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User Name/Nick: Maniette
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Other Characters Currently In-Game: Timothy Stoker
Character Name: Hunter / The Golden Guard
Series: The Owl House
Age: 16
From When?: S2E9, Eclipse Lake, from the point where he's fought Amity to a standstill. While he survives the actual encounter by blackmailing Amity, in this death scenario, while she was making her decision, Kikimora managed to make her way out of the earlier railcar accident relatively unscathed, and blasts Hunter in the face with an Abomination guard for trying to steal her glory while he's distracted.
Inmate Justification: Hunter is a victim of persistent emotional and psychological manipulation, and some physical abuse, by his uncle Emperor Belos, and needs to acknowledge that his treatment is not okay; but also that the terrible things he does under Belos's orders are, in fact, terrible things to do.
Arrival: Hunter was brought in from his moment of death entirely unwillingly and with no prior warning.
Abilities/Powers:
- Hunter is remarkable in canon for being one of few witches with no ability to cast spells or use Spell Circles. While he's shown to be able to use magical items, such as staffs and Palisman, and external magic such as glyphs, he has no internal source of magic.
- That being said, he's hypercompetent in combat when he does have a magic item, enough so to be promoted to the leader of Emperor Belos's personal guard, the Emperor's Coven. This also grants him the ability to draw spells from all nine schools of magic when he's wielding a staff, which essentially makes him one of the most powerful witches in the series.
- He's remarkably intelligent and adaptive, and is quick to understand new concepts introduced to him. He's also very excited to share with the class.
- He's also very durable, adept at parkour and physically capable, and is shown to be proficient in staff combat. Boy gets smacked a lot.
Inmate Information:
Hunter's list of actual crimes is surprisingly extensive for a sixteen-year-old: as the highest ranking enforcer of the Emperor's will, he's gone on countless personal missions for the Emperor to ensure his power remains intact, and also his health and well-being. He's been sent on missions to collect Palismans (witch familiars, sentient creatures of extremely potent magic and a witch's best friend) to give to the Emperor to kill and leech their magic. He's been given orders to hunt down magical creatures and kill them, purely for existing as wild magic; hunt down and trap criminals and "criminals" to leave to rot for the rest of their natural lives in the Conformatorium; procure arms and armies on his behalf, lead missions that have ultimately only caused harm and destruction, and does it all with a cheerful little smile in his voice.
Because he's that, also. A cheerful little twat who takes a great deal of delight in the power that his rank affords him, and is extremely comfortable and free with offering people threats like "the Emperor is not a forgiving man". As the Golden Guard he has a reputation for being the most fearsome of all the Emperor's Coven, and within the ranks is respected as Belos's right hand man and a teen prodigy; and therefore he's never had an equal in his entire life. He has no midway point between deference to a higher authority, and utter condescension to all of the plebs beneath him, and if he even remotely thinks you're beneath him (or, as seen with Kikimora, the same rank) that's most chance of getting any respect from him out the window.
For all that, though, he's not strictly a bad person. While yes, he did do all of those tasks fully willingly and often gleefully, he's still shown that he has the potential to be kind and compassionate. Most of the reason he collects Palismans is for his uncle's health, to assist with curing or at least prolonging his health due to some kind of curse brought on by wild magic, and he wants to put research into actually curing his uncle from it - despite how wild magic took their family away, and how his uncle physically punishes him every time he even brings wild magic up. And when Luz confronts him and calls him a bad person, he's visibly affected by it - because he sincerely doesn't think he is. Everything he does, most of his entire reason for existing, is to serve the man that gave him a home, a life and a future.
Because Hunter has no magic. He can't cast spells under his own power, and in a place like the Boiling Isles, where everyone and everything is magic and also sometimes trying to kill you, his future was decidedly bleak. Until Belos took him in, gave him a staff with artificial magic (which means Luz the human can also use it, we see) and told him the Titan - the literal giant skeleton on which the Boiling Isles is located - has big plans for him. And this, along with being raised by the man, has given Hunter a sense of purpose. One that he didn't necessarily ask for, that he's admitted to Luz that maybe it's a lot of pressure to acknowledge, but purpose nonetheless, and so he chooses, actively, to assist his uncle in the necessary preparations, to extend his power and his life and champion his cause.
Besides that, though? He's a pretty typical teen, albeit one with zero socialisation whatsoever that wasn't submission to and grooming from Belos, or fearful, awed respect from other members of the Emperor's Coven. When we see him with someone his own age, probably for one of the first times in his life, we see he's a little shithead. He licks Luz's hand when she tries to cover his mouth and chases her when she steals his staff; he gets embarrassed and blushes readily when people bully him, and is obnoxiously stubborn. Like any teen, he's also lazy, and will cheerfully foist off his work on the rank and file, or anyone he can blackmail into it. He's not afraid to make death threats but rarely follows through; but he's also surprisingly trusting. He'll form alliances readily if it furthers his goals (or gets him out of work) and is happy to drop them at a moment's notice with no hesitation or remorse, but the fact he makes them at all speaks volumes for the amount he's used to having his word obeyed. And while he'll happily back out of a truce or arrangement at any point, he won't go back on his word, or go on some spiteful revenge rampage because he was tricked. He does the work in front of him, finishes, and drops it completely.
Another point of interest towards his character is that he has been chosen by a Palisman - a red cardinal familiar/staff known informally as Lil Rascal. And through it we can already see seeds of his defiance towards Belos. When it first interacts with him he acts alarmed and actively tries to remove it, citing it as a dangerous and unpredictable piece of wild magic; but despite his protests (and the fact he literally kidnapped all the Palisman earlier that same day) the Palisman still picks him, and Hunter seems genuinely touched. Further, when it bothers him while he's watching his uncle, he makes sure to hide it before Belos sees so he won't have to hand over the little guy. He's already shown to enjoy its company, as much as he denies it, and in turn it acts like as much of a little shithead as him, getting up to mischief and literally pulling Hunter into encounters with other characters. Since it's fairly established in the show that Palisman only pick someone to whom they've got a strong shared goal, we can assume that Hunter and the cardinal's ideas do line up - Hunter just needs to put his energy into pursuing those over his uncle's wishes.
To the Barge in general, the established systems won't trouble him all that much; he's familiar with prisons, after all. What will be more jarring is the event-style floods and breaches, as he has nothing to compare with from his own world. Also, a lot of the modern technology will be a source of curiosity and confusion, especially where it doesn't line up to analogous items on the Boiling Isles. He'll also be deeply curious about anything from modern Earth, as his uncle promised him that one day he'd take Hunter to see it.
Path to Redemption:
Hunter's primary fault at this point is a certain kind of passiveness. While he's hard working when he wants to, and desperately loyal, he doesn't seem inclined to a great deal of introspection. He blindly follows and obeys Belos even counter to his own ideas and opinions. Part of this is through straight up abuse from Belos, in the forms of psychological and emotional manipulation, hinting that he's utterly disposable while also such an effort to replace and leaving Hunter on a knife's edge in knowing that even though he's family, he's only worth something as long as he's useful; but also straight up physically, and he's shown to attack Hunter in very calculated rages, so that Hunter knows that the threats could very much be carried out in full.
He needs to be encouraged into actual introspection and analysis of the ways Belos behaves and his treatment at his uncle's hands, and that the tasks he does in service to him are harming a great deal of people, and putting the entirety of the Boiling Isles in a functional police state. He also needs to recognise that he has worth outside of being some kind of vaguely defined Chosen One by the Titan.
For a warden, he would probably need someone who's able to recognise abuse and manipulation from the victim's perspective, and make him question the situation in a way that doesn't spark up defensiveness and protectiveness for his uncle and their combined actions. Hunter would likely not respond well to being pitied or empathised with, as he doesn't believe he's in the wrong, and would actively reject a warden that condescends him in return. He wouldn't do well with authoritative or fatherly figures, in that he may fall into pre-existing behaviour patterns that he has with Belos; but on the other hand, they may just suit him, as he learns that how Belos treated him wasn't right.
It would also be very easy for a nerdy or scholarly warden to engage him, as curiosity and the urge to learn more - even if he hyperfocuses on the context of using it to save his uncle - would be a guaranteed path to a more genuine face from Hunter, even if he tries to hide it.
History: Available on the Owl House wiki!
Sample Journal Entry: Network style TDM thread
Sample RP: November test drive!
Special Notes:
User DW: nah
E-mail/Plurk/Discord/PM/to a character journal/alternate method of contact:
Other Characters Currently In-Game: Timothy Stoker
Character Name: Hunter / The Golden Guard
Series: The Owl House
Age: 16
From When?: S2E9, Eclipse Lake, from the point where he's fought Amity to a standstill. While he survives the actual encounter by blackmailing Amity, in this death scenario, while she was making her decision, Kikimora managed to make her way out of the earlier railcar accident relatively unscathed, and blasts Hunter in the face with an Abomination guard for trying to steal her glory while he's distracted.
Inmate Justification: Hunter is a victim of persistent emotional and psychological manipulation, and some physical abuse, by his uncle Emperor Belos, and needs to acknowledge that his treatment is not okay; but also that the terrible things he does under Belos's orders are, in fact, terrible things to do.
Arrival: Hunter was brought in from his moment of death entirely unwillingly and with no prior warning.
Abilities/Powers:
- Hunter is remarkable in canon for being one of few witches with no ability to cast spells or use Spell Circles. While he's shown to be able to use magical items, such as staffs and Palisman, and external magic such as glyphs, he has no internal source of magic.
- That being said, he's hypercompetent in combat when he does have a magic item, enough so to be promoted to the leader of Emperor Belos's personal guard, the Emperor's Coven. This also grants him the ability to draw spells from all nine schools of magic when he's wielding a staff, which essentially makes him one of the most powerful witches in the series.
- He's remarkably intelligent and adaptive, and is quick to understand new concepts introduced to him. He's also very excited to share with the class.
- He's also very durable, adept at parkour and physically capable, and is shown to be proficient in staff combat. Boy gets smacked a lot.
Inmate Information:
Hunter's list of actual crimes is surprisingly extensive for a sixteen-year-old: as the highest ranking enforcer of the Emperor's will, he's gone on countless personal missions for the Emperor to ensure his power remains intact, and also his health and well-being. He's been sent on missions to collect Palismans (witch familiars, sentient creatures of extremely potent magic and a witch's best friend) to give to the Emperor to kill and leech their magic. He's been given orders to hunt down magical creatures and kill them, purely for existing as wild magic; hunt down and trap criminals and "criminals" to leave to rot for the rest of their natural lives in the Conformatorium; procure arms and armies on his behalf, lead missions that have ultimately only caused harm and destruction, and does it all with a cheerful little smile in his voice.
Because he's that, also. A cheerful little twat who takes a great deal of delight in the power that his rank affords him, and is extremely comfortable and free with offering people threats like "the Emperor is not a forgiving man". As the Golden Guard he has a reputation for being the most fearsome of all the Emperor's Coven, and within the ranks is respected as Belos's right hand man and a teen prodigy; and therefore he's never had an equal in his entire life. He has no midway point between deference to a higher authority, and utter condescension to all of the plebs beneath him, and if he even remotely thinks you're beneath him (or, as seen with Kikimora, the same rank) that's most chance of getting any respect from him out the window.
For all that, though, he's not strictly a bad person. While yes, he did do all of those tasks fully willingly and often gleefully, he's still shown that he has the potential to be kind and compassionate. Most of the reason he collects Palismans is for his uncle's health, to assist with curing or at least prolonging his health due to some kind of curse brought on by wild magic, and he wants to put research into actually curing his uncle from it - despite how wild magic took their family away, and how his uncle physically punishes him every time he even brings wild magic up. And when Luz confronts him and calls him a bad person, he's visibly affected by it - because he sincerely doesn't think he is. Everything he does, most of his entire reason for existing, is to serve the man that gave him a home, a life and a future.
Because Hunter has no magic. He can't cast spells under his own power, and in a place like the Boiling Isles, where everyone and everything is magic and also sometimes trying to kill you, his future was decidedly bleak. Until Belos took him in, gave him a staff with artificial magic (which means Luz the human can also use it, we see) and told him the Titan - the literal giant skeleton on which the Boiling Isles is located - has big plans for him. And this, along with being raised by the man, has given Hunter a sense of purpose. One that he didn't necessarily ask for, that he's admitted to Luz that maybe it's a lot of pressure to acknowledge, but purpose nonetheless, and so he chooses, actively, to assist his uncle in the necessary preparations, to extend his power and his life and champion his cause.
Besides that, though? He's a pretty typical teen, albeit one with zero socialisation whatsoever that wasn't submission to and grooming from Belos, or fearful, awed respect from other members of the Emperor's Coven. When we see him with someone his own age, probably for one of the first times in his life, we see he's a little shithead. He licks Luz's hand when she tries to cover his mouth and chases her when she steals his staff; he gets embarrassed and blushes readily when people bully him, and is obnoxiously stubborn. Like any teen, he's also lazy, and will cheerfully foist off his work on the rank and file, or anyone he can blackmail into it. He's not afraid to make death threats but rarely follows through; but he's also surprisingly trusting. He'll form alliances readily if it furthers his goals (or gets him out of work) and is happy to drop them at a moment's notice with no hesitation or remorse, but the fact he makes them at all speaks volumes for the amount he's used to having his word obeyed. And while he'll happily back out of a truce or arrangement at any point, he won't go back on his word, or go on some spiteful revenge rampage because he was tricked. He does the work in front of him, finishes, and drops it completely.
Another point of interest towards his character is that he has been chosen by a Palisman - a red cardinal familiar/staff known informally as Lil Rascal. And through it we can already see seeds of his defiance towards Belos. When it first interacts with him he acts alarmed and actively tries to remove it, citing it as a dangerous and unpredictable piece of wild magic; but despite his protests (and the fact he literally kidnapped all the Palisman earlier that same day) the Palisman still picks him, and Hunter seems genuinely touched. Further, when it bothers him while he's watching his uncle, he makes sure to hide it before Belos sees so he won't have to hand over the little guy. He's already shown to enjoy its company, as much as he denies it, and in turn it acts like as much of a little shithead as him, getting up to mischief and literally pulling Hunter into encounters with other characters. Since it's fairly established in the show that Palisman only pick someone to whom they've got a strong shared goal, we can assume that Hunter and the cardinal's ideas do line up - Hunter just needs to put his energy into pursuing those over his uncle's wishes.
To the Barge in general, the established systems won't trouble him all that much; he's familiar with prisons, after all. What will be more jarring is the event-style floods and breaches, as he has nothing to compare with from his own world. Also, a lot of the modern technology will be a source of curiosity and confusion, especially where it doesn't line up to analogous items on the Boiling Isles. He'll also be deeply curious about anything from modern Earth, as his uncle promised him that one day he'd take Hunter to see it.
Path to Redemption:
Hunter's primary fault at this point is a certain kind of passiveness. While he's hard working when he wants to, and desperately loyal, he doesn't seem inclined to a great deal of introspection. He blindly follows and obeys Belos even counter to his own ideas and opinions. Part of this is through straight up abuse from Belos, in the forms of psychological and emotional manipulation, hinting that he's utterly disposable while also such an effort to replace and leaving Hunter on a knife's edge in knowing that even though he's family, he's only worth something as long as he's useful; but also straight up physically, and he's shown to attack Hunter in very calculated rages, so that Hunter knows that the threats could very much be carried out in full.
He needs to be encouraged into actual introspection and analysis of the ways Belos behaves and his treatment at his uncle's hands, and that the tasks he does in service to him are harming a great deal of people, and putting the entirety of the Boiling Isles in a functional police state. He also needs to recognise that he has worth outside of being some kind of vaguely defined Chosen One by the Titan.
For a warden, he would probably need someone who's able to recognise abuse and manipulation from the victim's perspective, and make him question the situation in a way that doesn't spark up defensiveness and protectiveness for his uncle and their combined actions. Hunter would likely not respond well to being pitied or empathised with, as he doesn't believe he's in the wrong, and would actively reject a warden that condescends him in return. He wouldn't do well with authoritative or fatherly figures, in that he may fall into pre-existing behaviour patterns that he has with Belos; but on the other hand, they may just suit him, as he learns that how Belos treated him wasn't right.
It would also be very easy for a nerdy or scholarly warden to engage him, as curiosity and the urge to learn more - even if he hyperfocuses on the context of using it to save his uncle - would be a guaranteed path to a more genuine face from Hunter, even if he tries to hide it.
History: Available on the Owl House wiki!
Sample Journal Entry: Network style TDM thread
Sample RP: November test drive!
Special Notes: