#Muse | Romulus

[luxmaeastra]

The kingdom thrived as the cove was diverted back. The wards Romulus remembered from a lifetime ago blazed here.

Nox answered why question he threw at him. Till,

"How does this end Nox?"

Nox looked past the buildings to the horizon. To where the Chalkydri kingdoms laid. He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair.

"I already warned Raelyn. But this ends with them throwing everything at us. We have Draven and Verena and their Wyrdkeys. We have Rivitus and the Augurs. We have our Queen, we are a threat like we were in the height of Tehome's power. We were the first city to defect from her. And we have payed that price ever since."

A hardness slid into his eyes as he looked back at him.

"What happens next is up to us Romulus. We should make it count."

A kingdom which stood in the face of oppression, a kingdom which stood in the defence of the ones who really didn’t fit the tilts of Mother and Father - no they deserved better titles than that. A kingdom which had been a home that she had once walked in, he had been so young back then when they had been there last. He remembered his mothers and father walking with him and those of his siblings who had been born, a sense of peace and happiness.

Romulus stood quietly as he looked across the battlements and towards the horizon as he felt something within him churn, his head rose slightly as he remembered everything his siblings who were there had went through. Rivitus had found his own way, he had carved a path for himself. Then Raelyn, she had gone through every trial she was meant to go through without question - even if she did not realize she was going through it at that time.

“Then they will learn it will not fall easily,” he responded with a small nod. “I will be leaving for only a little while, I have to return to my mate and our nest and update her. I also need to go visit Valentina, someone who was close to Raelyn, who had been looking after her children. I imagine she will want them close.”

[lionofchaeronea]

Hersilia Separating Romulus and Tatius, Guercino, 1645

[maleficusbonum]

Ok, sad talk.

I read this fanficrion that had Call having tried to have romantic relationships in the past, but never let anyone get too close to her for fear they find out she's an android and reject her.

What if that's really happened? What if she fell in love, everything was going great, she thought they were the one, blah, blah, and then something happens and her white blood shows or something and the person recoils in disgust and just storms off on her, telling her they never want to see her again.

And my other sad thought; not only has Call come to believe that everyone she meets is going to be disgusted she's not human, but then there's the freaks that are delighted she's not and fetishize her.

Of course she'd never want to be touched again.

[freeusemuses]

During the outbreak in V2

Opal: Rome, where's your scroll!?

Romulus: In my pocket! *wearing combat cargo pants*

Opal: Which pocket!?

Romulus: My back pocket!

Opal: WHICH BACK POCKET!? YOU HAVE TEN-!!

Romulus: LEFT CHEEK!! LEFT CHEEK!! LEFT CHEEK!!

[fractalcloning]

As I scream into the void seeking a Narek RPer to play against, I have finally caved and must explain why I want this Romulan loungelizard to be more popular. (It won't happen, but I can dream.)

Reasons I like Narek as a character that nobody but me gives a shit about:

Let me preface this with a fact about me: I know Romulans.

I've RPed as Nero for almost two straight years in a large game. I've basically learned Rihannsu back to front for the endeavor. The person who played my Ayel and I both dumped countless hours into developing grammar and extrapolating cultural rules. We were dedicated to making them as believeable and accurate to canon as possible.

I have the whole timeline of the destruction of Hobus/Romulus down to memory. I know about all the neat little tidbits and trivia from comics and adjacent materials etc, etc.

This is to say: I have read and written quite a lot about Romulans in my time. I am very familiar with how they work and what data is available to draw from when writing them.

We do meet a few rank and file military Romulans from time to time, however. So we know how the general military operates in direct contrast to the Tal'Shiar. Caution and secrecy is sort of baked into their culture, which makes a lot of sense given that they're constantly at war with basically everyone, but they aren't (generally) unreasonable people.

In canon Trek, Romulans are often a little over the top with the sneaky-backstabbing-untrustworthy-nonsense. They're almost comical with how much scheming they do, but most of the Romulans we meet in canon are Tal'Shiar. The Tal'Shiar are known, pretty explicitly for the depth and breadth of their sneaky-backstabbing-untrustworthy-nonsense. It's kind of their whole deal, apart from mnhei'sahe (literally the ruling passion honor).

Narek, however, was a child when Hobus went supernova. He is from the very last generation that had any living memory of Romulus. (Elnor is also from this generation and they are great foils for each other, but that's another essay.) Narek is from a (presumably) respected family of--if not Tal'Shiar then Military--operatives. His aunt held high rank, his sister did as well, and both were inducted into the Zhat Vash, an organization that worked so quietly and efficiently that even the famously paranoid Tal'Shiar thought they were a myth. They orchestrated catastrophes and manipulated Galactic law to their ends, one of their members was the head of Starfleet Security and Narissa was on a personal basis with her.

Their underlying culture is present, but it isn't explored very deeply in any one canon source. Taken collectively, however, it is just as substantial as Klingon Battle-lust or Ferengi Capitalism.

Nero was a break from the norm, not because he was vengeful, but because he was the first non-military Romulan we'd ever really seen. His designs, the tattoos, the crew of his ship with their very un-Romulan loyalty, the way he talked and sought equivalent exchange of lives (mnhei'sahe), was a wealth of Romulan culture that we hadn't ever seen. He was a regular Joe, had a regular non-Military job, trusted and worked with aliens to try and save lives. His failure (not his fault) was something he absorbed and sought to rectify in the Romulan way.

Nero was super interesting both for how much detail he cast on Romulan culture, and in how he slotted into the Prime Timeline. Nero was a guy desperately clinging to hope, to the last vestiges of his civilian life, but he was cut free by the destruction of Romulus and set adrift. The only anchor he had in the AOS timeline was his honor and the driving need to balance the scales and restore it.

Narek, however privledge his family was, was a washout. He was a failure. We know he wasn't Zhat Vash, and whether he was even Tal'Shiar is up for some serious speculation. He doesn't act like military officers, and only seems to be play-acting as a Tal'Shiar, miming his sister when it suits him.

Narek may have had authority on the Artifact, but it was probably by dint of Oh granting it. We never get any clarification whatsoever about his rank or dayjob, just that he is fully devoted to helping the Zhat Vash. He is analytical, prepared, but he is not good at thinking on his feet and clearly does his planning off screen. He's meticulous but not especially skilled at hiding or regulating his emotional state. He is far less aggressive and stalwart than just about every other Romulan we've seen...except for Nero.

He was literally a placeholder sent to keep tabs on Soji. He didn't even arrive until Narissa had failed to capture Dahj. That Narek managed to get close to Soji, that he discovered her dreams and correctly surmised what they are, was more luck than skill. Before his assessments the Zhat Vash knew that Dahj (and Soji) could be activated out of their cover, but they assumed that they could capture them. They probably assumed they could torture the data out of them, if not dissect them and rip out a harddrive.

Narek found an easy way to get right to the information they needed. His attachment to Romulan culture is his puzzlebox--Before Nero we had never met a Romulan civilian and before Narek we have never met a cultural Romulan who plays with a toy, we had never seen a child's toy like that. Of course, the puzzlebox (Tan Zhekran) was a mechanism to illustrate his thought process, to make the differences between Narissa and him very apparent, but it was also something from his childhood (presumably). It's a weirdly personal affect for a Romulan and he fidgets with it almost constantly. It's a tell, something he shouldn't have, and it makes him accessible on an emotional level.

Narek is a civilian.

He's a civilian in a family of spies and operatives, raised alongside his sister on the same stories, with the same care. There's no way a Zhat Vash didn't have a family home on Romulus. While Elnor is a nice example of the new generation of Romulans, Narek is one of the last examples of what is used to mean to be a Romulan. He saw Romulus and escaped with all his surviving family when it as it was destroyed. Narek was raised on Romulan tradition (private names for family), Romulan stories about the end of the world, and he is haunted by them because he knows they're true, they're real. His sister and aunt have seen it, seen the message that drives people mad, about Ganmadan. His living relatives have dedicated their lives to preventing it and, even if he isn't actually Zhat Vash, he does the same.

Narek is a failure, by his culture's standards, by his family's standards, but he is also the only one of them who lives in the end.

He's a civilian who is trying, desperately, to avert another Romulan apocalypse. He has already lived through one and somehow this next one is even worse. Like Nero he sees the writing on the wall--but instead of doubling down on the traditional sneaky spy shit, he tries something new--unlike Nero, it works! He makes headway where nobody else could.

Unfortunately, it's kinda fucked up, but he then gives up everything in the pursuit of this goal. (Which to him, seems like a noble one.) Narek gives up who he is (by playing at being Tal Shiar), his safety (he has no idea what Soji is capable of or what might set her off, they only have records of Dahj killing a dozen agents before being blown up), and eventually resigns himself to killing the woman he's fallen in love with (the baseline requirement for giving out his real name). He does it all for the greater good, to save people and he doesn't seem to make much of a distinction between Romulan and other organic lives. He has his little plans, tracking La Sirena in a single cloaked ship, hiding his presence to tail them, firing on them despite being wholly outmatched, allying with Sutra however temporarily, trying to sway Soji again, turning to Rios, Raffi, and Elnor for help--he's willing to do anything because he's terrified that everything is about to end and it will be him who failed to prevent it.

The very last shot we see of him, after his plan to detonate the transmitter fails completely, is him on the ground being dragged away by the Coppelius androids. He doesn't posture or threaten, doesn't say ominous shit like the other Romulans we're used to--He begs. He claws at the ground, trying to stay, and he begs. He pleads with Soji, calls her his love, tries that last ditch hail mary because it's all he can do. He fails his task and she's the last person he can reach out to and, in the end, despite the very real threat to her life, Planet, and Picard, Soji smashes the transmitter. The apocalypse is averted.

Narek failed but he also succeeded. His aunt is dead, Oh has been outed as a traitor, and his sister is killed by Seven of Nine. In a cut scene, apparently, Narek was supposed to be arrested by Starfleet. So he's facing (at the very least) retribution from the androids and the ExBorg. Starfleet is very likely to arrest and interrogate him, if not imprison him indefinitely since he has ties to the Zhat Vash and, subsequently, will be on the hook to explain the Utopia Planetia disaster. Soji hates him, for good reason, and his homeworld is long gone. Narek has nothing...but the world was saved.

Narek is singular because he's all about needing and interacting with other people, he has no real authority, nobody he commands. He's a civilian (insofar as any Romulan can be) and is a soft, emotional boy who hangs on to his childhood toys. He's driven in equal parts by fear and a deep sense of failure, like everyone else in the show, and he takes the steps that seem right and necessary to him (also like everyone else on the show).

Narek was a great contrast against Elnor in every possible way--from his evasiveness to his fear of death--and he was a great foil for Soji. On Coppelius, Soji's terror clouds her judgment and she very nearly does terrible things to protect herself. Her actions, her opinions, her hesitation were all driven by fear. The ends seemed to justify the means. She reflects Narek's state for the whole show. Season 1 is about finding safety and meaning.

Narek is afraid for the whole duration of the show and his choices all reflect that same desperate need to find permanent safety, to live. Soji exists on the peripheral of that with the Ex-Borg, and as a synthetic, and then she falls headlong into it after his betrayal. Narek regrets trying to kill her and the symbolism of his losing that box, of him trying to kill her in a room that is so very culturally Romulan, right after telling her his name, makes it very clear that killing her is killing some piece of himself. But the ends justify the means. He can and will give up everything to save the world.

And his last line in the show is desperately pleading with the woman he loves as he's dragged away.

Then we never see him again or get anything resembling closure for Soji or Narek.

Which I will be big mad about forever, because they didn't even get the bare minimum acknowledgement and closure of "moving on and living life is paramount because it is finite and beautiful ". Nope. Nothing. I'm furious forever.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. I hope if Star Trek Legacy happens we get Narek as a sort of...side character creeper informant ala Garak. I also hope we get Soji on Seven's Enterprise because I love her.

[stclker]

Ellen going all mama mode, gathering all alien survivors under her wing-

[nancydrewwouldnever]

I'm torn on if I think this is a cute nostalgic way to honor the anniversary of the first ever Alien movie, or if it's just weird cash grab marketing. I found it hilarious they had to describe it as a "fully functional VHS" in the press release.

[alteregozowie]

He's going to the picture show this evening. Alastor will be unavailable for the next few hours.

[transviktortalis]

also havent seen anyone talk about how much the [you know who] looks like the engineers!

down to the black eyes, baldness, and nose bridge! just super interesting that the goop would turn a human into something that resembles the progenitor species

[luxmaeastra]

The Kingdom was dying, barely clinging on. The Cove had once lowed through it now it had been diverted. The Asteri took and took, leaving this spot of land dying and dead.

The Prince turned from the Augurs Hall looking up at the Midnight Sun. At least they'd found one their Queen. He would need to retrieve her, that was easy enough.

This wasn't his kingdom anyway, he'd restore the bloodline.

--------

He slid the paper to Raelyn looking to Romulus and back to Raelyn.

"Your bonds had been broken, both of yours. You can be tracked. You -"

He swallowed trying to keep his composure.

"You can home. Your people are waiting for you Raelyn."

"And how do we have any claim to this land?"

The Prince frowned and tilted his head.

"Your mother's kingdom. My family took it over but I refuse to sit on a stolen throne."

The paper rested upon the table in front of her, her eyes looked at the ink that stood stark upon the page. His words seemed to close in on her, the doors of something which had once been locked away opened.

She could come home, she had a people who were waiting for her. Her head turned as she looked towards Romulus, valid questions were presented.

Their mother’s kingdom.

“Amaya…” Romulus whispered as the images of his youth had slowly started to return, as the beautiful Valkyrie who had been their mother rose in his mind. A mother that Raelyn had never met, but gained life from.

“Why now?” Raelyn finally spoke up. “You said your father took over, that your family had the throne. Why wait until now?”

She didn’t want to turn away what was their’s, but did she have a right.

“Our mother would have wanted you to have it Raelyn, she wanted each of us to thrive, to grow, to achieve great things…”

[freeusemuses]

Sky/Romulus:

[no-144444]

Omg I need more of cherry kisses

canada- faking it au

꩜summary: you come to montreal

꩜pairing: fakeboyfriend! lando norris x fem! fakegirlfriend! actress! reader

Canada. Your management thought it would be good to be spotted at the race since the whole hard-launch happened in Miami. You didn’t really want to come, but… you had contractual obligations to fulfil. You dragged David and Isabel with you, for moral support. They didn't know you and Lando weren’t real, but you did plan on telling them, depending on how today went. Alien: Romulus was going well, you’d just finished up filming in LA, and you had two more weeks of shooting before you moved onto another project. 

“Why do you have to do this again?” David asked, slotting into the seat beside you in the car. He was reading something on his phone, but he’d listened to enough of your bitching last night to realise you didn’t want to watch cars go around and around in oddly-shaped circles from the garage of the guy you hated. 

“Because I like Lando,” you answered plainly, ignoring how lackluster of a performance it was. 

“How much?” he mused. You gave him a look, and he held his hands up in surrender. “A lot, then.”

You chuckled. David was great. He was quickly becoming your best mate on set, second to Isabel, of course. Speaking of her, she slotted right in next to him, then closed the door. “Wow,” she sighed. “I am still exhausted.” 

“I know, right?” you turned your attention to her. “Training has been brutal.” 

The three of you ended up in a very animated conversation about how you were being beaten and bruised by your stunt coordinators, and how exhausted work had been for the past few months. 

Lando was full of nervous energy. He paced the papaya-coloured motorhome, waiting for his PA to tell him you’d arrived. He hated this. He hated the awkward hugs and pretend kisses, he hated watching the facade fall the second the camera was down, and he hated dragging you all the way to a track just to snap some photos. Most of all, he hated the way his fans were treating you already. He’d seen  posts upon posts dissecting every single moment between the two of you, all the comments full of nasty comments and down-right abuse. 

“The car has arrived,” Harry (his PA) called from the other side of his driver’s room door. “Do you want-”

“Bring me, please,” he flung the door open and followed behind Harry. This was stupid. The way his heart was practically palpitating was stupid. The amount of anxiety and nerves in his system was stupid. Harry gave him a look, just a subtle smile, and Lando rolled his eyes. “Just… don’t want to be a dick, yeah?” 

Harry nodded, a knowing smile on his face. “I get what you mean,” he chuckled. “Just that you’re putting a lot of effort into that.”

He knew Harry was right, and he genuinely tried not to give a shit, but it wasn’t easy. You were just so… you. And he was so… him. He didn’t know how to explain it, but he wanted to impress, and he wanted you to care like he cared. “Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s a you thing,” Harry shrugged. “Maybe just… calm it a little. Don’t scare her off.” 

“I’m not going to- oh shit,” Lando slammed the door closed when he saw the first glimpse of you and your friends. God, that was a little pathetic, wasn’t it? Harry burst out laughing and Lando freezed, thinking about what he had done. “I’m so pathetic-”

“Are you actually in love with her or something?” Harry chuckled. He stopped when Lando didn’t answer. “Holy shit you are,” he gasped. “Lando, it’s part of the contract-” 

“It’s not. And I’m not, alright? Just… let me get ready for the race on my own, alright?” Lando chewed on his cheek as Harry left with a giggle. 

“I’ll send her in,” he smirked and Lando’s face dropped when the door opened and he saw you waiting there. 

“Hey,” you smiled with a wave of your hand. “Can we come in or…?” 

“Yeah baby, course,” what was he saying? When in the world had he ever called you baby before? He swallowed, hard, and smiled at your friends behind you. “Hey,” he smiled at them, shaking their hands. “I’m Lando.”

“Lando, these are my friends David,” you explained as he shook David’s hand. “And Isabel.” “Thanks so much for having us,” Isabel smiled. “I love F1 so this is super cool!” 

Lando smiled. If he could talk anything, he could talk cars. “That’s great, have a favourite team?” he mused, a cheeky grin on his face. “Doesn’t have to be McLaren.” 

She laughed. “Well yeah, sadly I’m tifosi, so a lot of depression there,” she admitted, and you all laughed. “But I can appreciate the rocketship you guys are building.”

Lando giggled. “Thank you.”

“We’d better head out for the photo op,” David reminded you, a hand on your lower back. Lando stiffened beside you and took your hand in his. “We were behind time getting here.” 

“Oh yeah, course-” you started to pull away from behind Lando, but he pulled you back, your front against his, his hands on your waist, all his attention on you. 

“Mind if I steal you for a few minutes?” he pleaded, his voice low. “Missed you.” 

Your cheeks heated at the attention and you gulped. “A few minutes, yeah sure,” you nodded, then turned your attention to David and Isabel. “You two go ahead, I’ll follow.”

They nodded and left, though Isabel had a smirk on her face and David was clenching his jaw. 

“What’s up?” you questioned, dropping from his grasp. 

“We need photo ops too,” he sighed, his voice low. He held up his phone and you rolled your eyes. 

“We have all the time in the world to-”

“I don’t,” he reminded you. “In 4 minutes Jon is coming in here and I literally won’t get to talk to you for the rest of the day.” 

“Make it quick then,” you rolled your eyes, nodding. He hid the flash of a smirk on his lips quite well. Not well enough though. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” 

“Whatever you say, pretty girl,” again, what was he saying? “Ready?” 

You fixed your hair a little, and nodded. He leaned in and kissed you, your hands holding either side of his face as you both relaxed into it. He forgot about the picture and focused more on kissing you, but he felt the way you hit his leg to remind him. He did actually have to post something about you, it was just a bonus that it got you away from David. He lifted his phone to take a picture of the two of you in the mirror, full-on snogging. He snapped a few and pulled back. You snatched the phone out of his hand and looked through them. 

“Theses are… fine,” you nodded. “Post them.”

He snaked a hand around your waist. “Not so fast, pretty girl. I post photo dumps, not singular pictures,” he reminded you with a smirk and you rolled your eyes again. He positioned you in front of him in the mirror, and turned you to face him.

“What is this?” you questioned. He placed your arms around his neck and smiled down at you. 

“Shows off the height difference,” he shrugged cheekily and you let out a genuine sigh. “People love it.” 

You, again, sighed (quite loudly) and he giggled again. “Come on, pose.”  “Tell me if they can see my ass,” you added. He felt that same burn in his chest- indigestion, right? You were wearing a pretty short dress (which obviously didn't bother him) and jacket you had discarded at the door when you walked in. 

“No one else sees that-”

“You don’t see that Lando,” you scoffed. “Act accordingly.” 

He laughed against your neck and snapped another few photos. You disconnected from each other and he watched your every move. “Anything else Mr. Photographer?” you asked. 

“Don’t you need some pictures?” he smirked. 

“I need to go get my photo op with my castmates,” you reminded him, but didn’t budge. “David has already texted me one.” 

Lando’s jaw clenched. “Oh yeah? Maybe I’ll walk you there, just so we can be seen together and all.” 

You shook your head, a practically sadistic smile on your face. “Oh, that’s alright, thanks though.” 

The way he stalked your instagram should’ve been studied. You’d ignored his request for you to join him at dinner, only to find out on your insta story that you had gone out sight-seeing with David, Isabel too tired to join you. He felt something twist in his stomach as he scrolled through the pictures. He knew where you were, and a very large part of him wanted to go out just to ‘accidentally’ meet up with you. But he couldn’t. Team dinner and drinks with Zak, checking in on his mental state. 

“You’re frowning,” Zak pointed out over their dinner. “What’s up?” The restaurant was one of those nice, up-market places Zak always loved, they served the same food as some of the hidden gems Lando usually favoured, just with a bigger number beside the menu items. Lando had noticed that Zak was one of those rich men that liked to show they were rich in subtle ways. Expensive dinners every night, expensive watches, expensive suits, etc. Lando shook his head, turned off his phone, and sighed. “Nothing. Y/n’s just being a bit… hard to pin down.”

“How so?” Zak mused. 

“She’s out with her castmate even though we had dinner plans tonight.,” he admitted, taking another bite of his food.

“Complain to her lawyers, that’ll get you to the top of the priority list,” Zak offered. “And either way, all you need is a photo together.”

Lando nodded, but that bile in his throat burned pretty badly. 

Despite your aversion to it, you were standing in Lando’s garage as he got ready for quali. You were holding his gloves for him, helmet to your left, and you felt the cameras on you. It was a bit… awkward. Anyone in their right mind could tell this was a pr move, but still, they lapped it up, for better or for worse. He flashed you a smirk and a wink as he walked over, his lips immediately finding yours when he got to you. “Looking beautiful,” he whispered as he pulled back. “Have something for me, pretty girl?” he smirked. 

You stopped yourself from rolling your eyes and smiled back at him, handing him his helmet (which he quickly pulled on) and then his gloves. You leaned over the barrier and pressed a kiss to the side of the helmet, your lipstick leaving a mark. You knew people would lose their minds. 

So did he. 

“Who’re you texting?” he asked, his leg bouncing up and down under the table. He'd been waiting to ask that for a good 20 minutes.

You shook your head and turned off your phone. “Just David. Explaining how F1 works.”

Lando’s entire body stiffened. “So what’s up with you two?” 

You stared at him, mid bite. “What?” 

“He’s clearly in love with you, you brush it off… what’s going on there?” he sniffled, every single pore oozing insecurity, though he hoped you wouldn’t notice. 

You scoffed. “Ha-ha,” you deadpanned. “Hilarious Lando, good one.” 

“I’m not laughing,” he scoffed. “Tell him to back off.” 

“Tell him yourself,” you dismissed. “He’s my mate, am I not allowed mates?”

“Not mates who put the contract in danger,” he shook his head. Your jaw dropped open at his audacity. 

“Do you get off on pulling up the contract every four minutes?” you sneered. “Seriously, do you have a hard-on right now because you get to hold it over my head?”

“It’s not like a forced you into the contract Y/n, you chose-”

“I know exactly what I signed,” your tone was demanding, and he shut up immediately. “And I didn’t sign up for an insecure boyfriend. I signed up for a boyfriend who got posted on my account, and in return, I’m posted on his account. I go to a few races and you come to set. We’re not together. Not for real. Right?”

He nodded. “I just don’t want him getting the wrong idea.” 

“I can take care of myself,” you gritted out. “Now butt-out of my relationships, thanks.”

He bit his tongue and continued on with the meal, but he felt that deep unease in his stomach. This wasn't easy, and you seriously weren't making it any easier.

landonorris

liked by pierregasly, davidjonsson, yourusername and 1,209 others

landonorris Will keep on pushing tomorrow, starting second row always feels good :)

comments

pierregasly bro thinks he's slick -> lanodnorris bro thinks he's not getting blocked!

user423 NO NOT THE SLUT PLEASE NO LANDO ->user53 what is your problem?

user99 gold digger

yourusername :) ->liked by landonorris ->user412 ewwww she's in the comments now

user88 who tf is this guy and why does he have his hands all ove rmy princess y/n?

user4231 coming in to spread hate!

user21 am I the only one who thinks they're adorable...?

user243 ew

user8290 hope you crash :)

landonorris's story, 11:09am, 8 of June 2024

[caption: missed this one]

yourusername

liked by davidjonsson, landonorris, oscarpiastri and 3,924,942 others

yourusername montreal so far :)

comments are limited for this post

isabelamerced walking him like a dog? -> liked by yourusername

landonorris who's that cutie in the middle picture? -> yourusername I wonder...

navigation for my blog :)

mclaren masterlist

faking it au masterlist

taglist: (just comment to be added!)

@n3versatisfied @quinquinquincy @paucubarsisimp @htpssgavi @sarx164 @freyathehuntress @martygraciesversion381 @wolflover384 @gnarlycore

[pyogokunk]

Il Sogno di Machiavelli

Machiavelli and his muses

Livy / Niccolò Machiavelli / Cesare Borgia

Remus / Romulus

Dante Alighieri / Virgil

Hannibal Barca / Scipio Africanus

Marcus Junius Brutus / Cicero / Lucius Junius Brutus

Augustus and Julius Caesar

[freeusemuses]

Romulus: Ohhhhh that's unfair! They both let me twist them into pretzels when we're in bed ... and sometimes in public. And I love them both. But Rumi is my sweet fun bun.

Romulus, this or that: Rumi or Juri?

[amythestalithia]

Mars's life

Aeneas and his followers hate every god that wasn't on Troy's side and have taken an oath to never again utter their names

But the Olympians are also too powerful to slight. So they come up with new epithets. And because it's Olympians, they try to keep the disrespect to a minimum, we're innocent little men who only pray to Neptune to stop sea disasters and as sailors, Minevra is our go to wisdom and craft goddess this is not troy trauma and we would totally arm her again but Mars is enough for now, and so on.

Perselena helps them. The Trojans were under the assumption that she was the goddess of battle tactics, naval war, the wells of the polis, loyalty and heroes. So they call her Fides and title her Fonsia for the fountain she gave them, and forget she's a goddess of other things as well. Also, pray to her for strategy and not just tactics. Because war and warfare are a more romantic pairing, they said.

Fides helped raise Romulus and Remus so she got more power in Rome as their divine mother, wife of their patron god.

She had a hand in raising all of the important Roman heroes.

During the Republic era, she founded the 13th legion and its camp, then named Camp of the Divine Youth, and only interacted with them.

Between the First and Second Punic Wars, in 230 BC, Bellona was born to Mars and Fides.

Mars is Ares, he has all those memories, he's just more of a commander than a soldier.

Apollo suffers from having all of his legitimate children being named the children of various muses, Anteros becoming his child instead of Neptune's.

Fides is just vibing. She has demigods to raise, emperors to curse, soldiers to bless. Also lives underwater most of the time because the Romans only have her and Triton as Neptune and Salacia's kids, and everyone else decided they were taking the out and enjoying themselves. So two people for the royal duties.

Fides and Triton are closer and thought of as twins most of the time. If you disrespect Fides, the terrifying sea prince will drown you. That's where he gets the ugly look, too.

Mars is potrayed as a cheater alongside Aphrodite, because some of his sons took umbrage to Mater Heroum sharing her husband.

Not much changes in rome.

[stardancerluv]

What the Emperor Wants

Part Five

Summary: Geta speaks with his brother. Reader speaks with a trusted servant.

Notes/Warnings: mentions of ownership, mentions of viewed gender (in Ancient Rome), discussion of intimacy, quote from the famous Virgil in is italics.

❤️s, comments, reblogs & feedback are welcome and appreciated!

Carcalla turned sharply, his eyes were slits as he looked at him. “How dare you?” He snarled.

Geta rose his eyebrows. “How dare I?”

“Yes. In front of what? Her? She is nothing.” Caracalla, cackled once again.

Geta closed what little distance was between them. “She is mine. She is my property. Eventually, I may or may not free her but still then, you dare lay another finger on her and you may learn to regret it.”

Caracalla’s eyes grew but then they narrowed again as a wet chuckle escaped his cruel mouth.

“Oh? Are you getting sentimental?” His lips curled. “Do you need to buy the ones you sleep with?”

“Silence your voice.”

Caracalla finally was silent.

He had better realize, he was in know mood for his games.

“I am having a dinner here tonight with some of those insufferable senators, you can stay or you can go out with your cohorts but don’t you dare cause another scene.”

“There of no concern for me brother. I will let you handle them.”

With a swish of his robes he left. Geta’s stomach churned. He had been so relaxed, so calm and now he saw red.

Going to one of the adjacent rooms, he went and sighed once in the cooler room. It helped to calm his thudding heart. Seeing one of the tellings of August going to Germania was laying on one of the tables from the last time he was there. He ran his fingers over the papyrus before unrolling more of it, letting his eyes drift over the words.

He’d call someone to read some poetry. He was in no mood for some of the long discussions those senators enjoyed having.

*******

Once back in your small room, you finally let the tears fall down your cheeks. You could never understand the sharp difference Geta and Caracalla. How they were borne from the same woman, always surprised you. You were reminded of the tales of Romulus and Remus, your mother spoke of. Though, you truly hoped that Geta and Caracalla would not end up like they did.

It was the one moment, you doubted that Geta could possibly lose in such an instance. May the mighty Jupiter keep him safe, you quietly prayed.

Carcalla was far more brutal, more blood thirsty then Geta from what you had heard and observed. You worried if things came to that, who would be the victor and what would happen to you. Now Geta protected you, but how long would that last. Was it possible that he’d discard you like an old, worn rug or put you down like a wounded animal that could not heal.

All these musings swirled around you as you sat there, still shaking after Caracalla pushed you across the atrium.

*******

Thy son in Italy shall wage vast war
and, quell its nations wild; his city-wall
and sacred laws shall be a mighty bond
about his gathered people.

“Yes! That is how is shall always be!” Geta held his goblet up high. “And my general, Marcus Acacius shall wield our finest steel and strike fear in all that oppose us!”

Cheers, sounds of agreement filled the room.

Relief had filled you as you watched the good humors and contentment in Geta, the earlier feelings of worry gone and long forgotten.

Marcus Acacius, bowed his head and smiled as he looked back up. “Thank you sire.”

You took, a sip from your own goblet and before once again resting your hands back into your lap. The poetry of the man known as Virgil and the savory food filled everyone. They were warmed and had a healthy flush of color in them. It was all this that brightened the room more then even the candles that were placed all around.

As you glanced up towards the inky heavens, even the stars were far more brilliant then recently. You were very pleased, to be sitting beside Geta through in all.

******

“Your presence had calmed and pleased Geta tonight. That may mean, he will come for you.” Aelia told you softly as she undid the ribbons that had held your hair in.

“Oh? Shall it hurt ?” A slice of worry cut through you.

“He is in good spirits. There may only be a temporary discomfort but if he wants to keep the good humors.”

Taking a comb, she began to slide it through your strands.

“He may make sure sure it is only for the initial moments. Just keep on breathing, do not bottle up your breaths.”

“Do we as women ever enjoy it or is that only a prospect of intimacy lay with the women who do these acts who charge ?”

You heard as Aelia inhaled. It made you happy pause and look at her. “What?”

The woman had pressed her lips together. “Thank you for acknowledging my woman hand. I am only seen as thus from my equals, you may or may not be aware but since our sire owns you personally, you are above me.”

You made a face. “No, I am not aware. I was just a girl who would serve and remain in the shadows.”

The woman gave a small smile. “Not anymore.”

She looked away before looking once again back at you.

“But yes, we can however that decision of that, is solely up to our sire. He may just want to expel his needs. I do not know.”

“Ok. Just like I had promised to him. I will follow his guidance.”

“That is truly the best.”

You felt as her fingers trembled as she continued to care for your hair.

******

The candles flickered as your door opened. You glanced over from where you sat.

It was one of Geta’s personal guard. “You are to come from me. Our sire, wishes you to come to his private quarters.

“Yes.” Was all you said.

Your footfalls and his echoed in the silent Domus. No other sounds could be heard. Such a contrast to the earlier festive and merriment. There had been liquid been been flowing into goblets and utensils and plants clanking on tables as food was ate and served.

******

The door creaked as he opened it. You walked in and flinched as it banged, behind you once it closed.

“There is the blossom of Rome, my blossom.”

Turning you watched as Geta strode in. A rich red, maroon of sorts were tied and flowed down from his waist. You had never seen his bare chested, his strength was very apparent. You had only seen that kind of strength reflected in the Gladiators that fought and battled in the arena.

“Evening, Geta. Thank you for your kind words.”

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