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thechanelmuse · 11 months

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Juneteenth is a Black American holiday.

We call Juneteenth many things: Black Independence Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day. We celebrate and honor our ancestors.

December 31 is recognized as Watch Night or Freedom’s Eve in Black American churches because it marks the day our enslaved ancestors were awaiting news of their freedom going into 1863. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. But all of the ancestors wouldn’t be freed until June 19, 1865 for those in Galveston, Texas and even January 23, 1866 for those in New Jersey (the last slave state). (It’s also worth noting that our people under the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations wouldn’t be freed until April 28, 1866 and June 14, 1866 for those under the Cherokee Nation by way of the Treaties.)

Since 1866, Black Americans in Texas have been commemorating the emancipation of our people by way of reading the Emancipation Proclamation and coming together to have parades, free festivities, and later on pageants. Thereafter, it spread to select states as an annual day of commemoration of our people in our homeland.

Here’s a short silent video filmed during the 1925 Juneteenth celebration in Beaumont, Texas:

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(It’s also worth noting that the Mascogos tribe in Coahuila, Mexico celebrate Juneteenth over there as well. Quick history lesson: A total of 305,326 Africans were shipped to the US to be enslaved alongside of American Indians who were already or would become enslaved as prisoners of war, as well as those who stayed behind refusing to leave and walk the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. In the United States, you were either enslaved under the English territories, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, or under the Nations of what would called the Five “Civilized” Native American Tribes: Cherokee, Creek (Muscogee), Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminoles. Mascogos descend from the Seminoles who escaped slavery during the Seminole Wars, or the Gullah Wars that lasted for more than 100 years if you will, and then settled at El Nacimiento in 1852.)

We largely wave our red, white and blue flags on Juneteenth. These are the only colors that represent Juneteenth. But sometimes you may see others wave our Black American Heritage flag (red, black, and gold).

Juneteenth is a day of respect. It has nothing to do with Africa, diversity, inclusion, immigration, your Pan-African flag, your cashapps, nor your commerce businesses. It is not a day of “what about” isms. It is not a day to tap into your inner colonizer and attempt to wipe out our existence. That is ethnocide and anti-Black American. If you can’t attend a Black American (centered) event that’s filled with education on the day, our music, our food and other centered activities because it’s not centered around yours…that is a you problem. Respect our day for what and whom it stands for in our homeland.

Juneteenth flag creator: “Boston Ben” Haith

It was created in 1997. The red, white and blue colors represent the American flag. The five-point star represents the Lone State (Texas). The white burst around the star represents a nova, the beginning of a new star. The new beginning for Black Americans.

Black American Heritage Flag creators: Melvin Charles & Gleason T. Jackson

It was created in 1967, our Civil Rights era. The color black represents the ethnic pride for who we are. Red represents the blood shed for freedom, equality, justice and human dignity. Gold fig wreath represents intellect, prosperity, and peace. The sword represents the strength and authority exhibited by a Black culture that made many contributions to the world in mathematics, art, medicine, and physical science, heralding the contributions that Black Americans would make in these and other fields.

SN: While we’re talking about flags, I should note that Grace Wisher, a 13-year-old free Black girl from Baltimore helped stitched the Star Spangled flag, which would inspire the national anthem during her six years of service to Mary Pickersgill. I ain’t even gon hold you. I never looked too far into it, but she prob sewed that whole American flag her damn self. They love lying about history here until you start unearthing them old documents.

In conclusion, Juneteenth is a Black American holiday. Respect us and our ancestors.

#juneteenth #juneteenth flag #black american history #black american culture #ben haith #black american heritage flag #melvin charles #gleason t jackson #grace wisher #american flag #mascogos #juneteenth 2023

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drc00l4tt4 · 24 days

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genswap au melvin

@warrior-of-waistbands i did not do your boy justice at all but i love him dearly

#i need to draw more aus other people made #what a nerd this guy is #pathetic nerd boy i love him so much #[ dr's artwork ]#captain underpants #melvin sneedly #tetocu #the epic tales of captain underpants

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sketch-twentytwo · 6 months

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This is Melvin Sneedly, Harold Hutchins, and George Beard. Melvin is the kid on the left with goggles and freckles. Harold is the one in the middle with the T-shirt and bad hair cut. George is the one on the, right with the tie and flat top. Remember that now.

That’s the boys!

Aside from Melvin’s loss of bowtie, I don’t see them changing their attire too much in this AU. Also I changed my mind, George and Melvin would be rivals but both boys would still be independent pains in Krupp’s side.

George’s resistance to authority is because the school system hinders creativity and student imagination. Melvin’s defiance to authority is because he thinks he knows better than the administration and believes they hinder him, specifically. Harold agrees with both sides to an extent, resulting in him being totally on board with both parties' elaborate plans, at least unless they quarrel.

I see Harold being the unifying front for each faction: Melvin would be his best friend from kindergarten and George would be an ally he spends time with whenever he gets detention (either that or George bumps into Harold and recruits him in secret to join his student cause against Krupp).

————

I think the Authority-Event Horizon for Melvin occurs after he makes friends with Harold. He’d bear witness to the harassment Harold suffers at the hands of the school as well as the administration’s lack of handling it. It’d break his belief that the faculty (and adults for that matter) know best, and feed into his desire to make things better with his intellect.

RR!Melvin mostly follows the rules, mostly because it's convenient, and he rarely results to tattling, as he doesn't see it as useful anymore. Admin doesn't help the students, therefore they cannot exhibit proper justice.

————

When Melvin and George butt heads it's because they view each other as wasted potential. George thinks Melvin could use his inventions to help students in a more useful manner, such as overthrowing the principle or whatever. Melvin thinks George's antics are stupid and a waste of time. Harold really wants his two friends to get along, but he's a bit to timid to pull anything like that off.

Don't you worry, though, I have plans for these three in this AU....

Coming soon!

#captain underpants #captain underpants au #harold hutchins #george beard #melvin sneedly #rr au #i have PLANS #Stay tuned #Melvin and George kinda share custody of Harold while Harold wants his buds to be friends #Harold is kinda that mutual friend that you like to hang out with but you dont really like his friends #so #say something BAD were to happen to Harold #guess whod have to step up #guess ;)#ALSO NO SHIP #THEY ARE CHILDREN YOUR HONOR #Redux Robotix AU

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infini-tree · 10 months

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wanted to actually finalize the ppu kid legacy characters' designs, since i already did that for both ppu!krupp, blunder, and edith. additional notes under the cut, as an extra bit of supplement to the ppu headcanon post i have-- i was going to just rewrite the stuff i had on the canvas, but typing it out is easier at the moment.

ppu!harold

inverted heterochromia! also, his bangs hang a little lower, shading his face

his tie is tied into an atlantic knot

the polo logo was supposed to be a dolphin, but it looks more like a stylized shape at this distance. its fine lol,,,

despite his upbringing making him be more (outwardly) assured, he still has echoes of that cautious nature seen in his mainverse counterpart. this manifests in how he plans pranks/overall prank style being more deliberate, 'slower-paced'

doesn't really use The Tie as a weapon so much as a fidget toy. kind of ruins the whole 'evil kid' vibe in a fun/funny way

ppu!george

stripes have a thin-thick thing going on, as opposed to just having equal width stripes. idk, it looks pleasing to me this way

despite not having The Tie here, he'd still improvise a weapon of choice. the whole time i've been wracking my head around for what the "opposite" of indiana jones would be, or other apt movie references he can draw on. the most i've got is that he's just extremely adaptable until i have something more concrete

with mainverse george's sense of justice, ppu!george probably has a skewed version of that in a way i haven't workshopped too deeply yet

ppu!melvin

also has the inverted heterochromia!

went through the most changes. ditched any semblance of canon outfit in favor of, "what looks dorky but in the diametric opposite way from mainverse"

answer to that, apparently was overalls-- still dorky, but makes him look a bit more childish and ready to be a bit more rough and tumble than his mainverse counterpart

instead of the bunny slippers i opted for untied shoelaces, though the bunny motif still remains in said shoes

#mells draws a thing #captain underpants

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sweatermuppet · 1 year

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pro-abortion: a concern for one is a concern for all stickers now available (4 inch by 1½ inch, gloss, waterproof)

100% of profit will go to abortion funds (currently the Lilith Fund of Texas, The Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire, & The Kentucky Health Justice Network). fund suggestions welcome at checkout (notes section)

#love how these turned out!!! might do some larger sizes in the future (?)#silas denver melvin #sweatermuppet #pro abortion #abortion funds #pro choice #reproductive freedom #reproductive justice #abortion rights #merch

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biolizardboils · 1 year

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Behold—The Grievance of the Graphite Ghostwriter and The Woeful Watercolor Heartache of the Weeping Wet Hairbrush!

notes and a sort-of plot under the cut!

My recipe for these was (Kid + Nuclear Waste + Favorite Creative Utensil) x Personality Trait That Could Realistically Boil Over. George’s trait is his sense of justice, Harold’s is trying to downplay his sadness with jokes

They’re foils to each other in a few ways: Writing vs. Drawing, of course, but also Dry Dust vs. Wet Puddles and Only Eyes vs. Only A Mouth

Their surroundings in the second pic is intentional too. George is attacking the cool-colored Downtown Piqua, where cold-hearted businessmen exploit their workers; Harold attacks the warm-colored suburbs, tearing open nuclear households to feel the warmth inside

They get two forms because Booger Boy and Sir Stinks-A-Lot did too and also I’m indecisive lol. Think of their first form as Mega Evolution and the second as Gigantamax. Introducing Pilkeymon Graphite and Pilkeymon Acrylic

The Sort-Of Plot

First off this takes place in an unholy mashup of all three canons, because again I’m indecisive. Anyway:

One day The Boys realize their comics tend to come true and try to game the system lol. They make one about them getting Writer/Artist Powers and fixing all of Piqua’s problems with them! ...But nothing happens, and it upsets them more than they want to admit

Later they go on separate field trips to opposite ends of town (they’re in different classes like in the Movie I guess). They miss each other and sneak away to self-soothe by writing/drawing

But someone comes to bother them—a teacher scolds George harshly for wandering off, and a mean older kid picks on Harold knowing The Tie won’t stop him. They try to get away and fall into the sewers, where their frustration (and nuclear waste) catalyzes their transformation

At first they use their new powers for good: George “rewrites” the teacher to stop misusing his authority, and Harold “repaints” the mean kid into a literal class clown. But they don’t feel better, so they try harder: bad businessmen give away their riches, and the gas station from Book 9 becomes a candy store. They still don’t feel better, and soon their well-meaning “fixing” turns everyone into either single-minded zombies or forcibly smiling blobs

Melvin was in the downtown field trip and Knows About Captain like in Book 8 or whenever it was, so he finds Krupp, snaps, and sics him on George. Then he goes to the suburbs and “tells” on both Boys to their families. “Hey your sons have been leading dangerous monster-fighting double lives and now they’re monsters and you should be mad at them about it!”

Meanwhile, Captain is horrified that one of his sidekicks has fallen to evil!! He doesn’t want to hurt George and tries to talk him down while dodging his Pencil-Tie. George yells that he could never understand what he’s going through and takes on his Tornado form, blowing Captain all the way to the suburbs. There Captain sees Harold, gets horrified again, and tries the same talk on him—cue his giant Dolphin form. And since he’s spewing wet paint everywhere, Krupp wakes up in front of Melvin and the families. (What Captain didn’t get is that the Boys aren’t evil now—they’re having literal nuclear meltdowns due to past hurt and current stress)

So now there’s two giant monsters wrecking different parts of the city, Captain is down for the count, and the Boys’ families know Everything. Someone says, “Well, at least it can’t get any worse!” Cue the Boys seeing each other in the distance, not recognizing each other, and meeting in City Center for a KAIJU FIGHT (in Flip-O-Rama of course)

Melvin calculates their weaknesses and everyone splits up to gather the necessary supplies. But by the time they meet back up, the Boys have already neutralized each other (Harold bites down on George’s tie, and George sucks the water out of Harold’s hair). So instead the parents just talk to them and hope they’re listening from somewhere inside the dust clouds and dried hair. They tell them that they know what they’ve been going through now, that they get why they didn’t tell them, but that they shouldn’t have to bear so much responsibility alone. Maybe they even get Krupp to apologize for the part he's played in their constant stress (as if I haven’t derailed canon enough already lol).

The Boys emerge, human and crying, and run into their parents’ arms. Everyone helps clean up the city and cure its citizens with the supplies they’d gotten earlier. The sort-of plot ends with everyone going home, making popcorn, and watching the Kaiju Fight on the news. They might’ve caused millions in property damage but hey, at least it looked awesome

The outcome: Now the Boys don’t have to keep as many secrets, and Krupp is a bit more mindful of how he treats his students. (And maybe he knows about Captain now too, I haven’t decided yet)

#captain underpants #george beard #harold hutchins #captain underpants the first epic movie #the epic tales of captain underpants #au #cu #george #harold #graphite ghostwriter #weeping wet hairbrush #my draws #me talking

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lieutenant-teach · 3 months

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Read several books about Loki and Sigyn, which were marked with hashtag ‘justice for sigyn’. All of them are written by really talented people (I’m often baffled by situations when fans write better stories than professional writers – why do the latter get their money?). After reading I can’t agree on some specific points in these books that rubbed me wrong.

Contains spoilers!

Cat Rector ‘The Goddess of Nothing at all’ – the story is strong. A well-written book, pleasure to read. But. Even here, on Tumblr, I read lots of meta and criticism ‘Angrboda wasn’t Loki’s mistress! She was his wife before Sigyn!’. And the author goes this standard way ‘Angrboda is Loki’s mistress’. It works for this story, but it’s in lots and lots of books about Norse myths! Why NOT make her a mistress? Why go a typical way? The ending – I loved the ending. A new All-mother Sigyn – chef’s kiss.

Nicki Chapelway ‘The Harbinger of the end’ (1st book) – an interesting take on Volsung saga, the adventures were really engaging. But, frankly, I didn’t understand why Sigyn fell in love with Loki. I mean, they never had any meaningful conversations or actions between two of them to start love. She just decides ‘I’m a wife, I must love him, and also he’s handsome’. That’s it! Next morning she acts as if she’s deeply in love with him. It seemed as if the author wanted to go into slowburn, but didn’t manage to pull it off and just jumped to the moment when they’re already in love.

Lyra Wolf ‘Truth and other lies’ – again, where’s Sigyn as the Goddess of Victory? So much for all these cries in the internet and on Tumblr specifically ‘but she’s not the Goddess of Fidelity! Marvel just made it up!’. Then WHY use this trope? Not saying it’s a bad idea in and on itself, but it’s so established in general public’s mind. Why not change it? Why not at least combine these two elements – fidelity AND victory?

Surprisingly, only Melvin Burgess writes Sigyn as the Goddess of Victory. Burgess! It was the single thing I liked in this book. Of course, he didn’t give justice to her, but at least he named her title right.

Of course, I guess, nothing can beat the Marvel comics – they’re the first to blame for this Fidelity mess and general treatment of Sigyn. Lots of nowadays popular books are based on comics portrayal. I believe fan books should go as far from these typical Logyn tropes as possible.

#norse mythology #norse loki #sigyn #literature analysis #justice for sigyn #logyn #loki x sigyn #sigyn marvel #literary analysis

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frogwhomp · 1 year

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This is the Black American Heritage flag. (Source)

Created by Melvin Charles and Gleason Jackson in 1967, this flag represents Black history within America. To both Charles and Jackson they felt as though the American flag didn't truly represent them. Together they created a flag that us undeniably Black and represents Black people history within the United States. "The color black to represent pride and pigmentation and race; red, to remind us of the rich blood black men have shed for freedom, equality, justice and human dignity throughout the world; and gold, to represent intellect, prosperity, and peace." In the center the fig leaves are a symbol of Africa; the cultivated fig, which one of oldest life-sustaining fruits. As well as a blunted sword which is a symbol of leadership carried by leaders since the 8th century.

#Black history month #BHM #black pride #Melvin Charles #Gleason Jackson #wanted its own post with the info

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luverofralts · 1 month

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Arkhelios Adventures

"Well, it was lovely to see you, Amina. Be sure to drop by the new house when we're settled in."

Wanda Bellamy embraced the woman she'd come to see as a close friend. Amina Bellamy was a recent arrival to Arkhelios, but she'd been an amazing volunteer for Wanda's political pursuits since arriving. They'd often joked about sharing a last name and people maybe getting the wrong idea about their relationship based on it, which Hunter never found amusing. Bellamy was a common enough name, there was bound to be a new arrival with the name eventually.

"I can't wait to see it. It sounds wonderful. I'm so happy for you and your little family."

"New house? Are you moving again, Wanda? You just bought this house three years ago."

Roman Bellamy stood in his aunt's driveway, looking confused. He was pretty sure the two women were talking about a new house, but Wanda hadn't mentioned any plans to her nephew.

"Roman! What a pleasant surprise," Wanda said, smiling at her favourite nephew. "And yes, we are moving again. Your uncle and I have been building a new home for years now. We've outgrown this one and wanted something more...elegant."

"But, I was going to ask if you could-"

"Roman Bellamy? Malika’s boy? Look at you, you're her spitting image. Such a handsome young man."

Roman was cut off by Amina's excited embrace. The woman hugged him fiercely. A little too fiercely for a stranger for Roman's comfort.

"Grandson," Roman corrected her when he was finally released. "Malika was my grandmother. Did you know her?"

Amina shook her head.

"No, but I've seen pictures of her," she answered. "She was friends with Romana Rivales, the famous painter. There was a write-up and photoshoot in the magazines with them when I was growing up. Both of them were so beautiful and talented. The world lost something precious when they passed."

Roman stared uneasily at Amina, trying to analyze her sincerity. Very few people spoke about his mother and grandmother unless they absolutely had to. After Kamalani had been charged posthumously with the murder of Omar Bellamy and the attempted murder of so many people that Melvin stopped after just five charges were laid. Charging a dead woman with a large list of crimes did nothing to get peace or justice to her victims. It was all just paperwork in the end.

"I'm sure my grandmother would have loved the compliment," Roman said at last. "If there was one thing she loved, it was listening to people praise her."

"If you love Romana Rivales' work, Roman has quite a few of her originals at home," Wanda added. "He's got quite a collection started. I'm sure that he would be happy to show them sometime, right Roman?"

Roman scowled at the reminder. Of course he had a hoarde of his mother's paintings. People wouldn't stop shoving them in his face and demanding that he be grateful they did. Most of them were locked up in his office, out of sight until he could offload them on a collector or pawnshop willing to take them. They had increased in value with Romana's mysterious death, but people often found them unnerving when viewing them in person, as if his mother's toxicity were oozing from the paint, presenting her as the monster she had always been. There was a convention for all things demonic in Pleasantview next month, where Roman was determined to either sell the paintings or leave them in the parking lot for someone to find. The paintings inspired by his secret half-sister were the worst to look at. Every time he saw one, his heart seemed to stop beating for a moment, still held captive by the memories of what his mother had done to him even after all these years.

"I would love to see her work in person," Amina replied with an excited smile. "She had such an eye for the supernatural, surely one of her paintings would look wonderful in the Arkhelios Academy of Magic?"

"No!" Roman practically shouted the word at the same time Wanda was nodding excitedly.

"What a great suggestion," Wanda said. "I'll have to take it up with the coven first, though. Romana has a...complicated legacy here."

"Understandable," Amina replied graciously. "It was just a thought. But I'll leave you with your guest, Wanda. The children are probably getting into mischief without me around. You know teenagers."

"Romona was just a pseudonym," Roman added irritably. "Her name was Kamalani. Whatever the artistic good she accomplished in her career could never undo all the unforgivable things she did. She abused me and tried to murder my children. She doesn't deserve to use a pseudonym to attempt to clean her image."

"Of course. How insensitive of me," Amina apologized. "I know of her only through her art, while you saw the side of her no one else in the public got to see. You have my sympathies for your past pain. Still, one of her paintings might add some helpful context to the Academy. It's something to think about anyway. Good night, Wanda. I'll see you at the usual time tomorrow."

The strange woman walked past Roman towards the mall. She likely lived in the new part of town where Wanda had been building new housing.

"Who was that?" Roman asked, hugging his aunt despite how unsettled the entire exchange had made him. "Is she new in the coven?"

Wanda squeezed Roman tightly in return, giving him a motherly accessment as she did. He didn't seen to be injured or too skinny and hadn't gotten any more tattoos that she could see.

"She's a woman who helps me at the office," Wanda replied. "She's helping me battle Fitz Cowden and the garbage he thinks makes good policy. Amina is brilliant, and maybe a little magically gifted, though not enough to want to join the coven. I've asked repeatedly, but she says that it's not her thing. It's still nice to have another Bellamy around, even if we're not related. If we had multiple Bellamys in the coven, we'd sound just like Pleasantview. 'Master Maricourt, Master Maricourt and Master Maricourt'. It's ridiculous."

"Another Bellamy?" Roman repeated. "Are you sure we're not related to her? Bellamy isn't that common of a name."

"I don't see how," Wanda said defensively. "Salem didn't have any family that I know of."

"It's not his name, remember? It's Grandma's. She has a big enough family somewhere. Remember the photo album I showed you a few years ago? She had a sister. A sister that was on a first name basis with Dorhack. What if this is some kind of invasion? What if they're after me or my kids? We need to get a background check on her at the very least."

Wanda rolled her eyes, waving away Roman's worries dismissively.

"Hmm, truthfully, I'd forgotten that Salem took his wife's name. It was always all over our school board meetings, and I guess I just saw more of him in general. Your grandmother never really took a liking to me, especially at the end. If that will make you feel better, then I'll have a background check done," she sighed. "Until it's done, I expect you to treat her without suspicion, Roman. Even if she is one of those Bellamys, you can't assume her motives. Don't be so cold-hearted. You might just grow to like her."

"Not fucking likely," Roman muttered under his breath. He stole another look over his shoulder, only to find the woman watching him from a distance. Something about her just felt wrong in a way he didn't understand.

Amina held Roman's gaze until he was forced into the house by his aunt. He was an interesting young man, and brighter than she had originally given him credit. She could feel Malika’s warm presence encircling her grandson, even long after her death. Whatever remained of the woman's spirit was protecting her grandson. She really had adored him despite her poor choices.

"So, Wanda, why are you moving again? You live in a mansion."

Roman looked skeptically at the strange decor of his aunt's house. All the paintings on the wall were of foreign people from a variety of countries. He could pick out a few from Pleasantview that he recognized from his school. The only few representations of her own family were Theo's baby pictures and the group photo of the remaining Bellamy family taken before Omar's murder.

Being the leader of Arkhelios on the international stage had made Wanda wealthy enough to still fund the traditional Bellamy lifestyle that Roman had given up to pay for Theo and the twins' educations and keep his restaurant above water. He could still remember his teen years of fancy clothes, fancy schools and acting entitled enough to be mistaken for someone of Claudia's rank. Theo had certainly changed all that, and now Roman couldn't even picture how he once had been before his mother had tried repeatedly to ruin his life and kill his son. He did miss the wealth and political scheming, but his life was better now. Different, but better.

Wanda hadn't had to give up a fortune in school tuition or feed and clothe large amounts of children. Her son was well dressed, but Wanda only had the one child to support. Politics paid well, and she'd been gifted generously by people looking to persuade her to vote their way. Wanda could afford to be a Bellamy like her in-laws. Maybe when Abe III was ready to start college, Roman could afford the luxurious life he'd grown up with.

"We're just not liking this house," Wanda replied, leading Roman into the living room. "We need something bigger, something more impressive. A tiny mansion doesn't shout power, but a large estate does. We need something to make outsiders marvel at when they travel here. A strong house for a strong leader."

Roman frowned but remained silent. There was a lot more distance between him and his aunt and uncle lately. With everything that had happened, he had gone from a carefree teenager bugging his magical aunt for favours to a battle scarred father just trying to survive. Wanda had drifted away, especially after she had made him take ownership over the Bellamy estate so that she could pursue politics. When he looked at how far he'd drifted from his aunt, Roman felt bad for only visiting tonight to ask a favour of her. He was a shitty nephew, but being a father always came first. He couldn't just leave his kids to hang out with his incredibly busy aunt who also didn't have the free time to share.

"So I'm glad that you stopped by," Wanda exclaimed, waving dramatically at the chaos behind her. "I was thinking of taking more family photos before we moved. I don't think I even have a photo of the twins or Mark now that he's in university. I have a photographer on standby. He does all my political photos and they look amazing."

Roman took one look at the photo studio and felt a pressing need to retreat before his aunt could comb his hair and put a nice tie on him just like his grandmother had done every few months of his childhood.

"Uh, maybe," he stammered. "Theo and the twins are away at school, though for so long, and Abe Jr's just started teething, so he's going to be difficult to get a good shot with."

Wanda smiled deviously.

"Then how about for your thirtieth birthday party?" she replied, enjoying the confused look on Roman's face. "I am the leader of Arkhelios, people are going to tell me about my darling nephew's birthday plans, especially when you want to use my house to host it."

Roman flushed with embarrassment. Of course his aunt had found out about the party before he could even ask. Arkhelios was not the place to try to keep a secret, no matter how hard everyone tried.

"Well, yeah, that might work. But if you're moving, how are you going to host the party here?"

He could already see moving boxes piled in the corner by the stairs. There was no way that Roman trusted any of his children to be left alone in this expensive looking house either. Abe Jr would chew everything in sight and the girls would probably knock something expensive over while running. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

"Well, we hold it at your place," Wanda stated, as if this was the only option. "It's a big lot and the kids are already familiar with it. I can organize it all, all you have to do is open your house to your guests."

"I don't have the space," Roman replied. "The last Winterfest ball we held there was a long time ago. There's the baby toys, Theo's magic textbooks, the dogs...it's just too much."

"Ask your mother in law then. She has the Helios mansion to entertain in."

Roman laughed at the thought of Elaine willingly holding a party in her house. After several tries to hold a party where no one died, got pregnant, gave birth, or released zombies, she had given up on parties entirely. The next party that would be held in her house would be her funeral and that was final.

"Okay, fine. I'll provide the house, unless I can find somewhere better to host it," Roman conceded. "If you could plan it half as well as your Winterfest parties, that would be amazing. I'll give you a budget once Adrian's accountant gets back to us."

"Don't bother," Wanda replied, waving her hand dismissively once more. "Consider it my gift to the three of you young men. You only have one thirtieth birthday, and all of you work so hard to help make Arkhelios a better place. Though I might need to take a few pictures for my updated campaign at the party. You know, to show that I'm one of the young people who connects with the issues they care about."

"Of course. I do appreciate this, Aunt Wanda. It's been a tough few years and I think we all need this excuse to just relax and let go of some of the stress in our lives."

#sims 2 #arkhelios #roman bellamy #arkhelios adventures #wanda hydes #amina bellamy

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