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floatyflowers · 10 months

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Dark! Platonic Alexander the Great x illegitimate! Daughter reader?

He had you when he was really young, barely fifteen years old.

Even though many men back then had children younger than his age.

Alexander didn't give you up, in fact, he insisted that you stay by his side, not caring for the criticism lashed towards him.

Not only that, but also tried to convince his father to legalizes you.

But his father refused to do so.

However, when King Philip II gets assassinated, and your father becomes king at twenty-one, the first thing he does is claim you as his true-born child.

For the Macedonian Greek king, you were not just a child related to him by blood...

You are the daughter he spends long nights telling about his glorious fights and hunts.

Unlike his father who belittles his achievements, you always seem excited to listen to him.

Also, you have the same interests as him, you love to always learn and improve even as a young child.

Alexander decided to bring you with him on his conquests, even though his mother, Olympias objected to the idea, stating that war is no place for a girl.

But your father insisted that you shall come with him because you are his daughter.

Of course, he kept you protected away from the battle field.

One time, Cleitus, one of the generals, flirted with you during the celebration of one of your father's victories.

Alexander got word of that and killed his friend with his own hands in drunken fury.

As years pass by, your health becomes more frail, and you start to pass out during long journeys.

Alexander appointed the highest physicians to cure you, but they failed to even find out what is making you so weak in the first place.

On your deathbed, you keep mumbling your father's name while Alexander keeps holding your hand, pleading for his gods to save you.

"Father...Father"

"Don't leave your father alone, (Y/n), don't be so cruel" the conqueror choked out the words, with tears falling down his face

But unfortunately, you passed away at the age of seventeen, leaving your father heartbroken and feeling great guilt.

Alexander also died a few months later from typhoid fever.

His last request was that they move your body to his tomb, so he can find you again in the afterlife.

#platonic yandere #alexander the great #history #Alexander the great x reader #reader insert #platonic

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aphroditelovesu · 10 months

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The Lost Queen

— summary: You woke up near a military camp without remembering how and why you got there, you didn't understand why they were dressed like ancient Greeks, all you knew was that you weren't safe and you needed to get out of that place as soon as possible. Too bad for you that you found yourself attracting unwanted attention from the Macedonian King and he won't let you go so easily.

— genre: yandere, dark!au.

— warnings: time travel, obsessive and possessive behavior, murder, mention of torture, kidnapping, angst, fluffy (very rarely), dub-con, possibly smut.

— pairing: yandere!alexander the great x female!reader, yandere!generals x female!reader

— word count: 686.

— the lost queen series masterlist.

Prologue

Your heart was pounding fast inside your chest, your breath wasted as you ran desperately across the desert of Gedrosia. It didn't matter that you were going to die of sunstroke, thirst or hunger, you wanted to escape. You desperately wanted to leave this place, run away from the people who were chasing you and didn't seem to want to leave you alone from the moment you woke up bewildered in this... World, at this time.

Your only advantage at this point was distance, but you knew they would catch up to you eventually. Your back ached and was still dried with blood from the punishment he had meted out after your last escape attempt. He thought that way you'd learn not to challenge him again, but he didn't seem to know you weren't the quitting type.

You wouldn't give him the taste of victory. He wouldn't have you, at least not alive.

You groaned in pain and frustration as your legs gave out and you fell into the hot desert area. You looked around and all you saw was blue sky and sand and more sand. You were lost.

Tears of frustration fell from your eyes and wet your chiton. You knew you should stop crying and save what was left of liquid inside your body, but you couldn't. Months of despair, terror and witnessing the atrocities committed came to your mind and your eyes were filled with tears. He did this to you. They did this to you.

You hated him, you hated them all. It didn't matter that they were kind and welcoming to you at first, a complete stranger, none of that mattered because they ruined you. They could have fed you, given you clothes and a bed when you were lost but that didn't matter anymore... Not after everything you went through, what you experienced in those months with them.

You tried to get up but your legs ached and your bare feet burned when you tried to stand. A snarl escaped your lips and with a lot of effort you went back to walking through the vastness that surrounded you. You would die. You were sure of it, if not for the desert at his hand.

You preferred the first option. Even if dying of thirst, hunger, heat or cold is bad... You knew you were better than you dared to think about what they would do as soon as they laid their hands on your body. Fuck, you'd rather rot than allow yourself to be touched by him again. He would never lay hands on you again, you mentally swore to yourself.

You cursed the heavens as you felt your vision darken, your body weak and in need of sustenance. You knew you couldn't walk any further, your legs burned with every step you took and your vision grew darker and darker.

Your eyes struggled to open when you heard the sounds of horses approaching and you cursed yourself and kept trying to walk, but it was too painful. He was close. You screamed in frustration as your body gave out and you were forced to sit on the hot sands. You couldn't go any further, you didn't have the strength.

Your tears fell once more as the noise of voices and horses approached you.

''That was it,'' you thought as you choked on your tears. You prayed to whatever gods were listening but your prayers went unanswered. Your eyes closed as you felt a horse neigh loudly behind you and then its rider descended. Your skin shivered as he touched you, taking your aching body in his arms.

''I found you.'' He purred, touching your face gently with his callused, battle-scarred hands.

You didn't respond and just let him carry you on his lap and you didn't even react when he forced you to mount the stallion in front of you and you ignored the presence of his generals. Those who were once like your friends.

He would always find you. Alexander the Great would never let you go. He would never let his Queen escape.

— lady l: so this was the prologue to a fanfic I'll be writing about one of the greatest conquerors in history. I will take historical liberties in that, nothing here will be historically accurate all the time. I hope you like it and feel free to give feedback or if you just want to talk about the fanfic or anything else. If you want to be tagged just ask, love you all and take care! ❤️

#yandere history #history #yandere historical characters #historical characters #yandere alexander the great #yandere alexander the great x reader #alexander the great x reader #fanfiction #long fic #the lost queen

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xmcu-fietro · 4 months

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I was kind of sad that Erik and Peter don't share any familial name because it means they have even less of a connection to each other as father and son, but here's an interesting fact I learned while googling names: "Maximoff" is a variant of "Maksimov", which means "son of Maksim". "Maksim" is the Russian/Belarusian/Macedonian form of "Maximus". Therefore, Peter Maximoff is the "son of Max[imus]", and Erik's real name is Max! So they kind of are connected through their names!

#peter maximoff #quicksilver #xmen #erik lehnsherr #magneto #dadneto #dadneto and quickson #quickson

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alatismeni-theitsa · 2 months

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Sorry if my question was uncomfortable, but I'm a foreigner and would like to understand more about the "feud" between Greece and North Macedonia. I've seen (heated) discussions between Greeks and Macedonians about culture, but I don't know much about the context. Again, sorry if the question is uncomfortable or insensitive.

I think this Geography Now! video does a good job of explaining the controversy. Basically, the Greek position is that since Slavs came a thousand years after Alexander in the area, and the culture and language of North Macedonians are largely Slavic it's illogical for them to name their country after a Hellenistic kingdom and claim many Greek figures, and also Alexander the Great, as people from their culture.

For clarification, Alexander the Great was certainly Greek and he spoke the Macedonian dialect of Greek which was Doric (for reference the Spartans also spoke the Doric dialect). When North Macedonians say "he was Macedonian" they mean he was from their culture and he spoke their language, and he wasn't Greek.

North Macedonian history tends to confuse the administrative regions with culture and ethnicity because it's convenient to them. It doesn't matter if Kyrillos and Methodios were two Greek brothers from Thessaloniki. To N. Macedonians, because these two brothers were in a region that was occasionally the administrative region of Macedonia, they were "Macedonians", hence "from North Macedonia". To them it doesn't matter that Alexander's birthplace and all important cities of the Hellenistic Macedonian Kingdom are in Greece.

What is crucial to understand about this controversy is that Macedonia for a long, long time, was basically "a geographical region of many mountains". The Greek word Μακεδονία literally means "Mountainous Region", and because it's kind of a distinct region it was a district on its own many times. That's an approximation of the limits of "Macedonia" as a geographical region with distinct characteristics.

Below is the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. However, the people who are now residents of N. Macedonia won't be here for another thousand years!

The guy in the video says the Macedonian kingdom expanded, but then he doesn't say that it was separated into more kingdoms for better governance, and one of those kingdoms was this controversial region (in Green) which is now part of Greece and North Macedonia. (Slavs were still not in the area)

When Romans conquered these kingdoms they also separated the area into administrative regions. The province of Macedonia within the Roman Empire, circa 125 (Slavs were still not in the area):

Later administrative departments of Roman empire (Slavs were still not in the area). In fact, "Provincia Macedoniae" changed almost at the time the Slavs arrived, in the 7th century.

Within the Eastern Roman Empire there was later separation into Themata, but now the department of Macedonia was moved to the West, occasionally including parts of the region where N. Macedonia is today. (Slavs in the area after 7th c. ACE)

Theeeen came the Turks, and separated the regions differently. Now everyone, Turks, Greeks, Slavs, Hebrews and whoever else lived in that region, are all part of the same "millet", the Rum Millet. "Macedonia" wasn't an administrative area then.

In the 19th century, Turks and Slavs were the majority in the region of Macedonia, with Greeks coming third population-wise, and Hebrews also having very large communities.

(Greeks might not like this fact, or they may ignore it completely, but if you open actual historical books and maps, you'll see the demographics. We have censuses from that era. I learned the old Slavic and Turkic names that villages and places in my region had. There's also a reason Kemal Ataturk's mother wrote to him "They took our Salonik" when Greeks reclaimed the city after 600 years. We can still love our country and appreciate our history, without erasing parts of it.)

In 1912, the largest part of the region of Macedonia was claimed by Greeks. In time more Greeks came to it as immigrants from Anatolia and other Greek regions, shifting the population in such a way that Greeks were now the majority. (North Macedonia still doesn't exist as a country)

In 1991, when the country of North Macedonia was created, Greece already had an administrative region of Macedonia which covered most of the Macedonian geographical area, also the ancient Greek cities of the kingdom, and the emblem of Greek Macedonia was the ancient Greek Macedonian star. The Vergina Star, and the ancient Greek city of Vergina is also in Greek ground today. (Our Emblem and Flag)

So you can imagine it came as a shock to Greeks when a newly founded country used not only their symbols, but also distinctly Greek symbols. People who are now residents of N. Macedonia lived in the geographical region that a few centuries ago was also "Macedonia" in the administrative sense, so I get where they're coming from. However, when culture gets appropriated, when the culture of important ethnically Greek figures is erased, when Greek words are claimed to be "Macedonian" all of a sudden since 1991, things get tense.

It's a political matter, as the video says. People from the two countries usually have normal interactions if the matter doesn't come up. And I don't think there's hate between the simple people.

#I am not in the mood for a debate I just wanted to explain stuff #make your own post if you want to let off some steam against Greeks :P #answered

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archaeologicalnews · 1 year

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AI is deciphering a 2,000-year-old 'lost book' describing life after Alexander the Great

A 2,000-year-old "lost book" discussing the dynasties that succeeded Alexander the Great may finally be deciphered nearly two millennia after the text was partially destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and, centuries later, handed off to Napoleon Bonaparte.

The reason for the breakthrough? Researchers are using machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, to discern the faint ink on the rolled-up papyrus scroll.

"It's probably a lost work," Richard Janko, the Gerald F. Else distinguished university professor of classical studies at the University of Michigan, said during a presentation at the joint annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies, held in New Orleans last month. The research is not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Only small parts of the heavily damaged text can be read right now. "It contains the names of a number of Macedonian dynasts and generals of Alexander," Janko said, noting that it also includes "several mentions of Alexander himself." Read more.

#archaeology #mount vesuvius #archeology #macedonian #alexander the great #AI

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spanishskulduggery · 10 months

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When did you first start learning Spanish? And any basic learning tips? I have a few Spanish speaking coworkers but I get so nervous trying to practice my Spanish with them.... and and, when you were first learning Spanish, did you have any little things you found especially fun/funny?

Oh gosh it's been decades now. To give some backstory and you can do your own math here, this blog started in 2013 when I was still in college getting my degree in Spanish

I started in what I think would be middle school when Spanish became a mandatory class, but I didn't start really studying and understanding things until high school. It wasn't until even after college that I REALLY felt like I understood Spanish because there were so many native speakers and people interacting with me.

One thing that totally changed my perception and how I perceive Spanish was there was a question on the preterite and imperfect, and I'm giving my answer and trying to explain some bits about how a lot of times both are potentially correct but it's how you mean it that matters

And someone mentioned that "imperfect" in its linguistic etymology means "not yet completed"; that "perfect" is "done thoroughly" where the -fect is probably related to hacer "to do"... and "imperfect" thus means "not yet done", and just a huge lightbulb moment

I remember thinking "I WISH one of my teachers had known that or said that to me because it makes so much more sense now"

And I still mess up but usually it's followers like "oh we say THIS here" or "that's not the word we use but it reminds me of this thing in my country"

A few funny things in Spanish based on mistakes that I've made or things that I learned:

You haven't truly begun your Spanish journey until someone tells you that embarazado/a means "pregnant" not "embarrassed" (avergonzado/a).... similarly no one mentions that embarazoso/a means "awkward" or "unwieldy" in a way

querer means "to want", but it can also mean "to love" or cherish; similarly querido/a means "dear", but la querida can also kind of mean "side-piece" like someone's affair partner woman so if you see someone talking about their querida without a name or a noun they might be talking about an affair

el pelo is "hair", el cabello typically means "hair on the top of the head" like a human... and el cabello is NOT el caballo "horse"

the word for "eye-catching" is llamativo/a and NOT miradizo/a which miradizo/a is one of those old words but it kind of means "awestruck" or "makes you stare in wonderment" in a weirdly poetic way

sartén as "frying pan" can be masculine or feminine depending on country

there are too many words for beans

there are three main words for "purple" - la púrpura usually means "red-violet" or Tyrian purple and also the mollusk you get purple from; morado/a is often "dark purple" related to la mora which can be "blackberry" or "mulberry"; lila is "light purple" meaning "lilac".... you can also say violeta that's fine too

people say naranja for "the color orange" more than anaranjado/a but not everyone has the patience to explain that naranja which comes from the fruit doesn't change for gender

same with rosa as "pink", where rosado/a "pink" is also valid and usually what's taught

regionalisms. regionalisms everywhere

If you're in a really immature class, someone is going to laugh at puse

the word for "jellyfish" in Spanish is la medusa and that makes me happy

similarly, a male "horseman" is often el jinete; a female "horsewoman" or "rider" is sometimes la amazona and that also makes me happy

la macedonia is sometimes "fruit salad", so one assumes that Macedonians were just throwing fruit together in a bowl or something

Except for two big exceptions, most words ending in al- in Spanish are from Arabic origins [the exceptions being anything related to el almuerzo "lunch", and la almendra "almond"]

la manzana can mean "city block" in some places - probably because in a feudal society people lived in "manses" and the biggest house was the "mansion" where the lord lived, and it has nothing to do with apples

la montaña rusa is "roller coaster" literally "Russian mountain" because Russian people used to make little roller coasters by shaping ice mountains and putting tracks on them

la paja rusa does NOT mean "Russian straw", it is extremely NSFW and do not google it on a school server...... in fact don't look up any kind of paja because it's just as NSFW and it means "straw" if you're not talking about sex so otherwise don't worry about it

someone told me that linguistically para is just por+a, so parais literally "for the purpose of" or "for/so that to" and I've never been the same

the word for "ladybug" in Spanish is la mariquita which is "little Mary" because red used to be associated with Virgin Mary and the spots were said to be 7 and represent the joyful/sorrowful mysteries - many languages have a religious connotation to "ladybug"... also English, because the "lady" refers to Mary, like "Our Lady"

The Spanish alphabet used to be different where CH and RR were their own separate letters... it made looking things up weird; I also don't know how I feel about L vs. LL as separate letters because it's a whole other sound but it IS technically two L's

The word for octopus is el pulpo... the word for "pulp" is la pulpa; don't be like me and mix up asking for orange juice with no octopus

I cannot stress this enough but el pollo is "chicken" or "poultry"; la polla is a NSFW word meaning "cock" and as soon as you say you want cock for dinner you will die some on the inside

I don't know what the deal is with ahorita or what it means without hearing the tone of voice and neither does anyone else, it could be anything

caber is the worst verb, but ir/andar are also up there

every so often luego/pues means "thus" or "therefore" and it's going to throw you off

every so often el hacha (technically feminine) means candle or torch, and in any other situation it means "hatchet" so imagine my confusion when I read about people carrying axes around to see

all my life everyone told me never to use gustar without an indirect object and a friend from Puerto Rico says gusta to mean "cool" all the time and it made me question everything

#asks #spanish vocabulary #spanish #langblr #learn spanish #long post

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arthurdrakoni · 9 months

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Flags of the Athenian Empire

These are the flags of the Athenian Empire. I couldn’t decide which I liked better, so I went with both of them. They come from a world where Athens won the Peloponnesian War. Following the defeat of Sparta, the Delian League was expanded to include the Greek colonies in Italy, the city-states in Anatolia and all of Greece. All of this new territory meant more treasure for Athens' coffers. Athens used much of this new-found wealth to expand its military and navy. The unification of the Greek city-states meant that the Macedonian Conquest never occurred, and Alexander the Great never came to power. Though it was still known as the Delian League, in reality, all of the city-states knew that they were now part of the Athenian Empire.

The threat of Persia was an ever-looming concern. Athens funded many rebellions against Persia in regions such as Egypt and the Levant. Eventually, Athens declared war on the Persian Empire and conquered it in short order. However, most of the territory was lost within a few generations. Athens also went on to conquer Carthage, the fledgling Roman Republic and expanded its territory into Gaul. Athens also expanded into Hispania and the British Isles, but never for too long.

Following this series of conquest Athens began to focus more intellectualism and the acquisition of knowledge. Many libraries and centers of learning were founded across the Athenian Empire. The Athenian Empire never truly fell, but over the years it did lose territory; at its smallest, it was comprised of Greece and Anatolia. However, Greek influence on language, art and culture is felt throughout its former empire and the world at large. In many ways, the Athenian Empire can be seen as the Western world's equivalent of China in terms of influence and culture.

The flags feature an owl clutching an olive branch, symbols of Athens patron goddess Athena. The colors of the flags are black and orange in reference to Ancient Greek pottery. The black on the first flag is also a reference to the black sails of Theseus, mythical king of Athens.

Link to the original flags on my blog: http://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/09/flags-of-athenian-empire.html?m=1

#alternate history #flag #flags #alternate history flag #alternate history flags #vexillology #Athens #Athenian Empire #Flags of the Athenian Empire #Greece #ancient greeks #ancient greece #peloponnesian war #Delian League #athens greece

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jeannereames · 22 days

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Dr. Reames! I read where you promised you wouldn't put up a Tumblr paywall and haven't created a Patreon either, because your school pays your salary so you can answer asks here for free.

That's cool, and super generous. Seriously. I've learned so much. The level of detail in your posts I wouldn't expect outside a university class or buying a book. So if, yeah, you get paid by them, is there a way your followers here who aren't your students... but kinda ARE ...support what you're doing? Other than buying the novels (which is actually how I found you to begin with).

Also, do you have any online classes on Alexander like those "Great Courses"? I'd love to take an online course with you if you have lectures.

Thank you!

I’m delighted people read these things! Ha. Some are rather long. But sometimes the answer is complex. (I should make a couple polls; I’m curious how much/many of these people do read.)

Anyway, to answer the questions:

No, I don’t have any online ATG class at present. I am working on putting up Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Origin (e.g., from early Macedonia/Alexander I to ATG). But you’d need to be enrolled with UNO to take it. It’s still a couple years out, at least.

As for other ways to help.

First, buy the books. (The asker said they already have.) Ironically, I get greater royalties from ebooks than paper. Sometimes people buy paper thinking it helps me more. I prefer paper books myself, so certainly buy paper if you also prefer them, but don’t pay the higher price for paper just because you think that benefits me.

TALK ABOUT THE BOOKS … on both Tumblr and TikTok (+ Bluesky and Twitter). I understand Song of Achilles had only a minor following until it blew up on BookTok. So, if you have a TikTok and really liked the books, talk about them and tag it #booktok & #historicalfiction (et al.). There have been a couple BookToks done in Italian, but I’ve not seen any in English. Doing one would be fantastic. On Tumblr, people have mentioned it and shared lines from it in the past, and some folks have found it that way. Word of mouth works. The recent Alexander Netflix series has brought new people looking for fiction (and queer-positive fiction) about him.

Rate (and review?) the novels on Goodreads and/or Amazon (or elsewhere), especially if you liked them enough to give them 5-stars. But of course, be true to your honest opinion. If there’s a fair bit of skepticism about the value of Goodreads/ Amazon ratings in the publishing industry, agents and publishers still (perhaps hypocritically) pay attention to them.

Last, and not book related, but if you read and enjoy my posts here on Tumblr, and feel you’ve learned something from me, keep in mind that it’s the University of Nebraska-Omaha History Department that’s making this possible by paying my salary. 😊

#asks #Dancing with the Lion #DwtL #University of Nebraska-Omaha #booktok #Alexander the Great #ancient Macedonia #Classics #ancient Greece

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catofadifferentcolor · 7 months

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Terrible Fic Idea #72: Game of Thrones, but make it Ptolemaic

There's something fascinating about the way the Ptolemys took over Egypt following the death of Alexander the Great - sure, anyone can conquer, but it takes an interesting mind to look around for ways to legitimate their rule and fall on sibling marriage as the solution. Yes, it was common among certain royal dynasties, but the Macedonian Greeks, from whom the Ptolemys descended, despised it. I would love a snapshot into how that first sibling marriage came to be.

It was this in mind I stumbled upon the idea for my next terrible fic idea: What if Jon and Robb were not of age with each other?

Aka: The Weirwood Queen Fic

Just imagine it:

Everything follows canon, with two exceptions: 1) Lyanna dies giving birth to a daughter at the Tower of Joy. Ned names the girl after their favorite Great-Aunt, Jocelyn; and 2) Catelyn loses the child she conceives on her wedding night.

(Robb is still born, but his birth date and the birth dates of all the other Stark children are pushed back two years.)

Now, it is one thing to return from war with a bastard when your wife has just given birth to a legitimate heir; it is quite another thing to return from war with a bastard after she miscarried. For this reason Ned choses to pass Jocelyn off as his brother Brandon's bastard daughter with Ashara Dayne.

Jocelyn's childhood is similar in many ways to canon, but not. Without her "twin" or any trueborn siblings to draw attention away, most of the castle dotes on young Jocelyn. Even once her cousins are born, Jocelyn remains the oldest of the lot, filled with the confidence that a child only has when they know they are loved. She loves her cousins in turn, but with the age gap they're never quite as close as canon, and she's more nursemaid for the younger ones than a playmate.

Catleyn, of course, loathes her, and begs for her to be sent away - which she eventually is. But instead of sending Jocelyn to the Silent Sisters, or across the sea, or marrying her off to a loyal man-at-arms stationed on the edge of Stark lands... Ned accepts widowed Rickard Karstark's offer for Jocelyn's hand. He's a loyal bannerman whose family has often wed Stark bastards and was notorious for his care and devotion to his first wife. It is the best Ned can do for her.

And so Jocelyn becomes the second Lady Karstark, which is awkward, as her stepsons are quite a bit older than her and her stepdaughter Alys is only six months younger, but Jocelyn thrives as a lady of a Northern House. Her husband is kind enough and largely allows her to run the house as she will, which is as best as she could have hoped for in a marriage.

By the time King Robert rides north two years later than canon, Jocelyn has given birth to a son, Brandon, and is pregnant with a daughter, Lyanna.

Canon continues apace, if somewhat delayed. Ned becomes hand of the king and loses his head. The North rises up, names Robb King in the North... and Rickard's sons Torrhen and Edward are killed by Jaime Lannister, for which Rickard kills two hostages. Robb still choses to execute Rickard Karstark.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn has been rallying forces to take Winterfell back from the Greyjoy's in the North. She succeeds, only to learn within the week that her cousin has made her a widow.

Jocelyn quietly rages. She'd never loved her husband, but she'd been fond of him. It's the hypocrisy that gets her most - because the Starks have always put family first, but she's known from the beginning that some family counts more than others, otherwise Ned would have never killed her uncle Arthur, or led her mother Ashara to throw herself off a tower, or allowed his son to think it fitting to kill her husband while they knew Jocelyn was preparing to take back his home for him.

And so what you have is Jocelyn continuing to rule Winterfell in her cousin's name but largely acting on her own, never outright ignoring Robb's commands while he's still alive but following the letter rather than the spirit of the order.

This continues for some time, with Jocelyn Queen of the North in all but name after the Red Wedding - holding off the Boltons and the Greyjoys - and gaining the respect of the North.

Into this enter Bran (as played by the Three-Eyed Raven) and baby Rickon.

After four or five years of playing Regent for Sansa, still held hostage in King's Landing, the last thing Jocelyn wants to do is give up power to her thirteen year of cousin who 1) spent the last five years beyond the Wall, letting her do all the hard work of ruling and 2) has no idea what the political situation is in the North. Most of the Northern lords feel similarly and insist Bran and Jocelyn wed, if only so Jocelyn can continue what she's been doing while Bran learns the ropes.

Jocelyn is even less happy about this, but goes along with it in name only, sleeping in a separate part of the castle.

This goes on for about two years, Bran making all sorts of subtle attempts to undermine Jocelyn's rule that - if they'd succeeded - would only have destabilized the North. Jocelyn is gearing up to have him declared addled by his trip beyond the Wall when she catches Bran - or, rather, the Three-Eyed Raven - trying to jump ship into Jocelyn's son seven-year-old son, Brandon Karstark, who with his Targaryen and Stark blood would make a better host.

Explaining to her bannermen just why she murdered her second husband is a challenge, but the evidence - that he was trying to kill her son - is rather irrefutable. Unfortunately, it leaves her in the same position as before, this time having to marry her her ten-year-old cousin Rickon to continue ruling the North.

Through all of this, it should be clear Jocelyn is doing this less out of desire for personal power - though there is a glimmer of that, especially when certain lords demand she give up her regency to man - then desire to stabilize the North. Ned and Robb had gone south, and it had nearly cost the North everything. All Jocelyn wants to do is keep the madness consuming the south from infecting the North too.

Meanwhile, Daenerys and Young Griff have joined forces in Essos, married, and begun their reconquest of Westeros. Amid the chaos, they succeed brilliantly.

They leave the North for last, attempt to replay the submission of Torrhen, but in a much weaker position than The Conqueror was - they have dragons, but winter is setting in and their martial might is largely exhausted by a decade of warfare. Regardless, Jocelyn tells Rickon to bend the knee, realizing the North can't survive on its own for long. For this they get many concessions - a break in taxes, the title of Prince of the North, and the betrothal of the Dany and Young Griff's son and daughter to Jocelyn's children Lyanna and Brandon Karstark respectively.

Jocelyn continues to rule the North, largely without the input of her third husband, who after his majority largely spends his time in Dany and Young Griff's ongoing military campaigns - putting down rebellions throughout their empire, pirates in the Stepstones, and the like - until he is killed crossing a river in Essos. The title of Prince of the North falls to Jocelyn's son, Brandon Karstark, who drops the Kar from his name and rules well - with the help of his mother.

Bonuses include: 1) Jocelyn never expressing anything other than familial fondness for any of her husbands, never sleeping with the second two, and largely being presented as an aromantic asexual who because of societal expectations forces herself to try to have romantic/sexual feelings for her first husband, fails, and then keeps her second two firmly in the baby cousins category; 2) An exploration of family dynamics in Westeros - specifically, what it means to be on the outside looking in as a bastard and knowing that your uncle and cousin don't seem to count the death of your mother, mother's brother, or husband as kinslaying, and being a woman allowed to hold the reins of power while the men are away and being expected to turn everything over to the first male claimant who shows up after you've done all the hard work; 3) The Three-Eyed Raven putting on a masterclass of how to be subtly creepy enough to cause everyone around him to think they're imagining things, when in reality it's worse than they imagined, and having been working even beyond the Wall to help bring about the Targaryen Restoration; 4) No one ever suspecting Jocelyn as being Rhaegar's daughter, and historians using the Valeryian looks her children have with their Targaryen spouses as proof Young Griff was really Prince Aegon; and 5) An exploration of the North, its traditions, and its religion, with Jocelyn somewhat inadvertently bringing about a revival of the last two through her desire to Damnatio Memoriae her late and unlamented Aunt Catelyn.

And that's all I have. I suppose its not as ptolemaic as it could be, but I was thinking of Cleopatra VII and her marriages to her two younger brothers as I wrote it, so. As always, feel free to adopt this plot bunny, just link back if you ever do anything with it.

More Terrible Fic Ideas

#plot bunny #fic ideas #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #got #asoiaf #jon snow #jon snow is a targaryen #female jon snow #bran stark #rickon stark #arranged marriage #house stark #the old gods #three eyed raven #targaryen restoration #king in the north #queen in the north

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octoberhorse · 2 months

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Paleontology is cool and all, but did you know that

War pigs are pigs reported to have been used in ancient warfare as military animals, mostly as a countermeasure against war elephants.

In the 1st century BCE, the Roman author Lucretius noted that humans may have attempted to launch wild beasts, such as lions or "savage boars", against the enemy, but with catastrophic results. In 272 BCE, it was recorded that the Romans used wild boars in their fight against the war elephants of the Tarantines. According to a legend recounted in the "Alexander Romance" by Pseudo-Callisthenes, the Macedonian Emperor Alexander the Great learned about this "secret weapon" against war elephants from King Porus in India.

The Roman naval and army commander Pliny the Elder reported that "elephants are scared by the smallest squeal of the hog". Roman author and teacher Aelian confirmed that elephants were frightened by squealing pigs and rams with horns, and reported that the Romans exploited both squealing pigs and horned rams to repel the war elephants of Pyrrhus in 275 BCE. Byzantine Greek scholar Procopius, in History of the Wars, recorded that the defenders of Edessa suspended a squealing pig from the walls to frighten away Khosrau's single siege elephant in the 6th century CE.

Historical accounts of incendiary pigs or flaming pigs were recorded by the Greek military writer Polyaenus and by Aelian. Both writers reported that Antigonus II Gonatas' siege of Megara in 266 BCE was broken when the Megarians doused some pigs with combustible pitch, crude oil or resin, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy's massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming, squealing pigs, often killing great numbers of their own soldiers by trampling them to death. According to an account, Gonatas later made his mahouts keep a swine among elephants to accustom the animals to pigs and this practice was immortalized by a Roman bronze coin dating back to his time, which showed an elephant on one side and a pig on the other.

As late as the 16th century, the supposed terror of the elephant for the squealing pig was reported by the English politician

Reginald Scot.

#war pigs #long post #paleontology #ancient rome #rome #classics #latin memes #latin language #roman history #thank god for Wikipedia

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silver-and-stars · 2 months

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Netflix's Alexander: the making of a god.

So at like 2 am I discovered this docu-fiction exist. It's 8:30 am on the morning and I've just binged watch it. Worth it.

Him and Hephaestion being a thing right from the beginning. 1000+ points.

Points deducted for calling him "friend" though. and "Heph" cute but too modern, so kinda weird.

This Darius get bonus points for not being a coward, for being quite calm, caring for his wife, and upon learning that Alexander bedded her (a fact that seems to be inaccurate though) his reaction is not "she betrayed me" but "she hadn't much of a choice to survive and I'm gonna kill him".

Btw, not the documentary commented by professors in history and archeaology, saying Stateira, wife of Darius III, died giving birth to Alexander's son (and that Alexander rubbed it in Darius' face) because Plutarch - who was born 369 years after Alexander's death - said so. Other sources invalidate this theory (like the age of the child, being 4 to 7 years old when Stateira died, meaning he was already born when Alexander first met her). And other sources say Alexander only met her once, when he took Darius' camp and that was it.

However her daughter Strateira II (who might have been Barsine or her sister) did marry him but had no children with him.

He had 1 known son from Roxana, that's all. That's in part why his empire was so easily taken apart by his diadochi.

So I don't know why, except for drama) they went for that version nor why the professor corroborate it when it's the least likely.

Also Olympias' very modern make-up, mascara, blue eyeshadow, red lipsick. And Mazaeus' armor. WTF.

So far those are my main problems with the documentary. That and the greek/macedonian costumes and armor being too bleak.

Oh dear Hephaestion, you are never going home.

Look at him looking at Alexander as if he is thinking "you are lucky that I love you and I'm loyal to you, because I WILL follow you blindly to the end but gods it's not easy".

Alexander the Great, the embodiement of Live Fast, Die Young.

I'll very soon be older than he ever was but damn, what a life he had. Meanwhile here I am unemployed and purposeless.

#alexander the great #tv shows #period drama #my posts #alexander the making of a god

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aphroditelovesu · 9 months

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The Lost Queen - IV

— summary: You woke up near a military camp without remembering how and why you got there, you didn’t understand why they were dressed like ancient Greeks, all you knew was that you weren’t safe and you needed to get out of that place as soon as possible. Too bad for you that you found yourself attracting unwanted attention from the Macedonian King and he won’t let you go so easily.

— genre: yandere, dark!au.

— warnings: time travel, obsessive and possessive behavior, murder, mention of torture, kidnapping, angst, fluffy (very rarely), dub-con, possibly smut.

— pairing: yandere!alexander the great x female!reader, yandere!generals x female!reader

— word count: +1,870.

— tag list: @devils-blackrose, @faerykingdom, @hadesnewpersephone, @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 , @kadu-5607, @zoleea-exultant

— the lost queen series masterlist.

Chapter 4

Perdiccas didn't know what to do with himself.

The macedonian general felt confused and troubled by the thoughts that were running through his head. He didn't understand why he was feeling this way about someone he had just met but couldn't help it.

There was something about this strange woman that appealed to him profusely.

He watched her like an eagle but kept silent as Alexander questioned her. She seemed quite calm, or so he thought, as she had answered all of Alexander's questions with unwavering grace and confidence. He respected that, respected that she hadn't shown fear even though she was clearly in a vulnerable position.

And when he learned her name it was like a weight had been lifted from his chest. (Y/N). A name he had never heard before but it suited her, suited her beauty. The way she spoke with so much softness and confidence, as a Queen would speak was one of the things that attracted the general's curiosity.

''(Y/N)…'' Perdiccas whispered and was satisfied when the beautiful woman's name fell from his lips.

''What did you say?'' Ptolemy asked and leaned towards Perdiccas, who shook his head quickly.

''Nothing.'' He lied quickly and Ptolemy glared at him for a bit but turned his attention back to the King and (Y/N).

Perdiccas didn't need anyone to find out the thoughts that were in his head, not even his closest friends. There were things that were better left unsaid and he knew within himself that he should never speak what was on his mind about (Y/N). He was sure no one would understand, in fact, not even he understood his thoughts and feelings.

He turned his eyes to (Y/N) again who was escorted to the tent that would be assigned to her. Perdiccas watched her whimpering, wanting desperately to keep up but it wasn't smart to do so.

He clenched his fists as his fellow generals filed out of the King's tent and he promised himself that he would visit her later. Perdiccas needed to make sure she was okay, something inside him screamed that this was what he should do and, for some reason, the general didn't question it.

He closed his eyes and counted to twenty. This habit of counting to calm down has always worked since he was a small child. If he concentrated more, he could hear the sweet sound of his mother's voice telling him epic stories.

And how much he missed his mother. Perhaps she knew what he was supposed to do in this situation.

Perdiccas sighed heavily and left the tent and started walking aimlessly. He didn't know where he was going, he just knew he needed to distract his mind a little and he could choose between walking a little or a sword practice with Cleitus.

He chose the first option.

Not that he didn't like the older general, he did but he preferred to be alone. Cleitus would probably tell him not to stress, get a drink and a woman. The order didn't really matter.

Perdiccas had nothing against getting drunk and sleeping with a woman, but he wasn't in the mood for something like that today. At least not for now, there was the feast and he needed to talk to (Y/N) about something.

He just needed to find out what he needed to talk to her about. And most important of all, he needed to get her out of his head.

Visiting her tent hadn't been the smartest decision he'd made in his life.

Perdiccas was a general, a proud and skilled macedonian warrior. He knew how to wield a sword as well as he knew about diplomacy, maybe he wasn't as good a diplomat as Hephaestion, but he had his talents. And, modesty aside, he was an attractive man. And he knew it.

He knew all this but even so he felt cornered like a wounded animal when addressing the beautiful and strange (Y/N).

His heart broke when he saw her crying and he wanted to hug her and try to calm her down. He didn't understand why he felt that way about her, although he was considerate of others, Perdiccas never acted like that with anyone, not even with his friends from Mieza.

He felt a little better when she smiled at him. It was a forced and sad smile, but it was still an attempt at a smile and he promised himself that he would do everything to make the feast pleasant for her.

And for that to happen he would need to talk to his friends, to make sure they didn't do anything or say anything that made her more uncomfortable than she already was.

Which was why he was sitting on the couch in his tent, with his friends gathered, except for Alexander and Hephaestion who were talking about something he didn't know. He looked at them all and smiled faintly, Ptolemy, Cleitus, Philotas, Nearchus and Cassander.

He took a deep breath and started talking, ''I called you here because I have something important to talk about.''

Ptolemy looked into his friend's face and pursed his lips, ''And what is it about? I imagine it is not about any attempted conspiracy against our King and friend.'' This was Ptolemy's way attempt to lighten the mood and it paid off when everyone laughed.

''No, but it's always an idea!'' Perdiccas chuckled, ''But I want to talk about our guest. (Y/N).'' At the mention of her name, a suffocating silence fell and he swallowed hard.

''What about her?'' Cassander's dry, cold voice broke the silence.

Perdiccas frowned at Cassander's sly tone, ''Are you aware that she will be at the feast tonight?''

Everyone nodded hesitantly.

''We must be sure to make her as comfortable as possible.'' Perdiccas took a deep breath and continued, ''It is our duty.''

Philotas blinked in surprise and said in a voice full of disgust, ''Why?''

Perdiccas glared at him, ''Because we are not wild and uncivilized. She is our guest.''

''I wouldn't say guest, Perdiccas.'' Ptolemy's calm voice interrupted the argument about to form. ''We don't know her and she doesn't know us. We don't know anything about her, only that she is a stranger who appeared out of nowhere in our camp. ''

''Precisely and that's why we should be kind and also why Alexander is treating her like a guest. Our King knows how to be kind, but has he ever bestowed a tent, food and clothing on just anyone?'' No one replied and, satisfied with that, Perdiccas continued, ''We don't need to be cruel or act savage, she is not a threat and we should be courteous.''

''I agree with our friend.'' Cleitus replied and smirked as attention shifted to him, ''She appears to be harmless and, moreover, she is very pretty and appears to be polite. Even if she is a foreigner, we don't need to act so badly unless she poses a threat. ''

''I think the same, Cleitus.'' Nearchus replied with a laugh. ''She may be a stranger to us, but we can try to be kind and tolerant. There is nothing wrong with that.''

''So are we in agreement? Shall we do our best to make this feast something pleasant for her?'' Perdiccas finally asked and everyone thought for a moment.

''We are.'' Ptolemy replied and soon Cleitus and Nearchus did the same. Cassander and Philotas frowned a little but nodded in agreement with their friends.

Satisfied with the arrangement, Perdiccas finally felt lighter that day.

He had decided that he would try to be as gentle and calm as possible with her.

Perdiccas wanted to do a favor, a kindness, and sent two servants with some clothes and jewelry for (Y/N) to use at the feast.

Although she looked very pretty in what she was wearing, because she was, but it wasn't the appropriate type of outfit to wear to a banquet. Whatever that was, it definitely wouldn't be of good use for the occasion.

Perdiccas finally finished getting dressed and hoped he looked presentable. His hair was braided and one part loose and he wore a white chiton with some gold bands, along with some bracelets and wore his traditional sandal. He hadn't dressed up as much because he didn't think it was necessary, but he wanted to make a good impression on (Y/N).

The general got out of his tent and started walking towards (Y/N)'s tent. As he walked, he surveyed his surroundings and smiled when he saw that the soldiers were busy with bonfires, lots of wine, and small talk. Sometimes he and his comrades are like that.

Once he arrived in front of (Y/N)'s tent, he waited a few minutes to make sure she was dressed. Seeing her naked wasn't in his plans, but it wouldn't bother him. Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, he entered when he had permission from (Y/N)

And he almost fell to his knees right there.

She just looked... Divine. Her face was clean and natural, with just a little bit of kohl applied to her eyes, bringing out the beautiful color in them. Her hair was done in a rather ordinary but very attractive hairstyle, showing off her neck which was adorned with a necklace that he had chosen himself. A beautiful gold necklace. And her clothing, oh, the chiton fit her perfectly and although it was long and covered her legs, Perdiccas could still catch a glimpse of her thighs when she turned around and the cleavage was subdued but pretty. He was sure if he got close to her he could catch a glimpse of her breasts, but he didn't.

Instead, he blushed a little without knowing why and smiled at her, which she returned with a shy smile that made Perdiccas' heart skip a beat.

He moved a little closer to her and offered his strong arm, which (Y/N) accepted, hooking hers in his.

''Are you ready?'' His voice was as low as a whisper and she nodded. Perdiccas began to guide her to Alexander's tent, the place where the feast would be held.

As they approached, Perdiccas could hear the noise of his friends' voices and he felt (Y/N)'s body tense. He stopped walking and forced her to look at him.

''You have nothing to worry about. You are under Alexander's protection and, dare I say, mine,'' he murmured, looking into her eyes tenderly, ''no one will dare to hurt you and I promise they will all be kind.''

''Thank you.'' She whispered, closing her eyes. ''For everything.''

Perdiccas smiles widely and in an act of weakness, he leans his forehead against hers.

''Whenever you need something, come to me or call me and I'll come to you.'' His voice was so low that it could barely be heard over the loud noises echoing from the King's tent. But they didn't care.

Perdiccas and (Y/N) didn't care because the only importance was themselves at that moment.

— lady l: and that ending there, huh?? I know it wasn't the feast, but I wanted to show Perdiccas pov, but don't worry, because the next chapter will be the feast and I promise A LOT of drama!! What did you think? I hope you enjoyed it and forgive me for any mistakes that went unnoticed. I love you all!! ❤️

#yandere history #history #yandere historical characters #yandere alexander the great #yandere alexander the great x reader #the lost queen #long fic #long fanfic

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