Oliver Niko

Hello, I'm Oliver! I'm a chronically ill artist and writer from the UK. I create for OCs and an array of fandoms, mostly FE, Tales Of, LoZ and XC alongside numerous others. 18+ at times with mature labels. AO3:  https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver__Niko

[taxkha]

A couple previews of the pieces I made for the Dimisylvix Calendar 2027!

You can preorder the calendar and a bunch of other things over here -> shop link

[blackfilmmakers]

Anyways-

[meddwlyngymraeg]

I'm going to abuse this blog a bit this once, but it is related. They're getting rid of the Duolingo forum tomorrow, which is fairly shocking because there are too many good resources posted on there!

I'm trying to copy over some of them for reference, because there are things that maybe I'm not advanced enough to use right now, but I would like to be able to use once I'm a little more skilled at Welsh.

Copied below are all the resources, verbatim. (Some resources may be repeated because I'm just copying)

The two best, best resources for self-learning, apart from Duolingo itself, for visual learners, are the series of videos on pronunciation on youtube:- https://www.youtube.com/user/welshplus

and the Big Welsh Challenge course :- http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh/bigwelshchallenge/ (click on 'enter course', then 'skip introduction'), the section 'practice with tutor' is particularly useful, especially the male South Wales presenter, who is a well know, very funny Welsh actor. (Ignore the 'archive notice' and click on 'enter course', it works fine.)

The book that we have linked to in the Welsh course on Duolingo is here https://cls.byu.edu/welsh/BYU_Cwrs_Mynediad.html

Hard copies are available through all the usual book sellers.

For auditory learners 'Say something in Welsh' is very good and has a wide network of supporters in particular its popular Facebook group. https://www.saysomethingin.com/welsh/course1

Finally don't forget to join our Facebook group where further discussion takes place and the writers respond to queries. https://www.facebook.com/groups/welshduolingo/

Also here is a link to an fairly good article about mutations:- https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Welsh/Mutations#Soft_mutation

Here is a website which gives a daily crossword and also a range of 'her geirfa' vocabulary challenges:- http://www.happyhere.co.uk/

In addition for people not anywhere near a Welsh class, there are a number of people and places that offer online Skype lessons. Here is the link to the Skype courses of one of the Welsh centres in Wales:-http://www.coleggwent.ac.uk/welshcentre#.V1Zh_5PR-V5.

Below is the list of apps grouped into themes and in alphabetic order. Enjoy!

Complete courses:

Learn Cymraeg Mynediad Android, and iOS

Lovely free course for beginners, offers a variety of activities and contains plenty authentic audio recordings. A more advanced course from the same developer is available for purchase.

SSiWelsh Android and iOS

Say something in Welsh, a great Welsh course available from the website and via app. Users can choose between North/South Welsh pronunciation. The Challenges and Course 1 are for free and there’s more paid content. I highly recommend this app.

Grammar-specific:

Ap Treiglo Android and iOS

Another amazing app that teaches you how to use mutations properly. There is a list of words causing mutation, you can also look up grammar rules regarding prepositions, numbers, etc. Good to have it in your toolkit.

Welsh Number Whizz Android only

Welsh Number Whizz is an app designed to help you learn the traditional vigesimal number system. Could be useful especially for us Duolingers, as the Welsh course focuses on the decimal system.

Welsh Verb Blitz Android only

A fantastic tool to learn verbs and their conjugations. The app offers several mini-games to practice Welsh conjugation.

Vocabulary-specific

Anki Android and iOS, the iOS version is paid

I put Anki here as one of the two tools I know and use for flashcards. Anki is available both in a desktop and app version. There are a few big decks with Welsh flashcards, you can find them here: Dal Ati Android and iOS

For all those who have access to S4C this is a very useful app to learn vocabulary that is used in S4C programmes.

Dreigiau Dinas Emrys Android and iOS

I fell in love with this cute game from the first tap. Such a great idea to explain the legend of two dragons in Dinas Emrys and turn it into a Welsh learning app. Great music and sounds, try it out!

Gofalu Trwy’r Gymraeg Android and iOS

If you want to learn some medical Cymraeg, check out this one: nicely arranged topics with authentic recordings and English translations. Simple and intuitive, well worth taking a look.

Memrise Android and iOS

Many of you probably know Memrise, a popular website and app for learning languages and other subjects using flashcards. But do you know that there are many great decks (or courses, as they are called on Memrise) with Welsh vocabulary? Take a look here to see a list of Welsh flashcard courses on Memrise:

Vocab Game Welsh Cymraeg Geirfa Android only

Interesting vocabulary app for learning Welsh. 8,160 words structured in about 200 levels arranged by number of letters and alphabetic order. Each level contains about 20-25 words. The app is nicely designed and fun to play. Perhaps one downside is that many of these words are old or very specialised and I often have to look up the English translations to find out what something is. Nevertheless, you will surely get to know lots of vocab after completing all the levels, so give it a try.

Dictionaries

Ap Geiriaduron Android and iOS

A very nice Welsh-English and English-Welsh dictionary. Recognizes mutations, contains common phrases. And it works offline as well. A must-have.

GPC Geiriadur Prifysgol Android and iOSA monolingual dictionary of Welsh, less useful for beginners, but definitely something to have on your be-able-to-use wishlist. Great features: you can download the whole database to your memory card and there are language games.

Other:

Ap Beibl Android and iOS

This one is perhaps not for beginners, but it’s good to know about it for the future. Contains a number of different translations of the Bible into Welsh from different periods of history.

Ap Golwg Android and iOS

This app allows you to buy a digital edition of Lingo Newydd, a bi-monthly magazine for Welsh learners. Articles are colour-coded to mark difficulty and there are audio recordings of articles (which you wouldn’t get in the paper edition). You can either but a single issue for £1.49 or a subscription plan (Lingo Newydd costs £9.99 year). Ap Golwg also gives access to the Golwg360 website. It’s totally free and has a useful VOCAB button at the top that shows definitions of words in articles. You don’t need the app to access the website, but it’s nice to have a shortcut to news in Welsh on your mobile device.

Legends of the West Android only

Fabulous app about the history of Ceredigion and Wales. Contains text and recordings in Welsh and English.

There is a lot on the BBC Learn Welsh site, too - http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learning/learnwelsh/ Much of the site is archived now but much of it still works. There is a downloadable grammar guide here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh/grammar/index.shtml - which you might find in book form, too, if it is still in print.

Dal Ati ('Stick At It') is a television programme on S4C for learners of Welsh. There is a Youtube channel for the programme here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSnqXodFrOCxTH2VRAeXIVQ

The recently revised DysguCymraeg/LearnWelsh course books are available for free download in pdf form on their website. This Duolingo course covers approximately the same ground as the Mynediad and Sylfaen books, and a little of Canolradd.The course books are available here - https://learnwelsh.cymru/learning/curriculum-and-course-books/ or try https://parallel.cymru/amdani/ or https://learnwelsh.cymru/

If you hunt around http://www.ybont.org there are a lot of supporting materials for learners of all levels.

For an online dictionary, https://www.gweiadur.com is very good (free registration to use its full range of information).

For a smartphone app, the free Ap Geiriaduron is good.An authoritative English to Welsh dictionary is https://geiriaduracademi.org, although many of its examples of usage use more formal Welsh than is taught on introductory courses such as this Duolingo one.

The National Centre for Learning Welsh has a web site including many materials for learners. Look around https://learnwelsh.cymru for materials supporting the national Mynediad and Sylfaen courses for adults.

A few more apps which I have found good are: Tywydd which gives you the weather forecast in Welsh and teaches you weather related vocabulary.

Gwlad Gwlad which teaches you to sing and pronounce the National Anthem of Wales.

The Magi Ann children's books apps which allow you to tap to hear the words spoken in Welsh or tap to see the English translation.

S4C programmes available to view outside the UK: http://www.s4c.cymru/clic/Categories/99

Stories: For entry (mynediad) and foundation (sylfaen) level stories, go to the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Amdani: Learn Welsh Festival of Reading (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNbPx7YxCU13oE6qCWs9hjP57ypKscCgR). The short stories are written for learners, and read by the authors, from the books 'Agor y Drws' (entry) and 'Ffenest' (Foundation). I was able to buy both books online from my local, Welsh bookshop in Llanrwst (https://www.bysabawd.cymru/en/products/books/welsh-books?search=cyfres%20amdani) and find it is really helpful to hear the author read the story out loud while reading the book myself.

The Dysgu Cymraeg course: https://dysgucymraeg.cymru/dysgu/cwricwlwm-a-chwrslyfrau/ Textbooks and mp3s. Is really good.

[mususubi]

say what you mean

[eiriseths]

the pretty prince and his cool guardian

[purple--starrrs]

By the way it's like. Really fucked how society's thoughts on epilepsy is just "get over it." Seizures can cause permanent brain damage. Seizures can kill people. Seizures hurt like hell. Allow me to reiterate that seizures can kill people. And you're just gonna casually put flashing lights, a common trigger for seizures in your advertisement, in your animation meme, in your edit, on your billboards, without even thinking about putting a simple disclaimer? That's unbelievable. Your little anime edit could deadass cost a life and you're not gonna put a warning because it's "inconvenient" or "people like that shouldn't be on the internet" (ableist) (the problem exists outside the internet also). Or you'll give insufficient ones like putting it in the captions or only giving like one second before the flashing lights appear, meaning that the trigger's already in motion before anyone who needs the warning can read it and save themselves from literal physical danger.

We need to start commenting under other people's posts about how to properly warn for flashing lights and eyestrain. We need to be emailing and calling companies about their possibly triggering advertisements that could induce seizures. We need to stop tolerating ableism and start speaking up for the more vulnerable.

Also, stop putting epilepsy warnings. That's like saying "warning: schizophrenia" on a post including unreality or "warning: dyslexia" on a post with a typing quirk. First off, the disability mentioned isn't the only group of people that this could trigger. Second, it doesn't truly get the message across and instead makes it worse for those with the disability-- scrolling through the epilepsy tag on Tumblr should get you to view the content of other epileptic people, but no, you just get a bunch of flashing lights and eyestrain, even though you could instead tag for, oh I dunno, flashing lights and eyestrain.

Anyways this Disability Pride, and for every month that comes after, think about epileptic people and others who are triggered by flashing lights/eyestrain. Happy pride to those who experience seizures too frequently due to the unaccommodating and ableist societies we live in!

[vamptits]

it's just really apparent that people think it's okay to want pain but morally abhorrent to want to give it. sorry but the sadist gets to have fun too. it's actually pretty crucial to the process.

[vamptits]

if I said I was going to a taekwondo class would you feel the need to tell me kicking people on the street is bad or.

[whoopsie-collective]

Image ID: A screenshot of a tumblr comment that says "yeah, its only abhorrent imo, when the recipient is non consenting, i've" the screenshot cuts off.

[dogspouse]

[lolita-wardrobe]

Preorder Deadline Reminder: Signorina 【-Usagi Hime-】 Series

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[legsdemandias]

Do you think tumblr will ever learn the difference between “I’m defending this person because I agree with them wholeheartedly and I am also like this person” and “I’m defending this person because your behavior is dangerous and you need to stop”

[legsdemandias]

IMO, blurring the lines between “I’m defending them because they’re right” and “I’m defending them because you’re taking this too far” is step numero uno to cutting down the very existence of fair trial and democracy–even in places where saying that might seem a little dramatic. 

Mob mentality is extremely strong in humans and it’s also extremely dangerous. Mobs don’t think things through. Mobs kill and they destroy and they can’t be reasoned with. Someone trying to calm a mob down isn’t someone defending the ~problematic party~ It’s time we re-learn that.

[ndnbutch]

I get in theory why people complain about het ships or whatever, I get wanting to watch queer media I really do, but I guess where y’all lose me is like. I saw some asshole on a post about Sinners complaining it was “hetslop”—this person was specifically doing so while also claiming Remmick was a queer character and thus they were justified in caring more about him than the Black protagonists. which is a whole other disgusting can of worms that has been well addressed by others at this point. but even in the absence of that part of the argument, like, no, i actually don’t think that a hunger for queer stories is an especially good excuse to deride and dismiss a piece of landmark Black filmmaking, especially as a non-Black person. I have a post that’s been going around encouraging folks to engage with more Native stories and characters, and I had someone come onto that post saying in the tags that they’d need these stories to be queer in order to care. and I just think that, you know, sucks! like obviously as a queer Native I also want to see more of those stories too. but idk how else to put it other than to say that Black people and people of color shouldn’t have to be like you in order for you to care about our narratives and experiences. and I think some of y’all are using this disdain for heterosexuality as a cover for your unexamined racial biases. it’s not okay to be racist to people just because those people happen to be straight, and you continue to be white before you are queer.

[ndnbutch]

on an even more basic level than that, also, I simply just think some of y’all NEED to learn how to interact with media and storytelling without ships and fandom in mind. like if not being able to write fic about two men kissing is genuinely going to be a dealbreaker for you I think that’s actually something you need to work on within yourself because at that point I think you’re no longer really interacting with art and themes and narrative so much as just kind of playing with toys. which is, like, fine I guess. have fun. but it wouldn’t kill you to disengage from that from time to time. especially if would allow you to actually appreciate rich and deeply moving cultural stories from communities of color that you desperately need to learn how to see as human

[lemonheadart]

Apple season

gif

WELL, I got the highest grade for my thesis and presentation, and a very nice review from my advisor that may or may not have made made me cry. Thank you guys for your patience and support, I feel like y'all played a major role in me staying motivated and not dropping out during that last year. Gotta figure out what to do next after 15 years of just studying... A terrifying thought but oh well

Now that I'm FREE and have some time for myself, I have a few practice shots planned, that's the first one! Wanted to work with perspective and depth, and let me tell you, those legs were a nightmare to draw. Also the apple was hanging from a thick branch originally but I wanted to spice it up so now there are LEAVES and MOVEMENT

Also I've found a toggle in tumblr settings that had been compressing my videos, so now everything's gonna be in full HD like it's SUPPOSED to be

On that note, I have a question: did my drawings become more (or less) saturated lately? I got a new monitor two months ago, which I'm still getting used to, and due to me being stubborn to get a high res monitor no matter what, it doesn't match my tablet anymore so I can't check colors on the big screen as I go.. so yeah, let me know if it's different

[oliverniko]

Here's a preview of my Seiros spread for @fe3hostzine!

You can preorder here: https://fe3hostzine.bigcartel.com/

This zine is gorgeous.

[awakefor48hours]

“Europoors can’t afford AC. They couldn’t survive a week of Texas’s heat wave” Okay, yeah, that’s cool and funny. Can we please talk about the fact that global warming is so bad that the heat is literally killing people that far north.

[awakefor48hours]

I get that some people are annoyed hearing about Europeans talk about the rise of heat. What constitutes a heat wave in Europe is a pleasant spring day for some people and to be someone watching entire countries moan and groan about the heat while it’s ten degrees hotter can be annoying. But some of y’all gotta stop pointing and laughing and look at the bigger issue.

It should not be that hot that far north.

Buildings and traffic lights are melting, I can only imagine what the power grids must look like in some cities considering the hoards of people hooking up AC units to their home, and most importantly, people are dying.

We can’t keep making the same “European heat wave” joke every year. Let’s look at the bigger issue. The bigger issue being global warming.

[minimalsizeconspiracy]

I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved in this, but alas, here we are.

These two posts sum it up perfectly. The problem is not the heat in measured degrees, Fahrenheit or Celsius. The problem is that it is that hot in areas where neither fauna, flora or architecture are made for that type of heat, because it shouldn’t be that hot in that area.

Yes, I’ve included fauna and flora. Because yes, it affects the vegetation and our wild animals as well, and yes, they’re suffering and dying as well. They just can’t talk about it on Tumblr.

Frankly, the number of posts I’ve seen where the motivation seems to be sheer pettiness, usually along the lines of “people can’t take a little heat, haha” or “why don’t Europeans just build AC, so stupid” is silly. If you want to get back at Europeans for some real or perceived slight in the past, make it about something that isn’t a global problem for all of humanity, and, might I remind users on the website where many pride themselves on standing up for minorities and oppressed populations, disproportionally affects people in areas that are traditionally struggling with poverty:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479725034097

Very few people with common sense are not aware that it’s much hotter in other places on the planet than it is in Europe at present. I’m actually not talking about the US, thank you. Try the African continent, India or any place located around the equator for that – and guess what: these areas are also being affected by increased frequency in heat waves. They’re also struggling. Except there’s probably a much smaller percentage of them on Tumblr, where the people gleefully making fun of Europeans are hanging out. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Until very recently, Europeans have not needed AC. Because the temperatures, yes, even in Spain and Greece, were rarely so high for so long that it would have made sense to plan for it. Since the industrialisation, Europe’s infrastructure has been designed to deal and handle with the range of temperatures that are normal for Europe. This includes housing, transportation, agriculture and power supplies. AC would be, as US citizens would say, “putting a bandaid on a broken bone”. It addresses the problem on a temporary basis and does not do anything to solve the problems Europe is now facing.

And that, I would like to believe, is also common sense, that if you live in a place where heat isn’t an issue, you do not design your infrastructure and houses around heat. You design them to deal with the climate that is normal for that area.

Maybe go and read some research papers on how it affects humanity globally it instead of turning it into a game of pettiness. But I guess that is too much to hope for, considering how little traction these posts have been getting as opposed to some of the other “fun” ones I’ve seen going around.

[tepkunset]

I feel like simply calling JK Rowling a transphobe isn't strong enough anymore. Like. This is not your grandpa calling you by your deadname at a restaurant kind of transphobic. This is her wanting to eradicate all trans people (with an extra special hatred towards trans women specifically). This is her trying just that by personally funding transphobic hate groups with millions to push around laws in the UK. It is not hyperbolic to call her a dangerous, genocidal maniac.

It's not about cancelling a problematic writer. It's about literally trying to save lives by denying her as much money and power as possible.

[phinarei]

A lot of cis people are treating her like an actress who pushes diet culture or a singer who is too sex forward for their tastes. Like she's an inconvenience to their moral comfort instead of the existential threat she is.

She is not that.

She is Elon Musk. She is Trump. She is a powerful monster with the money to end lives.

Giving her money and creating a demand for her books by engaging in fandom should be seen the same way owning a cybertruck is seen. Harry Potter gear is in the same category as MAGA gear.

I need to see the same disgust and outright hatred of her that I see about all the evil men in her category. I don't know if people see her as less dangerous because she's a woman or if people are worried that hating on a woman will get their feminist card revoked, but she needs to be taken more seriously by a lot of people. She's a big name heavy hitter with more money than anyone should be allowed to have.

This isn't a scandal, it's a genocide.

[too-many-blorbos]

Soulmates as a horror concept.

You WILL love this person. It doesn't matter who you loved before; any feelings you had, any promises you made, they will become inconsequential as soon as you lock eyes with the stranger Fate has picked for you.

There's no way to stop it.

There's no way to say "no."

You will meet someone and with a single glance, both of you will become someone new, someone who's now bound to this stranger whether you like it or not, want it or not.

Trapped in a dance together until the day you die.

[oliverniko]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Summary: When Felix dies in the final battle, Dimitri's heart cannot bear another loss. He is warned that bringing Felix back with taboo magic will have consequences; all he will be given is some more time to brace for the inevitable. He follows through regardless.

Rating: Mature Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Category: M/M Fandoms: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Fire Emblem Series Relationship: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius

Additional Tags: Post-Canon. Post-War, Tragedy, Angst, Necromancy, Gender Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Trans Mpreg | Trans Male Pregnancy, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Horror, Body Horror, Trans Felix Hugo Fraldarius

[oliverniko]

'Imprisoned'

Speedpaint (1 hour 45 minutes) of Soren to try out Procreate's pastel brushes 💙