and JBO wrote. The actual sketch used in the episode was straight-up one of their drawings, I didn’t catch whose though. Hooty’s dialogue in Eda’s conversation with him (from Something Ventured, Someone Framed) was also written by JBO, with Emmy drawing the bit where his tongue reaches for a fly!

        In regards to writing advice, JBO said to just do stuff, it’s better than nothing; Emmy concurred, it’s still worth it to write it, even if nobody pays you for it. Zach added that for writers, one of their goals is to be more of a tool; Get what they’ve made into the hands of someone who can take it further, it’s collaborative storytelling and writers need to see it from that perspective. Likewise, they mentioned having people read what you’ve written, as they can notice stuff that’s missing that you hadn’t thought of/remembered. Zach hoped for a TOH art book, as he liked a lot of Emmy Cicierga’s visual jokes and hoped people could enjoy them! IIRC Emmy did that one meme of Ariel combining her fish tail with two legs as a solution, so that tracks.

         On a final note, there was a HUGE wave of people commenting about Gustholomule throughout the entire stream. It went unacknowledged alas, but the group also mentioned they couldn’t answer spoiler questions so...

[101flavoursofweird]

Emerald Trio Week: Day 2 - Inspiration

Spoilers: Minor spoilers for Watching and Dreaming regarding Hunter’s new…talent.

Set: After Watching and Dreaming. Hunter is attending Hexside with the others.

Warnings: A reference to the Titanic movie is made… Gus doubts his artistic skills… Contains more Huntlow and Gustholomule— glad I can tag them now!

Note: Again, thanks to @loosescrewslefty for the prompts.

Resting on his stomach above his bedroom rug, Gus squinted at the sketchpad in front him. He gnawed on the end of his pencil like a hungry echo mouse.

Legend had it that human pencils used to contain lead , which was poisonous for humans—

Stop getting distracted!

Gus shook his head and returned to the issue at hand: Matt’s birthday— tomorrow.

Gus could have (should have) gone out and purchased Matt a gift, but, never one to pass up a challenge, Gus had decided to create something instead.

Illusions were too easy. Matt had received plenty of illusions from Gus, and by this point, Matt was proficient at casting his own illusions.

Matt would be expecting something better from Gus. Something Gus had worked hard on. A challenge!

So, Gus had decided to take a page of out of Matt’s book. Gus was going to draw him a picture…

It sounded childish when Gus put it like that. No— he was going to produce a portrait. Paint the canvas. Compose an artistic masterpiece!

…As soon as he could figure out what to draw.

Think, Augustus, think…

No thoughts manifested. His brain was completely empty.

“Uuuuuugh!” Gus groaned and dropped his pencil. “Guys, what should I draw for Matt?”

So engrossed was he in his art that he’d almost forgotten Willow and Hunter were there with him.

They had come over an hour ago to start work on a project for History class, which only Hunter was still invested in now.

“Not sure…” Hunter replied without looking up from his books on Gus’s desk.

Willow made an ‘ I dunno’ noise from Gus’s bed, where she was watching a professional flyer derby match on her scroll.

“Thanks, you two!” Gus said flatly. “Such helpful, reliable friends I have—“ Willow tossed a pillow in his direction.

Gus gasped and moved his sketchpad aside. “Willow! You’re gonna wreck my canvas!” He chucked the pillow right back at her.

“Ha!” Willow caught the pillow. She placed the pillow at the end of his bed and planted her elbows on it.

“You can draw me!” she suggested with a smirk. She held her chin in her hand. “Draw me like one of your French girls!”

That made Hunter’s head turn. Willow pursed her lips at him.

“Ew! No!” Gus protested, poking his tongue out. (Why had he insisted on watching Titanic with them in the Human Realm? He’d thought it was a documentary…! ) “You two can just leave if you’re going to be all lovey-dovey!”

“Very well…” Willow sniffed loudly. She rolled to the left side of the bed and slowly slipped off. “But I promise I will… never… let go—“

Hunter snorted. When Willow’s hand sank weakly out of view, Gus wheezed with laughter too. Hunter joined him, clutching his sides as he rocked back in Gus’s chair. Willow popped up from behind the bed, chortling.

“This really… isn’t funny!” Gus gasped, after a minute. “The Titanic sinking was a real disaster in human history—“

“Kind of like our History project?” Hunter hummed.

“—and so is this!” Gus thrust a hand at his blank sketchbook. “How am I going to impress Matt? How?!”

“Why don’t you draw a beach?” Willow supplied, actually being helpful this time.

“Not a beach in the Boiling Isles… ” Hunter mumbled. Gus glanced at him. Hunter glanced away, rubbing his lip.

Willow said, “Maybe a beach from the Human Realm would be better?”

“Yeah…” Gus agreed. “ Yeah—  that could work!”

One sunny day during their stay in the Human Realm, Camila had driven them all to a beach, where the sand was soft and the sea didn’t boil. They could actually swim in the water, without fear of burning…

Witches still had to wear sunblock. (Amity, especially…) But it was definitely worth it for that beautiful sunset.

Gus pictured it in his mind— the sand, the sea, the sunset— and he projected it as an illusion the size of a crystal ball.

“It was great,” Hunter said, smiling at the memory.

“Who needs photos,” Willow quipped, “when we’ve got Gus’ power?”

Gus grinned, grabbed his pencil and his sketchpad, and started to draw the scene. It was much easier when he had the memory in front of him.

The beach had been bustling and bright with colour: The sapphire waves, the golden sand, the pink and purple sky…

Gus had the outlines of the beach, but it was bland and grey with pencil.

Gus frowned. Should he try shading? He gently rubbed a pencil mark with his fingertip and winced at the mess he made. “I need colours— right now!”

“Paints or crayons?” Willow asked, shooting to her feet

Paints would be too messy… “Crayons!”

“You’re a witch,” Hunter reminded Gus. “Why don’t you just—? ”

“‘’S’cuse me!” Willow shoved past Hunter to reach the desk. She pulled a pack of colouring crayons out of a blue pencil pot, and passed them to Gus. “Here you go!”

“Thanks…”

Gus coloured in the lines he’d drawn, but when he was finished, it still looked… wrong. The crayons were too waxy, too artificial, and they didn’t blend together.

A baby could have done better than this!

“I’ve ruined it!” Gus moaned. His illusion-bubble popped. He threw his sketchbook away and flopped facedown on the rug.

“No, you haven’t!” Willow went to pick up his sketchbook

Still on the rug, Gus turned his head to Willow as she crouched beside him. She held the picture up to him, hoping he would see it in a different light.

“See? It’s fine, way better than my doodles—“

“Fine isn’t good enough,” Gus huffed.

Hunter said, “Why not?”

Rubbing his wrist, Gus sat up. “Because… Matt’s a really, really good artist. I just wanted to draw him something— something I put a lot of effort into…!”

“You did put a lot of effort in, Gus,” Willow assured him. “Of course Matt will see that, but if anyone doesn’t, who cares?”

“You can’t please everyone,” Hunter muttered, sympathetically. Willow offered him a reassuring smile.

Gus looked between the two of them. He took the sketchbook back from Willow, staring at his picture .

“But,” Hunter added, with surprising optimism, “do you know what would jazz it up even more…?” He stood up and pulled a small carving knife out of his apron pocket.

“A… palisman?” Gus guessed. “But Matt already has…”

Gus trailed off as Willow made a rectangle with her thumbs and index fingers. Closing one eye, Willow moved the rectangle over to Gus, as if she was snapping a photo of him.

“Oh!” Gus gasped.

-

Matt ripped the wrapping paper off the box. “You got me… a hunk of wood?”

“No !” Gus sighed. Carefully, Gus removed the hand-carved panel of wood and flipped it over, revealing his picture inside the frame.

Matt’s eyes widened. “Wait— you made this?”

Gus wasn’t sure if Matt was referring to the picture of the beach or the frame or both, but he nodded shyly.

Matt snatched the gift off him. For a horrible second, Gus thought Matt was going to throw the framed picture away, but then, Matt held it up for all of his party guests to see.

“Everyone— look at this! Look at THIS! The first of many masterpieces from Augustus Porter! And it’s all MINE…!”

Gus blushed and beamed at Matt’s adulation.

He glanced back at Willow and Hunter, who were both watching behind him. Willow gave him a thumbs-up. Though Hunter looked a little tired, he was smiling.

Gus mouthed, “Thank you—“ but he was cut off as Matt caught him in a one-armed hug.

-

Hunter smiled at Gus and Mattholomule.

He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night— between woodcarving and their history project— but it was worth it to see Gus and his friend/rival/crush(?) so happy together.

Rubbing his eyes, Hunter wondered how much longer he would have to stay at the party…

Mattholomule wouldn’t mind if Hunter left, would he? He and Hunter weren’t really close (Hunter was more familiar with Matt’s brother, Steve), and Hunter didn’t have a present with him…

An arm wrapped around Hunter’s shoulder. Willow pulled him down so her mouth was level with his burning ear.

“You can take credit for the frame,” she whispered. “Gus won’t mind…”

“Nah…” Hunter chuckled. “I’ll let him have this one—“

“That’s sweet of you…” Willow hummed hopefully. “Could you make me a photo frame— when it’s my birthday?”

“S-sure…”

To make sure it was absolutely perfect he’d have to start preparations immediately— finding the right wood, marking the measurements…

Willow pecked him on the cheek, interrupting Hunter’s plans.

“Thanks, Hunter.”

[violet-prism-creatively]

For Huntlow Week day 2 (umbrella), I was inspired to write a little fic! Plus a sketch to go with it:

Image description: A pencil drawing of Willow and Hunter standing under a tree. Willow is holding an umbrella over both of them and they're smiling at each other.

Read the fic on Ao3 or below! (745 words)

Willow's therapist had told her she didn't have to be the responsible one all the time, but right now, Willow wished she'd been a bit more responsible.

The first drop of boiling rain hit her shoe with a sizzle. Willow ducked under the shelter of a tree, not quickly enough to avoid another droplet on her arm. She hissed. She hadn't packed a first-aid kit, or an umbrella, or even a raincoat. It was just supposed to be a little walk in the forest. And now she was stuck in a surprise boiling-rainstorm, utterly unprepared.

Text friends, Clover buzzed. At least Willow's palisman was with her.

Willow pulled out her scroll and sent a message to the groupchat: "SOS caught in rainstorm"

Almost immediately, responses flooded in: "r u ok??" "Take shelter!"

"I'm under a tree," Willow replied, and sent a selfie. "just annoyed that I didn't think to bring an umbrella and now my dads prob won't let me go out alone again for a while"

"I cAN bring you an umbrella,. send location." Hunter's texting style had been getting better since Willow had first met him about a year ago, and at this point, she found the occasional errors endearing. (As well as his nerdiness, and his sense of loyalty, and a lot of other things... but that was another discussion.) Even though he was obviously the only one who could come rescue her, with his immunity to boiling rain, she couldn't help but smile at the offer.

Willow shared her location- a forest not far from Bonesborough- texted her dads that she was okay, and settled in to wait. Clover rested on her shoulder. It wasn't a heavy rainstorm, but drops occasionally filtered through the edges of the tree's canopy, and Willow pressed her back against the trunk to avoid them.

Soon, Hunter arrived on his mechanical staff. He wore a raincoat, but where the rain hit his bare hands and face, it slid off harmlessly like human-realm rain. "Are you okay?" he asked as soon as he'd landed. "I got here as fast as I could, but I had to find an umbrella first- here." He handed an umbrella to Willow.

She opened it, feeling much more secure under the boiling-rain-proof material. "Thank you. I'm okay, but I really appreciate you coming here."

"No problem." The tension in Hunter's body drained away, leaving him standing there awkwardly. He eventually asked, "Do you want to fly back to your house or stay here?"

"I was always taught it's safer to shelter in place till the rain ends," Willow replied, "and besides, it would be kind of hard to hold the umbrella while flying."

"If anyone could do it, it would be you, Captain. Or I could hold it over you if you want- I just don't want to leave you here alone."

Oh. "You could wait here with me," Willow suggested. That... would be kind of nice, actually, she thought.

"Oh yeah. I could." Hunter gave a soft smile.

"Come here." Willow beckoned Hunter closer. "I know the rain doesn't hurt you, but it's cozy under here."

Hunter obliged, and she shifted the umbrella to cover both of them. Their arms were touching... Then Hunter noticed the red mark the boiling raindrop had left on Willow's arm.

"You're hurt! One second, I brought a first-aid kit." Hunter rummaged through his bag.

"It's just a small burn." It didn't even hurt anymore, but Willow was touched by his care nevertheless.

With the precision of a field medic but the care of a friend, Hunter dabbed antibiotic cream on the burn and covered it with a band-aid. Willow tried not to focus on his hands on her skin, how close he was, the intimacy of him caring for her.

Hunter released her arm when he was done- was she imagining the blush on his face? "There you go."

"Thank you." Willow could tell she was blushing too. "I feel so silly for not bringing a first-aid kit or umbrella of my own."

"You don't have to be perfectly prepared all the time. I've got you."

Willow's heart was glowing and blooming and doing ridiculous somersaults. Did Hunter even know he had just said the sweetest thing ever?

"Thank you." Willow tentatively reached out and took his hand. It was warm and calloused and fit perfectly with hers.

And so for a while, they stood together under the umbrella, holding hands, watching the boiling rain.

[carpisuns]

Huntlow Hearts Exchange gift for @amanitaaurelia ! Happy belated Valentine's Day 💕

Rating: G

Word count: 6.3k

Summary: She spun around, breaking the vines around her ankles. “Why do you still call me that? We only got to play flyer derby together one time. I’m not your captain anymore.”

Hunter blinked, magenta eyes wide. “Of course you are.”

“Why?”

“Because … because I’d follow you anywhere. Captain.”

After another failed attempt to make a portal door, Willow feels at fault. Just when she's about to break down, Hunter finds her.

when we talk like this

“Ugh, it’s no use!” Luz groaned. “We’re never gonna figure out a way to make a portal work.”

Willow frowned, watching Luz pace back and forth across the clubhouse floor. Normally, Luz was the one who was brimming with enthusiasm and ready to try new ideas. But lately she’d gotten restless. Agitated.

“We can’t give up yet! We’ll find a way,” Amity said, trying valiantly for certainty but not quite making the mark.

Luz stopped pacing. “How? Without Titan’s blood, we don’t have power. We can’t—”

“Actually,” Hunter cut in, drawing out every syllable, “there might be another way.”

Willow glanced at him. He was grinning with his tooth gap on full display, brows arched, absolutely dripping with Golden Guard confidence.

Flapjack twittered softly on his shoulder. They all looked at Hunter expectantly.

“And? Care to share with the class?” Gus put down whatever human doohickey he’d been playing with. “Dude, we’ve talked about the dramatic pause thing. I mean, I of all people appreciate the power of some good theatrics, but you really don’t need to make a whole production of it every time you have an idea. Just spit it out.”

Hunter’s grin slipped into a pout. “Fine,” he said, sweeping his forelock out of his face.

His hair had grown shockingly fast since they’d arrived. After just a few weeks, the back was long and scraggly. Willow had to wonder how he’d managed to keep it so short and neat before. At this rate, he must’ve had to pay daily visits to the castle’s barber.

He’d pulled it back in a tiny blond tuft at the back of his neck. She couldn’t decide whether it was stupid or cute. (Both, probably.)

“Okay, so, we know we need Titan’s blood to power the door,” Hunter said. “And obviously we can’t get any here. But what if we could use a substitute?”

Luz’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of substitute?”

“Well, I’ve read a lot about how the Titan’s magic powers the Boiling Isles. Every natural ecosystem, every living thing that grows on the Titan’s corpse is infused with its magic. If we can get something that’s been growing on the Isles, there might be enough Titan magic in it to power the door.”

“But how are we supposed to get something from the Isles without a door?” Vee piped up.

“That’s where the captain comes in.”

Willow blinked. “Me? How exactly am I supposed to do that?”

“You can use your plant magic to recreate a plant that’s native to the Isles!” Hunter said. “Of course, it would be best to use an actual plant from the Isles, but after centuries of native growth on the Titan, the magic should be part of the plant’s genetic structure. So if Willow is able to create a plant with her own magic that’s a close enough match to the native plant—to the point that it has the same genome—we just might have what we need.”

“Hmm,” Gus said. “Sounds like a long shot.”

“Right, but what do we have to lose by trying? Besides, if anyone can do this, it’s Willow, right?” Hunter turned to her. “What do you say, Captain? Worth a shot?”

Everyone was staring at her now. Gus, Amity, and Vee looked pretty convinced by Hunter’s presentation. Even Luz looked mildly hopeful. And Hunter was waiting patiently for her answer, no trace of doubt on his face.

“Um,” she said.

I can do this. I can do this.

Willow took a deep breath and stood, shoulders squared. “Yeah. Let’s give it a go.”

Hunter beamed at her. “Cool. Well, um, we probably want to pick a plant that we know grows close to a confirmed deposit of Titan’s blood. That way the magical connection will be stronger. Any ideas?”

“What about Eclipse Lake?” Amity suggested. “The blood is gone now, but at least we know it used to be there.”

“Good idea. Do we know what kinds of plants grow there?” Hunter asked.

Willow frowned, trying to remember back to her botany class. “Well, I know that there are starfire lilies in that area. They’re really old and pretty rare, but they’re really useful for potions, because if you pluck the petals they leak this kinda sticky blue stuff that’s supposed to amplify the effects or whatever potion you’re making.”

Luz’s head snapped up. “Like Titan’s blood.”

“Sort of.”

“That sounds perfect,” Hunter said. “Do you think you can conjure one?”

Willow bit her lip. “Um, we dissected them once in class. I think … yeah, I can do it. I just have to remember the pattern.”

“Take your time,” Hunter said.

Willow closed her eyes. In her mind, all plants had a pattern—a signature unique to every species. When she held it in her mind she could feel it in her fingers, her palms, a tingling up her arms and to her chest, the source of all her magic. It was a pull, a question, a call to bring the plant to life. Like if she asked with enough certainty, it would answer with leaves and stems and blossoms at her feet.

Tentora razor plants had a spiky pattern, sharp and angular. Gemmaranda bushes were cloudy and dreamlike. And starfire lilies—she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, remembering—they were like a shower of sparks.

“Ready,” she murmured.

She raised a finger, holding the pattern in her mind. Then, carefully, she drew a spell circle. It glowed in the air, and when it faded, an enormous lily burst through a crack in the floorboards.

“Nice work, Willow!” Gus said. “Does it look like the real thing?”

Willow inspected it. A supple black stem. Large, sharp-edged leaves. And dark blue petals, with flecks of luminescent orange scattered across the surface like glowing embers.

“Yeah,” she said. “It looks right to me.”

“Okay, so, do we just … pick it up?” Luz crouched down by the flower. “Maybe we coat the edges of the door in the blue stuff?”

“Let’s try that,” Hunter said. “Captain, wanna do the honors, since this is your handiwork?”

“Sure.”

Willow plucked a petal to release the liquid, and the lily let out a cry. Everyone jumped.

“Titan, what was that?” Gus shouted. “Willow, did that thing just scream at us?”

“Oh! Sorry. Forgot to tell you about that little side effect. They’re a little bit vain, and going bald is not exactly their favorite.” She winced as she plucked another petal, letting the liquid spill over her fingers. “Sorry, little friend! This is really important, I promise.”

When her hands were properly dripping in starfire juice, she stood and walked to the door. Everyone followed her out of the clubhouse, watching as she ran her fingers along the doorframe, staining it midnight blue.

They all stared through the open door, waiting with bated breath. The seconds ticked by. No light. No sign of magic. Not even a spark.

“Well,” Gus said finally, “I’m gonna take that as a no.”

He said it lightly, casually, like it was a joke, but Willow knew Gus well enough to recognize the disappointment in his voice. Behind her, Luz let out a weary sigh, and Willow felt her own heart sink inside her chest.

She’d gotten too used to being hailed as the best plant witch at Hexside. She’d forgotten what it felt like to fail like this. And somehow, this felt even worse than Professor Hermonculus humiliating her in class. He didn’t matter to her anymore. He was cruel and callous and he’d always been wrong about her.

No … this time, away from her dads, trapped under glass, crushing her friends’ last seed of hope—all with plant magic, the one thing she was supposed to be good at …

This time felt much worse.

A hand came to rest on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” Amity said. “We’ll figure something else out. Thanks for trying, Willow.”

She offered a small, encouraging smile. Something about it made old fire spark inside Willow’s blood. She knew Amity wasn’t like that anymore, that she wasn’t trying to be condescending, that she was just trying to be nice, but it made Willow remember things she’d rather forget. Those early days when they’d first started hanging out again, back when Amity went out of her way to compliment Willow for every small, unimpressive bit of magic. When she’d heap on encouragements every time she made a small slip-up—even when she didn’t slip up. Back when Amity still saw her as Half-a-Witch Willow, something small and weak she had to protect. Someone who wore failures on her shoulders like a cloak. Someone who couldn’t help anyone, even herself.

Willow forced a smile. “Would you guys excuse me for a minute? I’ve gotta go, um, check on the garden. I’ll be right back.”

She strode past Hunter, refusing to look him in the eye. She couldn’t bear to see whatever brand of disappointment she would find there.

The summer air was sticky, and the sun beat down on her bare shoulders. She really should go water the garden—it hadn’t rained this week—but instead she found herself venturing further into the woods. Gardening always made her feel better when she was stressed or sad, but it didn’t help with this kind of mood. Her hands had balled into bloodstained fists, shaking at her sides. She didn’t trust them to be gentle right now.

In the cover of the trees, Willow paced back and forth across undergrowth. Her pulse pounded in her ears, and it felt like her veins were stretching under her skin, magic coursing through every bloodpath in her body.

She forced herself to stop moving and close her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. She counted the seconds on her fingers, just like her dads had taught her.

Her eyes snapped open. Dad. Papa.

Where were they now?

A familiar ache seized in her chest. There was nothing she could do to help them. No way to protect them, or even know if they were okay. She couldn’t even help her friends here, couldn’t find a way back home, couldn’t do … anything.

A lump formed in her throat, and hot tears blurred her vision. She blinked them away furiously, remembering at the last second not to touch her face with her sticky fingers. She wouldn’t cry over this. She had to be strong. For Gus, and Hunter, and Amity, and Luz. For her dads. For everyone.

But she didn’t feel strong today. She felt lost, and weak, and broken, and that made her angry—angry at herself for failing again, angry at Belos for hurting people, just … angry.

A groan slipped through her teeth as she paced through the trees again. She still remembered the time when Luz and Amity had entered her mindscape and seen all the burning inside of her. She thought she was done with burning now. But sleeping embers have a way of sparking back into life. Like buried seeds that burst through shell and soil to clamor toward the sun.

Her mindscape was a forest, but Willow had always thought of herself as a garden. She had a multitude of scattered seeds inside her. Some she cultivated carefully (compassion, patience, loyalty, confidence—all the things she wanted to be). And some she ignored, hoping they would never sprout. Those seeds scared her. She didn’t want to know what they could be if they grew.

But some of them grew anyway, without her permission, for years and years, because “out of sight” never really was “out of mind.” She hated that about herself—that underneath all the layers of bud and blossom that she painstakingly grew from her own tears and sweat, bitter seeds slept beneath her soil. They woke unbidden, taking stealthy root inside her heart, creeping upward to choke out every goodness she had fought so hard to keep alive. Anger, fear, hopelessness—they were all like thorny vines that tangled in her ribs and twined around her veins, relentless weeds that crawled through every space and corner and filled her blood like poison, like—

“Captain?”

Willow flinched, pulled back to the reality of the forest around her—the creaking trunks, the fluttering leaves, the rich smell of dirt and moss. And an alarming tightness around her feet. She glanced down to see a thick knot of vines wrapped around her ankles, thorns pressed against her skin.

It had been a long time since that had happened to her.

“Captain?” Hunter asked again.

“What?” she snapped—harsher than she meant to. She kept her back to him, face burning. Maybe he hadn’t noticed the vines.

Hunter hesitated. “Um, we decided to take a break. Camila’s making something called lemon … laminate, I think? Some kind of human drink. If you want some.”

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. The starfire juice had dried a little, but it still made her fingers stick together. She took in a slow, deep breath. “No, thanks.”

“Um, are you sure? Luz says it’s—”

“Hunter, please go.”

A pause. “Captain, are you okay?”

Finally, she broke. She spun around, breaking the vines around her ankles. “Why do you still call me that? We only got to play flyer derby together one time. I’m not your captain anymore.”

Hunter blinked, magenta eyes wide. “Of course you are.”

“Why?”

“Because … because I’d follow you anywhere. Captain.”

Hunter held her gaze. His cheeks were flushed, but he stood tall, shoulders squared, like he was ready to follow her into battle right this second. It was the stance of the Golden Guard. A proud soldier who wasn’t afraid of anything.

But Willow had seen Hunter when he was afraid. And lonely. And unsure. She’d seen him happy too—having conversations with Flapjack that she couldn’t really follow, nerding out over some weird human thing with Gus, laughing at Luz’s Principal Bump impression.

It was hard to remember sometimes that not so long ago, he’d been the leader of the Emperor’s Coven. Now, instead of a white cloak and a golden mask, he wore a brightly colored shirt with a pattern of weird squiggles and shapes. (What had Luz called it again? “Bowling alley carpet.”) He looked strangely out of place against the muted forest backdrop, but somehow, he’d always seemed to belong in this place much more than Willow ever did.

Still, he wanted to get back home, and he’d been counting on her back there. Hunter was smart. He studied a lot. He cared a lot. He offered more ideas than anyone else. And he’d seemed so hopeful about this one. And somehow that fact made her failure even worse. Of everyone there, why did it cut the deepest to know that she’d let Hunter down?

Willow sighed. “You shouldn’t follow me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This isn’t a flyer derby match. It’s—it’s real life, and it’s complicated, and it’s scary, and if we lose then …” She swallowed. “You just—you shouldn’t put so much faith in me. I don’t know what I’m doing. And I’m just gonna screw it up, like I always do. Like I just did.”

Hunter was quiet for a moment. “Is this about what happened with the door? It wasn’t your fault. We all knew it was a slim shot.”

“No—I mean, yes, but it’s more that that! I just …” Willow sank onto a mossy log. “I’m so tired, Hunter. I’m so tired of being half a witch.”

He didn’t answer for a long time, until she wondered whether he had left. But when she glanced up, he was still standing there, head bowed, with his face hidden in shadow.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry for making you feel like that. I—I shouldn’t have put so much pressure on you, especially when I knew it probably wouldn’t work, and—”

“It’s not you,” Willow said quickly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Neither did you,” he said. “It seems like you conjured that lily perfectly. The only reason it didn’t work was that it was never going to work. It wasn’t a proper substitute for Titan’s blood. I mean, it was just a stupid theory. You can’t blame yourself for not being able to bend the laws of magic.”

“It wasn’t a stupid theory,” Willow said. “Just an untested one.”

Hunter let out a breath. “And now we know it doesn’t work.”

“Right. Now we know.”

Hunter perched on the log beside her and stared down at his shoes (the weird rubber slip-ons with holes in them—his “clowndals,” according to Amity).

“I still think about it all the time, you know,” he said. “That day.”

His voice was such a timid, quiet thing—so unlike his usual eager chatter. His brows were drawn, shoulders sloped, eyes glued to the forest floor, his whole stance colored with remorse.

“What day?” she asked.

“The day we met. When I kidnapped you all for the Emperor’s Coven, and I thought you would be happy, but then you said … you said the same thing. That you’re just half a witch.” He squeezed his eyes shut, like even the thought itself was painful. “I felt awful. I couldn’t believe I had made you of all people feel so … small. I know what that feels like. And I promised myself then that I would never make you feel that way again.”

“You didn’t.”

He lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Then why are you saying it now?”

“Because … I know that people look up to me now. Gus. Luz. Even Amity, I think.” She glanced his way but didn’t dare to include him in the list (although, if she was honest, she was pretty sure he should be the first one—a thought that made her feel strange and proud and nervous all at once).

“And I guess sometimes I’m just scared,” she went on. “Scared that underneath everything, I’m still just Half-a-Witch Willow. That I’m just pretending I’m someone different, and everyone’s gonna figure it out. That I’m gonna fail them, because I’m not strong enough to protect them, and I was lying by promising that I could.”

She took a shaking breath, gripping her knees. “And I can’t fail. I have to be strong, so we can all get back home. So we can save our families. So we can saved the Isles.” She shook her head. “I’ve been slacking off lately. I should be training more. If I’d been training maybe I’d be stronger. And sharper. My magic would be better. Maybe I could’ve conjured up a better lily. One that actually would’ve worked like you said.”

“It was never going to work. Even with a real lily from the lake.”

“Well, we don’t know that. I probably got something wrong. Maybe if I’d—”

“Cap—Willow.”

She fell silent, eyes drawn to the shape of his profile, smattered with gold that filtered down through the leaves.

Hunter breathed in. “I’ve been in the Emperor’s Coven for as long as I can remember. With the best and brightest and strongest witches on the Boiling Isles. But until that day at Hexside, I had never met a witch a like you.”

Willow heartbeat stumbled. She wasn’t sure whether it was what he said or the fact that it was Hunter who said it.

“Your magic is like nothing I’ve ever seen,” he continued, talking faster as he went. “You’re as good as some of the coven heads—and they’ve had years more experience than you! But—but what makes you a great witch is more than just your magic. It’s, like … your”—he paused, apparently struggling for words—“your heart? I don’t know; I’ve known a lot of talented witches whose magic was impressive technically but it just lacked … something. It felt kind of empty, I guess? But yours is never like that.”

He still hadn’t looked at her, but his hands had sprung to life, like they were weaving a subtle magic of their own as he spoke to the trees around them.

“Obviously I can’t do magic,” Hunter said, “but I’ve studied about to a lot. And one thing I learned is that inner magic always has an emotional core. And the quality of the magic depends on where it comes from. And yours … yours always comes from this place of compassion and care and protection. I think that’s why it’s so strong. You’re a powerful witch not just because you’re good at magic but because you’re a good person.”

His voice was slowing down now, softening to match the murmuring trees, and his hands came to rest on knees, gripping the hem of his shorts. “You’re kind, and smart, and brave, and strong. And—and when you don’t feel brave you’re still strong. And when you don’t feel strong you’re still … you’re still … Willow.”

At last, he turned to her, holding her gaze with a look in his eyes that made something stir deep in her chest.

“You’re Willow,” he repeated, softly, almost reverently, like it meant something, like her name was an answer to the most important question. And somehow, she got it.

She opened her mouth, but no words came. Hunter groaned.

“Ugh, I don’t know how to say what I mean,” he said. “That was—sorry, that was probably stupid. I—I want to make you understand, but I just—”

“I understand.” Willow paused. “Thank you.”

A blush spread from his cheeks to his ears. “A-anytime,” he said.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The longer she watched him, the more the stirring in her chest grew stronger—like the flowers of her garden were just waking up, unfurling their petals to greet the sun.

She turned her gaze back to the trees.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier,” she said quietly. “Sometimes I just get … angry. And I have a hard time controlling it.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched for a reaction. She’d just admitted something she didn’t like to admit to anyone, even herself. Those bitter seeds and thorny vines she wished that she could kill.

But Hunter didn’t even move, and when he spoke, his voice was calm. “It's okay. Everyone gets angry.”

She turned back to him. “That’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t treat my friends that way.”

“Well, maybe, sometimes, you just need to … let it out?”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“You have a lot of reasons to be angry,” Hunter said. “You cant hold it in all the time, right? So if you ever need to be angry … you can be angry at me. It’s okay.” He offered a gentle smile, a loose strand of hair lifting in the breeze.

“Hunter, I’m not mad at you.”

“No, I know! I’m just saying that you can be mad at me. If you need to. If you need somewhere to let it go. I can take it. Promise. I’ve taken worse.”

Her eyes roved over the notch in his ear, the scar on his face, the bags under his eyes—still present after weeks of rest. He had taken a lot. Too much. But he came through it all like this—still hopeful, still trusting, still so willing to place his faith in her.

Somehow she could sense the way she looked to him. He could still see them, she was sure (the weeds and bitter seeds), but that’s not what mattered to him. He saw the whole garden. He saw her.

Willow cleared her throat, ignoring the goosebumps that sprang up on her arms. “I don’t think that will work.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t feel angry when I look at you. I can’t let it go, because when you show up, it’s gone.”

“Oh. Well. That’s—that’s good, I guess.” He let out a nervous chuckle. “Isn’t it?”

She smiled. “Yeah, it is. Thanks, Hunter. For helping me feel like myself again.”

He smiled back, cheeks still dusted in pink. “Cool. Happy to help.”

She couldn’t help but stare at the gap between his teeth; his sharply bent nose; his thick, dark brows that somehow didn’t match his hair at all. All these little things that by themselves might seem imperfect. But when you put them all together, it was Hunter. And Hunter was … Hunter was …

She shook her head, trying not to notice the heat in her cheeks and the fluttering in her stomach. “I think you said there was some, uh, limmy-nad? I want to try some.”

“Yeah. Um, sure.”

They both stood, and she walked quickly in the direction of the house.

“Wait!”

He grabbed her hand but dropped it, cheeks blazing, as soon as she turned around. Her fingers twitched at her sides.

“Y-yeah?” she asked.

He sucked in a breath and addressed a patch of mushrooms at their feet. “Um, I just wanted to tell you that … I know you’re kind of carrying a lot right now, and you—you don’t have to do it by yourself. I learned that, when I ran away. I thought I’d have to be on my own. But—but you and Gus—you saved me. All of you. If it weren’t for you, I’d be—I’d …”

His brow scrunched, and he shook his head.

Willow didn’t want to think about it either.

“The point is, we may not get to play flyer derby anymore, but we’re still a team, right? We’re gonna do this together. All of us.” He straightened, and suddenly that proud soldier was back, looking her squarely in the eye. “You’re not my captain because you know what you’re doing. You’re my captain because you know who you are. And if you ever forget, I’ll be here to remind you. Okay?”

It should’ve been hard to take him seriously in this outfit, with half his scraggly hair falling out of that tiny ponytail, but all his words were bleeding with sincerity. She felt them sink into her skin and bolster up her bones—make her stand a little taller, feel a little stronger. There was a song inside her ribcage and a sun behind her eyes, and she felt her garden blooming, loud and lush and wild.

“Thanks, Hunter,” she whispered.

-------

When they got back to the house, the others seemed to be in good spirits, despite their recent failure. While they talked and laughed at the kitchen table, Willow went to the sink and scrubbed her hands, watching the blue seep out until her skin was clean again.

“Captain?” Hunter appeared at her elbow, holding two glasses of yellow juice. “I brought you some, uh, lemonade.”

“Thanks.” She took one and clinked it against the edge of his. “Cheers!”

“Huh? Oh. Um, cheers.”

They both took a sip. The drink was acidic and sugary, leaving a tangy aftertaste on her tongue.

“Oh, it’s sweeter than I thought!” Hunter wrinkled his nose. “And also … sour?”

His face twisted, eyebrows scrunching, and it was such a ridiculous, over-the-top Hunter face that she had to laugh.

“Hey, don’t judge,” she teased. “You started out as kind of sour yourself when we first met.”

He flushed. “Right.”

“But don’t worry.” She raised her glass to her lips again, hiding her smile behind its rim. “I knew you’d turn out sweet.”

He blinked down at her, liked he’d been temporarily stunned, and then a smile stole across his blushing face.

“Willow, come look at this video.” Gus snickered. “This cat looks just like Hunter.”

Hunter’s head snapped toward the table, where the others were crowded around Luz’s phone. “What? No, it doesn’t.”

“How would you know?” Gus said. “You haven’t even seen it.”

“Let me see.” Hunter lunged toward the table, nearly spilling his drink, while Luz held the phone out of his reach. Willow lingered back for just a minute, laughing softly while she watched.

(As it turned out, the cat did look a lot like Hunter.)

(It was pretty cute, honestly.)

----

That night, Willow plopped her new scrapbook on the kitchen table, opening to the first page. Camila had given it to her the other day, to fill with all the photos she’d been taking. She sorted through the pile, filing away each memory.

There were … a lot more photos of Hunter than she remembered.

“Hey.”

Willow jumped, swiveling around to find Hunter himself, clutching a potted flower in his hands.

“Hunter! Um, hi!” She quickly swept the photos into a stack, realizing too late that the one one top was a potentially incriminating picture of him attempting to twirl spaghetti on his fork.

“I, uh—I brought you this.” He held up the flower—the starfire lily, newly planted in a terra cotta pot. “I noticed that its petals had regrown, and I thought you should keep it.”

She grinned. “You brought me a flower? How sweet. Now I’m embarrassed. I should’ve brought one for you too.”

His face reddened. “No! I’m, um—technically this is already yours, so I’m just … returning it to you. I just didn’t think the middle of the clubhouse floor was the safest spot for it. But I knew you’d take good care of it.”

Willow stared. “You … you were worried about the lily?”

“Um, well, I just know that you like plants a lot. I mean, of course—you’re a plant witch. Like, the best there is. And, I don’t know, I just thought you’d probably want to look after it. Since its petals came back, you know?”

“That’s—yeah. That’s really thoughtful of you. Thanks.” She took the pot from him and placed it on the table.

“I hope I didn’t hurt it,” he said. “I tried to be extra careful when I was digging it up. Like you taught me in the garden the other day. I didn’t want to make it cry again.”

She smiled. “You did a good job. It seems pretty happy to me.”

“Um, good.” He smiled back nervously. “I’m glad.”

Willow ran a thumb along the smooth edge of a newly born petal. “I totally forgot that their petals regrow. Pretty cool, huh?”

Hunter nodded. “When I saw that they’d come back, I remembered that I’ve read about these flowers before. I used to do a lot of research about potions and stuff, to help my—” He stopped himself, shaking his head. “Anyway, when the petals regrow, the starfire juice replenishes too. And its stronger every time. The lily may be vain, but it’s really resilient. It’ll regrow every time it’s plucked. It’s very coveted by potioneers, because if you have one it can keep producing starfire juice for years.”

“Wow,” Willow said. “I don’t remember learning about that in class. That’s pretty amazing.”

“Yeah! Apparently they’re also very difficult to conjure, which is partially why they’re in such high demand. Not many witches have the magical skill to summon one that actually has the same properties as a real one. Except for you, I guess.”

He flashed her a smile, and something fluttered in her stomach.

“We don’t know if this one even works with potions. Maybe it just looks pretty.” She turned back to the flower to hide her face. “And you are very pretty! Your petals grew back so nicely,” she cooed down at it.

“Well, you managed to make one that has starfire juice,” he pointed out. “And that regrows its petals.”

“That doesn’t mean it works in potions.” She glanced up from the lily with a smile. “We’d have to test it to be sure, wouldn’t we? Just like your theory.”

“I don’t have to test it to know you did it right. You—you’re an amazing witch, Willow.” He rubbed the back of his neck, ears pink, and Willow felt heat rise to her cheeks.

“I think—I think you’re kind of like a starfire lily,” he said in a rush. “’Cause hard things have happened to you, but you always come back stronger. And you make all of us stronger too. Amplify our effects … or whatever. ’Cause you’re the captain, and you make the team better.”

Willow’s face felt like it was glowing now, and so did her chest. Hunter finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, and she blinked back at him, at a loss for what to say.

You make me feel stronger too, Hunter.

“Thanks,” she said at last. “That means a lot.”

He fingers found the hem of his oversized pajama shirt, fiddling with the fabric. “Also, um, just so you know … it’s okay to cry when your petals are plucked. It’s—it’s not vain. It sucks. Even if you come back stronger, it’s okay to feel hurt first. Or—or angry. Or lost.”

She stared at him, heart pounding, feeling, once again, that he was seeing straight through her—to the vines and trees and blossoms, to the weeds and bitter seeds. He saw it, she knew. He saw it all.

“Sorry!” he said quickly, waving his hands in front of his face. “Was that—? That was weird. Or, like, I didn’t mean—I was just—”

“No,” she said, “it was really nice.”

Without thinking, she stepped closer, and she could almost hear his heartbeat pick up (or maybe that was just an echo of her own).

Hunter cleared his throat. “Well, Gus and I were gonna watch a movie. If you want to join.”

“I was gonna work on this.” She gestured to the scrapbook. “Maybe next time?”

“Sure. Of course.” For a second he just stood there, arms hanging limply at his sides, like he wasn’t sure what to do next. Then he blinked into motion with a jerk. “Uh, bye!”

He was halfway to the stairs when she stopped him. “Hunter.”

He turned back. “Yeah?”

She let the pattern fill her mind—blinding beams and and blooming spots and gentle dappled gold.

Her spell circle glowed in the air, and a flower fell into Hunter’s hands.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A thank-you,” she said. “For the lily. And for helping me today.”

“Oh.” He stared down at it, gripping the stem in his fist. “What kind is it?”

“It’s called a sunflower. It’s from the human realm. It, um, kind of reminds me of you.”

He looked up. “It does? Why?”

Her fingers were tingling, and she wasn’t sure if it was residual magic or something else.

“I don’t know. It’s bright. And happy.” She paused. “It makes me smile.”

He blinked, lips parting to give her a glimpse of the gap between his teeth. Then he smiled softly, bright and warm to match the flower in his hands. “Me too.”

“Hunter!” Gus called up the stairs. “Are you coming? The movie’s getting cold, dude.”

“That doesn’t—what does that even mean?” Hunter called back.

“It means get your butt down here or I’m gonna find out what happened to Shrek and Fiona without you!”

“No—wait! I’ll be right there!” Hunter stumbled toward the stairs. “Um, good night, Captain! Thanks for the sunflower.”

“Night, Hunter.”

Willow sank onto a chair at the table, listening to the sounds of the movie drifting up from the basement. She pulled the scrapbook toward her and ran a hand over its smooth, empty pages.

They’d been busy in the human realm for these last few weeks. When they weren’t working on the portal door, they were exploring their new world, trying to make memories to distract them from home. Already Willow had dozens of photos, enough to fill half the scrapbook, probably. But where to start?

She picked up the photo on the top of the stack—the one of Hunter gracelessly eating a bowl of spaghetti. She laughed softly. Maybe not this one (but it was definitely a keeper).

The next one was a group shot, all of them standing in front of the newly refurbished clubhouse. Hunter stood at her side, with Flapjack on his shoulder, wearing a smile so bright that it rivaled the sun.

Carefully, Willow taped the photo into the scrapbook. Not too shabby! she wrote underneath.

She flipped through the book of stickers Camila had gotten her, and one of them caught her eye. A smiling sunflower, lifting a leaf like it was waving hello. She peeled it off and stuck it in the scrapbook, right next to Hunter.

Beside her, a leftover drop of starfire juice was clinging to the lily’s stem. Willow wiped it up with a finger and then pressed it to the scrapbook next to the sticker, stamping the paper with a blue fingerprint.

“To remember today,” she told the lily. “You have to remember the hard things too. Because the hard stuff leads to the good stuff, you know?”

She stared at the tip of her finger, stained once again with blue. “It was nice, to talk with him like that,” she whispered. “I hope we get to talk like that again.”

When they got home—when all of this was over—she hoped they’d get to play flyer derby. She hoped she’d get to be the captain again. (It was nice that at least to Hunter, she still was.)

One day, she decided, they’d leave practice together and have a long talk, like they did today, and she’d repay the favor and tell him everything that made him wonderful.

But for now, it was nice to talk like that here, with sap-sticky hands and thorn-bitten ankles and a heartbeat that wouldn’t stand still. It would be nice like that, she thought, no matter where they were.

Willow glued another photo to the page.

One day they would all make it home. But until then, she was here with a scrapbook, so she would fill it up with long talks, and lemonade, and starfire lilies.

[zirconpetals]

Huntlow week Day 2: Flower Crowns

I actually had a big drawing all lined for this, but decided to go with this doodle instead! Yes it's that one headcanon where Willow grows flowers in her hair when she gets flustered!

[candiedbeez]

They’ve come for us, brother

Sibling Swap! Au

Basically everything that happens in the original owl house is the same except Luz/Belos and Hunter/Caleb swap places. Philip is a modern human in this au and he ends up in the Boiling Isles with Empress Lucinda/Luzura (I can’t decide which name yet). Hunter stays almost exactly the same because he is still a grimwalker of the original Hunter, but he has a guardian that actually cares for him in her own twisted way. Hunter still goes by Hunter in this au because Luz believes him to be a perfect reincarnation of her long dead brother. (I was originally going to call grimwalker Hunter, Caleb but it was getting to confusing) Luz has pretty much gone off the deep end after her brother was killed and she rules the Boiling Isles similarly to how Belos does in the original show. Although, she is much more lenient and understanding to her subjects.

Luz was originally the one out of her and Hunter that wanted to learn about magic and how to cast spells, unlike Hunter who was much more cautious and wary of magic. Hunter ended up dying, not because Luz murdered him, but because of an accident involving one of Luz’s many experiments gone wrong. Now she tries to blame everything but herself for the incident, and the love she had for witches and magic has slowly faded into hatred over the years.

She’s constantly struggling with the loss of her brother and continues to make grimwalkers of him, promising herself it will be better each time she makes a new one. Luz shows compassion to her grimwalkers even though she believes them to be evil because they came from the very magic that killed her brother. She is, ironically, the one that ends their lives and most of the time by accident. The curse she acquired due to one of her experiments lashes out often and has gotten worse as time progresses. She has found ways to survive this long with her only goal being to bring Hunter back and return to the human realm. She doesn’t care what happens to the witches of the Boiling Isles, but she has created the coven system and many other laws to prohibit magic just because she wants to have a tighter reign on her kingdom. Luz does have a day of unity planned, but that is a plan B to her original plan, which is to create a perfect Hunter and leave.

Hunter in this au is very similar to canon, the only difference being that in place of the original Luz there is now Philip. Many of the characters have very different roles than they do in canon. Amity, Willow, and Gus are all coven heads who are friends with the Empress ( I’ll explain more on that later). But Eda, King, and Hooty all have the same role as the original (I might change this and make Eda and Lilith younger so they can be friends with Philip, but if I do that I’m not sure who can be Philip’s mentor so any suggestions for that would be nice) I’m sorry for any confusion on this but I still wanted to have a Lumity subplot and I had to make sacrifices lol. (sadly there will be no huntlow since Willow is an adult in this au and Hunter is not, she’s more of a mentor figure and they are strictly platonic).

I have much more to explain about this au but I’ll save it for the next time I draw it.

[mistyfoxxy]

For you to write .

Oh. I believe those are supposed to be given to me lol.

So far I have:

•First day and all that good stuff with parenting.

• The day she was born (I think I wrote that one already actually….?)

• Future Winnie being popular among Flyer Derby and such

• Baby get fireflu? (I think?)

• Winnie talking to baby inside mommy’s belly.

I just named those off the top of my head lol. Im writing to fics right now. The next chapter to my BATB Huntlow AU and a prompt that takes place in “Thanks to them” you’ll have to wait and see what that one’s about. Then I might draw some of my prompts. Figure out Rascals design and etc.

[soldrawss]

Rosy cheeks and clumsy feet 

[lollytea]

this is more a request for YOUR huntlow thoughts but who breaks and says their feelings first. does hunter even know how to articulate that. does he just start yelling

There's like a fic that I have no idea if I'll ever write but I'll yack away but how I pictured it going down cuz if I don't write it, at least I got to talk about it.

I kinda like toying with the idea that there's not gonna be any talk about feelings for a while. Not in show canon anyway. I figure by the time a year passes after the show's timeline ends, the tension between them is palpable. Neither are certain but they have an inkling that the other likes them too. But no words about it are ever exchanged. Absolutely none.

Hunter has decided that he wants to kiss her. Just once. It kinda overwhelms him to think too much about anything beyond kissing her, so he just fixates on that alone for whatever reason.

Theyre in her garden late at night. Hunter draws a light glyph in the dirt so he can see her face. And all the lines in his face crease as he tries to just. Ask her. That's all he has to do. Maybe she'll say no but at least he can finally say he tried.

Willow notices his efforts. She's been noticing how his eyes have been darting to her mouth this last while now. So she takes mercy on him, leaning in until their noses bump together and she asks "would you mind if I kissed you?"

It's a sweet awkward experimental little kiss in the dead of night that nobody will ever know about. Two kids who aren't really sure what they're hoping for but know that they've never kissed anyone before and they'd like to give it a try. And they can't imagine kissing anyone else but each other.

Neither asks it aloud but both are thinking "Now what?"

And theyre scared, man. They really didn't think of what comes after the kiss. Are they dating now? Dating sounds intimidating. And sure, not a word on the matter was exchanged but they've both kinda exposed themselves of having feelings for the other.

Hunter begins to panic and Willow takes hold of his hands until they stop shaking. "We don't need to get carried away." She says. "We can come back to this whenever we're ready. No rush. I'll still hold your hand if you want me to."

Luz and Amity dated for a few months and then built up to kissing. Willow and Hunter had a silly impulsive kiss just for the sake of it but decided that there would be no dating just yet.

Three years pass and they're in love. They never talk about it and they're not dating but they're in love and they both know it and they know the other knows it. They have their own ambitions, jobs, seperate lives, but at the end of the day, they're unable to go in completely different direction as they always circle back to each other. They're still best friends and they know each other inside out and my god. The tension, the flirting, the intense eye contact, the deliberate brush of hands every so often. The way they intertwine fingers when no one is around to watch. They still work hard to make the other blush and they can still pull it off. I think they are finally ready for this step as they are literally about to burst at the seams.

They're texting late at night when Hunter asks Willow to look outside her window. And lo and behond, there he is, standing in her yard, beneath her balcony.

"Hunter?"

"Hey, Captain. Does this look stupid from where you're standing. It feels kinda stupid from where I'm standing. But, well, we're in it now and there's no turning back."

"Are you....drunk?"

"I'm not. But now that you mention it, that would have been a great idea. Actually, I am fully sober and aware of everything I am saying and doing right now and I'm gonna be honest I'm in Hell."

"Is there a reason you're standing outside my window right now?"

"Luz said this sorta stuff is romantic. Do you think it's romantic? I need a second opinion."

"I guess if its the right person, you would consider anything they do romantic."

"Okay. Um. Do you think it's romantic if it's me?"

"As dumb as it is, yes I do. Pretty sure I used to hope you'd do something like this back when we were kids."

"Follow up question. Would this be an appropriate spot for me to tell you I'm in love with you?"

"Oh....um. Well. I-....to be honest, you could tell me you were in love with me in a garbage dump and I'd be happy."

"Do you....wanna go to a garbage dump? Because I can take-"

"No, Hunter. I like this."

"Great! Fantastic! So. Um. Me. Thoughts?"

"Too much in love with you for my own good."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Titan, you better be."

"I know it's been a while but...is it okay if I kiss you again? And....maybe kiss you tomorrow? And make it...a permanent thing?"

"I like the sound of a permanent thing."

[roodles03]

what do you think of labyrinth runners (other than the awesome huntlow crumbs we were given)? just asking for your opinion on it lol

Before the episode came out, I was actually expecting to be disappointed. I had very high hopes for this episode, and normally when I have high expectations for something I get disappointed. I had been hyping myself up for Hunter's return ever since Hollow Mind, as I really wanted to see how he was doing and how his return would be handled. On top of that, I worried I was hyping myself up too much for Huntlow content due to one of the promotional drawings we got where Hunter and Willow were both in it. I even made a joke about this just before I watched the episode

But when I watched it, holy shit, it wasn't what I expected, and that was a good thing, because blew my expectations out of the water.

Seeing how Gus and Willow met was an unexpected surprise. It was pretty cute. I'm also glad Hunter was able to reach out to Gus, and seeing them bond in this episode was very cool. They really have a good bromance. Hunter is dealing with his situation a lot better then I thought he would. I guess after he managed to calm down after his panic attack he was able to think rationally and figure out what he needed to do. Although it was very sad that he had survive off trash and find scraps to eat. That sandwich Gus gave him was probably the first decent meal he had in days. Poor kid.

Also, I gotta say, I LOVE the Illusion coven head. He's got such a narcissistic douchebag personality and I love it. He made me laugh a lot.

On the topic of huntlow, although I was hyping myself up for it, I was honestly expecting nothing, BUT HOLY FUCKING SHIT, I wasn't expecting for it to be hinted that Hunter has a crush on Willow.

When Hunter blushed here, I literally had to pause the episode for a good 3 minutes so I could fanboy. I couldn't believe what I had just saw. It felt like a dream. I had imagined a scene like this in my head, but to actually SEE it on screen? I died.

I even recorded a part of my reaction to it lmao.

(Sorry about the mess, it's my parents not me. I was in the living room)

Also, Hunter being able to recognize that the Willow he saw was an illusion because she was afraid of him was fascinating. He was like, "That's not the captain. The real captain would kick my ass so hard I'd be coughing up parts of her shoe."

However, not everything is positive about this ep. I feel like the Amity and Willow B plot was handled horribly. It came out of nowhere, and was resolved way too quickly. Didn't feel natural at all. Thankfully this subplot is a very minor part of the episode, so it doesn't take away too much. But for this reason alone Hollow Mind is still my favorite TOH episode.

I know this was a long response, but I hope you enjoyed seeing my answer.

[frauleinfunf]

I made fankids for the first time in my life help

I went from saying I don't ship Huntlow to making fankids for the first time in my 26 years of life all in the span of a month Owl House what have you done to me. Notes: I used a picrew (ask if u want the link) bc I can't draw and am hella in favor of the headcanon that Hunter takes Willow's last name

Meadow Park

15

Oracle, Abomination, and Construction tracks

Top of her classes

Has had an obsession with death from an early age, related to how much it marked her father's side of the family

Wants to open a funeral home where the deceased can have direct input on their own funeral

Regularly uses Ouija boards to chat with the previous Golden Guards, started doing this when she was little bc she thought they must be lonely with almost no one to remember them

When she was 5 and held her little brother for the first time, she said "I've only had Ashe for a few minutes, but if anything were to happen to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself."

She scared the absolute shit of everyone in the room that day.

Tbh she still scares the shit out of Mattholomule. He and Gus are the least likely to volunteer to babysit, though Gus thinks Matt is overreacting

In spite of her detached and spooky exterior, she's actually very sensitive and is hurt that people are so afraid her

Her parents, who understand the pain of ostracization all too well, assure her she's perfect the way she is and that she'll find her people someday

Made those telepathy stones so she and her brother could chat while in their respective classes

Her reputation does come in handy is if anyone tries to pick on her brother, all she has to do to make sure they don't mess with him is walk up to them and ask why they're bothering him

Ashe Park

10

Healing and Plant tracks

Solid B+ average

Has an interest in wild magic that mainly manifests in the ways nature can be used for healing

When he was very young and learned what scars were, he cried over the fact that his parents and their friends had gotten hurt and wanted to make sure no one he loved got hurt again

A vry sweet boy that can be somewhat airheaded at times

He always 100% trusts ppl he just met

His parents love his compassionate nature but are also exasperated by the eighth time he needs a new scroll bc he fell for a phishing attempt

Absolutely adores his sister and doesn't even seem to be aware that most people are afraid of her

He's a huge crybaby and once cried over accidentally stepping on a flower and tried to hold a funeral for it before Willow perked it back up

Might be a huge softie but would 100% murder baby Belos if given a time pool (wouldn't have considered that he would probably cease to exist if he did that)

Is actually a talented baker and makes delicious fairy pies

Loves spending time with Tia Luz and shares her love of friendship and Azura books