Thirdly

Pt 206: "My name is Saute, and I was once a world-renown chef until a rival chef poisoned the meal I served to high political figure. Unable to live with such a besmirched name, I committed suicide by eating several ghost peppers at once. But, my passion for cooking has transcended time and space itself and I shall now train you in the art of true cuisine!"

...but what was the tea?

It was the only tea available where I was staying for a while.

Sounds good.

And here I've only been drinking chamomile for the last 6 days.

Interesting is one way to put it, yes.

Edit: This is currently the fully updated and edited final version.

They do have one every year. It is a graduation for Omegas, so they are all 18-19 during each Gifting Day. Carnelia is not in the millions population-wise, maybe 300-400 thousand at best, but that is plenty to fill a graduating class every year (remember that the boys are a rarity and some couples have downright litters). Several families moved there from other regions, yes.

The look on Shael's face when he realized the salamander had been the one to steal his stole was priceless. Azar had no doubt that he'd survive the fall. Why would the goddess Nut order him to do such a thing if it killed his fellow elemental? Wasn't Farshael the ultimate favorite of the gods? The thought brought back a tiny surge of envy in Azar, something he thought he had grown out of. But could anyone blame him? Shael was the fastest flier. That made him the popular choice for th

Both are fine. I personally use chapter titles so I can remember where to find certain scenes or where I left off at. But, it's more for me than for readers.

Update: She has been found! I had even named her "My Fair Lady" 😂 She is safe and sound in Pokemon Home now.

I loved that Night Before xmas version! 🤣

🤣 We found the location of the cartridge of the game where it MIGHT be found. But, I will verify for sure this Saturday. So, to be continued!

Sometimes I do go for the LOTR trilogy instead, depends on the year. 🤣 I do enjoy Love Actually. Haven't head the full version of Christmas is All Around You, but I will now! And hey, no one understands Ñaqui Quiñaqui but we still sing it anyway. If you can find any vids of your local songs, send them my way.

Those are two whole lists! Okay hold on... MOVIES: 1. Die Hard (I don't care what anyone says, it IS an xmas movie) 2. The Santa Clause 3. Violent Night (bloody, but surprisingly entertaining) 4. How the Grinch Stole Chirstmas, the 20 minute cartoon 5. The Christmas Chronicles 6. Candy Cane Lane 7. The Christmas List 8. A Christmas Story 9. The Nightmare Before Christmas 10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (wait, I can explain...I just happen to always watch this one during xmas) SONGS: 1. El Culito del Pan - 2. El Burrito Sabanero- 3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Springsteen version with the sax solo) 4. This is Not a Christmas Song 5. Christmas Wrapping 6. Last Christmas 7. Ñaqui Quiñaqui (Menudo Version)- 8. Carol of the Bells (Trans-Siberian Orchestra version mostly, but I rock out to most versions) 9. The Little Drummer Boy (any and all versions) 10. All I want for Christmas is You (I mean I really did jam all 90s and early 2000s to that song)

Every year, it's different one. The depressing Christmas Shoes, Springsteen's Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Christmas Wrapping, All I Want for Christmas is You (back in the 90s...it's overplayed these days), Last Christmas, Where Are you Christmas, etc. This year. Why, it's:

So sickness notwithstanding, there would be no celebration anyway! What do you do to acknowledge/celebrate the holiday at home alone? Bake, drink hot teas and chocolate, binge christmas movies, finish a non-complicated video game or a 700 piece puzzle...answer a ton of phone calls from drunk family members...

They were present in the background, but hardly ever mentioned. The time frame of the story held most of the focus on Adain's family. But, Talon's parents did always exist. 😂 So, you weren't going totally crazy. The one time they were officially mentioned and seen was during the wedding.

But Adi, then the MC would come across the bears they love so much and start weeping bitterly!

As a person with overflowing plot bunnies in their heads that can't possibly all see the light of day in my lifetime...*creating* prompts for others to take and run with is a relief that the idea can come to fruition in some way without my feeling guilty for never bringing it to life. As a person with overflowing plot bunnies in their heads that keep boffing and multiplying before I can choose one to fulifill...*using* prompts created by others, that I take and run with, is a fun respite from my ridiculously long project list which I force myself to limit down to 5 in cycles. I can then take a break, get out of my own head, and try to jump into the head of the new prompt character. It's all win-win to me.

Eros is a favorite of mine, too! But, I don't think there was ever a music video for A Cosa Servono le Mani unlike with Gloria, Tu, Claridad, etc. So, maybe local radio play in Italy was as far as that song went back then? I wouldn't know for sure, as my family's from the Caribbean and his songs came out before the internet made most songs available almost instantaneously from one hemisphere to the other. Have you heard the Menudo version of Claridad? It's hilariously cute and simple in comparison to the more rowdy original version! I mean, Tozzi's version had an electric guitar and everything if I remember correctly.

So, I think more of us grew up with Umberto Tozzi's music in different languages. He wrote the original songs covered by the 80's hits Gloria (Laura Branigan) and Claridad (Menudo). A few months ago, I bought a few of his albums and came across a song I grew up with in Spanish that was ALSO originally penned and sung in Italian: De Que Me Sirven Estas Manos (A Cosa Servono le Mani) Tozzi's quite the poet, bending both Italian and Spanish to his will in his lyrics, and this song is one of his best. When I tried to find an English translation that made sense (for both the Spanish and Italian variations), I was *highly disappointed* to find rough google translations in the place of a more hefty English version. So, I attempted to fuse both the Spanish and Italian lyrics into my own version. I used creative license, as both versions are slightly different. But, if there is a diehard Tozzi Italian fan out there that wants to do a better job, by all means do so! In the meantime, here is my very pale in comparison English version, whose syllables I matched to the original Italian version: What Use are These Hands (A Cosa Servono le Mani) Hands, remind us life is brief And time is but a thief We begin with nothing, lifting from the bottom… Hands; I’ll have to use them once again Here on either side of your grave Must I see them empty? So suddenly empty… Hands that numb in rainfall, they then become the Hands that lost the joy…of moving, and Hands wait in desperation For the hands that they once deemed their salvation Of what use are these hands of mine? I am unsure. Over her skin and body they had toured. No sculptor could have made her kind and fair. What do I do with my hands if she’s not there? Not there, not there…tell me Of what use are these hands of mine? I find myself grasping them spitefully in my fists Wish they’d disappear like the mist, Or like butterflies rise And remember how to love. Won’t you refill my glass? My hands, they… Still seek the warmth of the sunlight And lost within hallucinations Yes, an antivenom To all of my humiliations… Vibrant nail polish, or your dresses The bread and wine that made me Blessed The blood in my veins, you were one and the same… Four hands down to two Wounds from the broken mirror in the loo Hidden in pockets and dying of shame Rejected and forgotten, even blamed Hey! Why can’t the ground just open up and swallow me? Why do I long for war along with peace? Robbed of my valor, couldn’t be more crushed When it’s only your hands I want to touch And it’s…useless to call me Of what use are these hands of mine? I find myself grasping them spitefully in my fists Wish they’d disappear like the mist, Or like butterflies rise And remember how to love. Won’t you play any song with feeling, friend of mine? Ah ah I will support your violin with mine The orchestra now knows about your tumor Go, direct it with your last breath of humor For what, for whom, what are they for? These hands, they do not know To feel the cold of grief and empty loss, oh Or to conserve your memory within them Rather than tremble in fear of losing you For what, for whom, oh, won’t you say what they are for? If you cannot Join them in prayer or try reaching out Intertwine all your fingers as you count Or dig them into clay with a great shout? For what, for whom, tell me what use are these hands of mine, my dear child? Listen carefully to what I have spoken Hands make the world, hands make the universe They show the days of past, and time dispersed Ah ah of what use are these hands… ----- Below are my notes of the fusion of both: MANI belle MANI addio (Hands, beautiful hands, goodbye) Adagio un po' con brio (Adagio a bit 'with panache/vivacity) La vita riprende dal fondo e con DO (Life starts from the bottom and with...) MANI le mani dovrò usarle anch'io (Hands; I'll have to use them) Su questa roccia che è il tuo addio (On this rock that is your goodbye) - A TOMB???? E in uno scaffale del tempo cercare (And on a time-shelf look for) - Timeshelf=photo album!?!?! Manos, suaves manos mías (Hands, these soft hands of mine) Les digo adiós y el día (I say goodbye and the day) Parece notarlo (appears to take note of it) Se funde tristemente (and it melts in a sad way) Mi mente debe ser más fuerte (my mind should be stronger/more resilient) Tendré que usarlos nuevamente (I’ll have to use them once again) Volver a no verlas (in order to stop looking at them) De pronto vacías (so suddenly empty) MANI per la noia di quando piove (Hands for the boredom of when it rains) MANI per la gioia che si rimuove (hands for the joy that is removed) MANI per la naja di attendere (hands for the naja to wait) che un'altra mano appaia (for another hand to appear) Manos aburridas que no se sienten (bored hands that don’t feel) Manos de alegría cuando se mueven (happy when they move) Manos extendidas que esperan que (hands extended that wait for) otra mano les dé vida. (another hand to give them life) A cosa servono le MANI non saprei (What hands are for, I don't know) MANI non saprei suonando il pianoforte su di lei (I played the piano on her) Credevo fosse un'arte e adesso che (I thought it was an art and now Ne faccio delle MANI se lei non c'è (what do I do with them if she is not there?) De qué me sirven estas manos? (What use are these hands of mine?) No los sé (I’m unsure) Paseaban por su cuerpo (They cruised over her body) Por su piel (and her skin) Igual que si moldeara una escultura (The same as if I were molding a sculpture) Sin ella que otra cosa podría hacer (Without her, what else would I do?) Non c'è non c'è ecco (No, I don’t know) a cosa servono le MANI (what is the use of these hands?) Per caso le ho sgranchite (By chance I stretched them) e già le rimuovo un po' (and removed them a little) E il primo graffio di un altro bambino (and another baby’s first scratch) Voglio uscire stasera (I want to go out tonight) che sia primavera o no (Whether it’s Spring or not) E voglio averne a piene (And I want to have it full) - The shot glass? No sé no sé dime, (Don’t know don’t know, say) de qué me sirven estas manos? (What are these hands worth?) Aprieto fuertemente (I hold them tightly) Ya se quieren mover (They already want to move) Mariposas de nuevo son (They’ve become butterflies once more) Quiero hacerlas que vuelen (I want to force them to fly) Y así aprender amor (and in that way learn to love) MANI di noci da schiacciar così (HANDS of nuts to crush like this) Di luce da inondare qui il contro veleno (Of light to flood here the counter-poison) Dei funghi dell'umiliazione (Of the mushrooms of humiliation) Dell'unghie nelle tue sottane (Some nails in your petticoats) Per me tu eri l'acqua il pane (For me you were water, bread) Il sangue le vene mi servono buone (The blood and veins, my good serving) Debo sentir que tengo manos (I should feel like I have hands) Que salgan a buscar el sol (May they leave to seek the sun) Que vuelvan a sentir calor (So they may once again feel warmth) En contra veneno (In contrast to the poison) Del mal de tus humillaciones (of your awful humiliations) De la erupción de tus vestidos (of the fluttering of your dresses) Fuiste pan y fuiste vino (you were bread and you were wine) Mi sangre en mis venas (you were the blood in my veins) MANI non le tue da quattro sono diventate due (HANDS not yours from four became two) E stanno sempre in tasca chiuse a pugno (And they're always in your pocket closed in a fist) Ferite dallo specchio del mio bagno (Wounds from my bathroom mirror) violence, grief Eh vorrei strappare marijuana dalla terra (Eh I would like to tear marijuana from the earth) Vorrei la pace e poi vorrei la guerra (I would like peace and then I would like war) Ma è vero non possiamo star lontani (But it's true we can't stay away) In fondo voglio ancora le tue MANI (Deep down I still want your HANDS) No puedo perderlas (I can’t lose them) Manos no las tuyas (Hands that aren’t yours) De cuatro solo quedan dos desnudas (Four once, now only two are left naked) Muriéndose de pena en los bolsillos (Dying of pity within pockets) Heridas por el asco y el olvido (Feeling hurt by disgust and neglect) Quiero meterme en lo más hondo (I want to be swallowed up by the ground) De la tierra Quiero la paz después (I want peace afterward) Quiero la guerra (I want war) Me siento sin valor paralizado (I feel robbed of valor and paralyzed) Tan solo quiero acariciar tus manos (I merely want to caress your hands) È inu...tile che chiami (It’s use…less for you to call) A cosa servono le mani (What are hands for?) Per caso le ho sgranchite (By chance I stretched them) e già le rimuovono un po' (and removed them a bit) Due farfalle di nuovo ho (Two butterflies again I have) Voglio uscire stasera (I want to go out) che sia primavera o no (Whether or not it’s Spring) Y no..y si te llamo (And no…and if I call) De qué me sirven estas manos? (What use are these hands?) Aprieto fuertemente (I grip them firmly) Ya se quieren mover (They already want to move) Mariposas de nuevo son (Once again, they’re butterflies) Quiero hacerlas que vuelen (I want to force them to fly) A así aprender amor (And, that way, learn of love) E vai col tango delle MANI amico mio ah ah (And go with the HANDS tango my friend ah ah) Appoggia il tuo violino sul leggio (Place your violin on the music stand) Del tuo tumore sa tutta l'orchestra (The whole orchestra knows about your tumor) Dirigi per il tempo che ti resta (Direct for whatever time you have left) TUMOR?? Y toca fuerte cualquier cosa amigo mío (And play strongly any song, my friend) Apoya tu violín al hombro mío (Support your violin with my shoulder) De tu agonía sabe ya la orquesta (Of your agony, the orchestra already knows) Dirige por el tiempo que te resta (Direct it for what time you have left) A che A chi A cosa servono (For what, For whom, What are they for?) Le mani adesso so (The hands now know) A far le corna dire si o no oh (To make the horns say yes or no oh) A pizzicare un dolce un culo pieno (To pinch a sweet, full ass) -LMAO! 70s Italians were lady killers, weren't they? A dare un fiore a dire io ti amo (To give a flower to say I love you) De qué por qué me sirven estas manos? (Of what, what use are these hands? I don’t know) Ya lo sé Para sentir el frío aprender (To feel the coldness and to learn) A conservar en ellas tu recuerdo (To conserve your memories in them) Para temblar de miedo si te pierdo (To tremble from fear if I lose you) A che A chi A cosa servono le mani (For what, For whom, What are hands for) se non puoi (If you cannot) Congiungerle e pregare senza un Dio (Join them and pray without a God) Ci puoi contare quattro cinque sei (You can count on it four five six) E modellare un'altra uguale a lei (And model another equal to her) De qué para qué sirven ya mis manos (Of what, what is the use of my hands?) Si no atino a entrelazarlas y (If I don't manage to intertwine them and) Soñar contigo (dream with you) Contar del uno al diez (To count from one to ten) Del diez al cero (From ten to zero) O modelar en barro con los dedos (Or modeling in clay with your fingers) A che A chi A cosa servono (For what, For whom, just what are) le mani bimbo mio (hands for, my child?) Ti spiego anche se son (I'll explain even if they are) bambino anch'io (Childlike, too) Le MANI sono il mondo l' universo (HANDS are the world, the universe) Il tempo ritrovato il tempo perso (Time regained, and time lost) Ah ah cosa servono le mani.... (Ah ah what are the hands for…) A qué de qué me sirven estas manos (To what, what use are these hands) Hijo mío ( my son?) Escúchame despacio lo que digo (Listen carefully to what I’m saying) Las manos son el mundo el universo (The hands are the world, the universe) El tiempo del amor, el tiempo muerto… (The time of love, the time of death…) Aaaaaa de que me sirven estas manos… (Ah what are these hands for…) -- So, basically, I perceive this song to be about a single dad mourning the loss of his wife and trying to explain his grief to his son.

What I dislike to read (because to say I "hate" to read anything is a lie, as I always enjoy at least some element of all the stories I've ever read) is a story that had an intense opening and middle, but either a weak ending compared to the intensity of the first two parts....a twist ending just for shock value that does not align well with the intensity of the first two parts...or a selfish ending in which the author deviated from the story itself in order to inject whatever epiphany they currently obtained to try to feed it to the masses by using the first two parts of their story as mere advertisement. A webcomic I once read, of all things, managed to fuse all three endings (weak, twist, and selfish) into an ending that riles me up to this very day. I can't even bring myself to recommend the webcomic (nor even mention it by name like 'it who must not be read') because the ending betrays everything that the first two parts of the story established...hell, it made the whole entire thing feel pointless. Why spend so much time building such strong characters and connections if none of them were given satisfying conclusions? Not a single character got what they deserved, good or bad...it was the biggest waste I have ever read because it had the biggest potential that was all cast aside.

Room Excavation: The Hunt for the Missing Pokemon So, this all began when the new downloadable content/extension pack for Pokemon Scarlet/Violet was about to release. I thought to myself "My Pokemon Home (the app that holds all the Pokemon I've collected for at least a decade) is not up to date and organized. I can bide my time organizing it." The "organizing/clean-up" that I thought would span only about 2 hours at the most ended up taking days. The more I dug into each pokemon entry, the more I realized oddities...fake generated pokemon that were traded to me were the biggest concern. But, I even learned that Pokerus (a virus) was a real thing and some of my boxes were infected with it (but I left those pokemon alone, as they all still had me listed as their Original Trainer). After a "purge" of sorts, I came to realize that I was missing pokemon I knew I had in other games. In particular, a shiny Petilil: This Petilil was one that I had randomly bred in the games Pokemon X/Y while seeking a specific Petilil Nature and it hatched with blue eyes instead of the customary red. When it comes to my Pokemon game cartridges, I've collected so many of them that I stored them in their own separate case. But, that case was nowhere to be found. I did find the original game that once held it, though, but the Petilil was not physically there. All that the Pokedex entry could provide me with was proof that the little thing really existed. After some deliberation, I figured that perhaps I had transferred the Petilil to the games that followed...either in the hopes of using her on my team or to just ensure that she could be transferable to future game entries. But, which games would those be? There was but one answer: Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire! Looking at my Pokemon Home app, I realized that i had the main legendary, but none of the post-game ones. This led me to believe that I was in the middle of post-game shenanigans, but I hadn't completed it. The entries after the segment were stuffed full of Ultra Sun/Moon pokemon, instead. Could I have been so distracted by the release of Pokemon Sun/Moon that I had forgotten to complete Omega Ruby? OF COURSE I BECAME DISTRACTED! A second inspection of the Pokemon Home Pokedex revealed that there was no trace of the shiny Petilil ever existing...that means that the shiny Petilil, along with several other Omega Ruby post-game Pokemon must still be trapped in the cartridge! That was when I began excavating my room from one corner to the next trying to find that old Omega Ruby cartridge that held the game file for these missing Pokemon. I'm at 75% and still no luck. I checked with friends and family to see if I had loaned them my game case, but they do not have it. This week I'll attempt to search the last 25%. Wish me luck.