#welsh manor

[nonbinarynerevar]

i dont usually make posts like this but im so desperate

can anyone help me find a torchwood fic i forgot the name of?? its post 2x13 and canon compliant. the team goes to investigate rift activity in the countryside(or a castle??) and get sucked back in time... its implied ianto could die because newspapers from the time say an I. Jones was killed. they end up having to work with torchwood from the time period, meaning jack from the time is there and jack specifically says he doesnt remember that mission and its revealed its bc he was retconned.

and i think... a scientist is trying to do something with the rift using jack to... get his wife back?? or something??

this also was posted in or before 2021, and i BELIEVE it was still being finished by the time i was reading it circa June 2021

i desperately want to reread and actually finish this fic so im on my knees begging !!!

[paverics]

pro: jenna coleman back in her wlw role era

con: worst welsh accents you’ve ever heard to the point that it generated the same deep level of personal offence as if they had dug up my ancestors and pissed on their bones

[grzybobranie-zaniechanie]

Batman crack fic idea Janet Drake used to date Lady Shiva when she was in college, they break up when Janet marries Jack for social and money reasons.

Tim is born. When he's old enough the Drakes fuck off to do archeology and Janet hires a bunch of increasingly bizarre people who "owed her a favour ". There's a disgraced Russian ballerino, a mad chemist, the worlds best loclpicker, John Constantine, a black and white noire detective, some Welsh guy she found in the woods. Tim learns from all of them. Janet doesn't believe in public schools, so all of this is "homeschooling".

Flash forward, Tim is 11 Jack Drake dies on a dig in Australia, because a bird dropped a coconut on his head. Suddenly Tim has a new stepmum. Lady Shiva's nice, weirdly intense, but nothing he hasn't seen before. Janet takes over complete control of Drake industries, expands her business empire and destroyes her enemies with extreme prejudice. She teaches Tim all she knows about business. Shiva teaches him how to fight. Tim is happy he now has two mums who love and pay attention to him.

Stuff happens (I haven't figured out what yet) they find Cass and Tim gets a sister. Now, because this is DC and the children canonically yern for the streets (im thinking they're like 13 & 16 at this point), Cass and Tim become a new vigilante duo (I'm thinking Crows, one of tims nannies was an animal handler and he befriended all the crows in Gotham, they follow him around) and have perfected non verbal communication and creep out everybody with horror movie twin behaviour.

While sneaking around Gotham, they meet Steph, and she takes one look at them and decides that she likes Cass and that Tim needs to be bullied relentlessly. She is, of course, correct.

Meanwhile, Bruce is not having a good time, Jason is dead, and WE has competition for the first time in his life. He'd like to spiral into a pit of despair and find out who the new vigilantes are (and why are there so many birds?), but if he does that, Lucius will kill him or, worse, quit his job. So, instead, he and Dick are sent to therapy.

Jason comes back fully expecting to have to do a whole production out of this situation, takes one look at Bruce being forced to sit in a meeting with Janet and decides that he's fine actually, and why the fuck is Lady Shiva just hanging out at this gala with two kids hanging onto her?

By the time Damian is dropped off, everyone except for Bruce knows who the Crows are, Cass and Tim come over to hang out all the time. Damian is confused as to why The One Wo Sees All is in his father's house and how her brother manages to somehow be scarier than her. Damian does not like to be confused, so he still tries to kill Tim. This devolves into a roadrunner situation where Tim pulls out increasingly niche skills to get out of Damians traps. Later, this becomes enrichment for both of them.

When Tim is 15 and Cass 18, their mums decide they're old enough to be fine living with Bruce while they go off on their own adventures. Dick brings the Crows over to meet the Titans. He's told them about his cute baby siblings (Bruce is not the only one with an adoption problem). These children are not cute. They invoke fight or flight responses. Kon has one conversation with Tim, gets info dumped on, and falls in love immediately. He's finally found someone with an equal, if not greater, amount of weird, eclectic knowledge. Young Justice adventures are somehow even more bizarre than yj98. They are having the times of their lives.

Since Tim was never robin, Duke never started the We are Robin gang. But the Crows do have a cult, and he might be in it. His parents still get jokerised, and he starts living in Wayne manor proceeds to fit right in with the insanity (Bruce has given up on trying to control any of it).

The Justice League dreads whenever they have to meet with any of the younger Gotham vigilantes. Somehow, Jason ended up as the most almost well-adjusted one. He doesn't know how that happened either.

[whencyclopedia]

Beaumaris Castle

Beaumaris Castle, located on Anglesey, Wales, was built from 1295 CE by Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307 CE) to protect his territorial gains in the region. The castle featured the latest defensive designs of the period such as round towers, inner and outer circuit walls, massive towered gates and a fortified dock. Beaumaris Castle is considered one of the finest surviving examples of a concentric medieval castle and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Edward I & Wales

From 1272 CE Edward I, the new king of England, conquered most of Wales and joined it with the county system present in England. Following the death of Llywelyn, the Prince of Wales, in 1282 CE, the only part of Wales which remained free was the wild mountainous north, and here the king built several major castles including Caernarfon, the most important. Then in 1294 CE, a Welsh revolt broke out led by Madog ap Llywelyn, and although it was put down, Edward realised the need to further strengthen his grip on the region and the Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Mon) in particular, an important source of food. Anglesey, like other sites Edward built castles upon, also had a significance to the Welsh people, both commercially as an important trading and fishing centre and as the location of a Welsh royal manor and a Franciscan friary. Consequently, Beaumaris Castle was built there to control both the island and the coastal shipping routes and to remind the Welsh that a new order had been established.

The chief architect and engineer who planned and oversaw the construction of Edward's castle was the experienced Master James of St Georges (c. 1235-1308 CE), who was also involved in Edward's other castles in Wales such as Harlech Castle, Conwy Castle, and Caernarfon Castle. From the spring of 1295 CE, Master James supervised a massive team of masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and labourers - up to 3,500 workmen at the summer height of activity on the castle. These workers came from across the kingdom such as ditch diggers from Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, woodcutters from the West Midlands, and masons from Dorset. A letter from Master James to the King's Exchequer, written in February 1296 CE, attempts to justify the escalating costs and gives a good idea of the scale and difficulties of building a medieval castle:

In case you should wonder where so much money could go in a week, we would have you know that we have needed - and shall continue to need - 400 masons, both cutters and layers, together with 2,000 less skilled workmen, 100 carts, 60 wagons and 30 boats bringing stone and sea coal; 200 quarrymen; 30 smiths, and carpenters for putting in the joists and floor boards and other necessary jobs. All this takes no account of the garrison…nor of the purchases of material, of which there will have to be a great quantity…The men's pay has been and still is very much in arrears, and we are having the greatest difficulty in keeping them because they simply have nothing to live on.

(quoted in Gravett, 11-12)

At least costs were reduced in the area of transportation of stone as Beaumaris used local sources of limestone, sandstone and metamorphic schist. The speed at which the castle was built would suggest that it was already planned when the other Welsh castles were designed and built in the 1280s CE. Beaumaris was already a serviceable defensive structure after just one year of construction, however, work continued over the next few years and minor additions were made to the castle right up to 1330 CE.

Beaumaris, the last of Edward's castles in North Wales, was intended to be both a military stronghold and an impressive symbol of the king's power in the region, not to mention an aesthetically striking one (hence the name). It is interesting to note the deliberate and visually appealing use of lighter limestone in the lower courses of the outer walls and the darker limestone in those above. The castle eventually cost at least 13,000 pounds (about $20 million today) and was never entirely finished - the outer towers and main gates were intended to be greater in height. Still, as the historian and castle expert N.J.G. Pounds succinctly puts it, "Beaumaris was geometrically the most perfect of the Edwardian castles, and the skilful engineering of its towers, gates and water defences have never ceased to astonish" (174).

The castle, at least in its early years, had a constable, one William de Felton, and an impressive permanent garrison of 22 knights, 20 crossbowmen, and 100 archers. After 1296 CE the archers were withdrawn from the garrison, probably an indication of both the castle's completion and the quieter times in Wales.

Continue reading...

[hyacintheros]

Suspended In Gaffa

|| (Regulus Black x Fem!Reader)

Main Masterlist

Word Count: 1.9k

P.S: Had a little idea in mind, hope this will come to please c:

“There's an old muggle myth… every star in the sky, no matter how small or large, are people who've passed on in life. I don't think it would be so bad, being a star” The girl says, leaves rustling in the wind around them, the nightly autumn weather nipping at their cheeks.

Regulus turns his head, still laying down on the grass, looking at her with a glint of amusement, plucking a stray leaf that has fallen into her hair. “You're already a star, mon étoile”

Looking back at his life now, Regulus would have laughed in your face had you told him he'd be living in the Welsh countryside after graduation. The thought unfathomable to him, unreachable.

“Darling, can you grab the cherry tomatoes from the garden?” His girlfriend comes out of the kitchen, sporting an apron Hope Lupin had gifted. Regulus looks up from his book, marking the page then heading outside, giving her a quick peck on the cheek on the way to the door.

She fries up his egg, sunny-side up, and sprinkles a dash of asiago white pepper, her secret ingredient. To this day, Regulus has never found out what made his eggs taste so good.

The wavy haired boy returns back a small, hand-woven basket filled halfway with cherry tomatoes. “Could I make you a coffee, love?” he asks the girl, currently obsessed with his brand new Italian moka pot.

She laughs, allowing him a spot on the stove to start brewing his coffee. They rest in easy silence, accustomed to their routine for breakfast. She sets the table with her ceramic dining set, ones she got at the morning market a few months back, decorated with small little snakes.

Regulus sets the coffees at their respective seats, digging into their breakfast. An owl arrives as they dine, pecking at the window. “I'll get it!” The girl brightly says.

Offering the owl a treat, she grabs the letter attached to its leg. “Regulus, love, it's for you” she hands the boy the letter, he wipes his hands in his napkin, opening the letter. 

“I've been invited to a ball at Rosier Manor..” Regulus trails off, looking at the date of the ball. “S'for tomorrow!” He jumps up in a panic, briskly walking to his closet.

“What's got you in a hurry?” The girl says, worried he hadn't finished breakfast. He looks back at her, a very rare shyness taking over him. “Not sure if I've got my dress robes..” The girl smiles, going to the spare room.

She hands him one of his dress robes, all washed and pressed, kept in one of those muggle garment dust covers. Regulus thanks his girlfriend, gingerly taking the robes from her and inspecting them. 

Evan and Barty always had a tendency to leave things last minute, this invitation obviously one of them. He looks back at the letter, being told to bring a plus one if he wished. Going back to his girlfriend, he asks, “Will you accompany me to the ball?” 

She kisses his lips gently, knowing how hard it is going to be for him to see all the Pureblood families again. “Of course, mon ange” Being a Pureblood herself, she knows the pressure he's putting on himself, though her parents were much kinder and more accepting of their move to Wales.

“D’you wanna match? I can finally wear that emerald green dress I bought in Paris!” He looks at her excited state, lazily grinning. Regulus would do anything she'd ask of him, even if it meant his own demise.

“I'll get the green bow tie then.. Oh I should probably owl them back, just to confirm our attendance.” Regulus grabs a  quill and sits on the extra desk in the spare room. He hands the letter to the girl, asking if she could send it with their owl.

She pulls him with her back to the dining room, trying to get him to eat again. “Come on love, food's gone cold.. Would you like me to heat it up?” He shrugs it off, saying it's fine and continues to eat his eggs, not wanting to bother his darling girl.

Finishing up her coffee, she says to him, “We should get them a gift! It's rude if we show up with nothing.” Regulus ponders on this for a little while, thinking of the best thing to get Evan and Barty. Finally, he says, “We should make a trip to Diagon Alley.” 

After cleaning the kitchen up and fluffing the couch pillows, the two approach the fireplace, grabbing the lustering green floo powder. She goes first, giving Regulus a small peck, then disappearing into the fire. The steel-eyed boy follows her actions, dusting his suit off at his destination.

“So, where are we off to then?” She locks her arms with his, her Mary Jane's clicking as she walks, doll-like. “Well dolly, let's head to the Magical Menagerie. Got a feeling they would appreciate a little pet..”

“Don't they already have an owl? They don't like cats, nor rats, or even bats!” She rhymes on, giggling. Regulus smiles, finding her behaviour quite adorable. “No dovey, you'll see.” He brushes her chin with his rings.

Pulling the girl into the store, they browse around. Regulus already knows what he wants to get for their two friends, but he knows how fascinated his girlfriend gets by animals. “Reggie…look at the cat!” She points towards a tabby orange cat.

“Darling.. you have me! Why do you need another of me?” He pouts, referencing his animagus form, a black cat with steely grey eyes. She chuckles at his oddly jealous stare. “Come on, what are we getting them?” She's curious as to what he has in mind.

He pulls her to the snake pit, pointing at a beautiful black snake. “Behold, the Elaphe obsoleta.. Evan always wanted a snake” Regulus gently picks up the slithering snake, the black bodice wraps herself on his arm, coiling around him.

His girlfriend hums contently, agreeing on his choice. Walking to the counter, the lady packs the snake away safely, providing a small container of snake feed for them. They walk out with the gift, grabbing ice cream before flooing back. 

—♡—

“Reggie, darling? Can you tie the strap of my dress?” She calls out to him from the bedroom, voice strained as she struggles to do the bow at the back. Regulus pops into the room, fingers coiling his waves with his favourite curl cream. 

He washes his hands in the bathroom quickly, drying them so he doesn't get any cream on her dress. Brushing his nimble hands across her back, sending shivers down her spine. “Behave,” she turns her head into his neck, laying a gentle kiss. He quits his teasing, finally doing up her bow.

He turns her around, gazing at her like a piece of art hung up in a museum, stars painted with precision on the night sky adorned by him, the moon which watches the stars.

Tucking his matching emerald green pocket square, she fans it out elegantly, fixing collar. “Are you going to wear your jewellery? I like the silver chain you put on your trousers.” He chuckles, grabbing the chain from a bowl of his jewellery, clicking it into place.

“Should I wear silver or gold? You're wearing silver, I should wear silver too.. Barty would throw a fit if I wore gold again too!” She grazes her fingers over his beautiful silver rings, stopping at a special one, engraved with the Black family crest.

“Your parents will be there, are you sure you still want to go..? We can always retire for the night, feigning ill,” she holds his hands, wanting to comfort him. Regulus puts on a brave face, tightening his hold on her hands and smiling, “I'll be okay. Knowing Evan and Barty, they'll probably take us away into the forest halfway through.”

She pulls away, touching up her makeup while Regulus grabs the gift, the beautiful Elaphe obsoleta. His girlfriend fixes the little curl on his forehead, then grabs a silver clutch to match with her jewellery and shoes. “Ready?” She grabs onto him, responding, “Ready.”

He apperates them a small distance from the manor, wanting to calm his own emotions before arriving. Sensing this, his girlfriend interlocks their hands, swinging them as they walk. “D'you know what? I think Pandora invited Dorcas, we surely haven't seen Dorcas in a while.. Should invite everyone over soon before we leave for Italy!”

“Oh really? You'd want to house all the Slytherin Skittles and the Marauders in one small cottage in Wales? How'd you think that's going to end up, love?” He snickers, swinging his hand in hers.

They approach the Rosier Manor, knocking on the huge gothic doors, probably built during the Victorian era. They are greeted by a house elf, small and malnourished, terribly afraid by the sheer amount of Pureblood presence in attendance.

She welcomes them in, bringing them to the living room with all the other guests. The couple goes to greet the hosts, Pierre and Seraphina Rosier. “Darling! It is so good to see you, how has it been in Wales?” Seraphina greets the girl, kissing her cheeks and giving her a hug. 

“We have been wonderful, Lady Rosier.. Thank you for having us! Goodness the manor looks gorgeous, who decorated?” The girls go off, chit chatting about little pieces of art in the house, leaving Regulus to greet Lord Rosier.

“I assume Evan invited you? Do try to keep yourself straight tonight, I'd hate for your poor girlfriend to be embarrassed by you.” Lord Rosier snarks to the boy, clearly being influenced by Orion and Walburga. Though he seems to have no issue with his date, being that their families are extremely close.

Regulus thanks him for the ‘advice’, walking off to find Evan and Barty to deliver their gift. “Regulus! There you are, you sod! Beginning to think you weren't coming. Poor Barty was sulking! Come in- where's treasure?” Evan pulls him into his room, wondering where his girlfriend was.

“Well ‘treasure’ got locked with your mum looking at a lamp, and I got dunked on by your father!” Regulus sits on the bed next to Barty, holding his head in his hands. “Oh come on, you know how weird my father is with yours,” Evan remarks. 

“Hey! Awe- where's treasure??” Barty pouts, looking at the door, hoping Regulus’ girlfriend will walk through. “Your boyfriend's mum.” He says, very deadpanned and tired. 

“We brought you a gift.. thought you guys might enjoy it,” Regulus hands off the carrier to Barty, encouraging them to open it. Barty lets out a literal squeal while Evan slowly takes it out.

“Is that a.. are you really gifting us a snake..? That's the most romantic thing you've ever done for us!” Barty teases, faking tears in his eyes. Regulus rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue, secretly enjoying his friend's antics.

In the midst of all of this, someone raps on the door. “Treasure!” Barty jumps onto her like a flying squirrel, giving her a big hug. “Barty! Barty please! I can't breathe,” she tries to escape from his grasps. “Oi Junior! Get your hands off my girlfriend!”

Regulus has to pry him off of the poor girl, being reminded of their years at Hogwarts, looking back at all of the adventures and hardships, now finally feeling like he fit the last piece of a puzzle into his life.

[vega-canismajor]

Jegulily raising Harry (+ his sister)

Harry's favorited time was Yule. They were coming to Potter Manor where James' parents lived. Euphemia and Fleamont were open for everyone so:

Remus and Sirius would be there too with their adoptive daughter (Ravenclaw, werewolf, two years younger than Harry) Harry's sister would play with her all the time

Peter would come for one day of christmas and the rest spent a few houses away with his mother

Marlene and Dorcas would sent gifts for kids and were talking with adults thanks to the two-way mirror or Lily's phone

Pandora, Xenophilus and Luna were staying for dinner and left weird unsigned gifts under christmas tree

Evan and Barty wound show without a warning in the middle of the night for couple of hours

Harry could invite Ron and Hermione whenever he liked

Draco and Harry were exchanging letters every day, telling each other funny stories from their houses

A lot of cultures were mixed together then. They had wizzard's and muggle's traditions so Lily never felt left out. Euphemia cooked not only british but also indian food and wove Indian words into the conversation. Sirius and Regulus were arguing at least two times a day in french. Remus was cursing in Welsh when James and Sirius did something stupid.

This was the loudest and the craiziest holiday. And Harry loved the reminder that so many amazing people were his family.

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

In many ways, the Band of Brothers became like this large, extended family; we had trained together, suffered together, fought together, died together. Not that we always got along, before or after the war. I remember once, at a reunion in Dallas, Lewis Nixon and Harry Welsh and Mike Ranney sitting around, and Nixon tees off on Buck Compton. Says he was a coward. I said, “Is that right? And how many Silver Stars do you have?” They didn’t know Buck Compton. They hadn’t served with him as I had. Hadn’t seen him rush those 105s at Brécourt Manor. Compton had been wounded in Holland, and was a damn good officer, a tough soldier, a guy who gave until he couldn’t give anymore. Not a cowardly bone in his body.

~ Don Malarkey

[blasphemousclaw]

What was life as a member of Caria like? It’s weird that, despite ruling over the academy, they have their own study hall and preceptors on the exact opposite side of the region to Caria manor. At any rate — I would assume Caria went through like, four phases? Pre-academy, post establishment as royalty, and then Rennala’s children with Radagon. And of course to the present day.

I’m so glad you asked… this was the perfect opportunity for me to start organizing a collection of Carian-related lore text and I went a little insane and wrote an entire treatise on Carian culture. I hope you enjoy this frighteningly in-depth wizard family analysis

CARIAN CULTURE AND PRACTICES

We know that the Carians were descended from a group of astrologers who lived in the Mountaintops of the Giants, implied by the Sword of Night and Flame (the Carian royal family’s ancestral sword) description: “Astrologers, who preceded the sorcerers, established themselves in mountaintops that nearly touched the sky, and considered the Fire Giants their neighbors.” This group of astrologers must have at some point migrated down to Liurnia and established a society there.

I get the impression that the Carian astrologers might have once been quite numerous, since as you say, the Carian study hall is rather far from Caria Manor — perhaps at their height, they were pretty spread out across Liurnia. I’ve also said before that the Carian Filigreed Crest description might imply other layers of nobility and a wider society among the Carian astrologers, as it mentions Carian knights guarding multiple “princesses” (it’s also possible that “princess” was a noble title among Carian society before Rennala established herself as a queen, as the Discarded Palace Key description is said to be “passed down to Carian princesses” but Rennala was the first Carian queen).

Speaking of princesses, there is strong evidence that Caria was a matriarchal society: though we don’t have much information about Carian society, in the few scraps we have, only queens and princesses are ever mentioned. We also know that Ranni is the youngest child, and yet Iji names her as heir to Caria, suggesting that she might have primogeniture over her older brothers. The Carians also have ties to the Nox people (affinity for the night/moon/stars, the art of puppetry/fate manipulation, silver tear technology at Raya Lucaria and in the Albinaurics, the Nox Swordstress statue in the Church of Vows), which also seems to be a matriarchal society judging by the fact that the Night Maidens and Swordstresses are the highest clerical ranks.

There are many other details that characterize Liurnia as a unique region in the Lands Between that developed apart from the Erdtree: I’ve mentioned before that the nobles in Altus and Limgrave dress in distinctive robes…

This style of dress does not appear anywhere among Liurnians. Instead, the Carians and their knights dress in a distinct color scheme of royal blue and red, ornamented with glintstone in different shades. The sorcerers of Raya Lucaria also dress in the same red and blue, and I think that this style of dress actually comes directly from the Carians! The Queen’s robe item description is stated to be a “robe indicating the highest order of sorcerer.” We also know that the Academy’s name “Raya Lucaria” itself is named for the Carian royal family, no doubt added when Rennala took over. So it makes sense that the Carians had influence over the sorcerers’ uniform too!

Liurnian characters also have a distinctive way of speaking apart from the rest of the Lands Between; every single Liurnian character in the game is played by a Welsh voice actor speaking in their native accent (including both Raya Lucarian sorcerers and Carian-affiliated characters).

The Carians’ standout trait is their mastery of astrology and glintstone sorcery — they craft their own spells and use a distinct royal blue glintstone. Their knights were renowned for their skill in both swordsmanship and sorcery, and notably, some of the Carian knights are trolls, who are viewed as equals in Carian society! Another important magical role is the office of preceptor, which directly served the royal family as experts on reading fate within the stars. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, The Carians had great influence over the Academy. After charming the sorcerers with her lunar magic, Rennala presided over a new sorcerers’ conspectus: called the Lazuli conspectus, these Academy sorcerers studied Carian sorceries and believed the moon to be equal to the stars.

GOLDEN ORDER INFLUENCE

Power dynamics in Carian society changed drastically when the Golden Order sent Radagon to subjugate Liurnia, and Rennala ended up marrying him: there was a peace brokered between Caria and Leyndell, symbolized by the entwining gold branches and blue glintstone of the Glintstone Kris, a “ritual blade once presented to Leyndell by the Academy of Raya Lucaria to celebrate their newfound peace.”

This peace began an era of coexisting ideas… As Rogier says, “the Golden Order was pliable enough to absorb practices that contradicted itself in the past.” Radagon himself began to learn sorcery from Rennala, and he also had an authority over the royal preceptors (commanding them to don masks as a vow of secrecy). Golden Order devotion also began to spread through Liurnia alongside sorcery. The Converted tower and the Converted Fringe tower in Liurnia show a coexisting of Golden Order faith and glintstone sorcery — there is a statue of Marika inside, and to complete the puzzle, the erudition gesture must be performed in front of her.

This theme of entwining cultures is also reflected in the Carian royal family themselves — Rennala and Radagon’s three children inherit two lineages, the moon and the Erdtree, entangled in their very blood.

Unfortunately though, this was not exactly an equal partnership… though Caria manages to stay independent, they are now inextricably tied to the Golden Order, which was not always a good thing. The telescope item states that “during the age of the Erdtree, Carian astrology withered on the vine. The fate once writ in the night skies had been fettered by the Golden Order.” Whether this description is referring to Radahn or not is a whole other post, but the simple fact is that the Golden Order is the reason why the Carians’ power is in decline. The three royal children also seemed to struggle with their dual heritages and loyalties, especially Ranni as both heir to Caria and an empyrean of the Greater Will.

Of course, we know that in the end Radagon essentially dealt the death blow to Caria’s influence in Liurnia. The Queen’s robe description states that when Radagon left Rennala, her heart went with him, “and then, those at the academy realized. That Rennala was no champion, after all.” Rennala’s weakness led the Academy to rebel against the Carian royal family and launched Liurnia into civil war. And with Rennala’s heir killing herself in the Night of the Black Knives, and the Shattering war breaking out, Caria’s power is now a shadow of its former self.

[marchwardenofmordor]

Fun fact: I am actually from the real life Mordor. Allow me to explain.

It’s no coincidence that Welsh and Sindarin Elvish are similar. It’s also no coincidence that a lot of things in the books are tied to Welsh mythology and folklore - take Saruman vs the Ents; it’s straight out of the Cad Goddeu.

Thus, it should come as no surprise to you that Tolkien also used Welsh places in his books.

I’m gonna be talking about Mordor. Or, as I know it; Merthyr. Home (or almost, I live just outside of it, literally less than 5 mins away).

Merthyr Tydfil is still one of the most deprived places in the UK, having the biggest council estate in Wales (the Gurnos), and was hit HARD by the industrial revolution (something Tolkien hated - he found urbanisation of natural places to be actively abhorrent).

Our green valleys, nestled beneath the Beacons / Black Mountains became steelworks (which my grandfather and great grandfather worked in) and enormous open coal pits and mines (which my great grandfather on the other side (I think??) worked in). My grandfather said that working in the steelworks was like being transported into Dante’s Inferno; black smog churned out into a red sky, scorching hot, and the workers were not paid in money, but in tokens that could only be used to buy food from the shops owned by the Ironmasters, so it all went straight back into their pockets. It was slave labour. Here’s some paintings, and some ruins.

(Mt Doom, anyone?)

And the ironmasters knew what they were doing (of course they did) - one of the ironmasters’ headstones literally just says “God Forgive Me”.

Cyfarthfa Castle was the seat of their power, home to the Crawshay family, who were English (surprise surprise). The fortified manor overlooks what was funnily enough described as ‘pandemonium’. Hell.

Bastard.

Here’s the big fuck off coal pit which is still there today.

[fanofspooky]

House of the Long Shadows

1983 • PG • 1h40m

An American author finds a dilapidated Welsh manor perfect for writing until the residents host a bizarre family reunion.

[queenmarytudor]

Went down a rabbit hole after searching for Mary's letter to Cromwell in May 1533...

Because Letters and Papers only had a summary of the letter I wanted to find the actual one, which led to me finding this quote from Diarmaid MacCulloch's book about Thomas Cromwell.

which is great, I actually managed to find the full letter by searching this quote but it opened up a different can of worms.

After talking about the letter he references a matter of a priory? A fair deal? And this in 1533, before the Dissolution truly began c.1536? I was intrigued!

So I searched and found the first mention of it in the book:

Turns out, Margaret, Countess of Salisbury and John Hussey were involved. So I searched for that letter because I was curious:

"In oure right loving wise we recommende us unto you. And where as the beyrar hereof, called John Reignold, oon of the Princesse footmen, is moch desirous tobe fermer of the Priory of Bethekelert, in the Comitie of Caernarvan, in Northwalles, lately suppressed, as he saith; for his fertheraunce thereunto he hath sued unto us to write unto you in his favore for that ye have the letting therof, as he affermeth. We, considering that the said John Reignold was borne in those parties, and that the said ferme shuld be proufitable and commodyous for hym, desire and hertily praye you tobe good maister unto hym, that he being as beneficiall unto the Kings Grace in that bihalf as any othre wilbe, may have the same to ferme with th'appertenaunce bifore any othre, and thrathre for that he is the Princesse servaunt. Wherin ye may be assured not only hereafter to deserve right herty thanks of his Grace, but also have us to do you suche pleasure as hereafter may lie in oure powers. And besides ye shall, in our opinion, do thing meritorous for the refuge of the said John Reignold and to have hym therfore tobe youre daily Orator : not doubting but for the annual payment of the said ferme he shall fynde you such sufficient suerties as ye shall reasonable requier of hym, as God knowith who haue you in his mercifull assurance. At the maner of Knolle, the last daye of Nouembre."

TLDR: basically one of Mary's Welsh footmen wants to have the farm owned by the 'recently supressed' priory as he grew up near there.

Letters & Papers date it at 1535 - which makes more sense due to the Dissolution timeline. I've searched the priory and every single site says it was dissolved in 1535, which lines up with the Letters & Papers version.

But why would Mary's governess and chamberlain be writing together in 1535, when Mary's household was dissolved two years earlier? Not to mention referring to her as Princess, while speaking about a Welsh matter, when at this point Elizabeth would be the true Princess - which, we know they supported Mary but writing to Cromwell they would have to refer to Elizabeth as such over her.

I also found out that the manor of Knoll is near Eltham - where Mary was in autumn 1532, and Holy Trinity Priory in Aldgate was suppressed by Henry VIII in February 1532, so there's evidence of some monasteries closing around that time. And John Reginald is there in Mary's household list of 1533:

Footmen :John Reignoldes, Chas. Morley, Thos. Bigges, 2d.

So, I too am inclined, like MacCulloch, to think this dates to 1532 over 1535. Which is evidence of Mary/her household being politically active doing Princess of Wales things, especially in this case for a Welshman!

[wonder-worker]

"By the mid-1220s, relations between Gwynedd and England were amicable and royal officials met a number of times over the course of two years, presumably as a means of establishing a permanent agreement. Joan was the pre-eminent envoy during these years and in 1224 she was given safe passage to meet with the king [Henry III] to help lay the groundwork for a conference. Joan did not travel on her own in every instance as in 1226 it is recorded that she was accompanied by Llywelyn and Dafydd. It seems, however, that Joan’s personal contributions to peace negotiations in her role as political envoy in 1225 and 1226 were recognised by her brother. She was rewarded with the manors of Rothley in Leicestershire and Condover in Shropshire soon after her meetings with him. Later, in 1227 Joan was excused from paying a tallage tax on these manors, the king recommending to her tenants that they, instead, reimburse his sister with reasonable aid. It was also during this period, in 1226, that Henry offered to sponsor Joan’s legitimisation, which, too, may have been a symbol of royal friendship and support.

Louise Wilkinson argues that the sources suggest the gifts and support bestowed upon Joan by Henry are evidence of the familial bond felt between brother and sister and that Henry held Joan in high regard. This is certainly a reasonable assessment given the lifecycle identifiers used to describe Joan and her family in chancery records. Although the designation of ‘Lady of North Wales’ is used in close juxtaposition with that of Llywelyn’s title as ‘Prince of North Wales’ in examples from 1224 and 1226, it is her personal relationships that are used to clearly identify her. In 1224 she is referred to as sister of the king and wife of Llywelyn (Johanna Domina de Northwallia sorore Regis ac nuper uxor Lewlini Principis Northwall), whilst in 1226 when safe conduct was granted to her and her family, she is described simply as Llywelyn’s wife and the king’s sister (uxore ejus sorore Regis; uxorem suam sororem nostrum). In these instances, even the familial connections between the king and Llywelyn (Lewlino Principe Northwall’ fratre Reg’; dilectum fratrem Lewlinum principem Norwalliae) and Dafydd (filijs suis nepotibus Regis; filium suum nepotem nostrum) are emphasised. Joan’s status as Lady of North Wales is clearly recognised and such acts were issued because of her status. However, it seems that the lifecycle identifiers in these documents were employed as a means of emphasizing the personal nature of the relationships between the king of England and the family of the prince of Gwynedd, Joan being at the centre. That is to say, it seems that particular family relations, both natal and uxorial, played a large role in her successful dealings with the English Crown.

Further evidence of the bond between sister and brother appears from 1228 when Henry reclaimed the manors of Rothley and Condover as a likely consequence of inflamed hostilities between Llywelyn and Henry’s justicar, Hubert de Burgh (d. 1243). Although Joan lost ownership over the manors, Henry sanctioned the removal of her livestock and chattels situated at Condover and also ensured that the corn she had given instructions to be sown there remained in her possession. Rothley was restored to her later that year after she and her own officials met with Henry at Shrewsbury to initiate proceedings for another Anglo-Welsh truce. It is evident that Joan successfully negotiated an armistice given the cordial correspondence that subsequently passed between the prince and the king. Further, and most significantly, the Patent Rolls record that on 13 October 1228, Joan accompanied Dafydd when he paid homage to the king at Westminster on behalf of Llywelyn. It is likely that in this instance she appeared in all the capacities mother, wife and sister. However, it was most likely as queen that she officially stood; as the most pre-eminent member, and representative, of Llywelyn’s court in his absence."

Danna R. Messer, "The uxorial lifecycle and female agency in Wales in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", PhD dissertation, Bangor University, 2014.

[richwall101]

Arundel Castle England

Arundel Castle is a restored and remodeled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and early 19th centuries by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk. Further restoration and embellishment was undertaken from the 1890s by Charles Alban Buckler for the 15th Duke. Since the 11th century, the castle has been the seat of the Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk. It is a Grade I listed building.

The original structure was a motte-and-bailey castle. Roger de Montgomery was declared the first Earl of Arundel as the King granted him the property as part of a much larger package of hundreds of manors. Roger, who was a cousin of William the Conqueror, had stayed in Normandy to keep the peace there while William was away in England. He was rewarded for his loyalty with extensive lands in the Welsh Marches and across the country, together with one fifth of Sussex (Arundel Rape). He began work on Arundel Castle in around 1067.

Between 1101 and 1102 the castle was besieged by the forces of Henry I after its holder Robert of Bellême rebelled. The siege ended with the castle surrendering to the king. The castle then passed to Adeliza of Louvain (who had previously been married to Henry I) and her husband William d'Aubigny. Empress Matilda stayed in the castle, in 1139.[4] It then passed down the d'Aubigny line until the death of Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel in 1243. John Fitzalan then inherited jure matris the castle and honour of Arundel, by which, according to Henry VI's "admission" of 1433, he was later retrospectively held to have become de jure Earl of Arundel.

The FitzAlan male line ceased on the death of Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel, whose daughter and heiress Mary FitzAlan married Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk in 1555, to whose descendants the castle and earldom passed.

In 1643, during the First English Civil War, the castle was besieged.[ The 800 royalists inside surrendered after 18 days. Afterwards in 1653 Parliament ordered the slighting of the castle; however "weather probably destroyed more". Restructuring of the castle was carried out between 1875 and 1905. The Castle is open to the pubic

[scotianostra]

On August 11th 1586, Mary Queen of Scots was arrested near Chartley Manor, Staffordshire for her part in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth.

Like it or not, with or without her full knowledge Mary was involved in plots to remove Elizabeth as Queen of England, and place her on the throne. When Mary was displaced by rebellious nobles and fled south to England, she was imprisoned rather than hospitably received by her English cousin.

Unsurprisingly, this treatment and her strong and public faith made her a rallying point for various plots against Elizabeth during her 19-year imprisonment.

The most serious were the Ridolfi plot of 1571 – which threatened to replace the Queen with Mary with the help of Spanish troops, and the Throckmorton Plot of 1583, another plan to murder and replace Elizabeth.

By the mid 1580s it was clear that as long as Mary lived Catholics and Spanish-sympathisers would flock to her, and after her agent Thomas Morgan was implicated in yet another assassination attempt, The Babington Plot, in 1585, Elizabeth was persuaded by her advisers to put Mary on trial.

The Babington plot still baffles historians to this day, what we do know is from the start Elizabeth's spies had known about it, a certain Francis Walsingham principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth was intercepting letters, forging Mary's writing and substituting his own, and so basically orchestrated the whole thing.

Confidant of Mary, the Welsh catholic, Thomas Morgan recruited, among others Anthony Babington, what was happening, basically letters written by Walsingham, pretending to be Mary, encouraged an assassination of Elizabeth. It's all quite complicated, and everyone, who was anyone who has written about Mary and Elizabeth, has their own opinion on it. Me, Mary was writing to the main protagonists so was not faultless, but her level of complicity in these plots is still unclear, Mary was arrested while out riding in August 1586. She was put on trial in October and found guilty, on the 7th February, she was informed that she was to be executed the next morning.

She met her death with exemplary courage and publically forgave her executioners before being beheaded with three messy blows of an axe. Elizabeth then claimed that she had not authorised this, washing her hands of the death of her kinswoman.

[apilgrimpassingby]

Happy Christmas Eve y'all! Celebrating by sharing some British superstitions and folktales related to the date. On this day...

Blackthorn comes into flower, because it was the thorn Christ's crown was made of.

In the Kentish town of Hever, the ghost of Anne Boleyn will appear on the bridge of Hever Castle.

Prior to the mid-1960s, the owners of Bloor's Place in Rainham, Kent left out a glass of brandy for the town ghost (a phantom coach drawn by headless horses and driven by a headless coachman and carrying a passenger with his head in his lap) on this night; allegedly, the glass was always empty next morning.

At Hall-i'-the-Wood Manor in Bolton, Lancashire, a phantom cavalier will run up the stairs and will continue doing this until Twelfth Night.

According to the folklore of Lincolnshire, eating a whole Christmas cake today is very unlucky.

In the county of Northumberland, bees gather and hum a hymn on this day.

Also in Northumberland is Bamburgh Castle, where on this day every seven years a toad is seen; this toad is a witch transformed for her evil, who can only be transformed back by unsheathing the Sword of Wynde (a sword used by a dragon-slayer, the Child of Wynde) three times, blowing his horn three times and kissing the toad-witch.

In the village of Westleton in Suffolk, furniture jumps around tonight.

A phantom coach arrives at the manor of Roos Hall in Beccles, Suffolk.

A bell called Black Tom is rung in the Yorkshire town of Dewsbury to ward off the Devil.

At Strata Florida Abbey in the Welsh county of Cardiganshire, a ghostly monk tries to rebuild the altar.

[hazyange1s]

MC: Diana Blackwine

Basics

Full name: Diana Seren Blackwine

Nicknames: Di, D

Gender: female

Species: witch (and technically a starseed but that’s on the DL)

Date of birth: February 2, 1875

Nationality: Scottish and Welsh

Blood status: pureblood

Wand: vine, phoenix feather, 10 1/2 in, supple

Appearance

Hair color: jet black

Hair style: worn down in loose curls or in half-up styles

Eye color: teal

Skin tone: pale/peachy

Height: 5’2”

Body type: petite

Clothing style: rich jewel tones and cool shades (blue, purple, silver), smooth and light fabrics (satin, silk, cotton)

Accessories:

Blackwine family ring

moonstone necklace (gifted to her by Ominis)

scarf lover…like, a whole collection

Other distinguishing features:

scar over the bridge of her nose (from an inferi in the catacombs the night of Solomon’s death)

light freckles over her nose and cheeks

star shaped birthmark on her wrist

Personality

Traits: artistic, compassionate, spiritual, wise, diplomatic, indecisive, absentminded, self-righteous, people pleaser

Likes: sweets, winter, classical composers, art, theory, random acts of kindness

Dislikes: yellow, frogs, closed-mindedness, being forced to act on a whim

Fears: loss (of loved ones, of herself), change, small spaces, FROGS

Hobbies: painting, violin, stargazing, cartography

MBTI: INFJ-T

Enneagram: 5w6 (592) so/sx

Zodiac: aquarius sun, pisces moon, libra rising

Temperament: phlegmatic

Archetype: The Sage

Similar characters: Feyre Archeron, Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Katara, Luna Lovegood, Sam Winchester

Relationships

Father: Bennett Blackwine

Retired Unspeakable —> astronomer

Pureblood wizard

Killed during a home break in when Diana was 14

Ravenclaw alumnus

Mother: Guinevere Blackwine (Faughn)

Pureblood witch

Portrait painter and poet

Killed alongside Diana’s father

Slytherin alumnus

Aunt/Guardian: Celeste Blackwine

Pureblood witch

Owns a clothing shop

Ravenclaw alumnus

Pet: Saoirse

Scottish fold

Gifted on her thirteenth birthday

Loves Ominis’s cat Phoebe, lounging in the common room, and annoying Raegan’s Phoenix

Best Friends:

Raegan DesRosiers, Ominis Gaunt, Sebastian Sallow, Poppy Sweeting, Amit Thakkar, Samantha Dale, Natsai Onai, Ronan Sharp

Love Interest(s): Ominis Gaunt

Magic

Boggart: two cloaked figures

Patronus: black mare

Polyjuice: turns shimmering indigo and tastes like blueberry syrup

Amortentia: Jasmine, chamomile, dark chocolate, and paint

Special abilities:

Ancient magic - especially gifted in weather spells (don’t mind the sudden thunderstorm over the castle… she’s just having a bad day.)

Seer (receives most of her prophecies through dreams, but is also skilled at tarotmancy and osteomancy as well as astrology)

Backstory

Born on the Isle of Skye in Glen Sligachan, Scotland, Diana was raised as the only daughter and heiress to the Blackwine fortune; a family of the sacred 28. She often traveled with her parents, as their lines of work took them all over Great Britain and Northern Europe.

When Diana was around age seven, her governess began to report frequent distractions, being late to lessons, and speaking out of turn - which caused her parents concern. She was believed to have a behavioral disorder and was promptly given a slew of experimental drugs to remedy it… with no luck.

Her father was patient and understanding, while her mother was a different story; especially when Diana grew older and still showed no signs of possessing magic.

When Diana was fifteen, her manor was broken into in the middle of the night. By the time she awoke to the sound of screams and made it to the study, her parents were both dead - and the murderers gone. This is the trigger for her magic to be awakened, which shatters every piece of glass in the room the moment she finds them. The case remains unsolved for many years.

But she gets her Hogwarts letter (as Raegan did) just after the funeral, and finds hope in what’s to come despite the horrors that follow her.

Academics

Best subject: Divination

Favorite subject(s): Astronomy, Divination, and Charms

Favorite teacher: Onai

Worst subject: Potions

Least favorite teacher: Shah “asTroNoMy is nOT dIVInaTIOn”

Quidditch: Seeker in seventh year (voluntold to play by Raegan)

As a student:

Teacher’s pet without even trying to be

Late to almost every class and has too much missed Potions homework to count

Miraculously avoids most trouble (it’s not miraculous, her friends just take the detentions for her)

Future

Career: Astronomy Professor and Seer

Diana goes back and forth for a long time on her career choice - wanting to stay true to herself and help others at the same time. So, she winds up following in her father’s footsteps, and becomes the new Astronomy professor once Shah retires. She also takes over for Professor Hecat as the Head of Ravenclaw house (quite fitting). On the side (and when she eventually leaves Hogwarts for good), Diana is known to help local residents by offering Divination services such as tarot readings and osteomancy - and her predictions, when they come.