#this is in wales also if anyone cares

[mickdalena]

category 5 tboy swag moment i cant lie . why is he lowkey ethereal

[darlingofdots]

I do not care about the Kate Middleton conspiracy because I give a fig about the Royal Family, I care about the Kate Middleton conspiracy because it is a fascinating trainwreck from a PR standpoint which by itself is interesting because you'd think the Royal Family would be, you know, better at that sort of thing, and also because of the implications. There is clearly something going on that they do not want the British public to know because otherwise they'd just issue a vaguely optimistic statement like "the Princess of Wales is still recovering from a routine but extensive medical procedure, thanks everyone for the well wishes she looks forward to returning to her duties" or whatnot. The fact that they're putting out badly photoshopped images and then blaming her for it (literally anyone could have written that tweet!) is so intriguing. My feeling is that they are desperate to maintain an appearance of stability and like, health, because Charles' prognosis is worse than they're letting on and it's very clear that the British public is not going to react well to having to pay for another funeral (of a monarch much less popular than Lizzie was) and coronation. I am pretty sure that the resolution of this whole shebang is going to be super boring but in the meantime they are blatantly mishandling the whole situation

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

You reblogged a post claiming luigi mangione used a 3D printed gun for the uhc ceo shooting and I need to clarify something important:

— Police claim that he had a 3D printed gun on his person when arrested.

— Based on the footage of the actual UHC ceo assassination there is no way that shooting could have been done with a 3D printed gun. I can get into all the nitty gritty if you like, or I can just say I’m an American who has shot guns, grew up with a veteran surrounded by guns, and has a lot of specialized knowledge.

So while it *may* be accurate to say luigi mangione 3D printed a gun, whoever shot the uhc ceo did NOT do that with a 3D printed gun they did it with a fairly specific weapon and explicit knowledge of how to execute someone in the street silently. (Information we all have now if we know where to look.)

I don’t want to come off as a conspiracy theorist so I’m stopping here but there’s also some quirks of American law that make the 3D printed gun sus af in this case that I’d love to talk about if anyone cares.

Oh this is fun! I know nothing about guns because we don't have them in Wales, 3D printed or otherwise. Interesting new angle, though. By all means, infodump away

[avithenaftali]

October 28, 2022, 7:11 P.M.

For whatever reason I enjoy thinking about Diana Wynne Jones' writing as a whole and picking out unexpected or resonant trends. For example, some things that comes up often is:

She'll fabricate a world (right down to its cosmology), fill it with memorable characters, set one or two short novels in it... and then never touch it again. On to the next one. Rinse and repeat for her entire career.

The concept of multiple/parallel universes appear half a dozen times in different novels/sequences, but always in completely different ways. The multiple worlds of Chrestomanci function very, very differently from the multiple worlds of The Homeward Bounders, which themselves function so different from the Ayewards/Naywards of Deep Secret, or the walls between the worlds in Dark Lord of Derkholm. More importantly, all these approaches to multiverse explicitly contradict each other. There is no larger DWJ multiverse; there is no way to coherently combine any of them, much less all of them. I love her for this. Every book is its own project. Franchising be damned.

With one exception (which is the Dalemark quartet, oddly enough), none of these worlds are sealed-off secondary worlds. Our own Earth appears in all of them, though usually from the 'wrong' end of the telescope. Meaning, it's stuff like reading Charmed Life and assuming you're reading a magical secondary world fantasy for most of the book... up until the point when Janet is pulled into the story due to Gwendolyn's spell. The reader instantly understands that Janet is from our own world, from the 1970s when the book was written. She never makes it home, either. She never sees her parents again. She's a supporting character who becomes permanently stuck in the world of Chrestomanci, as a casualty of Gwendolyn's spells.

It is interesting, though, how there are almost no sealed-off secondary worlds in DWJ's oeuvre.

There are lots of neat things to say about how DWJ did this, and why she'd do it, and the implications in the storytelling. But tonight I'm thinking mostly about how it can be a moment, narratively, that makes you halt and have to recontextualize all these things you thought you knew (or were assuming) about the nature of the story.

In Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed, Urras is obviously the metaphorical capitalistic stand-in planet for our own Earth... up until a moment right near the end, where we realize our own Earth exists in this novel too and is an ecological wasteland due to unchecked climate change.

Urras may be the distorted-mirror, uber-capitalist version of our own world. But it's also a planet with a functional ecosystem. It's a planet where society is careful about maintaining that ecosystem. We're not going to be Urras, says Le Guin. We'll be lucky if we become Urras. To become Urras means we wised up in time to not go extinct.

And suddenly, little subtle moments in the worldbuilding around both Anarres and Urras—their shared attention to their own ecology—come into a different light. All because our own, devastated Earth turns out to be present in the novel too.

And in Howl's Moving Castle, Howl is a magician who fits into the fairy tale landscape of Ingary as naturally as anyone else—until the chapter when he has to go home to retrieve a lost spell, and you realize home is in another world, aka home is our world, aka Howl is fucking Welsh and found his way into Ingary by pure accident. And Ben Sullivan, Ingary's missing royal magician, is no native of Ingary either.

To Sophie, it just means that both magicians travelled to Ingary from the same enigmatic foreign land, which is as strange to her as any spell.

To us readers, it means "oh my god he's Welsh too? Just how much is Wales secretly connected to Ingary? Next thing you'll tell me Ben Sullivan's a rugby player as well—"

[moomeecore]

Hey guys. So I know we've all gotten some very bad news, and anyone with a conscience is deeply upset. But one of the things this means is that the situation in Palestine is even more urgent, because we know that while Kamala might have, Trump isn't going to listen to any calls to lessen America's support of violence in Palestine. So, I'm putting out my next fundraiser post a bit earlier than expected - I really, really encourage you all to read these and try to match at least one of my donations, and reblog if you can't. I wish you all the best.

Waleed Ayman Alanqar and family - vetted (#107) - The fundraiser is for Waleed, his wife Areej Haniyyeh, and their 3 year old son, Ayman. They were forced from their home almost a year ago. The fundraiser is to help them raise the money needed for the family of 3 to evacuate to Egypt. They have €1,606 raised of their €20,000 goal - only 8%! - so I'm donating a little more than the usual €5 (€7). Waleed's tumblr account is @ayman-waleed, if you want more info.

Alaa and family - vetted - Alaa and her husband were displaced from their home on October 7, while Alaa was pregnant. Alaa's husband died before their daughter was even born, and now Alaa is raising her baby without him, after having to give birth without the needed medical care. Because of the poor conditions, her daughter has been suffering from illness, including a viral stomach infection and histolytica worms. Alaa needs to pay for her daughter's medical treatments, and for milk and diapers which are very expensive in Palestine right now. They have $14,280 raised out of their $30,000 goal. Alaa's account(s), for more information: @alaa-gaza / @alaa-gaza223

Wafaa Abdul Karim Abu Al-Rish and family - vetted / vetted - The fundraiser is for Wafaa (@wafaaresh3) and her family, which includes her mother, her brother Mohi (@mohiy-gaza), her sister Fidaa (@fidaa-family2), and Fidaa's two children (Sila, who is two years old, and Mohamed, who is 6 months old). They also have a cat. They have been displaced more than 10 times. Wafaa's mother has chronic illness (hypertension), and is unable to access her medicine, which means her health is getting increasingly worse over time. The main goal of the fundraiser is to help the family evacuate to Egypt. Wafaa's fundraiser has $74,018 raised out of her $85,000 goal.

I'm going to post a second part with three more fundraisers soon!

Here's my previous fundraiser posts: Post 1, post 2, post 3

[shebsart]

Ok I don't wanna be a joykill but I've been seeing a lot of posts about how Sophie made Howl and the Witch get together but that is not true. So I made a rough timeline.

First of all, in order for Sophie's magic hat to work, the Witch or Howl would have to wear it but the first and most likely the only time The Witch visits Sophie's shop is AFTER Howl already jilted her, because she is looking for information about him at this point. She puts a spell on Sophie thinking she is Lettie, whom Suliman-Justin mix(the dog man) cares about. Because he witholds information about Howl from her. (plus the witch has heard sophie works powerful magic so thats two birds one stone)

Second, Howl met the Witch a year before the main events but it doesn't add up with the time Sophie speaks this to the hat:

This is during Sophie is alone at the hat shop after Martha and Lettie left.

Howl later says this(which is hardly a month after May Day):

she says this on May Day:

Sophie has been working at the shop by herself for a few months before May Day, and around a week later she meets the Witch.(she says at least 3 days to around a week has passed after speaking to Martha on May Day)

Anyway here is the rough timeline of the main events:

1. The Witch threatens Princess Valeria, The King sends Suliman to her and he's caught by the Witch (a year prior the main events)

2. A few months later, Howl is possibly looking for Suliman and he meets the Witch in the process:

that's around the same time Howl settles his moving castle on Market Chipping Hills (this is a little while before Sophie's dad dies and the sisters go their seperate ways):

We actually don't knoew when exactly he made the moving castle or why, but if Michael is correct it's after Howl jilts the Witch:

buut Howl doesn't say anything about that so I assume he made it for convenience and to escape the responsibilities of being a good wizard lol but let me know if i'm missing something (to me, the castle phsically moving is only for the appearances, it doesn't actually do any good for running away from anyone. the real trick is the multiple portals and settlements of the castle)

3. around this time Prince Justin goes after Suliman

ok so when justin and count are looking for suliman, sophie is working at the hat shop because count meets jane when she was wearing sophie's hat

4. May Day comes, Sophie meets Howl without knowing it's him.

5. around 7-10 days later, The Witch visits Sophie's shop and puts a spell on her. She leaves the shop and enters Howl's castle on the hills.

6. Her stay at the Castle is around 1,5 months

she enters the castle on lets say 8-9th of May, until Howl's curse comes true on Midsummer's Day (which is mid july)

-Oh and, speaking of a common misconception, Howl didn't buy the guitar to impress girls, he thought it was related to Suliman somehow because it also came from Wales (so did the skull and Suliman). According to Calcifer, he uses it to impress girls but im not sure if that's true entirely:

So when he takes his guitar with him, he is probably looking for Justin and Suliman, maybe he thinks the guitar would help finding them. But probably it also works with the ladies so it doesn't hurt kfdls

-The Witch did curse Howl for jilting her, but she wasn't looking for him only because of that. She wanted his head (the second most powerful wizard next to her most likely) for her frankenstein's monster to rule with her dksl. Same with Suliman. She probably didn't want Mrs. Pentstemmon because she was also old and wasn't much use to her anymore. Or maybe Mrs Pentstemmon wasn't showing any weaknesses to the Witch which made it hard to capture her. not sure

[fondwand]

I'm really panicked about the Cass Report sitch in the UK right now. I just have this horrible, sickened feeling. the articles proclaiming about the 'puberty blocker scandal' as if the report said that puberty blockers had been proven harmful, and not just that the report reoghtfully claimed that there hadn't been enough research.... which is basically the exact same situation as such medications as SSRIs, birth control in the NHS and yet those situations won't be used to bolster and reaffirm a hateful congregation of idiotic transphobes with too much power into dragging trans rights and healthcare in the UK through subsequent decades of incredibly harmful stagnation, fearmongering, and outright harm.

the Cass Report seems to me only to confirm what we know about almost every other sector of the NHS: that it's broken, underfunded, bogged down in failing beurocracy and not interested in preventative care as its mainline strategy. that's a position where the blame should be laid at the feet of the Conservative party, not at the feet of people who believe trans people should have adequate care which as at least a first line BELIEVES THEM

calling this a 'watershed' moment as if giving trans individuals gender affirming care is evil, while everyday within the NHS racism, medical misogyny, regional disparities between the North (edited add wales also) and Souths standards of healthcare which cause life expectancy to be lower, a mental health sector which is so utterly broken it can't actually help anyone. ..... etc etc etc are happening. its transphobia. its just hateful transphobia. transphobia which is now seen to be validated by idiots

I feel so sick and scared

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

What I don't think I've said before is that my agency is a law enforcement agency and we do similar investigations to this

I work on the side of law firms coming in to do internal investigations - particularly in the UK. You obviously know what you’re talking about, but I just want to reaffirm for the anon and other readers that it’ll take months.

Organisations sometimes unknowingly open Pandoras box when they start an investigation like this, because all kinds of misconduct they had not known about must now also be dealt with. That makes the deadlines even more squishy.

Would love to have your take on the national security aspects to the PoW’s diagnosis and continued treatment. I bet H&M is going to want to find out more information too, which fits in nicely on your recent posts around him being a security risk (I’m the Pegasus anon and highly enjoyed them).

Very old ask from March 22nd.

So now knowing that Kate actually did have cancer, was seriously ill, and was also downplaying her diagnosis and condition, that changes my thinking a little.

I do think one of the reasons they've been very careful with Kate's diagnosis and treatment is because of the national security impact. For instance, if Kate's actual treatment was publicly known - she goes to chemo on these days, she's being treated at this hospital, her drugs are X, Y, Z - then a bad actor or a threat can absolutely do some damage. They can taint the medical supply, they can call paparazzi to the hospital, they can sneak cameras into the treatment center, they can stage an emergency that takes resources away from the oncology unit.

If the type of cancer Kate had or the chemo treatment she was undergoing meant she needed to be a on a specific diet and if that was known, then obviously someone could try to send her a tainted gift basket or they have a spoiled product that they give to a known Wales associate (like a Turnip Toff or a Middleton friend) and they pass it on to Kate (which is how Pippa used to merch sometimes, in early Cambridge days) who doesn't suspect anything because that person is cleared by RPOs. And this is something that the BRF is actually concerned about - I read somewhere once that they don't accept food products or food gifts and if any is given to them on walkabout or engagements, it's immediately tossed.

Now let's think about that hack/unauthorized access to Kate's medical files back in March. What could someone do with that information? Well, aside from her diagnosis, her symptoms, her treatment plan, they could learn who her doctors and care team are and go after them - stalk them, harass them, blackmail them, endanger their families, etc. They might also learn where Kate's pharmacy is or other private medical information like maybe if she had any miscarriages, what other medications she might be on, what her allergies are, her parents' medical history, etc. and all of that is something that a bad actor can exploit to their advantage, everything from exposing Kate to her allergen to killing her doctor and assuming their identity to treat her.

Not to mention the fact that anyone who goes through a major operation like Kate did in January and who goes through chemo becomes incredibly immunocompromised. All they have to do is get someone with COVID or a flu or shingles or some other kind of biotoxin or contagious illness next to Kate and her condition worsens.

(Just a quick aside her to remind everyone that someone who's immunocompromised from chemo the way Kate is isn't going to be frolicking in the woods with people who aren't in her bubble. Michael and Carole are in the video because they're in Kate's health bubble. Charles and Camilla aren't in the video because they aren't in Kate's bubble and they're not in Kate's bubble because Charles has his own bubble because he's also immunocompromised from his own cancer and his own treatment and no one wants to risk Charles or Kate getting worse because of something "crossing over" from one person's treatment into the other's.)

And what happens if you take Kate out of the picture? We're not killing her here - we're just saying she becomes incapacitated or sidelined in some way. But take Kate out of the picture, now all of a sudden you have the entire future of the monarchy at risk. William becomes vulnerable. George becomes vulnerable. Charlotte and Louis become vulnerable. We're not talking about their physical security or their physical well-being here; we're talking about their mental and emotional health and as we've seen in Harry, that -- in the hands of the wrong person -- becomes incredibly dangerous. And since William is the next king and George the future king, that 100% is a matter of national security.

It is all farfetched, it does sound Bondian, but that's what national security is. It's considering every single possibility that could happen, assessing how likely it could happen and what kind of impact would come from it happening, and mitigating as much of that as possible.

So how do you mitigate the threat to national security posed by Kate's health crisis? You don't tell anyone the specifics. You keep it private. You downplay it to the best of your abilities.

Now, specific to the Sussexes, and why William and Kate (or even the RPOs or even the BRF) wouldn't want them to know the whole truth of her condition and health, it's absolutely all the shadiness that the Sussexes are involved with. There's rumors of Russian support. We know they have microphones and Netflix cameras with them all the time. We know that the Sussexes are boundary-stomping privacy invaders who blab about every tiny morsel of information they get - or don't get. We know that the Sussexes want to be King and Queen of people's hearts, King and Queen of culture, and the actual King and Queen of the UK, the realms, and the Commonwealth.

If something happens to Kate, then Harry and Meghan aren't even waiting in the wings; they're already running on stage with their plastic crowns. And I think they know that, because without Kate, William's attention turns 100% to the children, which leaves an opening for Charles to bring Harry back and we know that Harry won't come back without Meghan. So if Harry and Meghan are both back, then they become even bigger red flags to the monarchy and the BRF because they're also bringing the damage of the last 5 years - grudges from 2018/2019, the alleged Russian supporters, Oprah, Netflix cameras, Sussex Squad, all their crony kiss-ass reporters, etc. Bad, bad, bad news all around. You might as well turn the Buckingham Palace throne room into a gift shop now because the second Harry and Meghan are back in, they're selling the monachy to the highest bidder - but will it be Oprah? Will it be Netflix? Will it be any Russians? Will it be Nacho? Will it be QVC and the Home Shopping Network? Will it be Penguin Random House?

So not telling Harry and Meghan anything about what Kate's doing isn't just national security best practices; it's complete and total self-preservation of the monarchy for George. Because if Meghan was able to do that to Harry, imagine what she and Harry can both do to William and George together when William and George's world has been totally rocked and shattered.

Edit: added some clarification. I mention COVID here as an example of someone with an illness who could seriously worsen an immunocompromised person's health. I'm not debating COVID vaccinations, protocols, or precautions and any more comments/replies about COVID will be removed.

[reasonsforhope]

"When Ghana’s parliament voted to decriminalise suicide and attempted suicide in March, Prof Joseph Osafo felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

Osafo, head of psychology at the University of Ghana, had been engaged in a near 20-year battle to abolish the law – brought in by the British – which stated that anyone who attempts suicide should face imprisonment or a fine.

“It was a very good feeling. I felt like a certain burden had been removed. I was extremely elated,” he remembers. “Then the next morning, I realised we had a lot of work to do.”

Four countries decriminalised suicide in just the past year

Ghana is one of four countries to have decriminalised suicide in the past year – Malaysia, Guyana and Pakistan are the others. More could soon follow, which campaigners say is a sign of greater awareness and understanding of mental health. Kenya and Uganda have filed petitions to overturn laws and members of the UN group of Small Island Developing States have committed to decriminalise. Discussions are also being held in Nigeria and Bangladesh.

“There seems to be a domino effect taking place,” says Muhammad Ali Hasnain, a barrister from United for Global Mental Health, a group calling for decriminalisation. “As one country decriminalises suicide, others start to follow suit.”

“It is quite unusual,” adds Sarah Kline, the organisation’s chief executive. “It’s a huge sign of progress and an important step forward for the populations most at risk, as well as the countries as a whole.” ...

A large number of laws were introduced by the British during colonial rule. Suicide was decriminalised in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the 1960s – it was never criminalised in Scotland...

The results of these punishments can be “devastating” and present “a huge barrier” to addressing the problem, says Natalie Drew, a technical officer with the mental health policy and service development team at the World Health Organization. Health experts and advocates argue that suicide should be treated as a public health issue rather than a crime.

Criminalising suicide denies people the right to access health services and discriminates against them because of something they’re experiencing, Drew adds. Research shows that in countries where suicide has been decriminalised, people can seek help for mental health and rates tend to then decline.

Next Steps

In September, the WHO is due to release a guide on decriminalising suicide for policymakers, with explanations of how countries have managed it...

“[Ghana’s decision] should have an impact on the work ongoing in other countries, especially in the Africa region,” says Osafo. Within the past couple of months, he has set up a mental health working group with representatives from about 20 African countries, and one of the biggest issues on the agenda is decriminalisation of suicide, he says. “Nigeria is active, Cameroon is active … Kenya has joined and is doing fantastic work. We have Uganda. People have been asking us how we did it.”

Since suicide was decriminalised in Malaysia last month, Anita Abu Bakar, founder and president of the Mental Illness Awareness and Support Association (Miasa), has already seen things change. Crisis response teams and helplines are expanding, and money from the mental health budget is being given to organisations who work in the community. “This is the shift we’re so happy to see,” she says. “It was such an archaic law.”

She adds: “I’m a person with lived experience. What does decriminalisation mean to people like me? We feel supported, we feel this conversation can go to a different level. Obviously decriminalisation is not the only way to prevent suicide, but it’s a big one. I’m happy for this progressive move – better late than never. I’m excited to see what happens next, not just for Malaysia but for the rest of us.”"

-via The Guardian, July 20, 2023

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

hii!! 😊👋🏻

is there any info on Arthur’s and Merlin’s horses in the books? their names, maybe their personalities? or anyone else's horse?

Hi! Thank you for the question. 🐎 😇

In “Valiant”, Arthur makes it clear that he has multiple horses and that his servant cares for all of them.

Arthur: “My horses need grooming ..”

In “Lancelot and Guinevere”, Merlin admits to never having ridden a horse before coming to Camelot and even now he preferred to walk, if the choice were offered to him.

Merlin treated any horses he encountered with a degree of suspicion and wariness.

Sadly, the feeling seemed to be mutual.

Nonetheless, Merlin’s horse in that moment was a placid mare which tolerated his presence and (simply followed Arthur's great, dark stallion).

- In “The Death of Arthur”, Merlin realized he’d need a dependable horse to get to the Isle of the Blessed- a horse which not only had to be fast, but it would also need great stamina to cope with the trek.

Since he was the prince’s servant, he had access to the royal stables and he took the prince's favourite stallion to use for his journey.

So in the books the only mentions are of Merlin having a placid mare and Arthur having a great, dark stallion, but unfortunately no names.

And of course, Merlin borrowed Arthur’s stallion in the episode ‘Le Morte D'Arthur’.

(Sources: Valiant, The Death of Arthur and Lancelot and Guinevere books)

Tagging: @samwinjester @godmerlin @tansyuduri @neptunesyellowsands

Horses mentioned Behind the Scenes with the actors:

Colin’s horse is a Welsh Cob sec. D named "Diablo". (Sadly, Diablo has only one eye because the other one had to be removed due to a tragic incident where he was kicked in the head when he was running with the mares, and because of the trauma, a cataract later formed in one eye. Which then had to be removed surgically).

Bradley's horses in show are called either Toranto/Torento, Flyer and Rabanete

Colin's horses in the show are called Diablo, Korra, and reportedly, Sabio (while filming in Wales)

Zaleno … was Angel's horse in the UK

Horses mentioned in the Arthurian legends: (I found these online; I can't speak for how accurate they are to the various legends)

Arthur's horses are Llamrei, the mare and Hengroen, the stallion.

Llamrei – This is the name of King Arthur’s mare. She was said to have been a gift from the Irish king, who had come to challenge Arthur’s rule.

Hengroen – This was King Arthur’s stallion. It was said to have been able to gallop across the sea.

There is also a rock in Wales called "Carn March Arthur", or the "Stone of Arthur's Horse", which is said to have a hoof print left by Llamrei while pulling the Addanc monster from Llyn Barfog.

Gwaine's horse in legend is Gringolet

Merlin describes Lancelot's horse as named Gringalet in the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, which is said to be due to its great strength. In The Awntyrs of Arthure, Gringalet is also called "Grissell" and is killed in combat while Gawain is riding it.

Gwaine's horse: Gringolet. His horse plays no wonderful part, but is always referred to as "Gawain's Horse, Gringolet." In French the name is Le Grin golet.

Galath – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses. It was said to have been able to run as fast as a swallow.

Passelande: Arthur's horse in Beroul's Tristran

Aubagu: Arthur's horse in Erec and Enide

Passebreul – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Alfgar – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Cremello – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Dappled – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Faeleas – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Kestrel – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

King’s Ransom – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Knight Errant – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Liriel – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Marigold – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Misty – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Nightshade – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Saber – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Stormy – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Thunder – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Topper – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Tristram – This was the name of one of the knights of the Round Table.

Vanguard – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Warlock – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table. (Ironic name 😅)

White Star – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Windrider – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Zephyr – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses.

Zulu – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table.

Badger – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, known for its speed and agility.

Blackheart – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, known for its fierce loyalty.

Blaze – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, known for its fiery temperament.

Charger – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, known for its strength and endurance.

Dragonfire – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, said to have been able to breathe fire.

Gold Dust – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, known for its shimmering coat.

Harrier – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, known for its speed and agility.

Highflyer – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, known for its ability to jump great distances.

Ironclad – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, known for its strength and durability.

King’s Champion – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, ridden by the most skilled and respected knights.

Nightingale – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, known for its beautiful singing voice.

Starlight – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, known for its sparkling, celestial appearance.

Sunburst – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, known for its brilliant, radiant coat.

Valiant – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, known for its bravery and courage.

Victory – This was the name of one of King Arthur’s horses, associated with triumph and success.

Wildfire – This was the name of one of the horses of the knights of the Round Table, known for its untamed spirit and intensity.

[forsoobado137]

as for your au, do you hc any nations as being queer? which ones? how does this play into politics and homophobia? would they stay closeted because of it? I've always thought relationships between nations would be seen as extremely problematic under the public eye, hence the hundreds of years of pining and denial. Not only for national relations but also because the relationship would most likely be a queer one considering the ratio of male/female nations.

It would be kind of hard to justify being homophobic if it's known that the literal personification of your own country has a long history of queerness. It's not like anyone has the right to tell them to not be, when the only other immortal beings are probably of the same gender, and being two immortal beings who have been through literal war and death together they have a bond that no human could possibly hope to understand.

Obviously I don't know your stance on shipping so you don't have to answer this, but the subject and implications of homophobia and relationships have always been so interesting to me in a public au and I need to hear someone else's thoughts. Thank you!!

Some of my queer headcanons kind of align with what is already canon/popular in fanon. I'm just going to do a quick bullet list. It's okay if you don't agree with them.

Italy: Bisexual. He mostly likes women though. He’s kind of half closeted because of biphobia and homophobia, but also everyone lowkey kind of knows.

Germany: a gay. A homo. I cannot see him with a woman. The only one who doesn’t know he’s gay is himself.

America: I see him as aromantic. He has sexual attraction, but he doesn’t vibe with romance.

France: very openly pansexual. Also kind of gnc. He mostly dresses in suits, but he loves expressing his French fashion regardless of gender norms.

Poland: Genderfluid and gay, but he's very closeted because of queerphobia.

China: Undecided level of queer. But he doesn’t really care about labeling it.

Greece: pan, but he doesn’t even acknowledge it.

Sweden: Canonically gay.

Spain: Bisexual because of his marriage with Austria.

Austria: Denies being queer because the marriage was political. Forever unlabeled.

Wales: Aroace. I cannot see him as anything else. His only love is for dragons or something.

Vietnam: Lesbian. She does not care for men.

Egypt: Non-binary. When someone asks if he's a boy or a girl, he'll reply "I'm Egypt."

It can get very messy with politics. Nations being in public relationships with each other is always going to be seen as a political statement. It's only something that is allowed if they're legally married. If they do enter relationships, especially if their governments are enemies, they keep it on the dl. A lot of nations, such as Poland, are closeted because of A: being forced by their bosses to do so, and B: the queerphobia they would face should they come out.

It doesn't matter if a country is openly queer, there will always be homophobes and shit. The most common form of Olympic-level mental gymnastics is claiming "my nation has been brainwashed by the queer community, which is why these anti-queer laws are necessary to keep them safe!" Sometimes, they'll protest in the streets/harrass the nation (though nobody likes the people who do this). Sometimes, they just denounce their citizenships and move somewhere else (good riddance).

[thirdtidemouse]

i have to do more bc she isnt rly brought to life yet.. she will change a LOT... but this is dylan :-] (hammarlund? underhill?) i couldn't not do a hilda oc and i couldnt not make it a nervous werewolf. she stresses herself out but is surprisingly organised about cooking, one of the famously stressful activities. she spends a full day planning out a meal, cooking for herself and kaisa (thank god. that nerd cannot cook) and then asks for detailed reviews.

she is very stressed out about being a werewolf though. she has just finished being a teenager and this is kind of that all over again. she does not want ANYONE to find out and confides reluctantly only in kaisa. what she fears is people fearing her, and she feels like the moment her life has been pieced back together again, she's losing grip, again. it's almost a black hound situation when the people of trolberg hear about a werewolf sneaking around. some episode centred around the mystery ensues.

she likes food + music! although she's more of an amateur at music, she owns + plays a guitar, a mandolin, a banjo, and a harmonica. very folksy. she has a swedish-welsh accent. try and imagine it please.

the default sister dynamic is kaisa getting home from work late (she probably lives in a flat in/around the library), and dylan being in the midst of homemade ravioli or something with a sauce that took 6 hours. kaisa asks about her day to be polite. dylan tells her about the sauce that took 6 hours, a long hike, 3 different invasive plant species, a lot of butter, and the use of powertools. kaisa has been re-shelving niche history of magic books but got so caught up re-reading them that it also took up 6 hours. when they have eaten dylan asks for her opinion and scribes the whole thing down in her notebook as kaisa voices her 5 star yelp review. they do not ask anything else about each others days and interact mainly through dylan slow-motion fake-punching kaisa while she is trying to just hang out in the living room or do her work and is ignored. only when she is in a very good mood will kaisa fake-punch back. dylan has a lethal case of younger-sister-that-is-taller syndrome.

sorry for my handwriting but the vague outline of her backstory WHICH MAY PROBABLY CHANGE is:

from the time she was 8 and kaisa was 21, they lived alone together. kaisa became a full-fledged witch between then and age 25, when suspicion against witches was on the rise for a short while - dylan never became a witch, but the only trusted adults in her life (basically kaisa and tildy) were, and they decided it would be best for her to grow up somewhere less troublesome. they were both pretty messed up about her having to move away, dylan holding some kind of spite toward her sister for a while, and kaisa feeling incapable, guilty and ill-equipped to take care of her.

she went to school in wales at 12, living with as-yet-unspecified family members/friends, and while kaisa almost immediately regretted sending her away, dylan adjusted quickly and spent the rest of her school career there. after a few years she forgave kaisa, because she ultimately enjoys her life, but she is stilll missed at home. at 17 going on 18 she became a werewolf (whether she was bitten or it was always in her somewhere?) and four months later she finished sixth form and called kaisa out of the blue asking if she could come and move in. since they didn't live in trolberg before, she's new to the city.

i will write more cohesively about her relationships to other characters/flesh her out more later, ESPECIALLY the werewolf stuff, but now i have to go to bed. thank you for reading :-] feel free to ask/suggest anything about her!! i love discussing hilda ocs

by the way this is i think my first ever actual OC? i've made up others before but they've just been single designs i've never really thought much about their actual selves because i suck at writing. dylan is the first one thats really stuck. part of her is based off myself and people i know, most of her is not. the main similarity between us is double-denim.

this is fun though. critique is welcome

(obviously her werewolf self is a swedish elkhound. i know the design kind of just looks like a furry im working on it)

[aeolianblues]

“The masterplan was, there was no masterplan. Except to write good songs. Oh yeah, and to be the biggest band in the world. A modest ambition, but it put Oasis on the road to greatness.”

OASIS - THE MASTERPLAN (1998)

Plus some more pics of Oasis albums we have at our stations, sent to us promotionally by Sony Canada on behalf of Creation Records.

Liner notes below the cut:

The masterplan was, there was no masterplan. Except to write good songs. Oh yeah, and to be the biggest band in the world. A modest ambition, but it put Oasis on the road to greatness. "Me mam always used to say, God loves a tryer," Noel Gallagher says. "And I went, 'Why? Has he got a car?' She went, 'No, a tryer-Not a tyre." So the Gallagher boys did try, and if you want proof of how hard they tried then hear these tracks - B-sides, all of them, made by a band who believe a B-side is no excuse not to care. Outside of Britain it hasn't always been easy to hear Oasis B-sides. But in Britain or anywhere else, they sound majestic played back-to-back.

We open heroically with ACQUIESCE which is one of those all-time "shoulda been an A-side" numbers. (Creation Records certainly thought so, and who could blame them?) The song is about friendship in the widest sense and not, as often speculated, about the Gallagher brothers themselves. Noel sings the chorus because, he claims, Liam couldn't reach the high notes. Or he was in the pub. Whatever, it was written on a slow train to Wales and made possible because Noel likes to travel with his guitar. It's no surprise that Acquiesce is present: via the Internet, Oasis fans were asked to vote on this album's choice of tracks.

But the inclusion of UNDERNEATH THE SKY might have been "influenced" by Noel, who cites this as a favourite song. Its happy-wanderer feel was inspired by a pocket-book of travellers' quotes he came across, and the jollity's enhanced by a four-handed piano part courtesy of him and Bonehead (who tackles the tinkly bits, apparently).

TALK TONIGHT is another self-selecting choice, from Noel's acoustic repertoire. Beautifully tender, its thoughtful air derives from a Texas studio session: Noel was back after his brief flounce from the band on a US tour: "Me and Liam had a disagreement, probably about what shoes he was wearing, so I'd fucked off to Las Vegas." It was an Oasis fan in San Francisco who talked him down off the ledge. The same reflective interlude gave us another song, in HALF THE WORLD AWAY (which is Paul Weller's favourite Oasis track). The pressure was already building, though, when Noel began writing (IT'S GOOD TO BE FREE, at the start of those troubled American dates. He finished it in Las Vegas: "Cocaine psychosis," reckoned producer Owen Morris, detecting a Fear And Loathing vibe in that sinister guitar feedback. Accordion expert Bonehead donates the breezy coda, which lends a misleadingly cheerful touch to what was a deeply fraught Oasis session: "Believe me, it was horribe. it wasn't funny at all." The Morse Code segment, by the way, is meaningless so far as anyone knows.

The oldest song here is GOING NOWHERE, written around 1990 before the band was signed ("It's about what we were going to do when we got a shitload of money off Creation"); it was not recorded until after the Be Here Now album, when there was a hankering for something less massive. Noel and drummer Alan White are the only Oasis members involved, with piano, brass and horn players to bring a vaguely Burt Bacharach atmosphere. Noel only wishes he knew another rhyme for "car" and

"Jaguar." Nearly as vintage in its origins, however, was HEADSHRINKER: recorded for Some Might Say in '95, it was written about three years earlier, during the band's punkier phase. It's also one of Liam's greatest vocals, partly because of the freedom from pressure that doing B-sides can offer. Although a load of drug references were binned from the lyric, a manic edge remains to this tale of an early girlfriend Liam could not shake off. It may start out like The Faces' Stay With Me, but Noel says he was thinking of The Rolling Stones at the time. And ROCKIN' CHAIR dates from Noel's days in Manchester, planning to leave his own girlfriend and dreaming of the good life down in London.

FADE AWAY first surfaced on Cigarettes & Alcohol, and was probably elbowed off Definitely Maybe in favour of Slide Away. Since then the chorus alone has guaranteed its popularity with Oasis fans: "The dreams we have as children fade away...

It's about growing up but not growing old," says Noel, echoing a John Lennon belief that you won't get anything unless you've got the vision to imagine it. It's a classic Buzzcocks trick, this, placing a wistful lyric inside the most glorious rush of punk rock energy. That said, it was a relief for Noel to do a track like THE SWAMP SONG, which required no words at all. Alongside Roll With It, The Swamp Song was a warm-up exercise for the Morning Glory sessions; it was also used to set the sound levels at Glastonbury, which is where Alan White's thunderous drumming was taped. Later on, when Paul Weller turned up for Champagne Supernova, he added The Swamp Song's harmonica and duelling guitars: "Very rock'n'roll," chortles Noel, "but we didn't manage to stand back to back once, which I was very upset about!" Its working title "The Jam" was scrapped, tragically.

Contrary to previous credits, I AM THE WALRUS was not recorded at the Glasgow Cathouse, but at a conference of Sony executives, gathered to hear Creation's new signings. Oasis used to play it at gigs in Liverpool, as an act of bravado aimed at the local bands, even The Beatles never did this one live. Technical note: any "looseness" in Noel's guitar playing here is attributed to half a bottle of Sony-financed gin. Speaking of guitars, the soaring LISTEN UP used to boast a solo much longer than the one you hear in this version; Liam had wanted it shorter, so Noel had disagreed on principle ("If you don't argue with Liam he gets upset"). Four years later, Liam has got his way. The poppy STAY YOUNG, meanwhile, was first ear-marked to be "the Digsy's Dinner" of Be Here Now, until Noel wrote Magic Pie and dumped it. Stay Young wound up on D'You Know What I Mean?, and could have been another A-side if its composer had actually liked the song. But he doesn't. (Audiences, who have more sense than songwriters, all love it.)

But we end with a track that Noel Gallagher is definitely proud of. In fact he regards THE MASTERPLAN as his finest piece of work. Even Liam now wishes he'd sung it himself. The writing came easily, inspired in equal measure by a Japanese hotel corridor and a good, relaxing smoke. "I'm the best lyricist in Oasis, is how I like to say it," Noel shrugs. "But to me this sums up your journey through life. All we know is that we don't know." Is it, we might wonder, sung to Liam? ("Please brother let it be") Again the answer is No.

"We're all brothers and sisters," says Noel. And so we are, and so are Oasis whether named

Gallagher, McGuigan, White or indeed Bonehead. They're brothers and they're tryers, all five. They try for themselves and they try for the rest of us. No wonder God loves them.

[irelandseyeonmythology]

Hey, I know you focus more on Irish material than Welsh, but I was wondering if you knew any good books/articles about the mabinogion and its composition, especially the supposed influence of pre christian elements? I often see it brought out as clearly pagan mythology in circles I'm in, which from what I know is... problematic, but I never have enough context to challenge it much.

To be clear, no worries if not, but I figured I'd ask in case there's some edition or monograph that treated that heavily that you knew of.

I do! I don't do as much with Welsh, you're right, and I talk about it on here even less, but this is actually something that I am equipped to handle.

So, mandatory "if anyone who reads this worships, venerates, or otherwise has a connection to the figures I reference here, my job is NOT to dictate anyone's religious beliefs, to make fun of them, belittle, etc. etc. etc. My job is to give my own personal impressions of the material, which is shaped by the current scholarly understanding."

Alright, now that that's out of the way.

So, your instincts are right, the tl;dr is that, while there are still some scholars (including people I deeply respect) who do work with the Mabinogi as a source for Pre-Christian beliefs, and that approach was very popular up until the 1990s, but that number is dwindling, and the current general scholarly consensus is that the Mabinogi is a thoroughly medieval text. You'll get even fewer Welsh experts who are willing to consider pre-Christian elements than you will Irish experts. There are a few who will say that MAYBE there is something going on beneath the surface, but the problem is whether it would even be possible to undergo that kind of excavation and whether...you lose more than you gain when you try it.

Like, Howard Shliemann, when he excavated Troy, was so eager to find the OLDEST, most ANCIENT part of the city, that he took dynamite to it, which blasted away significant parts of the city. He didn't care about anything else but finding his idealized version of Priam's city, and as a result, he wasn't able to appreciate it when it was right in front of him and, not only that, damaged it. While no one is (I HOPE???) asking to put a lit match to the Red Book of Hergest, we have started to believe that, maybe, by constantly focusing on the pre-Christian elements of the Mabinogi, writing everything else off as a corrupted form of a myth written by later authors who were too stupid to understand what they were dealing with...perhaps we were overlooking a genuinely great work of medieval literature, and that it was time for us to change that.

There are a number of reasons why this "excavation" is difficult if not impossible, but one of the strongest is that, frankly, Wales was converted before Ireland and it became VERY thoroughly Christianized early on, as well as, in general, us not having many early examples of Old Welsh literature. (Y Gododdin is traditionally seen as the oldest, but, honestly, even though it's controversial, due to its key role as a piece of Welsh cultural history, I've had a lot of Welshicists tell me that they think it's more likely a ninth century poem at the earliest.) Even things that people often think of as being indicative of pre-Christianity in Wales, like the Mari Lwyd are...well. We have no references to them before the 19th century (though it's clearly being described as an established tradition by then) and they very likely go back no further than the 16th century. Middle Welsh literature is also very, very difficult to date unless you have some sort of external feature to help you out, it doesn't have quite the same linguistic markers of Old Irish. (A trained Celticist who has had training in Old and Middle Irish can tell you an approximate date of an Irish text with a quick look, which can then be made more exact by analyzing key features, down to the century. You cannot do that with Welsh. We still do not even know when the Mabinogi was COMPOSED beyond "very likely between the 11th-13th centuries") Additionally, we do not have a large collection of Welsh folktales, so we cannot know how these stories might have been told IN Wales and whether they had a significant oral transmission. (It does seem like there might have been a few folky Mabinogi things but it is REALLY hard to know without a unified database.) I can't emphasize enough how lucky we are to have the Irish and Scottish folk collectors, because it means we can compare oral version of medieval texts and see how things change in the oral version. This doesn't inherently mean oral=pre-Christian, but it gives us a further range of how these stories have been used.

ANYWAY, you're here for recs, not my ongoing anger at 19th century archaeologists, so here are some of the best studies of the Mabinogi as literature (a lot of them don't directly interact with the myth, more directly pointing out how deliberate the Mabinogi is as a work of literature. One thing that no English translation of the Mabinogi that I've ever read can convey is how PRECISE each word is, how...there are layers upon layers upon layers and it's *brilliant*.)

Bollard, J. K. “The Structure of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi.” THSC (1974–5): 250–76. (Considered to be one of the definitive pieces of literary scholarship around the Mabinogi.)

Davies, Sioned. ‘“Venerable Relics”? Re-visiting the Mabinogi’ in Joseph Nagy, ed. Writing down the Myths, edited by J. F. Nagy, Brepols, 2012. 157-79

Hamp, Eric P. ‘"Mabinogi and Archaism’"," Celtica 23, 1999. 96-110

Hemming, Jessica, “Ancient tradition or authorial invention? The ‘mythological’ names in the Four Branches”, in: Joseph Falaky Nagy (ed.), Myth in Celtic literatures, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007. 83–104.

Hutton, Ronald, “Medieval Welsh literature and pre-Christian deities”, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 61 (Summer, 2011): 57–86. (In general, while Hutton isn't a Celticist by training, we do consider him One of Us because he is VERY good.)

McKenna, Catherine, “Revising Math: kingship in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi”, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 46 (Winter, 2003): 95–118.

McKenna, Catherine, “The colonization of myth in Branwen ferch Lŷr”, in: Joseph Falaky Nagy (ed.), Myth in Celtic literatures, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007. 105–119.

McKenna, Catherine. ‘"Reading with Rhydderch: Mabinogion Texts in Manuscript Context", in: Anders Ahlqvist and Pamela O'Neill, eds., Language and Power in the Celtic World: Papers from the Seventh Australian Conference of Celtic Studies, The University of Sydney, September-October 2010. University of Sydney, 2011. 205-30

Rodway, Simon. "The Mabinogi and the Shadow of Celtic Mythology" Studia Celtica 52(1) (2018). 67-85. 10.16922/SC.52.4.

Sims-Williams, Patrick, Irish Influence on Medieval Welsh Literature, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. (It's interesting because you do have figures from medieval Irish literature, like Cú Roí, popping up in a way that suggests that medieval Welsh authors were highly familiar with them...which also throws a wrench in the old "Celtic or an example of medieval cultural exchange" problem.)

Wooding, Jonathan. Tyrannies of Distance? Medieval Sources as Evidence for Indigenous Celtic and Romano-Celtic Religion’ in Ralph Haeussler and Anthony King (eds.), Celtic Religions in the Roman Period: Personal, Local, and Global, University of Aberystwyth, 2017. 57-70

As for what I personally think....some of these sources are going to be softer than I would be and some of these sources are going to be harder on the concept than I would be. I don't HATE the idea of Pre-Christian elements existing in medieval texts, I just think it should be done carefully, cautiously, and with full knowledge of the limits of such an inquiry, without ALSO being disrespectful to the medieval context while ALSO not, in our attempt to right past wrongs, fall into the pitfall of thinking that Christianity = sophisticated elements, pre-Christian elements = unsophisticated. It's a delicate tightrope to walk, but I do want to see a day when we can have these conversations in the field without either ridicule or ad hominem assumptions of ill intent. We could do so much more if we would just listen to one another instead of leaping to prove one another's wrong. I don't believe there's evidence to suggest that Pre-Christian myths have been substantially preserved in the Mabinogi, and I think we should be wary and aware of the possibility of cultural exchange. I think that past scholars did the medieval writers a great disservice when they made the Mabinogi out to be some sort of corrupted, derelict scrapbook instead of one the greatest works of medieval prose narrative in Europe. I also think, for that matter, that the assumption that we are dealing with a mythic text that prescribes proper behavior that mortals are meant to follow has negatively impacted literary criticism of the text, particularly with regards to the female characters, whose abuse by men is justified as just punishment as opposed to something that is FRAMED as being horrific. Still, there are some things, such as a Donegal folktale (collected by Jeremiah Curtin) in which Lugh has to get Balor to give him a name and arms, similar to Arianrhod...I have never found a satisfying explanation for, from either side of the aisle.

What should be clear, from how many qualifiers I'm having to put up, is that it is even more difficult to assign FUNCTION to the Welsh figures than the Irish, not the least because, while the Tuatha Dé are explicitly supernatural....the Mabinogi is about a bunch of people who have superpowers but are also fundamentally human. We do not have the little signposts saying "BTW THESE GUYS ARE GODS!" that the Irish so nicely provide to us. If someone feels called to worship Arianrhod as a moon goddess, it isn't like I can stop them, nor would I *want* to, but I will say that there is no evidence for it FROM the Mabinogi. Or that Blodeuedd is a goddess of springtime (despite the unusual circumstances of her birth...she isn't really supernatural) or love. Or GOD FORGIVE ME, that Rhiannon is the goddess of forgiveness and understanding, which I saw one time. (Normally I do not judge people for how they view these figures, see all of the above disclaimers, but I do with that one. Just a little. Because I think that might be a tiny bit sexist to reduce her entire role in the Mabinogi to her abuse and then make her story one of forgiveness instead of one of a woman who is put into a horrific situation by the laws of the society she has married into.) I wish that there was a convenient listing of pre-Christian Welsh and Irish deities out there with their functions, but they don't fit that cleanly, and I doubt they ever did. It's one more reminder that they really, really aren't like Greek Mythology, and you can't go into this like Greek Mythology. (Though arguably, Greek Mythology isn't like Greek Mythology, but I digress.)

Anyway, thank you for sending me this; I do love the Mabinogi dearly and it's been ages since I've had the chance to talk about it.

[dokimarvose]

One way I feel hotd really did drop the ball this season was with Rhaena and Baela. From giving the actors fake hair that really shows on camera, to having them barely on screen, barely speaking, barely having character arcs... it feels insulting not just because of the misogynoir of it all, but because there's so much potential?

Without changing anything else about the season, it would be so easy to, maybe not fix their storylines, but inject some much needed intrigue and character into it, with just a few additions. Yeah yeah I know they should have hired me so sad for them that they didn't. Whatever.

Baela: when our pouty prince Jace is constantly whining to her about his place in society and his mom and his worries about the future, Baela barely contributes. She doesn't have much of a reaction to Daemon abandoning them, and there's no resolution for them. Granted, Jace doesn't really resolve anything with Rhaenyra either. But during episode 8 when Jace is complaining to her (again), Baela saying "that does not make me common!" was the wrong choice I believe. This was a perfect moment to have her relate to Jace, not just offer empty platitudes. Because if the only thing separating Jace from the average (low born) bastard is his dragon, the only thing separating Baela from all other women and their complete lack of respect, power, agency, or rights, is also her dragon!

I just feel like it was a missed opportunity. Have her reiterate and reinforce the themes about misogyny? She's going to be his queen, she's already consigned to the role of consort (Daemon's whole baggage this season), does she not think anything of that? When she has as much freedom (and responsibility) as she does solely because she's part of a magical race that invented dragon husbandry and her egg hatched when her sister's didn't? Speaking of her sister.

Rhaena: oof. Just oof. In my solution, Nettles does exist and is coming, so hear me out. Dedicate a few more scenes to a) showing Lady Jeyne sending out search parties for Rhaena. We really do need to show anyone caring that she dipped basically as soon as the gates were shut? And we need to show b) Rhaena actively avoiding the knights of the Vale. Show her being a freak honestly. Like her defining trait is her tenacity to the point of unwellness. She's so desperate to get a dragon and get the approval and respect that Baela has (and Rhaenys had) that she'll tromp through Wales without food or water for hours if not days.

She needs to do this, and she needs to do it on her own. She'll spurn any help and she won't stop. It's that simple. Then when she finally finds Sheepstealer, and this would be her first scene in season 3 in my brain, have Nettles appear out of the fog and be like "hey that's my dragon btw" and then you would not only have a chance to please book readers, but to get another black girl on screen and have her start to build a new relationship dynamic with a Targaryen princess. I don't know, the possibilities are endless to me, the kind of conversations they could have. How would this random (non-Valyrian?) girl be able to bond with a dragon? Is Rhaena really so unlucky that her best chance was thwarted just like that? By a girl who looks like her and her sister?

The under the surface jealousy and resentment she must be suppressing would surely bubble to the surface, and Rhaena would get a chance to really have some scenes that leave any kind of emotional impact. It's not perfect, I don't think Nettles is going to show up in the actual show, but it's more than a few scenes of her running.

[snazzy-serpent]

I think we can all agree the Neil Gaimen situation is fucked up. I haven't really engaged with any of his media or the Good Omens fandom in quite a while after reading through some of American Gods and feeling quite icky about him, so its only rly today that I've first heard about the big things on what's going on.

I've only ever known very surface level info about him in the past but the more I read into it the worse and more concerning it gets.

I don't care for whatever conspiracies anyone makes about the David Tennant UK election thing. Whether they or the journalists are actually TERFs or not, it doesn't matter. SA is a hideous crime and no one deserves that shit. False allegations or not his whole persona just feels off and I'm not too sure I can in good conscious continue being in his fandom and knowingly boosting his influence and financial gain. I did the same for Rowling and while his views aren't as prevalent in the Good Omens story as in Harry Potter you also have to consider that the story was co-written with Terry Pratchett and the 2nd season has multiple script writers too.

His solo stories are a mix bag for what you get and up to your interpretation for each one. It's something that most of the time, unless you have been directly affected, you only really pick up on it more until after the fact, once you have the surrounding context next to it to consider all together. Don't shame folks for not knowing sooner, especially as many were kids and teens when first discovering this fandom. Instead direct your attention to those who will have the personal experiences to know more on the matter.

I love you good omens fans and fandom y'all have been (for the most part) wonderful but please I beg, support the victims in this and remember that while you can like a creator don't let it define you and definitely don't idolise them.

There's no such thing as "one of the good ones".

They can do some good things sure, but that's what they're choosing to show you.

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[This blog is now going to be permanently inactive unless it's for activist support.]

Consider donating/sharing if you have the ability to:

• The Palestine Children's Relief Fund https://www.pcrf.net/

• The Survivors Trust https://thesurvivorstrust.org/

• Rape Crisis England & Wales https://donate.rapecrisis.org.uk/