#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.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"So, after we close the restaurant tonight, remind me to pick up those papers from Maura’s office. They need to be filed within two weeks, and I can't forget."

Adrian continued doing sit-ups for another few minutes before he realized that Roman hadn't replied to him in awhile. He had been sure that Roman had walked away until he looked around the room and saw that both Roman and Abe were staring at him.

"I'll remind you about the papers," Roman promised, despite looking distracted. Beside him, Abe looked equally out of sorts.

Abe nodded.

"Yes, the papers. The papers for Maura. I can remind you."

Adrian gave the two Bellamys a strange look but decided they were weird, but harmless. Ever since the demonic marriage, Abe would sometimes finish Roman's sentences or answer with Roman's exact response to Adrian's question, despite not having seen his husband all day. Whatever was happening, clearly their brains were synchronized and Adrian would never understand. Between those two and Rien's standard creepy predictions, Adrian's life was never boring.

"Well, thanks for the promise," he said, grabbing a dish towel to wipe off his sweat. "I'll hold you two to that or Maura will have my head. I'm off to go finish my run, Evren's meeting me at the cafe to take me home and I don't want to be late."

"Uh huh."

Neither Roman or Abe moved from their odd position, still staring at him like he was the sun itself and they couldn't look away.

"Fucking demonic marriage," Adrian muttered to himself. "There's no way my kids are getting anywhere near that, even if they claim they want it for themselves. Those two have never been creepier. I'm glad to see them happy, but the staring is just too much."

"Has Adrian's ass always looked like that? How have I missed that for all these years? It's like a marble statue."

Abe stared after Adrian long after he'd left, in complete awe of how attractive Roman's ex-husband was despite knowing him for over a decade and never thinking that thought once.

"Mhmm," Roman replied. "It's only gotten better with age."

Adrienne rolled her eyes, utterly exhausted by her parents. It was always something with them, whether they were in love, out of love, cheating on each other...the list was endless. Ever since her father and stepfather were demonically married, things in the household had gotten weird. Their thoughts were blending together and expressing themselves in weird ways. Supposedly, in a few years, the demonically married couple usually figured out how to tell their thoughts apart from their spouse's, which would be a godsend. Her father had called Elaine Helios "mom" by accident a few times now, each time with disastrous results, and Adrienne had seen her stepfather awake in the kitchen late at night, completely butchering the recipe for sugar cookies because her father had been thinking of making some for sale the next day.

Now it was spreading over to her other father like some kind of horny contagion. Adrienne had been told the secrets of just how damaging sex hormones were by the spirits, and had witnessed her own brother fall victim to his own raging hormones for Adam. From her earliest memories, Adrienne knew that Abe didn't like her father, Adrian. He was jealous and petty about every little thing regarding her biological parents' relationship for the longest time, and now here he was ogling her father openly. Which meant that her other father had been ogling him and passing the thought on, making the whole thing gross. After all this time, Adrienne thought that the adults in her life were finally able to have better control of their hormones, but clearly, she was wrong. She dreaded her birthday next year when she, too, would likely have uncontrollable hormones.

"You know, I have some time still before I have to go to work," Abe whispered, making his husband laugh.

"Oh, really?" Roman asked playfully. "Adrian should stop by more often if he can free up your schedule like that."

"Hi, Rien. I'm home from school early this weekend. I'm going to my room."

Adrienne sighed as the spirits filled her in about Theo's latest drama. Adam cheating on her brother? She hadn't predicted that happening, though truthfully, she hadn't peered into that aspect of her brother's life in a long time.

"I'm sorry that Adam's an idiot," she stated sincerely.

Theo didn't look surprised that his sister knew immediately what was going on. There wasn't much that anyone could hide from her.

"It's my fault. I almost killed him. Relationships don't last after something like that. It makes sense."

Adrienne frowned at these words.

"The spirits say that people have endured worse and stuck together. Adam's not allowed to kiss other people and still have the moral high ground."

Theo smiled weakly, but didn't look convinced.

"You're a good sister, Rien. I'm just going to go to my room. Tell our parents that I'm here, but I don't want to be disturbed."

"Did you hear that? It sounds like Theo."

Abe pulled away from his amorous embrace to scan the room for their son. Roman whimpered slightly as Abe pulled away from him, but the mention of his oldest son was pulling his attention from his husband.

"Already? It's barely Saturday morning, and that kid doesn't show up until at least noon. Something must be wrong."

"You're going to get through this," Adrienne promised, hugging her brother tightly to emphasize how sincere her vision was. "There's other people out there who you haven't almost killed. Your roommate, for example. The spirits say that he's got feelings for you. That blue girl you go to school with too. She thinks a lot about you."

Theo scoffed, despite being intrigued by this information.

"Despina? No, she has a crush on Prince Jasper of Strangetown. I think they're secretly dating or something. Sebastian though....His gold eyes are gorgeous. They say only the strongest demons had them and passed them down to their powerful descendants." Theo shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was in love with Adam and not interested in a new boyfriend. Nothing would change that. "I don't need to date anyone else. I'm dating Adam."

"What's this about Adam? Do you want to invite him for dinner tomorrow? Your father is making a casserole, so there should be plenty for guests."

Theo shook his head quickly, unable to even think of sitting next to Adam and pretending things were fine in front of his family. Between this and the strange look on Adrienne's face that seemed to be trying to tell him something, Abe had some suspicion of what was going on

"Are you having boy trouble?" Abe asked gently, reaching to hug his son, only to have Theo pull away. "It's okay, Theo. Everyone has rough patches in relationships. Everyone. It's perfectly normal. Tell me about what's happening, and your father and I can help."

Theo hesitated, trying to hold up an expression of confidence and completely failing. His bottom lip quivered as he blinked back tears. He wouldn't let anyone know what had happened. He couldn't. Adam was supposed to be his forever relationship, but at the moment, Theo couldn't even imagine them sitting together at lunch anymore.

"Dad...how do you know a guy is cheating on you? K-kissing someone at a party counts as cheating, right? It's not just about sex?"

"Oh, Theodosius, come here."

Upon hearing the sympathetic tone in his father's voice, Theo cracked, falling to the floor sobbing. Abe crouched next to him, holding out a reassuring hand for his son to hold.

"Did Adam kiss someone else at a party?" When Theo nodded, Abe sighed. "Oh, buddy, I'm sorry. That's always hard to deal with, and it's not your fault."

"It is my fault," Theo sobbed, breaking Abe's heart to see him suffering. "I almost killed him and he's afraid of me and the scars on his face are horrible, and I feel so bad looking at it and-and-"

Theo broke into fresh sobs, unable to continue his sentence. Abe squeezed his hand reassuringly, stroking Theo's hair like he had when Theo was a child.

"Hey. I'm right here. You're going to get through this. I know how much your first heartbreak hurts, but it gets better. It always gets better even when you think it can't. I promise you, one day, all of this will be something you laugh about with your future husband or wife."

"Why did you and Dad stay together when you cheated on each other? Was it just because of us kids or because you didn't think you could find anyone better?"

Roman made a miserable groan that he tried to muffle with his hands. This was his fault. He had set a terrible example for his children and now they were suffering for it.

He hadn't broken up with Abe when Abe cheated when they were teens. Abe had dumped him and nearly abandoned his son in college, while Roman remained a perfect doormat for Abe. He had tried to cling onto the relationship too hard because he needed a place to stay and help with Theo, while believing that the demonic contract they'd made would keep Abe's heart true to him.

And he'd never technically cheated on Adrian with Abe, but that was a very flimsy technicality. Roman was, to this day, very sexuallly interested in Adrian, but those feelings had always paled in comparison to his feelings for Abe. He knew that Theo had seen the old paparazzi photos of him and Abe taken shortly after Adrian's death for certain, and each day he prayed Adrienne and Luciana never stumbled upon them and realized just how much of an ass their father had been in the wake of Adrian's death. He had been technically single at the time, true, but the fact that the papers could even make a case that Roman married Adrian for his money and was complicit in his death was shameful. The fact that Adrian had barely been dead a few months before explicit photos of Roman and his ex started to appear was embarrassing to one day have to explain to his daughters. His early twenties had been a shitshow that one day his kids were going to learn about, and Roman was terrified to preach to angsty teenagers about proper behavior when he was hardly a good example.

And Ulyssa. Roman groaned again at the thought of having to deal with that mess as the kids grew up. He'd cheated on Abe in the worst possible way, and Abe had stayed with him. They'd done countless hours of therapy to overcome it, but the scars of Roman's affair were all over their family. Theo had a little brother he resented, he hated his godmother, and he'd seen a parent once again take a cheater back, glad to put the whole thing behind them.

No wonder Theo was so confused when it came to relationships; Roman had never provided a proper example for his son to follow. Everything about Abe had been school boy fantasy and eternal demonic contracts and magical feats of love defeating evil. Roman could see his fingerprints all over Theo's wild ideas of forever loves, young marriages, and magic binding two people together for a higher purpose. He had done this to his son and then punished Theo for following in his own footsteps. After all the care he had taken to be better than his own parents, Roman had failed.

"I can't break up with him," Theo sobbed to Abe. "This is just a small challenge when we're going to be together for the rest of our lives."

"Theo, you're almost fifteen," Abe replied. "Most people don't end up marrying who they dated at fourteen. It's just not statistically likely. People grow and change over the years, and by the time you graduate high school, you and Adam might not even have anything in common anymore."

"That's not true," Theo insisted. "He's going to be grounding my abilities for the rest of my life unless Lukas feels compelled to undo it and...and...please don't tell Dad, please, but...Adam and I sometimes have sex. Completely protected with magic and condoms, I promise! Until recently, we had that in common, and I hope someday we will again."

Roman's heart dropped on the floor, shattering before him. He didn't know what to process first.

His son had gone against his parents' requests to abstain from sex, which was just one of the shards piercing Roman's heart. All of the worries about teen pregnancies or negative reputations rose again in his mind, though they were quickly overtaken by rage aimed at the teenager Roman had never liked. He had been right to distrust Adam and his intentions. Adam had used his son sexually, and now was surely cheating on Theo with his replacement. If the boy wasn't protected by absurdly powerful magic users, Roman would be paying Adam Darktide a visit.

The worst part of it, though, was the request Theo had made to his father. Not only was Theo listing sex as a shared interest to remain in a toxic relationship, which again made Roman question his parenting, but Theo had only felt comfortable telling Abe about it. He had actually begged Abe to promise not to tell Roman, telling Roman exactly how much trust his son had with him. He was afraid of Roman's reaction, and rightfully so. Roman was incensed by this revelation to the point of not knowing which teenager to start screaming at first. He didn't have the same demonic powers as his son, but Roman was still a hybrid. He could maybe scorch the doorframe of the academy a little before a magic user caught him.

But a calmness suddenly took hold of him that he couldn't explain and all desire to burn down Theo's school dissolved away. Roman frowned, bringing up the idea of someone hurting his son in any way in his mind and finding a resigned peace instead. This wasn't Roman's reaction, which meant....

Abe was the calm one. He was comforting their son without flying into a rage or threatening to murder a fourteen year old student. Roman was borrowing Abe's patience against his will, allowing him to step back from his own feelings and focus on Theo's.

And Theo had a lot of feelings to deal with. Namely, the twisted view he seemed to have about what a relationship was actually was about. Roman had to undo some of the damage he had unknowingly done to his son before Theo made the mistakes that he'd made.

"Theo, buddy, we need to have a talk," Roman began. He approached his son to sit next to him, but Theo's face was frozen in panic and he gripped Abe's hand harder than before.

Roman's face fell as he saw the fear in his son's eyes. Theo hadn't meant for him to overhear his conversation with his father and now he was terrified of Roman. The hundreds of tiny glass shards that had torn through his heart a mere moment ago returned at double their previous strength. This was what he had done to his son with his parenting. He looked at Theo's eyes and saw his own, pleading with his mother to love him and the baby she wanted dead.

He was his mother now, hurting the child he'd sworn to protect. He'd once stood over Theo's crib and promised him to love him unconditionally, and yet here Theo was, terrified of his father's reaction.

"Abe, why don't you start some hot chocolates for us," Roman suggested, giving his husband a pointed look. Abe hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.

"Good idea," he replied, giving Roman a look of his own conveying a warning about upsetting their son. "I don't think we've had our gourmet hot chocolate mix since Winterfest last year. I'll get lots of marshmallows for them, just the way you like, Theo."

Roman inched closer to his son and tried to project calmness. The last thing he needed was for Theo to run away.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have, a-and you're so disappointed, I know, and I know I'm grounded until university, but I love him. Even now that he's been acting so weird, I still love him," Theo sobbed. "Please don't take me out of school, all my friends are there and-"

"Theo, take a breath. I'm not angry with you, and you're not grounded even if I thought I could enforce that punishment. I'm disappointed with some of your choices, but I've been your age and I know what it's like. Your father and I try to set limits for you and your siblings to protect you from making the same mistakes that we did when we were young. Trust me, I understand what love feels like at your age, and I get it."

"You do?" Theo asked, still hesitant to open up to his father. "Because of your relationship with Dad?"

Roman shook his head.

"Oh, buddy, I never thought that I'd be telling one of my kids about this, but I had relationships other than with your father. When I went to Princess Zarah's, your father and I were in a loosely defined relationship, and I slept with other people. Mostly, it was just Ulyssa, but I flirted when I could."

"Ew, you and Aunt Ulyssa used to hook up when you were my age? Even before Georgiana?"

Roman laughed softly. Ulyssa was still a sore subject, but Theo needed to hear the truth, especially when it made him too horrified to think about his own troubles.

"Yep. We stopped when I found out about you, and she met Maura, but back then, our feelings and the friendship between us felt incredibly overwhelming. And things with your father? I felt like I would die without him some days. He understood me like no one else and was incredibly handsome as a bonus. We rushed into a sexual relationship before we were ready because I was afraid of him leaving me, which-"

"I don't want to hear about your sex life with Dad," Theo whined. "Gross. Or anything to do with Aunt Ulyssa either."

Roman smiled. Theo wasn't as closed off as he was a moment ago, proving that being open with his son was actually helping their relationship despite his fears.

"Okay, okay. You get the point though. I loved your father like you presumably love Adam, and I ignored a lot of red flags because of my feelings. I wasn't confident in my relationship and there were times that your father had doubts too. We clung together because our lives were threatened, plus we had you to think about, and we weren't ready for any of what happened. Sure, your father and I are still together, but there were times in our relationship where it would have probably been healthier if we'd gone our separate ways. In trying to hold on to each other, we pushed too hard in places. We could have saved ourselves a lot of pain if we had been smarter about our relationship and let go when we needed to."

"So you think that I need to break up with Adam," Theo murmured. "That taking a break would help us be together in the future?"

Roman's head throbbed, trying to ignore the burning anger he felt for Adam Darktide so that he could be a better father. The last thing he wanted was that boy anywhere near his son.

"If it's meant to be, then it will happen," Roman said after a brief pause. "He'll be grounding your powers probably for the rest of your life, like you said. A connection like that won't be easy to shake. Right now though? You need to protect yourself and value what you can bring to a relationship. If Adam is kissing other boys, then he's not respecting you, and you owe it to yourself to put your foot down. I know it hurts now, but there will be other people to date who respect you and will be there for you. Right now, that person isn't Adam."

"But it's my fault that he's like this," Theo replied. "If I hadn't hurt him, he'd be happy like he used to. None of this would be happening."

Roman's blood pressure spiked again at this thought, despite the soothing waves of calm radiating toward him from the kitchen.

"Theo, what happened between you and Adam was an accident. You weren't charged by your coven with a crime and they sent you away to protect yourself from further accidents, not as a punishment. You need to drop this idea that you were at fault for any of it. Do you really think that if anyone thought the accident was your fault, your Aunt Lucy wouldn't sue them into bankruptcy?"

Theo smiled at the idea of his aunt taking on the coven and probably winning despite not being magical in the slightest.

"Yeah, you're right. She'd have demons tormenting Adam's mom until she was nicer to me," he replied. His voice was steadier than before, though tears still filled his eyes.

"So it's not your fault that Adam got hurt," Roman concluded. "From what I hear, you helped save him despite being hurt yourself. It sounds like Adam has a lot to heal from, but you're not responsible for that. You can let go of him without feeling guilty, I promise you. It might even be the kindest thing you can do for him. He sounds very confused at the moment."

"Dad? Did...did you ever love Adrian as much as you love Dad?"

Roman paled at the question, his mind racing to come up with an appropriate response.

"It's just that...I don't love anyone more than I do Adam," Theo continued, taking his father's silence as his answer. "There's no one at school I like more than him, and even all the people at the dance couldn't come close to making me feel what he does. Does this mean that i have to spend my whole life with someone I settled for?"

Roman stared at the wall, desperately trying to find anything in his brain to tell his son without unintentionally saying the wrong thing. Had his feelings for Adrian been as strong as his feelings for Abe? Had he ever felt anything with Claudia or Ulyssa that even came close to how Abe made him feel?

"That...is a very complicated question," he tried. "You're not me, and you will make your own choices in life, so you can't completely compare yourself to anyone else. In the beginning, I think I loved Adrian as much as I loved your father, or at least I thought I did. Theo, you're still very young and so much in your life will inevitably change by the time you're my age. Your father and I were different when we were your age. We were both running from a bad family situation and we only had each other to hold onto, but Theo, that's not love, that's desperation. I was dealing with powers I didn't realize I had and then your father got pregnant, and my family...well, our attention then was on surviving and making sure that you were safe. When it came down to it, your father and I were very different from each other. I was trying to embrace my supernatural abilities, while your Dad was afraid of them. He wanted freedom to explore life as a young adult and I wanted commitment. We weren't a good match back then and it would have been settling if we had tried to force things to work. Adam is not the only boy in the world. You may find someone else and realize that all this time, you were settling for Adam."

Theo looked at his dad curiously. He had asked a question about Adrian and received an answer all about his father, which was an answer in itself. Marrying Adrian made sense on paper, but the spark wasn't there. It was as Theo feared. He felt that spark for Adam and there was no guarantee that he would ever feel it for someone else. His parents hadn't lasted this long together because they made sense on paper; they had something special between them, and their dedication to preserving it was what kept them together.

He had no idea of what that meant for him and Adam, but it was oddly nice to have his father actually talk with him instead of yelling about rules. Maybe this newfound openness was Theo's chance to ask other burning questions he had for his dad that would likely never be answered in his lifetime.

"Dad, what was my grandmother like? I don't really remember her from when I was younger, and sometimes we talk about the Great Demons in school and it makes me wonder about her. I know she's gone now, but-"

"I don't know a single thing about that woman, except that she wanted you to die to save herself," Roman interrupted quickly. A carefully practiced mask replaced the rare openness on his face before Theo could continue his question. "That's all that you need to know about her. Let's check on those hot chocolates your father said he started. That's much better than dredging up the past, right? Right."

Theo sighed, but followed his father into the kitchen. Roman had all but sprinted there, desperate to leave his son's question behind him. Theo had a bunch of questions that he'd love for his father to answer about his life and the past, but Roman was never open to answering them. Theo knew all about the Helios side of his family, but very little about the Bellamys. His great-aunt Wanda sometimes rattled off impressive facts about the Bellamy family, but she never talked about how it felt to experience it all or be near the people he read about in history books. Finally getting some answers to his questions was probably the only thing his parents could do to keep his mind off of Adam, but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon.

"You know that I love you, right? I'm sure that you'll make the right decision about Adam," Roman said, pulling his son in for a hug before the teen could ask any further questions or run away.

"What is the right decision?" Theo asked warily. "Everyone is telling me to break up with him, is that the right choice? I know we have something special, but what if he won't stop kissing other guys? What if I want to kiss Ewan again?"

"Ewan? Who the hell is Ewan?"

Roman reacted too quickly to cover up his reaction to hearing his son's sordid confession, and Theo noticed, immediately taking a step away from his father.

"A friend. Just a friend. And Adam's half brother. Oh look, my hot chocolate is ready. I'll go drink it in my room. Thanks, Dad, good talk."

Theo scurried as quickly as he could without spilling his drink before his father could ask any further questions about boys he may or may not have kissed.

"This discussion isn't over, Theodosius!"

Abe poked his head into the kitchen upon seeing Theo's quick escape.

"Everything good here? I think I saw a teenaged blur run past me. I hope you weren't too hard on him, Ro. We talked about this, remember?"

"Your mother? Why would he be asking about her? I thought this was about a boy."

"Everything's fine," he groaned. "Just Theo admitting to kissing someone other than Adam and asking about my mother of all things. He's going to end up pregnant or dead at this rate, Abe."

Roman sighed, rubbing his suddenly aching temple.

Roman crossed his arms defensively.

"He was full of questions apparently. He wanted to know about my marriage to Adrian too. Like I'm the one who has to answer questions! He's kissing Adam's brother now apparently too. I told you that boarding school would make him-"

Roman stopped mid sentence, his rant suddenly fading from his mind as another wave of calmness overcame his anger. Beside him, Abe smirked.

"You're out of practice, Bellamy. For a demon hybrid, you're not really catching onto demonic marriage very well. Calm down. Theo's growing up and trying to find his place in the world. The twins aren't far behind him, so we have to be ready for questions about the past or about our family. Think of everything that you had to piece together on your own about your parents and grandparents. Theo is just looking for a connection to his roots and experimenting with relationships. Besides, I thought you hated Adam. You should be celebrating Theo kissing someone else."

"Not Adam's brother," Roman groaned miserably. "His brother? Who knows what he's like? He could be worse."

"Or he might be great. That's up to Theo to find out and us to support him as best as we can. Now grab your hot chocolate and sit at the table with me. If the kids are going to start asking about...sensitive subjects, we should probably have some answers prepared."

"You've been reading those parenting books again, haven't you?" Roman teased, doing exactly what his husband had asked him to do.

Abe smiled mischievously.

"Come on, let's get started before you start getting ideas about chasing down every member in the Darktide family. That wouldn't end well for you and I'd much prefer you in one piece."

[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."

[mamuzzy]

-- HEIL CEASAR --

A history and media blurb and educational rant from Mamuzzy

Contents:

-- Heil Cézár!!! -- -- 'Allo 'Allo -- -- What is the Roman Salute? -- Why the nazi salute associated to the Romans? -- Mussolini and the statue of Emperor Augustus -- The Bellamy Salute -- -- Modern nazis are spineless cowards --

-- HEIL CÉZÁR!!! --

You know, one reason that Life of Brian hungarian DUB is genius because they didn't translate the line "hail Ceasar".

They said instead: "HEIL CÉZÁR!" while saluting. With the german HEIL. We knew exactly that this salute+greeting refered to Hitler.

But know this, we - the audience - were also aware what role Hitler had in history, the first heil-ings in the movie already told us what we need to know about the romans: that they are not just antagonists, but straightout villains of the story (unless you were raised racist and antisemite). And let's be honest, romans weren't exactly the ones you want to praise.

*insert what did the romans gave us scene here.* *insert what nazi scientists gave to the modern medical science and at what cost here*

The thing is, I didn't find this joke when tried to look up among the english scenes. You know, among most quoted stuff and there are plenty of lines you quote from this movie to this day.

Are you saying that the centurions saying HEIL CEASER is a hungarian dub-specific joke???? O___O

The salute is at: 0:15

Romans had this greeting though which is the equivalent of Hail: it's the latin Ave. Ave is how they greeted important people, officials, or the Ceasars themselves.

Suetonius in his "Lives of the Caesars" recounts that gladiators in the arena would address the Roman emperor with the phrase, ‘Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant [Hail Caesar, those who are about to die salute you]’.

More under the cut

----

-- 'ALLO 'ALLO --

It makes me wonder if british tv shows used some kind of watered down form of the actual nazi greeting UNLESS the actors and extras were shown FROM BEHIND. You know. Unrecognizable. The main characters of the show rarely seen extending their arms even if they were playing german officers themselves.

Same with the Life of Brian centurion salute which can be or not being the parody of a nazi salute.

I just really thought this is interesting.

-- WHAT IS THE ROMAN SALUTE? --

The thing is, that romans never used the same salutes what the nazis did. You just have to look at the nuances.

[THIS] <- is actually a very good article about various greeting forms of the romans, but nothing were about the whole arm extended in staight line in that angle while the palm looking down.

But here are some examples from the Column of Traian which is also mentioned in the article.

-- WHY THE NAZI SALUTE ASSOCIATED TO THE ROMANS?--

What we actually know about "Nazi Roman Salute", THE ONE that is associated with fascism and nazis comes from this painting. Oath of Horatii by Jacques-Louis David and it become a very popular hand sign in neoclassicits artworks depicting Roman Culture.

Know that Hitler and his bunch were history-nerds and art-nerds, but the worst kind: their cherry picked the things they liked about other cultures and incorporated them into their belief system. The more grandious history the country had with conquest and being a giant empire in the past, the more they went into fanboy mode. They hunted relics from the past too that was associated to the romans and everything that could have been used as a tool of propaganda.

The Nazi party first and foremost wanted to find proof that the germans are they indeed descendants of a superior race. The proof didn't have to be true or valid, it was enough if they could sell it as the only truth.

What I'm saying is, that the nazi salute is not resembling to the actual roman greatings. They got their greeting from an art piece which is not even made in its own time but in the 19th century. It's like when you are try to learn character lore from a fanart or a fanfic. It won't give full justice to the source.

-- MUSSOLINI AND THE STATUE OF EMPEROR AUGUSTUS --

Musk is getting tired of being called Hitler? You can still call him Mussolini.

People often go and mistake Augustus's handwave as a salute and originating the Roman Salute to him. But it turned out that the hand was repaired multiple times in the history. The original statue held a spear in his hand.

Benito Mussolini used Augustus as a symbol of fascism.

And later this hand gesture became popular in the Nazi Germany too.

-- THE BELLAMY SALUTE --

Got "Captain America is a hydra agent???" heart attack here?

You shouldn't. This is called Bellamy salute, or its other name: The flag salute. It was first used in 1892, USA, way before the fascist waves in Europe. They got the same idea like the nazis: the popular salute depiction of the Roman Empire, made by the Neo-classicist artists.

The Pledge of Alliance was written by Francis Bellamy but it was presented by James B. Upham, editor of The Youth's Companion.

At a signal from the Principal the pupils, in ordered ranks, hands to the side, face the Flag. Another signal is given; every pupil gives the flag the military salute – right hand lifted, palm downward, to align with the forehead and close to it. Standing thus, all repeat together, slowly, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all." At the words, "to my Flag", the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the Flag, and remains in this gesture till the end of the affirmation; whereupon all hands immediately drop to the side.

— The Youth's Companion, 65 (1892): 446.

This handsignal became controversial in the US due to the italian fascist and nazi germans started to use the very same handsign for saluting and eventually they banned it in fear that US will be associated with fascist values.

The fear had basis.

There were americans who were against participating in WW2 and to discredit such opposition movements, Pro-Intervention groups used photos of people doing the Bellamy salute to make it appear, they are one group with the german nazis. They took photos from angles where the American Flag could be easily edited out so people won't be able to tell they are saluting to the flag or just saluting like a nazi.

Sec. 5. That during the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag is passing in a parade or in a review, all persons present should face the flag, stand at attention, and salute. Those present in uniform should render the right-hand salute. When not in uniform, men should remove the headdress with the right hand holding it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Men without hats merely stand at attention. Women should salute by placing the right hand over the heart. The salute to the flag in the moving column should be rendered at the moment the flag passes.

Public Law 77-623 by the 77th Congress of the United States Pub.L. 77−623, 56 Stat. 377, H.J.Res. 303, enacted June 22, 1942

-- MODERN NAZIS ARE SPINELESS COWARDS IN HIDING --

Elon Musk didn't even try to bring up the Bellamy salute as an excuse which could have been honestly a very believable excuse (still shitty and spineless) given the whole places was probably full of US flags. But I don't give him credit and trust that he knows US history this well.

But this phenomenon is not new to me. Our politicians do the very same: they are nazi saluting and when the public opinion becomes bad about them, they try to weasel out their way with shitty excuses, not even stepping up for their own values that the salute holds.

Currently what we see throughtout the world (and what I see in my own country), rightwingers/fascists/nazis trying to silence the voices that tells them: YOU SUCK.

They make themselves the oppressed group, but in fact they just can't handle the consequences that with their choosen values, they become human piece of trash. They can't bear that the public opinion turn against them.

So what do they do in this situation? What every dictator does: Accuse the enemy/opposition with the crimes you do.

"Nazis are enemies of the free-speech right? Queers, leftists, doctors, teachers minorities etc are hating us for having our own opinions, therefor they are against free-speech!!!"

I mean look at Russia. Accusing Ukrainians being nazis to justify their eradication and genocide. I mean, you wouldn't protect a nazi, right?

They don't have to come out as nazis because these assholes in high places will tell the definition of what it means being a nazi. And it will be:

nazi = EVERYONE WE HATE AND WHO IS AGAINST US.

[creepynostalgy]

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

[allaboutroman]

Roman Polanski, Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ralph Bellamy on the set of Rosemary's baby. Photos by Bob Willoughby

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[existennialmemes]

No bro, that wasn't the nazi salute. It was a different strain. Bro, it was the bellamy salute. It was a roman salute, bro. It's different. Totally different experience, you gotta trust me, bro.

[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.