#macedonian sillys

[inc0rrectmyths]

Alexander: I will crush every kingdom in India and kill the kings, and most importantly kiss Porus.

Hephaestion: Hmm..?

Alexander: KILL PORUS-

#macedonian sillys #greek history #ancient greek history #indian history #ancient indian history #ancient greece #ancient india #alexander of macedon #alexander the great #porus #hephaestion

[yugocar]

report: ohrid is good

#i love listening to macedonian #it sounds so silly to me in a nice way #logs

[aphroditelovesu]

The Lost Queen - VIII

— 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: 2,064.

— tag list: @devils-blackrose, @faerykingdom, @hadesnewpersephone, @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 , @kadu-5607, @zoleea-exultant, @borntoexplore11-blog, @silmawensgarden

— the lost queen series masterlist.

Chapter 8

You knew it wasn't the right thing to do, that you weren't thinking straight but you didn't care.

You needed comfort, affection and Perdiccas was willing to give it to you. It wasn't that you were planning on having sex with him, you hadn't thought about going that far, but a few kisses and silly hands weren't going to kill you both, right?

Perdiccas touched your face as he kissed you, deepening the kiss. You felt his tongue touch yours shyly, as if he was asking for permission to kiss you.

It warmed you inside, it felt good to know someone still cared about what you wanted.

''You're so sweet...'' The general whispered after you separated. You blushed a little but smiled, looking at your hands that were intertwined.

''Oh, yeah?'' You laughed.

''Hey, look at me.'' He said and you looked up, staring into those mesmerizing blue eyes that threatened to make you weak in the knees, ''Your eyes are beautiful, just like you.''

''Do you say that to everyone?'' You joked and he laughed, shaking his head in denial.

''Only for the one I like.'' He winked at you.

Your heart beat faster.

''Perdiccas, I-'' You were interrupted, when he placed a finger on your lips.

''Don't.''

You frowned, ''Don't what?''

''Don't do that.''

You were speechless when he started staring at you with such intensity that it scared you. And you felt a discomfort, a pain, take over your body as those ocean blue eyes filled with tears and an indescribable pain took over them.

''Perdiccas...''

''Why, (Y/N)? Why do I feel this way about you? What's wrong with me?!'' He started to question you frantically and you pulled him into your arms, trying to calm him down.

''Shhh...''

''I don't want to feel like this!'' You'd be lying if you said his words didn't affect you, because they did. They stirred your heart in the same way the kiss had done.

''It wasn't my intention...'' You tried to defend yourself, but you knew there was no way. The truth was that you didn't even know why you felt this way, you knew that you couldn't create feelings for him, because if you didn't... Everything would be in vain, you would not only cause him pain but yourself when you left.

Because you would leave. That's what you wanted, wasn't it? So why did the thought of abandoning Perdiccas bother you so much?

''Does not matter. It doesn't matter how I feel about you.'' His words were like a dagger being thrust into your heart. Perdiccas pulled away from your embrace.

''Please...'' You closed his eyes, not bearing to look at him right now.

''Please what, (Y/N)? I can't bear this, I can't!'' He exploded and stood up, facing you. You felt like crying but you weren't going to do it. Not again.

Perdiccas let the tears fall from his eyes, finally letting all the feelings that were consuming him out.

''I can't bear for you to marry him...'' He sniffled, ''I can't think of him touching you, of him kissing you without me wanting to kill my own King and friend, I... I can't avoid feeling uncontrolled jealousy at the thought of you being with him...''

You started to cry at his words. You opened your eyes and stood up, hugging him tightly. Perdiccas wrapped his arms around you, crying along with you.

''I don't want to marry him!'' You whimpered, ''I don't! I can't...''

Perdiccas tightened his hold on you.

''You don't have to marry him...'' He whispered in your ear.

His words just made you feel like screaming. You had no choice, couldn't he see that? You were at a crossroads and you knew the only choice was to marry Alexander and you didn't want to.

You didn't want to be his wife or his Queen. You didn't want any of this, the only thing you wanted was to be home. With your family, your friends and your cat.

Instead you were stuck in the 4th century BC. and with a King with serious drinking, anger and megalomania problems who wanted to marry you. It seemed like a very bad joke.

''What do I do, Perdiccas?'' You squeezed him, placing your head against his shoulder.

He was silent for a few minutes.

''Perdiccas?'' You called him again.

''...Marry me.''

You jerked away and almost fell in the process. ''What?!''

Perdiccas looked at you seriously, ''Marry me.''

You laughed bitterly, ''Are you kidding me? Because if you are, that's not funny!''

''I'm not kidding, (Y/N). I want you to marry me.'' He replied seriously, hoping you would say yes.

''You-'' You couldn't even respond properly, too shocked by his words.

Perdiccas approached you and took your hands, looking at your face with love. ''Marry me, (Y/N). I beg you to say yes.''

Part of you wanted to say yes, that you would marry him, but you knew you couldn't. Although being Perdiccas' wife would certainly be more enjoyable than Alexander's, you couldn't put his life at risk. You had seen what Alexander had done to Cleitus, you couldn't even imagine what he would do to Perdiccas if you accepted his proposal.

''I can't...''

Perdiccas squeezed his hands, not enough for it to hurt. ''Why not, (Y/N)?'' His voice was desperate and full of pain and it broke your heart even more.

''Alexander, he could hurt you! I won't take the risk of you dying or suffering something worse.''

''I don't mind. I don't care if I have to die, I don't mind dying if I have the honor of having you as my wife.'' He rested his forehead against yours, ''I don't mind because I'd rather suffer the worst torture of I have to see you married to my friend. Than to see you have his children.''

You smiled a little, ''But I care.''

''Let's run away then!'' He said hastily, ''Let's go far away from all this, from everyone, from Alexander. A place where just you and I could be together. Maybe we can go to the place where you lived, where no one would recognize us.''

You blinked in surprise, ''Do you want to leave Alexander's army? Become a deserter?''

''For you, yes.'' He replied without any hesitation in his voice. You shook your head.

''Perdiccas, look, I-'' You stopped talking quickly when someone entered the tent. You quickly walked away from the general when you noticed that it was Ptolemy who had entered.

Ptolemy looked at you suspiciously and shook his head, muttering something to himself. He approached where you were.

''Alexander wants to talk to you.'' He simply said, alternating his gaze between you and Perdiccas. You learned that Ptolemy knew something had happened between you, but he decided to keep it to himself.

''With me?'' You asked just to be sure. Ptolemy nodded.

You stared at Perdiccas who looked like he wanted to strangle Ptolemy. You said goodbye quickly and left the tent without saying anything. Maybe it was an act of cowardice, but you couldn't look at Perdiccas now.

Not without wanting to grab him and say yes to his offer.

''What did you do?'' Ptolemy asked as you left. He crossed his arms and faced his friend with a seriousness only seen in battle.

Perdiccas frowned, ''What do you mean?'' Fortunately his tears had stopped and dried, the only thing that gave him away was his red and slightly swollen eyes.

Ptolemy sighed loudly and looked up, ''I am no fool, Perdiccas. I know something happened between you and I want to know what it is.''

''And why should I owe you any explanation?''

''Because I'm your friend and I care about you enough to not want you to die or end up like Cleitus.'' Ptolemy replied, impatiently.

''Nothing happened.'' Perdiccas replied coldly.

''And why then don't I believe it?'' Ptolemy's voice was cold and serious, matching Perdiccas's.

Perdiccas shrugged, ''Believe what you want. Nothing happened between us, I was just talking to (Y/N) about the Cleitus situation. That is all.''

Ptolemy uncrossed his arms and stared at his friend intensely. Perdiccas shifted uncomfortably under Ptolemy's penetrating gaze. ''I didn't know you needed to be so close to talk.''

Perdiccas felt an absurd desire to strangle Ptolemy right then and there.

''I didn't know you were so nosy, friend.'' Perdiccas sneered. Ptolemy laughed humorlessly.

''Believe it or not, I'm protecting you and (Y/N).''

''Oh, really? And why would you do that?''

''Because I care. You're my friend and (Y/N) is... Important for some reason, I'm trying to take care of you. I don't want you to get hurt or end up getting stuck with a spear.'' Ptolemy explained and his gaze softened.

Perdiccas didn't respond, he just looked at the cot where Cleitus was lying unconscious.

''You can't have her, Perdiccas.''

Perdiccas faced Ptolemy again, his blue eyes filled with determination and hatred.

''That's what we're going to see.''

You were in front of Alexander's tent. You knew you should go in but you didn't want to. You didn't want to have to face him, not after everything that happened.

''Don't be a coward, (Y/N).'' You said to yourself and without flinching, you entered the tent with shaky legs.

You looked around curiously. It was a King's tent, indeed. Some candelabras flickered with fire, some chairs and a large table were in the right corner and some trunks were placed in front of a cot.

And on that cot, Alexander lay, looking at you intensely. You swallowed hard and fought the urge to run away.

''You came.'' Was the only thing he said. Alexander looked horrible, his chiton was dirty and stained with blood, Cleitus's blood. His blond hair was messy, his gaze drooped and he held a glass of wine in his right hand.

''I came.'' You replied, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Alexander stared at you for a few seconds and pointed to a jug of wine next to him, ''Do you want some?''

''No, thank you. I've had enough to drink today.''

''Hmm...''

You took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to say what you wanted to say. During the walk to his tent, you knew what you had to do, what you had to say, even if you hated it to your core.

''I-''

''You-''

You both spoke at the same time and stopped at the same time. You cleared your throat and said, ''Y-You can talk first.''

''Alright.'' He cleared his throat and began, ''I want to apologize for what happened today. It probably scared you and you should know that that wasn't my intention, I lost control today and I intend for that not to happen again.''

You looked at him, suspicious, ''It's okay.'' No, it wasn't but you needed to pretend. At least for a while.

Alexander stood up, staggering towards you. You fought the urge to step back, or run away. He walked over and came face to face with you.

''I am really sorry, (Y/N).''

Alexander touched your face with the palm of his hand and caressed it lightly. You took a deep breath, gathered all the courage you had and said without hesitation, ''I'm going to marry you.''

The affection stopped and Alexander smiled widely. Before you could say anything, he broke the distance between you and kissed you passionately.

You squealed in surprise at the kiss and tried to pull away, but Alexander pressed you against him. You closed your eyes and fought the urge to cry and gave in to Alexander's possessive kiss.

You prayed to the gods that you could leave soon. Before the wedding, preferably.

— lady l: I'm not going to say anything more than this: THE WEDDING IS COMING AND SO IS THE DRAMA WITH IT!!

And Perdiccas... Why does you propose to an involuntarily engaged woman? I hope you enjoyed it, forgive me for any mistakes until the next chapter!

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

[jeannereames]

The Upcoming ATG Docudrama

I've been asked about this a couple times. I was required to sign an NDA, so there's not a lot I can say at the present time.

Edit: I realized I forgot to include a link to the trailer, so here it is.

Also, again, a reminder: please don't repost, here or by a link to it from elsewhere. I turned off reposting for a reason. Thanks!

To answer the most common query: yes, Hephaistion will be shown as ATG's lover. I wouldn't have agreed to be advisor otherwise. It will even be shown onscreen for the first time (if they don't back down). Hephaistion and Ptolemy are the two chief secondary characters on the Macedonian side. It's not my view of Hephaistion's personality but....

Their story, their vision. That's the first rule of being an advisor.

I had no hand in writing scripts, etc. I was hired to catch glaring historical errors, and offer suggestions. They then decided what of my suggestions to take. They did listen when it was very factually wrong. Details often had to be adjusted due to lack of funds (for sets, for actors, etc.), or the need to make the story clear for the average viewer. Also, they made their own choices regarding some controversial matters, following different scholarly opinion. Witness the "making of a god" subtitle. I don't think he ever actually believed that, or not in the way most viewers will take it; other scholars disagree with me. Clearly, they went with the other view.

Women get more screen time than you're probably used to in an Alexander documentary/docudrama. (The docudrama's chief producer is female.) They were very keen on the fact Persian women had political influence and power. You'll also see more female "talking heads,"* and several are actual ATG and Macedonian specialists, some suggested by me.

The Persians will not be shown as uncivilized barbarians. In fact, that's the chief reason I agreed to help. It's also why you keep seeing the actors for BOTH Alexander AND Darius given. This will be a rise-fall story, yes, but it will focus far more heavily on Persia (and Persia in a positive light) than what you're used to seeing. Darius matters. So does Statiera, his wife.

Despite the network, this was relatively small-budget,

There aren't as many named characters as I wanted to see, or fought for. Same thing with sets. They couldn't splurge on something to be used only once. It meant details of settings are changed in several cases. This will annoy viewers in-the-know, but the average viewer will have no idea.

I had no input once filming began. I also had no input on costuming, nor (for the most part) sets. I never saw any design boards, etc. And if they use those silly nicknames for Hephaistion and Ptolemy, I categorically refuse to accept responsibility. Ha. I warned them, multiple times, to drop them. I hope they listened.

--------

*No, I'm not among the interviewed experts, despite being the series historical advisor--nor is Beth Carney, who was also on their list, but is even older than me. I'll leave you to your own speculation. I'm not sure who all they ended up with (lots of secrecy), but we (the scholars) do talk to each other, so I know a few who were filmed, and a few who weren't. I'll be curious to see, myself, who ended up on screen.

#asks

[oneiriad]

So, apparently Greece is very upset at Netflix for portraying Alexander the Great (the Macedonian guy) as kissing another man because he was totally straight and they are saying that clearly Oliver Stone started "a propaganda campaign about Alexander’s homosexuality" back in 2004.

Uhm, excuse you, Mary Renault didn't publish The Persian Boy in 1972 to be ignored like that.

Also: *laughs myself silly*

I really should watch that documentary before my Greece vacation, shouldn't I?

#alexander the great #greece #Alexander: The Making of a God

[princessmacedon]

. [ ━━━ ACT I. atonement, ]

BISHOP DESPISED THE GIRL'S VOICE BEFORE HER STILL-HEART RECOGNIZED THE LAUGHTER, massaging her temple when the sweetness of youth bit inevitably at her ears and mind. thus, she moved to squash the insult to silence; rising from the comfort of her seat to duck beneath the library's staircase, stalking toward the source of memory with a twitching eye and a polite smile plastered weakly to her lips. how irresponsible, responding to the luxury of a haven's silence with commotion so utterly unnecessary it simply proved the flaw of humanity's youth.

weak. untamed. senseless. left to their free will despite the space around their necks for a leash; how incompetent must one be to miss the opportunity of a lesson? no, not she. not eremiya whom, after turning the curt corner of a bookcase, immediately spoke her dissatisfaction into the air. "pardon yourselves, but the library is━━━"

the back of a waving student caught her eye first until her gaze fell on the girl sitting on the floor, a large tome of fables in her lap. recognition stole her breath, stilling her where she stood, hands on her staff and countenance twisted in a grimace. hair as prettily red as she had been told, whispered into the ear of her lord; bright eyes and bright smile and bright life━━━

eremiya nearly heaved. mage hand twitched, usually unwavering stare blinking rapidly to rid herself of the confused expression. when she patched up her smile, it was as fragile as the skin of a babe, "princess maria." curt; no question in identity. she could be no one else. no one else could be her. and how unfortunate that maria still breathed to this day, seemingly happy within the walls of the monastery, though this would be one of the many settlements, far from home, she must have been to.

unsurprisingly, despite her efforts, the remnants of a grimace remain. "you live... in the monastery? had lord gharnef..."

memory was swiftly replaced by a scalding realization.

the library was nearly empty, save for them. the girl would hardly be able to scream if the beast lunged at her now, stole the very voice that caused it pain. eremiya's eye twitched. surely, gharnef would pay her a kind hand for ridding them of the macedonian's hope. had she not tried to offer him her and, in light of her presence, still owed him that debt? ( no, she was tempted to think. maria was the very Thing she sacrificed love to protect. to maim and break and rebuild. was this not a chance at the inevitable? ) her approach softened until completely emotionless, grimace buried beneath apathy, as if her prior confusion had never been recognized,

"tsk. no matter what you are entertaining yourself with, your voice is too loud." If I hear it again, I will not be able to keep myself from tearing it out. "must you and your friend be reminded of the library's ruling?"

mun's note / / though we threw around the context of maria not knowing exactly who eremiya is, i'd thought it still fair to send her the ask i planned. their dynamic is one i'd love to explore :pleading:

On an ordinary day, at an unassuming hour, a simple, silly, and simply silly happiness sets alight Maria's heart. She laughs, loudly and freely and certainly without meaning to, a hand clapped over a tightly curling smile that runneth over with mischief, surprise, and sheepishness all at once. Fingers shift, then part, that crescent of pearly whites cut into slivers between them, and upon her other hand her digits wiggle merrily in a free-spirited (and pointedly silent!) fare-thee-well.

"Hee hee..." How soft this succedent laughter; she lets it fall between the pages of her book and snaps it gently shut, as if to press her joys between its pages and preserve them.

The advent of footsteps draws her attention upward, the line of her lips already smoothing out into a sweet, yet-to-be-spoken apology. Her eyes are clear; if there is anything to be said of the gaze of the little robin of Macedon, it is that it is unchanging, ever changing -- shifting, vibrant, full of life. So it remains when the sister makes herself known, and so it remains when she is reprimanded, repentant in the face of her discourtesy.

And then comes a whispered name: Lord Gharnef.

Life slows to a trickle, glacial and appraising. Her smile wanes by fractions, and endures by just as much, fingertips hooking over the rough edges of the tome's cover. Lord Gharnef, the woman had murmured, but no one ever set such honor to his name unless... Maria swallows, that familiar stone sitting heavy in her chest. Lips part, drawing a shallow breath, as if the memory of that bitter darkness had coagulated in her nose and throat once more. And this stranger had called her Princess Maria -- had known before any greeting who she was, and whispered that man's name in her next breath.

She recalls, suddenly, what it was like to die by poison -- remembers the numbing senses, the thick, encroaching silence. Lord Gharnef... there is a susur at the edges of clarity, smooth yet frigid as it slips through her hands, until only fear remains. Another breath, and she swallows it.

Oh, it sticks jaggedly in her throat, and it is a struggle to convince her knees not to remain despondently partnered to the floor, but change must always begin somewhere. The girl that wept alone in the tower, who cried for her siblings in the dark, knows she is still only that: a girl. She will still weep, sometimes; she will still cry. But even if it is only the strength to defy the name of a nightmare, to stand on her own two feet, it's a strength that she has fought for, and must continue to fight for in every trial to come.

"I'm sorry," Maria replies, pushing herself to her feet the moment the other begins to move forward -- some small defiance as she smooths her skirt, outwardly unbothered; even her smile waxes warm again, beneath her twinkling eyes. And it is defiance, too, in that she means it, for just as Gharnef had his devoted, so too did he have his victims. They are not mutually exclusive. She may have her suspicions, but what if they're wrong? She would rather waste her kindness than not -- and besides, kindness was never truly wasted.

But she does not ask forgiveness. "My friend said something silly, and... hee hee!" Her head cants, ribbons of crimson tickling her shoulder. Her mind lingers with the pleasanter memory, eyes already sparkling once more with delight... but still they watch the distance between them. It grows smaller with the sister's every step.

Maria keeps her chin level, neither proud nor cowardly, and meets the mother's gaze -- searching it, searching her, for her intentions. Yet she does not know what she finds... or perhaps there is nothing known to find.

"It was an accident," she continues, and her smile skews lopsidedly into a grin. "But I'll be more careful in the future, I promise."

Shifting the tome into the crook of her elbow, she finds old dreams nestled in her arms and old nightmares staring her in the eyes -- eyes that remain shifting, vibrant, full of life... full of curiosity. Maria hums.

"What's your name, Miss? Are you the librarian on duty? I think I'd like to check out this book..."

#motheruin #STARING AT YOU WITH MY BIG OLE EYES... #i have a few thoughts but i won't ramble in the tags huhu #(the dms however. a lawless land--) #looking forward to their dynamic though OwO i think it could be very interesting....

[x1702x]

Decided to mess around and post my coin collection (27 in total):

(LONG POST)

Here's the Euros Ive got:

And then the other currencies! (Decorative souvenir coins from France, Kroner, Liras, Francs, Dirham, East Caribbean cents, Modern Drachmae and Ancient Drachmae):

My favorites include:

10 cents (2006) with the face of Venus (Italy)

1 Euro (2010) with the owl of Athena (Greece)

1 Euro (2009) with the vitruvian man (Italy)

2 Euro (2002) with the rape of Europa (Greece)

500 Liras (1987) with the face of Hermes (Italy)

100 drachmae (1990) with the face of a horned Alexander the great (Greece)

Decorative Notre Dame coin (2006)

5 cents (1984) with a curious flower-like shape (East caribbean states)

Regards the ancient drachmae, they are Emporion drachmae (3rd century replica) I bought at the Archeological musem, here's the actual coin:

These were brought to Spain by greek traders to the city of Genova, Mallorca. The 1990 drachmae is honestly the best of the bunch, the engraving of the face is very visible and well kept except for a green paint stain and some scratches:

"Μεγασ Αλεξανδροσ, Βασιλευσ Μακεδονων" (Megas Alexandros, Vasilefs Makedonon) Transl. Alexander The Great, Macedonian king (If anyone who speaks greek is seeing this and I got the translation wrong IM SO SORRY grr i can understand it to a CERTAIN but LOW level)

In total I have:

11,75 euros

5 kroner

600 Liras

2 Francs

50 dirham

5 East caribbean cents

102 drachmae (Counting the older coins just by the amount i got, although im sure the value of the older drachmae would make this number less exact)

If anyone's curious the decorative coins are from the Paris Opera and Notre Dame! :) I got the opera coin because I am a huge nerd of both classic opera and The Phantom of The Opera sooo :P! I keep them in a bag so far because I need to get a proper place to put them in, lets hope I find more silly coins to add! I almost got some roman Denarians with Caesar engravings (There was one with Hadrian) but they were abysmally expensive (The Drachmae cost 6 euros something something each, which I dont blame them, its literal SILVER. And the denarians were gold, but of course they aren't legitimately 100% gold, of course, it's a mismash of metal.) There were other coins such as golden spanish escudos from the middle ages who were 7 each, they were HUGE.

#I just really like coins guys im normal about them #I got the ancient drachmae from a museum it was awesome #they are made of silver #the crypt opens once again

[arcstral]

She finds him this year with the same bright smile, the same slight wind-tousle to her hair, the same exuberant, affectionate call ("Prince Marth!") -- all of it, familiar, save for perhaps the blurry stripe of flour smudged across her cheekbone, its shape cut into by suspicious finger shapes. Ah, whatever could she have been doing 'til now?

The answer lay within her hands, quite literally, for she places before him a dedicatedly decorated cake of a somewhat smaller size -- meant to be shared with perhaps two or three loved ones at most, as well as to be much easier to take back with him and save for later. Slices of peaches add splashes of color without and extra flavor within, and a bit of glaze paints a picture of the sun.

"Happy birthday!" The little robin chirps, the same message emblazoned across a card she has quite clearly illustrated by herself: a picture of him with his nearest and dearest, a bit silly but whole-hearted. ...Though, if he were to turn the card to the other side, he might discover the note written on its back, accompanied by a healthy dose of doodled flowers:

P.S. - My brother actually asked me about flowers when I was talking to him recently. Isn't that great? It made me really happy! So I'll share the 'lesson' I gave him with you, too. Just because I feel like it, of course! Yellow roses - joy, friendship, new beginnings ; purple lilies - peace, royalty ; white poppies - peace & calm... she goes on to list more, ending with blue irises, playfully marked out and followed by a written out 'Hee hee!'.

(And, if he were to glance at her after reading this note, he would most certainly be met with a mischievous grin, cleft in two by the finger held up to her lips.)

               The littlest, biggest robin of Macedon finds him with an almost supernatural knack. Like a sixth, seventh, and eight sense lied soundly in Maria’s possession leading her to the lodestar of Archanea as confidently as if he were the north star. Marth found no fault in it, of course, only wonder. Singled out so easily amidst the vast properties of the academy- a confident call of his name to seal every discernment- there would be nowhere to hide from Maria if they ever had need for such a game. Prince Marth! Even that initial bright chirp leads to further things; a familiar song passed back and forth between the once-Altean prince and the once-Macedonian princess.

               One that often started just like this. “Good day, Maria. You seem to be in promising spirits today,” he greeted per their ritual, casting down his smile over the dome of a neat scarlet head. A little taller, a little closer to him than the last birthday. This time was marked by some difference, however. The daub of pasty-white across her cheek beckoned his silent look of curiosity but Maria's voice sounded again, this time to the dawn of his flattered understanding. At last Marth took in the full picture:

               A smiling girl coated by intermittent streaks of chalky flour offered to him the yield of her labor; a darling white cake painted over with splashes of sunset pinks and yellows, representing the melting-sweet peach slices arrayed overtop. A specially made offering- a gift in his honor- and It looked delicious beyond compare! Obviously constructed in a way that reflected Maria’s research of the king’s most beloved tastes. The insightful card that followed aided in turning his appreciation to amusement.

              Shoulders shook with a sunburst of laughter, bright and full, as he regarded the most painterly depiction of the Hero-King. A noble effigy of unparalleled radiance constructed by wobbly lines, arms, legs. An eye or mouth corner drawn too high over the other one detracted away none from his regal nature, naturally. “It is a beautiful cake, Maria—and a wonderful picture. The love and care you exercised in these creations is ever clear to me! I’ll not spare them from a single ounce of my enjoyment. Thank you.” A wink and a whisper of equally secretive proportions conveyed his thoughts on the illuminating contents of the card’s back. “.  .  .And you have my word that the secrets written here shall accompany me to the grave.”

#◜ ╰ ♕ ◦ › royal mandate ‹ ASKBOX. ◞ #princessmacedon #another year with them :) #they are so dear to me #maria being a constant in marth's toa life since his first year hee hee hoo hoo

[balkanballad]

Eurovision 2022 ranking

another year, another ranking. as I did with the previous years, I, again, ranked all the songs with numbers but I also put them into categories (from 💐 to 🥀) and added a short comment. let’s go:

💐:

1. Cyprus: I had a shitty day when I first listened to it but I instantly loved it and that is the best feeling with esc songs for me. I love it. I love the Greek parts so much, I think it's catchy, it has an old-school esc feeling to it (I mean like 00s and earlier 10s) that I miss so much sometimes. It feels good to hear them sound more like them again. I missed this vibe so much, I love this vibe so much and will always love it. Thank you, Cyprus. I was so done with the random Spanish words songs, I listened to those too, but this is what I wanted. I'm tearing up again lmao but sometimes I miss when things felt easier and there's a certain nostalgia here for me. It also reminds me of the beach and having a good time. I miss everything again. anyway, yay!!

2. Estonia: I’ve been rooting for Stefan for a while now and I am so happy that he’s finally going to eurovision!! I really like him and I love the song. I like the message and how catchy it is. however, I hope (lol) that they change the staging. it does not need that weird duel between the random cowboys.

3. Portugal: another favourite of mine that won the national final! I love the lyrics, love that they hit a spot in my heart, and the whole atmosphere of this song is soo lovely. I think it fits very well into the category of soft songs that I instantly love. 

4. Romania: yes! I don’t only love ballads, I also can very much appreciate a good dance song and for me this is definitely one of those. it’s catchy, it makes me want to get up and dance and it stays in my head for a while in the best way.

5. Spain: this song grew so much on me, but only the studio version. I think she will perform really well, I just don’t love the live vocals that much. the song is not that deep, maybe even a bit silly like a lot of these faster dance songs have been before, e.g. Cyprus the previous years, but I listen to it a lot and I like the mood it puts me in which is similar to Romania. 

6. Moldova: wedding vibes!! iykyk. good for them and for us. I can’t wait to see how this will look on the big stage because I think it will be fun and it will be a big party.

7. Macedonia: a good song! I don’t listen to it that much simply because it’s not on spotify and that’s where I mainly listen to the songs. I can’t tell rn whether that’s helping with the ranking or not, but I can tell you that I like the lyrics, her voice and the tempo a lot. I think it’s powerful and I really hope that the staging will be cool (and simple). I would also love to hear a Macedonian version of this because I bet that it also would sound good.

8. Belgium: a beautiful song. the lyrics are great, his voice is so good. It has a slight James Bond-ish type film vibe to it, but I don’t mind that. I say this once again, even though I have never watched a single Bond film, but the sound still reminds me of it somehow.

🌺:

9. Australia: I like this! I am now realizing that my number 7, 8 and 9 probably all fall into a similar category, but I like them all. this took a few listens for me. The lyrics with this song also hit in a way that sometimes they do when you look into your reflection on the dirty train’s window after a long shift on a Saturday night and around you there are drunk people and you wonder what your life has become. I like the nearly musical number feeling it has. the only thing that I am not so sure about is the glittery mask thing.

10. Armenia: a bit like Croatia, but I think this one is more interesting and makes, at least to me, more sense. or maybe I simply relate to it more. one tiny thing is that something about the way she pronounces some words is a bit, just tiny bit, annoying to me. I still listen to and enjoy it a lot.

11. Austria: is Austria allowed to use words for song titles that are not heaven/bible themed? anyway, the places that this song moved in my own ranking!! I had it at 30. first but then I got into it while speed walking to work and now I like it! I am even tempted to move it up higher because atm this is exactly what I like listening to. it reminds me of Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama and that kind of pop category. I am worried how this will sound live though.

12. Croatia: this also really grew on me and this still isn’t the last time you are going to read this in my ranking. I like it now. is it a bit forgettable and are the lyrics confusing to me? yeah, but I like listening to it.

13. Czechia: first, I was rather bored by this song it but I like it now.

14. Greece: phew, this one took me some time to process and get used to. my first reaction was that I hate the title and the whole theme of this song. it just didn’t find me at the right time to make me think about these things, so it was the opposite of what Cyprus did to me. I was also hoping for something more like Cyprus, but now I’m happy that they are not sending similar songs. I’m still not sure how I feel about the lyrics, but I can listen to it now, sing along and just let it be a song. I like the melody in the middle part a lot, the other parts also needed some getting used to it. why is it still ranked so high? I think there is definitely something appealing about the whole song, plus her voice is lovely unique!

15. Azerbaijan: a little bit slow and I think it gets interesting a too late into the song, but I like it. I simply like ballads. thematicalyl it is a bit like Greece, but here, thankfully, the lyrics don’t haunt me. on the other hand, everything else is less interesting than the Greek entry.

16. UK: I think the UK has sent in the past few years some very okay songs and I think this is another really okay song! the lyrics are interesting and also could be used for a good staging, because there are a few opportunities to make this look cool. It also might even be catchy enough this time, because I think that it is that as well, but we will see what will happen.

🌻:

17. Ireland: apparently the theme for me this year is ‘this grew on me’ but it did. now I listen to it. or maybe I just accepted it after listening to it a lot. I think the lyrics are silly, but with this type of song it’s okay. it also reminds me of a song they would use for a tv ad, but a catchy one. as so often with faster songs, I am not sure how good the live vocals will be, but, also as so often with faster songs, will that matter that much in the end? Will Ireland make it to the final? we will see.

18. The Netherlands: okay! I don’t think much about it and only listen to it when it comes on randomly, but when I listen to it, I like it. I also like that it’s in Dutch.

19. Iceland: I’m not crazy about it, but it’s cute. maybe a tiny bit boring. I wouldn’t mind seeing them sing something with Stefan if they should meet somewhere.

20. Malta: this one is a shame because I liked the first choice a lot more and had it in my top 10 and now this is rather basic. it’s not a bad song, but it again goes into that direction that they have been pushing for a while now. I also wasn’t surprised to read who is behind this song, but I like her voice and I think she will give a good performance.

21. Sweden: it’s alright and it will place high because it’s Sweden, of course. the lyrics should really be my thing, but somehow, I don’t love the song. maybe this will need a bit more of me listening to it. right now, I just think it’s okay, nothing special. I also don’t love watching the performance, idk. it’s not that I dislike it, but I simply don’t love it.

22. Israel: fast, catchy, okay. however, it’s also a bit annoying in a way that it is just over the top and not as empowering as I think they wanted it to come across.

23. Switzerland: I put this in the same category as Greece in terms of what are the lyrics behind these? I am just confused by some of the parts. the song is fine other than that and it is indeed okay for boys to cry! it is okay for anyone to cry. I like his voice and the melody is cute. it’s maybe a bit boring after the first confusion, so I don’t find myself listening to it often, but I can listen to it as long as I don’t focus too much on it.

🌼:

24. Poland: I don’t love his voice. the song is okay, but I don’t like the opera-ish parts. I actually get a bit annoyed by those parts even, so I sometimes only listen to the first part of this song and then skip it.

25. France: alright. inspired by Ukraine ‘21? it’s okay, I think a lot of us were inspired by it and I like that! the live performance was a bit too messy for me though and I was confused by all of the things happening at once and everywhere. I also don’t love the edm or you know whatever those bass dance music parts are called. I sound like I am 60 years old... but yeah.

26. Ukraine: I listen to it, but I don’t love all parts of it - the folk influence is nice, however, I am not a rap/fast speaking fan. not many more thoughts. Ukraine is good at the whole esc game and I am pretty sure that they will make it to the final this year as well. good for them.

27. Slovenia: something different from Slovenia this year. I think it’s nice that it’s in Slovenian and I think that they might profit from this being the only song that is like this. there is no other song in the semi, in both semis actually, like this one. again, I don’t listen to it that much because it’s not on spotify (yet?). it’s also not really my preferred genre, but I don’t hate it and can appreciate it being there.

28. Lithuania: it’s okay. I somehow don’t vibe with the performance from the nf. I also don’t love the song or her voice, but it’s okay. I can listen to it when it comes on, but I often skip it too.

29. Montenegro: a deep message behind it and really personal, but the song itself is a bit boring to me and sometimes also too much when I think about it too long and then I have to skip it or not watch the video.

30. Albania: oh, Albania.. the English revamp was not necessary. I think it made it worse. the song itself before was already too much for me. there are too many things, sounds, now also languages, swaps, genres etc. trying to fit in a 3 min. song. some parts I like, but then it switches and I don’t like it. to keep my train associations: this reminds me of getting onto a train and getting overwhelmed by everything - the mask on my face, too many people talking, at least I can find a seat and sit down, but then some random person decides to sit way too close to me and my heart beats too fast.

31. Bulgaria: I think this song has an old-school feeling to it, which I like (I promise that I am not 60 years old), but what is this song about? the genre also makes it a bit hard for me to rank it higher because it is not really my genre.

🥀:

32. Denmark: Italy and France from last year in one entry, but make it English and family friendly. maybe it needs a few more times of me listening to this to appreciate it more, but so far, I didn’t feel like doing that.

33. Finland: okay? feels also old-ish and goes in the same direction as Bulgaria for me (again: what are these lyrics? what is this song about?), so, not my genre really and I don’t feel like I can say too much about it, but even though it’s all that, I can still listen to it.

34. Italy: not for me. it’s slow and I am bored by it. I also don’t think that their voices go together, but I am generally not a Mahmood fan. Soldi was at least catchy, but this one is simply not my cup of tea.

35. Germany: look at this, Germany is not in my bottom 3. that is already a lot coming from me. I really don't like the talking-ish parts but I never really like those in any song. I hardly ever feel like listening to this song.

36. Serbia: too artsy trying for me and I just don’t find myself wanting to listen to it. tbh I don’t like anything really about it, but hey, it is in Serbian at least.

37. Georgia: a bit too repetitive. I bet the staging will be big or a message or something but I don’t really listen to this song ever.

38. San Marino: messy? also, inspired by Italy last year I am guessing, which already was not for me either.

39. Norway: nop. I am not big for ‘meme’ or ‘joke’ entries. I don’t like the masks, the title or the song.

40. Latvia: same as with Norway, but at least they are not wearing masks? or maybe I would be more comfortable if they were. the first sentence is already so off putting to me and makes me feel uncomfortable. the whole thing does actually. I don’t have a train association for this one, but for me being on tinder feels like this song. so, yeah. worst vibes for me and my last place.

#j. talks #eurovision #here it is. as always feel free to let me know your thoughts too #and once may happens surely some will change again

[inc0rrectmyths]

Hephaestion: Just tell me what happened.

Alexander: Okay but you have to promise you won't get mad.

Hephaestion: I promise.

Alexander: Ok so I was minding my own business-

Hephaestion: Bullshit!

Alexander: I was!

#macedonian sillys #alex just committed another arson nothing to worry about #just another regular day #also he can't mind his own business his petty ass just can't #alexander of macedon #alexander the great #ancient greece #ancient history #greek history #classical greece #classical history #hephaestion

[yugocar]

i may be non-eu and it may be hell but WHO has a passport full of cool lil stamps??? so whose the real winner huh!?

#logs #whats really silly is that this time it will be a macedonian stamp like....home on brothers #who are we kidding here #jgkskdks *come on

[artificialqueens]

Hey y’all! AQ’s next challenge is a GOOGLE TRANSLATE CHALLENGE.  

Deadline: October 29, 2020

This is going to be a very simple, silly, lighthearted drabble challenge, and hopefully a lot of people who have been thinking about writing but hesitating will use it as a chance to throw something out there. The idea is to take a short piece of writing and put it through several rounds of google translate to see how it gets bastardized by the translation robots.

Guidelines:

Start with a short drabble - try to keep it under 500 words but I’m not going to be counting. It can be a scene, a poem, a preview of upcoming work, a scene from past work, anything you want. As usual, it can be any genre, any ship/queen, etc.

Take the drabble and put it into GOOGLE TRANSLATE. Pick any language, preferably one you don’t know, and translate it. (EX: Korean)

Paste the translated text into google translate again and translate into a SECOND language. If you desire, continue with more languages. Have fun. Use languages from vastly different regions and roots, use languages with alphabets you don’t know, etc. (EX: Catalan then Igbo and then Macedonian)

Translate the whole thing back into English.

Bonus! Start in a language other than English.

Extra Bonus! Use as many culturally-specific idioms, things that don’t make literal sense, or slang phrases as possible so that it creates an extra challenge for the translation robots.

Submission instructions: Please tag your stories with “fic challenge” and “google translate.” In your author’s note, include what language you used. (For the example above, it would be (English > Korean > Catalan > Igbo > Macedonian > English.) If you would like to include the original, you may, but that’s not required.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS! It’s supposed to be silly, and show us how terrible literal translations are at capturing the spirit of the written word.

EDIT: I am an asshole and I forgot to say that this idea was the brainchild of the lovely and talented @artificialpuddle​!!! Thank you so much, sweetie!! Hope it’s fun for you. XO 

#fic challenge guidelines

[punishedalexandar]

king did you make туката up for notes because I know for sure it's not bulgarian

i’ve been looking forward to answering this anon all day.

king, i genuinely do not know how to answer because at the time of posting i 100% believed i was in the right. i had spent the day with some bulgarians (and their translator) and i could have sworn tukata had been said, as some nonsensical and exotic variant of tu (bcms, and like most other slavic languages i think). this was compounded by the fact that like a hundred people explained to me very violently that macedonian and bulgarian have definite articles when i made this jokey post, and it happens by stapling -ta to the end of a word

so like using all of this appreciated Knowledge, in my mind it made perfect sense that tukata was just some silly way for a bulgarian to say “the here” not that that’s something anyone would say in other languages.

in retrospect i had just appended a -ta to tuka but i would NEVER mislead my followers for clout. if i ever mislead you it will be for money, and if i ever use you to get clout it will not be through deceit

#mentally i had been preparing this for four hours

[swedebeast]

It is pretty silly (feeling pg13 all of the sudden, whoo) that paper magazines will report on tweets.

Like, this stupid discourse over Gal Gadot being the actress for Cleopatra in a new film, and people are railing on her because “a white woman is cast instead of a black woman”. For the part of Macedonian royalty.

But aside from that, it is from tweets. Randos online with their angry, slur-throwing, ignorant attacks are getting publicity and a kind of legitimacy. It’s honestly frustrating, and disappointing. How newsworthy are personal opinions?

[jeannereames]

Is there any particular reason for the age gap between Alexandros and Hephaistion in Dancing with the Lion? It isn't a huge age gap but one being twelve and the other nearly sixteen is quite uncomfortable to read

When the novel opens, they’re not lovers yet--nor will they be for a while. It’s late June, and Alexandros is a couple weeks from thirteen, while Hephaistion is about fifteen and a half. He won’t turn sixteen until November. Alexandros is fifteen before they become lovers (Hephaistion seventeen), which was pretty standard for ancient Greece. (If anything, he’s a bit behind the curve.) Nor is it coercive; Alexandros initiates. He’s not a little kid by then.

We have to be careful not to impose modern social constructions on ancient people. The Greek erastes/eromenos relationship assumed an age difference of at least a couple years—sometimes much more. Six to eight was more common. Age gaps between married couples were even more shocking by our standards. Greek men typically didn’t get married until late twenties to thirty. Girls got married not long after their first menses, which means you had thirty-year-old guys marrying fifteen- and sixteen-year-old girls. And if she was his second wife, he would have been older yet. In addition, this is a society that’s a lot more frank about sex in general, and nudity. We’re a bunch of prudes by their standards. Ha.

Greeks just didn’t see close age-mates as potential sexual partners, for the most part. The Macedonians (and other Doric and Aeolic groups such as Spartans and Thebans) seem to have entertained pairings that were closer in age, but it would still be counted peculiar for two boys the same age to become lovers. Who’s the erastes and who’s the eromenos?! They might have created different romantic structures, but could be just as rigid about them. Consider some of our “restrictions” about who can date whom, especially in cis relationships: can a guy be shorter than his girlfriend? Well, sure--but how often do you see it? ;)  On the face of it, that’s silly, but it’s a surprisingly strong social mos.

I could have made Hephaistion closer in age to Alexandros, but then I’d have had to grapple with their relationship as “weird,” instead of “relatively normal.” What makes it unusual isn’t the age difference, but the social status reversal: e.g., Alexandros is of higher social status but the junior partner (eromenos). That’s what I wanted to play with: an Achilles-Patroklos dynamic in a time period that had moved on to different structures. Their relationship will continue to push boundaries (as becomes evident in Rise), but I didn’t want it to START that way.

Ancient Greece also didn’t have what we call an “adolescent moratorium,” nor a concept of “the teenager.” For them, the age of sexual maturity more closely aligned with the age of social maturity. IF boys could afford to go to school, it was 7-12. No junior high or high school. No college. Only the most wealthy (like Alexandros) might get a sophist: closer to what we’d call high school. The vast bulk of people were apprenticing in early teens and working by late teens. Many girls were mothers by sixteen or seventeen. Boys went to war at sixteen (sometimes younger). In short, they’re adults. In Becoming, Alexandros kills a man in combat at a younger age than he has sex. I think that should be the more disturbing aspect of ancient Greek society, but we’ve been taught to accept it as unremarkable.

#asks #Dancing with the Lion #DwtL #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #Alexander the Great #ancient greek courting mores

[na-vidya-na-avidya]

ANYWAY

(1) So we run security in this house by regularly forgetting our passwords which is sometimes inconvenient when it requires two passwords to get to a thing.

(1 the second) Apparently the app has fully changed while I just occasionally popped into your pages via browser to check up on you so this is interesting.

(2) But it is not as if I had much time or energy to put things together for the newsletter, so it remains a gleam in my eye.

(2, an aside) Like the salty comment about driving back from picking up blank flash cards and a standing dustpan I had about listening to Radiolab on the Montreal Screwjob (is that a tm? I think that’s a tm) and there was a comment about how the Renaissance caused an explosion in meta fiction because science caused philosophical “minds blown” sensations all over Europe and the old ways would not stand and what was even real anymore and Darwin and Einstein did that for us now too etc etc and I’m like child, you’re not allowed to make any, any more assumptions about the progress of human thought without bringing the history of Buddhist philosophy in anymore at the very very least.

(2, furthering the aside) But that reminds me of when I made a similar comment of “oh, well, the East has that” to a medievalist and getting a “stop trying to make it all about you you damn bitch” from that corner and it’s like whoa, okay, fine then. So I don’t know I even want to play this game anymore. Apparently we weren’t playing the game I thought we were, which was “test the hypothesis.”

(3) Anyway I was getting the flash cards from that aside because I’m studying languages again for no reason other than I enjoy it and my brain is back in the game for it now. I’ve been reviewing my first year German since the start of the year, but I started Korean yesterday and have blown through 26 levels of Duolingo lessons (which is less impressive when you realize how much of that is Hangul drilling but, yeah, I’m on a tear and loving it). But then my response to 9/11 was Macedonian and Somalian, although not well, so that’s How It Be.

(4) The brain being into it may be the result of a new migraine medication which mostly works, although I’ll note that with the kinks in the arctic jet bringing constant fronts coming through the south, I can tell you that my auras have not been as pink, vibrant, or present in the dark of my room as they have been lately for years now.

(4 addition) But ibuprofen mostly helps with the pain so maybe I can stick with it. I hope so, because this switch was preceded with the equivalent of my neurologist yelling at me “do you want permanent migraines? because this is how you get permanent migraines.”

(5) The dustpan is because of the decoration habits of the other addition, a Formerly Feral Feline. Who is so ridiculously human oriented you wouldn’t know it, to be quite honest. The only thing he likes better than people is bottle caps, and if humans could turn into cats and bottle caps on demand all his wishes would be answered. The silly thing purrs when I say his name. He follows me around the apartment. He puts up with the German and Korean, but knows Japanese means a parting or a phone call. Those mean a diversion of attention from him, and that is awful.

(5 the finale) I mean he purrs when I point a finger at him, just ridiculous.