#ok googled it and it is Welsh

[catfishofoldin99colours]

personally I think curly's real name is actually Cuthbert and he Hates it so much and curly is his attempt to seem somewhat cooler and less of a bullying target (Jimmy knows his real name and on Pain Of Death he is never allowed to speak it ever)

[phagodyke]

the most unrealistic part of this whole thing is that a welshman would become pm lol

this episode is genuine horror for ppl with rsd I'd be killing myself within a week if that happened

[g00seg1raffe]

A Very Long Thought about Elrond's Names and Titles

This is the product of at least 15 hours of work, ok, so please be nice.

Scene: Tirion, Valinor. Elrond Peredhel has arrived at his first formal diplomatic meeting. Eönwë looks at the guest-list, does a double take, takes a deep breath, goes through all five stages of grief and starts inventing new ones, shoots a quick prayer to Manwë, and clears his throat.

Elrond’s names and titles in Quenya: Aþëafinwë Elerondo Pereldar, Nelyafinwion Canafinwionyë, néya Orrósurë Taurénë, Eärnedilion Elenvingionyë. Heru Fëanálië, Sánendoredainion, Hísilómedainion, Indor Arcimbele, Aryon Lestanórë Ondolindyë, Tercáno Hildyë Aranion Ílë-Calima, enquëa Noldóran.

(Also Elros’s names in Quenya: Arafinwë Elerossë, Andúsírë Taurildë)

Elrond’s names and titles in Sindarin: Athaefin Elrond Peredhel, Maedhrosion a Maglorion, ni Sûlamrûn Taurín, Gaerdilion a Elwinion. Hîr Nost Fëanor, Bar Beorion a Hadorion, Hîr Imladris, Hîl Dóriath a Gondolin, Taicyll a Hîl Erenion Gil-Galad, enchui Golodharan.

(Also Elros’ names in Sindarin: Arafin Elros, Sîrannûn Tauréd)

If, like me, you're just gonna skim right over all that - try plugging the elvish into Google Translate and getting it to read it aloud for you. Spanish or Italian for Quenya and Welsh for Sindarin. It's not 100% correct and some sounds will be wrong, but it'll give you the general idea.

SECTION 1: names from Maedhros and Maglor

Aþëafinwë Elerondo Pereldar, Nelyafinwion Canafinwionyë

(Arafinwë Elerossë)

Athaefin Elrond Peredhel, Maedhrosion a Maglorion

(Arafin Elros)

Quenya names have three parts: a father name or ataressë (plural ataresser), a mother name or amilessë (plural amilesser), and an optional nickname or epessë (plural eresser).

Ataresser chosen based on my Quenya translation of the hands of a king are the hands of a healer, which I attribute to Maedhros: aranya mát síve aþaya mát. Translated using fin as equivalent to Finwë, as with Curufin.

Aþëafinwë = healing herb Finwë. The root of aþëa is aþaya, to heal, and aþëa aranion is the Quenya name for athelas/kingsfoil. Aranion is also a Quenya translation of Erenion. Sindarin cognate of aþëa is athae, hence Athaefin.

(Arafinwë = noble Finwë. Ara- was chosen as a shortening of Aranye, in tribute to Arafinwë the High King of the Noldor in Valinor, who did an objectively better job - insofar as a king is a healer - at being a king than any of his entire extended family until Gil-Galad and Elros himself. Ara has a similar meaning in both Sindarin and Quenya, hence Arafin.)

Note: thankfully the twins ended up with actually meaningful names after long consideration, unlike Maedhros’ first, sarcastic suggestion of Yet-Another-Finwë and Still-More-Fucking-Finwës. Which, following on from Finwë, Smart-Finwë, Wise-Finwë, Noble-Finwë, Finwë No. 3, Loud-Finwë, Buff-Finwë, Emo-Finwë, Smarter-Finwë, Tiny-Finwë, Valar-Let-This-Be-The-Last-Finwë, Look-Mom-Grandkids!-Finwë and Even-Tinier-Finwë... this is objectively hilarious.

(I'm including Celebrimbor - Inyofinwë Tyelperinquar, grandchild-Finwë silver-fist - and Gil-Galad - Vinyafinwë Aranion, new-Finwë son-of-kings - in this list.)

The twins' amilesser wer almost certainly given by Maglor in Quenya (Maglor being the one who cared to name them first), based on where they were kidnapped from in various drafts of the Silmarillion, before ever being used in Sindarin.

Elerondo = Quenya of the Sindarin Elrond.

(Elerossë = Quenya of the Sindarin Elros.)

The shared epessë runs in the same vein as calling Maedhros, noted red-head, Russandol or copper-top.

Pereldar = Quenya of the Sindarin Peredhel.

The suffix -ion is used in both Quenya and Sindarin to say son of -.

Nelyafinwion in Quenya & Maedhrosion in Sindarin = son of Nelyafinwë & son of Maedhros - Quenya and Sindarin names for the same elf.

Canafinwion in Quenya & Maglorion in Sindarin = son of Canafinwë & son of Maglor - Quenya and Sindarin names for the same elf.

-yë suffix on Canafinwionyë in Quenya & a in Sindarin = and in their respective languages.

SECTION 2: names from Eärendil and Elwing

néya Orrósurë Taurénë, Eärnedilion Elenwingionyë

(néya Andúsírë Taurildë)

nî Sûlamrûn Taurín, Gaerdilion a Elwinion

(nî Sîrannûn Tauréd)

Most Sindarin names appear to be a single name with an optional nickname. However, as a Noldo, Eärendil gave his sons ataresser, and so the names given by Elwing become amilesser.

Ataresser given by Eärendil hint at some form of directions to find Valinor.

Sûlamrûn = the wind east. Sindarin sûl or wind & amrûn or east. Translated into Quenya using the orró- prefix, referring to sunrise and east, and súrë, meaning wind, to make Orrósurë.

(Sîrannûn = the stream west. Sindarin sîr or river/stream here used to refer to an ocean current & annûn or west/sunset. Translated using the andú- prefix, meaning sunset and west and used in Andúril, and sírë, the Quenya of the Sindarin sîr, to make Andúsírë. Annûn is also linked to the Sindarin dûn, as in Dûnedain. See what I did there?)

Amilesser given by Elwing in memory of her brothers, Eluréd and Elurín, who were killed by Fëanorians in a forest, taur meaning forest in both Sindarin and Quenya. A massive guilt-trip, and the reason why both Elrond and Elros refuse to use their original Sindarin names, instead going by their translated Quenya names. 

Taurín = remembrance of the forest. The Sindarin rîn, remembrance, is translated as rénë, memory - thus Taurénë.

(Tauréd = heir of the forest. The Beorian rêda or heir is used, as in Eluréd. Instead of the Quenya for heir aryon, the alternative hildë is used in translation, meaning heir, follower or child. Hildë is the root of the Quenya word for Men: Hildor, which is more fitting for Elros - hence Taurildë.)

The suffix -ion is used in both Quenya and Sindarin to say son of -.

Eärendilion = son of Eärendil. Eärendil is unusual in that we are more familiar with his Quenya name. However it can be translated as Gaerdil - hence, in Sindarin, Gaerdilion.

Elwinion = son of Elwing. The -g is dropped because Elwingion is clunky. Elwing is translated into Quenya as Elenvingë - el and elen both meaning star, and gwing and vingë both meaning foam or spray. Hence, Elenvingion. A side note - the Quenya of Eärendil’s ship is the Vingilótë (Sindarin Vingelot), perhaps named after his wife, Elenvingë?

Néya in Quenya and nî in Sindarin = once, at one time or was, here used to show that they were formerly known by the following names, but these are no longer in use.

-yë suffix on Elenvingionyë in Quenya & a in Sindarin = and in their respective languages.

SECTION 3: Elrond’s Houses

Heru Fëanálië, Sánendoredainion, Hísilómedainion, Indor Arcimbele

Hîr Nost Fëanor, Bar Beorion a Bar Hadorion, Hîr Imladris

Heru = lord. Used in various phrases as a title. Sindarin equivalent - hîr. Both capitalised when written in the Latin alphabet, though elvish doesn’t capitalise letters.

Nost Fëanor = the House of Fëanor. Nost, meaning family, clan or house, also used to describe Nost Finarfin, so it works perfectly. Translated into Quenya as Fëanálië, the company of Fëanor (or rather, the Quenya version of his name, Fëanáro). Lië, meaning folk, is added to the name Tata to make Tatalië, the company of Tata, so the same rule is applied.

The suffix -ion is used in both Quenya and Sindarin to say son of -. The Quenya endain refers to the race of Men, as used to refer to the Men of the West, the Dúnedain. A in Sindarin = and.

Bar Beorion = son of the house of Beor. The Sindarin bar Bëora refers to the house of Bëor. The Beorians are also known as the Men of Dorthonion; Dorthonion, Sindarin for land of the pines, can be translated as Sánendor - hence Sánendoredainion means son of the Men of Dorthonion.

Bar Hadorion = son of the house of Hador. The name Hador is substituted for Beor, with the same meaning: son of this house. The Hadorians are also known as the Men of Hithlum; Hithlum in Quenya is Hísilómë - hence Hísilómedainion means son of the Men of Hithlum.

Indor = a niche Quenya term used specifically for the lord or master of a house - seemed to fit with the way Imladris is referred to as the House of Elrond and the Last Homely House. There is no Sindarin equivalent as far as I can see, so hîr is used again.

Imladris = Rivendell, the name of Elrond’s house. Rivendell in Quenya is Arcimbele.

SECTION 4: Heirships

Aryon Lestanórë Ondolindyë

Hîl Dóriath a Gondolin

Hîl = heir in Sindarin. There are two potential translations into Quenya: hildë, meaning heir, follower or child, but also used as descendant; aryon, a noun meaning heir or prince - literally son of property. In this case, Elrond is heir to the throne of two cities, so the royal aryon is most appropriate, as opposed to the more personal inheritance of a legacy implied by hildë.

Dóriath = Doriath, the Land of the Girdle, ruled over by Elu Thingol and Melian. The Quenya translation is Lestanórë. (Does being descended from Melian deserve a title in and of itself? Melianion?)

Gondolin = Gondolin, literally hidden rock, a city ruled by Turgon. The Quenya name for Gondolin is Ondolindë, meaning singing stone. (Being an heir to the royal House of the King of Gondolin could also add another layer of complexity...)

-yë suffix on Ondolindyë in Quenya & a in Sindarin = and in their respective languages.

SECTION 5: connection to Gil-Galad

Tercáno hildyë Aranion Ílë-Calima, enquëa Noldóran.

Taicyll a Hîl Erenion Gil-Galad, enchui Golodharan.

Tercáno = herald in Quenya, ter being through and cáno being commander. With no direct Sindarin translation, tain or message and cyll or bearer are combined into Taicyll.

Hîl = heir in Sindarin. There are two potential translations into Quenya: hildë, meaning heir, follower or child, but also used as descendant; aryon, a noun meaning heir or prince - literally son of property. Usually, the heir to a throne would be aryon, whilst a person’s next-of-kin or descendant is hildë. Thus Elrond is making a deliberate choice when he translates hîl in this case as hildë rather than aryon - he is Gil-Galad’s chosen next-of-kin, but not a prince or heir to the throne, miss me with that royalty shit.

Erenion Gil-Galad = Sindarin name meaning son of kings and star of radiance. A potential Quenya translation is Aranion - from ara, king, and -ion, son of - Ílë-Calima - form ílë, star, and calima, luminous.

Noldóran = noldor-king, the Quenya term for High King of the Noldor. The Sindarin version is Golodharan.

Enquëa = Quenya for sixth. Sindarin Enchui.

-yë suffix on hildyë in Quenya & a in Sindarin = and in their respective languages.

(FINAL NOTE:  Gil-Galad’s full name in Sindarin and Quenya:

SINDARIN: Finwain Erenion Rôdnaur Finellach Gil-Galad

QUENYA: Vinyafinwë Aranion Artáno Findenár Ílë-Calima

This proof that I’ve just invented means that Gil-Galad has to be Russingon’s lovechild because ain’t no way Irrelevant Estranged Cousin Orodreth the Politically Correct named his kid ‘new-finwë’ and also two other names to do with fire.)

Anyway I'm sure various people will pull more titles out of their asses and make everyone's day even worse (I'd love to hear what you guys come up with) but that's me done for now.

[resident-idiot-simp]

Bit of a twist on the regular hybrid aus

A small percentage of people hybridise as their national/state animals because magic got reintroduced into the world a couple generations back

Soap is a Unicorn, Price, Gaz and Ghost are Lions and Roach is a Welsh dragon.

Graves and Alex are either bald eagles or long horns and Laswell is either a bald eagle, a calico cat or an Astrodon (a mother fucking dinosaur)

Farah is Phoenix and Hadir is a snow Leopard.

Alejandro and Rudy are Golden eagles and Valeria is a rattle snake.

Nick is a Eurasian brown bear

People didn’t think Soap would do well in the military because of how Unicorns are traditionally viewed, sometimes he still cops flack for it.

People hate losing mythic hybrids so Soap Roach and Farah are treated differently then regular hybrids.

Shepherd is jealous of the hybrids and Makarove wants magic extinguished from the world again. 

Maryland has a fucking DINOSAUR as one of its state animals wtf

Urzikstan and Las almas don’t actually exist so I Just went with what I thought fit (and what information I could google)

Sorry if this is too much/weird I got a bit carried away 😅

GREAT PREMIS LOVE THIS!!! This is a perfect idea with how to do hybrids.

Soap as a unicorn is based as FUCK!! Idk about Gaz, Ghost, and, Price all being lions but I don't hate it. I see Roach as Irish but a Welsh dragon is just as good.

Graves is a bald eagle, Alex is a long horn, and Laswell HAS to be the dinosaur I don't make the rules.

Farah as a phenix is perfect for a number of reasons and Hadir as a snow Lepard makes sense as well because of well...Russians.

Alejandro and Rudy as golden eagles is smart and Valeria as a rattle snake is good but also maybe a cobra/viper.

Nik a brown bear is great however here me out polar bear.

No your right people don't suspect for Soap to be as good as he is and that's perfect. and mythic hybrids being treated different is amazing because of course they would be.

Makarov and Shepard have perfect motivations to cause issues.

I did know about the Maryland's state bird lol it's so cool isn't it.

(No your fine it looks about right also it's fiction it's ok)

You are fine lol I love this kind of ask! I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this.

[assortedvillainvault]

ok if acceptable I'm dropping one more before closing time

"I remember you" with a reader being the reincarnation of someone the Horned King once loved

*Clutches chest* ROOOSSEEE-

This hurts me. In like, the best way. Here we go, modern reincarnation because I low-key would like to get lost in the Welsh Mountains forever (I have deadlines).

Also please forgive the Google translated Welsh at the end I did not have the time to look up proper medieval Welsh and asking someone real to translate would have been good to think of before I started operating on 5% brain. If anyone following me is a native Welsh speaker pls DM me or leave a comment and I'll correct Google's attempt.

The Horned King x Reincarnated!Reader : 'I Remember You'

You have no fucking clue why you're here.

'Here' being the Ass-End of Nowhere, Wales. No phone reception, no services, no people and no tourists. Except, uh, yourself. Obviously.

You got up, drove out, picked a random direction between two hills and. Started walking. You don't even know why.

You just know that there's something further into the mountains that your soul is ITCHING to get to. You've always felt it, but recently ignoring it has started to feel like being pulled through barbed wire.

The ground is rough and uneven, tussocks and hidden rocks threaten to turn your ankles every other step. The trees that twist their way along the crevices of the high moorland are all but draped in moss and thorns. The mountains arching up behind them are unwelcoming, cold and cragged.

It's...eerily quiet. No birds, no people...even the sheep seemed to stop at some hidden border a few miles back. Just the low moan of the wind accompanies you.

As you walk, you find yourself stealing glances at the sky. You tell yourself it's for birds - Kites and eagles maybe - but you have to keep a strange disappointment down that it's nothing larger. What are you expecting for fucks sake? Dragons??

You're so busy scanning the skies that you topple arse over tea kettle down the next scree slope like a graceful spaghetti mannequin with a screaming feature.

You manage to scrabble and hiss to a stop, skin on your arms and legs scraped raw. And upon looking up suck in a breath that has nothing to do with your sliced up hands.

It's as though a giant scooped the earth away and set it on fire for good measure. Bare reddish black rock contends with a bitter snarl of dead grasses and lonely tree corpses. Beyond lies a dessicated crevass that looks like a lake drained away overnight.

Beyond that, is a castle.

You blink and tear the vision that seared across your eyes - of a fully fleshed gothic fortress - away. What lies before you is a ruin. The bones of the structure, at best.

The barbed wire in your soul is all but yanking you toward the ancient structure. You don't notice that the path you tread towards it is one you can find without looking, despite the terrain.

The bridge, rotted and rusted as it is, is mostly secure. You keep your weight to the bolted metal crisscrossing the wood as you make your way across, slow and steady and feeling as though phantom archers have their sights on you from atop the wall.

As you pass under the archway to the courtyard, you shiver violently. The feeling of passing under so familiar that it almost clawed it's way out from your skin.

The very air seems to hold it's breath as you make your way deeper into the crumbling structure. Water drips from the stonework, the doors all long since rotted from their hinges. Tools lie forgotten on the cobbles. If it wasn't so creepy it would be an archaeologists dream.

Why does no-one around seem to know this is here? Why is this place so undisturbed?

You stumble into what must have been the Great Hall.

Cold sunlight shafts through holes in the ceiling, the corners in absolute darkness. Skeletons lie in piles across the floor, roughly around where large tables should have been, weapons scattered akimbo as though they didn't even get a chance to use them before they fell.

Your eyes are dragged to the dias. There's a body on the throne.

It's slouched, slumped, as if whoever this was had thrown themselves back on the seat and collapsed in exhaustion. The mothbitten red robe and fur stole is strung with spiderwebs connecting them him to the throne, but this isn't what yanks on the barbed wire in your soul.

The pair of great, regal thorn like horns protuding from the figures hood are angled towards you.

Your feet carry you forward.

The figures face is obscured but you know it, the fingers curled loosely still with flesh, after all this time, no weapons around the dias but no evidence of wounds on the body as if he would need them, as if they could ever lay a finger on their King-

Your hand trembles, reaching out to touch the nearest horn irrestisably, not even daring to breathe.

The corpse lurches.

An arctic vice closes on your wrist, bones grinding as he yanks you to your knees on the stone. His fist is impossible to pry loose even as you scrabble at it, nails ripping at leathery hide- heart pounding-

His second hand closes on your neck and you freeze.

Twin red lights blaze from under the hood. Pupils in a black socket that focus hazily on your face, blinking as if rising from a dream that still has its hooks in him. The hand on your neck squeezes and you gasp, eyes bulging, wrist forgotten as you plead with your hands against the unstoppable force around your neck.

Brows twitch as he watches you struggle. Marginally, the fingers loosen and you suck in air, sounding like a broken bellows compared to the cathedral-esque empty quality of the air passing through his chest.

Gently, reverently, knarled fingers parse hair from your forehead. You didn't even realise he'd released your wrist. Your throat remains in his grip.

You meet his gaze as the last of the fog clears from his sockets. His voice, rusted and broken from disuse, still rumbles from his throat like a shuddering landslide.

"Rwy'n eich cofio, fy annwyl."

"I remember you, my dear."

[solipseismic]

ah i did already turn the paper in (tho i appreciate the reply and signal boost, thank you!) but i am just very confused on the state of finite vs non-finite verbs and the kinds of syntactic structures they tend to 'trigger'... i get that non-finite verbs are the verb stem, verb + certain affixes (is there a concrete list of affixes that mean the verb is non-finite tho?), and the verb + nominalizer which is when it syntactically categorizes as a noun (but only in some cases??) but... what's the criteria for looking at a verb and going "oh i know this one, it's a finite verb marking tense and person" vs going "oh this is a non-finite verb marking (something else?)"

DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FINITE VS NON-FINITE VERBS IN WELSH

[evilwickedme]

This may be WILDLY belated considering when the books were published, but what’s the Raven Cycle about/why is it good in your opinion? Always heard a lot about it in the abstract but nothing actually about the plot.

I mean yeah it's a little belated but better late than never is real and especially applies to one of my fav books of all time

Ok so what is TRC about? In a literal sense it's about a girl named Blue, who isn't psychic but who lives in a house full of women who are including her mom, who's been told her entire life that if she kisses her true love, he will die. She then gets involved with a group of boys from the local prep school, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah, who - under Gansey's leadership - are looking for a dead (possibly not actually dead) Welsh King right there in West Virginia.

But that's just the story. Listen, this thing's got intrigue and murder and soft magic systems for days, but that's not what makes TRC one of my all time favorite books of all time.

So what is TRC about? As a whole, it's about family - in all its forms. Blood relations, for better and for worse, and friendships that are closer than blood. As a whole, it's about class - the ways class shapes us and the opportunities we do or do not get because of it and what it means about our past, present, and future and how it lets us relate to one another or prevents us from understanding one another.

But on an individual level, each character undergoes such specific arcs that are somehow so universal you can't help but empathize with all of them. It's about learning that you don't hate yourself, or at least learning to stop hating yourself. It's a coming out narrative. It's about getting out of an abusive situation and the many steps it takes to recover from that mindset. It's about chasing love. It's about desire. It's about wanting to plant your feet in the ground and still reach for the stars.

It's also about cars. And trees. There are so many trees.

Like seriously. A fuckload of trees.

Why is it good? It's well written, for one. All my copies, whether digital or physical, are covered in highlights and notes and google translations of latin. I've analyzed and analyzed again and read and reread these books and I always find something new in them.

There's something that's so homey about the minds of these characters. Especially having first read them as a deeply strange teen, they capture something about being a deeply strange teen that I simply haven't seen anywhere else. And this is the example of the found family trope, for me. These deeply strange teens who found other deeply strange teens to understand and love them.

The supporting cast here is also rich and varied. There's something like thirty POVs in the final book but it doesn't feel like it, because you've been existing alongside these characters for so many pages that getting to say goodbye to all of them is all that makes sense.

Beyond that a lot of the reasons I think are good are straight up spoilers or even veer into discourse. But yeah, TRC is worth your time. Several times over.

Also, the audiobooks are like, fine, and available for free on Spotify, which fucked up my stats for 2021 and also forever and ever in general, so there you go.

(I've only read each book in the sequel series, The Dreamer Trilogy, once each, so I'm not nearly as eloquent on it as I am this one, but I will say that it's also worth reading, but it deals with entirely different subjects, is a little darker, and I don't love it as much. I'm not unhappy with the end Maggie Stiefvater gave us for this world, however.)

[crynwr-drwg]

Yeah ok I'm gonna end up making my own Makaton database, kind of. Will be slow going, but I'll try and post about it. Will include Welsh words too when I can ofc.

The intent for this is to be completely free AND easily accessible instantly by anyone, so will probably do it as a living Google doc/sheet/etc, then turn into a pdf eventually? We'll see.

[butmakeitgayblog]

Am Scottish n we have not one but TWO towns called Twatt here (I think idk I’ve only been to one of em). Also my Welsh auntie lives in a town called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which I can fully pronounce. Aye can confirm the UK ain’t real

I was like pfft ok this is a joke so I googled it

And I will be God fucking damned if it ain't real

I want to throw up

[wawek]

I'm actually from South Wales, speak Welsh, and have an ok knowledge of history. Let me know if I can help 🇵🇱💖🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Omg thats super cool :0!!! I dont think i have any specific questions rn bc my knowledge is very basic so im watching foraging videos and googling the plants atm and thats providing me a whole lot of previously unknown info dkdndk but if you have a fav local recipe (or a few) id love to see :D for the dnd im mostly interested in stuff made with ingredients that werent brought over from americas but in general id also love to hear whatever you think is nice ^_^

[rb-bot]

{✒️Henry if you've any thoughts!}

{people.txt - encrypted file/personal note}

note [084]: henry morgan @misericorsalvator

VHS [see 21] but unusually close with HEs? not like i have room to talk-

based in cardiff. idk what's going on there because the whole VHS/HE thing is so inch resting in general

apparently weird (?) about magic which is i mean fair but also kinda funny coming from a guy who casually describes being thrown around a parking lot.. 

has a kid apparently! i mean makes sense he lowkey has that Dad Video Game Protagonist look + vibes going on

every once in a while someone brings up he used to be worse?? i wanna know!! what happened what changed!!

ok so i'm nosy i didn't actually expect him and jackie to get together that smoothly. or idk i don't see what kind of stuff happens behind the scene. happy for them tho!!

not ashamed to admit that sometimes i use google translate to read the welsh posts

[knightofhylia]

sometimes I google my spirits names just to see if anything comes up and it's always like some weird newspaper archive HTML

random spew but it still

has THE RIGHT LETTERS like idk if they are speaking to me in code or smth but it's like hm.... what are the chances that some random webpage would have the name Llolineu?? and more weirdly it shows up again it's supposed to be the word holiness in the article???

the interesting thing about this Spirit is that I got the name spelling a lot time ago and just was like 'ok cool random spirit letters'. then my husband starts learning welsh and tells me about the double L letter and I'm like oh???? huh. funny how the spirit who claims to be from the UK would have a random welsh letter thrown in. also huh his nickname (Puka) is a lot like the Pooka, you know, the old English goblins? Oh, and it's kinda funny, his little group of spirits are called the goblins.... huh.. hahah....

[therubyreader]

My Review of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 1,008 Review Word Count Total: 1,692

Am I writing a review for a book I just finished yesterday instead of waiting for weeks and by the time I get to writing I’m already done with the whole series??? Looks like it, but don’t get used to this because I know I’m going to be back to my horrible habits soon enough. In the first ever installment of “a book review written about a book a real person in my real life recommended to me” (or another much catchier title) I bring you a review of The Raven Boys.

The book brings us to the fictional town of Henrietta, Virginia (yes I did just Google if it was real, I am multiple shades of not the smartest) where we are introduced to Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic, or well one of them, and she lives with her aforementioned mother, aunts, and cousin. The women of 300 Fox Way are all psychically gifted, except for Blue, who is only able to amplify their gifts but has none of her own. On the night of St. Mark’s Eve it is tradition that Blue and her mother go to an abandoned cemetery and watch the spirits of the townspeople who will die that year walk through, though Blue can’t see them this year is different, she sees the spirit of a boy named Gansey meaning he is either her true love or he dies by her hand (she’s fated to kill her true love with a kiss so, it could be both). Parallel to this, Gansey is looking for the mythical Welsh king Glendower who is prophesied to grant a wish to the person who wakes him and his search brings him, unknowingly, to Blue. Together they, as well as Gansey’s friends Ronan, Adam, and Noah, search for the ley line that runs through Henrietta in hopes it leads them to where Glendower’s body is hidden.

I’m going to be totally transparent with you all and let you know that my friend has been trying to get me to read the Raven Cycle books for a solid amount of years, probably almost as long as I’ve known them (which has been almost seven years now) but I finally caved when they said they would read the Shadow and Bone trilogy in exchange, and I can’t pass up a good deal. I was hesitant to read the book because the summary doesn’t really do it justice, and also it just didn’t appeal to me even after my friend explained it. I think it just felt a lot like something I would’ve read in middle school, but not in a fun nostalgic way, and this was most likely because I did read another of Maggie Stiefvater’s books in middle school, Shiver, and my werewolf phase is a dark past I’m not trying to remember. And I honestly had this apprehensive feeling throughout the first half of the book where I couldn’t shake that vibe of middle school negativity but I forced myself to read it and to endure because I made a deal with my friend and they were nice enough to let me borrow their copy of the book complete with the author’s autograph and my mother didn’t raise a quitter. I think this feeling was made worse because I literally couldn’t stand any of the raven boys, save for my boy Adam, and eventually Noah, throughout the whole first half which in hindsight is good writing. Stiefvater did a great job writing entitled rich boys who are horrible in their own unique ways but I actually started to like (or well, be ok with) the other two boys by the end of the book.

I think once the action of the story really got going then I actually started to enjoy it, though it is a little annoying that I had to read about half the book before anything with consequence or excitement started happening. But, then again, I’m someone who really likes more action and conflict heavy books no matter how much they trigger my anxiety so this style of book where all of the world building and setting up the conflict take up the first half of the narrative without much consequential action isn’t super my thing. That being said, once I got over that (and myself) I actually enjoyed the book quite a bit, sorry for doubting you [insert friend’s name here for privacy reasons]. I enjoyed how each of the children’s (they’re teenagers but I’m an adult so they’re children to me) back stories and life circumstances are woven into the story, that it’s not just them looking for this mythical king but also them experiencing the hardships of life while on this quest. These characters are all very real with very real problems so you can relate to them all in one way or another which definitely adds to the story so it doesn’t feel like a run of the mill fantasy story that doesn’t have any depth or humanity. The question of “don’t these kids have school?” that a lot of stories with teenage protagonists makes you ask isn’t really necessary in this book because they do have school and their plans have to be put on hold until the end of their school day on top of the plot heavily revolving around Ronan’s horrible academic behavior.

Though this isn’t my favorite book ever it definitely exceeded my expectations (which, let’s be honest, were very low and that was entirely my own doing) and I’m very excited to continue reading the series, I already got my hands on the second book (public library beloved) and I only read the prologue as of right now which is already very intriguing. I will say if you’re interested in this book I do recommend giving it a chance but you will have to power through a solid chunk of it before it really gets good but overall a very Stranger Things but for a different breed of nerds vibes out of ten.

Spoilers Below!!

There are a lot of things I want to talk about in terms of the specifics of this book that I don’t know what I want to talk about first so I’ll just go in order of least complicated to most. First, Gansey calling Blue “Jane” because he thinks her name is stupid, rude. He’s right but like, that’s her name dude, she likes it, stop being mean. Another thing that doesn’t require many words is that it isn’t really explained how so many people are just presented with this idea of magic and are cool with it. I know Adam kind of touches on him being convinced by Gansey that magic is real and so is Glendower but I feel like in our day and age (which this is supposed to be set in, just ten years ago) not many people would be on board with it. I don’t know, it might just be me, but if you told me at seventeen that you were looking for a mythical king and a ley line I would think that you’re insane and probably not talk to you very often after that. But then again this could probably just be chalked up to their version of our reality being more accepting and open to magic and I could just be overthinking it, which wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for me. 

I also wanted to talk about the absolute plot twist of Noah being a ghost this whole time. I texted my friend about it as soon as I read that part and they told me it was stated right at the beginning of the book when Declan is introducing the raven boys to his newest girlfriend. I honestly didn’t remember it and so I went back and there it was, she made a comment about his hands being cold and he responded something along the lines of “I’ve been dead for seven years so that’s about as warm as they get” and then it isn’t acknowledged by literally anyone or the book itself. I think I just laughed it off as an angsty teenage boy joke but he was being serious. When Gansey and Blue found his body (which, why was it near the cemetery, did we ever address that?) I figured it would be the body of Czerny, just process of elimination, but when the ID said Noah, I was shocked. Then I thought it was like that thing where Ronan from the future wrote a note on the rock for Ronan from the past and this was going to be Noah’s future but nope, he was a ghost. I did think the ending where they dug up his bones and reburied them on the ley line was funny in a cute endearing way, especially with how Noah immediately started patting Blue’s hair. 

I am going to take this moment to pour one out for my homie Adam, that boy is too pure and kind for this world and he just receives the worst end of the stick possible. First, his dad is absolutely awful, he is a scholarship kid at a rich private school which probably feels horrible, and then he likes Blue and he doesn’t even know he’s going to get his heart broken in the future because Gansey is obviously Blue’s true love. I do hope Adam is able to have a happy ending at the end of the series because that’s what he deserves, life keeps beating him up for no reason. Justice for my man Adam. 

I think the thing I’m most excited to see is how the whole Blue and Gansey relationship is going to pan out, especially since she’s supposed to kill him, which sounds morbid but I know they’re going to find a loophole to keep him alive somehow and I just want to see what it is. Watch me be wrong and he just straight up dies, the end. Anyways, the moral of the story here is that you should trust your friend when they recommend a book because you’re going to like it.

[whitherwhence]

WELL.

ok, listen. this photo is fucking gorgeous. the framing and composition, the light, the lines, the crowd, that one person looking into the camera through the curve of the boxer’s body (holy shit?), the blood,

and good god,

✨the cornerman and the boxer✨ fuck. FUCK. fucking hell.

I’m overwhelmed, I cannot express how much I am transfixed. absolutely, completely normal about this.

so, obviously I had to find out what the fucking shit is happening here, and if there’s more, and if I’ll ever be well again, lol, who knows

it took some digging, primarily because Carl Mydans might be most well known as a war photojournalist for Life magazine during WW2 and beyond (though he’d also worked for the FSA [Great Depression stuff, alongside the likes of Dorothea Lange]), and his more slice-of-life stuff isn’t as prominent in a preliminary image search.

after a few dead ends (mostly various social media posts), I did eventually find this, which looks like it was shot in the same space, and is labeled “Welsh Booth Boxing” :

.

which led me to an entire collection on the google arts and culture site (just search “welsh booth boxing” there), and oh hell yeah babe our cornerman and boxer was there:

.

there’s also this one, which,,,,,,, the fellow boxer? cradling his face???? (also, the cornerman’s tattoo?):

.

now idk about you, but I find google arts and culture useful to search and browse but kind of cumbersome to share links, and the images are hard to save, so I found another one of the cornerman and boxer:

.

I did come across a few Mydans shots of Wales, so I’m guessing “Welsh Booth Boxing” is about a fairground boxing booth somewhere in Wales? I…friends, I really can’t look more into this, because I know myself too well, and I have things to do, ffs

ANYWAY.

I’m just gonna go calm down

Amateur Boxing, Photo by Carl Mydans, 1955

[goldenfharry]

Prynhawn da, cariad!

You're probably fed up of hearing (reading?) it but how are you in yourself? Hope things are looking up and if not now, that they soon will.

I doubt you watch it but we have a programme here called Britain's Got Talent and last night a Welsh male voice choir called John's Boys sang Falling by Mr Styles. Sounds so different being sang by a choir but they did it beautifully. Google it if you get chance. If you ever wanted to hear a beautiful version of a Welsh song, Google "Only Boys Aloud BGT" also a Welsh male voice choir that someone set up for boys aged 14-19 from the Welsh Valleys to keep them out of trouble and keep the tradition of Welsh male choirs going. They sing a song called Calon Lan which means 'Pure Heart'. A beautiful song done so very well.

Anyway, signing off now,

Llawer o gariad I chi (lots of love to you)

Mama Dragon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿😘

Hi Mama Dragon!

If anxiety was a person right now, that would be me. I am anxiety. Anxiety is me. But, even if I cry like hell, I’m still doing it, so I’m ok. 💛

Fun fact: every talent or reality show that the UK produced, it’s broadcasted in Portugal ahahahah so I’ve seen it all, you name it: Britain’s Got Talent, X Factor, Love Island… don’t tell anyone, but the last one is my guilty pleasure. 🫠

I’ve actually heard about that version, but I haven’t seen it yet. After your review I will absolutely search for it and tell you about it after!!!

🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂

[hanghenfil]

How do you pronounce hanghenfil? And where does the name come from. If you don't mind explaining.

ang-gen-fill! or thats how me and google translate read it

anghenfil/hanghenfil is the welsh word for monster! :D 

anghenfil is definitely the more common (if not, more correct--despite being partly welsh i sadly cant speak the language :( ) but the url was taken so 

hanghenfil it is!! 👀