#welsh phrase

[ingravinoveritas]

Audio of Michael with Kathy Burke on the Where There's A Will There's a Wake podcast being asked who would play Aziraphale if he dies and saying that he'd want David to play both parts. Transcript below (bold emphasis mine):

KB: "What about your colleagues' response? I mean, if you're in the middle of--I mean listen, in Nye, when you're doing theatre work, you do have understudies. But let's say you're were doing a new series of Good Omens with the great David Tennant--" Michael: "Well, I don't know about the great, but okay. With David Tennant, yeah." KB: "Who would replace you? I mean, who would put up with him, do you think?" Michael: "I mean, I'm loath to say it...but really, he should play both parts. Because originally we were--originally I was--Neil Gaiman, who wrote the original book with Terry Pratchett that the series was based on--when I first started talking to Neil about it, when he told me that he was going to do it, originally we talked about me playing the other part, the part David played. And one of the sort of things about us doing it is we'd never really acted opposite each other before because we'd usually be up for the same parts for many, many years. I think it was sort of between me and him for Casanova when he did Casanova. I mean, he's far too egotistical to let me know the parts I got over him--" KB: "--Of course." Michael: "There we are. That shows what the relationship is like. I'm quite happy to say the part that he got over me. But so, the fact that we were together in this was quite unusual, because normally we would be playing the same part. So that's quite good in a way, cause they're both, they're sort of light and shade of the same person in a way. So once I did pop my clogs, maybe he would have to then--you know the way they do it, do you remember that film Dead Ringers where Jeremy Irons played twins? So I'd quite like to see David playing both parts. And it would be his homage to me."

[pfhwrittes]

Not sure if you're up to it but if you are!

Talk Shop Tuesday: When doing a final edit of a chapter/fic what are you focusing on the most? Grammar? Plot? The flow of dialogue? Etc?

bore da beloved tats! of course i'm up for Talk Shop Tuesday!

ooooft. i'm going to tell you a thing that i'm sure you're well aware of, but i am an absolute sod for not editing properly!

mostly i focus on the flow of the story i want to tell (plot and dialogue) and less on grammar and spelling (oops!).

i'm really trying to take @syoddeye's advice of reading the thing out loud so i can catch the errors or clunky bits better but honestly it's boring so i whizz through it.

i'm far better at britpicking other people's work than i am editing my own (even if it feels disingenuous to say so).

[troutfur]

Penblwydd Hapus! 🥳

My instinct said Welsh and I was right! Diolch yn fawr iawn!

[skruttet]

mae popeth yn berffaith 😌

[sirladysketch]

Nothing like a singing horse skull to brighten up the holidays, right? Eat, drink, and be scary!

Mari Lwyd is a Welsh wassailing tradition dating back hundreds of years. A horse skulls is decorated with ribbons, bells, and bangles, put on a stick, and carried from house to house where merry makers use poetry and song to try to gain entry into the home. If they're successful, they eat and drink, then they're off to the next home.

The pin is roughly 2" wide by 2" high with a matte gold finish. There are two posts with rubber backers on the back for extra durability. 

Available in my shops (but cheaper on Kofi!)

[trans-cuchulainn]

every day's a good day to talk shit about iolo morganwg

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Did you know that bird in Welsh is aderyn? It's so beautiful and definitely my favorite Welsh word

Oooh that’s like the Scottish Eun!!! That’s so cool!!!

[nizzutoprimo]

next weeks ted lasso is an international break if i get Canon Confirmation that colin plays for wales its over for me

[lapinlunaire-games]

[THUMB] or [SCAR] with Sam possibly? Thanks!

Ask and ye shall receive! From this ask prompt.

cw: needles/stitches mention (no blood)

You hiss at the prick of the needle and the suture that follows it through the gash on your knee. Sam wields them deftly, but even the finest surgeon in the world couldn’t erase the pain of stitches closing a raw wound.

He murmurs something in a tone you think is meant to be comforting and pushes the needle through another round of fiery white pain, subtly shifting his weight to pin your opposite leg against the chair and keep you from kicking him.

“Just two more,” comes the soft, calm whisper, and you clench your fingers in the upholstery of the chair as you grit your teeth skywards. Sam’s back is warm where it presses against your inner thigh as he hunches over your wounded knee and sews you back together. The smooth rise and fall of his breath becomes your anchor, something to clutch with your mind while your fingers dig into fabric.

“Hold still for me. You’re doing so well, diniwed.” The focus in Sam’s voice, coupled with the hazy stupor of the adrenaline finally trickling dry, sends a strange twist through your belly and sets your brain off into a mild ponder. “Stop tensing—that’s it. Nearly done, just relax. Just like that.”

A slight tug at your tender flesh—Sam snips the thread and strokes the stray end flat against the knot before glancing up at you and hiding his grin. A faint recollection of your Welsh lessons shimmers in your pain-glazed thoughts, persistently amorphous despite your best attempts at condensing them.

“I’m not hapless,” you protest. “I’ve done very bad things.”

Sam raises an eyebrow at you. “I think you might have a concussion. And I didn’t mean it so harshly, you know.” A note of satisfaction comes into his voice as he rises up onto his knees and scans you over with a practiced eye. “Although I am impressed that you remembered what that means. Seems I’m a better teacher than I thought.”

His hands are warm and dry when he checks your ribs for bruising, fingers brushing along the first swelling petals of a garden of promised pain. It’s enough to lull you into a torpor—until his touch grazes the rippled edge of your scar and your eyes snap open.

You don’t realise how hard you’re clutching Sam’s hand until he makes a soft, confused sound of pain; you release his hand, feeling an unintended ache echo through your knuckles with your hasty apology. Sam doesn’t take his eyes off you as he moves slowly and rests the very edge of his thumb against the thinnest end of the scar.

He waits, and you wait too, until you can bring yourself to swallow past the lump in your throat and the throb in an old wound to nod at him. A tiny smile ghosts over his lips before his thumb begins to move, caressing oh-so-slowly over the place that has known no love since it was rent apart. A gaze as warm as its owner’s hands holds you gently, reverently, as Sam shifts on his knees to slowly bring his lips to your skin.

Just as tenderly as he stitched you together moments ago, Sam helps you fall apart. The sensation of his lips lingers, washing over you soft and slow as he rises and strokes your thighs towards him until you lean down far enough that he can cup your cheek in one callused hand.

“Just another memory,” he whispers. “A healed one.”

His thumb sweeps slowly over your cheek, his eyes dropping to follow its path; you feel memorized, known beyond sight and touch alone. Sam pauses, lips hesitating around the shape of a vowel.

“Tell me,” you murmur, as soft as his hand on your skin. His throat bobs and something brilliant and impatient summons another memory—and a command—to your lips. “Cusana fi.”

Kiss me.

His lips turn upwards at that, but he holds back a laugh until after your lips meet, so you can taste his mirth in chapped lips and the careful way his hand shifts to tug you closer.

Another memory indeed.

[septimus-heap]

R there rlly people who don't speak even a little bit of another language?? Like not even a tiny bit????

[ingravinoveritas]

Lord. We can't ever have a quiet day in this fandom, can we? I saw this the other day and definitely had a lot of thoughts, because...wow.

I think it's not a coincidence that this post came on the heels of the Michael birthday posts, as we've seen before how Georgia and AL both have made posts in the wake of high profile/media heavy events (like the announcement of GO 2, and subsequently the release of GO 2 last summer) to ensure maximum visibility. It's also interesting that it follows Georgia newly using the word "boyfriend" to describe Michael/his relationship to David, and is another addition to the pantheon of recent (meaning the last six months) posts that keeps all of this in the realm of a joke, which goes back to what I wrote the other day about hiding in plain sight.

The other thing that stood out to me was the (again) ambiguous wording of AL's original post. "I don't know why I did this to myself" could mean several things, none of which are clear. Did she buy the pillow for herself? Did she buy it for Michael as a birthday present? Or did Michael insist on getting one for himself and she agreed to it? All of those seem like possibilities, although I'm not entirely certain why Michael would want or need a pillow when he can sit on David's face anytime he wants, especially with them being neighbors and boyfriends. And I don't think David would mind much, either...

But I think what resonates for me most about this is something that @nightgoodomens has alluded to, which is the continuation of posts that are meant to show Anna as being part of the "arrangement" (whatever it may be) that is between all of them. Emphasizing the idea that everyone is on board with what is happening, "we all get along," "we're all friends," and so on, despite this standing in stark contrast to what we've seen in the past. I would also certainly be curious to see Michael's reaction to the pillow, as it is interesting how noticeably absent he is from all of this.

Whatever the case may be, I do think Georgia and AL are fucking with the fans/the GO fandom, though I'm not sure if they're doing it for the reasons some people think. (This also feels distinctly different to MugGate, which happened in 2020, because in that case it was Michael and David doing it, and it somehow came across as more sincere/raw than what Georgia and AL are doing.)

That is my take on this new turn of events, at least. I'd love to know what my followers think, of course, so please do feel free to share your thoughts on this post. Thanks for writing in! x

[meddwlyngymraeg]

Today Duolingo has taught me the phrase "Rhaid i fi gwyno" which means "I must complain" and you watch, within weeks my whole world would have heard this phrase.

Heddi mae Duolingo wedi dysgu i fi'r brawddeg/ymadrodd "(mae) rhaid i fi gwyno", ac mae rhaid i fi ei ddefnyddio fe nawr (ac am byth)!

Vocabulary

cwyno -> to complain

cwyn(ion/au) -> complaint(s)

achwynydd -> the person doing it

[ruairy]

.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

The thing with the Mari Lwyd, though, is that it's being... I don't know, 'appropriated' is the wrong word, but certainly turned into something it isn't.

Thing is, this is a folk tradition in the Welsh language, and that's the most important aspect of it. I feel partly responsible for this, because I accidentally became a bit of an expert on the topic of the Mari Lwyd in a post that escaped Tumblr containment, and I clearly didn't stress it strongly enough there (in my defence, I wrote that post for ten likes and some attention); but this is a Welsh language tradition, conducted in Welsh, using Welsh language poetic forms that are older than the entire English language, and also a very specific sung melody (with a very specific first verse; that's Cân y Fari). It is not actually a 'rap battle'. It's not a recited poem. It is not any old rhyme scheme however you want.

It is not in English.

Given the extensive and frankly ongoing attempts by England to wipe out Welsh, and its attendant cultural traditions, the Mari is being revived across Wales as an act of linguistic-cultural defiance. She's a symbol of Welsh language culture, specifically; an icon to remind that we are a distinct people, with our own culture and traditions, and in spite of everyone and everything, we're still here. Separating her from that by removing the Welsh is, to put it mildly, wildly disrespectful.

...but it IS what I'm increasingly seeing, both online and in real world Mari Lwyd festivals. She's gained enormous pop-culture popularity in recent years, which is fantastic; but she's also been reduced from the tradition to just an aesthetic now.

So many people are talking/drawing about her as though she's a cryptid or a mythological figure, rather than the folk practice of shoving a skull on a stick and pretending to be a naughty horse for cheese and drunken larks. And I get it! It's an intriguing visual! Some of the artwork is great! But this is not what she is. She's not a Krampus equivalent for your Dark Christmas aesthetic.

I see people writing their own version of the pwnco (though never called the pwnco; almost always called some variant on 'Mari Lwyd rap battle'), and as fun as these are, they are never even written in the meter and poetic rules of Cân y Fari, much less in Welsh, and they never conclude with the promise to behave before letting the Mari into the house. The pwnco is the central part to the tradition; this is the Welsh language part, the bit that's important and matters.

Mari Lwyd festivals are increasingly just English wassail festivals with a Mari or two present. The Swansea one last weekend didn't even include a Mari trying to break into a building (insert Shrek meme); there was no pwnco at all. Even in the Chepstow ones, they didn't do actual Cân y Fari; just a couple of recited verses. Instead, the Maris are just an aesthetic, a way to make it look a bit more Welsh, without having to commit to the unfashionable inconvenience of actually including Welsh.

And I don't really know what the answers are to these. I can tell you what I'd like - I'd like art to include the Welsh somewhere, maybe incorporating the first line of Cân y Fari like this one did, to keep it connected to the actual Welsh tradition (or other Welsh, if other phrases are preferred). I'd like people who want to write their version of the pwnco to respect the actual tradition of it by using Cân y Fari's meter and rhyme scheme, finishing with the promise to behave, and actually calling it the pwnco rather than a rap battle (and preferably in Welsh, though I do understand that's not always possible lol). I'd like to see the festivals actually observe the tradition, and include a link on the booking website to an audio clip of Cân y Fari and the words to the first verse, so attendees who want to can learn it ahead of time. I don't know how feasible any of that is, of course! But that's what I'd like to see.

I don't know. This is rambly. But it's something I've been thinking about - and increasingly nettled by - for a while. There's was something so affirming and wonderful at first about seeing the Mari's climb into international recognition, but it's very much turned to dismay by now, because she's important to my endangered culture and yet that's the part that everyone apparently wants to drop for being too awkward and ruining the aesthetic. It's very frustrating.

[rowanhoney]

damn no wonder people are always confused about my accent , everything comes out like I’m from somewhere else

[polyglutton01]