#roman bellamy

[potential-fate]

Instead, she only nodded slightly, and smiled, “Of course, I’m sure you’re eager to get back to your conversation with my brother.”

Roman traded the sigh he wanted to give for a stilted nod instead. Eleanora hummed, the same small, almost entertained smile gracing her features. She stepped towards the dining area, nonetheless, and Roman trailed behind her.

He watched her walk back to the room easily, proving he really hadn’t needed to wait for her at all. Roman chewed on his bottom lip and, not for the first time that night, wished he could get a better read on Eleanora Blanchard.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Roman looked down at the floor. "So... Uh..."

"Spit it out," Ulyssa replied.

Roman caressed his own arm as if to soothe himself while talking. "Well... We should talk about what happened. What we did. What you want to happen."

"Hm?" Ulyssa tilted her head to try to meet his eyes.

Roman looked up at her. "You are polyamorous, right? You and your girlfriend are both seeing other people?"

"Yes," Ulyssa said. Why is he saying this as if he wasn't already certain we were? "What of it?"

"I don't know how to feel about having some sort of open relationship," he said.

"So you want to be exlusive?" Ulyssa asked.

"I'm willing to try," Roman said. "To... uh, live a poly lifestyle, or whatever one should call it."

"Well, great!"

"But I have to tell Rachel that it's happening."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"This place looks pretty normal. I was half expecting blood pouring down from the skies based on Theo's description."

Abe looked cautiously around him, still unsure if his son's dire words had been hyperbole or if they were safe. It certainly didn't look like anything special. From the extensive magic used to open the portal for him and Roman, Abe had been expecting somewhere even more built up and powerful than Pleasantview.

"It is strange. I only care about our son, though. Where have they been keeping him? Is he okay?" Roman declared. His eyes searched wildly around the area, looking for even a glimpse of Theo.

Today was finally the day that he and Abe would be entered into a demonic marriage. While the sovereign had tried to marry them before as an experiment of Theo's powers, this time it was something that the two men both actually wanted. The fact that they needed to physically see their son to perform the ceremony was just a bonus. They had been separated from Theo since he'd been whisked away to Shadowvale. The rare time they got to video call him wasn't enough by any measure.

Abe smiled and rubbed Roman's shoulder affectionately.

"Ro, take it easy on him. Don't embarrass him just because we've been going crazy without him. You remember being his age."

Roman paused to picture his fourteen year old self in this situation. Neither of his parents had cared enough to want to visit him anywhere and his grandparents only wanted to see him if he was as calm and calculating as they were. Roman was nothing like Omar had been. Omar was embarrassing; Roman thought about nothing but his children. Besides, he was throwing a giant party to celebrate his, Abe's and Adrian's thirtieth birthday in a month or so. He was still cool and could rock a suit anytime he wanted...as long as the kids didn't smear peanut butter on it with their sticky hands. His wardrobe had been more focused on practicality recently, but he was still Roman Fucking Bellamy. Sweatpants and a few stray gray hairs had never looked better on anyone else.

"Dads! You're here! You made it."

A tall, gangly teen with a mess of black hair and lengthy horns bounded towards them, smiling widely.

"Theo! You-" Abe's words died on his lips when he saw the golden beams enveloping his son's eyes. A long buried part of him recoiled at the sight, wanting to rush to him and change him into the son he remembered. But Theo was likely only like that so that he could perform the wedding. The very supernatural wedding where Abe would share Roman's thoughts and feelings for the rest of their lives.

Abe cleared his throat and tried again to greet the son he'd been going crazy pining for. Now wasn't the time for cold feet. He'd talked extensively with Roman about their shared desire to welcome the supernatural into their marriage and to honour Roman's demonic heritage. It was just nerves bothering him. That and Theo's prolonged absence from their lives.

The Bellamys had finally been given an abriviated record of just what Theo's powers had done to Adam Darktide and they were horrified. They had protested Theo's change in schools a lot less after seeing some of the pictures in that file.

Don't scream "my baby!" Don't scream "my baby!"

Roman chanted this mantra silently to himself, praying to keep his composure. He had been raised to be better than the feelings that were warring within him. His grandfather would be ashamed of him to show such weakness in the middle of a dangerous world. Omar would have been disgusted to have to deal with Roman's raw emotion about things Omar could never understand.

Perhaps Kamalani would have understood her son, in her own twisted way. Despite her obvious flaws, Roman did get the sense that his mother had at least cared deeply for his little half-sister at some point. Maybe she would also have to hold herself back from rushing to Keiki's side. The thought was less comforting than Roman assumed it might be.

This was a special occasion though. Surely, after months apart from his son, Roman was entitled to throw himself at Theo and never let him go.

"Dad! I missed you so much!"

Roman was saved from his dilemma when Theo rushed into his father's waiting arms on his own, squeezing him as tight as he could. Roman smiled, squeezing Theo right back. When they finally parted, Theo rushed into Abe's arms, greeting him just as enthusiastically.

"Look at you," Roman gushed, taking in every little detail about his son so that he could see what had changed since their last meeting. "You look so strong. I couldn't ask for a better wedding officiant. Right, Abe?"

Abe nodded and pulled his son into another hug. This was the supernatural world that his son thrived in, and Abe wasn't about to push his son away just because he was having some cold feet.

"Abe, Roman, welcome," an all too familiar voice called. "I'm glad you made it."

Both men waved reluctantly at the sovereign of all demons. Her presence wasn't a surprise given the circumstances, but it wasn't exactly like she had been invited either.

"Did Lucy also come?" Abe asked, looking hopefully for his sister. Lucy could presumably reign in her wife should the sovereign get ideas about skimming demonic energy again. His and Roman's demonic marriage had once been a part of Saren's scheme for power, and to see her here uninvited wasn't making his cold feet any warmer.

"No, regrettably, Lucy couldn't attend today. She sends her well wishes, of course. This ceremony is rather private when compared to a human wedding, so I didn't want to add more people than necessary."

"You certainly added yourself without a problem," Roman grumbled, focusing on his son to keep from shouting at his sister in law. The sovereign then insinuated herself into that plan too.

"My brightest protégé, just look at you! All ready to join two people in demonic matrimony."

She embraced Theo, a sight none of the Arkhelians had been prepared for. Roman looked at Abe with confusion, only to see him look equally confused. Roman mouthed "Lucy?" silently to which Abe shrugged. It was plausible that Lucy had had a warming effect on her wife. Slightly. More than likely, this sudden appearance and affection was part of some devious plan.

"Go on and get ready for the ceremony," Saren instructed, releasing Theo from her off-putting embrace. "This will take some serious energy and concentration, so get prepared. Don't worry, you could have done this six years ago and you'll crush this now."

Theo nodded and waved to his parents.

"I'll see you guys soon. I won't screw this up, I promise."

With those reassuring words, Theo bounded off towards a large building, leaving his parents alone with their surprise guest.

"So, uh, do you and Lucy plan on making this commitment?" Abe asked nervously. "She's never really mentioned any plans for a demonic marriage to me before. Is that something you two might be interested in?"

The sovereign laughed at this, telling Abe all that he needed to know.

"Are you kidding? It's not a thousand years ago," she laughed as genuinely as Abe or Roman had ever seen her. "Sharing thoughts, emotions and all that? No, thank you. And to be bonded to a mortal woman who will one day die and leave me with a heart involuntarily torn in half? It's not a ceremony that I have any interest in."

"And because Lucy is probably already planning her next terrible relationship," Abe muttered, hoping that only Roman could hear his words.

A large swell of clouds suddenly appeared in the air, drawing attention away from their conversation.

"Who could that be?" Roman asked, craning his head to identify the new arrival. "Maybe Lucy really did decide to come today. After all the hoops we had to jump through to be here, who could possibly be showing up? Did we need to provide this government with even more proof of our intentions?"

The clouds parted, revealing their mystery guest. The instant Roman recognized their visitor, his anxiety went from near zero to through the roof.

"Lukas? What the hell are you doing here? We're not doing anything wrong," Roman insisted, staring at the being who apparently wanted to crash their wedding. To have the sovereign show such an interest in their matrimonial plans was one thing, but a deity? Especially one so fond of chaos? This was quickly becoming a circus spiraling out of the grooms' control. Why was marrying Abe in a way that honoured Roman's demonic heritage seemingly impossible to pull off without cosmic forces trying to ruin it?

"I never said that anything was wrong, thanks for projecting your own childish fears onto me," they replied, barely paying attention to Roman. Instead, their gaze remained wholly focused on Saren. "What can I say, I love weddings."

"What the mortal was implying was that you weren't invited to this celebration," the sovereign sneered. "It's family only."

"This is quite the destination wedding," Lukas commented, ignoring the demon entirely. "It's pretty hard to find for their families. Even your wife couldn't find her way here to support her brother."

"Lucy sends her regards. I'm sure the mortals would prefer that you leave now that you've blessed the couple with your unrequested visit."

"I'm sure they don't mind a deity supervising this ceremony. Demons are just corrupted servants of Life after all. I would hate for something to go wrong with the joining when I could have helped."

"Demons are far more than what you assume them to be. Have you already forgotten who was responsible for your centuries long little nap? And I hear that now you can't go running back to daddies for help when a mean demon decides to play with you. If I were you, I would stick to hiding behind your husband and staying out of business that doesn't concern you."

"Poor Saren, if only you had someone to hide behind for yourself. Grandpa and Mommy drowned in the Ocean, didn't they? All that's left of your family is you and your little half-breed babies who no proper demon respects. You'd better run home to sit on your useless throne before a real demon comes and claims it."

Roman gave Abe a confused look as the two supernatural beings squabbled in front of them.

"Does any of this make sense to you?" he asked.

Abe shook his head. At least they hadn't been sucked into the escalating argument before them. They could probably leave and not have either Lukas or Saren even notice that they'd left.

"Well, it's better to have Life here instead of Death," he said. "It can't hurt to have them here in case something happens. Truthfully, the sovereign showing up without Lucy makes me nervous too. Let's just go get changed for the ceremony and see if the place is in ruins by the time the ceremony is supposed to start."

Theo took a deep breath and tried to focus his mind. Everything was set for the ceremony. He'd helped draw the magic lines himself to make sure they were done right. Nothing was going to go wrong. Nothing.

Except....Theo had tried to downplay his magical issues when he wrote Adam, but he couldn't ignore them now. He had been making progress in his studies until recently. The curse within him was uncontrollable, no matter how hard his teachers tried to reign it in. It appeared without warning under circumstances that didn't even make sense and attempting to reintegrate it with the rest of Theo was proving to be harder than his teachers expected.

What happened if his magical abilities backfired when joining his parents? Would they get hurt as badly as Adam had? Should Theo even be trying this in his current state?

He took another deep breath and released it slowly. No, this was just nerves. He could do this. He would do this.

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

Not-So-Simstober

Day 1 - Witching Hour

[creepynostalgy]

Roman Polanski and Mia Farrow on set of Rosemary's Baby (1968)

[brokehorrorfan]

Rosemary's Baby will be released on 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray and Digital) on October 10 via Paramount. The 1968 horror classic is celebrating its 55th anniversary.

Roman Polanski writes and directs, based on Ira Levin's 1967 novel. Mia Farrow stars with John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, and Ralph Bellamy.

Archival special features, listed below, are expected to be included on the Blu-ray disc.

Special features:

Rosemary's Baby: A Retrospective - 2000 featurette

Mia and Roman - 1968 documentary short

Like most first-time mothers, Rosemary (Mia Farrow) experiences confusion and fear. Her husband (John Cassavetes), an ambitious but unsuccessful actor, makes a pact with the devil that promises to send his career skyward.

Pre-order Rosemary's Baby.

[spookytuesdaypod]

spooky tuesday is a (now not so new!) podcast where we’re breaking down all of our favorite slashers, thrillers, monster movies and black comedies on the new scariest day of the week.

would a month-long slate dedicated to horror movie mothers be complete without rosemary's baby (1968)? in keeping with the mommies-with-issues aspect of mommy issues may, this week's spooky tuesday is all about the mia farrow flick and the legacy it has left behind. this film has had a massive influence on the genre — and it's also been associated with some seriously haunting true crime tales. join us on our latest episode as we shout out the CLEAR references, admire minnie and roman's wardrobe, contemplate the challenges of parenthood, and go through sydney's baby name list.

give spooky tuesday a listen on apple podcasts, spotify, iheart radio, or stitcher

[letterboxd-loggd]

Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Roman Polanski

January 21st 2023

[roman0writes]

𝒞𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒪𝓊𝓉

Bellamy x fem!reader

A/N: I wrote this as a commission for someone who tumblr is being glitchy and won’t let me tag rn. The original post is up on my old blog @rowan-sins but I figured I’d post it here too

Content warnings: fem!reader, coming out

In order to feel the joy of being loved you must face the horrifying ordeal of being known. Or the time the sea salt breeze on Dressarosa shores eases you into confessing your deepest secret.

You can taste the salt on your tongue, from the balcony overlooking the streets of the small trading port you called home. The balcony is small, barely enough room for two people to stand next to the potted plant you put petunias in it.

Enough room for you to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone you love far more than a friend. Enough room for you to justify encroaching in Bellamy’s personal space. He hardly seems to mind, if the way he scooches away from the side railing and presses his bicep into your shoulder, letting your head rest against the hard muscle of his arm.

You can taste the salt on your tongue, heavy like the ocean just behind your house. You can taste the truth on your tongue, light like the sea breeze the tickles your nose. It’s a confession you owe to no-one that falls off your tongue.

“I’m bisexual,” you say. It breaks the peaceful silence. And the air feels tenser now that your truth has been spoken. You don’t know why you said it. Or what compelled you to do so. This was very much your business and not his, but it still sat in the open air, light and frothy like sea foam stuck in sand of shore.

“Is that so?” He responds. “I’m glad you’re finally honest with yourself.”

Shock colors your expression, and you look at him incredulously. He turns to look at your expression, and smiles at the blatant shock on your face.

“How the fuck did you figure it out before I did?” You exclaim.

The wind ruffles his blonde hair, and if you weren’t mad at him, you’d reach up and fix his hair himself. But he’s being stupid, so his stupid blond hair can be as messy as the higher powers deem necessary.

“With that haircut…” He grins even wider, his fake teeth almost indistinguishable from the real ones “… I’m surprised you didn’t come out as a lesbian!”

“Bellamy!” You punch him in the shoulder when he starts laughing.

“Also, you’re not as slick as you think you are staring at Baby 5’s boobs.”

The second time you punch him you aim for the face.

You could probably hear his yell from the streets of freshly liberated Dressarosa. “Hey! What was that for!”

“Being a jerk!”

“Oh so I’m jerk now!”

“Yeah a big old meanie!”

“I’ll remember that the next you ask me for help when you fall out of a chair!”

You laugh and roll your eyes when he pushes you into the side railing on your side of the tiny balcony. “Like I’ll need your help when I get a pretty butch girlfriend.”

“Like you need a pretty butch girlfriend when you have me.”

The world gets quiet again. Birds chirping drowned out by the silence between you two.

“That’s the lamest way to ask someone out. Ever.”

“But did it work?”

“You free Wednesday evening?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Then it’s a date!”

“That was even lamer than what I said!” He exclaims.

You roll your eyes and lean closer to him. “But did it work?”

He groans and leans down, closer to you. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

And well, who were you to deny such a lovely request from such a lovely friend.

[mr-paxton]

Rosemary's Christmas

[potential-fate]

“So, Roman Bellamy. Now that we’re alone, have you come to convince me you’re the most eligible bachelor in town?” She raised an eyebrow. “I suppose I must have a lot of competition in this town alone.”

“Funny,” Roman grinned awkwardly, “here I thought I was supposed to be the person making the jokes.”

“Certainly.“ She smiled fully at that, “My name isn’t in the papers every other day though, so I thought maybe I should up my chances.”

Roman flinched at the mention of the papers and he looked away. She didn’t say anything else for a moment, but then she tapped him lightly on the arm.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

To Roman's surprise, Rachel suddenly let out a whimpering, cry-like sound. He remembered himself in so many situations where he had felt abandoned and got wracked with guilt. Roman wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "It's okay," he whispered. "I'm not leaving. Nobody's leaving. You're okay."

"You couldn't even get out of bed for so long," Rachel whispered. "You were so dependent on me and I... I liked it. I liked that you couldn't leave, because then you wouldn't."

Roman found himself unable to say anything, only keeping her in his arms while she cried.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

In the Bellamy house, the evidence of party planning littered the floor. Boxes for presents, happy decorations, and sample cakes were left abandoned. A giant thirty years tri-celebration had been originally planned for the day after Abe and Roman returned from their second honeymoon for both their and Adrian's thirtieth birthday. All that had changed the second the Siew family had been caught off guard at a family barbecue and members of the royal family had been killed or injured. Abe and Roman had teleported back home immediately, while Adrian had teleported all of their children from the cottage to the Bellamy estate and then teleported back to help protect the queen.

And so the Bellamys sat and waited for Adrian to return. Roman had offered his own help, seeing as he was a demon hybrid who could hold his own in a fight, but Adrian had refused. Roman was needed at home, protecting the children Adrian had entrusted him with. As much as he hated the idea of Adrian in danger, protecting their family was more important.

It was still hard to wait to find out about the Siew family. Adrian had promised that Georgiana was okay and that he'd personally bring her to her mother without a scratch on her. Ulyssa was preparing some kind of speech to the public and was safe. She had lost two children and that had to be crippling. Roman would likely be crying in a corner, completely incapacitated if he lost a child. His heart broke for Ulyssa, though he didn't dare mention that fact out loud. Worrying about your affair partner and bastard child from said affair wasn't a good look after returning from your second honeymoon.

Abe could sense the turmoil though. That was what they'd looked forward to the most about demonic marriage. Abe could feel what Roman felt and understand that those feelings for Ulyssa were wrapped with guilt, shame, and remorse. Roman could have told him as much, but now Abe had the proof to feel for himself.

"I'm sure Daddy is okay," Luci offered softly. Roman's fear and anger and sense of uselessness was starting to travel to the children.

Roman squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath and tried his best to dispel the negative emotions from his mind.

"I know he is, honey. Your dad can take care of himself. With Evren there too, they'll be unstoppable. He'll come home safe."

Saturnia traded a worried look with her sister.

"Did Adam die? Is Theo going to be sad if he did? Can we call him? I haven't seen him in forever. I miss him."

Saturnia looked at her father with frightened eyes and Roman tried to keep his cool so that his daughter could relax. That was another mess of nerves that Roman didn't have the emotional ability to discuss. He'd gotten a notice that Theo had graduated from his program and would be returning home soon, only to discover that his son was "posted to a special assignment" in Pleasantview. Roman didn't have a clue of where his oldest child was, and if Adam had nearly been injured or killed at the barbecue, there was a decent chance that Theo had teleported there in hopes of finding him. The last thing he needed was for Theo to find himself in a new dangerous situation.

"Theo is safe and I'm sure that Adam is as well," Roman replied, trying to sound confident. "We would know if they weren't. They're both really strong warlocks. Nothing is going to slow down Adam when family is at stake."

"Yeah, Rien too. She knows what to do when bad guys show up."

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Roman asked, hugging Luciana close to him. "You saw something really scary and I know how confusing things must be. Did you want to talk about what happened?"

Luciana shook her head, the look on her face vacant. She'd seen people actually fight for their lives and had somehow avoided being hit with a magical spell or bladed weapon. One of her father's work friends had shielded her from seeing any bodies and returned her to Adrian's side without breaking a sweat. It had all gone so quickly, and she had trouble piecing together what exactly she had seen.

"Jorah's here!" Abe cried, jumping up to answer the door. Jorah was a mess, still sobbing despite his best efforts to put on a brave face. "Jorah! What's going on? Has the situation been handled? How's Adrian and Evren? Are they safe?"

Jorah opened his mouth, only to be overcome with sobs once more.

"They're...They're fine, right?" Roman asked. He could feel Abe's anxiety through their bond, which only worsened his own. If the children hadn't been present, Roman would have been asking about Evren and Adrian's deaths instead of assuming they were alright.

Jorah nodded, and both Roman and Abe nearly crumpled to the floor with relief.

"Adrian and Trent have everything secured. The Pleasantview witches have backed Twikkii Island security, but we have no prisoners. There are three dead assailants, but they're not in any system we have access to. The only casualties were from the Durant family. My family. The family I'm supposed to lead. My little sister is dead. Cindra won't leave Trent's side and my father hasn't left his bedroom since we learned about Lauren. I don't know what to do. Trent told me to come here, so here I am."

"It'll be okay. You've got this."

Roman rushed to hug Jorah, who once again began sobbing in his arms.

"I'm sure Cindra will come home as soon as her children and their blood relatives are safe," Abe reassured him. "The Siews are her family now too. If someone is targeting your family, she needs to keep her children where they'll be protected. When Twikkii Island is declared safe, Adrian plans to keep the children there where royal security can guard them. Cindra will come home when she can."

"And my children? Do I need protection for them too or are they not targets because they live here? Should I be worried?"

"They'll be fine. I could sense their intentions when I stabbed one of them in the leg. They want to cause fear, and they hate the royal family. They don't like Aunt Ulyssa much, but they don't care about Arkhelios itself."

The adults stared at Rien, who was happily playing with her brother's familiar, Too. Abe wanted to say something about Rien's admission of stabbing a man, but decided that that could be brought up when Jorah wasn't sobbing on their doorstep.

"Rien, honey, you shouldn't say things that you don't know for certain," Roman began worriedly. "It was a scary situation and you can't trust what you saw when you were scared. No one can. Your father will help figure out the motive of the bad guys."

Rien rolled her eyes.

"I could feel it, just like I always do. It wasn't a lot of information, but I could sense it from him! As long as Uncle Jorah stays away from Twikkii Island, he'll be fine. The spirits agree, and they're never wrong. They told me how to save the queen and Princess Georgiana and it worked. Just listen to them like I do."

"Who is behind this? What do they want? What can I do to save my family?"

Jorah couldn't stop the words coming out of his mouth. Someone, even if they were a child, was finally giving him answers and he was desperate. Roman and Abe shared a sharp look and nodded in agreement.

"Rien, you're being inappropriate and insensitive to Mr. Durant," Abe began. "I know that you saw some terrible things today, but you can't let your imagination run wild when people are grieving. It's wrong to offer false hope."

The look Rien gave her stepfather was indescribably dark. Both of her parents had seen Malika’s abilities when communicating with the spirits, and her ability to predict the future had been nearly infallible. Most of the Bellamy fortune had been amassed with her gifts. And yet, none of Rien's parents could see that their little girl had that same talent or trust what she knew to be obvious.

"The spirits know where to cut to sever an artery in someone's leg," she said curtly, turning her back on the adults. "If they didn't, maybe I'd be dead instead of him."

"Go to your room, Rien! Now. We'll process our feelings about what happened today when your father comes home. Until then, don't rile up your siblings with talk like that."

Rien pictured how her older brother would handle a conversation like this and smiled. Theo would probably leave the room flipping people off and threatening to run away again. That would feel amazingly liberating, but it wasn't going to help her in this scenario. Everyone was still on edge. Instead, Rien obeyed Roman's command, and silently left the room without acknowledging any of the adults. Let them be wrong. If they weren't going to acknowledge her gifts, maybe she'd be less inclined to intervene on their behalf.

"I'm so sorry, Jorah. She's been through a lot today and with Evren and Adrian facing so much danger, all of the kids have been unsettled. I'll talk with her," Roman promised. "Today...today has been rough for all of us."

"I can't imagine what she saw," Jorah replied sadly. "I can't imagine what any of them saw. Rien means well, I'm sure."

"Why don't we wait outside for Adrian to return?" Abe suggested, looking at Luci and Saturnia's worried faces and trying to imagine the therapy bill for all the children involved. "It might be more distracting."

The smell of hamburgers filled the air as the Bellamys and Jorah waited for Adrian. Abe had half-heartedly grilled some burgers to be a proper host until he remembered that the tragedy they were still reeling from had been a barbecue. Roman dutifully ate some and when Jorah's husband Valerian arrived to check on Jorah, he forced Jorah to do the same. Jorah had barely eaten since the news arrived and the last thing their family needed was for Jorah to faint.

The Bellamy family didn't have enough outdoor seats to accommodate the group, but they made do with what they could find. The children were content to stay inside where they felt safe and have some separation from the worried adults. Luci had apparently gone to comfort her twin sister, which Roman hoped would end in a sisterly hug and not a united front rebelling against their parents.

"Has there been any more announcements?" Valerian asked while chewing a burger. "Do we know anything about Maura?"

Jorah shook his head.

"Cindra has been the one keeping me informed and she's busy with her own family. Ulyssa isn't answering my calls since she's apparently making a speech about the attack. Maura isn't in a stable condition from what I've heard. Ulyssa's the queen regent until Maura is able to reign again. If she's able to reign again."

"Maura’s strong, she'll get through this," Valerian insisted. "Things must be bad if they're asking Ulyssa to run the country."

"Val!" Jorah snapped irritably. "Her wife might be dying and she's lost two children! Have some compassion! My sister's not perfect but she's trying!"

"Well, would you want to live under Queen Ulyssa? It was bad enough when she tried to steal back your role as family heir. Life's too short to waste pretending to like your sister."

Jorah glared at his husband, whose eyes had drifted to Roman. No one wanted to start drama, but the Durant family was dying to know how Roman felt about his ex fling ruling a country if her wife died. Would she try to get back with Roman when the pressure got too much? If Maura died, the Durant family had to be ready for Ulyssa falling back on old habits and the potential fallout.

Before Valerian could continue, he was interrupted by a shimmering magical light. Adrian was finally here.

"Adrian! What's happening? Is Georgiana really okay? How's Maura? What even happened?"

"Ulyssa has the surviving children with her under heavy guard," Adrian answered, his eyes searching for his own children. "Maura’s in critical condition, but they're optimistic about her chances. If I hadn't been there to intercept her first attacker, she might not have been so lucky. Roman, the things I've seen....our kids are taking self-defense classes at the military academy immediately. I can't go through something like this again. And they weren't even really interested in us. I couldn't imagine having our kids be targets. I won't let it happen. I can't protect them all the time. They need to learn to protect themselves as best as they can when we're not around."

"Agreed. Theo can hold his own, and he usually has Adam glued to his side, so they're safe. Maybe Saturnia, Fiolett, and the twins can watch out for each other until the others are older?"

"Trust me, Rien doesn't need training. I fully expect the queen or queen regent to give her a medal for her performance," Adrian replied solemnly. "She really does have a gift that I can't explain, Roman. I wish I could because it scares the shit out of me, but a lot more people would have died without her. She may receive her own title for this, the crown is that grateful."

Roman froze, reflecting on what Adrian had said. He understood the words, but he couldn't accept their meaning. Stressed, relieved, and scared out of his mind, Roman wrapped his arms around his ex-husband as tightly as he could.

"I watched my grandmother work her magic all of my life. It makes sense that Rien may have inherited all of that, but I've never understood what gift my grandmother had. And with demon blood? I can't think about that, Adrian. Not now. Maybe when the world isn't coming to an end, I can rehash my trauma with you, but not today. We'll put the kids in self-defense classes as soon as we can and I'll try to listen more to Rien, but I can't face all of that on top of this mess."

"I understand completely. Just don't throw a fit if she's Duchess Rien when she's eighteen."

Roman groaned, releasing Adrian from his arms.

"I'll add it to the list. I'm just glad that you and Evren are safe and the queen may survive this. No one kid should have to mourn their mother and become king as young as Adrion."

"Maura’s a fighter," Adrian gently reminded him. "She won't let a little thing like an assassination attempt end her reign. She's too stubborn to die on somebody else's terms."

While Roman and Abe stood anxiously at Adrian's side, Jorah slipped back into the house, searching for the proven oracle that had saved the queen with her predictions. He had questions that he hoped Rien might be able to answer. It was desperate of him to try to talk to a child about his worries, but he was desperate. He had to protect his family, and if desperation was what it took, then he'd be desperate.

Jorah found Rien in the living room, ignoring Roman's order of going to her bedroom as punishment. Instead, she was watching Jorah with a detached curiosity.

"You came back to ask about your family," she stated and Jorah nodded.

"Are my kids truly safe here in Arkhelios? Do you know why my sisters were attacked?"

Rien tilted her head as she pondered the question.

"Stay in Arkhelios," she replied cryptically. "Your destiny is here. You may not be safe, but whoever wants your sisters dead won't bother to find you here."

"And who's behind this? Who wants to kill my sisters and the queen?"

Rien stared impassively at the man in front of her, watching him like he was little more than an ant to her. She weighed each word carefully. She didn't know more than what she'd already told her father, and Jorah had been silent when Roman disbelieved her claims. Now here he was, asking for her help.

"Your daughter, Judith. She gets in trouble a lot, right? She stands out from the twins to the point that people make comments about it?"

"Oh god, is Judith going to die next?" Jorah cried, barely holding back tears at the thought.

"No, she's going to be fine. She's not your husband's kid though. Uncle Nathan is her father, hence the bad attitude. She's a Helios after all."

Jorah's jaw dropped to the floor as his mind pieced together small comments people had made about Judith. She wasn't as pale as her siblings, and Susanna and Hamnet were calm, easy-going children. If he remembered right, Judith could have a small resemblance to Nathan. Maybe.

"But I was the one who gave birth to her!" Jorah exclaimed. The all knowing child had to be right, but at the same time, Jorah knew that he'd never laid a finger on Nathan Helios. Nathan creeped him out more than anything and spending even an hour with him sounded like torture. "I don't know how you can right about the queen and wrong about this, but I promise you, Nathan Helios and I can't possibly be parents together."

Rien shrugged. Her words were true, and he deserved to hear it for doubting her in the first place.

"The spirits say that it was contamination from a fertility potion. His lips and your lips touched the same liquid and genetic transfer was made. You really should be more careful about what you drink, Uncle Jorah. Magic can be dangerous if you don't understand it."

Abe III interrupted their conversation with a happy squeal. Too was desperately trying to free herself from Abe's grasp but not succeeding. While Jorah's attention was focused on the unhappy familiar, Rien disappeared. The spirits whispered their approval of her choice of information to reveal. He didn't need to know about the potion mix up from so long ago, but Rien wasn't inclined to share what the spirits shared with her on any other topic. When people actually did believe her warnings, they assumed that she was all-knowing, all the time, which was just as frustrating as not being believed at all.

Jorah slumped to the floor, unable to breathe with all of the anguish weighing him down.

He knew that Ulyssa had gone too far with all those potions she had brought him when they struggled to conceive. At least one of them had clearly blown up in his face; how many others had been equally disastrous? Were any of their kids genetically theirs? Had magic corrupted their DNA? Were they sick or damaged at all by a potion?

If Ulyssa wasn't currently going through hell and not returning his calls, Jorah would have some incendiary words for her and her meddling.

"Jorah? Honey? Why are you on the floor? Did Cindra call with bad news? You're scaring me."

Valerian crouched down to sit next to his husband, taking his hand.

"I was only joking about hating your sister. Well, mostly. I didn't mean to upset you either way. Talk to me."

"R-Rien. I asked her about my family, and, and she said that a magic potion backfired when we got pregnant. T-that Nathan Helios touched one of them and- and he's Judith's father. I never cheated on you, I'm so sorry! I don't even like being in the same room as him! This is impossible; she has to be wrong."

Valerian looked into the kitchen, where Judith was tormenting her brother for some reason. It didn't matter why they were fighting, Judith would fight over anything and her shy brother wouldn't fight back.

"That...that does explain a few things," he murmured. "There have been some times when I've wondered if she was a changeling abandoned here and switched for our daughter. Nathan huh? Why couldn't it have been one of the smart, ambitious Helios siblings? Lucy's kids seem to have a good head on their shoulders."

"I feel like you're missing the obvious," Jorah whined, staring at his husband strangely. "Magic has ruined our family. My husband isn't the father of all of my children and my family is forever scarred by an assassination plot. Nothing is okay. Nothing will ever be okay again."

"Judith is my daughter," Valerian vowed, looking his husband directly in the eyes. "No DNA can change that. We'll figure this out. Maybe she's wrong, but if she isn't, then worse things have already happened. You're taking the word of a child, no matter gifted she may be. How about you leave the psychics alone until things with your sisters calm down."

"You really don't care?" Jorah asked incredulously. "This could be huge. I mean, it makes about as much sense as anything else that happens here. I believe her enough to test Judith. Don't you want to know?"

Valerian hugged his husband.

"I don't care. Really, I don't. Your sister just lost two children and maybe their mother. They're gone. Our children are here, and I can't ask for anything more. After today, how can you even ask if magical screwups mean anything? Nothing else matters outside of our family. Nothing."

"Why is Jorah crying on my floor?" Roman asked to no one in particular. No one ever answered his questions in this house anyway.

Roman had a guess as to why his guest was crying, and it wasn't because of the tragedy in Twikkii Island. The children were suspiciously absent, increasing the likelihood that one or more of them was involved.

He sighed heavily, mentally composing his apology to Jorah before he walked to check on him. Whatever he had thought parenting would be, it certainly wasn't this.

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

AbeRo Montage 2/2

[bcbyteeth]

open to: bellamy powell | @ofpaintedlullabies location: sydney film festival, milson island after parties

There was a sway to his walk, some carefree grace that made Romanyuk move around anyone with a caution that he played with. The alcohol was seeping into his limbs, numbing him not only against the cold of Australia's summer but whatever pain he dug up with every impulse against instruction for rest. The agreement, set in stone after he had the surgery, was that Roman would be weary of his potential that wore thin. Much to the dismay of those who put him back together, he was taking as many cracks and falls as he could to not go down with wasted skill.

His discomfort was covered under the haze of liquor, but satisfaction had yet to be sought out. He craved the taste of his bad habit from earlier, one hidden under a mint before they arrived at the venue. The smell of it, raw in form without the perfume of some artificial orchard, caught him with his tongue lining his bottom lip in a hunger he hadn't realized he felt so desperately. “Just a cigarette? You know nicotine’s shit for you. If you’re gonna smoke, y’should be doing something better than that,” He taunted, head tilted back in mocked disappointment as Roman crossed the hotel's balcony to the cloud of smoke staining the night.

[dendoe]

my roman empire is that if clarke had gone back up to space in season 5 instead of echo, her and bellamy would’ve realised how in love they were and ended up together.