#i feel like recognize Words more than Letters. only reason im good at spelling is i have a good memory for it

[voidimp]

hey u know how when ai tries to make text it looks all weird & the letters are sometimes like combined or theres random bits where there shouldnt be... if u look at regular text & it kinda looks like that..... do we think that might possibly be........ dyslexia................ asking for a friend (me)

[gringolet]

i just discovered your blog and i need help because like. so im an english major graduating after next semester but i only got to experience older english literature in two classes and i gained a passion for it. one was just an english literature class (i know we did sir gawain and the green knight but i dont remember if we read the whole thing, most of it was just parts of things) and thats where i fell in love with it. but that had translations. the next class was where we read le morte d'arthur the entire class and i only hated it because it didnt have translations and i had NO idea how to be reading it, but it wasn't that i didn't like the story itself. anyway long story short ive saved ur pinned post but i was gonna ask what u recommend with like translations and/or learning to read old english without craving the sweet release of death even though the stories are great. i feel like a fake reading translations but i also have no clue how to read this shit, man. like...im so passionate about all this medieval stuff and yet here i am. unable to read it. thank u for listening ;-; <3

hi! firstly, you absolutely are not a fake for reading translations. unless you want to do a close reading academic analysis of the language, theres no reason a well done translation wont work. i think the idea that you cant truly enjoy a work if you read a translation is a huge boundary to younger people, neurodivergent people, people for whom english isnt a first langauge etc getting into medieval lit.

that being said, the language of middle english texts like sir gawain and the green knight is beautiful, and well worth reading if one so desires. i dont personally read old english (old english is like beowulf, and is legitimately a completely different language than modern english: see the first lines of beowulf

Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. )

middle english is the language in which sir gawain and the green knight is written, and while the line to be drawn is murky, it is generally considered a seperate language from old english and modern english, and is a lot easier for modern english speakers to understand:

SIÞEN þe sege and þe assaut watz sesed at Troye,

Þe borȝ brittened and brent to brondeȝ and askez,

Þe tulk þat þe trammes of tresoun þer wroȝt

firstly i would learn the alphabet of middle english, like þ  makes a th sound. however, most printed editions will have the alphabet changed to modern english (sithen the sege and the assault watz sesed at Troye) which makes it much easier to parse. then its a matter of training your brain to see the differences in spelling, through practice. a synaptic translation is a great place to start-- that is, one which has the original text to one side and a translation on the other. when we correct the spelling we see:

sithen the siege and the assault was ceased at Troy

The final step is learning the words in middle english no longer used today. there are a number of handy middle english dictionaries available online with a quick google, and i reccommend keeping at least one open to look up words you dont recognize. “sithen” for instance, means “since” or “from the time that” but could be translated also as “when” giving us

Since the siege and the assault was ceased at Troy

cool! a real sentence. we did it!

okay, moving on to reccs: theres a wonderful beautiful website i love so dearly, https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams Teams has a number of middle english texts available online and also cheap as paperbacks, which have the letters corrected and annotations on the side defining difficult words. they’re so helpful and a great way to get started with middle english! also, as a note, i wouldnt start with sgatgk; its more difficult than a lot of other texts in terms of the language. one text thats really engaging, has easier language, is on teams and has beautiful language is the stanzaic morte d’arthur https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/benson-and-foster-king-arthurs-death-stanzaic-morte-arthur-part-i

le morte is also very late for middle english so is a good place to start, if a bit of a lengthy slog at times. in general just have fun with it!

[allwaswell16]

 ~*~My Favorite Fics by MyOwnSpark~*~

Just Tell Me the Song and I’ll Sing It, ~40k

Louis is an architecture student who can only think about the future. Harry is a baseball player who can only think about right now. Both are lonely for different reasons. Boybands bring them together. Or, this may just be a long love letter to Louis’ voice, I’m not sure.

{Okay, this fic is my soulmate fic. Yes, on the surface it is about baseball and boyband karaoke, which that’s like it’s just speaking to me directly. BUT this fic is so much more than that. This is the fic that made me fall in love with Cynthia’s writing. The story itself is lovely and clever, but my god, the emotion that she can convey with her words is so compelling and unique. I would recognize her writing anywhere.}

Long Road to Love Leads Back to You, 9k

“Missed you,” Louis murmured.

Harry smiled against his mouth. “It’s only been a few minutes, babe.”

“No, I meant …” Louis sighed with relief and didn’t finish, chose to keep kissing instead. He’d been afraid it would be one of those distant, frosty kind of nights where they would bicker and pick and brush past each other, Harry mad at Louis for some reason Louis couldn’t name. Those were nights where Louis could see that edge of disappointment in Harry’s eyes, nights where it seemed their love got lost somewhere between the kitchen and the bedroom, among the dirty dishes and lost toys and their two very young kids. But it felt like they might be righted now, back on track because of their funny conversation in the bathroom, and if Harry wanted Louis to be naked on his lap, then that’s what Louis would to do.

Harry is feeling cranky and lonely after a long week. Louis' offhand comment about a co-worker's maternity leave starts a conversation that gets Harry out of his head and into his heart.

{I remember Cynthia first telling me she was writing this and being nervous about the topic, and I just remember saying that I knew that whatever she wrote would be amazing. And then when I read it, it just blew me away. This is so beautiful and again so much more than what it seems on the surface. It’s one that stays with you, and how with the right person you can be truly vulnerable. And then at the end there is the most beautiful piece of Larry fan art by @twopoppies I have ever seen that just magically adds to the story. This whole thing will just knock the wind right out of you.  I have to stop now before I start crying. IM FINE.)

Can’t Keep This Beating Heart at Bay, 9k

Louis thought that he kinda liked her, but there was something missing; he saw it in Harry's eyes. Basically "Home" in a fanfic, with an epilogue thrown in for good measure.

{Okay, so first of all, I don’t read canon fics just in general, but I’m so glad I gave this one a chance. You can just feel the panic right alongside Louis as he frantically tries to fix what went wrong. And then the epilogue...damn you, Cynthia. I dare you not to shed a tear at that one.)

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This fic rec was made in honor of my dear friend @myownsparknow ‘s birthday! Cynthia, you are my very favorite Larry fic writer, which I proclaim to anyone who will listen. You were my favorite before I even knew who you were. lol. I’m so lucky now to also call you a friend. If you haven’t read all of her fics, you should begin immediately. Just start anywhere and start reading, she’s a sorceress and her fics will put you under her spell.