I like Hunter Deamonne better because Hunter gets the undivided parental attention that he needs. Also, the fact that they have known each other for years is so delicious.

Hunter Deamonne is my go to for many reasons.

I mean, first things first, it's all but said that it's what ended up happening, with Darius and Hunter reuniting and then that little moment they share in the epilogue, plus Hunter wearing the patch with the pattern of Darius' abominations specifically in his apron and in that one Gallery Nucleus art Dana made. On the back of his jacket.

Honestly, I was lowkey ride or die for them ever since Any Sport in a Storm but I do think even if they weren't able to do a lot because of time, all the implied moments with them (the sewing lessons, the meeting in between LR and COTH, wtc.) work very well to establish a budding bond there. It's just really good. They're everything to me.

And then there's the matter that yeah, Darius can give Hunter all of his attention and that would be good for Hunter, because he has to come to terms with so much trauma and so many things about his life and he's going to need as much support as possible. I think what's great about Darius adopting him too is that he sort of gets it already, of course he doesn't know the details because if anything, he would have started to suspect that Hunter was abused until the sewing lessons (I'm so tired of people assuming he knew before, please... the Palisman Logs literally contradict that, stop it), but he knows life at the castle and he has more means to understand what Hunter would have gone through, which is definitely a boon because with a matter as complicated as this, Hunter won't be ready to talk about everything in detail right away, and having someone who has more of a first hand understanding will help, especially because Darius must have been at the Emperor's Coven for quite a while since he was the previous Golden Guard's mentee.

Now, it's even better because it's not only Darius (though one parent with one kid is not at all a bad level of support and attention because I have no doubt Darius would be incredibly intense in his care considering how committed he is to everything he does), it's also Eberwolf! People sometimes seem to forget Darius and Eber are a package deal. And what's probably better for a kid who needs all the positive parental attention he can get than one very committed parent? Two very committed parents!

(Also a very good thing about Eber being there is that they're Head Beastkeeper, and as chaotic as they are, this means they must be very patient, because to practical ends, they train beasts. Judging by their ratworms, they must have dealt too with a lot of hurt animals so they know how to be careful when it comes to creatures that are wary because of past bad experiences. The "like with a wounded animal" approach that I think would help. Obviously they won't treat Hunter like an animal but the skills they have due to their specialty can be applied in a different way to help him anyway)

There's just so much to their dynamic, not to say it would be perfect, of course there would be fumbles around the way but I think they're so good because they have already a bond they can work with as a building point for their new family relationship, and a lot of understanding of Hunter's specific circumstances.