#just... grimwalker-y | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

astrolavas · 10 months

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Ok ok, but now is turn for the grimwalker HCs!! Give us the creature👀

!!!!! BET

once a grimwalker is "formed" they simply turn mostly organic, just like how palismen are live animals instead of wood (when activated). so even though the ingredients are still THERE technically, they appear as just like... normal stuff, so grimwalkers are mostly biologically the species that their ortet was, almost indistinguishable (hair is hair, skin is skin, there's blood flow despite there not initially being a heart, the galdorstone is there but it functions very similarly to a heart, etc etc) and yet sometimes the original ingredients' features somehow still "show up" in unique-to-grimwalkers ways. ㅤ

i imagine grimwalkers used to be like a more popular/frequent occurence in ancient demon realm. the process of creating a grimwalker was like a sacred magic ritual, only allowed in special cases (like maybe if a witch lost a child early and wasn't able to have another one, sth of the sort) so it was still very rare even back then and would have to be approved of by most of the community. however, then the tradition died off as ingredients started becoming more scarce, and most of knowledge about it was eventually lost to time. nowadays, grimwalkers are considered to be an extinct species as well as an urban legend/myth by boiling isles habitants, like a "supposedly extinct but there's no certainty if they ever even actually existed" situation (without taking hunter and his possibly-openly-a-grimwalker-in-the-future thing into account just yet). the books we saw hunter read in labyrinth runners have some right information but also lots of misinformation in them, since they're far removed from the direct source, based on only tidbits of actual info, and have been written by witches/demons, with no grimwalkers consulted (obviously); lots of it is speculation, and lots of it is wrong. (i imagine the only actual, entirely truthful info is in those scrolls and books we saw in belos' grimwalker lab, but even that isn't fully complete; and belos wouldn't have wanted to share it with the public anyway, for obvious reasons) additionally, i feel like grimwalkers have a sort of cryptid-like reputation in the boiling isles' pop culture. there are stories made up about them. there are teens making pink-eyed grimwalker ocs on the demon realm equivalent of deviantart and making up things like "grimwalkers can shoot lasers out of their eyes" or "they can raise the dead with their thoughts" LMAO. hunter gets a headache when he discovers all that. ㅤ

grimwalkers are semi-immune to boiling water. the selkidomus scales give them a lot of immunity so boiling water is not actually lethal to them but still, being exposed to boiling rain for a long while or full-on diving into the boiling sea may hurt a bit and prolonged contact with boiling water may leave them with blisters/burns. ㅤ

when grimwalkers' skin is wet for a long time, it gets somewhat scaley ??? scales-resembling texture ?? instead of just being pruney/wrinkled. when dry, their fingertips have a sort of wood-rings-y look. ㅤ

grimwalkers' hair naturally grows incredibly fast, but especially when they spend lots of time in the sun. plant magic may also affect its growth positively. ㅤ

grimwalkers' eyes are reflective and can glow/shine in the dark. ㅤ

when it comes to human-based grimwalkers (the golden guards), sometimes their ears would turn out rounder and human-looking, sometimes they'd look pointier but still not fully witch-like. belos preferred them to be round cuz obviously he preferred "caleb" to be human-looking, but with time he started modifying some grimwalkers' naturally round ears to be pointier just so that they could blend in easier and so they'd believe that they're witches too. he'd "mold" their ears during early creation or sometimes modify/cut them after, like he did his. (hunter's ears are naturally pointy and generally look like a witch's ears but, upon closer inspection, the details of his ears differ from a normal witch's ears juuuust slightly) (ears of the grimwalker that we saw in ftf were fully round because belos was counting on this one to be the golden guard post-day of unity, seemingly brought up as human and in the human realm) ㅤ

just like stonesleepers, grimwalkers often have a slightly sensitive spot behind their ears. ㅤㅤㅤ

palismen can somewhat sense that grimwalkers are also made of palistrom wood so they naturally cling to them more (big win for mr palisman enthusiast/carver hunter owlhouse!) ㅤㅤ

again, when it comes to specifically caleb-based/the golden guard grimwalkers, i can imagine that belos' first attempts were....... FAR from perfect. since i imagine he got all the information from different incomplete ancient scrolls, there were many things he had to come up with and re-discover himself. the very first grimwalkers he made probably didn't even survive for longer than a few minutes/hours. and when they did survive, i feel like the ingredients used were much more distinguishable at first too, not fully transformed into their organic counterparts; like for example some grimwalkers had more selkidomus-like or stonesleeper-like features, or were visibly wooden in some places, etc etc. i feel like belos didn't succeed in making a fully functional, stable and human/witch-looking grimwalker until he met the collector, and then did so thanks to their help. ㅤ

grimwalkers are already "harvestable" at early infancy and that's when you're "supposed" to unbury them, but they can technically emerge at any age (they just have to stay underground and age for the amount of time). i feel like there were also times when belos tried to speed up the process and age his grimwalkers up faster so that they'd be of use to him quicker, but that would also often result in the grimwalkers being unstable; so not really a good idea. (i envision that hunter was probably one of the youngest- if not the youngest- grimwalker belos had ever made, and that's also why he had high hopes for him lasting longer than the others; because he manipulated him since early childhood, starting in his most pivotal developmental years) ㅤ

i like to believe that the reason why flapjack was able to save hunter in thanks to them was because hunter's a grimwalker. if hunter had been a normal witch or a human, i don't think flapjack could do anything to help. (something abt the thing that hunter was ashamed of and hated abt himself ending up being the exact thing that makes saving him possible... you know?) ㅤ

for specifically caleb-based grimwalkers, i imagine that since they're mostly human in biology, they might also have issues with eating some particular demon realm food. not as much as luz of course, since they're not completely human + after years of living in the demon realm and basically eating ONLY demon realm food i can imagine your stomach would get mostly used to it, acclimated and all, but it probably still could result in some problems and discomfort. ㅤ

because of their stonesleeper lungs, grimwalkers are usually pretty still and motionless sleepers. they breathe very slowly when sleeping. ㅤ

you can't make a grimwalker out of a grimwalker. you can try, but the magic simply won't work correctly.

#i'm normal abt grimwalker lore...... GRHRGRRR i feel like i have so many more hcs that i'm forgetting rn #my toh talk #hunter toh #grimwalker #hunter #nicole answers #Anonymous

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sepublic · 1 year

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I’m probably late in suggesting this but… King James I published a whole book about witches, a guide of sorts, called Daemonologie. Published in 1597, it saw another reprint when he became king in 1603. James was said to have a fascination with witches and demons, to the point that it’s claimed Shakespeare wrote in an additional scene with the witches in Macbeth to pander to James’ tastes. The thing is…

James thought witches were evil. And his Daemonologie book explained how to recognize witches, how they worked, the animal familiars they used, all that stuff, ultimately to give witch-hunters an idea of how to find and kill them; Because the main solution to witchcraft in this book was execution. Daemonologie was meant to expose the existence of witchcraft to the common people, and prove it.

Philip and Caleb Wittebane entered Old Gravesfield in the year 1613. Just a decade after the Royal Re-Release of Understanding Witches (So you can kill them). Philip documents a lot of the stuff he sees in the Boiling Isles, to a scientific degree, cataloguing, categorizing, etc. And in the first diary entry we hear, Philip ruminates on how he wishes humanity could see the Boiling Isles and understand…

@fermented-writers-block already suggested this to me a while back, the idea that Philip initially wrote his journal as proof of witchcraft and especially the demon realm’s existence, so he could convince people to help him eradicate the alleged threat, and/or prove he went on a successful crusade that saved the world. Granted, the people of Gravesfield seemed like earnest believers by that point, but I can imagine Philip taking real-life inspiration from King James I to convince others around the globe, who may not be as receptive to his claims.

Anyhow, I think it deeply re-contextualizes our understanding of Philip’s diary entries in a complete 180 way; Most of us were under the initial impression that Philip’s fascination stemmed from a place of genuine wonder, curiosity, and appreciation for the Boiling Isles. But knowing he’s a witch hunter, it seems his interest came from a place of condemnation; Wanting to understand the witches so he could kill them. Whether James actually believed in witchcraft, I’m not sure, but to Philip, it was lore contributing to his favorite game of destroying the Bad Guys; Cowboys VS Indians, basically. The Collector accuses Philip of having fun destroying Grimwalkers, and they’re not even his main target.

It’s a borderline fetishistic attitude towards witches; Philip is enamored, he wants to know and understand and figure them out. But he’s so deeply committed to dehumanizing and hating them, wanting their utter annihilation. Witches exist as the enemy NPCs in a video game where Philip immerses himself into their lore and in-universe dialogue, even as he slaughters them in droves. It’s a sick and sadistic pleasure at the expense of others he loathes, paradoxical in the way fetishization is; Philip’s previously-shown interest is not a contradiction, at least not from a writing perspective.

It works as a way to trick the viewer while still making total sense. A brief outside glimpse might suggest to the unsuspecting that Philip DOES like witchcraft, but no, he’s an objectifying colonizer who wants to own and appropriate, not learn and engage with on the same, humble level as a learner. Philip sees himself as a conqueror looting knowledge instead of riches from his victims, and he gets just that from people like Luz and the Collector.

He doesn’t really understand what he’s playing with and he doesn’t want to; He’s the White Dude who indulges in ethnic stereotypes and cuisine, in the tourist-y commodification of cultures, while at the same time voting for minorities to be outlawed. I would even compare Philip to a trophy hunter, knowing all the stuff about his prey, writing comprehensive guides… all for the purpose of how to kill and destroy them, as part of some big game.

I get the feeling that Philip ultimately WANTED witches to exist; Because if he was truly genuine about saving the world, about protecting people, it’d be a relief to find out there was no threat after all. But Philip wants for there to be a threat, never mind what it can pose to others, because then he gets to be the hero!!! He gets to be chosen one who goes on a sick adventure beating people up! He goes on rants about a hidden threat beneath our very eyes, not because Philip actually wants to warn people, but because he sees this as his opportunity to be the savior; So really, Jacob Hopkins IS Philip, isn’t he?

#the owl house #philip wittebane #emperor belos #speculation #character analysis #meta

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writing-fanics · 1 year

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⁂ starry eyed ⁂

✦ Hunter X Collector!Reader ✦

[Chapter Two: You Mean a Lot To me Too

previous chapter > next chapter

Camila looks at the portal in shock, having seen what monster her daughter been fighting. “That's the Belos you've been fighting this whole time?!” Camila shouted, and Willow starts moving Hunter waiting for him to stir awake. “Guys, Hunter isn't moving.” Willow said, tearfully looking at the others.

“Vee, call an ambulance.” Camila says, and Vee immediately does so. Willow had tears in her eyes, “Uh, do human doctors know about possession?” Willow asks, tearing up, and Luz looks at her, “Or Grimwalkers?” Luz says, and Camila looks at Willow and shock.

“Possession?!” Camila shouts. “Grimwalkers?!” Willow shouts, in shock looking at her, “We should still call a doctor.” Camila says, and Vee looks down, “I'm not getting cell reception.” Vee says sadly, and AMity looks down at Hunter worriedly.

“What do we do?” Amity asks, suddenly, a weakened Flapjack flies out of Luz’s pocket to Hunter, chirps sadly, then settles down, sacrificing his life by giving him his palisman essence to revive Hunter. As the other watch on; He dissolves into floating balls of light at the end. Hunter groans and slowly opens his eyes, which have turned brown, “Hey, guys. Is everyone else okay?” He asks weakly, and Gus and everyone look at each other sadly.

“Actually, Flapjack…” Gus says, looking back at Hunter, and Hunter grips his shirt, “Don't. Don't.” He cries, “I already know.” He says, and the others cry as well. Hunter sits up slowly from Willow’s lap, “Sit up slowly, baby. Are you in pain anywhere?” Camila asks, looking at him.

“I'm okay.” Hunter says, sadly, and then looks around worriedly, “Where’s Y/n?” He asked, and Gus looked at him, “After, Belos left your body he um..”

“He took over Y/n’s body and left through the portal.” Willow finished, looking at him sadly. Amity looked at Luz as she walked closer towards the portal, “Um, Luz. What did Belos mean when he said you helped him meet The Collectors? I mean, that was a lie, right?” Amity asked, and Luz turned to walk away.

“No, it was true. If it weren't for me, the Day of Unity would have never happened. There was this time pool, and I met him. I met him when he was still just Philip, and I taught him the light spell. I introduced him to The Collector. I set everything in motion. I'm sorry, everyone.” Luz said, and Amity looked at her, “Why did you keep all that a secret?” Amity asked, looking at her.

“I was scared. I thought you'd all hate me for it. Which is why I've made a decision. I think it'd be in everyone's best interest if I-” Luz said, looking at the portal.

“Took your mama to the Demon Realm!” Camila shouted, wrapping her arm around Luz, “What?!” Luz said, in shock, and Amity approaches Luz and hugs her, “I couldn't hate you, Luz. The fact that you still stand up for us means enough to me.” Amity says, to her.

“Mija, now that I've seen what you're up against, there is no way I'm letting you go back there alone. It is our duty to help your friends get back to their families.” Camila says, to her daughter, and Hunter walks up to her, “But…” Luz says.

“You were tricked. That's what Belos does. He tricks people. But if it weren't you, it would have been someone else, and then there'd be no one left to fight back. So let's do that. Let's fight back. Please? For Flapjack?” He says, and Luz smiles softly, “ ...For Flapjack.” She says, and the portal starts pulsing.

“The portal's closing.” Vee says, and Luz looks at it, “Then we better head in.” Luz says, and Hunter heads for the portal first, but stops, noticing one of the wolf ear hairclips on the ground. He kneels down and picks it up, and he grasps it in his hands. Looking at the portal ‘I’m coming Y/n’ he thought in his head, Holding his hand to his chest, “Time to go home, Flap.” and phases through the portal. Gus and WIllow follow him and both saying their goodbyes to the human realm.

“Goodbye, Human Realm. Thank you for showing me your secrets. I hope to see you again.” Gus says, phasing through the portal, “Thanks for the memories. We'll be back after we get some revenge.: Willow says, phasing through the portal.

Amity looks at Luz, “Luz, I know things are scary, and I don't know what the future holds. But it would be so cool if you were a part of that. But no more hiding, okay?” She asks, and Luz looks at her, “I understand. See you on the other side. Promise.” Luz says, holding Amity’s hand, and then gives her a kiss on the cheek. They let go of each other's hand as Luz watches her walk through the portal with her staff..

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .*

[Y/n] brought her knees to her chest hugging them as she cried. She was floating in a black void all alone; no one around to comfort her no one around for her to lean a shoulder on. Once again she was alone. “No matter what, I’ll always end up being alone.” She mumbled into her knees, lifting up her head slightly.

“Hunter’s gone,” She whimpered, tightening her grip around her legs. More tears brimmed her eyes, “I-I’ll never see him again,” She sniffled, and hid her head back into her knees. Sobbing, despite having been alone for centuries and never having any friends, at this moment she’s never felt more alone.

She knew the other’s priority lay with saving their loved ones and the Boiling Isles. She wouldn’t blame them if they forgot about her and honestly, she would understand. Why, should they save her? They’d only known her for a couple of months not long at all, they didn’t know her much and she was still a collector and could turn on them. So why should they trust her?

[Y/n] sniffled, as she unclipped the remaining wolf ear hair clip from her head. Smiling sadly, she looked at it, her heart aching as she remembered Hunter’s love for wolves. Tears trickled down her cheeks, a gasp escaped her lips. What was this pain in her chest, and why did it hurt so much? She’s never cried this much before, this pain was unbearable and unimaginable. She whimpered, hugging the ear close to her chest as she cried.

“Hunter…” She whimpered, thinking about him and the butterflies returned to her stomach as she did so. She didn’t know what those feelings were that she felt whenever she was around him, but she liked it and now, he was gone and she’ll never be able to tell him.

“Poor little collector,” Belos said, the green sludge appearing on her right arm. She looked at it in shock and tried to shake it off. But it slowly crept its way further up her arm, “Get off of me!” She screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Crying, over friends that don’t even care about you.” He says, and she looked down shuddering, “You really think they care enough to even save you?” He asked, and she kept her eyes down tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Y-You, don’t know anything about me.” She said, the sludge creeping up her arm further and further till it was at her neck, “Oh, but I do.” He said, and she looked up, his voice echoing in the dark abyss that surrounded her, “You’re scared of being alone,” He says, and she purses her lips.

“You can’t stand your little sibling,” He said, and she looked down, staring blankly at her shoes.“You hate your older siblings the archivists,” He says, and she just looked down, “Your a lonely and pathetic girl,” He says, and she sniffles and covers her ears trying to ignore him but he keeps saying it over and over.

She sobs hugging her knees, “Hunter’s dead because of you, because you were too weak.” He said, and she dug her nails into the palm of her hand as she cried, shaking her head trying to ignore him.

“Besides, even if he was you really think he’d ever reciprocate your feelings?” He said, and she gasped lifting her head up from her knees. “Why would he ever like you?” He said, and her eyes widened and her entire body started shaking. Her nails dug into the palm of her hand drawing blood, and her chest ached, as she tried to catch her breath. She couldn’t breathe, she gripped the side of her head staring into the dark abyss while crying uncontrollably.

She wrapped her arms around herself gripping, her arm tightly while sobbing. Her tear drops float around her, “No one will ever like me.” She whimpered, hugging herself. Her eyes started to glow, and tears rolled down her cheeks turning into tiny stars.

The tiny stars formed into a constellation, and she gasped looking up as if looking up at the night sky. Tears rolled down her cheeks, as she remembered when Hunter and her stargazed together while; sharing a hot chocolate the moment he leaned his head onto her shoulder. Their hands accidentally touch, and them slowly intertwining their fingers. Willow helping [Y/n] with her hair, and cutting it shorter.

Every single moment, she spent with her friends played like a slide show among the stars. It all concluded with, the promise Hunter made to [Y/n]. She sniffled, reaching out for him but pulled her hand back, he was gone forever.

Her hands clenched into fists, and she fought to control her body back. She wasn’t going to let, Belos hurt or kill any more people she loved.

She started beating the crap out of Belos, wanting control over her body again. “Get….Out!” She screamed, like banshee.

It was a brutal mental battle but finally she got rid of him, and had control over her body once again.

[Y/n] collapsed, on the ground tiredly. A scar on the left side of her fast, one around her neck, and another on her left arm. She sighed, rolling over onto her back to look up at the sky.

Her eyes slowly becoming heavy, as sleep took over. “Maybe a little nap won’t hurt.” She said, mumbling before falling asleep.

‘Y/n?’

‘Y/n?!’

“She isn’t waking up!” A familiar voice shouted, worriedly.

“Y/n? Y/n? Can you hear me?” The voice said again, sounding a bit more frantic and worried, his voice almost cracking, as if he was holding back tears.

“Please, y/n….” the voice now crying, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her holding her close. she felt warm all of a sudden and safe too.

“You mean so much to, an-” She groaned, “Y/n?” she groggily opened her eyes, her vision blurry and she looked around.

Her eyes widened seeing everyone, smiling as they looked at her. She looked up and her eyes widened seeing Hunter. Tears brimmed her eyes as she saw him, her face contorted as emotions overcame her.

“Hunter..” She whimpered, quickly wrapping her arms around him. Almost tackling him to the ground, “I thought I lost you,” she cried, she don’t care if everyone was watching.

Hunter’s cheeks were bright red, but he wrapped his arms around her returning the hug.

She sniffled, and pulled back from the hug. Hunter looked at her and noticed the scar on her face, neck and arm. She smiled sheepishly, “I’m sorry,” she said, looking at him knowingly talking about Flapjack.

He just nodded and stayed silent, she placed her hand over his, and smiled softly. Despite, her wanting to tell her about what happened there were more pressing matters at hand.

“I’ll tell you everything later, but first.” She said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a star and enlarged it.

“We’ve gotta go talk to my little sibling.” She said, smiling and Luz frowned. “Man, I already drawn out the teleportation glyph.” She said, and [Y/n] looked at her and frowned.

“You can still do that if you want?” She said, shrinking the star with her powers.

“It’ll be better actually then, they won’t know what hit ‘em’” [Y/n] said, standing to her feet. Walking towards the glyph and standing inside, a beam surrounds them and it sends them up to the archives.

“I can't believe that actually worked!” Willow said,

“Well you really beamed us up, eh, O'Bailey?” Camila chortles, and she playfully elbows Hunter. Both Hunter and Gus gasp at Camila mention of Cosmic Frontier.

Luz stares at her palisman, which is still shrouded in a colorful mist. She then grabs her staff.

“Beam us up! Beam us up! Beam us up!” Hunter and Gus chant, and [Y/n] couldn’t help but smile. Luz stares, at the spiraling mist in awe. “Guys?” Luz says, and Gus and Hunter areaughing happily, and everyone notices what’s about to Al happen to Luz palisman. “Come meet my Palisman!” She says, and everyone approaches the staff.

“What kind of magical creature will it be? A dragon?” Camila said, excitedly.

“A bird?” Hunter said.

“Oh, an otter!” Amity said.

“A spooky bat?” Willow said.

“ A... snake?” Gus said.

“You are close.” Luz says, smiling. a serpent like creature flies out from the mist and transforms into a bat, then scorpion, then dragon, before reverting back to its true form a cat like snake.

“She's a snake shifter! Her name is Stringbean, and she's PERFECT!” Luz said, and [Y/n] smiled seeing the cute Palisman.

Stringbean flies down to Luz’s palm as she speaks. She rubs herself on Luz’s face, and then flies towards everyone else. And then the other Palisman.

“¡Pero mira que preciosos mis bebés! ¡Ven, ven! (Translation: Oh look at all of mama's precious babies. Come here, come here.)” Camila said, cooing over the palisman.

Hunter smiles as he sees this, but is surprised when someone suddenly grabs his hand. He looks to his right and sees [Y/n] standing next to him.

“Thanks for what you said back there.” She smiles at Hunter, “You mean a lot to me too.” She says, and he immediately blushes, and starts tearing up, and sniffles.

[Y/n] also blushes at Hunter and tears up a bit, as they held each other’s pinky finger. “Cool. Happy to help.” He sniffles, as they intertwined their fingers together.

[a/n; short chapter but the next one will be longer and more angsty]

Tag list

@supernerdycookietrashblr

#x reader #fanfic #angst #headcanons #fluff #romance #hunter x y/n #hunter toh #hunter toh x you #hunter toh x reader #hunter wittebane #hunter wittebane x y/n #hunter wittebane x reader #hunter x reader #hunter x collector!reader #the collector toh #the owl house fanfiction #owl house #hunter toh x y/n

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brifoxred · 20 days

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Hello, average Tumblr user, I'm Brisa, and I'm here to bring you a non-sophisticated piece of writing.

Personally, I like to write, and today while I was rereading some of those short writings, I decided I wanted to share one with you.

I want to emphasize that I am using a translator because I personally do not speak or write English, and any corrections or recommendations are welcome. Thank you for your time

Hunter x fm!reader

Summary: Hunter and Y/N go through another miscarriage.

All characters are aged

Warnings: miscarriage, guilt, angst.

"So...what's going on?" Eda leaned on the island counter on her elbows, looking at Hunter.

"Pffft, What? Nothing happens" Hunter smiled fakely.

"Kid, I raised many children, I raised Y/N, King, I took care of Luz and you. Do you think I can't tell when someone lies to me? Plus...it shows in your eyes..." Eda grimaced a little and looked at Hunter waiting for a response. The grimwalker just looked at the table, sighed, took a quick look at the kitchen entrance, as Luz and the children were laughing in the living room, then he looked back at the counter and murmured in a low voice.

"It happened again." They were silent for a moment, Eda didn't understand what Hunter meant.

"The reason Y/N called you was because she was in the hospital" Hunter looked up and looked Eda in the eyes, then the truth hit her.

"Another miscarriage right?" Hunter nodded.

“Where is Y/N? Is she still in the hospital?" Eda asked worried.

"She said she wanted time alone. She...was blaming herself again." Hunter sighed heavily. "She even blamed herself for leaving before you answered the call."

"Ah...shit..." Eda looked down and then looked up at Hunter, who was looking at the counter with his fingers tangled in his hair. The old lady looked worried at the man and walked up to his side.

"Hunter, what's wrong?" Hunter shook his head and sighed, shakily.

"Nothing...nothing" The blonde ran his hands over his face and rested his fists against his mouth, biting them.

"Kiddo…" Hunter shook his head again, this time with tears in his eyes and pursing his lips.

"It's okay...tell me what's wrong..." Eda rubbed the boy's back.

"I...can't...i donno...i donno"

"Hunter, you should talk to Y/N about it, you know she would listen to you, if you te..."

"No, no, i can't...i can't tell her..." Hunter interrupted Eda, while covering his face. "I always thought about being a father, I never imagined going this far...two children, and the idea of having more, I like it, but... I don't want to continue going through this. Seeing her like this, it hurts me, it hurts me every time it happens, I don't know if I can continue and now... Another one..." Hunter shook his head, crying.

"Titan, we can't continue like this, but I don't know how to avoid it either, because...if another one comes, It could survive, but It also don't... And i don't know what to do Eda, I don't know." Eda looked sadly at the brown-eyed man, she didn't know what to do either, the only thing she could think of was to offer him a hug, which Hunter accepted. Eda rubbed the blonde's back, while Hunter released the crying and pain he had kept inside him, not just the one now, no, he released the pain he had been accumulating since the first miscarriage.

The one where both, Y/N and Hunter, discovered that their chances of having children were lower than those of a normal couple.

"Listen, kid, it's not okay for you to keep everything bottled up, I understand that you just want to stay stable, as support for Y/N, but you also have the right to feel, okay?" Eda tried to reason with Hunter, and he could only nod, unable to say a word.

--------------------------------------------------

So...What do you think? Please let me know if you like it. I know Y/N isn't actually in it but I just wanted to share it because it's actually a scene from my oc, but that's not important.

#hunter the golden guard #the owl house hunter x reader #hunter toh x reader #golden guard x reader toh #hunter the owl house #the owl house #fem reader #angst #eda the owl lady

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avatarmerida · 1 year

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Truth or Dare

Quick little Drabble where the Labyrinth brothers bond about how much they want Hunter to date Willow

—-

“Okay truth or dare?” Gus asked.

“Uhhh truth?” Said Hunter, knowing how creative and dangerous Gus’s dares tended to be.

“Okaaaaay,” said Gus, his face summoning a devious grin. Hunter gulped, he had also forgotten how creative and dangerous Gus’s truths tended to be. How had he roped him into playing this game again? “Hmmm, tell me something you’ve never told anyone else!”

“Uh, well I tell Flapjack everything so I don’t have anything that really falls under that category,” said Hunter with a shrug, giving the little bird a gentle pat. He was relieved the specifications took the Grimwalker secret out of the running.

“Okay then, tell me something you’ve only told Flapjack!”

Flapjack happily chirped a suggestion which made Hunter scrunch his face and turned his ears red. Gus was instantly intrigued.

“Um, I dunno about that one buddy,” said Hunter nervously. “I don’t think Gus wants to hear about that haha!”

“Yes I do! Yes I do!” Gus bounced eagerly on the couch. “Tell me what Flapjack said!”

“You keep changing the conditions of the truth and I feel like that’s not allowed...” said Hunter.

“Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!”

“Okay, okay fine!” Hunter gave in with a light groan. The secret wasn’t really embarrassing, it was something more delicate than that. “When we were still in the demon realm before... a lot of stuff happened... I had decided that I was gonna ask Willow out... on a date... to go on a date... with me.”

Gus let out a gasp so loud Hunter was worried he’d wake the whole house. “You have a crush on Willow?!” The boy exclaimed with wide bright eyes.

“Did I just tell you two secrets?” Hunter asked between clenched teeth.

“Nah man, I already knew that one.” Gus assured. Hunter didn’t know how to feel about that, either Gus was very perceptive or Hunter wasn’t as aloof as he thought. “But wait, why haven’t you? We’ve been here for months, you’ve had plenty of chances.”

“I know, but I can’t until...”

“Until what? Are you waiting for the cherry blossom to come back in season so they can fall dramatically behind you as you confess your love to her?” Gus teased with a kissy face.

“...until I get approval from her dads,” Hunter finished simply even thought Gus’ suggestion had also crossed his mind. Hunter knew mentioning family back in the Isles was still a delicate subject.

“Aw dude, that’s really sweet but you don’t need their permission to ask her out.” Gus assured.

“Well, all the books I’ve read would highly disagree.” Hunter said smugly.

“You researched this?”

“Of course,” said Hunter. “I’ve never done it before so I wanna make sure I do it right. I know it’s Willow’s decision and they can’t make her say anything but they mean a lot to her and I’d feel better if they liked me before I tried to become a bigger part of her life, that’s all.”

“Hmm what if they like you and she still says no?”

Hunter face sunk. “Why would you say that?”

Gus giggled. “What if they say no? What would you do then?”

“Well, I’d ask for their honest feedback and take notes on how I can improve,” Hunter stated. “I mean, I’d imagine their standards are high. But they must be used to it by now, I’m sure Willow has had many suitors.”

“Suitors?”

“Is that not... what people call them still?”

“Not in this century dude.”

“Oh,” said Hunter quietly, furrowing his brow as he thought. “Maybe that book was a little outdated.”

“Maybe a little,” Gus chuckled in agreement. “But I think it’s sweet you care what her dads think. Willow would think it’s sweet too.”

Hunter smiled faintly at the suggestion would find anything about him sweet. “Yeah well, like I said I decided that I was gonna do it but I’m not sure how long the process would take,” said Hunter. “She’s so...” Hunter couldn’t even finish his sentence, he couldn’t pick only a few words to describe Willow. He chuckled at his own speechlessness. “I probably would’ve chickened out anyway.”

“Well, now you don’t have that option,” said Gus. “Now that I’m in on the secret, I’m gonna make sure you follow through. You already have my approval, and I think that’s a lot harder to acquire than her dads’; I’m way pickier.”

“Aw thanks,” said Hunter genuinely trying not to tear up. “That... actually means a lot to me. Heh, I guess I do tend to overcompicate things a little huh?”

“Yeah, but that’s only ‘cause you care a lot,” said Gus. “Willow deserves to be with someone who cares a lot. She also cares a lot.”

“Hmm, yeah she does,” agreed a Hunter softly, it was one of many qualities he admired in the plant witch.

“Hey, wait; what if Willow wanted to ask you out?” Gus asked.

“Oh, what? Pssh, I don’t think she’d ask me out, I mean she totally could I wouldn’t mind I mean I definitely wouldn’t say no but I mean.. uh... why? Did she... say something?”

“No, well maybe actually, but no my point is: if she wanted to ask you out and follow the same rules, who would she need to get permission from?”

“Oh,” Hunter said, understanding Gus’ point. “Hmm, well she’d have to approach my guardian which would technically be... not an option right now because he’s evil?” Hunter put his fist under he chin as he pondered.

“What about Darius?”

“I guess? I don’t think Darius would care. I mean, he would, but I think he would find it silly,” said Hunter. “Or he might try to talk her out of it to mess with me. Actually no, don’t send her to Darius; it’s too risky.”

“Right, right,” laughed Gus, loving how invested a Hunter was in the hypothetical. “What about me?”

“I’m older than you,” said Hunter with a laugh, before his face turned serious. “Why? Did she ask you for permission?”

“As if Willow would ask my permission for anything,” scoffed Gus, the very notion hilarious. She hadn’t asked for Gus’ permission no, but she had asked his advice. But Gus would save that information for later. “What about Camila? She’s a pretty good guardian.”

“Yeah,” Hunter instantly agreed. “She would be a great guardian! I would trust her to make the right call. So I- wait, why were we talking about this again?”

“No reason, just planning my next dare,” said Gus slyly. “I’ve always been a pro at locating technicalities and loopholes.”

“Gus,” said Hunter sternly, cautiously rising up from his sleeping bag. “Did Willow say something? Are you planing something? Why are you-.”

Gus jumped up, shedding his blankets as he ran full speed up the stairs. Hunter took off after him but the smaller boy was too quick.

“Camila! Camila!” Gus yelled as he nearly tripped over his own feet before saying the next part quieter in order to tease Hunter. “I need you to give Willow permission to date Hunter!”

“Gus! Shhhh!”

“Willow!” He yelled. “Do you wanna play truth or dare?!”

#huntlow #winter toh #Hunter toh #gus porter #willow park #toh #the owl house

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hunterxreaderoneshots · 1 year

Text

Starving - Hunter Shy! Fem! Human! Reader

T/w: Mildly suggestive?? Idunno they kinda french kiss… for a bit... They cuddle on a bed. He leaves love bites. I’m sorry

Request By: WinterBlue_Angel22

Prompt: Hi! ✨️ Can I request a fluffy long oneshot with prompts: "Um, H-hunter, d-do you w-want to m-makeout with m-me?", "W-what? A-are y-you s-sure, Y/n?", [French kisses where they trace every tooth with their tongues as though trying to memorize them.], [Tucking his hands beneath his shy!female!human!reader's shirt, just to watch she breaks the kiss and gasp in surprise at the sensation of his warm hands on her skin.] and "W-wow, that is so a-amazing, H-hunter." about Hunter and his shy!female!human!reader are having our first makeout session together on bed in guest room at Luz's house on Human Realm when everyone was gone for movie night? What kind of reaction Hunter has when she shyly asked him to want our first makeout session with her? 🤭 I bet he will be shy blushing mess to it, haha. 😂 Hint#1: suggestive moments ⚠️: french kisses and hickey. Hint#2: She gets makeout idea from Luz and Amity. 🤣 At end, Hunter angrily chases to catch Luz and Amity around Luz's house for corrupting his shy human girlfriend's innocence. 🤣 I really live for flustered Hunter! 💗 Please??

Hunter and his girlfriend had stayed home at Camila’s while everyone else had gone out to watch a movie. Hunter, however, preferred to stay home to watch a movie. This way he wouldn’t be bothering anyone with his reactions of sudden excitement, fear, or random theories and predictions. (Y/N) didn’t mind any of this though; she loved hearing him.

The two decided to watch a movie together on the couch instead. They picked one out called the Megamind. The couple cuddled together on the couch as the movie played on.

Hunter and his friends had been in the Human Realm for several months. He enjoyed it there. At first, he was scared about what would happen next. Everything had happened to suddenly. He was horrified of the thought that his friend would find out if he was a Grimwalker. Things had gotten better, however, when he met (Y/N). He found her on one of the group’s outings to discover more about the human realm.

He looked down at her curled up form and pulled her closer. He remembered how time stopped when he saw her at the park. And then he saw her again at a store, then almost a dozen times everywhere, and then at the park again where Luz finally convinced him to talk to her; that was when it all started. Hunter had always been slightly awkward around others, especially since he never interacted with witches his age until he met Luz and her friends. Now, he had a human girlfriend! He never thought much about it, but sometimes he wondered what would happen once they found a way back into the Demon Realm.

After being about halfway through the movie, he noticed (Y/N) was getting a bit cuddlier. Hunter smiled to himself and he pulled her closer. After a few moments, (Y/N) broke the silence, “Um, H-hunter?” He turned to look down at her again. Her face had gained a deep blush and he smiled, “Yeah?” he asked sweetly. She hid her face in his arm. “D-do you w-want to m-make out with m-me?” she stammered shyly. Hunter blushed madly, “W-what?!” He squeaked, feeling the red burning in his ears. He had never kissed (Y/N) before. He already found that cuddling was a big jump- he hadn’t ever thought that she’d ask to make out!

Hunter’s face was a deep crimson, and he shuffled around shyly on the couch; she wanted to kiss him! He turned away nervously, feeling his heart race: he could hear it throbbing in his ears. He exhaled shyly and danced his fingers over his leg.

He finally stirred up the courage to speak again and looked at her, “A-are y-you s-sure, (Y/N)?” He asked shyly. He felt a knot in his throat: he had never had an intimate relationship with anyone. What was he going to do?

“Mhm,” she hummed. Hunter felt his heart skip a few dozen beats. His ears bent backwards and he bit his lip, Oh my Titan, what do I do?!

“Oh,” He murmured gently, feeling her nuzzle his arm. His mind was racing and so was his heart. Hunter looked away shyly and shifted around on the couch. He pulled his legs up and curled them around (Y/N). He had no idea where to start.

He shifted again, making (Y/N) sit up while he did so. He locked eyes with her for a split moment, but he hastily looked away again. After another few moments, he curled his hands into fists as if he was ready to face a fight, and let out a breath.

“O-ok!” Hunter said, smiling. He was excited, but more so nervous. He didn’t think he even understood the concept of a romantic relationship yet. “Really?!” (Y/N) exclaimed, jumping up with delight. Hunter nodded shyly, his ears bending back and turning red.

(Y/N) giggled happily and embraced Hunter, pecking his cheek as she did so. Hunter’s eyes widened and he blushed madly, his light skin darkening into a deep red. He wrapped his arms around (Y/N) slowly, nervously, pulling her closer to him.

She pulled away from the peck and smiled at him. Hunter felt his heart melt and his entire body relax. His gaze softened as he stared at (Y/N)’s deep pools of (e/c).

Hunter leaned down and pecked her lips lightly, feeling a sudden wave of nervousness and excitement wash over him. A blush ran ablaze across his face from ear to ear. He pulled back hastily and looked away shyly, and (Y/N) did the same.

“I-I’m sorry, (Y/N),” he squeaked bashfully, “um… I’m- I’m just nervous…” he hugged his arms nervously.

“It’s OK,” (Y/N) reassured him softly, “We don’t have to if you don’t want to, Hunter.”

He froze for a moment, feeling his heart sink as he realized. No one had ever offered him to not do something. He had always been demanded and expected to do as told. Hunter sighed; he wanted to. He wanted to do so much with (Y/N) but he was too nervous. He was surprised he had even been able to ask her to be his girlfriend.

“No, it’s-” He stammered nervously, “It’s n-not that I don’t want too…” He blushed madly, visible nervousness on his face. “I…” Hunter hesitated, then sighed, “I just… I don’t know how!” He finally confessed, locking eyes with her. His eyes were sad and full of worry. His ears had bent back in shame.

“Oh, Hunter,” (Y/N) soothed gently and placed her hand over his. “Don’t worry,” she said gently. “I… I-I can… show you…” She offered, blushing deeply. Hunter looked away for a moment, but looked back and nodded shyly. He almost looked like a sad puppy!

She smiled at him, “OK…” She exhaled, “Ready?” He smiled and nodded sheepishly. “OK, let’s try again.”

She pressed her lips against Hunter’s, closing her eyes. Hunter flinched slightly, and his pointed ears bent back again. He froze, feeling the warmth of (Y/N)’s lips against his. Slowly, he closed his eyes and melted into the kiss.

(Y/N) pulled away smiling at him; the two were a blushing mess. They began pecking each other randomly, shyly kissing each other’s faces and lips. Every time Hunter pecked (Y/N), she blushed a bit more, feeling a thousand butterflies fluttering throughout her body.

Hunter then sat again, and shifted himself towards (Y/N). He sat down, crossing his legs on the couch. Slowly he leaned towards her again and pecked her lightly. Hunter didn’t fully pull away, he stayed close enough to keep kissing her gently.

Finally, Hunter’s hands slowly went up to her, and he cupped each of her cheeks. He pulled her towards him, and he kissed her for a long time

Hunter pressed his lips against hers, almost as if he wanted to taste her. This was everything he never knew he wanted. He had never felt the warmth of someone else, he had never felt loved or wanted. All he had ever been was useful to Belos. Not anymore though; he didn’t care if he was useful anymore. Now he felt loved and he knew what he wanted: Hunter wanted to be with (Y/N).

He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss as he did so. Hunter began to feel the starvation take control of him, it was in every bit of his body. He didn’t understand what it was but he knew how to satisfy the intense hunger his heart felt: every time he pulled her closer a bit of the starvation lessened.

Hunter pulled her even closer to him. He kissed her amorously and (Y/N) kissed back. Suddenly, he felt (Y/N)’s hands curling around his wrists. Her gentle fingers wrapped around him and pulled him closer to her. Hunter melted again. His face was hot, his mind was racing, and his heart was both racing and melting.

(Y/N) then pressed her lips against his even more. She tilted her head and deepened the kiss. She wanted to get a taste of Hunter. She then bit his lip lightly and he froze for a moment in surprise. He had… liked it. It was like she wanted him close too.

Although they had kissed for a while, Hunter was still nervous about how to continue. Suddenly, he felt (Y/N) part her lip slightly. The warmth of her tongue surprised him yet also soothed him in way. Her tongue began to trace every bit of his mouth, and he followed. They kissed each other passionately as if desperately trying to remember one another.

The two finally pulled apart and were a blushing mess. Hunter looked over to see the credits playing on the TV screen, then he looked over to the front door. He swung his feet over the couch and stood up. He blushed lightly at the idea but continued anyway.

“C’mon,” He said, picking up (Y/N) bridal-style, “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

(Y/N) blushed madly but giggled, “H-Hunter!” She said smiling. (Y/N) hid her face in his chest as he carried her up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. Hunter laid her next to him on the bed and began pecking her face and kissing her softly again. Between the kisses Hunter would nuzzle her lightly making (Y/N) smile. She wrapped her arms around Hunter and kept him close to her.

Hunter kissed her passionately again and again. He slipped his hands under her shirt, feeling (Y/N)’s back as he did so; her skin was soft and warm. (Y/N) gasped suddenly, breaking the kiss and pulling away.

“H-Hunter!!” She squeaked, pulling her shoulders in slightly as if she was trying to hide. He laughed lightly to himself, looking at (Y/N) and pecking her cheeks. Hunter smiled, he had no idea how wonderful loving and being loved could feel.

Hunter started to cuddle her. He didn’t even know what he was doing. All he knew was that he wanted to feel close to her. He began to kiss her jawline and slowly make his way down her neck. Hunter nuzzled her lightly, wanting to hide away in her soft skin.

(Y/N) smiled shyly as Hunter went on. She gasped suddenly when she felt a little nip on her neck, and then another, and another…

“H… Hunter…” She stammered softly, “Sweetheart, what are you up to?” Hunter smiled for a moment, but stopped hastily.

“Oh uh…” His ears pulled back suddenly as fear took over his heart. Had he done something wrong? “I-I,” He blushed in shame, “I... I’m s-sorry (Y/N)...” He began to lift himself onto his side. “Did… did you… like that?” He felt his heart race unsteadily. Maybe Belos wasn’t the only one who didn’t want him anymore…

“Mhm,” She hummed gently. She pulled him back in even closer and Hunter felt himself melt. He melted anytime (Y/N) had made him feel wanted.

He smiled, kissing her passionately this time. “Well, I guess I’ll continue then.”

(Y/N) laughed, “Hunter! You’re so sweet!” Hunter smiled at her. He nuzzled her again and continued leaving little love bites all over her neck.

The two cuddled for a while. Suddenly, a thought broke Hunter out of the moment.

“Hey, uh, (Y/N),” he asked, his focus intently on nothing.

“Yeah?” She hummed.

“Ummm…” Hunter frowned slightly in thought, trying to think of a way he could ask. He knew (Y/N) well enough to know she was quite innocent and sweet. “How… uh… why, I guess, did you think of… making out?” He squeaked the last few words.

(Y/N) blushed, her eyes opened and she hid into Hunter. “Um… I accidentally… maybe… walked into Luz and Amity??” She replied nervously.

“Huh.” He said, pulling (Y/N) closer. “Good to know…”

He hid into her chest, “(Y/N)?” he nervously called her name.

She smiled. His voice and been soft and full of nervousness. She knew he needed comfort and spoke gently, “Yes, Dear?” He melted in her arms. Hunter bit his lip for a moment.

“I-I… I love you…”

She kissed his forehead gently, “I love you, Hunter.” He felt ease in his heart, and a sudden completion of his soul. This was what he had been starved from: (Y/N)’s love.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

After a while of cuddling, the two finally heard everyone coming back. They made their way downstairs and towards the front door to greet them. Hunter, however, had something else in mind. He was quite flustered and ready to face it.

As everyone made their way into the house, Hunter looked for Luz and Amity. Everyone was talking about the movie they had watched and how great it was. Guz and Willow were visibly excited to have experienced a ‘Human Movie’.

Hunter finally spotted them. “LUZ! AMITY!” He called out to them sternly. The two girls froze and stared at him in silence.

“Um…” Luz broke the silence, “What is it?” She stared at him and (Y/N).

“(Y/N) told me she got a little idea from you too…” He glared at them with arms crossed. “She said you two were ‘making out’ in front of her… Care to explain?”

They both blushed madly, and Luz was the first to speak. “How much did you see?!” (Y/N) blushed again, looking away.

“Um… a… a bit…?” She murmured, unsure of what to say.

Hunter ran at the girls, “YOU TWO CORRUPTED HER!”

“AGH!” The two shouted in unison. Luz grabbed Amity’s hand and dragged her with her. They ran around the couch, into the kitchen, all over the first floor trying to escape Hunter.

“Niños! Calmense, por favor!" Camila begged them to stop and calm down. It was utterly useless. Hunter was determined to get them.

Everyone else laughed at them. (Y/N) watched Hunter and smiled to herself. If he was willing to protect her innocence, he was willing to protect her from any harm. She blushed lightly and laughed. This is gonna be a long night.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

This was surprisingly difficult to get through. It took me a whole week to finish it. Huh. Well, thank you all for reading and thank you WinterBlue_Angel22 (Wattpad) for requesting! It means a lot that my one-shots have caught your attention enough for you to request! Requests remain open but please keep in mind I they may take a while! Thank you again!

GIF from Tenor

Page Divider

P.S No matter how fluffy your prompt is I will always find a way to make Hunter emotionally starved and traumatized <3🤞💖💗❤️ 💞 😍😍

-Deathlight Gato (I’m gonna pass out dammit)

Un-edited

Who is your favorite. Fearless. Hero.

Who is your favorite. Fearless. He-e-roooo.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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cubicle-eyes · 1 year

Text

Cat

Hunter Noceda x

GN!Reader

Anon asked...

A request! A story where Hunter gets a bad itch on his back and is doing an absolutely terrible job of hiding it, and reader notices and scratches it for him :) He's kind of embarrassed at first but soon discovers that he really likes getting his back scratched (he's probably never had anyone do that for him before...wow I kind of made myself sad writing this request lol)

This is amazing and I feel this on a spiritual level . For the entire time I was writing this I was literally giggling

-----

The Noceda's couch was the best place to be at two in the morning. Willow, Luz, Hunter, and Y/N had been previously locked in a heated Mario Kart tournament, while Gus and Vee pretended to be commentators on a sports show. Now, Willow had given up and went to bed, and Luz was passed out while Amity tried and failed to play for her, ending up with them eliminated too. Vee helped Amity take Luz up the stairs and just never came back down, and Gus fell asleep on the floor.

The TV's light cast a blueish glow over the pair, eyes still glued to the screen as they frantically steered around. Hunter shifted slightly, leaning back, and Y/N glanced at him. Hunter moved again, pushing his back against the back of the couch. Y/N paused the game, raising an eyebrow.

"Babe. What are you doing."

"I hate that name. It's either baby or the other one."

"What other one?"

"You know exactly what other one." Hunter huffed, pointing a finger at his boyfriend. Y/N laughed, then scoot closer to Hunter, forcing the blonde to uncross his legs as Y/N pulled them across their lap.

"But seriously, are you good? You keep rubbing your back against the couch like a bear."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He shifted again, scrunched his nose.

"Ohhh. Your back itch?"

Hunter flushed, opening his mouth to protest, but didn't get the chance. Y/N touched Hunter's arm softly before going to his back and scratching gently where Hunter seemed to have the worst itch, making the grimwalker lean forward slightly.

"Up. Right." He said it almost awkwardly, and Y/N chuckled at him, making the blonde sigh. He moved the controller and his legs, shifting so he laid across Y/N's legs, digging his nose into the space between the outside of Y/N's hip and thigh, hugging his torso.

"That feel good, sunshine?"

"Yeah. It's.. different."

"Mhm. My parents used to do this to help me fall asleep."

Hunter hummed and Y/N stopped scratching to run their hand from Hunter's neck to his hips, rubbing each scar carefully. Hunter hugged him a little tighter, sniffling, and Y/N sighed. They pulled Hunter up into their lap, hugging him tightly as Hunter sniffled again, blocking his tears with an awkward laugh. Y/N shook their head, scratching Hunter's back again as the blonde buried his head in their neck.

"Hey, Hunter?" Y/N said softly.

"Hm?" His voice cracked slightly and Y/N turned their head to brush their lips over his cheek.

"I love you."

Hunter smiled, pressing their foreheads together and shutting his eyes, giggling.

"You're weird."

"No, I'm heartfelt. You're weird, you big cat."

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

Y/N sang, tickling Hunter's side. Hunter laughed, fisting at Y/N shirt. The two fell sideways onto the couch with a yelp, then giggled again. Gus groggily blinked, then stayed silent as he watched the couple cuddle on the couch. He exhaled through his nose in amusement, and Y/N made eye contact with him above Hunter's neck. Gus winked and Y/N's smile grew. They kissed Hunter's cheek again and the blonde giggled.

"Hey, Y/N?"

"Yes, sunshine?"

"I love you too."

---

AHSIWVDHRNF

💙

#toh #the owl house #toh x reader #the owl house x reader #hunter x reader #hunter noceda x reader #toh hunter #toh hunter noceda #the owl house hunter #toh hunter x reader #the owl house hunter x reader #gn reader #x gn reader

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tohisprettyc00l · 1 year

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One in the same (Hunter x grimwalker!reader

One in the same (Hunter x grimwalker!reader)

You were getting a drink in the middle of the night when you heard a knock at your door. You walked over and opened the door. "Hunter?" You said in surprise, looking at the shaking boy standing in your doorway. "Can I come in?" He asked shakily. "Yes, yes come in." You moved to the side, letting Hunter walk in. He sat on your couch and you gave him a blanket. "What's wrong buddy?" "I- Belos-" Hunter stuttered. "It's okay you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." "No, it's okay, just" Hunter sighed, "just give me a minute." You gave him a simple nod.

"Okay so I don't have time to say everything, but Belos is evil or something. He's been lying about well... Everything. And I'm something called a grimwalk-" He stopped himself mid-sentence, "Forgot that last part it's not important." "You're a grimwalker?" Hunter looked down in shame. "Neat me too." Hunter snapped his head up to you, shock present on his face. "Do you know what a grimwalker is? Because I'm not completely sure myself but I can assure you, you probably aren't one." "Nah I know I am, it's a long story how I found out, and I barely know anything, about the origins. I don't know who made me. I don't know who I'm based on." Hunter looked at you eyes wide.

Neither of you talked for a few minutes. "How are you so calm about it?" Hunter broke the silence. You simply shrugged in response. "I don't know I never panicked, I'm not whoever I'm based off. Also, it's not like I can change anything now." Hunter paused. "But, what if you're supposed to be like the person you're a clone of." "I probably am supposed to be like them, but I never really cared, like I said I'm not them. Hell, I never knew them for all I know I am a carbon copy when it comes to personality, I'll never know. But to be honest I don't care." Hunter looked down lost in thought. "I think I feel a little better now, just wish I knew more about our species." Hunter sighed"Same but we can find out together." "I'd like that"

It had been around a half month since Hunter moved in. Despite him saying he would learn more about grimwalkers with you, he always avoided the topic. After awhile you decided to ask him about it. "Hunter?" "Yeah?" "Why don't yo want to talk about grimwalkers." Hunter paused. "I'm not avoiding it, or at least I'm not trying to, I just have other things I'm focused on a lot of other things." "Like?" "The day if unity plus I'm like a wanted criminal or something." You sighed and sat by him. "Hunter I can tell your nothing telling me something. If you don't want to talk, that's okay. But please just know that I'm here for you." Hunter gave a weak smile in response.

Later that night Hunter couldn't fall asleep, like usual. But this time it was because of what you said earlier. Would you really still like him if you knew he was a clone of a witch hunter? You said that you 'aren't who you were a clone of' but, you didn't even know how you were based off, so it's way easier to say that, for you. I mean you could be a clone of one of the best people alive. Hunter got up and went outside to take get some fresh air. "What are you doing?" Hunter suddenly heard your voice by his ear. Hunter snapped his head towards you. "What are you doing up?" He asked "I could ask you the same question. But I already asked you a different question." Hunter ran his fingers through his hair. "I couldn't sleep. So I wanted to see if fresh air would help." "Fair enough."

You stared at him for a few seconds. Before going back inside. You went back to your room and tried to go back to sleep but you couldn't. So instead you also got up. As soon as you reached the living room you saw Hunter on the couch. "Oh hey Goldie what are up doi-" "Y/n." Hunter cut you off. You were slightly nervous because of how serious his voice was. "Yeah?" "I have something really important to tell you." "What is it?" You asked nervously. "It's about grimwalkers." Hunter said slightly mumbled. You immediately straightened up. " You were right I have been avoiding talking about it." " Wow really." You said sarcastically, rolling your eyes. "Hey." "Sorry." You chuckled slightly

"Anyway, I've been avoiding talking about being a grimwalkers because of who I'm based off of." Hunter took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm a clone of a witch hunter who was probably one of Belos's friends."

There was an eerie silence when you spoke up. "And?" You asked. "What?" Hunter said. "Was that it?" Hunter nodded confused. "I don't care you aren't whoever that is but I can kinda relate." "You can? But I thought you said you never worried about it?" "You never tell the person your comforting about the bad parts," you gave a forced chuckle, "I was worried every once in a while. When I was worried it was bad like really really bad, I'd have break downs worried about what I was supposed to be in life. I was made for a purpose that I probably wasn't fulfilling." Hunter looked down, "I hear that." He stated. You continued "But over time I realized there wasn't much to do about it, I was a clone. So I started living my life as normal, nothing really changed besides me knowing about it, right?" You turned to the blonde boy, " Listen I know it isn't as easy as 'stop worrying' believe me. You might not ever stop worrying, but it gets easier to deal with. And I'll be there every step of the way."

#Toh x reader #the owl house x reader #Hunter x reader #hunter toh x reader #Golden gaurd x reader

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morhido · 1 year

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Wait hang on i have a concept. Hunter going to lilith about his crush on willow.

Not for advice, mind you. All the adults in his life have this awfully nuanced view on romance and quite frankly they don't UNDERSTAND how fucking feral his hormones are going right now. Do grimwalkers even have hormones? He doesn't know but it sure feels like it!!!

And even steve, the youngest of the adults, is annoyingly cheesy about the whole thing, speaking as an experienced older brother. "Just be yourself"?? When the FUCK has that ever helped anyone????

Okay so. Lilith. She's 1) not too close to the situation, 2) far from likely to give him any sort of cheesy advice, and 3) GUARANTEED not to judge him for it (because there is no way in the nine circles of hell he is talking about it with gus, and while he loves luz and amity, their little fantasy romace brains mixed in with the fact that they're willow's best friends would almost certainly cloud their judgement, at least a little).

So it ends up with him and lilith at a table or smthn, hunter screaming about his stupid little teenage boy feelings and lilith sort of just humming and nodding along as she flips through a book. She's not there to help him in his inspiring coming of age story wherein he learns to be his best self and pursue his dreams in the form of a pretty girl. She's just there because she honestly thinks the poor kid might explode if he keeps it tucked away for any longer.

So he's sat opposite her and he's just like "TITAN. TITAN SHE'S SO COOL. And pretty. Did i mention she's pretty?? The prettiest. Hooooly fuck."

"Hm yes yes, eyes the colour of eucalyptus leaves and whatnot."

"RIGHT and like. Have i mentioned that i like her voice? Also so pretty. So cute."

"Ah yes, children are always just sooo adorable."

"NOT LIKE THAT CUTE. Like. Okay gus is cute in the same way flapjack is cute. Right. Like you wanna just. Ahh. Y'know. But THE CAPTAIN. CUTE LIKE. CUTE-CUTE."

"Wow."

"Y E AH"

"Okay. So your captain is... cute-cute. Go on."

"But she's also like INSANELY strong?? Like it should be ILLEGAL to be that pretty and also that strong. Not actually illegal though bc then i would have had to arrest her a long time ago. And that would have been sad."

"Mh, and we don't want that, do we?"

"I've gone my whole life without a SINGLE crush and now!! She has killed me. She has singlehandedly killed me. I'm dead, lilith. If you even care."

"Okay."

"And FL Y ER DER BY?? MAN i can't believe she managed to get me hooked on that sport. Like it's seriously so fun. Ha. I went from wanting almost nothing to do with her or that sport to talking about girls with my old colleague. ....well, singular girl. You're kinda just There. (Thank you for being here btw i /gen appreciate it)"

"Oh girls? I can talk about girls. Did you know edalyn once broke a wall of the house playing grudgby? Like. Not even just a window. The entire wall."

"I AM ABOUT TO BREAK!! LOVE HAS GIVEN ME VIOLENT TENDENCIES!!!!"

"One time to cope with her crush on raine eda sicced a griffon on them. Ah, young love. I assume."

"wh A t"

#i got the idea of hunter explaining the Scale Of Cuteness™️ to lillith and ran wild #toh #the owl house #toh hunter #hunter noceda #toh lilith #lilith clawthorne #huntlow #gekkering

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owlish-owlhouse · 1 year

Note

Could you do (if you are caught up) hunter x reader comforting him after hollow mind? Just hurt/comfort fluff 😭

Slight spoilers but also not? Can be read as Run away Hunter fic? Anyways proceed with caution as can be perceived as spoilers

~~~

"Not as comfortable as the castle but way safer." You state as you plop down on a beanbag cushion you borrowed from one of the many classrooms of Hexside. More of them surrounded you and leaning back the blankets and pillows you'd taken made you feel better as you closed your eyes and took a deep breath from all the heavy lifting you'd just done. Clenching your eyes shut trying to ignore the oncoming tears Hunter chuckled nervously sitting next to you after he said everything.

"(Y/N)." He states and you glance at him, his magenta eyes staring into the distance as he tries to process what had happened to him. You were in the same boat trying to process his story and decide your new allegiances.

Glancing behind him a desk had been dragged back here with all the GrimWalker books you'd snagged from the library. A giant pile of empty papers and pens laid next to said books giving him plenty of tools to research and make notes. You didn't know how to react to Hunter being a GrimWalker but regardless he was your friend so you guessed it didn't matter. You had some light glyphs on the desk but there was a lamp too just incase the lights turned off after school hours. You'd never stayed that late with all your Emperor's Coven training so you didn't know.

You'd also found the Emerald Entrails uniform he'd worn before with Willow and her team so he no longer had to wear the Golden Guard uniform. Your own clothes had been ditched for your school uniform awhile ago, a fellow students locker curretully munching on them as you felt suffocated by the white and gold colors.

You'd made this little set up for Hunter since this part of the school was under construction and wouldn't be touched for quit awhile with Bump still trying to fund it. You hoped it'd be okay for Hunter since he was used to much cushier living. It was all you could think of for now since you also lived in the castle so your room wouldn't be safe for him.

God with Hunter on the run... And you too you guess? How could you go back knowing what you knew now? I mean your uniform had already been eaten, you'd have to figure out the sigal on your arm later. You hadn't seen your parents since you joined the Coven, barley convincing the Emperor to allow you to continue studying at school much less stay with them. It hit you that you and Hunter were both on your own huh? You didn't have the Coven to support you anymore.

"... Thankyou." Hunter finally says and you nod before grabbing your backpack taking out some food. Handing him something you'd found in the cafeteria used to taking care of him as before you he never really did, he gladly takes it and sits at the desk to devour the meal.

He had blankets, pillows, cushions, snacks, as well as a few other comfort items. For now this was the best you could do and hopefully he was set. You supposed you'd return home and warn your parents. But would they even want you back? You burned so many bridges to get where you were in the Coven. You had sacrifice everything.

"... I'm sorry." You whisper suddenly and Hunter stops eating to look at you. You have tears in your eyes and your unsure of what to do now. You'd distracted yourself by dragging all this stuff here after he told his story focusing solely on helping him but now that it was done and you were really processing what he said you couldn't believe your Emperor did this. Your friend. Your mentor. His own uncle.

He lied...

"Hey. Hey it's gonna be okay." Hunter says unsure and you shake your head. How was any of this okay?

"I'm sorry Hunter, I just... I can't believe he's lied to us. I can't believe he tried to..." Tried to kill him. Tried to kill Hunter. His Newphew. His family.

Standing up you hug Hunter wrapping your arms tightly around him. "hey it's..." He starts but you can feel the tears dripping down his face onto your shirt. Your own tears begin to pour and your both left crying messes as you hang onto each other.

"It's not okay." You state and you feel Hunter stiffen but hugging him tighter, not letting go he loosens in your hold before squeezing back. "But it will be." You promise softly. "We'll be safe here. We'll protect each other." You state and as FlapJack appears with something to add to the hide out you pull away and wipe at your eyes to look at the bird.

You'd protect each other and when this was all over you'd tell everyone the truth. Maybe it wasn't okay now but as Hunter held your hand and FlapJack flew around the both of you, you knew it would be.

#toh gg #toh gg x reader #toh golden guard #toh hunter #toh hunter x reader #hunter x reader #toh golden guard x reader #gg x reader #golden guard #gg #hunter toh #the owlhouse hunter x reader #the owlhouse hunter #the owlhouse golden guard x reader #the owlhouse x reader #the owlhouse insert #the emperors coven x reader #toh the emperors coven x reader #toh the emperors coven

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sergeantsporks · 4 months

Text

Gilded Family

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 38/39: Pack

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6 , Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 34, Ch 35, Ch 36, Ch 37

An alternate universe in which Evelyn managed to save Caleb after his confrontation with Phillip. The two of them escaped to present day through time pools, and have been using time pools to secretly rescue grimwalkers just after Belos attempts to kill them. The story follows Darius' mentor as he adjusts to his new life, as well as changes to the course of canon.

Ao3

Silver screamed. Phoenix almost joined them. His arms rippled, retreating to flesh and back again.

Caleb gasped, looking down at the blade, and back up at Belos. “Hah… guess you had it backwards. You’ll go through me… before you get to any of my ‘soldiers…’” He winced. “Always… ends… the same way, eh… Pip?”

Belos drew back with a messy squelch, pacing like an animal. Blood dripped from his fingertips to the ground, crimson droplets like little drops of setting sun splattering against the dirt of their home. “That was your fault,” he accused, no pleaded, “You wouldn’t—you made me—”

Evelyn knelt next to Caleb, her hands already glowing blue. But the magic flickered—of course it did, of course she wasn’t ready for this kind of healing. She hadn’t been operating at full capacity for weeks now while trying to keep the shield up, and she’d barely been breathing only minutes ago. But her magic did its best, and Caleb’s chest still rose and fell, if erratically. Phoenix let out a sigh of relief. He’d be alright. For now.

“It was his fault,” Belos snarled again, stalking towards Caleb’s limp body, “It was—”

Spikes of ice jabbed up out of the ground, forming a barrier around Caleb and Evelyn and shooting outwards towards Belos. Meleager crouched on the ground, one hand touching a glowing ice glyph.

“Stay away from him,” he commanded, his voice steely and deadly calm. His breath steamed in the cold air next to his barrier.

Belos stepped back, eying the barrier, but before he could spot a weakness, a spear slammed into the ground at his feet. Hamlet stepped back, and Horus took his place, hefting a spear of his own and preparing to throw. Venari traced a glyph in the dirt with their good arm, making another spear to replace Hamlet’s.

Belos dodged the second spear, and, before Hamlet could throw his new one, pounced on Petro’s semi-conscious body. He rose shakily to his feet, and Phoenix’s stomach twisted. Even Belos didn’t seem quite able to fix the damage he’d done earlier—or maybe he didn’t want to. He shuffled forward, his eyes flickering into blue even while he winced in pain.

“Go ahead,” he taunted, spreading out his arms, “Strike! You won’t hurt him, not now that he’s betrayed me and joined y—”

A glittering knife made of stone whirred through the air, slicing across Belos’ cheekbone. The knife sprouted vines that latched onto the wound, wrapping around the left side of Belos’ face, covering one eye and continuing their steady creep over his forehead.

Sam pushed up his glasses with his free hand, dropping the hand he’d used to throw the knife. “Somehow, I doubt the person who was suicidally dedicated to killing Phoenix will mind too much if he gets a little banged up while we try to get rid of you.” His voice held a matter-of-fact quality to it, but vibrated with barely-contained rage underneath. “And besides, you picked the wrong grimwalker to pull the ‘you wouldn’t hurt him, would you?’ card with.” A small, cold smile appeared on his face that didn’t quite match the tears blooming behind his glasses. “You might want to check your blindspot, Uncle Pip.”

Belos’ head swiveled to the left, but, Phoenix realized, it had just been another distraction. Lucy swept down from the sky (when had she taken off? Phoenix hadn’t thought such a huge creature would be capable of such stealth, but the last few minutes had been chaotic enough he supposed), Joseph steering and Cherry standing on the griffin’s back. He leapt off his perch, easily overpowering the disoriented Belos and pinning Petro’s arms to his sides.

“Leave his body before this gets more painful for both of you,” Cherry told him, “Those broken ribs are going to hurt an awful lot in about three seconds.” He squeezed slightly to emphasize his point, and Belos yipped in pain, his eyes flickering from blue to magenta, and back to blue.

Sam tilted his head at Meleager’s group, who watched patiently with their spears in hand, waiting for Cherry to no longer be in firing range. “I guess we weren’t the only little group who made a contingency plan.”

“No,” Phoenix agreed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Novus quickly twisting together the barest skeletons of windup toys while Matt, Cyrus, and Ash armed them with glyphs, “I guess not.” He blinked, tallying up Grimwalkers in his head. “Wait—where’d Lake and Locke go?”

Petro’s face shifted, and Belos sort of… ripped away from him, like a second head extending from his neck, snapping at Cherry’s throat. Cherry dropped him with a yelp, stepping back, but Belos was didn’t get to enjoy his new freedom. Petro’s eyes burned, and his hands twitched weakly. “Get… out…” he hissed, “Get…”

Phoenix heard two sharp, twin intakes. Lake and Locke appeared behind Belos, invisibility glyphs burning away. Before Belos had time to wrestle back control of Petro’s body, Lake grabbed Belos’ hair and yanked, while Locke pushed Petro’s body in the opposite direction with one foot. Belos yelped, and with a disgusting slurping noise, pulled loose from Petro. The moment his arms reformed, Lake and Locke jumped backwards to avoid his swipes. Petro dragged himself just far enough away from Belos that the emperor couldn’t grab him again, then collapsed against the dirt again.

“And there’s part two,” Sam remarked calmly.

Phoenix bounced Ghost up and down in his arms, turning their face away from the fight. “I’m surprised your plan was to get Belos out and not just take Petro down with him.”

Sam shrugged. “Usually I’m all about efficiency, but honestly, I sort of want to beat each of them separately. More cathartic that way.”

Belos rose to his feet, but almost immediately had to twist and dodge more spears from Hamlet, Horus, and Meleager. Novus released the little army of toys, and they waddled across the field, exploding in flashes of bright light or puffs of smoke. Belos roared—he’d turned to his completely monstrous form, abandoning any pretenses at remaining human.

The disorientation from everyone’s combined effort was all the rest of the Grimwalkers needed. They charged forward, summoning glyph weapons of their own and surrounding Belos in a deadly, pointy ring. He whirled around in a circle, unsure of who to choose while they struck, darting in close and taking a swing, then skipping back out of reach before he could overcome the disorienting blow and strike back. Dagger and Venari stayed outside of the mob, drawing new glyphs, and the grimwalkers around Belos moved in an intricate dance of striking, retreating, retrieving a glyph from Dagger or Venari, and rejoining the circle.

Phoenix thought he and Ghost might be the only ones besides the rescued hostages left out, but Hunter quietly stood next to him, watching in awe. “They’re incredible,” he murmured.

A small, proud smile worked its way onto Phoenix’s face. “Yeah,” he replied, “They are.”

Hunter gripped his staff tightly. “I should help.”

“Are you ready?”

“I want to be.” But he shuddered, glancing Petro’s direction.

Phoenix understood. Hunter had just been possessed—and he’d nearly lost Flapjack, to boot. Of course he was nervous. “Don’t worry about it,” Phoenix told him gently, “This is what being part of the family is for—you don’t have to confront him unless you’re ready. And they’ll protect you if you’re not—even if you’re never ready. I get it. I wish I could help, but… I think I’d just get in the way right now. Can’t move fast enough.” He nodded to his injured leg. “And I never learned glyphs well enough to draw them. Besides,” he added, forcing cheer into his voice and patting Ghost’s back, “Someone has to take care of Ghost.”

A smile flickered across Hunter’s face. “They do not want to let go of you,” he agreed. He turned his attention back towards the fight, taking tiny, shuffling steps forward and then back.

Sam finished drawing a massive glyph in the dirt, and darted forward, stomping to activate it. “Haha!”

Nothing happened.

“Uh…” Sam hit the glyph again, but again, nothing happened. Belos whirled around, striking out at Sam before he could move out of the way.

“Look out!”

Hunter disappeared from Phoenix’s side in a flash of gold, reappearing next to Sam and teleporting him away just as Belos’ scythe sliced into the air where he’d just been. Hunter resurfaced next to Phoenix again, both he and Sam’s chests heaving for air. Sam patted himself as if to make sure he was still there.

Hunter hissed. “That was close.”

All around the circle, glyphs flickered and went out. Meleager attacked with a spear made of ice, but it shattered against Belos’ skin. Belos turned towards him with a dangerous glow in his eyes.

Again, Hunter disappeared, and again, he snatched Belos’ target just in the nick of time, dropping him safely with Phoenix and Sam.

Belos’ lips curled into a sneer, and he went on the offensive, lashing out at the grimwalkers who were now too close, with no way to defend themselves. Hunter disappeared and reappeared all around the circle with a distinctive whoosh, always barely half a step ahead of Belos’ attacks, always just in time.

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” Phoenix thought he heard him repeat to himself as he dropped their siblings to safety, “I can do this.”

The remaining grimwalkers broke ranks, retreating from Belos’ onslaught, half-panicked and some of them fruitlessly still trying to use glyphs. Hunter continued to pull them from danger, while others retreated on their own, backing out of Belos’ reach.

Belos lunged at Cherry, the last grimwalker within his easy hitting range, but something seemed… off… about the attack. His eyes shifted behind Cherry, and Phoenix realized what he was up to just before Hunter teleported to grab Cherry.

Belos lashed out, almost quicker than Phoenix could follow, but instead of hitting Cherry, he aimed past him. His hand slammed into Hunter just as he solidified, knocking his staff out of his hands and sending him skidding backwards. Cherry stepped in, taking swing to divert Belos’ attention, but Belos batted him aside with barely a second glance.

“You should have stayed dead in the human realm,” Belos hissed, raising his scythe.

Hunter’s staff rolled to Phoenix’s feet, and the bird on top sprang to life. The staff flew into Phoenix’s hand with a shrill cry that Phoenix understood perfectly—save him. Without thinking, Phoenix moved, stepping forward. The palisman did the rest—that step blurred gold, and when his foot landed on the ground, he stood over Hunter, holding one arm up to block Belos’ blade and angling his body to keep Ghost away from harm.

He flinched as Belos’ scythe sank into his arm, almost certain it would push past the layers of mud and cleave straight through bone.

But instead the curse wrapped itself around the scythe when it made contact, gumming up the blade and stopping it completely.

Hunter stared up at him, wide-eyed. “Flap-jack?” he whispered. Phoenix dropped the staff, and it fluttered to its witch. Hunter scrambled to his feet, clutching the shaft tightly. “Phoenix—”

Belos pushed harder, and the blade came dangerously close to Phoenix’s face, his own curse dripping and splattering onto his skin in steaming droplets.

“Take Ghost,” Phoenix grunted, “Now.”

Hunter wrapped one arm around Ghost’s waist and disappeared, back safely with the others in the blink of an eye. With his other arm free, Phoenix lashed out, scraping claws against Belos’ arm. Belos stepped back with a hiss, reevaluating and holding his dripping arm. A savage smile to rival Petro’s flickered across Phoenix’s face.

“Not so easy to kill us when we have the tools to fight back, is it?”

Belos’ face twisted into an ugly snarl, and he lunged again. Phoenix caught his hands with a grunt, digging his feet into the ground and pushing back.

“You won’t get past me.”

Belos’ face was already half-melted, showing his teeth like a skull, but he still somehow managed to smile. “That’s fine with me.”

Tendrils of Belos’ mud separated from the rest of his arms and jabbed into Phoenix’s own cursed flesh, like twisted harpoons lashing the two of them together. Belos clutched Phoenix’s hands so that he couldn’t pull away, his rotting breath heavy on Phoenix’s face.

“Together, then,” he hissed.

Phoenix’s arms rippled in terror, pushing back against the connection, trying to force Belos’ influence out.

No. No, no, no—

The glow of Belos’ eyes spread across Phoenix’s sight, tinging everything blue. Behind him, someone screamed his name, and he slowly, slowly tore his eyes away from Belos’, twisting to look.

Jason had leapt off of the gallows and ran towards him, but Cherry caught him, his one eye widening in horror. He wrapped his arms around the struggling grimwalker to keep him back, shouting something, but Phoenix couldn’t hear him.

Fight it, Cherry’s lips mouthed, Fight him.

What does he think I’m doing?

Phoenix turned his head back to Belos, but the emperor was gone.

Oh.

Phoenix’s arms pulsed, twice as big as they were supposed to be, and spreading towards his shoulders. Phoenix lifted his hands, slow as if he was moving through honey, clawing fruitlessly at the growth.

You never stood a chance.

Phoenix’s head throbbed in time with someone else’s heart. Something clawed at the inside of his chest, tore at the inside of his skull, ripped at his soul with razor sharp claws.

Stupid

Weak

You failed me—you were always going to fail them, too.

Phoenix curled up in himself, a voice that sounded suspiciously like his screaming somewhere outside of himself, then abruptly cutting off as his lungs succumbed to the overwhelming pressure.

Stupid

Weak

“No,” Phoenix whispered, but his body didn’t respond, didn’t pass the word along.

Something slammed against his consciousness, tearing at it with massive claws.

“Did you think you would fight me with my own power?”

A knee—no, an elbow—no, a foot—slammed into Phoenix’s chest, and a massive paw curled around his throat.

“I gave you that power,” Belos’ voice whispered, surrounding him like a cocoon, dissolving his insides, “I made you, and made you everything you are. You. Belong. To me.”

Phoenix’s soul constricted, and somewhere, he could feel that terror from his curse, the deep fear of a hunted animal. It didn’t want to go back to Belos—maybe remnants of Belos were in his curse, but remnants of the palisman were, too. And they were terrified.

“Please,” he whispered.

“Please? Oh, we’re far past the point where you have any say.” Belos’ laugh echoed all around him and that horrible force dropped him.

“Please,” Phoenix whispered again, reaching out towards that sad, scared thing inside him, “He’ll kill us both again. I know it’s hard to stand up. I know you’re scared, and it’s okay to be scared. But we have to do this together. We can’t do it alone.”

Belos tore at Phoenix’s soul again, scraping him out of his own body. “You were never going to be clever enough or strong enough to defeat me. Goodbye, Hunter.”

Something wrapped around Phoenix, anchoring him to himself like a lifeline. A cold, slimy, acidic lifeline, but a lifeline nonetheless. He took a deep breath. Then another. And another. And he felt that breath echoing in his body. One slow piece of control at a time. One recovery by one recovery. His heart started to beat with his pulse, not Belos’.

“I don’t need to be clever enough to get rid of you.” The words ebbed out of him—he didn’t say them, they just sort of echoed, pushing Belos away in pulses of warmth while the curse kept him anchored in his body. “I don’t need to be strong enough. I just need a little help.”

His arms rippled again, and this time, this time, Belos went flying backwards, Phoenix’s curse rejecting its origin and pushing him out. Belos skidded against the ground, and Phoenix slowly marched towards him. His curse covered his arms, but twisted around him in the air, too, forming wings of mud.

“Maybe it was your power,” Phoenix said, and this time, his voice was his own. This time, his body was his, only his, curse and all. “Maybe you made me what I am.” The wings spiraled back into his arms, and he grabbed Belos by his collarbone. He seemed… smaller than Phoenix remembered him ever being before, barely Phoenix’s height. “But it is my choice what I do with it.”

Belos tried again to possess him, creeping spikes of mud jabbing at Phoenix’s arms, but his curse didn’t give, didn’t let him in again.

“I choose who I am,” Phoenix told him. He slammed Belos against the ground, drawing his hands back for another blow. Belos scrambled to his feet, but he couldn’t move away fast enough. “Not you.”

He brought his clawed hand careening right towards Belos’ face.

Belos caught it, struggling to push Phoenix’s hand back before it could plunge into his eyes. “Ah—wait—wait—”

I’m winning, Phoenix realized as Belos took a step back, and his arms shook under the force of Phoenix’s onslaught, He’s not strong enough to beat me—to beat us.

Belos’ foot slid backwards again.

Almost—

Belos’ eyes darted down, and his foot swung forward.

He hadn’t been losing a step.

He’d been drawing back for a kick.

Belos’ blow crashed into Phoenix’s injured ankle so hard the cast cracked and shivers of pain rippled up his spine. Phoenix’s leg buckled, and the moment of hesitation was all Belos needed. He twisted away from Phoenix, grabbing Phoenix’s face in one hand and slamming him back against the ground. He pulled Phoenix up again, this time pushing him forward against the earth. He couldn’t see—couldn’t feel—there was nothing but emptiness.

“Stop!”

Stars danced in front of Phoenix’s eyes, and he slowly rolled out of the crater Belos had made with his body. He’d gone past the point of hurting—all he could feel was a startling numbness and some bright flashes of… something… from the curse in his arms. Not quite fear. But a weakness and a hunger.

Belos had left him the moment he’d blacked out—he’d turned his attention back to the gallows, back to Evelyn’s flickering magic, back to Caleb.

But Jason stood in his way, arms out.

“Leave him alone.” Tears ran down Jason’s face, but Phoenix couldn’t tell who they were for. “I know you were hurt, but haven’t you punished him enough for it?”

No, Phoenix thought dizzily, trying and failing to push himself up, to crawl, to do anything but sit here uselessly, He can’t be reasoned with—Jason, you have to move.

But to his surprise, Belos stopped. To his surprise, Belos hesitated, struggling against himself like an animal chewing its own leg to get out of a trap.

“I’m not punishing him,” he said finally, “I’m saving him.”

Jason gave Belos a look so quietly sad, Phoenix’s own eyes grew wet. “Do you even know the difference anymore?”

Belos snarled, lunging at Jason, but froze halfway, looking down at his feet. Phoenix blinked once or twice, wondering if he was hallucinating. But no, the creeping grey didn’t disappear, instead spreading up.

Belos was turning to stone.

Belos twisted around to find the source of the magic, and Phoenix followed his gaze. Mole stood behind Belos, a giant glyph drawn in the dirt around him—the petrification glyph, Phoenix realized. In the middle, stuck in the dirt like a flagpole, was Petro’s dropped staff. The red gem at the top glowed and crackled with red lightning, powering the glyph with the last of its magic. Belos twisted and swiped, but Mole stood just out of reach, unfazed.

“I suppose it always was going to be you,” Belos snarled, “You never held any loyalty to me, did you? I should have bashed your head in with a shovel before you ever crawled out of the mud.” The petrification had crept up to his chest now, and his lips peeled back in a sneer. “What, nothing to say? Even now?”

Mole didn’t respond, just watched coldly as the stone devoured more and more of Belos’ skin. Belos turned frantically back to Jason, reaching almost gently towards his face. His own face changed, back to the face of a battered old man.

“You’re not going to let him do this to me, are you?” he asked, his voice honey-sweet, but tinged with desperation, “No, Hunter, you’re not going to let him kill me. We’re going to the human realm, remember? Just you and I, no one else. Phillip and Caleb again. That’s what you wanted, remember? You said that’s what you wanted, just you and I, no witches, none of these other grimwalkers, nothing. Just you and I. You won’t let him kill me. You promised.”

Jason said nothing for a long moment, just looked at Belos as if he was searching for something, then sighed. “You were so good at tricking people. So good at telling them what they wanted to hear,” he told Belos in a low, sad voice, “You told so many lies—can’t you recognize one when you hear it?”

He stepped back. Belos reached out towards him, but his fingers turned to stone just before he could touch Jason again.

His face froze tilted towards Caleb.

Mole took a deep breath, pulled the shaking, smoking staff out of the glyph, and pointed it at Belos’ petrified body. A pulse of red energy shot out, and the statue collapsed into rubble. The red gem at the top shattered. The last remnants of him… gone.

Xxx

Jason watched Belos’ face fall to pieces in front of him and fell to his knees with them. He’d thought he’d feel something when Belos died. Happiness. Pride. Maybe even a little bit of sadness. But he just felt… empty. Scraped out and hollow.

Is this how Dad always felt?

Mole dropped the staff and leapt over the rubble to him, taking Jason’s face in his hands and anxiously looking him over for injuries.

“I’m okay,” Jason told him wearily, “Hey—really, I’m alright. Um.” He slowly twisted around. “We should check on—”

Mole nodded, helping him to his feet and watching him like a hawk until they reached Phoenix. He’d managed to roll over and get himself up on his knees, but he stared vacantly into space, a look Jason felt in his soul.

“Hey—” Jason reached towards his face. “Concussion buddies?”

Phoenix smiled weakly, gripping his hand. “Probably. Hey—I’m glad you’re safe. If a little banged up.” His eyes slid back to Belos. “He’s… it’s for real this time, right?”

Mole nodded fiercely. A grim smile worked its way onto Jason’s face. “Well, glyphs don’t seem to be working very well at the moment, so even if Sam wanted to turn him back, I don’t think he could.”

“And… Caleb?”

Any words Jason could have said died in his throat. He turned and wandered as if in a dream towards the foot of the gallows, pushing through the crowd of grimwalkers gathered around their parents. Evelyn still held that flickering magic circle over Caleb’s chest, but the wound… didn’t seal up. The blood flow had barely stemmed up. Sweat dripped down Evelyn’s face, and the magic flickered more dangerously, nearly going out completely.

“It’s not enough,” she whispered, looking up at Jason desperately, “I’m out of magic, I can’t…” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Auric?” she said faintly.

“I can start packing the wound, we can try to get him back to Hexside, the griffin is at the ready—”

“Auric, listen.” Evelyn opened her eyes again. “There’s one more spell I can try, and hopefully it will negate enough of the damage that he’ll survive. But I’m… going to be out of commission. I need you to take care of the rest—of him and me, okay?”

“Okay,” Auric said quietly, “Okay, okay, I can do that. But what—”

Evelyn released the spell with a sigh. “Here we go.” She pressed her forehead to Caleb’s, taking a deep breath. “With this spell declared,” she murmured, “let the pain be shared.”

She fell next to Caleb, the wound on his chest shimmering and shrinking. Evelyn’s own chest tore open, and blood flowed from the wounds.

Auric yanked out bandages and potions, swearing a blue streak while he packed the wounds. He looked up at Jason, horror dawning in his eyes. “It’s still too big,” he whispered, “She was wrong, I can’t fix this—I don’t have magic, I don’t have…”

“We need to make it smaller,” Jason murmured.

“What?”

“We need to make it smaller,” Jason declared. He gripped Evelyn’s bloody hand.

Auric’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, Jason, don’t—”

“With this spell declared,” Jason announced, “Let the pain be shared.”

For a moment, nothing. Then, a tearing, aching rawness spread across his chest, opposite the scar on his back. Jason doubled over, gasping. The ground beneath him blurred, and the strength he’d had left drained. He reached for Evelyn and Caleb’s hands again, his own shaking uncontrollably.

“With this spell declared,” he heard Cherry’s voice murmuring, and Caleb’s wound shrank even more.

“Spread out the damage,” Auric breathed, “If all of us—it can be manageable. All of us take a little so that they don’t take too much.”

Mole gripped Jason’s shoulder, his lips moving soundlessly. The pain lessened—still a tearing rawness that made each breath an almost insurmountable effort, but lessened. All around him, the murmur rose up—the spell repeated over and over again, Belos’ damage spread out between them evenly. Jason held his parents’ hands tightly.

Let us save you this time.

Xxx

Phoenix limped towards the gallows. All around Caleb and Evelyn, the rest of the family murmured the words of a spell. They shared the burden of the wound, and it shrank smaller and smaller each time. Sam held up a hand as he approached.

“Uh—no offense, Phoenix, but I think if you try, it’ll just…” His face softened. “Look—you’ve taken enough more than enough hits for us today. Let us do this part.”

A frustrated, helpless feeling rose up in the back of Phoenix’s throat. “But I want to hel—”

“You have. Easy, soldier. Time to take a break.”

Phoenix retreated. He hadn’t helped, not enough. He’d come so close to beating him, but… not enough. Belos had still won out. And he’d been left in the dust again.

Speaking of left in the dust… Phoenix slowly lowered himself in a painful, aching crouch next to Petro. He wheezed, opening one eye to glare at Phoenix.

“I still don’t like you,” he grumbled, “This doesn’t change that.”

“I figured.” Phoenix sighed. “How long?”

“What?”

“How long were you planning to kill him? Was it the whole time, or…?”

“No.” Petro stared up at the sky. “Ah… after I left you at the keep, I retreated to watch him win and destroy everything. Sort of seemed like there was nothing else to do. And then… he didn’t.”

“Mhm.”

“I went looking. I had to make sure for myself, you know. See if he was actually dead this time. And I found him, a mashed-up puddle of footprints in mud.” Petro shuddered. “It was like he was waiting for me. He knew I’d come back, and he just had to hold on until I did. And… he possessed me again. But it was different. I couldn’t tell you how, but it just felt… I don’t know, desperate. You know how someone who’s drowning will drag you down with them? Like that. And I knew, when he possessed me again, that he was going to use me up. He was going to take everything I had left, and then just leave me in a ditch somewhere.” He chuckled, then winced. “I was always willing to die for him, little bird. But I thought that sacrifice would have some meaning. That he’d care if I did. That possession… he didn’t care. I was just a means to an end, and he’d forget about me once I was gone.”

Petro took a deep, shaky breath. “And I realized… I was never going to be good enough for him. He was going to replace me, again, this time with the real article. The real Caleb. And how could I possibly compete with that?” His voice cracked. “Even if I killed Caleb, he wouldn’t love me more. He wouldn’t ever choose me over the brother who left him, even though I was right there, even though I always came back to him. Even though I would have died for him.”

Petro shook his head, his eyes suspiciously wet. “I just don’t understand how he thought I never cared this whole time. I wasn’t going to betray him, not at first. I don’t understand how he could think… I was loyal. I was loyal. How could he think I only returned to stab him in the back?” His eyes latched desperately onto Phoenix’s. “I had to. He didn’t give me another choice—I was loyal. I had to.”

“I understand,” Phoenix said softly, “Trust me, Petro, I understand. But—look. Hey. You can give your loyalty to someone who deserves it more. Someone who will be loyal back. I think… I think your caretaker would like that for you.”

“It’s not gonna be you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on.” Phoenix slung one of Petro’s arms over his shoulder and hauled him up to his feet.

“Let me go,” Petro grumbled, “Leave me to die here.”

“You’re not dying. And I’m not leaving you behind.”

Petro chuckled, breaking into a cough halfway through. “You’re not in much better shape than I am, little bird. You can barely stand.”

“I can stand enough.”

Phoenix dragged Petro towards the rest of the family. Lucy knelt on the ground, allowing Joseph to drape Evelyn and Caleb across her back. Caleb still hadn’t opened his eyes, and Evelyn wasn’t much better, watching them with hazy, weak eyes. But they were alive—and the gaping wound had been reduced to a nasty gash, easily packed and bandaged by Auric’s steady hand.

“Oh, no,” Sam said immediately as Phoenix approached, “He is not coming with us.”

“Good,” Petro mumbled, “I don’t want to. You’ll keep me locked in your lab again.”

Phoenix elbowed him. “No, we won’t. Sam, come on—”

“After everything he’s done?”

“He turned on Belos,” Phoenix pleaded, “He saved Evelyn.”

“For his own gain, not because he cares about us.”

“Okay, but he still helped! That has to mean something, doesn’t it?He can change,” Phoenix argued, “He’s already started—we didn’t think he’d ever turn on Belos, did we? But he did. It’s like Caleb said, he’s growing. Slowly, but growing.” He turned desperately to Cherry. “You wanted him to change—and he is. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

Cherry avoided his eyes. “Maybe he’s changing. But… I’m not sure I want to be around him while he does. He hurt us, Phoenix. He led the Collector right to us. On purpose. He had our home destroyed.”

“He stabbed Lake!” Sam yelled.

“He did do that,” Lake agreed, rubbing their shoulder.

“And he hurt Silver,” Chryses piped up, uncharacteristically angry.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Silver murmured, patting his arm, “It was part of the plan, sort of—we had to get Dad to pull the gallows lever.”

But they went ignored.

“He collapsed. A cave. On me,” Dagger seethed, “Leave him, Phoenix.”

“Okay—look—we can at least take him to a hospital—”

“Don’t want to,” Petro grumbled, “Want to be left here to die.”

Phoenix would have shaken him if he wasn’t so injured. “We’re not leaving you to die. You didn’t want Belos to use you up and leave you for dead—I know you don’t want to die now.”

“Hey, if it’s what he wants…” Sam muttered.

“Come on,” Phoenix tried one more time, “We all had a safe place to figure out how we felt and who we wanted to be. All of us were betrayed by Belos in little ways from the second we dug out of the mud, and we let it go for a long time. And all of us carried out Belos’ horrors up until the end—so did Petro, but we were on the receiving end this time. His finish line just happened after he met us, not before. Look. I get it—he tried to kill me when I was thirteen, just for existing. He killed the closest thing I had to a friend, he attacked and nearly killed me. And he’s tried again several times since. If anyone has the right to be angry with him, if anyone has the right to leave him behind, it’s me.”

Phoenix took a deep breath. “But it doesn’t matter if I’ve forgiven him or not. What matters is that he needs help. What matters is that when it really counted, he stood up to Belos. And what matters is that I’m not going to be the kind of person who leaves him behind just because I don’t like him. He’s coming with us, even if I have to drag him all the way back myself.”

“You won’t have to.”

Jason slipped around to Petro’s other side, supporting him and taking some of the weight off Phoenix’s shoulders. “He saved Mom. That’s good enough for me. Even if he is incorrigible.”

Jason stared pointedly at the others, and Cherry caved. “Alright. We can at least take him to a healer, I suppose. But Phoenix… watch your back around him, okay?”

“I will.”

They turned and looked at Sam expectantly, and finally, he threw up his hands with a disgusted sigh. “Fine! Yes! Fine! We’re a bunch of bleeding hearts! Titan. Fine. We’ll take him with us. Geeze. Joseph, I hope you have more griffins, because we are walking out of this with twice as many injured people than we walked in with.”

Joseph shrugged and whistled. One of his other griffins stalked out of the trees, lifting Dagger and Venari onto her back. Jason and Mole pushed Petro up on Lucy behind Caleb and Evelyn. The griffin eyed him for a moment, the same way she’d eyed Jason before sitting on him, but left him alone.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing.”

Phoenix jumped. He hadn’t noticed Hunter creep up at his elbow, still holding Ghost. The toddler made grabby hands at Phoenix, but Hunter didn’t move to hand the baby over, eying Phoenix’s injured foot.

“Oh. Thanks.”

Hunter shrugged. “I wouldn’t be here if people hadn’t given me a lot of second chances, even after I hurt them.” He scratched Flapjack’s chin. Blue scars ran up the bird’s chest from the repairs, but he was alive and looked like he’d never let go of Hunter again. “Maybe he’ll turn out alright if he meets the right people.”

“Maybe.”

The second griffin lifted Phoenix, depositing him neatly on her back. Cherry looked up at him. “Where to? Back to Hexside?”

Phoenix shook his head. “I’ve… actually got somewhere else in mind. Hunter? Could you lead the way?”

Hunter’s face split into a grin. “I’d love to.”

Xxx

Phoenix took a deep breath. This was it. No more barriers, no more incidents to keep him from explaining. Just he and Darius.

And the assortment of twenty plus griffins, grimwalkers, witches, and humans behind him.

He knocked on the perfectly polished purple door.

It swung open almost immediately, and Darius’s jaw dropped, staring at the mob behind Phoenix.

“Um. Hi. Do you… maybe know where we could find a healer right around now?”

Darius nodded faintly, still staring at the crowd.

“And… is your offer of a place to stay still open? Sorry, I know there’s a lot of us.”

“Ah. Yes.” Darius bobbed his head up and down a few times. “I think… I think I may need to find some more blankets.”

#toh #the owl house #gilded family au #evelyn clawthorne #emperor belos #phillip wittebane #golden guard oc #my writing #toh fanfiction

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