#was their son the seventh found of the emperor's

[whencyclopedia]

Constantine VI

Constantine VI, also known as Constantine "the Blinded”, was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 780 to 797 CE, although for most of his reign his mother, Irene the Athenian, ruled as regent. When Constantine did finally get a go at ruling in his own right, he was anything but successful. Deposed by his own mother, Constantine was infamously blinded by her in the royal palace and, as was the intention, he died from his injuries.

Succession & Irene's Regency

Constantine was the son of Leo IV (r. 775-780 CE) and when, in 780 CE, his father died of fever, aged just 30, Constantine became emperor Constantine VI. However, as the new emperor was still a minor at nine or ten years of age, his mother Empress Irene ruled as his regent, a role she performed until 790 CE. Irene had immediate problems and had to quash a rebellion led by the other sons of Constantine V (r. 741-775 CE) and half-brothers of Leo IV. Once that was dealt with, she ensured the loyalty of the palace entourage by dismissing any ministers and military commanders of questionable affiliation. To this end, she trusted two court eunuchs, in particular, Staurakios and Aetios.

Irene attempted to further entrench her position by arranging a marriage alliance with the Franks and promising Constantine to Rotrude, the daughter of the Franks' king Charlemagne. For unknown reasons, Irene changed her mind, though, and in 787 CE she found an alternative wife for her son, one Mary of Amnia, a pious but slightly boring girl selected via the traditional “bride show” which Byzantine rulers organised for their offspring. The Frankish-Byzantine alliance would have been an intriguing one and joined the two halves of the old Roman Empire but the opportunity would come around again, as we shall see.

As ever, the borders of the Byzantine Empire needed constant vigilance and defence. Irene enjoyed certain successes against both the Slavs in Greece and Arabs in Asia Minor. Closer to home, Irene convened a Church council in Constantinople in 786 CE which, despite initial opposition from members of the army who thought defeats on the battlefield were God's punishment for the widespread veneration of icons, decreed an official end to iconoclasm, that is, the destruction of icons, a key feature of her predecessor's reigns. The regent then went one step further and invited 350 bishops to the Seventh Ecumenical Council in September 787 CE which ruled to restore the orthodoxy of the veneration of icons in the Christian Church.

Continue reading...

[carletes]

I don't know if this comment will make any sense lol but I just found out about F1 FanFiction (yes i know I'm late to that) and I found tsor.

Let me tell you the way you wrote Carlos reminded me so so much of Carlos the first of Spain. He was so responsible and so so in love with his wife. Their love story is so precious and I just kept picturing them as Carlos and Lando.

I wasn’t sure if you were talking about Juan Carlos or Carlos I and I’m assuming not Juan Carlos because LMFAO:

“Juan Carlos had several extramarital affairs, which adversely affected his marriage. In 2021, the former police official José Manuel Villarejo testified that Juan Carlos was given hormones to reduce his sex drive, as it was seen as a state problem.” (From wikipedia)

Ok but for the actual guy (THE FKN HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR AT THAT LOL):

“On 10 March 1526, Charles and Isabella met at the Alcázar of Seville. The marriage was originally a political arrangement, but on their first meeting, the couple fell deeply in love: Isabella captivated the Emperor with her beauty and charm. They were married that very same night in a quiet ceremony in the Hall of Ambassadors, just after midnight. Following their wedding, Charles and Isabella spent a long and happy honeymoon at the Alhambra in Granada. …

Despite the Emperor's long absences due to political affairs abroad, the marriage was a happy one, as both partners were always devoted and faithful to each other.[194] The Empress acted as regent of Spain during her husband's absences, and she proved herself to be a good politician and ruler, thoroughly impressing the Emperor with many of her political accomplishments and decisions.

The marriage lasted for 13 years until Isabella's death in 1539. The Empress contracted a fever during the third month of her seventh pregnancy, which resulted in antenatal complications that caused her to miscarry a stillborn son. Her health further deteriorated due to an infection, and she died two weeks later on 1 May 1539, aged 35. Charles was left so grief-stricken by his wife's death that for two months he shut himself up in a monastery, where he prayed and mourned for her in solitude.[195] Charles never recovered from Isabella's death, dressing in black for the rest of his life to show his eternal mourning, and, unlike most kings of the time, he never remarried.”

We’re going to ignore the bits where he fucked around a bunch after being a widower despite professing loyalty LMAO but yes I see the vision!!!!

[qinyan]

Biography: Scorpion

Birthname: Xiejie Liubo (蝎揭留波) Goes by: Scorpion, Scorpion King, Xiezi, Duxie Ethnicity: Half-Han, Half-Nanman Age: 19 Known Family Members: Former Ghost Valley’s Master (father, deceased, killed by Wen Kexing) Unnamed Princess, Khatun (mother, deceased, died from illnesses after the death of her clan by Han people)

Note

Since Scorpion barely showed up in the novel, the portrayal on this blog would be exclusively from Shan He Ling / Word of Honor. Although I might throw in elements from Lord Seventh and the novel from time to time.

Background

Xiejie Liubo is the son of the Old Ghost Valley’s Master and a Khatun, a Jurchen princess. It started with a chance meeting between the two — until the death of her khanate, to her death, the Khatun still did not know that she was lied to, that the man whose son she carried not was a emperor or even a prince. At least, he wasn’t recognized by the then ruling Helian Empire as royalty. 

While he was born and spent most of his life in the Northeast, Scorpion’s mother died when he was very young, but he matured at a young age. By the age of 4, he could talk to scorpions and by age 8 he has already become well-versed in the art of Sorcery and has become a well-known Shaman among his tribe. Upon the death of his mother from being bedridden with illnesses, she told him to seek for his father, who was a prince, in the western capital Chang’an. Scorpion, however, never found his true biological father, but he eventually discarded the idea of looking for his biological father after he was saved by Zhao Jing and adopted by him at age 11, henceforth dedicating his entire life and purpose to help Zhao Jing achieve his goals. 

The Scorpions (蝎子) in his assassin organization were all people he had brought to the west from what remained of his mother’s khanate. They, just as him, were well-versed in the art of dark sorcery and knew their way around poisons and venoms well. The Scorpions all calls him King of Scorpions (蝎王), recognizing him as his mother’s successor and heir.

[wol-blackthorne]

A Realm Reborn

In the 5th year of the Seventh Umbral Era, Fiona reappeared in the Black Shroud beside a monument to Althyk.

Quickly orienting herself, she traveled across an Eorzea she scarcely recognized. She checked in with the Adventurer's Guild and learned of the events of the past five years—and that no one remembered her name or face.

Fiona kept her identity as a returned Warrior of Light secret—as she had no proof to back up a claim—even as she encountered one of her fellow Walkers, Y'sthola Rhul, in La Noscea. Y'shtola, unaware of their shared history, reintroduced Fiona to Minfilia. Fortunately Minfilia, also blessed by the Echo, remembered and recognized Fiona.

Now a Scion of the Seventh Dawn, Fiona traveled through the reforged Eorzea to aide those struggling after the Calamity and to stop Garlemald's invasion once again. Behind the scenes, the Scions fought against a shadowy group called the Ascians—those without shadows—to prevent the coming of another Calamity.

With the backing of Eorzea's Grand Companies, Fiona pierced Castrum Meridianum and halted Garlemald's invasion. As Garlemald's and the Ascian Lahabrea's Ultima Weapon fell, the veil of amnesia over Eorzea lifted and Fiona's old allies recognized her as the lost warrior she was—their Warrior of Light.

In the time after Lahabrea's defeat, Fiona met the Ascian Elidibus for the first time. Though on opposing sides of the conflict between their patron gods, Zodiark and Hydaelyn, the Emissary approached Fiona true to his title—merely to introduce himself and peacefully plead their case. Nonetheless, their differences couldn't be reconciled. Elidibus, despite his words, sought the destruction of Fiona's home.

In the meantime, Fiona met Alisaie, Louisoix's granddaughter, who sought to discover what had happened to her grandfather in Carteneau. Together with Alisaie's twin and fellow Scion, Alphinaud, they delved into the wounds left by the Calamity and found the truth: Louisoix had become a primal of rebirth, Phoenix, before becoming tempered by Bahamut's remains. The twins freed Louisoix's soul and Fiona faced her traumatic memories of the Calamity—killing the primal Bahamut for good.

Fiona also joined with the archaeologist group Sons of Saint Coinach and an old ally from before the Calamity, Cid nan Garlond, to explore the ancient Allagan Crystal Tower. There, she met the slightly annoying but slightly endearing member of the Students of Baldesion, G'raha Tia. G'raha's family had long carried the legacy of Allag—a "key" in their bloodline, given to them by an Allagan princess, Salina, which could activate the Syrcus Tower.

Their exploration of the tower eventually led into the World of Darkness, a parallel dimension from which voidsent originated. The emperor of Allag had made a pact with a voidsent: power in exchange for entry into the world outside. Fiona entered the World of Darkness and destroyed the voidsent, while G'raha's encounter with Allag's ancient people fully awakened his ability to control the Tower.

In the end, G'raha chose to seal himself within the Tower, awaiting a future in which people learned to open it once again. Their time together had been short, and they parted more acquaintances than true friends, but Fiona hoped to meet G'raha again someday.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.27 (before 1940)

312 – Constantine is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. 1275 – Traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam. 1524 – French troops lay siege to Pavia. 1553 – Condemned as a heretic, Michael Servetus is burned at the stake just outside Geneva. 1644 – Second Battle of Newbury in the English Civil War. 1682 – Philadelphia is founded in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 1775 – King George III expands on his Proclamation of Rebellion in the Thirteen Colonies in his speech from the throne at the opening of Parliament. 1795 – The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, which establishes the boundaries between Spanish colonies and the U.S. 1806 – The French Army under Napoleon enters Berlin following the Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt. 1810 – United States annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida. 1838 – Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order, which orders all Mormons to leave the state or be killed. 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Marshal Bazaine surrenders to Prussian forces at the conclusion of the Siege of Metz along with 140,000 French soldiers. 1904 – The first underground New York City Subway line opens, later designated as the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. 1907 – Fifteen people are killed in Hungary when gendarmes opened fire on a crowd gathered at a church consecration. 1914 – World War I: The new British battleship HMS Audacious is sunk by a minefield laid by the armed German merchant-cruiser Berlin. 1916 – Negus Mikael, marching on the Ethiopian capital in support of his son Emperor Iyasu V, is defeated by Fitawrari abte Giyorgis, securing the throne for Empress Zewditu I. 1919 – The Fourth Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Oleksandrivsk. 1922 – A referendum in Rhodesia rejects the country's annexation to the South African Union. 1924 – The Uzbek SSR is founded in the Soviet Union. 1930 – Ratifications exchanged in London for the first London Naval Treaty go into effect immediately, further limiting the expensive naval arms race among its five signatories. 1936 – Mrs Wallis Simpson obtains her divorce, which would eventually allow her to marry King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, thus forcing his abdication from the throne.

[istanbulobelisk]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[lifestylehints]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[istanbullandmarks]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[istanbulpalaces]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[polygraphlife]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[fashionandhealthly]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[istist]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[daimondlifestyle]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[bookingistanbul]

The Maiden’s Stone

Martian’s Column, called Kiz-tashi (‘ The Maiden’s Stone ’) by the Turks, stands n what is now a garden attached to a Turkish private house, at the back of the Saddlebag bazaar. It is 33 feet high, of granite, with a Corinthian marble capital, and a cippus with an eagle at each corner. On it once stood the statue of the Emperor Marcian. The pedestal standing on three steps is ornamented with a crown of victory and a cross. The inscription, which is somewhat illegible owing to the worn condition of the inlaid metal characters composing it, runs: Principis hanc statuam Mar- ciani cerne torumque Dccius ter vovit quod Tatianus opus. The Tatian referred to was probably the city prefect.

Column of Arcadius, now called Avrat Task by the Turks, stands on the top of the seventh hill, on the site of the Forum of Arcadius; it was begun by Arcadius and completed by his son, Theodosius II., in 421 A.D. Earthquakes and frequent fires rendered this monument so unsafe that, in 1695, the greater part of it had to be pulled down, which reduced its height of 158 feet to 20 feet. The column was hollow, and a spiral staircase of some 233 steps, lit by some 56 loopholes, led to the top, which commanded a splendid view of the city and suburbs. The silver statue of Arcadius that stood on it fell during the earthquake of 740 A.D., and was never replaced. Winding round what yet remains of the column are a series of bas-reliefs, representing the Emperor’s victories over the Scythians. The interior of the pedestal is now the only accessible part. On the ceiling of one of the chambers composing it are the letters

AQUEDUCTS, CISTERNS, FOUNTAINS

The difficulty of supplying Constantinople with water has engaged the attention of successive emperors from Hadrian and Yalens down to the reigning Sultan. A supply was obtained by constructing large reservoirs in the neighbouring mountains, where the rain-water was collected, and whence it was conveyed by aqueducts to subterranean cisterns within the city. This system has, however, in recent years been to a great extent superseded by the construction of Lake Derkos waterworks, by means of which a French company, founded under an imperial charter, supplies the city with an abundance of very fair water.

The Aqueduct of Valens, called Bosdoghan Kem&ri by the Turks, is 1884 feet long, and was built by Yalens in 366 A.D. of stone taken from the walls of Chalcedon, when they were pulled down to punish the inhabitants of the suburb for having sided with Procopius against Yalens. It has been repaired successively by Theodosius, Justin II., and Constantine Copronymus; while, after the Turkish dominion set in, Suleiman the Magnificent caused it to be rebuilt almost from its foundations : hence the two different slyles of construction which Count Andreossi notices in it This aqueduct was carried on double arches, the lower of which is 32 feet high, and the upper 27 feet, begins in the At Bazaar quarter, not far from Sultan Muhammad’s mosque, and terminates at Shah Zadeh mosque. A guide, or a driver who knows the place well, is indispensable, as both the caretaker and the entrance to the aqueduct are difficult to find. The entrance is by no means conspicuous, and is next door to a coffee-house in a street leading to Sultan Muhammad’s mosque. Travellers are recommended to send the carriage on to the other end of the aqueduct to meet them. The charge of 10 piastres (Is. 8d.) per head for admission made by the caretaker is exorbitant.

[theperfumewarehouse]

Pick up Aventus 50ml Eau de Parfum by Creed for Men | ThePerfumeWarehouse

Hold Aventus 50ml Eau de Parfum by Creed for Men online from ThePerfumeWarehouse Australia.

Aventus celebrates strength, vision and success, inspired by the dramatic life of war, peace and romance lived by Emperor Napoleon. The bottle is emblazoned with a silver emblem of a horse and rider. The finest ingredients were hand-selected for this composition, and father and son developed this provocative, masculine and optimistic fragrance as a joint effort. Top notes: blackcurrant, bergamot, apple and pineapple. Heart: rose, dry birch, Moroccan jasmine and patchouli. Base: oak moss, musk, ambergris, and vanilla. Aventus is available in flacons of 30, 75, 120 and 250 ml. Aventus was launched in 2010. Aventus was created by Olivier Creed Sixth Generation and Erwin Creed Seventh Generation.

Based in Paris, CREED (www.creedboutique.com) is the world’s only dynastic, privately held luxury fragrance company, founded in 1760 and passed from father to son since then, serving royal houses and the discerning public for 251 years. Today the firm is

Top Note: Blackcurrant, Bergamot, Apple, Pineapple

Middle Note: Rose, Birch, Jasmine, Patchouli

Bottom Note: Oakmoss, Musk, Ambergris, Vanilla

Classification: Niche Fragrance

Family Name: Chypre Fruity

You will get a 5% discount for your first order by using the discount code DISCOUNT05 at checkout. We provide Genuine Perfumes, Safe Shopping and Live Support. Please visit our website:- https://theperfumewarehouse.com.au/collections/bottle?uff_vune2s_vendor=CREED

[dangermousie]

Mousie’s absolutely subjective, very biased Top 10 web novels list

Please note that this is hardly aiming to be objective, if one can even be properly objective about a work of fiction. It is 110% based on my preferences, which means this list is heavy on the angst and has nothing set in the modern day. It is also heavily danmei-centric, even though I read way more het romance than danmei, because for whatever reason, most of the danmei I’ve read has been insanely good.

10. Return of the Swallow - one of the two non-danmeis on this list. Smart and nuanced and with a large cast of characters. Our heroine is a long-lost daughter of the family that is brought back in and has to cope with familial struggles, crazy royals, court intrigue, invasion et al. It’s SO GOOD! There is romance with the sexy smart enemy general but honestly, it’s the heroine that is the main selling point for me.

9. Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - the only other non-danmei novel on this list, this was my very first web novel and what drew me into this insanity. This is just a ton of fun, probably the lightest novel on this list, not an ounce of angst to be found. But it’s hilarious and features competent heroine and tsundere hero and I will always love it for opening a new world to me. Anyway, our heroine transmigrates into the novel as the female lead. Unlike the original lead though she doesn’t want to seek adventures and angst - she just wants to comfortably live with the wealthy, nice husband heroine has. Alas, said husband is no longer nice since he has previously lived this story where he was betrayed by FL and then transmigrated/reincarnated into the past. Oh well, the heroine opens up businesses and makes friends. And eventually, her husband realizes his wife is way different this time around. This actually doesn’t have much romance, not until close to the end, but this is so fun I don’t care.

8. Lord Seventh - I am only partway through this so far, but it’s already on the list because it’s smart and somehow intense AND laid-back (not sure how this works, but it does) and is honestly just a really really solid and smart period novel, with the OTP a cherry on top of a narrative sundae. Plus, I love the concept of MC deciding he is not going for his supposedly fated love - he’s tried for six lifetimes, always with disaster, and he’s just plain done and tired. When he opens his life in his seventh reincarnation and sees the person he would have given up the world for, he genuinely feels nothing at all. (Spoiler - his OTP is actually a barbarian shaman this time around, thank you Lord!)

7. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS) - oh come on, how are you even on this tumblr if you don’t know MDZS/The Untamed? This was my very first danmei and it’s so much fun! I love everything about it - the unreliable narrator, the looping structure, the main OTP, Wei Wuxian’s laidback, traumatized insouciance, everything. Anyway, the plot in the event you somehow transported here from 2005 is that the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Wei Wuxian, was defeated by the righteous sects over a decade ago and fell of a cliff to his death. Only now that same Wei Wuxian opens his eyes in another body and everything that was supposed to stay in the past starts again.

6. Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF) - people either love its meandering narrative, picaresque structure and cast of thousands, or find it a detriment compared to much more compact MDZS. I love it even more than MDZS for those very qualities. It does have a rock-solid, darling OTP, but what really elevates it to me are the MXTX trademark combo of snarky/light tone hiding a ton of trauma underneath, the insanely intricate world-building, and what it has to say about the nature of grace and goodness. Xie Lian is one of my top 5 web novel characters and probably in top 10 from anywhere. Oh, and while MXTX’s stuff is not as angsty for me as Meatbun’s or even Priest’s, there are always exceptions, and there is one chapter in this novel that pretty much broke me and sometimes I still flashback to it and feel unwell.

Anyway, what is it about? There is a commotion in the heavenly realm - Xie Lian, the Crown Prince of a long-destroyed kingdom, has ascended to Godhood. That in itself is not so exciting. However for Xie Lian this is the third time (!!!!) as he’s ascended and lost his godhood twice prior. And now, the biggest joke of the divine realm is back, throwing the heavenly realm into chaos. And elsewhere, Hua Cheng, one of the four most powerful demons of that Universe, sits up and takes notice.

5. Golden Stage - my perfect comfort novel. Probably the least angsty of any danmei novel on this list (which still means plenty angsty :P) It also has a dedicated, smart OTP that is an OTP for the bulk of the book - I think you will notice that in most of the novels in this list, I go for “OTP against the world” trope - I can’t stand love triangles and the same. Anyway, Fu Shen, is a famous general whose fame is making the emperor antsy. When he gets injured and can’t walk any more, the emperor gladly recalls him and marries him off to his most faithful court lackey, the head of sort of secret police, Yan Xiaohan. The emperor intends it both as a check on the general and a general spite move since the two men always clash in court whenever they meet. But not all is at is seems. They used to be friends a long time ago, had a falling out, and one of the loveliest parts of the novel is them finding their way to each other, but there is also finding the middle path between their two very different philosophies and ways of being, not to mention solving a conspiracy or dozen, and putting a new dynasty on the throne, among other things. It always makes me think, a little, of “if Mei Changsu x Jingyan were canon.”

4. Sha Po Lang - if you like a lot of fantasy politics and world-building and steampunk with your novels, this one is for you. This one is VERY plot-heavy with smart, dedicated characters and a deconstruction of many traditional virtues - our protagonist Chang Geng, a long-lost son of the Emperor, is someone who wants to modernize the country but also take down the current emperor his brother for progress’ sake and the person he’s in love with is the general who saved him when he was a kid who is nominally his foster father. Anyway, the romance is mainly a garnish in this one, not even a big side dish, but the relationship between two smart, dedicated, deadly individuals with very different concepts of duty is fascinating long before it turns romantic. And if you like angst, while overall it’s not as angsty as e.g., Meatbun stuff, Chang Geng’s childhood is the stuff of nightmares and probably freaks me out more than anything else in any novel on this list, 2ha included.

3. To Rule In a Turbulent World (LSWW) - gay Minglan. No seriously. This is how I think of it. it’s a slice of life period novel with fascinating characters and setting that happens to have a gay OTP, not a romance in a period setting per se and I always prefer stories where the romance is not the only thing that is going on. It’s meticulously written and smart and deals with character development and somehow makes daily minutia fascinating. Our protagonist, You Miao, is the son of a fabulously wealthy merchant, sent to the capital to make connections and study. As the story starts, he sees his friend’s servants beating someone to death, feels bad, and buys him because, as we discover gradually and organically, You Miao may be wealthy and occasionally immature but he is a genuinely good person. The person he buys is a barbarian from beyond the wall, named Li Zhifeng. It’s touch and go if the man will survive but eventually he does and You Miao, who by then has to return home, gives him his papers and lets him go. However, LZF decides to stick with You Miao instead, both out of sense of debt for YM saving his life and because he genuinely likes him (and yet, there is no instalove on either of their parts, their bodies have fun a lot quicker than their souls.) Anyway, the two take up farming, get involved in the imperial exams and it’s the life of prosperity and peace, until an invasion happens and things go rapidly to hell. This is so nuanced, so smart (smart people in this actually ARE!) and has secondary characters who are just as complex as the mains (for example, I ended up adoring YM’s friend, the one who starts the plot by almost beating LZF to death for no reason) because the novel never forgets that few people are all villain. There is a lovely character arc or two - watching YM grow up and LZF thaw - there is the fact that You Miao is a unicorn in web novels being laid back and calm. This whole thing is a masterpiece.

2. Stains of Filth (Yuwu) - want the emotional hit of 2ha but want to read something half its length? Well, the author of 2ha is here to eviscerate you in a shorter amount of time. This has the beautiful world-building, plot twists that all make sense and, at the center of it all, an intense and all-consuming and gloriously painful relationship between two generals - one aristocratic loner Mo Xi, and the other gregarious former slave general Gu Mang. Once they were best friends and lovers, but when the novel starts, Gu Mang has long turned traitor and went to serve the enemy kingdom and has now been returned and Mo Xi, who now commands the remnants of his slave army, has to cope with the fact that he has never been able to get over the man who stabbed him through the heart. Literally. This novel has a gorgeously looping structure, with flashbacks interwoven into present storyline. There is so much love and longing and sacrifice in this that I am tearing up a bit just thinking of it. If you don’t love Mo Xi and Gu Mang, separately and together, by the end of it, you have no soul.

1. The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha/erha) - if you’ve been following my tumblr for more than a hot second, you know my obsession with this novel. Honestly, even if I were to make a list of my top 10 novels of any kind, not just webnovels, this would be on the list. It has everything I want - a complicated, intricate plot with an insane amount of plot twists, all of which are both unexpected and make total sense, a rich and large cast of characters, a truly epic OTP that makes me bawl, emotional intensity that sometimes maxes even me out and so much character nuance and growth. Also, Moran is my favorite web novel character ever, hands down.

Anyway, the plot (or at least the way it first appears) is that the evil emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian Jun, kills himself at 32 and wakes up in the body of his 16 year old self, birth name Moran. Excited to get a redo, Moran wants to save his supposed true love Shimei, whose death the last go-around pushed him towards evil. He also wants to avoid entanglement with Chu Wanning, his shizun and sworn enemy in past life. And that’s all you are best off knowing, trust me. The only hint I am going to give is oooh boy the mother of all unreliable narrators has arrived!

The novel starts light and funny on boil the frog principle - if someone told me I would be full bawling multiple times with this novel, I’d have thought they were insane, but i swear my eyes hurt by the end of it. I started out being amused and/or disliking the mains and by the end I would die for either of them.