#[ HI CAMILLA!!! MWAH ]

[hydrangeaceae]

🧃🧃"Oh aren't you just adorable! Here, take an extra, and do let me know if you need anything else darling."

doe-like eyes watch the older woman - she takes the juice box in her hands, fluttering eyelashes as her vision threatens to swim. she takes a small sip. sugar hits her tongue, but she's always favored sweets.

"thank you," hortensia says, because the second princess of elusia is a kind young girl. this woman reminds her of her sister - she can't place what, but there's something about her presence that strikes her as such.

slurp.

"were you also in the battle..?"

she doesn't remember, but everything had happened rather quickly. curious eyes watch probingly, and she follows up her question with an offering of her name - hortensia, the second princess of elusia, a title she holds onto with every fiber of her being.

[aurumdoesthings]

owl house season 3!!!! various doodles, some more obviously referencing screenshots than others

(the belos one is him squinting at a script while luz pats his shoulder with That’s Rough Buddy energy. it makes more sense if you read my rambling below)

thoughts on the episode under the cut that got REALLY LONG

FIRST I absolutely love this show and that was an extremely entertaining special. the sheer love that is put into this show was palpable, and I loved all the kids’ outfits, and the kind of things they got up to in the human realm, CAMILLA oh man Camilla rocked, and it was just beautiful overall in backgrounds and designs and animation (that fight scene? MWAH the way the kids are animated on their staffs has always been sooo satisfying to watch)

however

i gotta admit, while the end of s2 you could tell they were pressed for time I still felt like- especially in hollow mind- they kept a fairly good pace, while in this special it was kind of a mess. like everything was zoomed through, not just the montage, and scenes like luz and hunter investigating the house together were (WHILE SO GOOD) very thrown in, seeming more like they wrote the idea and fawned over it and had to slap it in with little set up and follow through in order to keep the special moving. like, it’s a collection of so many awesome moments, but the connective tissue was lacking much more visibly here than it ever has in the show before

and the elephant in the room: belos

okay. so. i honestly was not wild about how belos was done in this special at all. ignoring that, despite their clear efforts both here and in hollow mind and the finale etc, hunter is still the clearest and most emotional and sympathetic connection to the main villain and not luz. IGNORING THAT. he was such a cardboard cutout of villainy in this special it was almost laughable. The intrigue was all there- the finale showing the gloop that escaped, and here seeing the weird possessed animals more and more throughout as well as flapjack’s weird behavior as we clue in to what’s going on, that’s all good! but the follow through? Belos possesses Hunter (cool, great! Awesome look and very spooky) - he. gets the titans blood to go back to the demon realm, for some reason… he kills flapjack just cause, while spouting lots of generic villain lines and taunts at luz…. and then he gets kicked out of hunter but just- leaves anyway? in his monster form again, so it’s unclear why he was a tiny gloop or possessing things this whole time at all? His motives were just so unclear throughout all of this, he felt like a prop just to facilitate hunter and luz angst rather than an actual character, and I honestly don’t see why they didn’t just make him some parasitic cursed remnant of belos that escaped the demon realm with them if this is how they were going to execute him being alive

like it still doesn’t register for me that belos is still alive and in the demon realm! it never sticks with me! Belos feels so done as a character I can’t even conceive of what they could possibly still need him around for. They already redid that moment in the finale fight, with belos-monster calling hunter caleb VS belos-hunter calling flapjack evelyn, and we’ve got closure with hunter and belos now even More, and luz only has the shallow conflict of guilt for connecting him to the collector, uhhhh and he failed the day of unity, so like. What else is there to even do with him???

this special is already very Halloween themed and it would make sooo much more sense overall if they reframed this special re: belos as about exorcising ghosts, metaphorically and also literally. the final battle is in a cemetery for crying out loud! be it belos’s ghost or a parasitic remnant or whatever, have that be the final obstacle both emotionally and literally for them to return home to save the boiling isles, and they put it to rest by putting aside their fear and guilt and Making A Choice! Hunter as he did in the episode choosing his own life and future! Luz choosing to fight for her demon home and demon family (preferably after a rewrite where she’d been grappling more with her feelings on being home, what she loved and missed vs hated, and whether they can even get back to the isles at all)

IDK! Other gripes were : that line at the end of the hay ride? Something something “lol I think little bro was mad his big bro got a HOT WITCH GIRLFRIEND LMAO” from the enby teen? Hated that. It took me out of the episode immediately and felt like such an obvious- I don’t know, writer insert, fandom insert line? it felt like the writers telling us that’s what we’re supposed to think and I also just think it’s. so boring to reduce the backstory we were JUST given / expanded upon to him being a stupid jealous incel or something. villains are (gasp) more interesting when they’re sympathetic? when you can see parts of them where you can understand how they reacted the way they did? if they wanted him to be a foil to luz and not just the Big Bad Emperor, we should understand how he reacted the way he did to witches even if we hate it. we should see that oh wow, he and his brother were orphans, his brother was essentially his parent / guardian, and then that brother disappears or seems to be kidnapped by these dangerous creatures from another realm, which witchhunters warned them about. However, unlike Luz or his brother, he spurned all the kindness found there and only saw the danger and monsters (and there is legitimate danger in the isles! it’s not a hospitable place!), and he gets so caught up in his own fear and hate that he lashes out at his seemingly bewitched brother, and he has no home left, and he latches onto this idea of killing all the evil that “took” his brother from him, and etc etc the show happens. Like that’s all so cool laying it out like that!!! and it opens up really intriguing possibilities for a special that instead involves laying his ghost to rest in whatever form that takes! (*disclaimer that does not in any way require forgiveness from the kids. relax)

there’s also willow and gus. While I could see and appreciate that the writers made sure they were never just standing in the background not doing anything and always had their own moments and quips, they’re also so clearly just accessories to the group right now. Willow, who I will admit I’m biased to, has really been reduced down to Confident Bombastic Friend and Object of Hunter’s Blushing (don’t. get me started on that), with zero trace of her shy and bullied past remaining. She never has any moments of relapse, which you might expect especially in the human realm which is so new and different for her, not even a moment where she hesitates and needs one of the gang to back her up and give her that nudge to shake off her nerves/doubts. she’s just completely confident and uncaring of others now, and they’re also sticking with the amity-willow sudden power couple from end of s2 where they’re completely okay (but that has more to do with their arc together as a whole, or rather the lack thereof, than this special specifically). There was definitely a lost opportunity to pair up Gus and Vee, as two Boiling Isles kids who adore the human realm, so Gus wasn’t stuck with only being Hunter’s emotional support and little bro (despite how I do love their dynamic). and of course for both of them but SUPER amity, who we actually know the family of very well, there was not nearly enough emphasis on what they’ve lost and how conflicting it must be to be trapped in another realm away from your family who is currently in danger but still be enjoying it so much. they did not feel the weight of not being able to go home maybe ever nearly enough at any point in this special, and I think that deserved at least one scene, maybe right before they discover the map from flapjack to the titans blood, to really feel hopeless and grieve

is almost any of that feasible given the restraints the show is currently under? No, probably not. did I still greatly enjoy the special? Yes, very much so! But there was definitely a lot more glaring flaws than I’m used to with The Owl House, and I’m hoping that doesn’t carry through to the remainder of the show, as cut short as it may be

[felikatze]

Curious as to what your final pairing for Revelations? Were there any you did for comedy/optimal stats but were surprised by a really good support?

i havent BEATEN rev yet i am getting close tho (ch20 rn) and i'm finishing off the last paralogue i actually want (cuz god i am no longer grinding relationships thanks)

my pairings so far are:

corrin/felicia (for obvious bias reasons. felicia is my og fe wife.)

camilla/keaton (this one is just to turn velouria into a beast) (what the fuck is this support chain honestly. camilla look at my bones. keaton i dont want to look at your bones. camilla what if i get lost in the woods. ok fine i'll look at your bones)

azura/laslow (was recommended this one and yeah it is cute! sol on shigure is also nice) (i really like this support chain it's great)

odin/nyx (picked this one cuz i thought it would be funny and i was RIGHT. odin is SEETHING that her backstory is so cool.) (i initially did this only to get ophelia because i wanted to get kana dark knight via supports but then it turned out THEY DONT HAVE SUPPORTS so now i just have ophelia. it's fine)

oboro/takumi (i think the insane soft spot takumi has for his retainers is adorable and also i just use both of them regularly it works) (the takumi polyship is real god help me) (I'm so sorry i benched hinata)

and that's it i think! again i am not grinding these fuckers i'm tired of doing that. this is my final team now fuck everything

so i mainly pick bcuz i like the pairing or its funny and man the supports really sold me on laslow/azura in particular. "You shall be my inspiration!" "And you shall be my muse!" adorable. sickening. also funny that they both have insane backstory lore that they wont/cant tell anyone about. they both casually make mention of something utterly ridiculous ONCE and their kids fucking freak over the lore drop but then they move on and never talk abt it again

felicia is my wife mwah love her

fun fact i refuse to use xander and ryoma out of spite because of how good they are without any investment. this is the fucking oboro sweep show and it will STAY the fucking oboro sweep show.

[abbaswift]

Oh oh also this seems nuts but I suppose Charles is "living is truth" hahhaa hes with the woman he always wanted to be with, he can lay low out of drama, i think perhaps he is just satisfied with his lot while william is kinda acting like hes king of the world like no wonder theres those rumours he has affairs cos kate wont do certain sex acts. Urgh :p that's enough psychoanalysis for one day

yeah! like obviously the charles and diana marriage was a complete disaster but i don’t think charles can be entirely hated because it was an arranged marriage… like if he was just allowed to marry camilla in the first place like he wanted, he’d be a lot more respected

anyway i hope i didn’t lose too many followers for being nice about / defending charles, mwah x

[otrtbs]

james is sooo richard papen coded in this chapter like. he gets shot in the midst of an extremely chaotic event and says nothing and his friends don’t even realise he’s basically bleeding to death and then he’s just like. okay maybe i should sit down. why is no one noticing i’ve been shot? then he’s like haha yeah. yeah i got shot. and everyone goes back to focus on something else that’s more important than that (at least marlene and sirius are more caring than francis camilla and henry 😭 sorry for this tsh rambling but it’s literally my favorite book)

by the way. nat. bestie. this chapter was a MASTERPIECE you’ve truly outdone yourself with this one. my heart is still beating like crazy and some parts just made me want to scream. i’m so feral rn you have no idea i would like to give u a big big smooch right now. also get some rest!!! eat some cake!!!! you deserve everything good in the world after THIS

HELLO HEY HI HELLO!!!

I love The Secret History SO MUCH OHMYGOSH

James literally is so Richard Papen coded here oh my gosh??! And it was so unintentional but you are so so right!!

PLEASE I BEG ALWAYS COME HERE TO RAMBLE ABT TSH !! Francis Abernathy is the love of my ENTIRE LIFE!!! <33 I LOVE THE TSH (I was literally toying around with the idea of writing a marauders bacchanal one shot based off tsh the other day like I couldn’t stop thinking abt it fun fact sjdkdksjaj)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! For all the kind words 🥹🥹🥹 I’m so glad you liked the chapter !!

Mwah!! That’s me giving you a big smooch!! You deserve everything good in the world too !! <333

[useless-critter]

i just gotta say, the locked tomb fandom on tumblr is SO vastly different from the fandom on twitter. on tumblr, you come across theories, memes, and art. there's people liveblogging and giving comfort to those who just finished the book(s). on twitter, this is the stuff i come across a majority of the time:

-first of all, amazing art. it's so good. i love you all. mwah. but then

-"Camilla and Babs both have the same amount of cake but Bab's always looks slightly better cause he wears ass huggers everyday"

-modern au ianthe would study abroad in france and come back with a trying-too-hard french accent

-gideon would have a crush on the green m&m

-someone theorizing that ianthe's hair is greasy as fuck, then tweeting directly after that they would run their fingers through her hair and suck them clean

-"ianthe has the personality of someone with no ass"

-"i want to suck on ianthe's bone fingers"

-"ianthe wears an anklet and has a tramp stamp"

-harrow bot tweeting things such as "i can swing my sword sword sword my diamond sword. no I can't this thing is so heavy" and "i cant fucking take it anymore i swear to the lord undying himself that if he asks me once more to lower myself and my craft by making my constructs 'act like sans undertale' for his amusement i will commit acts of great sacrilege"

[princessmadafu]

That Book (excuse the long post)

I didn't want to jump into the fray without first thinking over the published extracts of FF and the various critiques and synopses in the press. I'd just like to send huge thanks to YankeeWallee and everyone that YW herself thanks for the collated screenshots of the excerpts and RoyahNikkah's review. I'll do what the rest of you do and state here that these are my personal opinions and anything quoted comes under "fair usage", etc. Long live free speech!

My over-riding reaction is, what an absolute pile of lies, lies and more lies. Starting with Scobie's sources, of which he says there are at least two per nugget of information. I believe most of the book has come directly or indirectly from MM herself, and that any "sources" have MM's blessing, sanction or outright order to disclose. FaceTiming in the bath? How would Scobie know? Unless he was in the bath with her, this can only have come from herself or the friend being FaceTimed. There is too much of a highly personal nature for it to be Scobie's own investigative work. So there's the first lie, straight from the weirdly-toothy Sussexy horse's mouth; of course she collaborated!

Some of us had our reservations right from the start of Harry and MM's relationship, but we were prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt and join in the welcome of a biracial, divorced American actress. Right-wing, left-wing, a-political or not-royally-bothered, we all thought, Let's give the pair a chance to see what they can do.

How about this article from Spiked on the engagement of Harry & MM from 2017:

Meghan Markle: Generation Woke's Princess Diana - spiked

"...look no further than the fawning response to the engagement of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle – one of those rare occasions in which both the Telegraph editorial team and the identity-politics set erupted in simultaneous celebration."

How quickly the celebration wore off as the pair of them squandered our goodwill. Another article from Spiked from July 2019, less than two years later, is harsher, when we've all been insulted, preached at and condemned as racists by PH&MM:

Meghan Markle is the worst kind of snob - spiked

"With the possible exception of a few sad social outcasts, no one has a problem with the fact that Meghan’s mum just happens to be black. No, Meghan is criticised for being snobby, elitist, hopelessly out of touch and possessing all the self-awareness of a flea. It’s not Meghan’s skin colour that annoys people, but the fact that she thinks nothing of donning an outfit that costs more than most people in the UK earn in a year and then getting her minders to order the public not to take photos of her. [...] There are heaps of reasons for people not just to criticise Meghan and Harry, but to ridicule their hypocrisy and puncture their pomposity. And not one involves the colour of Meghan’s skin. Meghan comes in for criticism because she is the worst kind of snob who condescends to tell others not just what to do, but also what to think. The fact that she is biracial is completely irrelevant. Of course, there is an obvious solution for Harry and Meghan if they do not like the public attention and criticism. Harry could denounce his claim to the throne. They could give up the titles, move out of the palaces and fund their own lifestyle. I can’t for the life of me imagine why they don’t."

Prescient, no? Six months later and they announce they're off. She played him like a fiddle. The raptures she went into over Botswana and wanting the spend the summer? Did she feed his fantasies of moving to Africa permanently? How strange that Africa became Canada, which then became Los Angeles? Strange my perky little bottom! She had this planned all along. I don't know if PH is with her over there, but she certainly seems to be feeding the illusion that she is now Hollywood Royalty. If she couldn't cut real Royalty, she definitely won't cut the LaLaLand version which is a lot less restrained in voicing its opinions of jumped-up wannabes. Especially the Markly ones who cut, dump, run and show no loyalty or staying power.

The following points, in no particular order, are mostly from an assortment of DM writers and comments from members of the public.

"The book claims the so-called ‘old guard’ tried to undermine the couple and ‘were concerned that the global interest in and popularity of the Sussexes needed to be reined in’." A little self-aggrandisement here, possibly? Global interest, maybe, of the rubber-necking car crash variety, but global popularity? When was that, exactly? Royal staff are all well aware that the purpose of the Royals is to support HMTQ; that is their job. If the Sussexes needed reining in at all, it was because they weren't doing their job properly.

"Harry and Meghan believed ‘few inside the palace were looking out for their interests’ and felt that most courtiers could not be trusted with their sensitive information." Ditto, the courtiers' job is to look out for the interests of HMTQ; PH&MM's job was to look out for the interests of HMTQ, not themselves.

"They believed that these ‘men in grey suits’ were stifling their attempts to launch their initiatives, and when they tried to air these frustrations ‘the conversations didn’t lead anywhere’." I mean, come on! PH is 6th in line. He knows that. There is no "they" involved here - it's all MM again, isn't it, thinking she's more important because she's more popular and she famously gets what she wants... She thought she could snap her fingers and make whatever she wanted happen. She ignored the hierarchy and the protocols, and probably (I suspect) got dimwit Harry believing that she knew best, and that together they could change the world.

"One source said Harry felt that some of the old guard at the palace ‘simply didn’t like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult’." I can well believe that staff at the palace didn't like her - she showed her true colours quite early on - but deliberately making her life difficult? I suspect this is what MM told Harry. Twisted the truth, naturally. I'm guessing she made a few ridiculous OTT demands, or wanted some unworkable project, and the staff, knowing their jobs as they do, tried to point out the flaws in her ideas, prevent her making a fool of herself, or otherwise politely protect her from herself. Goodness knows, she made a fool of herself often enough, barging in front and all that...

"The book concludes that Meghan was ‘totally foreign’ to this group of advisers, who ‘could sometimes be even more conservative than the institution they guarded’." They were guarding an institution with over a thousand years of history from someone with neither understanding of nor respect for British history, the Monarchy, or the duties of the RF; and she made no effort to learn.

"Another insider said: ‘The fact is that Meghan was welcomed with open arms and everyone did their best to offer their help about how to navigate such a tricky public role – advice she would often choose to ignore." The arrogance of the woman! And she was welcomed. She just believed that she knew best.

"Omid Scobie said Meghan’s high-profile career as an actress and the fact that she was a divorcee left her ‘ripe for exploitation’." High-profile career, mwah! Actress, mwah! Divorcee, so what? Charles and Camilla are both divorce/es, Anne is a divorcee, so is Andrew, and a whole bunch of other lesser royals. As for being ripe for exploitation, I think we all know how this panned out and MM wasn't the one being exploited! Far from it. She milked every opportunity and opening her new title and her new husband could bring her.

"During one of their final engagements as senior royals, Meghan was ‘purposefully snubbed’ by Kate in front of a global TV audience, the authors claim." Well now, where to start on this one? MM threw a hissy fit because she wasn't allowed to walk in the procession with HMTQ, C&C and DDoC. The DDoC decided to appease MM by pulling out of the procession and taking their seats. Now I don't know what DDoC thought about that but I can just imagine them comparing MM's behaviour with that of their own beautifully behaved kids. I can just imagine them thinking thank God she'll be gone soon! I doubt there was any purposeful snubbing at the service but MM has no manners and no idea how to behave, not even in church. The DDoC are too well brought-up to "carry on" in a place of worship, nor would they lean across seats for a happy little chat, just a quick turn round for a friendly word with Edward and Sophie immediately behind them before the arrival of C&C and HMTQ. Churches are not places to be gossiping and grinning inanely, and you definitely don't push your way through the chairs when the service is over! She is so rude and ill-mannered.

"The book claims Meghan and Kate’s ‘cordial but distant rapport’ was apparent when the pair appeared alongside each other at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day last summer." I don't remember the dates exactly, but I should think by this time DoC was well and truly fed up with MM's shenanigans; the doe-eyes she'd been pulling at PW, the rumours she and the SS had been fanning about PW and une petite liaison with a long-time friend... Cordial but distant was probably the best MM could hope for at this stage; DoC was hardly about to play Happy Families with the troublemaker.

"The couple were dismayed when no photograph of them and their son Archie was displayed during the Queen’s Christmas speech last year." It was quite clear that the photos on display represented the direct line of succession, from HMTQ's father through to her great-grandson - five generations of the Monarchy. I truly believe that MM wanted to "modernise" the RF to such an extent that PH would be elected King! With MM at his side, dripping in all the jewels she could get her greedy mitts on! I realise it must be hard for PH to get to grips with his status as "Pretty Much Relegated Former Spare", but she must have been really feeding his insecurities if she got him upset about the absence of a photograph.

"Prince Harry was the first to say 'I love you' in his relationship with Meghan Markle, with friends revealing the couple were 'immediately obsessed' with each other, according to the latest extract of a bombshell biography." Oooh, how would Scobie know something as intimate as this? Immediately obsessed with each other, I can well believe; MM with his status, title, money, the palaces, the jewels... and she reeled him into her fantasy world with lies and perfectly posed KamaSutra yoga until he was obsessed with this chameleon woman, at the same time both mother-figure and hot, sexy, adoring, sophisticated, intelligent, humanitarian animal lover. Oh the lies, the lies; "Will you walk into my parlour, said the Spider to the Fly."

"They enjoyed a romantic dinner, with staff taking great pains to ensure their privacy, whisking them in through a staff entrance usually used to bring in fish discreetly." This is their second date at SoHo House, and again, how would Scobie know little details unless MM had told him herself? I like the hint of shade by the writer noting that the entrance was used to bring in fish discreetly - there's definitely something fishy about MM!

How about some comments from DM readers?

"Every single shameless self-serving tabloid "leak" and publicity stunt she has orchestrated has backfired specularly. Hence why Harry has gone from beloved military man and active working Royal to a national embarrassment within two short years! Her efforts at aggressive self-promotion are no match for her lack of talent or perspective in that area. She could have heeded advice from other, more dedicated Royals, but No. Meghan knew better and decided that she was deserving of instant worship fit for her 'celebrity' expectations. The Duchess of Cambridge has earned respect over years with quiet dedication to her causes. Meghan felt entitled to all the glory instantly, and was clearly slighted to learn that respect is not something to be commanded. She is a culture vulture with no respect or understanding of the very people that she promised to represent." [Jace T Adams]

"The narrative of the relationship is laughable. Everyone knows they first met in Canada when Harry was there for Invictus. He needed a girl for the night and Meghan was arranged for him. She must have been impressive as they had a date the next day and the rest is history." [Lady M]

"You can't work with someone you don't trust and these two have proven untrustworthy." [ellegrav]

I have no inside information on any of above, but people better placed than I am are making similar judgments on the contents of FF; people who've spent their working lives following and reporting on the RF.

"The Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter told the Mail: ‘I think it has their fingerprints all over it. We had a similar scenario in 1992 when Diana swore blind she hadn’t helped Andrew Morton and yet a year later it came out that she had indirectly helped him so history is repeating itself. ‘There are too many things that we have seen in the serialisation that could only come from the horse’s mouth, like deciding to gatecrash Sandringram when they landed from Canada."

And Jan Moir: JAN MOIR on the Meghan and Harry biography that has put ...

What did the pair of them want or expect? Top billing, it seems. What is remarkable is that Harry’s whole life and entire upbringing have been devoted and calibrated to him being a prince. Surely he understands how it works? Surely he could have explained the system to his vexed new bride? Primarily, that being royal is a form of active service, with ranks and a hierarchy so uncomplicated that schoolchildren throughout the realm understand the line of succession and its importance to the Windsors — and to us.

And Robert Hardman: ROBERT HARDMAN: Harry and Meghan are ... - dailymail.co.uk

Yet Finding Freedom is a struggle against protocol and seating plans. It is based on the perceived unfairness of a pecking order which has governed — and preserved — the monarchy for 1,000 years.

We can't all be wrong!