What Do You Think Hunter’s First Daydream/dream/fantasy Of Willow Was Like? Rather, The First Time

What do you think Hunter’s first daydream/dream/fantasy of Willow was like? Rather, the first time his brain subconsciously started telling him he has a crush? One where he was like, “Holy Titan this is different!” I want to know your take on it!

Oh his subconscious was TRYING to tell him literally that night after meeting her but Hunter blatantly refused to process the truth of the matter cuz it was just too much for him to mentally handle. He was all like "hahaaaa....friend.... :)"

Like "It'll only be 52 weeks before Caleb's next day off"??? Not only has this girl confirmed that she still considers him a friend (She's his friend!!! Hunter's stomach does backflips at the thought it of it.) but she also makes clear that she would like to see him again. 52 weeks....in 52 weeks he's gonna see Willow....there is no way that's not going to cause his mind to wander about the possibilities.

Oh and the pensta chatting. The pensta chatting makes it a billion times worse. Cuz he's here and he's talking to her everyday and he's having so much fun but all he has are her words on a screen. He can't see her face or hear her voice.

He remembers how he blurted out "The Emerald Entrails!", that moment of doubt that he had said something dumb, only for Willow's expression to completely light up in a pretty smile as she touched his shoulder and eagerly began to chant the name he came up with. That was when he knew he had done something right. And those little emojis and exclamation points and 'lol's are cute NICE and makes him all giddy when he gets a positive reaction out of her but he misses the real thing. Which is weird to think because he barely knows the real thing.

Why does he want the real thing so badly?

He misses her.

So he starts to imagine her smiles and her laughter somewhere on the other end of Bonesborough. He knows the hours she's at school. He knows the hours she's working out. So whenever they're not texting, wondering how she's doing is always tucked away in the back of his mind.

As Hunter's crush on Willow fattens up (without him realizing it) the anticipation to see her again only builds. Before he knows it, he falls asleep to the thought of how it's gonna go. What will he say? What will she say? He's writing scripts in his head. He'll be strapping on his armor in the mornings and rehersing his lines in the mirror. He always imagines himself as doing something cool that Willow is very impressed by. And then they'll play Flyer Derby together 🥰

So yeah that is definitely the foundation of Hunter's little Willow daydreams. They don't start off intimate in any way at first. They're very innocent. He just wants to see her. He wants to spend time with her. He wants to talk to her. (He later discovers that talking to her is easier said than done.) So while he definitely has a massive crush on her at this point, his feelings remain repressed because he doesn't have the self awareness to explore them so the explicitly romantic daydreams are still locked behind a paywall.

This shifts into something more heart thumping between the events of LR and COTH where Hunter gradually begins to realize that how he feels about Willow is very very different from how he feels about anyone else. Like Luz. At this point he can admit to himself that he's very fond of Luz. And ever since HP, he has wondered if he'll ever see her again. Her words still stick with him. But she doesn't render him grinning and giggling as he lies awake at night thinking about her. Willow makes vines squirm around in his stomach. It is undeniably different. Even Hunter, the king of mental gymnastics, can't run from that truth forever.

I feel like he didn't quite know he had feelings for Willow during LR. Hell, he was surprised as anybody about how nervous he suddenly became when she was around. But he had observed that she made him feel very funny. In a good way. He mostly just chalked it up to her just being so cool that of course he felt a little starstruck in her presence.

But then Willow yanked him into a hug after the Hexside battle and it changed his brain chemistry. Because she was just!!! So close!!! He could smell her. Her voice was practically in his ear. And she was holding him so tight and secure. It initially startled him beyond comprehension because he is so starved of intimate touch that a hug would absolutely make his endorphins go fucking buckwild and what was happening was so foreign to him that he was frightened of the emotion he felt. He couldn't immediately recognize it as a positive feeling because he had no idea what was going on.

But after?? After Willow let him go and the Hexside students all gathered around to make sure everyone was okay, Hunter was just left standing there, in a complete stupor until Gus pulled him out of it. He still didn't fully understand what had just happened, only that his brain was static because of it.

It takes him a moment to realize that he desperately hopes that whatever that was, she'll do it again.

So those few days/a week he spends with Willow and Gus, Hunter receives a bombardment of physical touch. Usually from Gus. Sometimes Willow too. And Hunter is going absolutely fucking bonkers because Willow's touches are so soft. So fluttery. A hand on his shoulder. A pat on the head. Almost like she knows the effect her touches have and is keeping it to a minimum just to tease him. And it's driving him wild. She'll jokingly pat his cheek and it takes all of Hunter's willpower not to press his face into it. A hand on a shoulder could so easily turn into an arm wrapped around him and pulling him closer. It never does. But that doesn't stop Hunter's kneecaps from melting everytime she touches him so gently and his mind wanders to how it could escalate.

It is astounding what one hug did to him. He hasn't been the same since. But Titan forbid he ask for one. Or initiate himself. Oh no no no that's far too forward.

So yeah, whenever Hunter is left alone and the thought of Willow crosses his mind, he ends up fantasising about being held. Or just. Touched in a way that makes him feel safe. It's a very emotionally charged desire.

Again, while Hunter has definitely reached some awareness that he might be heading down a slippery slope of infatuation, he's still very inexperienced in matters like these. So he doesn't quite know what to fantasise about. But he's had hugs and touching on the brain ever since LR so that's what all his dreams concerning her revolve around.

But then COTH happens and OH BOY. This is when the overload of repressed teenage hormones are finally unleashed. Hunter has spent the last week wanting to be held by Willow because Willow is so sweet and so kind and soft and pretty. But then it finally happens but the nature of it is completely upside down. This is different!!

She swoops in to rescue him and flings him over her shoulder and she's holding him tight but it's not a hug. It's nothing like he was fantasizing about. It's something he has NEVER experienced before but it definitely awakens something in him. She...she's capable of carrying him. She's strong. Girl strong. Arms.. Uhhh..hmm...um. WELL. that's...Ugdhhkk.

This unlocks a new reason that Hunter wants to be held by Willow. Because simply put he thinks Willow is hot.

And that is a whole other set of emotions that Hunter will have to unpack but we won't go into detail about it. But you know how it is with teenagers. Their attractions are borderline feral. Especially if they're experiencing them for the first time.

After Hunter's Strong Girl awakening, he's pretty preoccupied with the Day of Unity to focus on it. It's not until the dust has cleared and he's settled in with Camila that he has the mental capacity to indulge himself with silly little daydreams of Willow effortlessly picking him up.

So now physical attraction has been added to the Hunter crush broth. Now all that's left is for him to observe how Luz and Amity interact with each other, sharing affection that he never really saw up close before and he's beginning to realize that a romantic relationship is....a thing he might actually want? Maybe?? Holding her hand...hm...or....or maybe....

It began as Hunter simply longing to see her in person. To see her smile. To hear her laugh.

Then it escalated to wishing more than anything that she could touch him.

Then the fizzling burst of teen attraction butted its way into the equation and he can't stop thinking about her strong arms.

And now....he wonders what it would be like to kiss her...

Stir that all together and you have a boy who is helplessly in love.