Mosswolf’s Creative Works!

Art and writing by @mr-mosswolf

[mosswolf-creates]

Hello!

Welcome to my creative works sideblog! Here I post/reblog my creative content. My main is @mr-mosswolf.

Tags to check out:

#my art - all my visual art/drawings

#my writing - all my writing

#wittober - all my works from wittober 2025 [masterpost]

#nexus 7 no. 25 - stuff related to a story I'm writing :)

Banner image for this blog was taken by me :)

[justanotherrandomwriter]

anyone else got this problem??

[mosswolf-creates]

I drew Jade with different facial expressions from Steven Universe screencaps. Most are of Pearl but one of them is Peridot ;}

[mosswolf-creates]

Jade character sheet stuff

[ficexchangecoven2025]

It's time!

Hello again, witches and demons! Welcome to the third year of the Fic Exchange Coven!

From today until November 30th, signups will be open. You will be asked to provide a Tumblr URL, your pen name on fanfiction sites you use, and at least two prompt ideas for whoever draws your name to choose from. You can also offer a third prompt idea to give your fic exchange writer an extra idea to consider. If more than one idea appeals to you, you may combine them.

The prompts can be vague (fluff with Luz and Amity), or a bit more specific (Luz meets Raine on her first day in the Boiling Isles instead of Eda). Please keep your prompts rated T at maximum; prompts rated M or E are prohibited.

There will also be a section asking what you are okay with writing (certain characters, relationships, and/or genres), and what you are not okay with writing (certain characters, relationships, and/or triggers).

Signups will close immediately after the 30th, at which point I will send out fic assignments. You will then have to write a fic using at least one of your assignment's desired prompts. Posting week begins on December 25th and ends at midnight on January 1st.

Please give me a notice if you will be late due to emergency circumstances like a family emergency or other crisis, then you will have until January 10th to post.

In terms of length, I ask that your fic have a minimum of 1,000 words.

So, ready to do some magic with the Owl House family and make someone's day? Sign up today!

Fic Exchange Coven 2025

A gift exchange for fans of The Owl House. Offer two or three prompts you'd like to see written, and whoever draws your name will write you

[starmans-spaceship]

Hunter themed drawing challenge for November! Yay!

Anyone can go hogwild with these btw! Interpret the prompts any way you wish!

All just ask is that if you do this that you tag it as #Hunter-vember or #Huntervember. Okay have fun! <3

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 31 - Longing

Oh my gosh, it's the last day of Wittober! Happy Halloween!

I have been working on a longer work for this prompt based around the "Hunter is a trans guy" headcanon (which I hold near and dead to my heart, since I am also a trans man!). However, I decided to spend a few extra days working on it so I can add some extra lore and make it a multi-chapter fic. Nevertheless, I still want to post something today, so I'll be posting an "abridged" version of the fic!

Heads up: This work has some brief mentions of transphobia and sexism! Viewer discretion is advised.

Word count: 672

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73398796 (I'll add a link to the extended version of this fic in the reblogs once it's complete!)

Just want to add: Thank you all SO much for the support for my writing, it means the world to me! You can find all my Wittober 2025 works in the masterpost. [Linked here!]

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Hunter was grateful that his uncle was willing to tolerate the fact that he was a guy with a girl's body. When he first told his uncle about it, he was willing to accommodate this and do his best to raise Hunter as his son, but he learned quickly that this was a privilege to be earned. Whenever he messed up on a mission, Belos would demean Hunter for "letting his woman's body bog him down". He would remind Hunter that the last Golden Guard had a man's body and that he would have to work extra hard if he wanted to be as good as he was.

Still, Hunter was grateful that Belos would always refer to him with male pronouns and that he let him bind his chest. He would supply elastic bandages for Hunter to wrap around. It hurt a LOT and made it a lot more difficult for him to train and move around, but he managed to get by. Besides, it helped him get rid of the awful feelings he had about having a woman's chest

Despite all this, Hunter longed to be surrounded by people who treated him like a boy/man without all the caveats. He wished there would be a less painful way for him to make his chest flat and he wished people won't bring up the fact that he was born a woman every time he messed up.

When Luz first learned that Hunter was born a woman in the Human Realm, he learned that these things might actually be possible. Luz found out when she saw some discarded elastic bandages in the bathroom trash. She confronted him about it and was horrified to learn that Hunter was using these bandages to bind his chest. Hunter freaked out and apologized for using her mom's resources for something so mundane, but he was shocked to learn that this wasn't what Luz was upset about. Apparently using elastic bandages to bind your chest was really bad for your body and was not the proper way to chest bind. Hunter had no idea and was admittedly quite mad at Belos for making him use this improper method.

Luz introduced Hunter to something called a "binder". It was like an undershirt that helped to compress the chest. Luz sometimes wore one and let him borrow one of hers. He was shocked how much more comfortable it was! From there on out, Hunter would always wear a binder instead of chest binding with elastic bandages. He ended up purchasing a binder of his own and Luz showed him how to take care of it so it would stay in good condition.

On top of this, Luz told him that it was really awful that Belos would say were extremely rude. Specifically she told him about the word "transphobic", which was when people said awful things about a trans person's gender. (Hunter learned that the proper term to describe himself was "transgender male" too.) She told him that whenever someone talked to him that way, he should call them out if he felt comfortable, or that he should tell her and she would make sure they'd never do again. Hunter really appreciated the support. It felt nice to be so accepted and protected by someone.

Hunter's favorite part about learning about the term "transgender" was learning that there was a flag associated with celebrating transgender people called a "pride flag"! It was really nice and had blue, pink, and white stripes. He eventually ended up buying a transgender pride flag of his own, as well as a few things with the trans pride colors on it. These items made him feel so loved and he was proud to show them off.

For so long, Hunter longed for acceptance of his trans identity, but believed such thing wasn't even possible. Now, thanks to Luz, he could be proud of who he was as a trans man. It made him feel so happy to be proud of who he was!

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 30 - In-Between

This fic explores Hunter’s struggle to deal with uncertainty and transition periods. Hunter is written with autistic traits since I thought it best fits the theme of the fic :)

Takes place between Hollow Mind and Labyrinth Runners.

Word count: 603

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73386621

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Hunter never did very well with transition periods. They always made him feel tense and on-edge. The uncertainty of it all, the discomfort of having to wait, wishing it would just be over soon. Some of the things he grew up waiting for hurt a lot too, especially when Emperor Belos was involved.

But the pending doom of the Day of Unity approaching alongside his predicament after escaping the Emperor's Mind made this one of the hardest moments in Hunter's life so far. Sure, he was glad that Flapjack suggested he hide out at Hexside, but it was only a matter of time before someone found him. Then what would he do? He'd sometimes try to come up with plans to ease his mind, but these thoughts made him feel even worse when he realized that he couldn't really fight off coven guards and scouts anymore.

Flapjack tried to make sure Hunter stayed in decent health during this transition period, but this was much easier said than done. Once Hunter found Hexside's library, he started to spend hours hunched over books about grimwalkers. None of the information put him at ease though; rather it only fueled his self-deprecation. Hunter barely ever ate or slept; he'd just keep reading the grimwalker books or spend hours mulling over plans for hypothetical scenarios.

Hunter would read sections of the books over and over and analyze all the diagrams in great detail. Sometimes he'd go in the school bathrooms late at night so he could just stare at himself in the mirror to scrinitize his own existence. He still couldn't fully wrap his head around the fact that his entire life had been a lie, that he was grown and designed rather than born to a family like he thought he was. In fact, he never even had a family. Only ever Belos.

Belos made him so angry. He had done so much for him, but it was all fueled by the lies Belos would continuously tell everyone. Over and over again. Hunter felt like such an idiot for believing him…

It really hurt Flapjack to see Hunter in so much distress, but he also didn't want to make the situation any worse. When confronted with the reality of his situation, that he was surviving off of garbage and vending machine food while hiding out in a school, Hunter would start panicking, pacing back and forth, pulling at his hair, scratching at his skin. Flapjack would do his best to help Hunter calm down, but it involved a whole lot of trial and error.

Some nights, Hunter would just lay awake feeling numb, wanting to cry tears that just couldn't form in his eyes. He truly felt like a nobody. He had no purpose and he wasn't even a real person anymore! How could he live with himself? How could he ever find fulfillment in life ever again?!

He'd hug his legs with his chin on his knees and rock back and forth in distress, closing his eyes shut as if to shut out the whole world around him.

It hurt so deeply. He felt truly hopeless, like the whole world was broken. Everyone was going to die soon, and he was part of the reason why the man who'd kill them all would succeed.

Hunter was deep in the trenches of his own mind. He was stuck in a moment in time, one that could end at any moment. It kept him on edge and made this awful feeling even worse. He felt like time was purposely slowing down just to taunt him.

It was torturous.

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 29 - Journey

This fic focuses on Philip's first 24 hours in the Boiling Isles.

I ended up writing this for fun a few days ago, but decided to add it to my wittober roster! Shoutout to my mutuals for helping me revise it.

This work uses lore established from Magpie's "Wittebane lore document". [Linked here]

Word count: 1,613

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73299366

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Philip awoke in a cold sweat as he found himself in a small lake, smaller than the one he dived into back in Gravesfield. He crawls out of this unfamiliar body of water, only to realize pretty much everything around him was unfamiliar. The grass was red here… and so were the trees. All the surrounding trees were tall and pointy. He also saw large ivory colored spikes in the distance. How strange… how horrifying.

He realizes this is where that witch that took Caleb came from…. meaning this must be a land of witches. (He prayed this was not actually Hell.) Philip briefly thinks about how easy it would be to hunt down a witch here and bring it back to Gravesfield for the approval of the town, but he then remembers that he doesn't know his way back. That ripple in the lake back in Gravesfield seemed like just a coincidence, some rare occurrence.

Philip sighed as he realized that this "land of witches" was his home now. He didn't really want to go through the portal in the lake that brought him here in the first place, but he had no choice. After the Gravesfield townsfolk found Caleb's note, he couldn't possibly risk staying there anymore. Now he had to survive out here on his own with no one to help him. The thought makes his heart ache.

He then remembers Caleb is also here, which brings him both relief and worry. He vows to himself that he must get his brother back and find a way back home. If he returns with Caleb and some captured witches, the townsfolk would have to welcome them both back Then everything would be back to normal!

After coming up with his first basic plan, Philip takes out his notebook from his satchel, which he never left home without. He was quite relieved he'd at least be able to document information that'd help him survive and return home. He lets out a heavy sigh, noticing that his hand shake a bit. He was in a strange new place, no wonder he feels so nervous.

Noticing the sky slowly starting to get dark causes his wandering mind to stop in its tracks. Frantically, he rushes to try to find shelter. The trees are far too stiff and thick to chop without tools, so he looks around to see if there's a cave or abandoned building. By the time he finds a small cave, barely big enough for him to lay down in it, it's almost completely dark.

As Philip puts down his satchel and clutches his coat tighter, tears start to prick in his eyes. He then buries his head in his legs and begins to cry, rocking back and forth while hugging his legs. How was he possibly going to do this? Trying to adapt to living in Gravesfield was already hard enough with Caleb by his side, but now he had to do it all on his own in a completely new world!

Part of him doubted if he'd even survive the night. How cold did this place even get at night? Would animals try to attack him in his sleep?

Fearful thoughts continue to flood Philip's mind until he finally fell into a fitful sleep…

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

An aching pain in Philip's stomach woke him up the next morning. Hunger was finally starting to get to him. He had hoped he could hold out a little longer,, but all that walking from trying to find shelter (along with all the stress he's been feeling) exhausted him more than he realized.

He gets up and out of the cave and puts on his satchel to try to find food, only to realize all his prior food knowledge doesn't apply here. No fruit or vegetable looks like anything he's ever seen before… how could he possibly tell what was poisonous or not? Animals around here also were wildly fast and vicious (he learned this the hard way after just barely escaping an attack from some small creature) and the bugs… he really didn't want to try to eat bugs despite his desperation. The small lake he came out of also no fish to his disappointment, and the sea was… boiling? No way he was going down there.

Philip did manage to record some notes on the possible food sources he did find and collected a few fruits he thought might be edible. He decides to try going to the nearest town to see if there were resources on what was actually edible, though he realizes he may have to travel a long ways just to find a town. Hopefully he could find some food while in town… even if it meant sacrificing his dignity.

Thus began Philip's travel by foot to the nearest town began. The terrain was mostly decent save for a few jagged rocks, but the distance was quite length. When he finally arrived in a small village, he noticed some of the townsfolk had quite… monstrous appearances. Thankfully, most townsfolks spoke the same tongue as him, so communication would most likely not be a huge issue. All the signs in the village were also readable, so that was another plus. He tries to keep his head down as he looks for an opportunity to get food or obtain information.

Philip felt very reluctant to interact with anyone. After all, these were all witches who could curse him. He certainly wanted to avoid sin as much as possible, but his options were already slim. He looked at the local markets and saw that the currency here was "snails", at first thinking they were the kind you could find in the forest only to realize they were just another name for coins and banknotes.

Some of the food options he saw were quite… grotesque. Different townsfolk walked by with all sorts of goop and guts sticking out of their foods and drinks. He prayed to God that he'd be able to find something half decent to eat as he tries not to think about how he can't really afford to be picky in this situation.

As he wanders, he thinks of various ways to acquire decent food without "snails", though some of them quite humiliating. He wouldn't dare beg for food from witches, not in a million years! He thinks also about working in exchange for food, but this doesn't seem much better. The idea of being indebted to a witch, to rely on charity from witches, makes Philip's blood boil.

He considers stealing, debating the sinful nature of such an act, when he notices some purple fruit being sold at a market that looks like the most appetizing food he's seen so far. Such debates would have to wait another day; Philip needed to eat.

The witch running the stall was an older woman with light green hair and soft brown eyes. She seemed well-meaning, but Philip didn't feel any less guarded around her. She did look like she may be gullible and sociable, sometimes talking to customers for minutes on end. As soon as the opportunity arises, Philip discreetly swipes two of the fruits from the stall and carefully places them in his satchel while the woman speaks with a customer on the other side of the stall.

He hides behind the nearest building and tries one of the fruits. They're good. He's so relieved and he immediately devours both fruits within minutes. Philip decides it'd be worth stealing more, as many as possible. He sneaks around and tries to fit a bunch in his satchel, but he freezes in shock and fear as she notices him.

The witches approaches him non-threateningly and speaks quite politely for a stall owner speaking to a thief. "Excuse me young man, did you happen to purchase those fruits? I don't seem to recall you purchasing those."

Philip gulps as he debates how to respond. Saying he did purchase them would probably get him in trouble, but then he realizes how kind she speaks. Perhaps she'd let him off easy if he told the truth?

He clears his throat as he tries to sound as polite as possible to the woman. "Apologies, ma'am. I unfortunately cannot afford to purchase your goods, for I have no snails. You see, I've recently lost my home… and my brother took my life's savings. I-I'm terribly sorry ma'am, I can put these back if you'd like-"

The woman responds with a kind nod, instantly believing him. "No, no dear, it's quite alright. Please, take as much as you need."

"Thank you kindly, ma'am!" Philip means this earnestly; he doesn't need her to say this twice as he quickly grabs as many fruits that can fit in his satchel. In all honesty, he can't believe his luck that she's this kind.

He then sees the berries he found earlier and takes them out. "Say, would you perhaps know if these berries are edible? I found them in a bush nearby."

She takes a look and nods. "Oh yes, these are plenty fine to eat. I wish you well, young one. Please feel free to stop by if you are in need of assistance again."

Philip gives a small polite bow of thanks. "Much appreciated, ma'am." He then sheepishly walks off, feeling a complex mix of emotions from the older witch's kindness towards him, a complete stranger who she's never seen before.

As Philip heads back and gathers more of the edible berries, he thinks about how far he could get that older witch to help him. She gave him an inch so he'll take a mile if he can.

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 28 - Scripture

Huntlow fluff time! Willow and Hunter go to the Bonesborough Library to try to learn more about magic to help with Hunter’s anxiety. Wrote this to put me in a good mood :)

Takes place during the timeskip (before the epilogue) in “Watching and Dreaming”.

Word count: 619

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73278791

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

“Come on Willow, let’s go!”

Willow smiled and nodded as she tagged along with Hunter, who was beaming with excitement and jumping up and down.

Hunter therapist in the Human Realm suggested he look to find his own coping strategies to help reduce his anxiety. When Hunter told Willow about this, she thought it would be great if they go to the Bonesborough Library together to look for resources since she's been meaning to find books on new plants. This got Hunter even more excited. What if there was a plant magic spell that could help with anxiety?!

So the next morning, they set off to the Bonesborough Library as soon as it opened to look for anxiety-reducing plant magic spells. As they walked through the library, Willow couldn't stop smiling from seeing the pure joy in Hunter's eyes that he got to spend time at the library with one of his favorite people! It warmed her heart to see him so enthusiastic about his therapy work too. She was so glad he was getting better.

With the help of one of the librarians, a crystal ball, and some helpful advice from Amity the day before, they were able to find a few books on plant spells that had anxiety-reducing properties. Some of the books had recently been added to the library as an effort to return texts previously banned by the Emperor's Coven back to the public. Oddly enough, some of these had information about plants from the Human Realm! Willow wondered how some of these plants made their way to both realms, but she'd had to look more in-depth later on if she wanterd answers.

"These 'lavender' ones look pretty" Hunter said as he pointed to an illustration of a plant with small purple flowers. Willow's eyes lit up - she definitely recognized these from the Human Realm!

“Oh yeah! I’ve seen people like to infuse things with it since the scent is soothing to many people. Here, let me try!” Willow took a better look at the illustration of lavender and managed to create a spell causing some to grow on top of the wooden table. She picked it and sniffed it gently. The book wasn’t kidding, lavender smelled so nice.

“You try” she said gently as she handed Hunter the lavender. He smiled back at her as he gently sniffed it.

“Oh wow!” His body physically grew less tense from sniffing the lavender. “This is… so nice. Was it hard to make this?”

“Not at all!” Willow responded. Smaller plants like lavender were simple for her to grow with her magic.

“I think I’d like to do more with lavender, if that’s alright. Maybe we could try infusing something with it like you mentioned…?” He gave a shy smile, not wanting to be too overbearing.

“I’d love to try that with you” she said gently as she gave him a hug. Hunter returned the hug. It felt so nice to be supported by loved one.

Hunter and Willow checked out the books and got to work on finding out different ways to incorporate lavender into Hunter’s daily life to help reduce his anxiety. They managed to infuse one of his wolf plushes with it (which made him only want to cuddle it more!) and also purchased a diffuser so his whole bedroom could smell like lavender. Willow also helped him make lavender essential oil in a roll-on form that he could easily carry with him to help him destress when he was out of the house.

Hunter was so grateful for Willow’s help. Willow was so glad he included her in this. She felt so happy her plant magic could help one of her favorite people.

[corneliaavenue-ao3]

Reblog to give prev the power to write their fanfiction

[gnar-slabdash]

Reblog to give prev the TIME to write their fanfiction

[cutebutalsostabby]

Reblog to give prev the hocus focus to write their fanfiction.

[septic-dr-schneep]

Reblog to give prev the energy to write their fanfiction

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 27 - Sermon

I was originally planning on writing another preacher Belos work for today, but I decided it'd be more interesting to depict how Belos made Lilith give public appearances and how it parallels to the sermons preacher Belos used to give.

I used S1E5 (Covention) and S2S19 (Hollow Mind) as references when writing this fic. I hope you enjoy!

Word count: 665

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73208981

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Lilith never really liked speaking in front of crowds before, but she was the head of the Emperor's Coven. There wasn't really a better person for the job besides the Emperor himself. She'd have to put her nerves behind her.

This was her first ever public speech as the Emperor's Coven Head. She was going to be speaking to a group of young wild witches from Latissa that had previously shown disdain for the coven system. Her goal was to get them to all join a coven. She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to do that.

She takes a deep breath as she steps onto the stage. A small crowd of rowdy teenagers stood in front of her. None of them looked particularly excited to be there.

Lilith remembers the words of advice Emperor Belos gave to her, to "wow" the audience. He used to give many of these speeches himself, so she trusted his word more than anything.

She begins with an illusion of ravens circling her from above. Some of them look at least mildly interested, which she considers a win. She then begins to speak.

"Citizens of Latissa, I am here to warn you against the dangers of wild magic. You all may think wild magic is "cool" and "hip", but the Titan does not think so."

She then makes use of the Emperor's other word of advice as she causes the illusion ravens to fall into rising illusions flames. Invoke fear.

"i have a relative of mind who refuses to join a coven. She may have all her magic, but she suffers as a result. She has been cursed and she lives a sad life as an outcast from society!"

"So what?!" one of the audience members yells. "We're always gonna be outcasts!"

"I was an outcast too, you know" she says coldly. "It doesn't always have to be this way. Things could get a lot better... or a lot worse. You could end up in the Emperor's Coven like me... or the Conformatorium. Or even worse... you could end up PETRIFIED!"

Lilith creates an abomination of the audience member who spoke up earlier, and then changes the form to make the abomination look petrified. This causes murmurs and looks of horror from the audience.

"The choice is up to you. Believe in a better future or join a coven, or throw out your future and stay a wild witch." She makes the magic disappear and looks at the audience, which continue to stare at her in awe.

The witch who spoke up earlier comes to the front. "I want to join the Abomination Coven. I don't want to be a Wild Witch anymore." They look almost defeated with their eyes filled with confliction and fear.

"Me too" says another audience member who also makes their way to the front.

"I'll join the Illusions coven" says another.

She gives an approving nod as one of the coven scouts comes over and gives the witches their coven sigils, but can't help but notice the pain in some of the witches' eyes.

"Now go and spread the word to other wild witches! Make the Titan proud! And don't forget to work hard if you want to join the ranks of the Emperor's Coven like me!" Lilith then disappears in a flash, leaving behind a sparkling cloud of golden smoke.

Once she's backstage, she lets out a sigh she didn't realize she was holding in. Her first speech had been a success, but she felt... wrong. She made those teenagers join a coven out of fear, something she refused to do when trying to convince Edalyn to join the Emperor's Coven! Was she a bad person for doing such a thing.

No, no, she was in the right. Emperor Belos said to make any wild witch join a coven by any means necessary. She sighs once more as she thinks about how many more time she'd have to do something like this...

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 26 - Blood

CONTENT WARNING: This fic depicts PTSD flashbacks and self-harm. Viewer discretion is advised.

So... my PTSD got triggered today! I wrote this to help me cope.

Hunter has a PTSD flashback about the Emperor's Coven. Luckily, he's safe in the Human Realm and Luz and her mom are there to help and comfort him.

Word count: 876

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73177971

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Hunter was back in the castle, trying to run away from some reception party. He doesn't remember who or what it's for, all he knows that he needs to get to his room and hide. He can't go to the reception, he simply refuses, though he can't explain why; it's just instinctive to him. is heart is pounding, his ears feel clogged. He feels like he's running for his life.

He finally makes his way to the room... except there's no lock on the door. Hunter panics and makes a mad dash for the closet. It's full of stuff, so he just dumps out stuff and rearranges things until he can fit. The closet doesn't have a lock, but he's hidden in the corner behind some old clothes. If a guard comes looking for him, they'd have to first come in his room, then check the closet, then look behind the old clothes. He was mainly out of sight to a blind eye just opening the closet.

Hunter feels how tight his throat is. He'd be crying if he were in a safer environment, but he's never had that luxury. He can't remember the last time it's been safe to cry in front of someone. Hunter only ever cries alone in silence. It's the safest way for him to cry.

He hugs his legs and tries to keep still, worried that something in the closet will topple over and startle someone. The thought of being found on accident makes him sniffle a little, though he quickly catches himself. It's becoming harder and harder to keep quiet and still though. He can feel his whole body tremble in fear.

Hunter scratches and picks at his arms to try to calm down his nerves. He prays and pleads for the Titan to please, just this once, let him be safe. He promises the Titan he'll never run away like this ever again, he'll always obey his uncle's orders and be the best nephew and Golden Guard. He'll take all the beatings and punishments with grace if the Titan were to be so generous as to just let him get away with running away from a reception this one time.

His breath hitches and his heartbeat quickens as he hears footsteps. He doesn't know who it is, but this isn't good. Tears run down his cheeks has he trembles and clenches his jaw even more. He scratches his arms harder.

If it's a guard, maybe he can try to fight them off. He might get in trouble, but it might be worth it. Then he can make a run for it and find a better place to hide. Hunter's fear grows as the footsteps get closer.

The closet door opens and he hears someone say "There you are, Hunter." Oh no. It's Belos.

He flinches and ducks, curling up into a ball and gripping his hair. His eyes are still closed. He's breathing so quickly.

Nothing happens for a moment. Hunter is terrified, for lack of a better word. He needs to apologize now if he doesn't want things to get even worse.

"E-Emperor Belos... I-I a-apologize for... for..."

He can't even finish the sentence. How pathetic. As Belos begins to speak, Hunter starts crying and apologizing even more.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry, please, please don't make me go... please.. I can't... I can't! I can't go, I won't go! You can't make me! I won't let you!" His words grow more and more agitated, causing him to grip his hair tighter. He can no longer hold back; he's now outwardly wailing.

"Hunter!"

Now Belos is mad. Hunter needs to properly apologize. "I-I know I messed up! I-I know I did, b-but I promise I'll make it up to you h-however you see fit, just please don't make me go! Please, Emperor Belos!"

"Hunter, it's me! It's Luz!"

...What?!

"Y-you're okay! It's just me and Mami and..."

Oh no. Did he just have a flashback in front of Luz's mom?

He slowly opens his eyes. Luz and her mom are crouched down near him. He can't quite read their expressions, but they seem worried. He looks around and realizes he's made a mess of the closet. Boxes were toppled over. He prayed to the Titan he didn't break anything.

He looked at his arms and noticed he made a mess of himself too. There was blood coming from where he scratched his arms. He noticed some of the blood got on his shirt, the shirt Ms. Noceda gave him, as well as on some of the boxes.

"I-I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to mess up your stuff... I..." he

Hunter started crying again. He felt so embarrassed and ashamed. He hated when others saw him vulnerable like this. It always got him in trouble.

Ms. Noceda approached him and finally spoke. "Hunter, it's okay, you didn't do anything wrong. Can Luz and I hug you?"

Hunter nods gently and lets himself be embraced by Luz and her mom. Slowly, his breathing starts to calm down again and the dissociation starts to die down. He's safe - he's here in the Human Realm with his friends and not at the Emperor's Castle.

He was going to be alright.

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Thanks for reading! I ended up not explicitly writing about what triggered Hunter, but I was thinking it was some sort of celebration for Luz's first day back at school or one of the kid's birthdays.

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 25 - Helpless

In a dream the night before the Day of Unity, Belos comes face to face with the Titan and the Collector.

This fic has attemped murder as well as a few instances of swearing if that's something you don't want to read.

Words: 912

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73161471

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

"Get up, Philip."

Belos' finds himself laying in some type of endless abyss. Slowly getting up, he finds a very tall looking monster, probably more than ten times his size, staring down at him.

"Who are you and how do?" he asks.

"Oh, you know who I am. I'm all you ever talk about. You tell everyone that your actions comply with my "will", you tell them lies about magic and force them to join your wretched covens!"

"You're... the Titan..." Belos looks up, trying to hide his awe.

"Yes. And I am... quite displeased with your 'Day of Unity' plan."

Belos scoffs. "Oh, as if you can do anything about it! What, are you trying to tell me that my decision is bad? I know what I'm doing! I'm slaying all these witches! You can't do anything about it because you're dead!"

"But I'm not...!"

Belos turns his head to see.. The Collector?! He's so big and tall, as tall as the Titan!

"Collector! H-how did you get set free? I..."

Belos glances at the Titan, connecting the dots.

Desperation creeps into Belos' voice. "Wait! Y-you can't stop the Day of Unity! We made a pinky promise, remember?!" He panics. No no no, his plan that's taken centuries to perfect can't just fall into shambles on the day it's supposed to be executed!!!

"But YOU didn't free me, so our pinky promise is off! You should have when you had the chance if you wanted that Draining Spell to work so badly!"

The cruelty of the Collector's laugher, mixed with the Titan's evil smirk, causes Belos to fall to his knees in misery. He feels as small as a speck of dust next to these two.

"Aw, what's wrong?" the Titan says mockingly as he picks up Belos by the collar of his cloak. "Don't worry, I have big plans for you... just like you always said I did..."

Belos kicked his legs and tried to break free. He knew it was basically futile, but the helplessness was seeping into his soul. The way the Titan looked so coy sent a shiver down his spine.

"You may not care about witches, or us, but I know who you really care about!" the Collector said, now also smirking. "And we're gonna make you suffer by his hand for all of eternity!" They laughed wickedly as Belos' heart sunk. No, they couldn't possibly mean him!

The Titan placed Belos down in a dark box where he couldn't see anything. Then, a single light from above shined upon a person in front of him.

It was Caleb. He looked just as he did on his last day alive.

Belos scoffed, trying to act tough. Then, Caleb spoke.

"You can tell me all you want that you were trying to save my soul, Philip. But I never wanted to be saved by you. I wanted to get as far away from you as possible. I hated you."

Belos' heart grew cold. These words, the ones he always feared hearing, are now being spoken.

"Y-you couldn't possibly mean that, Caleb... what about all our memories together? The times we'd play and you carved me that mask..."

"I did those so I could tolerate your sorry ass. You made my life miserable. I should've just abandoned you when I had the chance. Would've made everything a whole lot easier and I wouldn't have to worry about my shithead of a brother KILLING me in front of my pregnant wife!!!"

A sob broke from Belos' mouth. He couldn't help but fall to his knees. No words came to his mouth. He just wanted to wallow in shame and misery.

"P-please tell me you don't mean that Caleb... I t-thought you loved me..."

"I do mean it. I thought I loved you too, but I was a fool. You were always a rotten person who never cared about ANYONE but yourself! I never should've loved you!"

Belos hugs his legs as he weeped. He wanted to tune out his brother's voice, but his heart hurt too much for him to bring himself to do that. Distantly, Belos swore that he heard the Titan and the Collector laughing wickedly at his misery.

He looked up to see Caleb glaring down at him. Then his heart started pounding when he saw a knife in his hand, the same jagged knife Belos used to kill him.

"Now YOU get to see how it feels to be killed by your very own brother!" Glints of hatred lit up Caleb's resentful eyes as he lunged down in attempt to stab Belos, but missed as Belos tried to scramble away.

"N-no! Caleb, please, you don't have to do this!!!" Belos desperately tried to get away, but he was soon up against the wall. Caleb approached him without hesitation, not listening to his pleas.

This was it. This was the end.

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Belos laid in his bed as morning light shined through the windows of his bedroom. Today was the Day of Unity and he felt like he got no sleep at at all. He wasn't sure what he dreamed about, but whatever it was, it made him feel worse than before he went to bed.

Belos sat at the foot of the bed and sighed. Despite all his planning, he was still so worried about if everything would work out. It had to work out.

He sighed once more and finally left his bed.

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 24 - Alone

This prompt immediately reminded me of the Moral Orel episode of the same name. I wanted to do something similar that depicts the inner working of post-canon Hunter's mind when he's alone as a way to introspect on my own inner workings.

Word count: 472

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73083696

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

When the day was over, Hunter felt a twinge of longing to be in the presence of someone again. He knew it was childish to want connection when he literally spent his whole day around other people, but the urge to run away from being alone with his thoughts never really went away, even after starting therapy.

The never ending cycles of guilt and pain that gnawed at him in the background always came to the surface when Hunter was alone. He felt guilty about so many things; his past, his relationships, the thought that he was still a bad person, and the existential dread that somehow, no matter what he does, it'll never be enough. Hunter's performance was frequently quantified back in the Emperor's Coven and he still struggled to enjoy the present moment without constantly judging himself for "being lazy" or "not doing enough" or "wasting his precious life".

Thinking about his life made Hunter want to go back in time and shake his younger self until he understood that there are people who actually care about him and want to help him. He knows such a thing wasn't possible, but what hurt even more was knowing that back then, he was so deeply entrenched in the belief that his "uncle" was a good person that nothing would've changed his mind besides literally entering his uncle's mind.

It still hurt for Hunter to look in the mirror. To see the scars Belos left on him, to see his brown eyes Flapjack gave him. His entire body is a tragedy. He missed Flapjack so, so much and he resented Belos for doing such a horrendous thing to his palisman.

He'd often fight back tears when looking at himself in the mirror when alone.

Hunter was happy to be able to explore his own personal style and expression. These things brought him a bit of comfort when he did have to face his own reflection, knowing that he was still his own person despite all the things that happened to him. Still, it didn't take away all the pain in his heart.

When Hunter would lay in bed at night trying to fall asleep, he felt the lingering sense of numbness that just never seemed to go away. Peace never really came to him, no matter how hard he tried. Sleep would only come when he distracted himself from reality by thinking about Cosmic Frontier or another one of his interests.

Hunter hated being alone, and putting how much it pained his heart into words would never truly be sufficient. He felt permanently broken, like a sad portrait one would look at to wallow in their own misery. No wonder he still struggled with dissociation whenever he spent too much time alone. He just wanted to block all these awful feelings out.

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 23 - Witch Hunter(s)

This work depicts Belos in his traveling preacher making his grimwalker Matthew destroy a whole town, claiming all of the witches in the town have been “cursed” by wild witches.

I've written about Matthew in my Wittober Day 8 and Day 10 works [which you can find here], but for those who haven't read them - Matthew is approximately 15-16 years old. He believes Belos "saved" him after everyone in his town as killed by an attack from wild witches. He is also physically disabled and struggles with chronic pain with one of his feet.

In this fic, Matthew has not yet earned the title of "Golden Guard" yet, but he has been training to try to earn the prestigious rank. He has a staff with artificial magic [which will be mentioned in the fic!], but he does not wear a mask or a Golden Guard uniform yet.

That's all you need to know to understand the fic! I hope you enjoy reading! :)

Word count: 1,352

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73009131

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

“Come along now, Matthew. You can’t be lagging behind so much if you want to be Golden Guard.”

I try not to wince in pain as I quickly move to catch up with Lord Belos, dipping my head in apology as he gazes at me. Lord Belos has done quite a lot to assist with my bad foot by giving me a healing elixer I take every day. Although it reduces my foot pain, it doesn't get rid of it completely and I still struggle to move fast and run.

I don't dare complain about this to Lord Belos though. The last thing I'd want him to think is that I'm ungrateful for his generosity and care towards me. And if he found out that the pain interfered with my training.... I can’t bear to think about the possibility of abandonment. Life is already difficult for powerless witches like myself, but survival would be even harder with my bad foot.

Lord Belos’ voice breaks my train of thought. “Stay alert, Matthew. We’re almost to the next town. The wild witch may try to attack us.”

I nod fervently as I grip my staff harnessed with artificial magic. Lord Belos made it especially for me, but he only ever lets me use it for training when he can monitor me. Today is my first time using it on act actual mission. I can't help but be a little excited about it.

Up ahead I spot a small town coming into view. Lord Belos informed me that apparently, some wild witches have been spreading rumors about him, tricking townsfolk to turn against him. There is supposedly one of these wild witches in this town that he wants to hunt down and capture.

"Now Matthew, I need you to be on guard. The wild witch may try to attack us as we go through the own."

"Yes, Lord Belos" I respond as I gently bow my head in reverence, holding onto my staff defensively I scan my surroundings.

Shortly after Lord Belos and I enter the town, we're confronted by a short woman who looks only a few years older than me. She points her palisman staff at us threateningly and glares at us. "HEY! You're the 'Belos' who tried to kill everyone in my town! Blamed it on "wild witches" or whatever you called them! Yeah! Stay out of this town, or else! We don't want you here!"

Belos tries to capture her with his magic staff, but she quickly breaks free and dashes off I quickly try to run after her [despite the twinging pain in my foot] and use my artificial magic to block her way by knocking over a stack of barrels. However, I struggle to cast the spell gracefully as the barrels knock into a nearby child playing in the street.

When I catch up to the wild witch, she's trying to help the child get it up. It looks like the child's knee got scraped. They cry a little, but she speaks kindly, trying to comfort them. The girl's palisman, who looks like a little bear, also tries to comfort the child.

"Wild witch! Stay where you are!" I say to her as I point my staff at her.

She doesn't flinch and instead smirks at me. "You're with the Belos guy, aren't you?" she scoffs. "You know I meant what I said about him killing everyone else in my town, right?"

"Why should I believe you?" I say demandingly, trying to keep my cool.

I notice how the little kid clings to her arm. If a child isn't afraid of her, than maybe she's not really evil? No - Belos said she's a wild witch. Wild witches try to trick other people. But how exactly would she trick me - by being kind to an injured little kid?! That doesn't make sense.

I sigh and lower my staff as my head spins with conflicting thoughts. "I... I don't know what to believe. I'm sorry to hear your town got destroyed but... so did mine. Wild witches destroyed my town and killed my parents and without Lord Belos' help, I would've been left for dead..."

Her expression changes to one of guarded sympathy. "You know there's other people besides him that can help you, right? You don't have to stay as his little minion, doing his dirty work and all that."

I raise an eyebrow. Her voice has genuine pain in it and her eyes look sad and tired. She probably also lost her family in the attacks on her town. I wonder how she's been surviving with her town gone.

I glance at the bear palisman. It looks at me gently, and I can't help but smile a little. How kind...

"There's a few of us survivors trying to work together to-"

"MATTHEW!" I jump out of my skin as I hear Lord Belos approach me. The wild witch quickly helps the child escape before he gets closer.

"Ah, good work. You've captured her. Now put an end to her, Matthew. Show me you're worthy of your staff."

I look at the young woman whose name I don't even know as I process Lord Belos' words. He wants me to kill her, but she doesn't even look afraid. In fact, she doesn't even want to fight back, her palisman still sitting on her shoulder. Despite this, she has a spark of resistance in her eyes.

"You can't make him do this to me, Belos. I know what you've been doing and I'm not going to let you kill any more of these townsfolk!"

Foolishly, I glance at Lord Belos, but he gives me a harsh glare back.

"Do it now, Matthew."

"S-sir... I... she..."

"Don't tell me you've fallen prey to wild witches!!! You are naive and hopeless if you believe the words of a witch you barely know over the advice of your uncle who saved you! Now END HER!"

My entire body is trembles as I glance back and forth between Lord Belos and the wild witch. My head spins... I don't know what to do. But with Lord Belos growing angrier by the second, I realize I am also trapped just like this wild witch. Even if I could make a mad dash for it, Lord Belos is incredibly powerful and would easily catch us. Then he might end both of us...

Seeing as there is no other option, I am my staff at the wild witch, clos my eyes, and shoot a sharp beam of magic through her. I hear her body fall to the ground.

For a moment, Lord Belos says nothing. I hear footsteps and then a crack; he harvested the magic from her palisman. I don't open my eyes; I refuse to look at her dead body and her palisman's empty shell.

I then feel Lord Belos put a hand on my shoulder. I flinch in response. "Come now, Matthew. Let's head back." His voice seems more sly and smooth than usual.

I give a nervous nod as I turn around, finally open my eyes, and follow Lord Belos back to the caravan. I refuse to look back, even though the urge to is strong.

Shortly after we've left the town, I hear a loud explosion that startles me. I jolt around to see the town is now bursting into flames. Lord Belos shakes his head in disgust.

"Can't trust those Wild Witches, Matthew. Look what they did."

I try to shake away thoughts about how girl said to me about Belos being the one to cause the explosion that killed everyone in her town as we continue to walk back to the caravan, but then I'm reminded of something else she said. She mentioned a "group of survivors" that are trying something. Maybe some sort of alliance?

Despite knowing practically nothing about the "group of survivors" she was trying to tell me about, I make sure not to forget about it, in case the opportunity arises. The thought that Lord Belos' might be my only hope brings me a tinge of comfort.

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed writing about preacher-era Belos and Matthew again. I am considered combing this along with my other works about Matthew into a coherent multi-chapter fic. If you're interested, please leave a comment or reblog! :)

[mosswolf-creates]

Wittober Day 22 - Prayer

CONTENT WARNING: This work depicts scrupulosity OCD [also known as moral/religious OCD]. Viewer discretion is advised.

I have scrupulosity [aka moral/religious OCD], so I thought it would be interesting to explore if Hunter also had this type of OCD mixed in with trauma.

This work follows his experience with religious OCD leading up to his time in the Human Realm during Thanks to Them.

Word count: 411

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72958086

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

Belos taught Hunter to always pray to the Titan frequently from a very young age. Hunter made sure to pray to the Titan for gratitude and safety every morning and every evening.

He also had to pray to the Titan whenever he made a mistake, especially if it involved disobeying one of the Emperor’s orders. Belos always emphasized that Hunter had to really mean it too. He had to fully submit to the Titan’s will, or else the Titan would punish him for his lack of devotion.

But what Hunter feared the most was when he had to confess his sins to the Titan by confessing them Belos, who spoke to the Titan. Confessing incorrectly led to harsh punishment, but even admitting to your sins still resulted in a punishment if the Titan was displeased.

Sometimes Belos would give Hunter orders that he said came directly from the Titan. Hunter thankfully never disobeyed one of these orders; the severity of the punishment from disobeying was made very clear. However, he still had to confess every small mishap he made while completing the mission. He always dreaded having to do this.

Hunter could not disobey orders from Belos that came from the Titan. He learned the hard way that disobedience accept whatever punishment administered by his uncle that the Titan deemed necessary.

When Hunter learned the truth about who he really was and left the Emperor’s Coven, he tried hard to get rid of his desire to pray to the Titan. After all, Belos never really spoke to the Titan in the first place. There was no “Titan’s will”.

Or was there?

Despite his efforts, Hunter couldn’t help shake away the belief that the Titan was always watching and would punish him if he didn’t continue to pray. He didn’t want to take this risk, especially with stakes so high with the Day of Unity approaching. So he continued to pray to the Titan whenever he could. When his sigil burned in pain, he prayed to the Titan the best he could.

Now he was in the human realm. The Titan was literally in a different realm, but that didn't stop him from praying to the Titan. He kept telling himself that if he stopped praying, maybe the Titan would make things worse.

It didn't hurt to take extra precautions, right?

But it did. It was torturous to pray over and over again every day.

He just wanted everything to be alright.