Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus i bawb!

That's right! It's WALES' BIRTHDAY*!!! Yaaaaayyyy today you are all Welsh. Enjoy your 24 hours of perfect harmonisation ability and utter disinterest in any celebrities. Watch out for the dragons.

*It is not Wales' birthday

I have decided to revive an old favourite of this blog to mark the occasion - prepare for a classic Pick The Fake Welsh Word Poll! And to super charge the Welshness today we are assessing the glory that is the daffodil - the national flower of Wales (lol not really, our national flower is the leek. And that's why queen Lizzie Two had to get coronated with a leek on her dress because we refused to let them use the daffodil even when the palace designer begged. Iconic.)

(But the daffodil is still a symbol of Wales, so it counts here.)

So! Let's go! Etymology at the end.

Etymology Notes

Croeso'r Gwanwyn - they flower in March! Hence the St David's Day link. One of the first flowers to bloom in spring.

Clych babi - the trumpet bit looks like a bell, I suppose, and has similar (make a noise' connotations. Why a baby? Dunno. Maybe a spring link again.

Gwayw brenin - the leaves are definitely spear-like, and the petals look a bit like a crown

Pibell felen - 'pibell' usually means a pipe in the sense of music, so another trumpet reference. Except we didn't have trumpets in Wales, so pipe it is

Gylfinog - the trumpet again. The word is often used for animals (morfil gylfinog is beaked whale, for example). Cognate with Cornish gelvinek, Irish gulba, etc.

Cenhinen Pedr - Peter is probably the saint. The leek is otherwise a Welsh emblem

Lily pengam - the angle of the flower head, maybe, makes it 'wry-headed'? And then the lily link, which turns up a few times

Melyn Clamai - yellow is obvious. Clamai is a corruption of Calan Mai - May Eve. Another reference to the time of year

Lili Clamai - lily again, Calan Mai again.

Dwndili - a corruption of the English word 'daffodil', and the lili again

Daffidondili - further corruption

Daffitwndili - corruption but with hypercorrection of the d to a t! Can you tell these ones are dialectic?

~~~

Enjoy!

Queen Camilla meets with representatives and staff from Calan DVS, one of the largest domestic abuse charities operating in Wales, Brecon, 20.07.2023

Empty Vessel-'verse headcanons: Thranduil

So, approximately a million years ago (as in, LAST MAY OH MY GOD) I did a poll asking who I should do headcanons for in My Heart Is An Empty Vessel-'verse. Thranduil won by a long way, and I sat down to write them down...and then completely forgot to post them. Then @tildabardsdotter11 commented on the poll post the other day to ask for Tilda, and I remembered again. So here is Thranduil, and Tilda is coming up next!

Westron is his third language, and although he’s fairly fluent, probably from the Last Alliance, he hasn’t had occasion to speak it in a very long time, hence how formally he speaks: he does not use contractions, he has a distinct accent, he speaks quite slowly, and sometimes he has to ask for a word, or make one up.

He gives absolutely everyone he cares about Sindarin nicknames. Bard and Auriel (his wife) are both ‘meleth-nín’ (my love) and Auriel is also ‘calan-nín’ (my light-of-day), while Maudie (Bard’s wife) is ‘galad-nín’ (my sunlight/sunshine); Sigrid is ‘melinettë-nín’ (my dear girl), Bain is ‘maethor-nín’ (my warrior), Tilda is ‘pen-neth’ (little one, literally young one), Lotta (Bain’s wife) is ‘dess-muin-nín’ (my dear young maiden, although Lotta says it never really suited her and it really doesn’t once she’s properly grown up, but she loves it anyway), Brand is ‘brôg-tithen-nín’ (my little bear), and his sister Astrid is ’fileg-nín’ (my little bird). I don’t know what he calls Brand’s other sister Ingrid, it hasn’t come up yet. And of course Legolas is ‘lass-nín’ (my leaf). Tauriel is ’hanariel-nín’ (my niece, literally ‘brother-daughter’) because he and Auriel adopted her when she was very small, and she called them ‘adarhanar’ and ‘adarmuinthel’ (uncle and aunt, literally father-brother and father-sister).

He did not want or mean to close himself away from his children after Auriel died, but he found he couldn’t help himself; he was so devastated by her death that he could do nothing else. He has regretted this ever since, and he is determined to do better this time around.

He is terrified of what will happen when Bard dies (with good reason, as it turns out), but he is determined to at least try and take the family’s advice and try to deal with his grief as the humans do, by remembering the lost loved ones, talking about them, sharing stories and eventually learning to smile at the thought of them.

He rules entirely alone, without councillors or advisers. Feren is his lieutenant, but only in military matters (although he does end up acting as regent while Thranduil spends all the time he can in Dale).

He is not an alcoholic or a party animal. He likes his wine, that’s all. There’s a difference.

He is very wise, and very powerful; how else has he managed to hold off the creeping evil from Dol Guldur for so long? He learned magic from Melian and uses it to maintain the wards and enchantments on the Woodland Realm.

He was born and spent his earliest years in Doriath, where his father was high up in the court of Thingol and Melian. Auriel was the King and Queen’s adopted daughter (her birth parents were one of the court ladies and Celegorm, don’t ask, she doesn’t like it), and the pair of them were betrothed by their fathers, despite not having very much time for each other; they decided to make a go of it and ended up very deeply in love.

Dior was a friend of his, and for a short while rather more than that - but only for a short while. Nobody knows about this except Auriel and, much much later, also Bard.

After the fall of Doriath, they went East with Thranduil’s parents and eventually settled in the Greenwood, assimilating into the Silvan population there.

Legolas was born in roughly TA1900, and was only a child when his mother died in battle at the gates of Gundabad. Thranduil could not reach her body to bring her home and bury her; all he could salvage was her white knives (which she had forged herself in Doriath) which he took from the body of an Orc who had thought to steal them. Later, Legolas carries them as a blessing and protection from his mother.

Thranduil received his dragonfire injuries in battle some time in the Second Age but before the Last Alliance. Elrond was also there, and treated him on the battlefield, then he and Auriel spent several years in Imladris while Thranduil healed and learned the glamour that hides his wounds from Elrond and Gandalf. This is why he doesn’t particularly like either of them; he feels indebted to them and his pride finds that very difficult to take.

He was not expecting what happened in Dale; he was not being altruistic when he turned up with his army and his wagons full of supplies for the Lake-town refugees, all he cared about was getting back his wife’s gems (she had taken them to the Dwarves to commission something like the necklace she had made herself, to be made from the remaining gems, but then she fell in battle and Thranduil didn’t go back for a long time, by which point the Dwarves, several generations later, had forgotten the arrangement that had been made). But there was something about the Dragonslayer and his simple, straightforward honour and his determination to do right by his people, that broke through the walls of ice that Thranduil had built around himself over the centuries. After that they went pretty much head over heels for each other in five minutes flat, as Sigrid likes to put it.

There are probably more, but I can't remember them off the top of my head - I'll come back and reblog this with additions if I think of them!

So, I have a question. I am planning a new series with following a certain mythology. I know a lot of readers drag sjm through the mud about stealing names from mythologies (including myself), like the names of gods/goddess & places, and not coming up with none on her own.

How should I combat that?

Is it a tad bit better to come up with all new names and places but keep the mythology lore?

I am trying to avoid being like sjm. (Also, I am asking a bunch of other tumblrs this question so you might see it around).

Long post incoming...

I think the issue with some of sjm's mythology is that she rips it away from certain cultures and then does nothing with it or warps it to the point where she should have just invented her own name e.g. Morrigan is famous in Irish folklore as three sisters (who are also all the same goddess) who is associated with war, she can be seen washing the armour of soldiers who will die that day. She's also famous for trying to seduce/end Cuchulainn who was battling Queen Maeve. There is no way sjm just came up with the name, because there are some similarities with acotar mor... but then we've never actually seen her power in 5 books.

She just takes random bits from lots of different cultures. Acotar was supposedly inspired by Outlander which is set in Scotland. The Ballad of Tam Lin is also Scottish (but acotar really is not similar to it). We have Rhys/Amren/Nuala/Cerridwen which are all Welsh names. But then I've seen people interpret Nuala and Cerridwen as POC because sjm is so vague (not to say welsh people cannot be poc, but the clothing they - and feyre - first wear is more like Jasmine from aladdin). Morrigan is Irish. Azriel is Hebrew. Cassian is Latin. Nesta is Welsh. Elain is Welsh. Eris is Greek. Lucien is French. Puca are celtic. The bogge comes from old english for the bogeyman. The Weaver is based on strzyga which are slavic. Baba Yellowlegs is a rip off of baba yaga also from slavic folklore. Koschei is also a slavic legend along with the Firebird. Heck, just look at the Slovenian flag and you'll see three mountains with three stars above it. I've seen people theorise that Thurr is CC is like Thor and CC will be the norse ragnarok.

Calan Mai is a Welsh festival and the acotar version is a bastardisation of it. Fires are lit to ward off spirits and banish disease the night before. On the day, farmers traditionally took their animals out to pastures and singing/drinking happened to give thanks for a good season. A May Queen and King would be crowned and the village green opened. SJM took Calan Mai from welsh traditions and turned it into a giant orgy (of course). Thunderbirds are important to Native American mythology and sjm has just taken that yet again for a character. I've only read cc2 once but I feel like there was no description of Sofie whatsoever.

It's not wrong to borrow from mythologies and folklore. These stories have existed for thousands of years for a reason. My issue is the strange amalgamation of shoving so many together and snipping only the "nice" bits e.g. the Morrigan can transform into an eel and she loses an eye at one point and transforms into an old woman. Sjm cant have ugly main characters!

I think try and be consistent with the mythologies e.g. don't mix lots of different ones together if you're using "real" names because I don't think they gel well - this is my friend Thor, his brother Apollo, and their friend Anubis. There are sooooo many mythology/folklore books out there. I have a whole shelf because I love it. There are also so many websites. Delve into less commonly known mythologies/stories. Alternatively, be inspired by them and come up with your own creations. Or, come up with your own lore in general :-)

Ultimately, you are telling the story you want to write. Do what is best for you!

Phantasmagoria In Two

For Nos Calan Gaeaf—when Tam Lin is rescued from the fairy queen in The Ballad of Tam Lin— a short piece from (ACOTAR) Tamlin’s POV, set just as Rhysand visits him for a second time in A Court of Frost and Starlight.

He remembered—

Spring. The sting of hawthorn. Rose cordials. Sugared violet petals on butterfly cakes. Green salads peppered with nasturtium. Apple blossom jam, and lilac syrup. Plate after plate, a riot of color. A softening to thin layers of pastry, and swirls of pink and white in the shape of cherry blossoms. Sweetness on the tongue. Too fussy, she said. But then she brought it to her lips, and a sound of pleasure at confection, at designs on plates in sugar and cream, that were a waste on her, she said. Then a dollop of strawberry cream on her nose, and her face scrunching up. Sweetness, and frivolity, and nothing hunted. 

He remembered—an arrow through the wood, and the pulse of blood gone, and skin peeling off. 

No—

A flush to the cheeks, strawberries, and red roses.

Blood to his head. Hanging by his foot. 

Blood dripping on the marble floor, drip, drip, drip.

It’s all over now, you can rest.

Wild laughter at bad poetry, screams at Hybern’s camp, heads rolling to the ground, he saw.

Stars glittering, and a crown, and the parting of lips, and poisonous words.

Have you—

Have you noticed that little noise—

Bat’s wings, bat’s wings, no—

No.

Hair flying as they rode on horseback through the wood. Wind in his ear.

You have to. Show of strength.

They’ve had months to save enough money. They want to give. You saved them. This is right.

Bodies of wolves, sentries in ribbons. Rhysand’s scent, a burnt floor.

If you don’t do it, I will find a more creative punishment for him. Do you doubt I can? Look at the wall, and see.

Crack of a whip.

You must punish them.

Twenty-one lashes, High Lord.

No choice. No choice at all.

I couldn’t bring myself to—

There are no High—

He couldn’t find her, he remembered, he couldn’t find her. Fire, and dried woad. He smelled her before he saw her. Dark green scales under his fingernails, and entrails on the ground. 

He remembered pulling away thinking she finally had what she wanted, her taste in his mouth. And spit her out, and blood leaking from her head, and in a motion gone, and Feyre’s broken body, and blood from her nose. And no screaming, and a terrible silence.

And he could hear it now. Dripping on the floor. 

He remembered cases of frothy dresses in pink, and purple and blue, laced with flowers and ribbon. Barefoot in the grass.

Bodies pulsing, and sweat-drenched. 

Emerging from a pool, stars glittering, dropping from their skin like pearls. 

A chair set up in a meadow full of wildflowers, and blankets laden with food and drink, and a table with a case of paints, and water, and palette, and lazing by the willow, drifting in and out as he idly watched her paint. And then the sudden shift, and rain pouring, and paint running down the canvas onto the grass.

And him rushing up, and getting the blanket, and putting it over her, but her taking it and putting it over the canvas instead, and letting the rain soak her hair before he winnowed them inside, and her laughter as the water in her hair fell onto the floor, drip, drip.

A warm hand on his, and soft cloth wrapping, and splinters everywhere.

And red paint dripping. 

What have you done.

Traitor.

A fist to the face, and a look of pain, and stinging tears blinked from his eyes, and black leather squeaking.

And he remembered a cauldron for cooking, boiling hot. And humans thrown in, and vomited back onto the floor, their dresses sopping wet, and their hair dripping onto the floor. And the horror, and fury in Feyre’s eyes.

And the horror in her eyes, and the guilt, and vomiting herself up in the next room, because of him.

Are you running low on food?

A crown of laurel.

I thought it was over.

Flowers in her hair.

You deserve this pathetic, empty house.

He remembered a glowing crown, and dark shadows rippling, and his claws outstretched at his sides, lying limp, dripping with his father’s blood.

He remembered.

Rhysand. Here again. He scented her on him. The smell of sex on him, everywhere. Every time he saw him, he smelled her first. Even with his senses dulled, even with the blood, everywhere. Red on splintered wood, red on the infirmary table, red in his mouth, soaked with it, bathing in it, a cauldron of it burning, a cauldron for cooking. The scent getting stronger, he was coming, it was time, dark shadows rippling, and skinning it, and hands limp at his sides, covered in blood, onto the floor—

Drip, drip, drip.

          Blessed Bealtaine/Beltane To All )O( 

         ~ “Beltane is an ancient Celtic festival that marks the beginning of summer.  It is one of the major festivals in the wheel of the year and is a sacred day and night of union between the Goddess and the God. Beltane in English, Bealtaine in Irish, Calan Mai or Calan Haf in Welsh, Bealltainn in Scottish Gaelic, and in Manx Gaelic Boaltinn or Boaldyn. It is one of the four seasonal festivals; along with Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh. This is a time of year when the veil between the worlds are thin and people would light bonfires on May Eve/Walpurgus nacht (April 30th) to ward of mischievous spirits, and to represent purification, tending the fire until dawn breaks. Historically in rural communities, cattle were driven between two bonfires to protect them from disease and evil spirits. It was also considered to be lucky to leap over the bonfire. The Maypole is a tradition that still exists today where people will dance around the maypole weaving ribbons (and magic) while they go. In Edinburgh, Calton Hill, there is a Beltane Fire Festival on May Eve every year with music, dance, fireplay, drumming, and immersive theatre that heralds the Goddess and God and the start of summer. It is a visually spectacular event that attracts thousands of visitors and is not to be missed. There are celebrations throughout England; Thornborough Henge, near Ripon in North Yorkshire hosts a weekend festival of camping, stalls, a Beltane fire, with the main Beltane Ceremony observed on the closest Sunday to May 1st. Drummers, dancers and a mummer’s play are part of the festivities, with Handfastings performed by the local Druid by appointment in advance. Family friendly, pet friendly this is a celebration for all. Hastings, Sussex, celebrate the Jack in the Green festival over the May day bank holiday weekend which hosts live bands, dancing, social events and family fun. The main event is a procession through the streets of old Hastings town on Bank Holiday Monday. The procession is filled with unique characters such as drummers, mummers, Morris dancers, giants and the beloved Green Man. Glastonbury, Somerset, also hosts a variety of celebrations. There is a gathering to witness the Sunrise at Glastonbury Tor, followed by a procession in the town of Green Men, Morris dancers, Druids, Witches, and other Pagans, Dragons, and Maypoles. There are a number of artisan shops on the high street that sell Pagan wares, not forgetting the fantastic Artist Linda Ravenscroft who has a gallery and studio at the Market Place. Throughout Wales, there are parades, fetes, Morris dancing, music and singing of Carolau Mai, or May carols, the crowning of the May Queen and May King, and dancing round the Maypole which is  very much an essential part of Welsh culture. It would be fashioned out of birch wood and painted bright colours, adorned with ribbons and hoisted into the air and dancing would commence.The drinking of beers and elderberry and rhubarb wines were supplemented by metheglin, a variant of mead laced with spices. The drink had its origin in folk medicines, and traces its etymology through a combining of the Welsh words meddyg (meaning healing or medicine) and llyn (liquor). ‘May Day’ in Wales was also associated with festivities on the village green, or – to be more Welsh about it – the ‘twmpath chwarae’. Literally the ‘tump for playing’ was a place where people could gather in the evenings, long before television, for dancing or for sports. On Calan Mai, musicians would play while traditional dances were performed. One popular theatrical entertainment was the traditional ‘mock battle’ between two men dressed to represent Summer and Winter. ‘Winter’ would arrive carrying a stick of blackthorn decorated with pieces of wool to represent snow. He would inevitably be defeated by his garlanded opponent, willow wand tied with ribbons.  At the end of the fight, a May King and Queen were crowned and the serious business of eating, drinking and cavorting would continue long into the evening.In Ireland, Bealtaine is celebrated at the Hill of Uisneach. The Bealtaine Festival was revived on the Hill of Uisneach in 2009 and today’s' festival remains much as it was in ancient times, a chance to meet old friends and make new ones. A family-friendly event that welcomes all the different tribes to celebrate the beginning of summer at the sacred centre of Ireland. In 2017, the ceremonial fire was lit by the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins; making him the first Irish Head of State to do so since the last High King, nearly a thousand years ago. It is  gathering where heritage, art, culture, music, fire-dancing, talks, workshops, wellbeing, yoga, story-telling, children's fun and food is enjoyed and celebrated before the great Bealtaine Fire is lit at sundown. Mayday celebrations vary from town to town, region to region but all have the same theme – the celebration of the start of Summer.  With the arrival of the annual of the April Lyrids meteor shower (April 16th – 25th) and the first Swallows and Bats sighted here on the Ards Peninsula this week – Summer is here ! What are the Bealtaine/Beltane/Mayday celebrations happening near you ? Get in touch as we would love to find out. However you choose to celebrate, have a magical weekend.  Love and bright blessings to all.” ~

it is just a spring clean for                                          the may queen.

this ancient holiday goes by many names. whether called beltane, calan mai, walpurgis night, floralia, or what has simply come to be known as may day, the midway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice has always been celebrated with flowers and with fire by magic and muggle alike. the ministry of magic, in an attempt to bridge cooperation between all warring factions, has resurrected a long retired festival for all to attend!

the fair grounds are covered with wild flowers to be plucked and scavenged. there are tents set up in a wide ranging perimeter that hosts garland braiding, floral arranging, crown weaving, and crafting may baskets. ribbons have been spread around to make may bushes. instruments drift by on the breeze enchanted to play sprightly melodies, and a large may pole stands with fabric billowing in shades of purple, orange, blue, green, red, and yellow. unlit bonfires are scattered through the pasture. there is a small stage next to the largest collection of fire wood for performances and to host the may queen and court.

everyone is encouraged to come and participate together. walk barefoot in the dewy grass and welcome the warm weather with dancing and merriment.

OOC NOTES

welcome to the beginning of our may day event as we carry spring to summer! there are a handful of floral activities to partake in, and general festival fun. this portion of the event will run from may 1st to may 6th. there will be a court comprise of both muggle and wix to select the may queen*! the may queen will, most importantly, light the first bonfire and commence the night of celebrations. if you would like to include your character in the court, please fill out the following and submit it to the main BEFORE MAY 5TH. character name: age: blood status: alliance: court only or may queen: favourite flower: * the may queen will be involved in a future plot drop for this event which may cause permanent change to the character and/or physically alter them. please do not include any characters for this position if you are uncomfortable with those consequences. they may still be a part of the court even if not eligible for the may queen. please specify. thank you for enjoying this with us!

looks like we might have a new top artist this year...but what's that?? it's beyoncé with a steel chair! | my top songs from the year, in non-spotify wrapped form

2022 playlist | 2021 playlist | 2020 playlist | 2019 playlist | 2018 playlist

full tracklist under cut

// zouglou dance / magic system // seileach / cassie and maggie // honey / the lone bellow // checking out / divorce // hy-brasil / allison russell // fly away / starling arrow, marya stark, ayla nereo, tina malia, chloe smith, leah song, & rising appalachia // never gonna be alone (honne remix) / jacob collier, john mayer, lizzy mcalpine, honne // in heaven / vulfpeck & antwaun stanley // alone and forsaken / hank williams // overdrive / maggie rogers // bittersweet, tn / kevin morby & erin rae // soft night / carm // ripple / the california honeydrops // i will marry you / mean lady // kawibawibo / yoon mirae // love and happiness / al green // awaken and allow / shannon lay // sweet music / kylie minogue // detour / maren morris // i get along without you very well / frank sinatra // kissing someone else / caroline kingsbury // bailey's / calan // over / kings of leon // 6s to 9s / big wild & rationale // knock on wood / amii stewart // eat your young / hozier // eat the music / kate bush // take the world apart / yusuf // holding pattern / nickel creek // kick in the teeth / hippo campus // lam phu thai #1 / khun narin // little bird - c3 answers / annie lennox // i don't know how i survive / death cab for cutie // hole in the bottle / kelsea ballerini // casual / chappell roan // ode to dance floor / niki & the dove // meeting the master / greta van fleet // we're so in tune / kississippi // panhandle rag / leon mcauliff and his cimarron boys // love will tear us apart / amethyst kiah // it might take a woman / girlhood // haunted house / sir babygirl // bear creek / lankum // miss chatelaine (iron hoof remix) / k.d. lang & orville peck // tonight (feat. ezra koenig) / phoenix // i can hardly speak / bombay bicycle club // lipstick lover / janelle monae // debbie / your smith // that's how you start over / diana ross // wait a minute / the hives // tanglewood / the east pointers // freak out / baaba maal & the very best // dance the night / dua lipa // sunset / caroline polachek // miles from our home / cowboy junkies // good day / seratones // water slide / janelle monae // saturdays / broken bells // age of consent / geographer // hahahome / twen // is it supposed / hudson mohawke // planet of the bass / dj crazy times & miss biljana electronica // lagoon / havana swim club // big like an angel / mitski // stolen fruit / tank and the bangas // landslide / antony // human (feat. jona xx) / kalush orchestra // 7 (e flat version) / prince // cheating / michael aldag // queen of the silvery city / glassio // psychedelic switch / carly rae jepsen // driving (feat. holly humberstone) / bombay bicycle club // warmth / bastille // damage gets done (feat. branid carlile) / hozier // go in light (feat. monica martin) / marcus mumford // video games / trixie mattel // nothing matters / the last dinner party // black is the colour / cara dillon // gawain / the trials of cato // kiss me (feat. rina sawayama) / empress of // keep the distance (demo) / the beths // hour of parting / sun ra // woman in love / wildes // the storm / thefatrat & maisy kay // full moon / the black ghosts // people everywhere (shifting sands remix) - live / khruangbin // impurities / arlo parks // lost it to trying (give in and give out) / son lux & lily & madeleine // beulah land / luther dickinson & allison russell // cognitive dissonance / sophie holohan // brand new colony / the beths and pickle darling // glitter / daisy the great // wondering why / yeemz // blues run the fame / jackson c. frank //

Calan Mai ([ˈkalan ˈmaɪ̯] "Calend (first day) of May") or Calan Haf ([ˈkalan ˈhaːv] "Calend of Summer") is a May Day holiday of Wales held on 1 May. Celebrations start on the evening before, known as May Eve, with bonfires; as with Calan Gaeaf or November 1, the night before (Welsh: Nos Galan Haf) is considered an Ysbrydnos or "spirit night" when spirits are out and about divination is possible. The tradition of lighting bonfires celebrating this occasion happened annually in South Wales until the middle of the 19th century. Calan Haf parallels Beltane and other May Day traditions in Europe.

Calan Mai - Wikipedia

On Nos Galan Mai or May Eve, villagers gather hawthorn (Welsh: draenen wen, "white-thorn") branches and flowers which they would then use to decorate the outside of their houses, celebrating new growth and fertility.

In Anglesey and Caernarfonshire it would be common on May Eve to have gware gwr gwyllt "playing straw man" or crogi gwr gwellt "hanging a straw man". A man who had lost his sweetheart to another man would make a man out of straw and put it somewhere in the vicinity of where the girl lived. The straw man represented her new sweetheart and had a note pinned to it. Often the situation led to a fight between the two men at the May Fair.

Being the time between Summer and Winter, Calan Haf would be the time to stage a mock fight between the two seasons. The man representing Winter carried a stick of blackthorn (Welsh: draenen ddu "black-thorn") and a shield that had pieces of wool stuck on it to represent snow. The man representing Summer was decorated with garlands of flowers and ribbons and carried a willow-wand which had spring flowers tied on it with ribbons. A mock battle took place in which the forces of Winter threw straw and dry underbrush at the forces of Summer who retaliated with birch branches, willow (Welsh: helygen) rods, and young ferns (Welsh: rhedyn). Eventually the forces of Summer would win and a May King and Queen were chosen and crowned, after which there was feasting, dancing, games and drinking until the next morning.

May Day was the time that the twmpath chwarae or "tump for playing" (a kind of village green) was officially opened. Through the summer months in some villages the people would gather on the twmpath chwarae in the evenings to dance and play various sports. The green was usually situated on the top of a hill and a mound was made where the fiddler or harpist sat. Sometimes branches of oak decorated the mound and the people would dance in a circle around it.

Dawnsio haf "summer dancing" was a feature of the May Day celebration, as was carolau Mai "May carols" also known as carolau haf "summer carols" or canu dan y pared "singing under the wall", these songs being often of a bawdy or sexual nature. The singers would visit families on May morning accompanied by a harpist or fiddler, to wish them the greetings of the season and give thanks to "the bountiful giver of all good gifts." If their singing was thought worthy, they would be rewarded with food, drink, and possibly money.

Common drinks during Calan Mai festivities were metheglin or mead. Sometimes it was made of herbs, including woodruff, a sweet-smelling herb which was often put in wine in times past to make a man merry and act as a tonic for the heart and liver. Elderberry and rhubarb wines were popular and the men also liked various beers.

Calan Mai Hymn to Creiddylad

I sing for the May Queen,

Head wreathed in fragrant wildflowers

And palms bearing sweet mead

Awaken summer's lusty opulence,

Radiant daughter of Lludd

Most majestic maiden of all the Isles!

Gaze upon this year's players with favor,

As they water the Earth with their blood

And vie for your silvery hand

Guide our steps as we circle the roaring flames,

Warm our bodies and beds with May's melody,

Like your passionate union with Gwyn

Grant us the vigor of summer's sun,

Bless us with the youthful blossom of beauty.

Hail, gentle-hearted Creiddylad!

Left to right: Aendras “Aendi” Meselei, Elletria “Tria” Desteor and Tecleios “Tec” Calanes.

For the backstory, these three lived some 150 years prior to the main story. Aendras was the last king of the Meselei dynasty of Mesany, and Tecleios, the first king of the current Calanes dynasty. Elletria was Tecleios’s wife and eventual queen, and their descendants are often called “the line of Elletria”. (Which will 100% be the title of the spin off if I ever get around to writing it.)

Also the three of them were in a relationship.

Anyway I love them and I shouldn’t be writing about them because they’re spin-off material, not the actual story.

What are random headcanons you have of Isaiah and Nia?

Isaiah was reserve quarterback in high school and spent his entire junior year trying to manifest the actual quarterback breaking a bone so he'd have his time to shine. it never came

in Nia's home country, there's a tradition of nominating the most beautiful woman in the town to be the May Queen at the Calan Mai festival. she's been nominated multiple times between the ages of 18 and 35, her current age, and she still gets very flustered every time

Isaiah worries So Much about everything but tries not to show it. his son trips on the stairs to the apartment and it's only the bill that's stopping him from driving him straight to the emergency room. he also opens beer bottles with his teeth, the worry does not extend to him and his dental health

he has a chipped tooth from opening a beer bottle. he isn't getting it fixed, he thinks it looks cool (he can't afford it)

Nia is allergic to raspberries, and she hates that fact so much. they're her favourite fruit but she can't eat them too much

she also can't read or write in English - she speaks it, but the only language she's fully fluent in is Welsh

Isaiah is fluent in English and French, and knows a little Haitian Creole from his stepfather

Isaiah's dream job as a child was becoming a radio host, and eventually opening a music venue in Memphis when he reached his 40s. he sadly never reached his 40s

Nia's descended from pirates - her family pub, the Golden Galleon, is filled with remnants from her ancestor's pirate ship

she also has a degree in Communications, and was a specialist in cryptography before she took on the family pub

SJ/M’s unacceptable and lazy usages of real world places/cultures

I’m aiming to make this the most comprehensive list of SJ/M stealing bits and pieces of world history and pretending like she came up with them. Feel free to comment down below or send an ask if you can think of anything.

The addition of adaptation of names from some real-world places is included either because of insensitivity (Hybern and Prythian) or mostly because SJ/M doesn’t try to represent any of the cultures she takes from.

Note that this post will keep getting updated as I discover more evidences of unacceptable usages of cultures. Also note that there is every possibility that some resemblances are purely accidental and/or unintentional. So take it with a grain of salt.

T/HRONE OF GLASS

- Most of the cultural activities mentioned in Tower of Dawn are rip-offs of Mongolian culture and seem to resemble the Dothraki from Game of Thrones very closely.

- Pagan holidays mentioned in the books:

Yulemas* is celebrated in Erilea despite there already existing an established religion consisting of 12 gods and goddesses.

Samhain* is a festival celebrated by Irish and Scottish people.

Beltane* is a festival celebrated historically in Ireland and Scotland.

- Nehemia is probably derived from the Jewish leader Nehemiah who helped rebuild Jerusalem. Instead of trying to work that into Nehemia’s narrative, SJ/M killed off Nehemia to serve a white woman’s narrative.

- Mycenae is a historical site in Greece.

- Illium is an actual Greek city as well.

- Ravi in KoA is named after a Hindi word which means “sun”.

- Strangely enough Ravi’s brother is named Sol after the Roman god of the sun.

- Suria, where Ravi is from, is also a synonym for sun in Hindi.

- Mab is from the story of “Queen Mab”.

- Maeve is a sexual goddess in Irish mythology who was actually raped. So making Maeve a rapist in the books was hurtful.

A/COTAR

- Nagas belong to Hindu/Indian mythology included in a book that’s clearly a very western fantasy and has little to no PoC representation. 

- Illyrians were an actual indo-european tribe with close relations to modern day Albanians. S/JM is not the first person to feature them in her work but other authors have used versions of the name like “Illyria” by Shakespeare, “Ilirea” by Paolini, “Valyria” by GRRM etc. which are acceptable.

- Calan Mai is actually a celebration of spring in Welsh culture. As @gemorsedd put it so eloquently, SJ/M turned it into a festival about Tamlin being unable to control his hormones.

- Hybern is derived from the classic latin name of Ireland which is “Hibernia”. 

- Prythian is a modified version of the ancient name of Britain “Prydain”. COINCIDENTALLY, Prythian VERY closely resembles the UK. It’s also possible that she plagiarised the name from Anne Bishop’s Daughter of Blood.

Note for further reading: Read @blakeseptember’s about why SJ/M was especially insensitive in including Prythia and Hybern in the ways she did: https://blakeseptember.tumblr.com/post/187088853587/hybern-as-ireland

- Bharat is actually the Hindi name for India which is mentioned in ACO/TAR. Not only is it mentioned that Feyre’s father was sailing to Bharat to trade in cloth and spices (which was exactly what British colonialists and traders did when they sailed to India), it’s also said, quite clearly, that Feyre’s mother died of Typhus while her cousin died of Malaria (IN BHARAT). By doing so SJ/M is blatantly promoting a very colonialist view of India. 

The Malaria mention: “My mind was void, a blank mess of uselessness. Could it be some sort of disease? My mother had died of typhus and her cousin had died of malaria after going to Bharat. But none of those symptoms seemed to match a riddle. Was it a person?”

The Trade of cloth and spices: “I swallowed. ‘Eight years ago he amassed our wealth on three ships to sail to Bharat for invaluable spices and cloth.’”

- Myrmidons feature in A/COWAR. The Myrmidons is actually a nation from Ancient Greek mythology (led by Achilles in the siege of Troy). 

- Harem pants which are worn in parts of South and Middle-east Asia feature in the books where they’re introduced into a court consisting of white people only.

- F/eyre’s floral tattoos are very reminiscent of mehendis which are very important to Indian, Arabic and North African cultures but it’s a trait given to a white woman here. Read this post.

C/RESCENT CITY

- Danaan is from Tuatha de Danaan (celtic mythology) / Danaans is another name for Greece in the Iliad, used interchangeably with “Argives” and “Achaeans”.

- Avallen is Avalon (the legend of King Arthur). Ruhn’s story also bears a very close resemblance to the legend.

- 6 point star = Star of David

- Lehabah = a word in Hebrew meaning "a flame" (להבה)

- Mount Hermon = an actual mountain place in the northern part of Israel.  In Hebrew: הר החרמון.

- SPQM’s full form is Senatus Populusque Midgard. Which is awfully close to the SPQR of the ancient Roman empire which is Senatus Populusque Romanus

- The river Tiber mentioned in CC is actually a Roman river.

- Midgard, in Norse mythology, is the home of mankind. In Norse mythology.

- Sandriel: Comes from the angel Sadriel, the angel of order. S/JM added an “n.”

- Orion “Hunt” A/thalar: First name is pretty obvious, Orion as in the hunter which is where his name “Hunt” comes from. Probably from the god Attar called Athtar in Southern Arabia. Attar is sometimes considered a storm god explaining his lightning powers, but also linked to the Morningstar aka Lucifer. No explanations are given regarding as to how the constellations of our world are the same as that of SJ/M’s fantasy AU.

- Shahar Daystar: From the dawn deity Shahar. Also linked to Lucifer.

- Jesiba Roga: A Croatian respelling of Baba Yaga. Jesiba Roga, is quite literally just a combination of Ježibaba (a figure closely related to Baba Yaga in West Slavic folklore) and Baba Roga (the Croatian version of of Baba Yaga). 

- Danika Fendyr: Danika is a Slavic dawn deity. Fendyr comes from Fenrir a wolf in Norse mythology. 

- Isaiah: Taken from Isaiah 14:12-15 which details the fall of Lucifer. It’s also easily accessible from Shahar’s Wikipedia page (which may imply that SJ/M uses Wikipedia for research and just steals/lazily incorporates whatever she finds along the way.)

12 “How you are fallen from heaven,

O [a]Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

13 For you have said in your heart:

‘I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.’

15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,

To the [b]lowest depths of the Pit.

- Fury Axtar: Hunt is likely related to Attar or maybe even Ishtar or Ashtaroth. It’s unclear right now. Ishtar is sometimes linked to Lucifer as well. It’s possible that she’s named after the Furies in Greek mythology, deities of vengeance.

- Micah Domitus: Micah is a prophet in Judaism.

- Syrinx: A chimera in this book, a nymph known for her devotion to Artemis.

- Urd: The god of flame and shadow possibly the name comes from Urðr one of the three Norns in Norse mythology.

- Luna: A Roman moon goddess

- Cthona: “Chthonic”, in English, describes deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in Ancient Greek religion.

- Vanir: The Vanir are actually group of Norse gods.

- Asphodel Meadows: A section of the ancient Greek underworld where ordinary souls were sent to live after death.

- Hel: Hel is a goddess but also a location in Norse Mythology for the dead. Depictions of Hel depend on the source of the information. It’s strange that Hel and Asphodel Meadows belong in the same place, translating to lazy world building on SJ/M’s part.

- Midgard: In Norse Mythology basically the plane of existence of humans.

- Laconic Mountains: Named after Laconia the administrative capital of Sparta.

- Nidaros: Where Bryce grew up. It’s the ancient name of Norway’s capital when the Christian kings ruled. It’s now called Trondheim.

- Istros River: Taken from Istros of Ancient Greece

- Valbara: Taken from the super continent Vaalbara

- Pangera: probably Pangea, the huge supercontinent on which dinosaurs lived

- Crown of Thorns: In reality it’s a symbol of Jesus but in the book it’s branded onto the foreheads of angels who rebelled in a war some decades ago.

- Keres: Phillip Briggs’s terrorist gang is named after the Keres who are “goddesses who personified violent death and who were drawn to bloody deaths on battle fields.”

- Sailing: A Norse funeral custom for Vikings as seen in movies like How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Thor: The Dark World. Here’s more information on it, but it seems SJ/M got it wrong. Most Vikings were usually cremated and it was mostly used for Kings and Chieftains (Danika might fall into the Chieftain category).

- 33rd Imperial Legion: Could be a reference again to Jesus who was 33 at his death.

- The Ophian rebels (of which the the Keres rebels are a subgroup of) are named after Ophian, and elder Titan in Greek mythology.

Sources I’ve derived some facts from so far:

- Sapir Englard on Goodreads via @spaceshipkat’s tumblr post using Hebrew in CCity.

- @bittenwrath for basically everything in crescent city. 

- @blakeseptember’s tumblr about Hybern’s origins.

- An anon dropped by with “Hel”

- @chenmighty and @tavithelibrarian pointed out the Illyrians.

- @sylphene and @omourningstar for Prydain

- @ok-boomer pointed out that Yulemas, Samhain and Beltain are all pagan holidays.

- @gemorsedd For pointing out Calan Mai

- An anon pointed out the Norns, Danaan and Avalon.

- @mimiofthemalfoys for the Bharat, malaria, typhus, spices and cloth mention.

- @kryingkardashianz for Danaans being another name of Greece and Myrmidions.

- an anon pointed out Nidaros

- @shurislut for mehendi and harem pants

- @sanktaalinaa for Jesiba Roga

- @croissantcitysucks for the Ophian Rebels

okay yall today’s post is gonna be about my wip, throne of vengeance (or tov as i like to call it)

recently, i went on a little bit of an art kick where i started drawing all the ships in my book. a little backstory as to why: basically i was rereading the deleted scenes of my book and realized there was a lot of sexual tension between the two main guy characters (morreial and alan), so i sent the scenes to my friends and they all started to ship them together. thus was born morralan. to egg them on, i decided to make some morralan art, which i will show right here:

and then after that i was like, why don’t i make some other art for the other ships with alan (mc). one of my friends think alan and his love interest’s best friend (cara) have more chemistry together, and there’s a really cute deleted scene i found where he was reading a book to her (since she’s illiterate but loves to learn). so i decided to draw them together and created the ship name alara.

finally, i was like, okay but now lemme draw alan with his actual love interest, caramel, who is— if you didn’t know this (you probably didn’t lol)— but she’s the best character in the entire book hands down. what a queen we love her. their ship name is alamel or calan. i can’t tell which one is better.

lemme know which art is your favourite, and i will post the deleted scenes for each ship in my next post so y’all can have some context. alright, bye-o!

Happy Writing! ✨

I gave up on t0g religion/myths right in the first book w/ Yulemas and Samhuinn. Yule + Christmas and an alternate spelling of Samhainn? REALLY?? That works if your world is alternate history/post-apoc regressed-to-Middle-Ages British Islands w/ syncretism. Or if it's purposefully anachronistic parody like PTerry. But w/ Mess, it's just lazy "don't give a damn" worldbuilding.

I genuinely wonder if SJ/M has actually thought of any original holidays. The holy days/cultural celebrations in her work all seem to be reminiscent of something from one religion or another, or a weird fanfic/fantasy trope. Let’s see. SJ/M is a really big fan of taking something from the real world, changing 0-2 letters of the spelling, then slapping it onto a character or a culture in her books. For example: My/cenians, I/llyrians, Torre C/esme, Bast cats, Ouroboros, Maeve, H/elion, Samhuinn, Yulemas (like you said), Bharat, the Morrigan, Tam Lin, just off the top of my head. In T0G we have Yulemas and Samhuinn, clearly taken from Gaelic tradition. Starfall, correct me if I’m wrong, seems like more of SJ/M’s own idea. Calan/mai is based on fanfic tropes. I think AC0TAR also has a spring equinox holiday, which... yeah, not super original there. All the gods are named “Mother,” “Crone,” “Hellas,” “Deanna,” “Koschei,” and stuff like that---either based on the name of an actual god or a generic god concept. But queen of fantasy, super unproblematic and creative fave or whatever.

Samhain-Opus III

“Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.” 

-William Butler Yeats 

“Samhain also has been known by other names. Some Celtic Wiccans and Druids call it Calan Gaeaf, Calan Gwaf, Kala-Goanv, or Nos Galan Gaeof. In Welsh, it is Nos Cyn Calan Gaual. It also is known as Oie Houney. 

A medieval book of tales, the Yellow Book of Lecan, reports that common folk called it the "Feast of Mongfind," the legendary Witch-Queen who married a King of Tara in old Ireland. 

In the ancient Coligny Calendar, an engraved bronze dating from the first century C.E.and dug up in 1897 in France, Samhain is called Trinouxtion Samonii, or "Three Nights of the End of Summer." Variant spellings of Samhain include Samain, Samuin, and Samhuinn.

With the growth and spread of Christianity as the dominant religion throughout Europe, Samhain time took on Christian names and guises. All Saints' Day or All Hallows on November 1 commemorated Christian saints and martyrs. 

All Souls' Day on November 2 was a remembrance for all souls of the dead. With the coming of Christian Spaniards to Mexico, the indigenous customs of honoring the dead at this time of year mixed with Roman Catholicism and gave birth to the Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, in early November. Samhain shares the ancient spiritual practice of remembering and paying respects to the Dead with these related religious holidays of Christianity....”

-Selene Fox-