#I MISS OUR HUNTLOW COSPLAY | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

secretly-of-course · 2 years

Note

hi!!!! i need to know your opinion on this but do you think hunter knows he has a crush on willow/what a crush is? and do you think willow has a crush on hunter? i need your huntlow opinions 😌🤌🏼

hi!!! I want you to know I have been looking forward to answering this ask all day 🥰

*slams fists on the table* NOW LET'S DO THIS THING

Now we KNOW that Hunter has a crush on Willow. I mean just look at this boy and tell me he isn't completely smitten. But does HE know? That's a bigger question.

[ID: a screenshot from the episode "Thanks to Them," showing Hunter wearing his Cosmic Frontier cosplay and smiling and blushing at Willow (out of frame).]

For starters, I believe that Hunter does in fact know what a crush is, at least in the text book sense. He reads a lot, so it would be likely that he has encountered romance in some form through that. We know at least he likes Ruler's Reach, which despite King's edits we know still had some of Luz's influence. Also, fans who know Star Trek have pointed out that the character Hunter's blorbo is a parody of is married to a botanist so there's no way he would miss that.

Since it's common for teens to have one-sides crushes on adults in their lives like teachers or friends' older siblings, I used to head canon that when Hunter was younger he could have had baby crush on Steve or someone (bi hunter rights!) but since in "Thanks to Them" Hunter specifies that he wasn't allowed to interact much with the other scouts I now find that to be unlikely. Willow is most likely his first crush.

As for being AWARE of his crush, let's look at the timeline.

In Labyrinth Runners, Hunter is already showing signs of his crush on Willow though I don't think he is aware of what his feelings mean yet at this point. He blushes at her, he tries to make himself somewhat presentable for her, but he doesn't really know why.

[ID: Two screenshots from Labyrinth Runners. In the first, Hunter is blushing while looking straight ahead. The second shows the moment immediately after where Gus confers with who he believes to be Willow while in the background Hunter is seen awkwardly brushing dirt off his cloak.]

But fast forward to Thanks To Them? I think he knows by now. For this reasoning I point to the "Buff Brains" scene.

[ID: Two screenshots from Thanks to Them showing the hexsquad minus Luz in their shack. In the first, everyone is cheering and posing triumphantly all except for Hunter who is standing with his arms limply by his sides as he looks at Willow flexing and blushes from his cheeks to his ears. The second image is nearly the same except now Hunter has raised his arms to cheer with the group.]

Hunter doesn't just get distracted by Willow's muscles here, he catches himself getting distracted, which leads to him snapping himself out of it and adding on his awkward "HA HA YEAH" several seconds after everyone else has gone quiet. Hunter here to me seems like he is trying (and failing, bless him) to keep it cool, as opposed to in LR when he made no such attempts, because at that time he wasn't aware he had to. Whether or not he came to this conclusion on his own or had help from Gus or Amity is a question for fan fiction.

Now the next part of your question, does Willow have a crush on Hunter? Absolutely.

But Secretly, you say, how can you be so sure of this when Willow has never blushed at Hunter? Well I'm here to say she doesn't have to, and why? Because of Raeda.

When just looking at Hunter's side of things, or looking at our canon blushy couple lumity, it can be easy to say that only blushes equal crushes, but this isn't always the case.

Enter Raine. Raine does not typically blush at Eda, even when she blushes at them, but no one in the fandom doubts that they are in love with her.

Raine and Willow are actually a really interesting comparison because for the most part they only blush when they are embarrassed. Raine especially blushes when they are on stage.

[ID: two screenshots, the first of which is from "I Was A Teenage Abomination" and shows Willow with bright red cheeks as Amity mocks her poor abomination skills. The second is from "Eda's Requiem" and shows Raine looking red and embarrassed after Eda mocked them in front of the BATs.]

The only time I could find Raine blushing at Eda was in this flashback, and they only did it AFTER they were caught being flirty not while they were LITERALLY CARESSING EDA'S HAND suggesting they were more embarrassed about being caught than anything else. And even that blush was nothing compared to how red they get on stage.

[ID: Two screenshots from the flashback in "Eda's Requiem," showing young Eda and Raine sitting on their hilltop. In the first, Raine is shown adjusting the position of Eda's hand on her lute, while in the second Raine has pulled away and is looking to the side awkwardly with a slight blush on their face.]

Willow and Raine will literally be holding the object of their affection in their arms and not blush.

[ID: The first is a screenshot from "King's Tide" and shows Willow smiling softly while carrying a Hunter over her shoulder as she has just caught him in midair. Hunter is blushing but Willow is not. The second is a screenshot from "Eda's Requiem" and shows Raine carrying Eda bridal style while she proudly holds up a glyph. Raine is smiling but not blushing.]

Willow and Raine will BLATANTLY flirt without blushing.

[ID: the first is a screenshot from "Thanks to Them" and shows Willow standing in a doorway while winking and pointing at Hunter (out of frame). The second is a screenshot from "Eda's Requiem" and shows Raine reclining while smirking and pointing at Eda (out of frame).]

They also have these fond smiles that are reserved just for the object of their affection.

[ID: the first is a screenshot from "Clouds on the Horizon" the moment after Hunter and Gus have just done their special handshake. Luz looks extremely confused as she looks at them but Willow looks at them with soft eyes and smiles fondly. The second is a screenshot from the flashback of "Eda's Requiem" and shows young Eda and Raine on their hilltop while Eda plays her lute. Raine is leaning their head on their knee and looking at Eda with soft eyes like Willow's and a fond smile on their face.]

Damn, these spot the difference games are getting tough!

And just for fun, let's compare Hunter and Eda.

These two blush early and often.

[ID: The first is a screenshot from "Any Sport in a Storm" from the moment after Willow refers to "Caleb's" next day off. Hunter looks back at her with Flapjack on his shoulder and has a slight blush on his cheeks. The second is from "Them's The Breaks Kids" from the moment after Teen Raine has just done an impressive grudgby move. Teen Eda stands holding the ball with a light blush on her cheeks.]

I mean look at them.

[image ID: the first is a screenshot from "Labyrinth Runners." Willow has pulled Hunter in for a group hug with her and Gus. Hunter is blushing deeply and has a confused and distressed look on his face. The second is a screenshot from "Eda's Requiem" and shows Eda smiles and blushing while Raine extends their hand to her.]

In addition, we know Willow goes completely FERAL when Hunter is in danger.

[ID: two screenshots from "Clouds on the Horizon." The first shows an angry looking Willow, surrounded by vines she has summoned and eyes glowing with green magic and spell circles around her hands. The second shows Willow frantically trying to start the air ship to go after Hunter who she believes has been kidnapped while Amity tries to assist while also telling Willow to slow down.]

Of course, Willow is a protective spirit by nature, but we've never seen her act so rashly to protect her other friends, not even Gus or Luz. Because if you recall, to protect her friends Willow thinks she must be both strong and wise. It would have been wiser to take a minute to come up with a plan to retrieve Hunter before jumping in, it was not so wise to try to commandeer and airship that she has no idea how to fly. This is significant because Willow's emotions are so strong here they are overpowering the part of her that's usually rational and likes to think things through before acting. She cares about Hunter so much.

So in conclusion, Willow definitely likes Hunter back. She at least is more likely to actually be aware of her feelings from early on though, since unlike Hunter she had normal social interactions growing up and is more likely to be familiar with the subject of crushes.

Thanks so much for asking!

#huntlow #toh #the owl house #raeda #toh spoilers #toh season 3 #thanks to them #hunter noceda #hunter the golden guard #willow park #hunter x willow #raine whispers #eda clawthorne #parallels #ship analysis

376 notes · View notes