#learn you some welsh history today

[ingravinoveritas]

“There’s more than one story in these isles...”

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Hello I am going on a holiday to Eryri next month & I like to read up about an area before going there... do u have any reading or documentary or podcast recs? I'm particularly interested in the ecology & minority language activism & like. Peoples history & rural lives! I know this is stuff u know about in Wales but idk if north Wales is ur region! Míle buiochas ón Eireann!

Fáilte go dtí an Bhreatain Bheag! Or croeso i Gymru. Exciting! Keep an eye on the notes for others chiming in with good recs for documentaries and the like, I'm going to just give a super quick guide

Okay, pronunciation guide for place names and that is here in written form and here in video form. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you try to use the Welsh place names rather than the English translations. Duolingo is flawed but serviceable if you want to hear and learn some basic phrases. If you can at least throw out a 'bore da' to people you pass/shopkeepers, you'll be very well liked. You don't need to be fluent by any means, but Making An Effort is seen as, like, the nicest and politest and most wonderful thing in Wales, and particularly in regions like Eryri.

Because! It's one of the biggest remaining Welsh language strongholds. If you look at language maps over time in Wales, a pattern emerges:

And the current (2021) figures show this:

And you are going to this bit:

So you're heading into the Welshest bit in all of Wales! And the bit with the strongest and longest history of Welsh, too.

Which also means there's a lot of activism-related stuff in that area. It's probably worth you reading up on the history of Tryweryn (which was a bit further east, but sets the scene well); there was also a BIG thing a couple of decades ago where activists would burn down English-owned holiday homes (while they were empty in winter, not, like, with the English in them). This is because, in addition to the usual issues with the social impacts of holiday homes (driving up prices meaning locals can't live there, eroding communities, etc), holiday homes in Welsh language heartlands are a significant and tangible threat to the language. Even today, the issue of holiday homes is an extremely touchy subject, as is the issue of (mostly-English) people moving into the area because "It's so pretty!!!" and then not learning the language.

(Yet another reason they will love you if you Make An Effort)

Historically speaking, you'll be in a chunk of the country that was the ancestral seat of the last kings of Wales (Gwynedd). The final one, Llywelyn ein Llyw Olaf, was ambushed and murdered in 1282, which was the beginning of the end for fighting off English rule. In fact, Owain Glyndŵr later crowned himself king of Wales for about two years, but weirdly, no one acknowledges this as real kingship for some reason - if you google his name, he's always listed as a soldier or military commander, which really opens up a whole "Who gets to say when someone is royalty" debate, but he did actually claim descent from the House of Aberffraw anyway, so ultimately it still links back to Llywelyn.

Ecology! Temperate alpine. There actually isn't a global scientific distinction between hill and mountain, but most countries set an arbitrary height standard. This means it varies from country to country depending on how tall their topology is. Wales, however, bucks this trend, and instead decides based on what is formally referred to as 'land use' and colloquially referred to as 'Vibes'. If it's a hill, it's tamed - if it's a mountain, it's wild. This means Eryri is fairly short by the standards of tedious foreigners who regard mountains as a sort of geological dick waving competition, but it's in fact a whole mountain range; it's also older than Saturn's rings. And, crucially, it's very much sufficiently above sea level to have an alpine ecosystem.

There are three endemic (i.e. not occurring anywhere else in the world) species in Eryri, to whit:

The Snowdon lily. A small and delicate flower growing in protected and inaccessible spots on yr Wyddfa (formally known as Snowdon). Excessively vulnerable to trampling, so the national park keeps sections where it grows fenced off.

The Snowdon beetle. RAINBOW BEETLE.

The gwyniad. A sub-species of whitefish until recently exclusively found in Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake), trapped there after the ice age and now developing its own genetic profile distinct from other whitefish. Some dickhead in the 80s introduced the ruffe to the lake for fishing, and the ruffe eats the gwyniad's eggs, so they've now transplanted eggs to Llyn Arenig Fawr nearby as a conservation measure.

There's also feral goats. And Welsh mountain ponies. Ooh, and, red kites - in the UK red kites were so heavily persecuted they eventually fell to just 7 breeding pairs in Wales. We established a protected zone and hired Nepalese Gurkhas to guard the nests and thus saved it from extirpation so successfully they later translocated Welsh birds to other spots in the UK. It's a big conservation success story, and now red kites are considered to be the national bird of Wales. They have a very distinctive silhouette, too, look for the forked tail.

Oh, and, we have a unique habitat type called ffridd, which you see a lot of in Eryri.

Final wildlife pictures to close:

Anyway - have a great time! Enjoy muchly.

[llyfrenfys]

i must admit i know nothing of welsh history or language. im reclaiming learning the irish language bc i know the history of it and bc i think it's essential to protect native languages of various places. but as someone who doesn't know welsh history, i see "its not like welsh people were beaten for speaking it" and i recoil in a sense of distaste. because while i may not know the history, i very much doubt no one ever in the world has been beaten for speaking welsh, that's a pretty huge assumption to make even if a language isn't being legally oppressed (assuming thats what op really meant). but also, i just loathe the idea that only minority languages are worth saving or caring about if they're being beaten out of people. genocide happens in many ways and only some of them are actually active violence/assault, most are subversive, and purposefully so

idk if i should even be speaking on this bc i dont know the history of welsh but i feel like you literally dont need to know the history behind it to see something very wrong with "speakers of a minority language should shut up if they're not actively being killed for it"

Sorry I took so long in getting to this ask (post anon is referring to) but yeah- that post was gobsmacking to me as a Welsh speaker. I've studied language loss and revitalisation and I can name several endangered languages in which children (and adults) were beaten and abused for speaking their native tongue. For example, we covered the Tlingit language in Alaska (one of the few North American languages I've studied) which is subject to a revival- some Tlingit wanted to learn the language, while others (usually older people) had an aversion to the language. One man said that whenever he speaks Tlingit he can taste soap because he was punished as a boy for speaking Tlingit by having a bar of soap put in his mouth. Language loss via abuse is real and prevalent in many, many endangered languages. The audacity to assume Welsh is somehow immune to that was astounding.

But even if Welsh *was* immune to that somehow (it wasn't) you're right in that we should care about the decline of a language even if it doesn't involve overt suppression. More surreptitious kinds of linguistic genocide lie within the state apparatus. For example, when Wales was merged into the Kingdom of England (see: the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542) the language of the legal system in Wales was changed to English-only, depriving monolingual Welsh speakers (Welsh was spoken in pretty much every part of Wales at this point) of legal services. This meant that Welsh speakers were effectively pressured indirectly to learn English in order to have a chance at any legal services in court. Over time, the privileging of English over Welsh created a pressure to abandon Welsh in favour of English, because there were 'more opportunities' in English than in Welsh.

Similarly, the true Treachery of the Blue Books wasn't that the British Government in 1847 had ordered a review into Welsh schools and found that too many people were speaking Welsh- but that Welsh-speaking parents began to forbid their children from learning Welsh and supported the findings of the inquiry because they too had felt that pressure of English-language supremacy. Believing that there's more opportunities in English than in Welsh. It's an unfortunate legacy and attitude which still persists today- and none of the Commissioners of the Blue Book Inquiry shed any blood in doing so. But the impact was nonetheless dire. It's also a self-creating cycle: There are no opportunities in Welsh -> People learn English instead of Welsh for opportunities -> There's fewer Welsh speakers to create more opportunities in Welsh ->There are no opportunities in Welsh.

But yeah, I have no idea what the OP of that other post was thinking but it was offensively ignorant in any case. I'm glad though that Welsh's struggles are seen by others at least, in this day and age.

[mariacallous]

How do you say “Winter is coming” in Japanese?

It’s hardly a criticism to say the new series Shogun, currently airing on FX and streaming on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ elsewhere, may remind audiences of Game of Thrones. The HBO spectacle based on George R.R. Martin’s novels was one of the more transformative television events of our age, inspiring several close-but-no-scimitar imitators. Netflix has The Witcher, Amazon has the preposterously expensive The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and HBO has the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, all of which have their charms, but none have quite caught the wildfire-in-a-bottle of the original.

It is with great joy, however, that I can report an heir is finally here. The wannabes prove it wasn’t the wizards and winged beasts that ignited our collective passions: It was the palette of complex characters at cross purposes, the knotty alliances, and the inscrutable schemes that conquered our imaginations. Shogun, based on James Clavell’s bestselling 1975 doorstopper—which was previously adapted for television in 1980—is a fictionalized version of a power struggle in early 17th-century Japan, in which five regional lords vie for control after the death of a leader who maintained stability but whose son is too young to rule. Adding spice to the stew are Portuguese Jesuits (whose black ships are building a secret base in Macao) and the arrival of a crafty English pilot sailing under the Dutch flag with a secret mission to destabilize Portugal’s foothold in the region—but maybe to also make a buck or two. That’s the very shortened version, anyway, but hopefully enough to hook you.

Shogun is that rare television series that demands extra mental effort but truly rewards for the work. (Blessedly, FX has created a thorough study guide to help you keep all the characters straight.) Moreover, its roots in history and genuine customs lend it a great deal of gravitas. Truth, as we know, is often stranger than fiction.

But “strangeness” is a wobbly term these days, particularly for a Hollywood-based production about another nation’s history. As soon as the series was announced in August 2018, producers made it clear it would deviate from the earlier, NBC television event. The 1980 iteration of Shogun, which featured Richard Chamberlain, the legendary Toshiro Mifune, Welsh character actor John Rhys-Davies chomping it up as a strapping Spaniard, and narration from Orson Welles, was arguably the apogee of the big-budget miniseries trend that included Roots, Jesus of Nazareth, The Winds of War, and North and South and was a ratings juggernaut perfectly timed for a growing American interest in all things Japanese. And it was very much told from the perspective of its Western protagonist, deploying a classic white savior trope.

That storyline—loosely based on the real life of William Adams, the first Englishman to navigate to Japan—is still core to Shogun, but the new series, developed by the husband-and-wife team of Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, takes what Clavell wrote and broadens it. The Adams character, John Blackthorne, played by Cosmo Jarvis, is now one of three equally important main characters, including Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai). Indeed, it is Sanada who gets top billing in the opening credits.

One indicator of the new telling is this: In the 1980 version, when characters spoke Japanese, it went untranslated. “The viewer will be in the same situation as Blackthorne and will learn what is going on just as he does,” a producer boasted of this creative choice at the time. In the current version, spoken Japanese has subtitles; it is text, not ornamentation. What’s more, while I didn’t use a stopwatch, I’d say about three-quarters of the show is in Japanese.

While some of the producers are Japanese, the writers are not (though some are of Japanese heritage), so the dialogue was written in English, then rigidly translated into Japanese, then handed off to a Japanese playwright who spoke no English but had expertise in this time period, and then translated back for subtitles. Many of the scenes involve tense conferences in which language is translated on the spot, which is incredibly fertile soil for a brilliant performer like Sawai to say one thing with her voice but mean something else with her expression. (Not to make this too complicated, but within the story, no one is speaking English; however, some characters do speak Portuguese, which we at home hear as English—trust me, this makes sense when you watch it.)

This is just one reason why Shogun is not passive viewing. Those who watch television with one eye on Instagram are going to have problems with this one. (And they should—put down the damn phone!) Not only is there a cascade of characters with different shifting alignments, but one of the central themes is deception and delayed revelation. This is a story in which not really knowing what the hell anyone is thinking is central to its success. This is symbolized by the “eightfold fence,” a Japanese philosophy of isolation that has played into its political maneuvers over the years but in a rich drama like Shogun means that when a woman is professing her undying love to her husband, she may secretly wish nothing more than to be dead.

The new series’ decision to broaden the perspective (and also beef up the women’s roles) may have been a red flag for some worried that it would sand down some of the material that, let’s face it, makes 17th-century Japanese culture look a little, well, intense. To put it bluntly: Could a series for our overly sensitive age show a character boiling a prisoner alive just so he can zone out to the sound of his anguished screams in a prurient haze? The answer is yes. And while that sadistic character isn’t exactly a good guy, you kind of end up liking him a little bit by the end.

Even more extreme (and also in the first episode) is when a character accepts that an underling, who spoke in his defense but did it in a way that defied protocol, must not only commit ritual suicide but also have his infant child killed so as to ensure his family line is obliterated. What’s more, the guy who approves of this is our hero, Sanada’s Toranaga.

Indeed, the frequent act of seppuku is just one of the Japanese customs that is baffling to Blackthorne’s Western eyes, and his character remains a stand-in for the audience in that regard. (Far more benign is the belief that it is disrespectful to step on moss—OK, note taken!) But an important change from Chamberlain’s Blackthorne is that Jarvis’s version is frequently a whiny, nasty jerk. Jarvis’s performance, which owes a bit to Tom Hardy at his most energetic, is a spitting, cursing blowhard with a short fuse who would probably have a much easier go of things at first if he would just chill out. (It is, at times, meant to be funny, and it is.) The Japanese call him “The Barbarian,” and given English attitudes at the time toward bathing compared with the much tidier Japanese, you can see why. One of the best compliments I can give Shogun is that, periodically, you will think, “Wait, why am I rooting for any of these people?!” but still feel a lot is at stake in the drama.

While there is a great deal of gore in the series (now I know what a computer-generated horse looks like when hit by a cannonball), there is an overwhelming amount of beauty. The kimono budget must have been through the roof on this thing. Even scenes that clearly include additional greenscreen are lit with care. This is key for a culture that, despite some shocking violence, places importance on order and grace. With 10 one-hour episodes, there is time to linger on how tea is properly served, how sake is poured, or how a geisha who takes pride in her trade can elevate it to artistry.

But none of that would matter if the storyline weren’t compelling, and I suppose Clavell would not have sold 21 million books if he wasn’t on to something. Shogun is probably his most famous, but I recall seeing his name on covers everywhere as a Gen X kid. My own mother dragged around the enormous Noble House, split into two volumes in hardcover, for what seemed like months. Most of his work fits into a larger “Asian Saga,” though he had enough clout in the early 1980s to direct a television special based on a dystopian short story (The Children’s Story) and get parodied on Late Night With David Letterman.

For all the exoticism and complicated history, however, it’s the inner hopes and desires of these characters that will linger. “Flowers are only flowers because they fall” might seem like a corny line out of context, but in the delicate world of Shogun, it is a moment of perfection and one of several in this extraordinary series.

[jessread-s]

✩❤️⚔️💙Review:

“Bloodmarked” is everything I could have hoped for  in a sequel and more!

With Nick having been kidnapped by his own father and the Arthur Awakened, Bree seeks help from the High Council of Regents, who serve as the backbone of The Order of the Round Table when it is not gathered. Having not been present in “Legendborn” the reader learns of the different responsibilities allotted to the Regent of Light (overseeing all of the society’s operations in the Onceborn world), the Lord Regent (looking after Legendborn records, Order History, and commanding the Table when Arthur has not been Awakened) and the Regent of Shadows (commanding the military). 

We also are exposed to their inherent racism and sexism as they try to convince Bree that despite having the king’s blood, she is a mistake. The regents’ use of power to instill fear and exert control not only forces Bree to go on the run and rescue Nick herself, but also calls attention to the many systems of oppression in our society today that have yet to be deconstructed. 

Luckily, Bree is not entirely without allies. Alice, Selwyn, and William join her on her quest to find Nick. I especially loved that Alice is given a larger role in “Bloodmarked” because it allows the reader to explore the dynamics of her friendship with Bree. I also appreciated how her character demonstrates throughout the novel that you do not need to have magical abilities to kick ass. 

Though the reader is never given Selwyn’s perspective in “Bloodmarked,” Bree’s growing attraction for him results in her discovering insecurities, strengths, and motivations of his that weren’t fully touched upon in “Legenborn”, adding complexity to his character. Her newfound feelings for him also create internal conflict as she mulls over whether her heart belongs to him or Nick. I personally loved watching Bree and Sel’s romantic relationship flourish in this book. Sel’s protectiveness over Bree and his proclamations in Old Welsh leave me with no choice but to give him complete and total ownership of my heart. 

Aside from the deepening of Bree’s relationship with others, she also learns more about herself under the protection of her ancestors in a place called Volition. Here, she is surrounded by rootcrafters who reclaimed the land from their oppressors. For the first time, people who look like Bree and share some of the same abilities help her learn the extent of her powers and uncover the mystery surrounding the origin of her bloodcraft. 

The jaw-dropping revelations made about Vera, the threat of Camlann on the horizon, Sel’s gradual loss of humanity to his demon blood, the Regent’s persistence to to find a new ancestor to replace Bree as the Scion of Arthur, and Bree’s sacrifice left me an emotional sobbing mess by the novel’s end. I can only hope that book three puts me back together again. 

➤ 5 stars

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@rivetedbysimonteen

[thehazeldruid]

I was reading today about how a lot of druidic orders are problematic and I was wondering if you think that's true. The blurb I was reading didn't say why exactly (I'm Welsh so it's kind of adjacent for me but I am very curious if there are like red flags for these organizations you might know of). I've been trying to explore my Welsh heritage but it's hard to even know what are good resources vs bad ones sometimes.

I’m sure there are problems with many of them sure. As with any organized religious or spiritual group there will of course be problematic people within it, problematic practices or teachings and so on.

Personally, I take a look at them through a simple lens of learning. I always try to get multiple perspectives on anything I learn about. A product of my raising. So any “history” I learn about within the structure of these orders, I always look at through another source. Back up belief with facts and understand that most belief system are built upon archetypes and ideas. Stories and myths.

Mostly I’d guess those who think and see them as problematic see the “it is an ancient tradition” and those who can’t separate the reconstruction of those beliefs and practices from the ancient practices themselves. (Think of the way some people have been caught saying Wicca is an “ancient” religion and practice.

Most Druid orders don’t say that they themselves are ancient, but that they are taking what little we know of druidry as it was and rebuilding it and reconstructing it for the modern world.

Sorry that kind of turned into a ramble. I just woke up from a nap

[whitepolaris]

Wales Tale

Did you know that an exploration team headed by a Welsh prince named Madoc ap Owain Gwynned (usually just "Madoc" for short) is believed by many to have settled in America in the year 1170? That's three centuries prior to when Cristoforo Colombo is generally said to have discovered America in 1498. (Yes, 1498. The children's rhyme says, In 1492 Columbus said the ocean blue. But didn't actually arrive in Americas until 1498.)

You won't find Madoc in the history books just yet, though. Scholars and historians aren't convinced of the veracity of the ancient legend or even of the existence of Madoc himself. While Owain Gwynned was a well-known Welsh ruler of the twentfth century, there is no record that he had a son named Madoc. Skeptics also point out that there is no known printed account of the Madoc legend prior to 1583, when it appeared in a book called, A True Report of the Late Discoveries of the Newfound Landes.

And yet, there are very good reasons why the Madoc legend persists.

In 1669, a clergyman named Morgan Jones was captured by a band of Tuscarora Indians known as the Doeg. Facing certain death, he began to pray out loud in Welsh. To his shock and amazement, the Indians understood Welsh and set him free. Jones found himself in the surreal position of suddenly being highly regarded and respected by this tribe of "savages" for his ability to speak Welsh, and he stayed with them for many months, teaching them about Christianity and preaching sermons to them in Welsh.

Many subsequent visitors to American encountered Welsh-speaking Native Americans, and one even claimed to find Indians in possession of a Welsh Bible.

So what, you may ask, does all this have to do with Kentucky? Well, it just so happens that the site where Louisville stands today is said to have once been a major settlement-possibly THE major settlement-of Madoc's exploration team and various Native Americans who learned to spea kWelsh.

The Mandan tribe, who were originally located in the Ohio River Valley area near Louisville, had a legend about the "Lone Man" who came from an unknown land to rescue the tribe.

In his 1841 book North American Indians, George Catlin made a compelling argument for the Mandan tribe's being the descendants of Madoc; a definite Welsh influence was noted in the Mandan style of boatmaking, architecture, culture, and fair-haired appearance. Madoc's hand is also seen by some in the man-made fort mounds and a mysterious stone structure atop a natural rock formation called the Devil's Backbone, in Charleston, IN. The Devil's Backbone protrudes into the Ohio River just across from Goshen, KY (just a few minutes north of Louisville).

[littlewalken]

Oct 4

Watching a video where once again DNA affirms what the oral traditions of indigenous people have been saying forever, fuck you White People. Thor Heyerdahl was racist, it's very possible Polynesian people made it to South America or an island with a population that previously had, met the people already living there, and did what people do and had a party. It only happened once, but it happened. So says Stephan Milo.

something something Irish, Scot, and Welsh too, fuck the British something something insert how Robert Sheehan looks like Cheddar Man something something

We didn't kill Neanderthals, we just fucked them to death. Thus concludes today's history lesson that probably taught you more than you'd learn in a month in American school.

***

Ripped out the pages I had used in the tiny sketchbook with bad vibes and it went in the GTFO pile. Artist know what I mean when I say a sketchbook has bad vibes. The replacement book has been sitting in my stash for???

It's a little bigger than the previous one but still fits in the box with the handprints that I keep my reference pics in. This is for use with the mechanical pencil while I'm out and about or don't have access to other art stuff or just need to do a little drawing for my sanity.

It's random stress hives season too.

My Staged DVD hasn't even been shipped yet which is fun because with a general idea of when we have to move, if not sooner, I can't order anything unless it'll arrive soon.

Looking at the remaining books I'm going to guess 4-5 beach wagons left to put in storage. Aside from 1 or 2 strays all the others get to stay. Honestly the new thick reusable plastic bags they have at grocery stores are a great way to pack them, it gives you a decent amount ot carry and you can still stack them.

Once the books and a few odds and ends get in to storage I get to "rest" until we get a firm date etc. I'll have my art supplies, ball joints and Volbitsus, some sewing, some string, my treasure box of charms and basic jewelry making supplies, DVDs, and puter with the external drive full of stuff so I'll just be regular bored.

Like last time I have Umbrella Academy to start. I tried but it wasn't going to happen then.

Picard season 2 better get more interesting soon. I keep wanting to yell get on with it!' at it.

[harrysonlylover]

hii, hiraeth anon here.

thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond so positively.

i can totally see the link and how we got to where we are now, was slightly confused on my part lmao (🫢🫢) i am actually so excited for hiraeth i cant even explain.

wales’ colonisation is really an interesting topic as it spans over from the celtic period and still exists and continues to be slowly and subtly colonised today. if anyone ever has the time to look into it, i do recommend it as it’s a gripping topic (imo🙂). SIDE RANT - imagine how much cooler the british flag could’ve been if they chucked the ddraig goch (red dragon) on the flag… just saying, it’d be epic.

and i also love that definition of hiraeth as it binds with its interpretation and it’s origin and i think that’s beautiful.

thank you for being so kind darling, most other people like to pick fights with me over it (💀)🫶💐

anyways, im always thinking about hiraeth and i cant wait to see what you do with it !! 🫶💐❤️‍🩹

ly and your work lovie <33

Hi sweetie, there is definitely no reason for me to be mean, i’m sorry if you encountered rude pages, some people on here have their head stuck somewhere else….

The topic seems really interesting, i know very little about Wales and it comes from watching The Crown on Netflix (cliché ik) and how when Charles was Prince of Wales, he was not so welcomed and learned Welsh and so on. I really like History actually, last year i took WW2 and hyperfixated on it by watching movies and reading books so if you have anything about Wales to recommend let me know! And thank YOU for the beautiful info and for loving Hiraeth even though i didn’t write it yet. *kith*

[blue-eyed-bloodstains]

What is your Starbucks order? or any coffee shop order? (: iced: Hazelnut, hot: caramel macchiato  What is your dream vacation? Anywhere with him, as cliche as that sounds,,,but in general, location wise? any island, meaning Hawaii/Bahamas/Keys/Barbados etc. Would you ever go on a game show? Which one? Whose Line Is It Anyway and Family Feud  What TV show character do you relate to most? hmmm too hard to choose cause I’m pieces of so many over the years... If you had to choose to be an animal, what would you be and why? As much as I’d love to say dog or cat for many reasons for both individually, I’d have to say a bird or something that can fly given my history of moving around so much most of which was under 18 so I had no choice aka forced to so...that freedom to go where I want when I want and to enjoy it...

When was the last time you wore a dress/suit? Dress and it was September 2020 for one of my best friend’s wedding  Have you ever been to Tennessee, USA? no Do you prefer more mellow music or loud? depends on the mood/mindset at the moment Do you get along well with your family? haha trick question? again depends on the current situation and also who it is...it’s different with different members of family When was the last time you played in the snow, if ever? oh god idk...mid 2000′s in the townhouse probably Are you clumsy? always  Does anyone you know have a birthday coming up soon? nope just hit 30 in May so lol Do you ever go bowling? omg I love that this is a question cause this was part of the “3 part” first date with Zach, we started with bowling and that was our first kiss (not literally, just us together I mean) not as much as I wish we could, but we try to every now and then so maybe like once a year 

Have you ever worn a wig? nope Do you enjoy musicals? I mean...I’ve only ever seen movie ones, I’d love to see an actual theater one so yeah I do just don’t have experience of them lol What shoes did you wear today? I’ve been in the house all day so none Do you enjoy 60’s music? umm I don’t really know much but I love music of all genres/generations so I’m sure if I heard some I’d love it so yeah Do you know anyone who is a great drummer? no but I wish I was Would you rather watch or play sports? both, I’ve played basketball/field hockey during school  Does your name have a meaning behind it? Morgan (first name) -   The name Morgan means "sea-born," "sea-song," or "sea-circle." It is traditionally a boy's name of Welsh origin, and more specifically, a variant of the Old Welsh name Morcant which is a combination of the Welsh elements mor, meaning "sea" and cant, meaning "circle." Isabelle (first middle name) -   my great grandmother’s name who I never got to meet...she died before I was born Lynn (second middle name) -  generational middle name, aka my mom has this as her middle name as well hence how I got it Karch (....fuck off...last name) -  sperm donor’s last name, my grandma aka Mimi told my mom to give me his last name after I was born while we were still in the hospital...can’t wait for my wedding to my fiance to take his last name Wilson since all my life even past 18 aka legal so adoption name wise couldn’t happen anymore I wanted Joe (stepdad since I was 6 months old who IS MY DAD) to give me his last name but never happened...anyway ahem Do you have a certain brand you are very loyal to? not really cause I’ve never been that kinda person and even if I was, never had the money for any brand but if I had to pick? Baby Phat for sure Are you too short for the sun visor in the car to work properly for you? I’m 6′0 but the sun is an asshole so even with the visors down it still blinds me at certain times lol Do you have a favorite planet? ummm not really? I love learning about all of them though How often do you spend time on Bzoink? never heard of it What did you last have to drink? iced Hazelnut coffee from Wawa and omfg how I wish it was an actual “drink” cause I could use one right now... What type of movies are you most amused by? depends on the movie so a lot What is your sense of humor like? dry, pervy, sarcastic, dark...think Ron White for the most of it :P Are you materialistic? hell no I hate that Do you listen more with your heart, mind, or stomach? all of the above every single time no matter the situation/circumstances What are some thing that fascinate you? hmmm...that’s hard to list so I’ll just say a lot of things Do you suffer from any diseases? hahahaha!!! many, let’s put it that way... Have you ever broken a bed? no Have you ever worked in retail? yep several times, several different jobs in it as far as what I did and never EVER again! :I What’s the strangest food combination you’ve seen someone eat? I really haven’t but as far as something strange I can think of? hawaiian pizza...no. I love pizza, I love pineapple, but get the fuck out of here with pineapple ON the pizza. fuckin eww. no. wrong. Do you pick up on others feelings easily? hell yeah What is your current mood? numb and anxious as fuck at the same time...fun right? Do you prefer shopping online or in store? both but given my anxiety disorders online is easier What did you last remember dreaming about? oh dear god my dreams this last few weeks have been fuckin intense, insane, triggering....I need a good restful sleep and I can’t get it cause of the damn dreams  What’s your favorite condiment? dipping - ketchup salad - ranch, balsamic vinaigrette

What is the last thing you borrowed? my fiance’s headphones so I could jam and not wake him up while he was sleeping When was the last time you took a group picture? Christmas, my stepmom’s family which included me and my fiance in it Name the first person who pops in your head whose name starts with T. Tyler (an ex) Is there a song or songs you can rap all the lyrics to? oh lord lol yeah quite a bit, mostly Eminem including the freestyle battles from 8 Mile without even needing the movie playing or even having them playing on Youtube :P Have you hugged anyone today? I wish..he’s in St. Louis on a job so I can’t... What did you last watch on TV? House M.D reruns If your last words were the last message you received, what would they be? “Okay money is sent” - from my fiance cause I needed some funds while he’s gone to Doordash dinner and stuff (don’t ask, he’s the only income....not explaining) Are you good at keeping secrets? always What last disappointed you? me, always every single day If you could see a concert of any celebrity who has passed away.. who would you like to see? definitely Linkin Park with Chester, no questions asked How many blankets do you own? a few What was your favorite food as a child? pretty much anything, never been real picky with food so Do you like denim shorts? hell yeah What was the last picture you looked at? my cousin’s fiance on FB, she uploaded a selfie so I saw as I was scrolling the feed What’s the main thing you use the internet for? mostly Tumblr, Youtube,googling things... How many questions do you prefer in a survey? the longer the better, especially when they’re unique and not ones I answer all the time  Have you ever made someone cry unintentionally? unfortunately, yeah... Is it easy to offend you? very  When did you last wear a hat? I do more often than not when going anywhere so... Do you work well under pressure? I always say I do in an application for a job but because of my several anxiety disorders, once on the spot I freak out real easy and I’m a mess but I still try my hardest to get through it What is something that is or was hard to let go of? the past What colors do you normally use to decorate with? I don’t decorate Have you ever bruised one of your ribs? yeah Have you ever burned yourself on a candle? no What is one of your toxic traits? my insecurity Have you ever found a skeleton while outside? no thank god wtf What time is it currently? 6:52am How many mirrors do you have in your bedroom? our closet doors are full length mirrors so several What is something you cannot get enough of? alcohol

[star-anise]

Hi I saw a post of yours that was screen shot and shared one Facebook about how English language and grammar was made hard dilibratly could you tell me more about this or the where I should look for a source or reffences I can't include a link but I posted it on this page and I don't use tumbler really at all so it will remain at the top for years

The textbook for the History of the English Language course at university that opened my eyes to this was The Stories of English by David Crystal. Posts like the one you saw on Facebook are located on my former grammar nut lis tag. The other book that I hear covers this well is Language Anxiety: Conflict and Change in the History of English by Tim William Machan, but it's apparently a bit dry and academic.

The change in English grammar and spelling I was talking about happened in the last five hundred years. Before that, there wasn't really "correct" or "incorrect" English. Some spellings, dialects, and accents were more prestigious or common or more widely understood than others, but there wasn't an objective standard. People spelled words however sounded good to them, and English had a lot of dialects with different vocabularies and grammar.

From 1500 to 1800, people tried to fix, reform, and standardize English, because obviously the language that ordinary common people speak is too degraded and inferior for the educated upper classes. It had to be "improved" to make it more like Latin.

To back up a bit: Language has been a class marker in England for nearly a thousand years. Old English, the language used in 1066, was a Germanic language, and Latin was only the language of the educated clergy. Then England was invaded by French-speakers who became its ruling class. French is descended from Latin; for several centuries English commoners spoke their Germanic language, and English nobles and churchmen spoke Latin or French. But as the centuries went by, Old English adapted significantly until it was a Germanic-Latinate hybrid. (Here's a resource on how we can still see the effects of that history today)

So in English, Latin has almost always been seen as more prestigious, associated with the rich, the educated, and the powerful. Making English more like Latin inherently meant making it less like the ordinary language spoken by commoners, and more educated and exclusive. And from 1300-1500, English nobles increasingly spoke English as a mother tongue and used it to talk and write to each other.

People who wrote grammars and dictionaries from 1500-1800 didn't survey a wide variety of English speakers and see what was the most common usage, or the most commonly understood, or easiest to learn. Instead they decided which suited their ideas of an elegant language more like Latin, and which were used among the educated elite. They developed a variety of English that required years of careful education to learn; without those years, someone can speak perfectly fluent English, but their language will be full of little tip-offs that they aren't "educated" or "well-brought-up." If I say "I didn't never do it" everyone knows exactly what I mean, but also that I'm breaking the rules.

Discriminating against language variants became a really easy way to prevent people from "rising above their station". Hell, in Britain, minute differences in how people pronounce their words or shape their sentences can still get them discriminated against as "low-class" and "uneducated." On the other hand, linguistic diversity has been a source of pride and resistance over the centuries—many languages like Irish, Welsh, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic have survived official government efforts to completely snuff them out, and are actively making a comeback.

Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, when Americans did away with the traditional aristocracy and theoretically anyone of any origin could rise to the top, the rhetoric changed from what was privileged and elite to what was just... "correct" English. Some communities preserved nonstandard dialects, particularly Appalachia, but in many other regions and countries across the globe English was a foreign language they learned about from textbooks and members of the colonial elite. In those circumstances it was often very easy for authorities to call things "incorrect English" as though "language that doesn't obey artificial rules marking prestige" is the same thing as "language English speakers won't understand".

Things have started to change since the mid-20th century. There's more visibility and acceptance of nonstandard dialects and English creoles. Now dictionaries recognize that their job is not to dictate what words should mean, but reflect the language as it is used.

No idea when the fuck we'll get English spelling fixed, though. Every new suggestion seems worse than the last. People will claim that no other language has spelling bees, but I know that French dictées can be just as hellish, as can Chinese dictation exercises. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[flammenkobold]

Today on my random rewatch adventures:

Due South - Odds

the duck boys being sexist and fraser getting uncomfortable and then doing a history lesson, I love him

Fraser do not jump out of the window after the other guy

I adore Ray just putting that out there "There is always another option." "Which is?" "The stairs."

Dief having a crush on the poodle, Fraser having a crush on the gambler lady, Ray is Not Jealous, oh boys

Frannie and the water gun!

Welsh and Francescas relationship is so good? I enjoy it so much. Wished we had even more of it. I adore their dynamic so much

Fraser, Welsh and Ray and their yoga exercises, love how Welsh helps Fraser out (probs bc he also likely had back pain) while Ray sits down to enjoy the show). I also really adore the dynamic these three have, this show is feeding me well this episode on all angles.

Lady Shoes escaping, I like her, also could watch an entire show of Agents Exley and White being way too in synch and funnily incompetent

I love the whole "we are not leaving a note, right?" "No we're breaking in" Ray getting Fraser into bending the law a little bit with each episode is hng

the whole alley scene, Fraser saving Ray, dropping him, their conversation and the hand holding and also "I got the girl" I love Ray's smile there

Thatcher is adorable drunk and I enjoy that she has fun? idk like despite the hints of Fraser/Thatcher being set up as probable canon she still has her own life and fun and dates

ok the prolongued massage is a bit uncomfortable but I am glad Fraser is getting one, his back needs one

Ray is Not Jealous Part 2 (edited)

One thing I like though is how Ray seems to know so many oddballs  and just...takes it at face value kinda? Yeah here is our sketch artist, he doesn't get out much, blind as a bat but good with a pencil, anyway what the fuck Fraser?

"You just brought yourself some trouble. " "Trouble?" "With a capital T."

White and Exley threatening to take in Ray if they don't hand over Denny and Welsh looking offended, Ray ready to fight and Fraser immediately jumping in to diffuse the situation with a solution.

(Also something about "We'll take your boy here instead" is giving me emotions)

The team trying to teach Fraser how to play poker is ending me, but also I love this little bit in between where Welsh is coaching Frannie on law things

The whole scene with Welsh and Ray sitting on the coach in Welsh's office and drinking is so cute, their friendship, I adore it

Ah the Kiss, though I adore Fraser's bag of candy that he won

Oh man that whole scene in the bathroom between Fraser and Ray, just tense and kinda sad

Frannie vs hats and Ray vs the janitor

Fraser in the suit does look really good, and well if the comedy club doesn't work out Huey can start a tux rental services, the feds seem to be interested in it as well

"Stiff apples" XD (edited)

Fraser showing his actual cards and making everyone nervous at the table, Ray figuring out what is going on and coming to Fraser's help

the silent communication between them, it's killing me

The window jump will never not make me Feel Things, I just love how that scene is shot

god Fraser's anger at Denny is palpable

"I never bluff" almost lets her fall "You said you didn't bluff" "I am learning"

The whole playing for air thing, I love that scene so much

"Wait, you kissed her?" "No she kissed me."

Ray calling Fraser out on bluffing and then being stubborn enough to make Fraser admit that he was bluffing

They both look so good in that scene BUT ALSO DO YOU TWO REALLY HAVE TO SIT SO CLOSE YOUR LEGS ARE TOUCHING? ...what am i even asking, yes of course they have to

IOU on air, just yeah, that yeah, hmhm wonder how one can repay someone on air, maybe some more underwater kissing, excuse me, "buddy breathing" is in order, maybe even without the water

[paradisetemporarilymisplaced]

Book recs: Similar to but less sad than TSOA

Hello everyone! @lordeteams requested some book recommendations that are not as sad as The Song of Achilles so here we go. I read a lot of books and since 2019 I've kept a running list of what I've read so honestly I'll take any excuse to subject people to my interests🤗 List is below the cut, not in any particular order (except from the first entry which is my current favorite), and includes NA, YA, and adult fiction. If you're curious about the distinction I'll refer you to this (sadly, now-deleted) tweet from Maggie Stiefvater:

One Last Stop (Casey McQuiston, NA): This one is brand new and instantly became a favorite. F/F romance in which August Landry, newly transplanted to Brooklyn, meets Jane Su on her morning commute. Turns out, Jane is stuck on the train and has been since the 70s, but has no memory of how it happened or of her old life. Part romance, part time-travel mystery, but entirely a love letter to queer communities everywhere. Found family trope abounds with August's roommates and coworkers, which include drag queens, people of every flavor of queer, and a real life psychic, all of whom are ready and willing to help solve the mystery of why Jane is on the train and how to fix it. In the process, August learns things about her own family, as well as events in American queer history that few people remember today. I really cannot express enough how much I love this book. Please read it.

Red, White, and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston, NA): Odds are, if you've heard of Casey McQuiston, it was because of her first book (this one). M/M romance about Alex, son of the first female US President, and Henry, prince of England. Enemies to friends to lovers, featuring queer self-discovery, coming out, PR/corporate closeting (hello, larries!) and just a delight. This is a very different queer story from OLS - OLS is a romance, but more plot-heavy and the romance isn't the entire focus. In RWRB, the romance is the plot and it reads like fanfiction which is very fun.

The Raven Cycle (series, Maggie Stiefvater, YA): This series is a character-driven, coming-of-age, found family story about a bunch of weird-ass teenagers (affectionate), magic, prophecy, and Welsh kings. This is the rare story in which every single main character plays a critical role in the plot and grows and changes with the story. You will fall in love with all of them and their relationships with one another. Plus, the worldbuilding is incredible and has such an intricate mythology that you'll want to reread just to get the details. Followed by the Dreamer Trilogy, of which two books have been published, but I've only read the first one so far.

All for the Game (series, Nora Sakavic, YA): This is the series that got me back into reading for fun five years ago and as such it holds a special place in my heart. The plot is wacky and convoluted - college athletics, a made-up sport, a kid on the run from his mob boss father - but don't let that discourage you. Hella found family. (Are you seeing a pattern?) I will warn you, this deals with some pretty heavy stuff, including torture, abuse, addiction, sexual violence, and more. Here's a comprehensive list of trigger warnings, with detailed descriptions at the bottom. It's intense, but the friendships and romances make it worth the read imo.

Grishaverse (series, Leigh Bardugo, YA): This is actually three series: the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and the King of Scars duology (which I haven't yet read). If you've seen Shadow and Bone, the S&B trilogy covers the Alina storyline, while SOC covers Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias. S&B is a chosen one/coming of age story, while SOC is found family committing heists. It's great.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Benjamin Alire Saenz, YA): Coming of age M/M romance. Set in the 1980s in El Paso, it describes the friends to lovers journey of Ari and Dante over several years, as well as Ari's journey of self-discovery. It is the most beautiful book and one of my comfort reads. There's some themes of homophobia and violence, but with a happy ending.

Carry On (Rainbow Rowell, YA): This is basically Harry Potter fanfiction, but better because (a) it doesn't take itself too seriously and (b) the author is not a violent transphobe. Seriously, this book is so fun. It's a twist on the chosen one trope because Simon, said Chosen One, is just spectacularly bad at what he is supposedly destined to be. Plus you have an enemies to lovers storyline, which is my personal favorite trope. Followed by Wayward Son, which is literally a road trip AU, and Any Way the Wind Blows, which will be released next month.

The Queen's Thief (series, Megan Whalen Turner, YA): Fantasy series centered on Eugenides, who is very proud of being a great thief but also wants to be famous, two goals which are not really compatible. This series is interesting because every novel is told from a different character's point of view in an increasingly zoomed-out lens such that you're seeing how Eugenides' influence grows over time and space. The setting is vaguely based on the ancient Mediterranean region, but with a mythology all its own.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid, adult): This is a frame story in which aged Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo, famously tight-lipped about her personal life, hand selects a young journalist, Monique Grant, to finally tell her story. Evelyn tells Monique all about her life - how she became an actress in the mid-twentieth century, how she got involved (and uninvolved) with all seven of her former husbands, and who was the true love of her life. There are some sad moments for sure, as it's a retrospective on the very long and very full life of an actress at what she knows is the end of hers. But it's such a good story and worth the bittersweet tones.

This Is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, adult): Sci-fi novel told by Red and Blue's letters to one another across time and space. They are on opposing sides of the Time War and as they perform their respective missions, they leave letters for the other to find. Their letters start out as "I'm coming for you, you better run" but then eventually turn to friendship and then love. Ultimate enemies to lovers. It's a short novel but you'll read it again and again to pick up more details. It's so good.

The House in the Cerulean Sea (TJ Klune, NA): This book feels like a warm hug. Linus Baker is essentially a child protective services worker, overseeing the orphanages housing magical children. He is then assigned to the most remote orphanage in the system, in which six dangerous children reside, to determine whether any or all of these children are capable of bringing about the end of the world. Once more, with feeling: FOUND FAMILY. Also nice because it's a metaphor for queerness that also features canon queer characters.

[sheepfroggy]

Saint David’s Day!

Today (March 1st) is Saint David’s day in Wales. Saint David’s day is celebrated all across Wales and is a big day of celebration of our culture

Why is Saint David’s day celebrated?

Saint David’s day is, as the name may suggest, a celebration of the life of Saint David. He was the patron saint of Wales and was very important when it comes to the religious aspects of Welsh culture (obviously, only relating to our later Christianity, and not our earlier other religions sadly). He died on March 1st in the year 589 and so Saint David’s day begun as a commemmoration of his life and work. Nowadays, Saint David’s day within the Welsh community is celebrated more as a day of pride and love based around our nation and our people. It has become a day of great pride in our Welsh traditions, much like how Saint Patrick’s day has become for the Irish.

Below is the flag of St David, which is typically flown on St David’s day

How do you celebrate Saint David’s day?

This depends on the person and area, and how patriotic you’re wanting to be. A vast majority of people will celebrate by either wearing leeks or daffodils and/or by displaying one or both of these in their homes. This is because both the leek and the daffodil are national emblems of Wales.

Most primary schools and some secondary/comprehensive schools will also run a school eisteddfod, which is a celebration of Welsh culture and arts through the form of a competition. These can sometimes include students learning traditional dances or music in order to perform them to the rest of the school. Often times, the young girls will also have to dress up in traditional-wear costumes (that tend to be awfully itchy, I must add). Students will also typically all be asked to sing the national anthem. People often also partake in enjoying traditional Welsh foods, such as cawl or picau ar y maen (AKA Welsh cakes or the several other names that these go by), which are shown below.

There are also often parades in order to celebrate, especially in Cardiff city centre on St David’s day. These parades come along with flying the flag of Wales and the flag of St David, as well as many banners, costumes, colours and excitement. You may also be able to spot the red and yellow lions flag flying, which is representative of the Welsh princes. It is also very common, especially at the parades in Cardiff, to hear the national anthem sung by the crowds. National museums across Wales also tend to throw big events in order to celebrate the day, which have the added bonus of being packed with fascinating history about Wales!

Below is an image of some of the types of traditional clothing Welsh women would wear, which young female students in Wales might be asked to wear in order to celebrate Saint David’s day

Below is a picture of a Saint David’s day parade in Cardiff

I hope this could be an informative insight in to what Saint David’s day is and why us Welsh lot even celebrate it to begin with!

Have a wonderful day, whether or not you celebrate St David’s day! Dydd Dewi Sant hapus iawn, pawb. Cymru am byth

[imherongraystairstrash]

Butterflies—Thomas Lightwood and Cecily Herondale

I started and finished this fic in one day, due to recent events in my life, so it may not be a masterpiece, but I write it because I think we need to talk more about grief sometimes. I’ve never lost a sister, but I feel Thomas’ loss is extremely glossed over in Chog. So I wrote this as a way of bringing awareness to the death of loved ones, especially during this pandemic. Stay safe, lovelies <3

...

Thomas was reading in the parlor with the other Lightwoods. Christopher was writing something—most likely some notes on the side-effects of his antidote— Gabriel was sitting with Alex, and Cecily was at a desk, going through some correspondence. Thomas’ gaze drifted from Cecily’s pen to the window beside her. He stared at it and saw a butterfly pass by. His heart seized and he dropped his book with a loud thud. The Lightwoods quickly turned their heads towards him. Thomas quickly peeled his eyes from the window. 

“Is everything alright, Thomas?” Gabriel asked, concerned.

“Yes yes, all is well. I just—I need to fetch something I left upstairs. I shall return shortly.”

Thomas bolted to his feet and left the room before anybody could say anything.

He took the stairs two at a time, as he always did, only now he was praying he wouldn’t trip over his long limbs. He would just go upstairs, get a hold of himself and come back down. Nobody needed to know about the butterfly. They won’t ask either, if he doesn’t give them reason to.

He finally reached Christopher’s room and yanked the door open. He stumbled inside and closed it behind him, before pacing the length of the room.

It’s just a butterfly, he told himself. Just because Barbara was terrified of them—

Thomas slumped down on Kit’s bed. He looked up, hoping the tears would leave before they started. It was so difficult, though, because now memories of Barbara and butterflies were playing in his mind. He could almost hear her shrieking. She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t truly be gone, could she?

He heard a light knock at the door. Cecily came in and he gave her a tight smile before looking down at his hands. 

Thomas tried to meet Cecily’s eye as she sat down beside him on the bed, but failed. Instead, he kept looking at his hands fighting the tears that threatened to spill over. 

“Thomas bach,” she said.

The same way Christopher was like his brother, Aunt Cecily had always felt like a second mother to Thomas. She used the same sort of endearments on him as she did with her own children. Thomas had partly learned Welsh for her. He still remembered her look of shock when he spoke to Cecily in her maternal language. The way she smiled and embraced him and told him how he had the purest heart she had ever encountered as she wiped away a single tear. She was far more his aunt than Tatiana was.

Now she sat beside him, in his state of…confusion. He ought it to her to look at her face. The second he did so, however, he blinked and the tears that had welled up spilled down his face. He swiftly wiped them away, but Cecily had already seen. 

“Oh, Thomas darling,” she embraced him like he was a child. He seemed to have lost his composure in her arms. 

“She’s gone.” He hiccuped. “She’s dead, Aunt Cecy, and I’ll never see her again.”

Cecily hugged him tighter, holding him together as he was falling apart. “I know, bach. I know.”

Thomas didn’t want to cry too much. Cecily had other things to do. He sniffed and tried to pull away. His aunt only shook her head. 

“Make it hurt.” she whispered in his ear. “Think about everything you’ve ever loved about her. Cry until you're dry, Thomas, and then cry some more.” 

Thomas felt his bottom lip quiver and he shook his head. He didn’t want to cry. Cecily probably didn’t want to have to hold him while he did so. 

“Thomas.” She spoke sternly. “You must cry. You must let yourself grieve. Please, bach, if not for yourself, do it for me. Tear yourself apart, so that you can begin to put yourself back together again.”

She swept him into a tighter hug, and the barrier Thomas had built, collapsed. He gave a pathetic whimper, and then he tears began to fall down his face and onto Cecily’s shoulder.

Thomas buried his face on his aunt’s shoulder, his second mother, and cried and cried. He choked on his tears, sobs escaped from his throat. He didn’t wail—Thomas had never been a loud crier— but his body seized and contracted, and he took uneasy and harsh breaths. His tears were hot on his face, his throat hurt from crying but he couldn’t fathom stopping, because grief continued to hit him, wave after wave. He was angry, he was confused, but most of all, he was sad. He was so very sad. He was not devastated, nor in distress nor any of those fancy words that tried to explain what he was feeling. No. Thomas was feeling raw and hurt, not feeling some dressed up version of sadness, but sadness itself. 

Cecily was crying with him, though whether she was crying over Barbara or if this was causing her to remember her own dead sister, Thomas didn’t feel it mattered. Grief doesn’t need to be about the same person, so long as you could grieve with somebody.

They might have cried together for hours. Cecily had stopped before Thomas had, but for the first time, he didn’t feel the need to make haste and dry his tears. His tears continued until he had lost his voice and they were falling down his face silently. At some point, he and Cecily must have moved so that they were looking out of the window, Thomas’ head was still on her shoulder, but he couldn’t remember when.

Thomas looked out the window, and watched the world go by, as though everything was perfectly fine. For the first time in the history of the world, the sun was out in London. The sun was out and it was as though Barbara had never died. She would have liked the sun, would have come up with an excuse to drag him outside and go to the park with her. Then, he’d acquiesce and follow her around the park, lost in his own thoughts. She would have loved today so much— Thomas choked. 

Cecily put a hand on his upper back. “This pain, it will never go away. Thomas, grief is not a battle, it’s a constant war. There is never going to be a time when something doesn’t remind you of her, and that’s alright. This may be the first time you grieve this way, but it will not be the last. Just make sure you never bottle up your emotions, because there comes a time when it will be too much to hold, and you explode.” 

He looked at Cecily, but she was blurry and wobbly, like she was underwater. He blinked, and she looked normal again, before water began building up in his eyes again. Tears must have fallen from his eyes, but he seemed to have cried so much that couldn’t feel them anymore.

“I don’t know what to do.” he said, finally.

“Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do but grieve.”

Thomas bit his lip and went back to looking out the window. Only then did he realize that for the first time since her passing, he hadn’t thought that Barbara was going to come bursting through the door and drag him away for a walk. For the first time, it seemed as though he had come to terms with the fact that Barbara was truly dead. 

That thought made him close his eyes tight and his stomach palpitated. He focused on Aunt Cecy’s breathing and made himself do the same. Eventually, it would be alright.

“Thank you, Aunt, for using up your time, to help me.”

“Don’t thank me, Thomas. You’re timeless. If you need it, I will stay with you for hours.” She turned to him and smiled a bittersweet smile. “I love you children so much,” Cecily said, combing his hair to the side. “I wish I could shield you from all of the pain the world has to offer.”

“Even if you can’t,” Thomas said, “you helped make it a bit less unbearable.”

Cecily gave a single, soundless laugh through her nose and when she spoke, Thomas could hear her smile in her voice. “I’m so happy for it, bach.” 

They stared out the window again, mindlessly watching as nothing happened outside, save a couple of squirrels scurrying up trees. Thomas liked nothings, for they cleared his mind. In his head, he thought of a melancholy melody. He closed his eyes and let it wash over him. When he opened them again, he saw a butterfly flapping its wings precariously, and smiled.

...

Tagging: @celias @tsccreatorsnet @atla-lok143 @hitheresomeoneusingthus @rinadragomir @youngreckless @aceofjesper @autumnangel20 @julemmaes @cupcakesandkittens @no-scones-allowed @fictionally-fantastic @stxr-thxif @niaforjordelia @itsdaughterofthemoon @dustandshadowsworld @livvyheronstairs

[bean-na-farraige-agus-foraoise]

Druids ain’t shit and here’s why.

Straight from the Pond- here’s a lesson from your friendly neighborhood historian.

It’s a long post so the history lesson is under the cut. 

Druidic “history” (or pseudohistory rather) actually begins with early renaissance politics. 

Basically Italy is dominating politics and religion by being able to call back to an ancient history that led directly into the formation of the centralized Catholic church. Surprising nobody who's familiar with European history- the German states want in on that action but they don't really have that direct line linking them to antiquity beyond their conquering by Rome- so, like any good 15th century academics, they create that link by just making shit up. 

So they look back at ancient roman writings, and see mention of druids, and also realize that they actually don't know fuck all about them, there's no records of them beyond a few classical authors- and for the record, classical authors are NOTORIOUSLY unreliable, there are entire graduate level seminars dedicated to teaching people how to read through ancient Roman propaganda, almost every druid I have ever met has taken classical authors at face value, anyway I digress, they just start making up a history of the druids, German lands used to be populated by Celts, and they create these mystical druids who serve as the direct precursor to The Church in these areas, like they forge documents and everything so when Italy goes "oh yeah since when?" they have something to hold up as a "gotcha" - they fashion statues and hide them in crypts as further evidence. It’s wild. 

So, France sees that the German states are becoming more politically popular within the HRE (Holy Roman Empire) because of these druid stories, and so they go "Hey Celts used to live in France too... we should have druids"- and they create druid stories. Scotland at the time is very close with France politically and they go "Hey us too, we're still Celts,” and then it spreads to Wales, and then England. Ireland is mostly staying out of druid nonsense- like in this period of the OG pseudohistories Ireland is like "this is disgusting we don't want druids" so like all the writings in Ireland in this period on druids are like "yeah the Church HATES druids"

Things quiet down for a little bit, because the stories are established, the cards have been played, whatever, but then Neo-Classicism and the Enlightenment- and now suddenly it's cool to have ancient history again - but like... Britain has "we got conquered by Rome" or "hey a few centuries ago people were saying we had druids?”; so naturally the more nationalistic go with druids....which is how we get, Iolo Morganweg.  Iolo's real name is Edward Williams but he insisted on going by his "bardic name"- bc druids.  Williams was a Welsh antiquarian- who is in some scholastic circles considered the father of “modern” druidry.  Williams literally named his son Taliesin after the bardic poet behind the Poems of Taliesin which is frequently in association with the Mabinogi in Brythonic texts. To pull from the wiki on this asshole: 

[he made] claims that ancient Druidic tradition had survived the Roman conquest, the conversion of the populace to Christianity, the persecution of bards under King Edward I, and other adversities. His forgeries develop an elaborate mystical philosophy, which he claimed as a direct continuation of ancient Druidic practice. Williams's reportedly heavy use of laudanum may have been a contributing factor

Yeah.... just... yeah. So not only did he forge like hella documents, which today in the 21st century, over 100 years after he was revealed as a fraud, are still more popular than the originals- but he also is the reason that ogham is like that. Williams created a ‘bardic alphabet’ based on combining Scandinavian runes and extant ogham - we are still wading through his bullshit trying to fix ogham. 

And this brings us to the Celtic Twilight...... 

To quote @liminalblessings​, “And a bunch of noodle fuckers decide "hey, we didn't bastardize the Irish enough for the last however long.... We should do more of that."” But for those of you not familiar with the term, it's a nationalistic pan-Celtic movement that wanted to like, make the Celts in vogue again? but like their idea of the Celts as "noble savage” - because the modern era was scary. At this point, Pan-Celtic Nationalism is starting to rise as pushback against British colonialism in Celtic nations. Unfortunately it's heavily reliant on the Druid myth as like.... A foundational shared cultural history between the surviving Celtic nations. The point largely is, though, "look at us. We should all be sticking together because we're the same / cousins / brothers". Which leads to a L O T of Celtic culture from various countries kind of getting.... molded into one singular idea- which is USUALLY what we think of today when we think of Celts. Basically everything gets branded as Irish because the Irish were “pure” and a “separate racial identity” as opposed to the Scots and Welsh. It took that idea of a pan-Celtic singularity, and then went ham with it mostly on Irish pre-Christian stuff, and as it occurred not too long after Williams’ fuckery, it really cemented those forgeries and psuedohistories in the cultural memory. And Williams wasn’t exposed as a fraud until after the Celtic Twilight had died down.

Now... Yeats, we all know Yeats- some people recommend his writings for learning about the fairies. DO NOT LISTEN TO THOSE PEOPLE. Yeats makes up an entire tree calendar, and also files all Scottish fairy lore under the “Irish” tab because he’s part of the Celtic Twilight and didn’t you know that everything Celtic is actually Irish? Fuck this guy. #yeetyeats

Enter... Robert Graves- destroyer of histories and all around fuckwit. Graves maked up an ENTIRE religious notion around a mother goddess and shit. And like, the irony of that is the people he supposedly went to originally were like lol dude you're a fucking idiot none of this is real. But he published it anyways and of course it got taken seriously. And then there's a lot of reverse etymology at this point which is just.... really bad linguistics. And because of Graves’ white goddess + said bad linguistics by others, you get Danu.(Danu is a whole thing, please shoot me an ask if you want a post about all of that nonsense). 

So.... Gerald Gardener.... to quote @liminalblessings​ again- “didn’t have a direct role in druidism, except he kind of did.”  See, Gardner had a good friend who was hella interested in the Celtic twilight. Said friend was hella inspiried by Gardner's "recreation" of old British trad witch traditions... But he didn't jive with the old British trad witch traditions. HE jived with Irish Druidry. So while Gardner's doing HIS thing, his friend's doing the modern Druid thing- heavily drawing from Gardner's own work but "making it more historically Druid" Except, as you may have picked up- there is no such thing as “historically druid” that can be reconstructed. Basically he can only pull from Williams, but because he had issues with with the old 15th century on stuff, up to the Twilight era (despite those being his sources) so he tries to distance himself from the earlier movements and leans hella heavy into Gardner's work as a result. Which is, if you've ever wondered, why Wicca and Druidry have such incredibly similar ritual structures and beliefs.

SO, this guy starts the Druid Order, decides that he’s gonna like pull his teachings from Williams- but he's also gonna say that Williams has nothing to do with his druidry because y'know, Williams has relatively recently been revealed as a fraud. This guy goes through the grueling process of ripping off his best bud gardner founding Druidry, right. So The Druid Order has this rebranding in 1951, that lauds the “history of the druids” as written by Williams but simultaneously rejects Williams saying “yeah we have nothing whatsoever to do with that guy.” Mix into this narrative, Gardener’s “burning times” bullshit, and now not only do we have mythical pseudohistorical druids, but a rewrite of Williams’ “the druids survived conversion” which then turned into - “The druids were heavily persecuted by the church and survived a horrible burning times but despite this there’s a tradition of continuous druidic belief.” Here begins the bullshit known as “vestiges of pagan thought”- which took actual historians not even a decade to disprove, and yet still circulates in pagan circles, because nobody picks up a fucking book.  Theoretical Folkloric archaeology became very popular at this time, which postulates (incorrectly) that all folk traditions and folklore absolutely stems from Pagan times and is 100% the Christianization of pagan practices and thoughts- which is not at all true. (Not-so-friendly reminder that Eostre? DOESN’T FUCKING EXIST. STOP FALLING FOR A JOKE MADE BY A MONK)

Td;lr so far- the druids went from 

the Catholic clergy before the Catholics existed 

to 

a religious group that survived conversion

to

druids survived an intense and violent persecution 

And now? In this our 21st century? 

Well.... druidic organizations today tend to still push these ahistorical narratives, that buy into the pagan persecution complex.... and several of these organizations also have known racists and terfs on their recommended reading lists. And while some organizations have made attempts to become more historically accurate- but the end result is usually.... bad. It tends to result in them using a source from like 1960 that’s been disproven 1000 times since by other historians to go “look a historian agrees with us!” rather than like... keep up with current research trends and academic standards. Druids also tend to be hostile to the syncretism of the Irish church which is just..... so fucking dumb. Don’t worship gaelic deities if you can’t accept that our lore are Christian texts about pagan beliefs. 

So yeah..... druids ain’t shit and I can prove it historically. I am also more than willing to send anyone links to full length books on the history of druids if you want to learn more.