#alexander the great's sisters

[jeannereames]

What was Alexander’s relationship with his sisters like?

Short answer: We mostly don’t know.

Alexander and His Sisters

Longer answer: We have some clues that he may have got on well at least with Kleopatra and Thessalonike. Kynanne is more of a crap-shoot, as she was married to his cousin and rival, Amyntas. But as Philip arranged that marriage, she had little/no say in the matter, so we just don’t know what she thought of her husband-cousin versus her brother. (Not addressing the infant Europe, as she died at just a few weeks.)

First, let me link to an article by Beth Carney, and at the end, I’ll add some links to my own prior entries that address the question too.

Elizabeth Carney, “The Sisters of Alexander the Great: Royal Relics” Historia 37.4 (1988), 385-404.*

Beth’s article discusses Argead marriage policies, and the fate of the women after ATG’s death. I know she’s changed her mind about a few things, but it’s still well worth reading.

Also, a general reminder to folks who may be new to Alexander/Macedonia … Macedonian kings practiced royal polygamy: e.g., they married for politics, not love, and had more than one wife at the same time. Philip married 7 women (the most of any Macedonian king), although there weren’t 7 wives living in the palace at once. There may have been as many as 5 at times, however.

Because of royal polygamy, they did not use the term basilissa (queen) until after Alexander’s death. The chief wife was the mother of the heir; she had the most power. Because of the rivalry inherent in such courts, a woman’s primary allegiance was to her son, not her husband. Her secondary allegiance would be to her father (if living) and/or brothers. This was not unique to Macedonia, but a feature of most courts with polygamous structures.

These are not love matches, although our later sources may present them as love matches. (These authors had their own ideological reasons for such characterizations.) Did love never come after marriage? Perhaps. It would have depended. Also, within the women’s rooms, wives may have allied with each other at points, particularly if several of them. If only two (as seems more characteristic in Macedonia, aside from Philip), they’d have been rivals seeking to produce the heir.

I state all that to explain why Alexander’s sisters may have courted their brother’s affection (and protection), after Philip’s death. Only Kleopatra had a son, and he was 12 at most at Alexander’s death.

In his final year, Philip married off Alexander’s older sister, Kynanne (d. of Audata, ergo half- Illyrian), and Alexander’s younger and only full sister, Kleopatra (d. of Olympias). Kleopatra’s wedding was literally the day before Philip’s assassination. The timing of Kynnane’s marriage is less clear, but Philip married her to Amyntas, his nephew (her cousin), some time after his own marriage to his last wife, Kleopatra Eurydike. Kynnane had a daughter by Amyntas, Hadea (later Hadea Eurydike). We’re not sure if she was born before or after her father’s execution by Alexander, but it does let us nail down her age to c. 12/13 at Alexander’s death.

After he had Amyntas executed, Alexander planned to marry Kynnane to one of his trusted allies, Langaros, king of Agriana, which lay north of Macedonia, between Paionia and Illyria. Agriana was arguably Paionian, but similar to Illyria. Ergo, this may show a bit of thoughtfulness on Alexander’s part, to match his sister to a man who wouldn’t attempt to trammel her. Recall that Illyrian women wielded more power and even fought in battle. Yet Langaros died (perhaps of injury) before Alexander could make good on that.

It would be the last time Alexander planned any nuptials for his sisters. In part because he invaded Persia not long after, but it wouldn’t have stopped him from summoning one of them if he’d really wanted to marry her off.

Kynanne raised her daughter Hadea in traditional Illyrian ways, which Alexander allowed (although he probably couldn’t have stopped her). After his death, she took off to Asia to see Hadea married to her uncle, (Philip III) Arrhidaios. Kynanne was murdered by Perdikkas’s brother Alkestas, because Perdikkas (then regent) didn’t want the marriage. BUT the army (who liked and respected Kynanne) forced Alkestas to allow it anyway. Hadea (now) Eurydike and Philip III Arrhidaios eventually fell under Kassandros’s authority/possession, where she/they opposed Olympias and baby Alexander IV (and Roxane).

It was inevitable that the co-kingship that followed ATG’s death wouldn’t hold, and Hadea, who clearly wore the pants, wasn’t about to step aside for her cousin Alexander IV. Nor did Kassandros want them to, as he could control them. He couldn’t control Olympias. Yet none of that would necessarily reflect how Kynanne and Hadea had felt about their brother/uncle during his lifetime.

So, we must say the jury is out on Kynanne’s relationship with Alexander.

But for Kleopatra and Thessalonike, I do believe we have enough hints that they cared for him and he for them.

Kleopatra’s husband (another Alexander, of Epiros) died in combat in Italy in 332—around the time Alexander was besieging Tyre and Gaza, or four years after their marriage. In that time, Kleopatra produced two children, a girl (Kadmea) and a boy (Neoptolemos). The girl was named to honor her uncle’s victory over Thebes,** which happened at the tail-end of 335. As Alexander of Macedon and Alexander of Epiros both left on separate campaigns in 334, the boy would have to have been fathered not long after Kadmea was born. (It’s possible that Alexander of Epiros didn’t get to Italy until 333.)

After Alexander of Epiros’s death, Kleopatra did not marry again, although after her brother died, she had a couple marriage offers/offered marriage herself. She was THE prize during the early Successor wars…the full sister of Alexander.

Two titbits might suggest she was close to him (even if he didn’t marry her off again). First, the name of her first child is for his victory, not one by her husband. Sure, Alexander of Epiros didn’t have a battle victory at that point to name her for…but he could have insisted on a family name. Instead, he let Kleopatra give the child a name celebrating Alexander of Macedon’s victory. I suspect she fought for that.

Second, an anecdote reports that when Alexander was told his sister was having an affair some years after she’d become a widow, he reportedly replied, “Well, she ought to have a little fun.” This, btw, was viewed as a bad answer…e.g., he didn’t properly discipline her. As Alexander was constantly used for moral lessons (good or bad), we should take it with a grain of salt. But it’s possible his approximate reaction was preserved and became fodder for moralizing about those wild, half-barbarian Macedonians from the north…couldn’t keep their women in check!

As for Thessalonike, data here is also circumstantial. She stayed with Olympias after Alexander’s death and was never married until after Olympias herself was killed by Kassandros—who then forced her to marry him to cement his claim to the Macedonian throne. She had a sad life, at least in her latter years. Her eldest son (Philip) wasn’t healthy and died not long after he became king. Her second son (Antipatros) and her last son (Alexandros) apparently hated each other. After Philip’s death, Thessalonike argued that Antipatros should co-rule with the younger Alexandros. So Antipatros killed his mother! (Matricide, folks, is SUPER-bad.) Then Alexandros killed Antipatros, and was eventually killed in turn by Demetrios Poliorketes.

Well, if Justin can be trusted, and there are problems with Justin. Ergo, it’s possible that internecine spate of murders didn’t go the way Justin reports.

Yet the naming of her youngest boy may tell a story, along with her insistence that he co-rule with his brother.

There’s also the legend of Mermaid Thessalonike, but we can’t take that as any sort of evidence.

Here are some additional posts that also talk about the sisters:

“Writing Kleopatra and Alexander’s Other Sisters” — Although aimed primarily at the novels, it obviously must deal with the girls as historical persons. Pretty short for me.

“What Philip Thought about His Other Children” — A sideways take on this same question. Not long.

“On Amyntas” — About Alexander’s older cousin, his real rival for the throne when Philp was assassinated. Also discusses Kynanne as a matter-of-course. Not long.

“On Kassandros” — Mostly about Antipatros’s son Kassandros, who had Alexander IV murdered, but also discusses Thessalonike, who he forced to marry him. Relatively long.

--------------------------------------------

* The link takes you to academia.edu, where, by clicking on Beth’s name, you can find more of her articles. Keep in mind the woman has something north of 150, many on women, PLUS a bunch of books. Not everything is uploaded due to copyright, but several of her older articles are, such as this one.

** It was something of a “thing,” at least in Macedon, for daughters to be named in honor of their father’s victories. Kynanne not so much, but Kleopatra means “Glory of Her Father,” and both Thessalonike (Victory in Thessaly) and Europe (Victory in Europe) reflected their father’s triumphs.

[afterlife-2004]

Reminds me of “The World Was Wide Enough”, a song from the musical, Hamilton!

[candorverity]

Just finished red white and royal blue and oooooooh boy i have thoughts

[didionsvision]

in the train i tried to draw alexander the great instead of properly studying for my upcoming ancient greece history exam but it was pretty fun tbh 🚃❤️‍🩹☕️🌞

[kashilascorner]

Finished If we were villains and i have to say everyone goes on and kn about how good of a person Oliver is --but is he really?

[judithhhh]

family ties (one-shot)

jude x alexander-arnold!reader

summary : in which the world learns about the alexander-arnold sister's relationship with jude at the same time as trent

btw this is a repost from my old blog!

ynalexanderarnold

liked by judebellingham, gioreyna and 367,674 others

ynalexanderarnold vacation week!

tagged : judebellingham

view all comments

judebellingham forcing me to work out on vacation smh

judebellingham sexy gyall

ynalexanderarnold sexy laddd

trentarnold66 what

ynalexenderarnold 😁😁

trentarnold66 that's where u went u fucker

user274 why are we acting like this is normal?

user729 they took hard launching too seriously

usr2837 couple we didn't know we needed frl

user738 HELP NOT TRENT FINDING IT OUT IN A INSTA POST

messages

trent

tell me i jst hallucinated your post pls

you

mom taught me not to lie sadly

trent

fucking jude? 🤣

he's gonna break your heart

you

considering he hasn't done anything like that in the past year, i doubt it

trent

past year? wtf

and u didn't tell me because...?

you

look at how you're reacting nd u got ur answer

trent

you're my sis, im just looking out for you

you

im grown, jude is your friend, we love eachother

that's all you need to know

judy 🤠💕

sooo what did he say

mine 💞

he might kill you next time he sees u but dw ab it

judy 🤠💕

YOU TOLD ME HE WAS GONNA BE FINE W IT

mine 💞

nd i lied obv

judy 🤠💕

can i post you tho 😕

mine 💞

nothing too scandalous and he MIGHT not chop off ur dick

judy 🤠💕

aw you wouldn't like that very much

mine 💞

wouldnt mind

judy 🤠💕

not what u said last night 🤣

mine 💞

can't believe my bf has the same punchlines as an 8th grader 😞😞

judebellingham

liked by ynalexanderarnold, tobybishay and 6,382,273 others

judebellingham relax

tagged : ynalexanderarnold

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ynalexanderarnold my man

judebellingham mine

ynalexanderarnold ur dick's ab to get chopped off

trentarnold66 yeah it is

judebellingham hey trent my brother 😁

trentarnold66 no.

noahohio bold moves brother 🤣

user274 they are so hot

user738 trent is probably puking rn

jobebellingham hey yn

ynalexanderarnold hey jobeee

judebellingham gtfo 😒

messages

trent

try your usual bullshit w my sister i swear

jude

im rlly serious ab her mate, i wouldn't do that

trent

yh good not too serious tho

jude

don't worry i won't make u an uncle anytime soon

trent

shut up you're not helping your case

jude

sorry 😞

few months after

ynalexanderarnold

liked by trentarnold66, judebellingham and 3,283,273

ynalexanderarnold baecation except trent and jobe ruined it

tagged : judebellingham, trentarnold66, jobebellingham

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judebellingham baecation but they took bae away from me

ynalexanderarnold we'll never get a good baecation atp

trentarnold66 it's better like that

trentarnold66 im always here watching 🦇

ynalexanderarnold ok batman

jobebellingham aw i had such a great time w u too

ynalexanderarnold don't worry you're not the bad one here, trent is

judebellingham i swear trent is starting to accept me

trentarnold66 im not

user274 trent and jobe, professional cockblockers

judebellingham posted a story

liked by ynalexanderarnold and 15,299 others

replied to your story

↳

trentarnold66

we're not in laws

judebellingham

we're family i know ❤️❤️

trentarnold66

gtfo

judebellingham

love u too mate

[httpsserene]

ʟᴇᴛ’ꜱ ɢᴏ ɢᴏʟꜰɪɴɢ ᴡ/ ʟɴ4

📖ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: maybe you shouldn’t be late to any event you go to, or bare minimum don’t make any bets you know you’re not going to win. having no hand-eye coordination is not great when you’re being forced to play golf.

📖ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: i think i’m funny. one or two dirty jokes. and reader does have a lil injury (nothing bad). not edited at all 😎

📖ᴡ���ʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: the doc says 900 words?? it feels longer idk

📖ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: lando x black!fem!reader (it’s mainly twitch trio focused-alex,george & lando)

📖ɢᴇɴʀᴇ: smau

📖ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅᴛʀᴀᴄᴋ: swang • rae sremmurd

ᴘʀᴇꜰᴀᴄᴇ: i’d like to remind everyone that the people asked for this hellscape! you 🫵🏽 asked for it. it’s long, like LONG. anyways: max is definitely the type of dude to use the cat emojis. my bad to my charles girlies, he did not make the cut for this 😔 i had to get rid of like three or four ig posts and stories to make this all fit into one tblr post, and none of that had charles content 🫠. also, the plot damn near ran away from me, but it’s barely there—it’s kinda more friend focused than lando x reader until the end! uh there’s one part in here that was inspired by tik tok comments, y’all will know which one 😅 inspired by the fact that my brother hit me with a golf club when i was a child 🙂i think i’m pretty funny so i hope you guys find this funny asl, otherwise what did i do this for?

if you want me to post the outtakes lmk

send me some requests or talk to me pls 😅

want to be on a tag list? tell me in my inbox <3

georgerussell63

liked by lilymhe, mercedesamgf1, and 4,100,123 others

georgerussell63: off to a terrible start for golf day. my girlfriends “wife” is crashing the party, and my mates gf is already -4 after two holes 🙂

view comments

lilymhe: light work 💪🏼 no reaction🥱

user: not his girlfriend’s wife ☠️

➥ user: who does he think keeps carmen’s bed warm when he’s not at home???

alex_albon: welcome to watch mojo! and today we’re counting down our top 10 times our gf’s ditch us for each other 🤨

➥ user: and?

➥ user: what else are they supposed to do alexander 😀

y/ninstagram: put some respeCK on my name princling, or next time i see u its on sight 😡 im aiming the golf club straight at you

➥ georgerussell63: you can’t even hit the golf ball in under three tries, or aim anywhere near the holes

➥ georgerussell63: i think i’ll be fine

➥ y/ninstagram: 😟😐 i'll remember this george william russell, ur asking for it

carmenmmundt: george failed to mention that he’s +3 already

➥ georgerussell: like, literally nobody asked you to say that 😒

➥ landonorris: drag him !!! he doesn’t get to say shit about our wife 😤

➥ carmenmmundt: *my wife

➥ user: lmfaooo im 💀

alex_albon

liked by y/ninstagram, carmenmmundt and 3,431,543 others

alex_albon: ladies and gentlemen, introducing: *my* girlfriend 🤤✨

tagged lilymhe

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y/ninstagram: we MUST stay focused sisters

y/ninstagram: gawd damn‼️ wifey could hit me with that golf club any day

➥ carmenmmundt: fuck the club, i’ll let her run me over w the cart🥴

lilymhe: next hole, i’ll show you guys what a proper stoke is 😏

➥ lilymhe: since our bf’s seem to underperform…on the golf course obv

➥ user: AYOOO?!!

➥ carmenmmundt: okay 😇

➥ y/ninstagram: why r my thighs wet rn

➥ user: dO THEY KNOW THIS IS PUBLIC

alex_albon: i’m at a loss for words

➥ landonorris: this is literally your fault

➥ georgerussell63: can’t believe you mate 🫤

➥ alex_albon: how is this MY fault??! whattddiddiddoo

lilymhe • 5hrs ago

view replies

y/ninstagram: idk y ur complaining? the cart is parked. on its side, but it’s parked😊

carmenmmundt: i think we’ve punished ourselves

alex_albon: should’ve left her ass at home like i said 😒

francisca.cgomes: idk even know why y’all let her drive the cart😨

y/ninstagram • 4 hrs ago

view replies

maxfewtrell: ur joeeee kingggg. ur joe king 😐

francisca.cgomes: i wouldn’t even trust u with the scorecard—but pop off !!! girl boss shit

danielricciardo: SO I HAD TO, GRIND LIKE THAT TO SHINE LIKE THIS 🗣️🗣️‼️💯

lando.jpg

liked by maxverstappen1, oscarpiastri, and 3,862,431 others

lando.jpg: “i have the highest score out of everybody here! +26 up on y’all hoes!” - y/n

tagged y/ninstagram

view comments

lando.jpg: BRO SAID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING 🥶🥶🔥🔥🔥

➥ maxfewtrell: SHE SOUNDS FIRE 🔥 ON MUTE ‼️💯

lilymhe: SHE GOT A HIDDEN TALENT 🔥🔥🔥 KEEP IT HIDDEN 🔥🔥🔥

➥ alex_albon: no talent ✅ JUST STRAIGHT ASS 💯💯🗣️🗣️🔥🔥

georgerussell63: THIS IS FIRE 🔥 PUT IT OUT ‼️

user: SHE SPITTING BARS 💯💯💯 PUT HER BEHIND THEM 🔥🔥🔥

user: THE SILENCE IS SO LOUD WHEN THIS HITS 🗣️🔥🔥

user: WE STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM 🔥🔥🔥 NOW WE’RE DIGGING 🗣️🗣️🔥💯‼️🙌🏽🙌🏽

y/ninstagram: y u hurt me 😪

➥ carmenmmundt: i think you’re underrated, honestly <; 3

➥ y/ninstagram: aw ty carmie :)

➥ carmenmmundt: I HOPE IT STAYS THAT WAY 🥶🥶‼️‼️🙌🏻🙌🏻

➥ y/ninstagram: bee-eff-eff-aur: be FUCKING for real 😒

y/ninstagram • 3 hrs ago

view replies

maxverstappen1: i don’t want to laugh—man who TF am i kidding 😹😹😹

alexandrasaintmleux: how THE fuck did u manage to give yourself a concussion??!

carlossainzjr: pobrecita😪 how 😭 terrible 😭 can you tell lando to come over when ur done

carlossainzjr: hello

carlossainzjr: niña i can see you reading my messages

landonorris

liked by carlossainzjr, mclaren, and 6,234,765 others

landonorris: thank you for all the wishes about y/n (not u carlos, you’re in time out). she only has a mild concussion, and verbally assaults me when i wake her up every two hours 😒 to make sure she’s alive 🤗

view comments

landonorris: god forbid i stop her from dying 😱

➥ carlossainzjr: heyyy be nice to her she’s in another world right now

➥ landonorris: u r not slick sainz. don’t expose our affair to my gf when she’s injured

➥ carlossainzjr: she won’t even remember this 🥺

➥ user: sir👁️👄👁️, this is a wendy’s drive through

➥ user: they know this on the internet 4ever right…?

lilymhe: this girl swung the club, missed the ball, and let go of the damn club no follow through

➥ carmenmmundt: it hit the ground and ricocheted back at her

➥ alex_albon: and she got knocked on the forehead hard asl

➥ georgerussell63: the noise it made was hilarious 😂 y’all should’ve been there

➥ user: geORGE WILLIAM????

➥ georgerussell63: i’m mad we didn’t get it on video smh 😔

taglist: @saintslewis @cherry2stems

© httpsserene 2023

[f1daydreamers]

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 [𝐓𝐀𝟔𝟔] 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟒

gif credits: @trenty

Pairing: Trent Alexander-Arnold x Fem!Reader

Summary: Arne, in hopes to focus on his team’s mental health as much as their physical, recruits a younger but just as educated psychologist to work one-to-one with the more reserved players. Trent is one of them.

A/N: I have so many ideas for this series but I can't get too carried away otherwise its gonna end up longer than a book lmaooo, also super random but this idea came to me from rewatching Trent and Robbo’s wingmen episodes and in one of them he goes, “team bonding!” verryyy heavily in his Scouse accent lol

Warnings: fluff, mentions of being overworked but nothing too harsh, general stress, this is a cute one ok ur welcome

Word Count: 2.7k words (10 mins reading avg)

...

“Why you so sour for?”

You glanced up to see your sister plopping on to the sofa, grabbing the TV remote off of the glass table situated in front of you. Her expression was curious, eyebrows raised in an exaggerated arc. You’d forgotten you’d even put a movie on.

Closing your laptop, you ran your palm over the cool steel surface.

“No reason. It’s nearly time to go to bed, what are you doing?” You watched as she navigated the TV menu, opening the ITV app and clicking on Love Island.

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t tell me you like that stuff.”

She smirked, not taking her eyes off the screen as the latest episode began to play. “No one likes it, it’s just funny as fuck.”

“Hey, why do we need to swear?”

“For expression,” she replied with a shrug, as if that was a valid reason.

“Express yourself in other ways.”

“Like what?” She challenged, finally looking at you.

You paused, a little stumped. “The world is your oyster, go and find some.”

She snorted, clearly unimpressed with your wisdom. You hoisted yourself off of the couch, tucking your laptop back into your work bag and zipping it up.

Kaia paused the show, turning so her knees were on the sofa, looking over the backrest to see you better. “Fine, but that doesn’t answer why you’re in such a mood.”

“It’s just work,” you admitted, leaning against the counter. Your eyes traced the outlines of your sister’s old drawings hung on the wall. “A lot more pressure than I’m used to.”

Her eyes lit up with youthful curiosity. “How’s the job going? Met any really fit guys yet?”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Is that all you care about?”

“It’s important! C’mon, spill,” she insisted, leaning forward.

You sighed, but a small smile tugged at your lips. “The job is good. Stressful, but good. As for fit guys.. there's.. I don’t know, a few? I’m there to work, not flirt.”

“Sure, sure,” she teased.

You chuckled, tossing a freshly washed blanket you’d just pulled out of the dryer at her. “Oo, thanks,” she said, catching it with a grin.

You rolled your eyes as she sprawled out on the couch, the music of the show coming to life once again.

You pulled the rest of the sheets from the dryer, shoving them into the laundry basket to fold in the morning. As you wiped down the counters and finished the dishes in the sink, your mind wandered again.

Arne, Lee, and the club had all been incredibly supportive since your arrival, but the internal pressure you’d carried from university - to be the best, to never fail - was fading. Wataru, Conor, and Curtis were all doing great.

From your reports, you were instructed to make Trent the priority, at least to gather enough information for a new evaluation.

But how could you do that with a player who seemingly wanted nothing to do with you?

“Y/N?” Your sister’s soft voice calling your name pulled you out of your trance.

“Yeah?” You replied, turning to face the back of the couch.

The show paused again. A beat of silence hung in the air.

“No one’s giving you a hard time, are they?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you frowned, “of course not. Why would you think that?”

“We’re pretty notorious for being hated.” Sadness poked through the tone in her voice.

“Nobody hates us, Kaia. And no one is giving me a hard time at work, I promise.” You tried to sound reassuring. She was a kid and she meant well, of course she did, but she didn’t need to know the full truth. She was your sister, not a therapist.

“Okay. Cause you do know I’ll fuck ‘em up, right?”

You scoffed, shaking your head in amusement. She picked her head up to let you sit then rested it in your lap. You pulled her hairs away from her face, combing them back with your fingers.

“With your swears?” You teased.

“I got a mean punch."

“Which I hope isn’t being put to use, thank you very much.”

“I’m an angel, really.” Which she tried to pull off in an innocent way that really didn’t suit her.

“Mhm,” you hummed, sceptical but smiling.

She chuckled, turning her head to face the TV again.

“Come on, let’s watch this shit show.” You said playfully.

“I thought you said no swearing.” She retorted matter-of-factly.

“That rule doesn't apply to 25 and above people.”

“Let me guess, when you turn 26, that rule’s gonna be extended by a year?” Kaia asked, her lips curling upwards.

“Precisely.” You smiled down at her as she rolled her eyes, playing the show.

Your smile faltered almost immediately. You subconsciously continued smoothing over Kaia’s hair, but your mind was plagued with thoughts about work, and as much as you didn’t want to admit it, about him.

...

The first two matches of Liverpool’s season had come and gone in a flash. But, despite in how much of a blur it passed, the level of work every day only surmounted the work of the days before.

But you could take it. If you couldn’t handle psychology, you’d probably be useless at everything else.

The new week began, and the first thing you spotted in the mountain of emails was an update. Your cabinet for the office had arrived, courtesy of the club, who were happy to cover the costs once you'd submitted your request.

You swivelled your chair to face the desk phone, dialling reception downstairs. The phone rang twice before Annika's cheerful voice answered.

"Hello," she said brightly.

"Hey, it's Y/N from upstairs. I got an email saying my cabinet had arrived. Am I okay to collect it now?" You asked, glancing around your office and imagining where the new cabinet would go.

"Oh, don't worry," Annika replied with a smile in her voice. "We'll send someone up to drop it off for you."

"Really? It's honestly no bother," you said, feeling a bit guilty about causing extra work.

"No, I insist. They’ll be up shortly," she reassured you.

"Thank you, I appreciate that," you said, a note of relief in your voice.

"No worries!" Annika chirped.

You hung up the phone, feeling a bit lighter. Come to think of it, you really didn’t fancy carrying a ton of weight up the stairs and potentially embarrassing yourself to any bystanders.

Once you’d gone through your emails, creating your to-do list for the day, you patiently waited for your cabinet to come.

But it didn’t.

You tried to put it to the back of your mind, focusing on ticking off the first two items on your list before your first session. Yet, even as you checked them off, you found yourself glancing at the door, expecting the cabinet to arrive at any moment.

An hour passed, then another, and still no sign of the delivery. The anticipation was starting to wear on you.

You glanced at the clock situated on your desk, wondering if you’d be able to make it back in time for your session with Conor.

But just as you were ready to leave, there was a knock on your door. You walked over to open it, expecting only the Irishman. There he was, but also holding a large brown box with an outline of your cabinet on the front.

“Uh-” You couldn’t register what was happening.

“Mind if we come in? Don't fancy holding this all day.”

We.

You realised you hadn’t responded as Trent lifted his head to stare at you.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.” You opened the door, standing off to the side. You allowed them to come in and they placed the box upright against the wall.

"Annika mentioned she'd send someone up, I didn't think she meant the players." Conor chuckled, motioning to his trusted helper.

"Yeah, well, Brian was going to bring it up but he got busy so reception asked if we could help. We were coming up anyways," he explained.

“Oh. Thank you, I really appreciate it,” you said, your voice carrying a hint of genuine gratitude. You glanced at Trent, and a heavy silence ensued.

“Yeah, whatever,” Trent muttered, his tone dripping with indifference, leaving almost immediately. You let out a quiet sigh, your shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

Conor, who had been observing the exchange with a wry smile, exhaled through his nose in mild amusement.

“He’s warming up to you,” he retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. You rolled your eyes, trying to hide a smirk.

“Aw, you really think so?”

“Sure,” he replied with a grin.

“Sit down,” you said, gesturing to the chairs. You both laughed softly as you walked over to shut the door.

Yet, an unsettling frustration gnawed at you from within. Trent had always been distant, but after weeks of being here, he still showed no signs of letting his guard down. You were no stranger to the challenges of being a psychologist, it's not like this was your first job.

But in the past few days, self-doubt had crept in. You wondered if you were even fit for it; maybe the pressures of working for one of the most prestigious football clubs in the country were finally catching up to you and kicking you in the ass.

You shook your head, feigning a smile as you returned to your desk, starting your session.

...

“Is this upside down?” You muttered to yourself, flipping the instructions around again.

What use were instructions if they had no text under them?

You debated calling your dad, but the lecture you’d receive about the hours of manual labour he used to put you through every time a new piece of furniture arrived at the house was not worth it.

“Okay. Wood, screws, knob, cabinet. Perfect.” It was only a small one, so you weren’t worried about the height of it per se, just worried about everything else.

You slumped onto the floor, surrounded by longer and shorter pieces of wood with a bag of screws and one handy screwdriver that you were currently twirling between your fingers.

Just as you were about to try again, a voice broke through your concentration.

“What are you doing?”

You gasped, your hand instinctively going to your chest as the paper floated to the ground.

“Oh my God,” you exclaimed, breathless and startled. “Can you knock next time?”

“I did knock,” Trent replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Did you?” Your eyebrows furrowed as you tried to recall when you heard a knock reverberate through your office.

“No.” He admitted.

You huffed, feeling a mix of annoyance and embarrassment at falling for his joke.

“Funny.” You mumbled, shaking your head.

To your surprise, he plopped onto the sofa situated by the side of the wall, near the door. Your eyebrows raised slightly.

Trent, sitting on your sofa, in your office, willingly? This was new. Only today, you were doubting yourself if you’d ever be able to get through to him and yet here he was.

You didn’t want to overanalyse the situation but it was hard to ignore the significance of it. Maybe he was finally starting to let his guard down, even if just a little.

There was a strange combination of nervousness and relief running riot inside of you.

Rather than drawing attention to it, you chose to stay focused on the task at hand, wary of saying anything that might reinforce his emotional walls.

“I’m trying to build a cabinet, if you must know.” You didn’t want to sound as annoyed as you were - not necessarily by the man you were conversing with, but more so by the wooden contraption that was puzzling you to your core.

He peered over the armrest, then slowly returned to his original position. “Making a lot of progress, it seems.”

“How nice of you to state the obvious,” you replied calmly, but your mind was racing.

“It’s late, how come you’re still here?” You asked, trying to make conversation. He just shrugged, pulling out his phone from his trouser pocket.

You gave a half-smile. Even if he wasn’t in the mood for conversation, he was still here, and that’s what mattered to you.

Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes passed by, and you were officially ready to give up. Resting your head against your desk, still seated on the floor, you were on the verge of admitting defeat and calling your dad.

Your attention was diverted by a soft creak from the sofa frame. Trent stood up, and you looked up at him, squinting as the ceiling light shone brightly.

“You heading out?” You asked, your voice tinged with resignation.

He took a small step to the right, blocking the light from hitting your eyes. He glanced around, as if debating something.

His mouth parted slightly.

“Move over.”

What?

“Huh?” you said, bewildered.

He tucked his bottom lip between his teeth, motioning to the pile of wood still stacked in various directions. “Move.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?” He replied blandly, yet still entertaining your conversation. A few weeks ago, he would’ve murdered you.

You glanced down at your cabinet, which was rather resembling modern art, then back up at him.

“Are you suggesting women can’t build things?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

He tilted his head downward, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “Women can. It’s just you that can’t. Wanna disagree?”

Your pressed your bottom lip up to your top, as if you were actually considering the idea. “I’d love to argue, but you’re lucky I’m too tired right now. Maybe come back tomorrow and we can pick up where we left off.”

“Move over or I’m leaving,” he said, a touch more firmly.

“Okay, okay. Sorry.” You chuckled.

You scooted over, making room for Trent to sit beside you. He settled on the floor, crossing his legs. There was a fair amount of distance between you.

You found yourself stealing glances at him as he took a look at the instructions a few times, feeling a mix of relief and gratitude for his unexpected help.

His presence was a welcome distraction.

You couldn’t deny you were entirely useless as he separated the pieces, lining them up to get a full look at everything, ensuring nothing was absent.

“Screwdriver?” He asked for quietly and you cast a quick look around, spotting it underneath a plank of wood.

“Here.” His fingers brushed yours as he took it from you, a touch that you were acutely aware of but one he didn’t seem to think twice about.

Whenever your knees brushed while adjusting the cabinet or while holding it in place, you could feel the warmth of his proximity, which only heightened your perception of him.

After some time, the cabinet stood completed. You couldn’t help but smile proudly at the result.

Trent glanced at your beaming face and quickly looked away, as if unsure how to react. The fleeting moments of physical contact had created a soft tension in the air.

You tilted your head, deciding to tease him while you still had the chance. “Does it look a bit bent or is it just me?”

He barely looked at the cabinet, already ready to fire a response back. “It’s just you.”

You scoffed, your eyes meeting as he extended the screwdriver back toward you. You swallowed as you took it, another brush of hands.

It was brief and unexpected but he too registered it this time. He briefly tensed but stood up quickly after.

You just about scrambled to your feet after him, placing your screwdriver on your desk.

Before he could leave, you called out, “thank you.”

He turned to give you a simple nod, brushing off your gratitude.

“I mean it. Not just for building this,” you gestured toward the cabinet, “but for being here. I’m always happy to see you.”

A silence befell you both, but it didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable as it had before.

“If you don’t mind my asking, how come you came here?”

He thought about his answer for a second, wanting to correctly word it.

“Saw you struggling through the door. Thought you were finally having a heart attack or something.”

You paused for a second, slowly nodding your head. “Couldn’t miss it, huh?”

At that, Trent’s lips curved into a genuine smile as he looked away from your eyes, the first smile you’d seen from him that was actually for you.

It was a subtle, upward curl, softening his usually serious expression.

You mirrored his smile, it was hard not to. Perhaps you’d leaned forward, or your shoulders had finally relaxed, but you weren’t focused on the specifics.

“See you round, psychologist.”

You hummed, afraid that even if you opened your mouth, nothing would come out.

You watched him walk away, your eyes falling to the cabinet against the wall.

Seeing him smile, just smile at you, was a moment you wouldn’t forget so soon. It was as if a dam had burst, releasing a flood of relief and hope you’d nearly given up on.

But before you could think about it further, your phone buzzed. It was Kaia, asking when you’d be home.

You hadn’t even realised what time it was.

“Shit.”

…

Part 5

Masterlist

Comment below if you want to be part of the taglist! Once you are part of it, you'll be reminded for every part of the series until its completion!

Taglist: @trentwife @bluebreadenthusiast @julovesurmom @blubsberries @remmysthings @heyjudeb @keepitabuckxx @vivi-grace @hoddystark @hiireadstuff @trentione @missusstark @iamasimpingh0e @xxxstormyninixxx @lolawwww22 @myloveisforbellingham @purpleniight @bffrwme

[thegayguard]

The Old Guard (comics + movie) Comprehensive Timeline

I spent way too much time spent researching the comics one night resulting in this, my TOG magnum opus, including every confirmed event up until the beginning of the movie. If there's anything I missed let me know (I did misplace my copy of Force Multiplied but I don't think they did many flashbacks iirc). This is mostly for my own purposes, but absolutely feel free to use it for your own fics/art/meta/etc

Also thank you @yumekuimono for the putting together the photographs on Copley's hyperfixation board, which inspired me to make this.

It's long, so it's all under the cut. Enjoy!

4500s BCE: Andromache is born in the Western Steppe, later known as Scythia, now known as the Ural region, mostly. Fifteen or so years later her mother(figure) gifts her an axe, naming Andy as her successor instead of her sisters. Five or so years later Andy's mother plans to have her killed out of jealously. Andy doesn't die, though her mother is killed in the conflict. Andy kills her attackers in revenge, then goes back to lead her people as a pseudo-god for an unspecified number of years.

500s BCE: Quỳnh (Noriko) is born in modern day Vietnam (Noriko in Japan).

330ish BCE: Lykon is killed for the first time following Alexander The Great to Judea. Andy meets him not long after (comic only canon, the movie doesn't specify when Andy and Lyon meet except to say it's after she meets Quynh).

630s CE: Andy meets Quynh in Alexandria while fighting with Amir ibn al-As. They become inseparable and travel with Lykon and Yitzhak for a time as roaming soldiers (anything about Yitzhak, so far, is comics only canon)

Note- There's no firmer information on Yitzhak aka Isaac Blue at this time, apart from him being Jewish, a contemporary of Lykon, having been with Andy in the year 1950, and now living in Alaska. There's a wonderful analysis of his likely timeline by @nevermindirah who places him around the time of the Second Temple, somewhere between 500 BCE and 70 CE.

1066: Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Kaysani called al-Tayyib is born in Maghreb, North Africa, to a family of merchants

1069: Nicolò di Genova is born in Genoa, Italy

1099: Joe and Nicky meet and kill each other and, according to word of god (aka Greg Rucka), get on to the more pleasurable type of physical relationship very quickly after.

1100-1230: Andy and Quynh are spotted around the crusades, likely to find Nicky + Joe

1200s: Noriko (comics only canon) is killed many times fighting rogue samurai around feudal Japan

1550-1600 (Renaissance): Lykon dies for the last time, Joe saves a young artist from a fire in Genoa, forcing them to avoid Italy for 100 years

1500s (late): Quynh and Andy attempt to free people from the witch trials and are caught themselves, leading to Quynh's underwater imprisonment

1700s (late): The Guard are in London for a time. Joe saves a coffee shop owner from the stocks, Andy gets a new axe (that is still very much the same axe, to her).

1770: Sébastien LeLivre is born in Marseilles, France.

1790s: Andy meets a former West Indies slave turned British soldier turned highway robber named Achilles. Andy follows him to Australia, starts a life in a small town.

1789-95: Andy, Nicky, and Joe are at the Paris Commune. Nicky and Joe aren't speaking at the time.

1812: Booker dies in Russia while following Napoleon. He's hanged for desertion. The Guard meets up with him a few years later. (Note, it's very likely Booker was conscripted in the place of a richer man in exchange for a fee, or as blackmail material, given that married men were exempt from the Grande Armée and even the Imperial Army's levée en masse. My theory is he was caught by a banker or shop owner for his forgeries, and was therefore forced to take the man's place in the army).

1830s: Booker hangs out with his youngest son Jean-Pierre, likely towards the end of his son's life, at a Parisian restaurant. Andy leaves Achilles for an extended amount of time to go to Jamaica, likely for the Baptist War. She comes back to find him dead, killed by their neighbors. She then razes the entire town in retaliation.

1834: São Paulo. Joe jumps through a window as a distraction for reasons as yet unknown.

1853: Joe and Nicky spotted on the ground of the Crimean War

1863: Nicky goes undercover of sorts in the American Civil War as a Confederate soldier in Pennsylvania. Joe is helping the slaves Nicky frees along with the Quakers in York. The Guard appear at the Battle of Gettysburg

1870, September: Booker and Andy meet in San Francisco after Booker unknowingly saves Merrick's great grandfather in a frontier town because of an inexplicable feeling he should stay to help

1887: Nicky and Joe save a young person in Zanzibar, presumably the victim of a hate crime

1904: The Guard prevent a coup in Haiti

1914-18: The Guard fight in The Great War. Joe saves a little girl who becomes the youngest Nobel Laureate in Medicine. Andy fights in the Gallipoli campaign and in France

1916: Andy saves a refugee family in Montenegro, one of whom goes on to develop early diabetes detection.

1917: Andy takes part in a battle in Passchedaele, Belgium, and adopts an orphaned boy, Zeus

1932, November: Joe and Nicky go to a bar in Berlin, run into the person they saved in Zanzibar, and punch a Nazi.

1944: Andy is involved in the French Resistance in WWII

1945, August: The Guard prevent a third atomic bomb

1950: Andy and Yitzhak eat a meal made for them by Zeus somewhere not in the US

1956-59: Joe, Nicky, and Booker are spotted helping the Cuban Revolution

1968: Nicky and Andy appear at MLK speeches separately. Joe and Nicky rescue a man from a cave (poss. Onyx Cave, AZ in Oct. or Gory Hole, IN in Nov. -US cave incidents are very well recorded)

1969, July: The Guard take down a pedophilic serial killer in Minnesota (possibly based on Stanley Rice). Nicky and Booker stay to track down everyone who knowingly let the killer go free. Joe and Andy head on to San Francisco to watch the moon landing at a bar.

1975, April: Andy helps in Operation Babylift in Vietnam

late 1970's: Andy lands in Cleveland, not knowing where she is after a job. Coincidentally, she cleans herself up in a restaurant owned by Zeus, who she hadn't seen in decades.

1978: Booker gets captured by a cult of murder- and sex-obsessed nuns in NYC. Three months later Andy rescues a reluctant Booker from the nuns' compound in Guyana

1989: Andy helps people escape East Germany

1992: Booker serves as a combat medic in Sarajevo. Nicky attends university under the name N Smith (likely a graduate school given the wording of the ID. My guess, either for medicine or computer science, both of which were rapidly evolving at the time)

1994: Nile Freeman born, South Side of Chicago, IL

2000s: The Guard rescue children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are also linked to the US 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan.

2005: Nile's dad killed in action on the ground as a Marine

2012: The Guard take a CIA assignment in Surabaya, Indonesia, with Copley and Booker as the point persons

2013: Andy goes by the alias Alexandra Black in the Czech Republic

2014: Joe goes by the alias Joseph Jones in Germany. The Guard is seen in Syria near an USAF F-22 bombing site.

2019: Andy takes a break to travel. Joe and Nicky travel to Eastern Turkey. Booker is contacted by Copley on behalf of Merrick Industries.

2020: Nile dies for the first time in Afghanistan at the hands of an enemy insurgent. Official record has her killed in action. The events of the movie (aka comics Opening Fire 1-5). Booker returns to Paris in his exile, where he is contacted by Quynh.

[pharsalianostra]

Finals took me out for a bit, but I’m back, and I finally finished!!! Here’s Cleopatra and Livia in all their glory :)

Should I make one of Mark Antony and Octavian next??

Parallel Lives

To me, Cleopatra VII and Livia Drusilla are two sides of the same coin. They were born exactly ten years apart (Cleopatra in 69 BCE and Livia in 59 BCE), and were the female rulers of two of the most prominent Mediterranean powers of their time. Their families were deeply entwined: Julius Caesar was the father of Cleopatra’s son and Livia’s (adopted) father-in-law; Mark Antony was Livia’s brother-in-law through his marriage to Octavia; when Augustus conquered Egypt, he had Cesarion killed because he was a threat to Augustus’s apparent right to rule.

Both women grew up in a time of civil war and ended up on opposite sides of their families. Cleopatra openly fought her brother Ptolemy XIII and her sister Arinoe VI. Livia’s father and brother died fighting for Brutus and Cassius at Philippi. Her first husband sided with Fulvia and Lucius Antonius when they fought Augustus.

Both of them have been misrepresented by ancient sources and modern media.

Augustus’s propaganda hinged on the presentation of himself as a proper and modest Roman returning to tradition after so much civil war (other than the autocratic ruling ofc). He presented Livia as the ideal and perfect Roman matron, chaste, modest, and pious. He presented Cleopatra as the opposite. She represented the extravagance and backwardness of foreign monarchs. Augustus presented her as domineering over Antony, a reversal of the proper order (his slander of her was largely slander of Antony after all). And although Augustus publicly looked down on Egypt, he adopted many elements of Egyptian monarchy into his dynasty, such as the association of monarchs with gods—as Livia was associated with Ceres, Magna Mater, and Venus, Cleopatra mostly associated herself with Isis (who shares an origin with Venus).

Both were accused by historians of poisoning family members—Cleopatra her brother Ptolemy XIV among others, and Livia Augustus as well as a number of his heirs.

In modern media, Cleopatra is often seen as an over-sexualized seductress, Livia as a conniving and manipulative wife and mother.

Whether or not they did any poisoning, they were both incredibly intelligent and fascinating women and I love both of them a lot.

There are some of motifs in the drawing I want to point out:

- Cleopatra is wearing an Isis knot (the top layer of her dress), a common feature found in depictions of Ptolemaic queens that associates them with the goddess Isis

- She is also wearing a simple cloth diadem as often seen in depictions of Alexander the Great and all the dynasties that emulated him. It’s often seen in Cleopatra VII’s coinage

- She has the melon hairstyle, which she is seen with on coinage and in Roman sculpture. Apparently she popularized it among Roman women when she visited the city!

- Her snake bracelet and bull earrings are also common Ptolemaic motifs

- Livia is dressed like a proper Roman matron in her palla, stola, and tunica. The lack of jewelry is meant to show her modesty as well. Augustus and Livia went out of their way to present as a normal senatorial class couple rather than opulent foreign monarchs

- Her hair is in the iconic nodus style, as seen on basically all her statuary as well as that of other women in Augustus’s household such as Octavia

- Both Livia and Cleopatra are depicted holding cornucopias in their statuary. It associates them with fertility, wealth, and number of mother-goddesses. Pomegranates are a symbol of Juno and Proserpina, wheat and poppy sheafs are associated with Ceres. Wheat is also important because it was a resource Egyptian had in abundance and that Rome was desperate for. A lot of the politics between the two nations were based around that trade.

- And figs. Well, there are a lot of stories that get told about Cleopatra and Livia, many of which paint them with misogynistic stereotypes. Cleopatra’s death has long been the subject of speculation and fantasy. Shakespeare writes that she snuck the snakes she used to commit suicide past the Augustus’s men in a basket of figs. Livia has often been implicated in Augustus’s death. A popular version of that being that she poisoned him with figs. These two women are connected by the imagery and symbolism of the fruit: femininity and fertility, poison and death.

[jeannereames]

Is there something about Alexander you just know in your bones but can’t academically prove beyond doubt yet?

Things I Can’t Prove but Believe about Alexander

The first thing is that he and Hephaistion were lovers.

I realize that may surprise some of you as I’ve written on it both informally and formally, arguing they were. But the plain fact is…we just don’t have conclusive evidence. I do think we have plenty of evidence that Alexander was queer. But for whether he and Hephaistion were lovers, all the evidence is either circumstantial or late. It IS perfectly possible to make a cogent argument they weren’t.

But, as the asker put it, I know in my bones they were.

That’s what fiction is for. Ha.

In fact, a lot of things I suspect but can’t prove I’ve thrown into the novels.

A couple other things:

Alexander was a neat-freak. He didn’t like mess or disorder. He was also a perfectionist.

He took criticism way too personally and internalized it. This is why only certain people were allowed to criticize him; it had to be someone he believed truly loved him.

He was not an alcoholic (in any modern sense), but as time went on, came to depend too much on alcohol to relax because he was an extremely high-strung person.

He was quite shrewd, but also highly emotional and visionary. These were sometimes at odds.

He loved his sisters and felt close to them, more than typical for men of his era.

He loved animals more than typical. (I think there’s good evidence for this, but I mean more than typical.)

He was left-handed. (Pure speculation, but it’s a sneaking suspicion.)

He could sing quite well, but nobody wanted to listen to him because his voice was rough. He’d have made a great blues singer. (Again, some evidence for this, but it’s largely anecdotal which is suspect by definition.) He was also a very good dancer, and loved to dance, related to…

He was an excellent fighter, physically extremely tough and strong. He didn’t really feel fear in the middle of combat. (While this is attested in the sources, I put it in the “can’t prove” column because it could also have been pure flattery by later sources.)

The “Sleep and sex remind me I’m mortal” line is a real quip. He was trying to be funny. People took him more seriously than he meant, and he was actually referencing sleep more than sex. (Along the lines of our, “I can sleep when I’m dead.”)

He really did believe he was favored by the gods and his birth was special/fated; it wasn’t purely political. This grew the more he beat incredible odds. He never believed he was divine beyond what a human could achieve.

[girlactionfigure]

 THURSDAY HERO: Glagolev Family

It is undeniable that the role of Ukraine in the Holocaust was shameful. Almost a million Jews were killed by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, most of them shot and dumped into mass graves, many while still alive. Because of this ugly history, and at a time when the Ukraine itself is under threat, it is crucial to remember those Ukrainians who did the right thing, even at great risk to themselves.

Alexei Glagolev was a Ukrainian Orthodox priest who practiced his Christian faith despite severe persecution from the Soviet communists. Together with his wife Tatiana and their children, Alexei hid Jews during World War II, a heroic act that almost cost the Glagolevs their own lives.

Born in Kiev in 1901, Alexei was raised in a devout Eastern Orthodox home. His father Alexander was a priest and professor at Kiev Theological Academy and known to be an ally to Jews at a time of rampant antisemitism. Alexei, a stand-out student in high school, enrolled in the Theological Academy in 1919, and studied there until 1923, even after it was shut down by the Bolsheviks and the students had to study in secret. Alexei married Tatiana Bulashevich, the daughter of a sugar plant owner, in 1926. They had three children, Magdalina, Nikolei and Maria.

In 1932 the Glagolevs’ world was rocked when Alexei was arrested by the communists for “anti-revolutionary acts.” He was freed after a week in custody, but was designated a “cult leader” and deprived of civil liberties. With his professional options severely curtailed due to his status as leader of a cult (the Soviets considered all religions to be cults), he labored as a construction worker and security guard. From 1936 to 1940 he studied Physics and Mathematics at the Kiev Pedagogy Institute, while secretly running an underground church. After the war in Eastern Europe began, Alexei was ordained as a priest and served in the Pokrov Church in Kiev.

In October, 1941, Alexei’s sister-in-law asked him to help her brother’s Jewish wife, Izabella Mirkina, who was in imminent danger of being murdered by the Nazis. Without hesitation, Alexei and Tatiana determined to do whatever they could to help persecuted Jews, despite caring for their own three children in difficult wartime conditions. Tatiana gave Izabella her own identity card and baptism certificate. In his memoirs, Father Alexei wrote, “My wife almost paid with her own life for her reckless action. The Gestapo was going from flat to flat asking for papers, and when they found out that Tatiana didn’t have a passport, they were going to arrest her. Very few people returned to their homes after such arrests. We begged and managed to persuade them to leave her alone after a few witnesses confirmed her identity.”

Even with Tatiana’s papers Izabella was unable to escape and returned to the Glagolevs in desperate need of a place to hide. Alexei later said, “Tormented, we searched for a way to save her. What kind of Christians would we be if we refused this poor woman, who was reaching out to us and pleading for help?” The Glagolevs welcomed Izabella and her daughter Irina into their own modest home. When other desperate Jews approached for help, Alexei gave them fake baptism certificates and hid them in his church, even though hiding Jews was a capital crime punishable by execution. The Glagolev children also helped care for the Jews and keep them safe and fed.

In 1943 Alexei moved out of his home and into the hospital at Pokrov Monastery, where he lived beside the Jews he was helping. This was very risky because the Germans had forbidden Ukrainians to live in that part of Kiev. He and his son Nikolei were arrested in fall of that year and deported to Germany, where Alexei was brutally beaten by the Nazis. Somehow they managed to escape and returned to Ukraine after the liberation from Germany in 1944. In 1945, Alexei wrote a letter to Nikita Khrushchev, Secretary of the Ukraine, about the Jews he had saved.

Alexei continued working as a priest in the Pokrov church until it closed in 1960. He worked in several other churches despite increasing ill health caused by his brutal treatment while imprisoned by the Nazis. Alexei died in 1972. Journalist Sergei Kokurin wrote in an article about Alexei, “It is hard to understand to an average man the determination with which Glagolev went against the tide. In 1936 this fragile-looking intellectual publicly carried the cross taken off the Church of Nikola the Kind, and despite threats from the communists kept it in his flat. He was the only priest in Kiev who refused in April 1942 to hold a church service to celebrate Hitler’s birthday.”

Alexei, Tatiana and their children were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem in 1991. In January 2002, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Alexei Glagolev’s birth, a memorial plaque to him and his brave father Alexander was erected on the wall of the National University of Kiev.

For their heroic actions saving Jews, and for practicing their faith in defiance of Soviet persecution, we honor the Glagolev family as this week’s Thursday Heroes.

[wearethekat]

Anticipated Upcoming New Releases

Anticipated by Me. Asterisk for titles where I haven't read anything by the author previously (ie sounds cool but unvetted)

*Single Player, Tara Tai. f/nb romance about a romance storywriter and her video game dev boss.

*Hammajang Luck, Makana Yamamoto (14 January). In a far-future world, a thief is approached by the partner who betrayed her for one last job just after getting out of a prison planet on early parole.

*Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (14 January). Recently unemployed Zelu starts to write a new science fiction book, as the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.

*Modern Divination, Isabel Agajanian (30 January). Young witch has carefully balanced her witchcraft with her demanding life at Cambridge University—only to find that her magic powers are fading.

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, Heather Fawcett (11 February). Book three of a series, in which Emily deals with the repercussions of being engaged to a faerie king.

*But Not Too Bold, Hache Pueyo (11 February). Novella. Sapphic retelling of Bluebeard featuring a giant humanoid spider.

Wooing the Witch Queen, Stephanie Burgis (18 February). Romantasy in which an evil sorceress queen gets catfished by a disguised imperial archduke pretending to be a librarian in a gaslamp setting.

*Greenteeth, Molly O'Neill (25 February). The legendary Molly Greenteeth teams up with a local witch to defeat an evil pastor.

*The Fourth Consort, Edward Ashton (25 February). A human representative to what's supposed to be a pan-species space confederation finds out he's actually on the wrong (and losing) side, and gets trapped on another planet.

The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar (4 March). Novella. Two sisters living at the edge of Faerie tumblr into trouble when one of them takes a faerie suitor.

Once Was Willem, MR Carey (4 March). In medieval England, the eponymous Willem drags himself out of his grave to defend his village against an evil threat.

The Tomb of Dragons, Katherine Addison (11 March). Reportedly actually coming out this year! In book 3 of the series, Thara Celehar investigates a case involving an old cemetery and a miner's group.

A Gentleman's Gentleman, TJ Alexander (11 March). Alexander sticks their nose into the Regency genre with this t4t lord/valet romance.

Idolfire, Grace Curtis (11 March). One woman searching for a last chance and another woman looking for redemption travel to a sleeping magical city.

*Murder by Memory, Olivia Waite (18 March). A sci-fi mystery novella set on a generation ship, where a ship's detective investigates a mysterious murder.

*Aunt Tigress, Emily Yu-Xuan Qin (18 March). Reformed monster Tam investigates the murder of her aunt in Chinese folklore inspired urban fantasy Canada.

*The Keeper of Lonely Spirits, EM Anderson (25 March). Cursed to live forever, ghost hunter Peter starts to settle after two hundred years in a small town in Ohio.

A Drop of Corruption, Robert Jackson Bennett (1 April). Sequel. Our Sherlock Holmes coded detective investigates the disappearance of a treasury officer with the help of her trusty assistant in a complex secondary fantasy world.

*Where the Axe is Buried, Ray Nayler (1 April). In a crumbling near-future Earth, a brilliant scientist flees, because her new invention might be key to assassinating the immortal uploaded President.

*A Duke Never Tells, Suzanne Enoch (1 April). In this Regency romp, somehow both a young lady and the man she's affianced to are in disguise below stairs.

Don't Sleep With The Dead, Nghi Vo (8 April). Vo returns to the fantasy Great Gatsby setting with this novella from the POV of Nick Carraway post-novel events.

*The Raven Scholar, Antonia Hodgson (15 April). Seven candidates compete to become the next emperor—until one of them is murdered. The emperor's scholar attempts to find the killer.

*The Gentleman and His Vowsmith, Rebecca Ide (15 April). An accidentally falling in love with your wedding vendor by during your arranged marriage book, now with a locked mansion murder mystery.

*Notes from a Regicide, Isaac Fellman (15 April). Trans Griffon's adoptive parents die suddenly, leaving him to sort through their papers, which follows the failed revolution they fled.

Advocate, Daniel M Ford (22 April). Book three of a series. Insufferable lesbian necromancer Aelis is summoned back to the capital to investigate an accusation against her former teacher.

Saint Death's Herald, CSE Cooney (22 April). Sequel to my particular favorite Saint Death's Daughter. Lanie Stones must contain her murderously ambitious (and dead) great grandfather before he conquers the world.

*The Sun Blessed Prince, Lindsey Byrd (29 April). Queer romance between a prince with healing magic and the assassin sent to kill him.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter Than Flame, Neon Yang (6 May). Emissary and dragon hunter Yeva is sent to a nation that worships dragons to seduce their queen. Novella.

Drop Dead, Lily Chu (6 May). Rival journalists Nadine and Wesley spar for the scoop on a reclusive author-- until she dies suddenly, and the executor grants them both three weeks to study her papers together.

Ascension, ST Gibson (13 May). Sequel to Evocation about the contentious urban fantasy wizard polycule.

The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (13 May). A professor at a magical academy deals with some troublesome demons. (I'm VERY excited for this one)

*Anji Kills A King, Evan Leikam (13 May). In an impulsive moment, a laundry maid assassinates the king. She flees, pursued by a band of mercenaries with magic masks.

The Starving Saints, Caitlin Starling (20 May). After a six month siege, a castle is freed by a group of cultlike saints. As the castle descends into cannibalism orgies, can three women find a way to save themselves?

Strange New World, Vivian Shaw (20 May). The fourth book in the Greta Helsing series, in which Greta escorts an angel and a demon across America .

*Behooved, M Stevenson (20 May). Princess Bianca agrees to marry a prince in order to end the war—only to have a botched assassination attempt turn him into a horse. They flee together in order to unravel the evil plot.

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, Caitlin Rozakis (27 May). Ordinary parent Vivian has to rapidly adapt to the world of magic schools when her kindergartener is bitten by a werewolf.

June and later releases under the cut

The Listeners, Maggie Stiefvater (3 June). Hotel manager June is put to an unexpected test when the hotel's rich owners make a deal to host captured Nazi officials.

The Witch Roads, Kate Elliot (10 June). An arrogant prince enters the haunted Spires against the advice of their guide, leaving ex-slave Elen with the unenviable task of guiding a man who isn't quite the same as the one who entered.

The Mercy Makers, Tessa Gratton (17 June). Criminal heiress Iriset uses her ability to create magical disguises to infiltrate the palace and free her father, insinuating herself into the lives of the emperor and his sister in the process.

*This Princess Kills Monsters, Ry Herman (17 June). A sapphic retelling of the Grimm fairy tale The Twelve Huntsmen.

A Far Better Thing, HG Parry (17 June). Changeling child Sydney escapes and crosses over to the human world during the French Revolution to get his revenge on the fairie that took his place.

A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace, Emily Skrutskie (24 June). Two redshirts unexpectedly don't die in a fantasy apocalypse after a band of plucky heroes intervene, forcing them to contemplate their one last night stand.

The Bewitching, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (15 July). A multigenerational story about three women and the curse that stalks their family.

The Memory Hunters, Mia Tsai (29 July). Secondary world academia about using memory magic powers for archaeology.

Hemlock & Silver, T Kingfisher (19 August). A retelling of Snow White from the point of view of a healer trying to cure the poisoned princess.

*Terms of Service, Ciel Pierlot (23 September). Luzia sells herself to the mysterious fae-like Astrosi who live above the metropolis in order to rescue her nephew.

[marymary-diva17]

Hello. Maybe you could write a bridgertoon story where the y/n is forced to marry an abusive partner? And, after his death, y/n turned into a really famous person as the only heir to his husband fortune? Maybe they couldn't have children because of the husband infertility?

Marriage in Ton society and regency era could either be a warm or cold. A society built on that marriage is everything and anyone should be, lucky enough to get marred to any suitors that came calling. When for one young women she had gotten a cold marriage, and a cold life away from her family and everyone else she held close.

y/n " ......." you are sitting in drawing room of your husband house in the countryside. The peace and quiet was something that made you happy, but you still miss your family and friends back in London.

Butler " my lady my lordship Alexander said he shall not be home for dinner once again" your husband Alexander was not the best of husbands, among the ton and that was very easy for everyone in the house to see.

y/n " thank you for telling me"

Maid " what shall we do about the dinner plans"

y/n " well we still have the dinner we can't let the chef hard planing go to waste, that will be rude and something I rather not have happen"

Maid " yes my lady" the maid and butler had exchange looks with each other, that had gained your attention as you soon cleared your throat.

y/n " why don't you both have a sit as it seems like you two have something, to speak and I will love to hear it"

butler " yes my lady" the butler and maid soon sat down on the couch facing you.

Maid " my lady all the staff has noticed and been talking about the lord and his family .... how could you stay with someone who so cold towards you, they have been blaming you for not having a child yet and everything else"

bulter " you are kindhearted my lady and we having you here with us"

y/n " thank you all for being worried about me and caring for me as well, I stay with him because his family is in business with mine I need to do what best for my family .... as I love them dearly and rather not have my broken marriage effect them"

maid " so what will you do my lady spend the rest of your life with the lord and his family"

y/n " yes for the sake of my family, the staff, and the towns near by as it seems like my husband and in laws have failed on their duties here"

butler " you are great at both my lady everyone has bene benefiting since you came here, and started helping around"

y/n " that brings a smile to my face"

Maid " you know you could write to lady whistle down and have her teach him something, and we know so much about him to his life here and his affairs"

y/n " I will love to but we shall stay away from that"

Butler " maybe in time a miracle might come" soon the door bell had rang getting everyone attention.

butler " I shall get the door my lady" the butler soon got up as he had went to go answer the door, as the maid had soon stood up from her seat.

butler " my lady you have some guests that have come to pay a visit"

y/n " who are our guests"

butler " your family" you eyes had soon widen as you got up to see you whole family walked into the drawing room.

Violet " dearest" Voilet soon hugged you as you looked at her and your siblings, happy to see them as well missed them all dearly.

y/n " mother siblings welcome I didn't know you all will be coming"

Anthony " well our dear mother had become worried and missed you, so we all came to see you my dear sister"

Colin " don't like you missed her as well brother"

Daphne " we hope we are not interrupting anything sister"

y/n " oh no it good to see you all here"

Maid " I will get some more sweets and tea for our guests my lady"

y/n " thank you "

bulter " I will inform the staff our our guest and the chef as well, if we have guest over for dinner"

Benedict " we will love to if our sister shall have us"

y/n " yes you all can stay for dinner"

Bulter " then I will make sure everything is ready and send word to my lordship" the butler and maid soon left leave you with your family, as everyone took a sit.

Eloise " dear sister I love the books you have here"

y/n " well I'm happy you do they are all ones from home and ones I brought as well"

Francesca " such a beautiful garden as well sister"

y/n " thank you all I and my staff have done so much work on this home"

Gregory " where is Alexander I thought he will be here as well"

Hyacinth " don't ask for anything like that Gregory that is highly rude"

y/n " it okay there have been some other matters that kept him away"

Anthony " I was hoping to have some words with him but, that can wait for later on dear sister"

Voilet " yes let enjoy our time here with your sister ... so how has married life been my dear"

y/n " it been okay there is much things to get use to mother, but it has been okay here mother"

Daphne " sister you most come attend lady Danbury ball with us, along with your husband it shall be fun"

y/n " I will ask my husband if he wishes to attend he not that much into balls"

Colin " you can still some with us sister it will be fun and maybe you can, help save us from mama trying to find us wives or husband"

y/n " dear brother I don't think I can help with that"

Voilet " well a mother most always look out for her children,even when they are married"

Maid " I have brought over some tea and sweets my lady"

y/n " thank you"

Maid " word has been sent to your husband about out guests"

y/n " good thank you we will call if we need any help" the maid had nodded her head before she walked off, leaving the family together.

y/n " well let enjoy some sweets and tea"

Gregory " my favorite sister you remember"

y/n " I always remember little brother now enjoy" as you younger siblings began to enjoy their sweets and making conversation, you are happy to have you family here but you worry about what they will see and hear.

Later that evening

y/n " It has been good to have you all here today as I have longed for home and family as well"

Colin " well maybe you can stay in London for sometime as you are no longer be away from us, and you can still attend all the social events as well"

Benedict " maybe even help antony finally found a wife where mother has failed"

Anthony " our brothers could use marriage as well sister don't forget them"

Voilet " boy nor fighting in your sister home"

Anthony/Colin/ Benedict " yes mother" there was soon a loud bang on the front door, you knew it was your husband Alexander returning home.

Butler " welcome home my lord"

Alexander " yes I'm finally home"

Alexander " y/n where are you my wife we need to talk" you soon looked at your siblings as they look at you as well. You had soon slowly got up and went to go meet you husband.

y/n " yes Alexander I'm here"

Alexander " good you can hear me and you are here"

y/n " Alexander my family is here we need to clam down"

Alexander " hello bridgertons welcome I didn't know you all will be here"

Colin " my sister had sent word to you Alexander"

Alexander " oh yes that letter I didn't have time to read your sister notes, I have more important matters to deal with then her"

Benedict " well if you most know we came here to see our sister your wife, and to talk about business as well later on"

Daphne " sister are you okay you seem overwhelmed"

y/n " I'm good Daphne I and my husband will go speak in other room"

Alexander " yes my wife correct as we shouldn't fight in front of others" Alexander and you had soon left the room to go speak into other room.

Alexander " my wife why I have been told you were paying off some bills"

y/n " well they were left overdue and I wanted to make sure all the workers got paid, for all they had done Alexander as they haven't gotten paid by you or your family it unfair"

Alexander " you are my wife you have no reason and power to go behind my back and my family as well, remember you standing in the family" Alexander was yelling at you loudly getting everyone out of their seats, as your brother and mother made their way towards you.

Alexander " when I was told I was to marry you I will get a wonderful wife who will give me children, and be good for my family but you have failed at the job time to time again ... I would of been better off I married your sister daphne or one other better ladies of the ton then you"

Alexander " now you are going around acting like you are better then me, when are you just nothing you will never be as beautiful as your sister and never worthy enough as your brothers.... I'm happy I have another women as a wife as I rather be with her then the like of you, even my family and her have asked me to divorce you and marry her ... then everything for you will be over all because of me ...." soon Alexander had gotten punch in the jaw by Colin who was standing over him.

Colin " don't you dare speak of my sister like that you fool"

y/n " Colin"

Alexander " you foolish boy" Alexander had gotten up and hit Colin back, but that when someone else had hit Alexander hard enough making him fall down.

Benedict " sister are you okay"

y/n " yes Colin" you soon went to attend to your younger brother who looked hurt.

y/n " are you okay Colin"

Colin " I'm fine sister I came to see who you were doing when I heard him yelling at you"

Anthony " Alexander" you and your brothers had looked up to see your mother, Anthony, and sisters standing there as they looked on.

Voilet "my children what has happened to you three"

Benedict " this foolish man had hit your son for defending his sister, from her horrible husband"

Colin " he was speaking poorly about her and said he was cheating on her, and wish to divorce she to be with their other women .... him and his lover family support this scandalous relationship and wish to ruin our sister"

Anthony " Alexander"

Alexander " she is failure and has failed to give me child, good mother where have you gone wrong with her" Violet glared at the man and soon walked up to him, and then she had slapped him hard in the face leaving a mark.

Daphne & Eloise " mother"

Violet " dearest you are coming with us and staying with us until, we can help you end your marriage with this awful man for good"

y/n " yes mother"

elosie " come on sister lets go we are here for you"

Daphne " I hope lady whistle down find out about this and bring ruin to your family Alexander" you family had taken you to their home that night, as you stayed up and told your mother and Anthony everything.The rest of the family soon knew and had been there for comfort you, as everything made you feel good now being with them. Soon the ton had found out about your marriage ending, as you returned home.

Weeks later

Anthony " sister I'm sorry I couldn't help you I thought this marriage will be good for you ...."

y/n " brother yo have noting to say sorry about I should to spoke up but I was scared it will all effect you in a bad way"

Violet " now we are here as a family and will shall defend you from your ex husband and his family"

y/n " thank you all"

Violet " Alexander is a cruel person but you shall not let him win, as you will move on with your life in time and live your best life my daughter"

y/n " thank you mother"

Colin " sister mother brother"

violet " we are in here dear" soon the rest of your siblings had come into the room.

Daphne " sister you have been mentioned in the newest article of lady whistle down"

y/n " what"

Eloise " yes it seems like lady whistle down had been told of you marriage, and she had dug up the truth and wrote all about it" you had read the article word for word, and saw it spoke the truth as you looked at your family. Your mother had soon read the article and pass it towards Anthony who read it.

Benedict " well it looks like lady whistle down is a fan of your sister, and see how this has so much details on all your ex husband and his family, along with that women and her family it safe to say you will have some peace"

Anthony " I will remind the staff if any of them come to send them away, if they leave any letter we will look into them and toss away any stupid gifts"

y/n " thank you brother " you had been able to find peace and happinesses back at home, making a life of your own as well. The faith if your ex husband and his family, along with his lover and her family had been well know among the ton. They had to pay your well in the divorce settlement and had kicked out from their social circles, as well many engagements had been called off as well. It seems like the ones who were saying they were going to have a better, life didn't end up getting at in the end. A perfect husband will come for you the next year and you will find the happiness, you always wanted and dreamed off at the end.

[judespoets]

hii could u pls write an imagine with trent x bellingham sister reader where reader is an f1 driver and gets into a crash and her brothers and trent get worried and when she gets home trent looks after her <3

crash | trent alexander-arnold

pairing: taa x fem!f1!reader

warnings: mentions of crashing, hospitalization, wounds/blood

category: fluff/angst

a/n: i don’t know anything abt f1 so sorry if i did something wrong, also didn’t proofread yet maybe i will soon lol

it was a big day, maybe even the biggest one in your entire career. this race today is the opportunity to become someone great.

it was the day of your race today, and trent and your two brothers jude and jobe were all watching you for your big day.

Saying you were nervous was an understatement. You knew you earned your way here but actually being here with all the famous faces, it was just different.

As you stood on the starting line, you felt confident. You practiced a lot with your team for this and you were confident going into this race. But besides all, you were nervous. You really didn’t want to disappoint your boyfriend, trent was a real f1 fan and him watching you here was such an honor, you didn’t want him to judge you.

The first part of the race went good. Everything went smooth and you were living up to your and your teams expectations until you blinked for a second too long and in no time you accidentally left the road and your car flipped. Everything went so fast you couldn’t even comprehend what happened until you were feeling hot and tried to leave the car as soon as possible.

And you did it. But as you stood on the road, the adrenaline inside of you immediately vanished and you quickly felt your chest tighten, your breathing getting shorter and your legs giving out and everything went black.

The next thing you know is waking up in a bright, white room, monitors beeping in your ear with a loud sound, making you flinch immediately.

“Baby, oh my god.” You heard a voice from your left, scaring you slightly.

Looking to your left, you made out a face you knew all too well, a very worried Trent was all you saw.

He hurriedly stepped over to you from the chair he was sitting in, looking down at you with a very tired pair of eyes.

“Baby? How are you feeling?” He asked you, stroking you cheek with his hand softly.

“What? What is happening?” You asked him, obviously very confused about this whole situation.

“You had an accident, my love. A pretty bad one, i’m so glad you’re awake oh my god. You scared me, sweetheart.”

“I think I’m okay. What’s happened?”

“You came off the road and the car flipped. You got out luckily. But you fainted right after.” Trent spoke softly. “The doctor told me to get him right after you wake up. I’ll be right back, my love.” He said, placing a tender kiss on your forehead.

And he was right. It took him like two seconds to come back with a doctor, taking his place next to you again.

“Miss Bellingham, great to see you awake again. To calm you down a little bit, you didn’t get any major injuries even though the crash was pretty bad. You suffered a whiplash and a fracture to your right wrist which will take about six weeks to heal with your cast. The whiplash can have different effects on you, it’s common to feel it in your neck and head while also suffering from nausea and dizziness. If we treat it right and you rest enough, you won’t take any long-term consequences from it. I know this will be a hard pill to swallow but concerning your Formula 1 career, it will take at least two to three months for you to be starting training again. It will take a lot of time and patience, but you will be back, that’s actually a privilege for your situation right now.”

“Wow” was all you could say right now. The news were extremely hard for you to comprehend right now, and Trent noticed that.

“Thank you, sir. We will definitely rest enough.” You heard your boyfriend say while you just stared at the wall right ahead of you.

“We will talk about all the treatments later on, for now just rest a little more.” The doctor said before walking out of the door again.

The sound of the door closing and the feeling of the familiar hand touching yours was the trigger point. The tears started to flow out of your eyes uncontrollably making you a sobbing mess. You didn’t know what to feel, everything just felt overwhelming right now.

Just a few hours ago you were excited to start the first major race of your life and now you were lying on this hospital bed not knowing how and when your career will start again.

“Baby, please don’t cry. I know it hard to understand right now, but you had so much luck. You could’ve been dead.” Trent said to you, his voice also slightly cracking while he took you into his arms.

“I don’t know what’s happening, Trent.” You admitted.

“I know, it’s okay. We’ll get you home as soon as possible and then you will rest and you will be back in no time and even stronger, baby. I know it’s a major setback but this can make you so much stronger. I’ll be with you every step of the way, trust me, my love.”

And he was right. You were back home after three days of hospitalization.

Walking through the front door of your shared home, all you wanted to do was lay down on the couch after a long car ride with Trent. You were so glad it was summer right now and Trent didn’t need to be back in training for at least three weeks.

“Come on, lay down, baby.” Trent said while guiding you to the living room, propping the pillows up to make you comfortable. “Is it okay like this?” He made sure.

“Yeah it’s fine. Thank you.” You said to him, laying your head back feeling the exhaustion kick in immediately. You closed your eyes as you took a deep breath through your nose.

“I’ll bring you some water, babe. Jude and Jobe will also come in like an hour to spend a little time here.”

“Thanks, babe.” You told him as he handed you a cup full of fresh water.

“Do you need anything else? Some food maybe?” Trent asked you quietly as he noticed your scrunched up face showing your headache.

“No i’m good for now. I think i just need to sleep, i feel the nausea and the headache kick in, to be honest.” You answered him honestly.

“Okay, I’ll leave then.” Trent said as he got up and started to leave the room.

“Babe!” You called out as loud as you could right now.

“What’s up?” He said, turning around quickly.

“Can you please stay, i need you right now.” You admitted quietly, you were possibly feeling the worst you’ve ever felt in a long time and all you wanted was for your boyfriend to make it okay again.

“Yeah, of course. Come here.” You heard a voice whisper in your ear quietly as you felt the strong arms you knew all too well wrap around your fragile and exhausted body and a kiss being pressed to your forehead.

And that was what made the pain go away for some time.

And the next few weeks weren’t any different. You fought with nausea and headaches a lot but Trent and your brothers were there to help you. They made it all seem so much less painful and miserable, you were fast recovered and ready to go back to training to come back even stronger than you felt before.

[exkowrites]

That Distant Shore

This game is in the start of development. It is not currently planned out and is a test for me to learn twine. I can not promise when or if there will be a finished product. This game will be free and remain free if finished. Everything is subject to change.

Features!

Choose your first, middle, and last name.

Select from the three pronoun presets, or customize your own.

Customize your hair, eyes, skin, and facial details.

Trans, nonbinry, and intersex options.

Three gender selectable RO's and one nonbinary.

The Demo: (updated 8/6/24)

The story:

You and your siblings are displaced after your parent's death and the loss of your home. You suffer from a strange family ‘curse’ where each member will die one by one. Your flaws will be your undoing... Your dead parents, Adelina and Theodore loved you and your siblings.  So, what happened to all of you?

The characters:

Theodore -last name-

Your deceased father.

Adelina -last name-

Your deceased mother.

Victoria -last name-

Your prima donna sister. She doesn't like you. Can you change her perceptions or will you prove her right?

Alexander -last name-

Your kindhearted brother who took custody over you and your sister after your parents death.

Matteo/Madelyn Abbott (RO, gender selectable) "the bully"

Brash and abrasive. Despite being the principals child they refuse any special treatment and in fact take great joy over annoying their mother. They don't like you, maybe you used to be friends maybe you were strangers. Whatever your history, can you persuade them that you are not who they think you are?

Oliver/Olivia Campbell (RO, gender selectable) "the neighbor"

Typical golden retriever type. They are sweet but loud. You used to be neighbors, you two basically grew up together. O has noticed you drift since the accident. They wish they still lived by you so they could help more, but at least you'll see each other at school! Will you let them in?

Dylan Levine (RO, gender selectable) "the new kid"

A bit mysterious being new to the town. Dylan is your new classmate and is determined to learn about you and all the rumors surrounding you. You don't yet know what to think about them. Will they push you away when they find out about your so called curse, or will they stick around?

Jordan McKinley (RO, nonbinary) "the weird kid"

Jordan is known for being a bit... eccentric. They are kind and love making new friends, but your school has deemed them an outcast, not unlike yourself. Perhaps you two can bond over your loneliness?

My current plans:

Finish writing the prologue

Add/make any changes to the character customization

Publish complete prologue