#I LOVE Sicilia

[loveisjustawaytodieblog]

Innamorata di Miriam da sempre 😍

[toughcookie01]

- Amy and Lino (from scratch - 2022)

[essektheylyss]

I will not lie, I had a whole conversation about Sicily yesterday and every time Matt says "caecilian" I keep doing a double take.

[diariodiunemo]

ci allontaniamo per riavvicinarci

[duke-of-hellsite]

Sicily is now going through an Apocalypse

I hope y’all are safe and stable

Things will get better ❤️‍🩹

[ms-pbunny]

Pizza?

Hello Dears, I hope all of you are doing just fine in life. I brought today a very tasty topic. What could be better than a well prepared italian pizza in Italy?

I always feel that pizza is for the weekends, mostly for dinner. You can out to eat in a pizzeria with your friends around or if you don't feel like going out you just want to be cosy for the night, you can always order in. What do you think? Do you eat pizza in any day or do you keep this circle of joy only for special occasion?

[pier-carlo-universe]

Flashdance il Musical: Emozioni e Hit degli Anni Ottanta Arrivano in SiciliaDue date imperdibili a Palermo e Messina per lo show cult diretto da Enzo Paolo Turchi

Preparatevi a rivivere la magia di "Flashdance il Musical", l'adattamento teatrale del celebre film che ha segnato un'intera generazione.

Preparatevi a rivivere la magia di “Flashdance il Musical”, l’adattamento teatrale del celebre film che ha segnato un’intera generazione. Con le iconiche hit degli anni Ottanta come “What a Feeling”, “Maniac”, “Gloria” e “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”, il musical porterà sul palco la storia di Alex Owens, una giovane operaia saldatrice che sogna di diventare una ballerina professionista. La trasposizione…

[thedavinoparadox]

🏖 August Reading Wrap-Up (Part 2) 📚

Selenio, 14th September 2023

As announced, here now the second part of everything I read in August…

Terra di Sicilia by Mario Giordano (2022)

The generational drama surrounding Barnaba Carbonaro, a boy from Sicily whose affinity with numbers helps him grow an empire and eventually bring his family to Germany, his place of longing. I have to admit, I mainly bought this book because of it’s beautiful cover and after having read the blurb (after the purchase, mind you) regretted it ever since. After finishing school in Germany I did not want to be reminded of this rather depressing country where I had lived for the majority of my school career (at least for the summer following my A-levels). This summer, I finally decided to overcome this negative first impression and now regret having not decided to do so earlier. Giordano’s writing style and pacing is absolutely superb, the emotions he depicts are realistic, heartfelt and not a single line or scene in this book feels out of place. From the ancestral Sicilian superstitions to the rigid German customs, the sprinkled in historical facts and emotional conversations: everything seems like a carefully woven net, which captures the reader from the first line. I also adored the recurring theme of nymphs and faunlets.

Love, crazy love by Zara Kavka (2016)

After failing her A-levels, Clara visits her father at his place of work – a clinic for the mentally unstable – and falls head over heels for a boy, who’s being treated there. Wanting to be near him (and not be shunned as ‘the doctor’s daughter’), she fakes an eating disorder and lies her way into treatment. I will not say a lot about this book, as it is my first DNF of the year and perhaps I will revisit it in the future and give a more well-rounded opinion. My sister was gifted this book by a probably well-meaning, but ultimately wrong-doing friend. I could not even reach the 100 page mark without having to put it down and have not picked it up since (which I’m certainly not planning to do). The protagonist is just a complete and utter annoyance who has no perception of taste, empathy and consideration.

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2019)

What if the son of the American president and the Prince of England have to pretend to be best friends and slowly start to discover deeper feelings in the process? I certainly did not see myself reading a fluffy ‘enemies to lovers’/alternate universe romance this summer, but I’m also certainly not mad about it. After returning from Italy I was freezing, melancholic and longing for the warmth I had felt when looking at the ocean. So as I was sitting there, cuddled up in a bunch of blankets in front of the tv, I stumbled across the movie, which seemed to have come out while I had been on vacation. And to be frank, it was just what I needed to pick me out of my slump. Some of the scenes, quotes and just overall feel of the movie were magnificent and as you will, the next day I had already ordered the book. Which… was equally as comforting and cozy. Although some of the descriptions of the more technical political parts were not completely up my alley – as my knowledge of American politics is a little limited – I stayed for the amazingly fleshed out characters and their dynamics and humorous conversations. And I will unashamedly admit: I devoured every single page.

The Magic of Reading by Annemarie Stoltenberg (2021)

An anthology of different writers’ relationships with books and reading in general. My grandmother was so kind to gift me this delightful little book for my last birthday and at the end of last month, I finally felt in the perfect mood to indulge myself in it. Naturally, as is the case with most anthologies, some texts stuck more with me than others, but overall it was just the thing to give me reading energy for the upcoming September and my time at university. Some of the revelations I had while reading were: I have to read Proust, I will probably not start reading Tucholsky before I turn 50 and I probably am the male embodiment of Madame Bovary.

The Conspirators by Ursula Poznanski (2013)

The second book of the dystopian ‘Eleria’-trilogy by Ursula Poznanski. After finishing the second installment of this very intriguing sci-fi series, I have realized how much I missed reading science fiction (and especially dystopian) fiction. The author has managed to once again pull me into a new genre and I will definitely explore this new found love in the following months. As per usual: wonderful narrator, believable characters and great pacing.

I would entitle this August as one of my more successful reading months thus far and hope, that I will be able to retain this energy for the last months of the year to come. I am excited for anything September might hold in store for me and can’t wait to see what next month’s Reading Wrap-Up will look like. (Probably filled to the brim with university text books, or so I hope.)

[lenoraah]

𝘵𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘺

pairing - dad!charles leclerc x wife!reader

summary - in which Charles becomes part of a princess gossip circle with his three daughters

a/n - the oldest daughter is six and the twins are three and i did name them

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The moment Y/n walks into the house she hears a bunch of low whispers and murmuring. She raises an eyebrow as she takes off her shoes and sets her bag on an armchair.

She can’t help but let out a small laugh when she sees her husband and three daughters crammed at a small pale pink plastic table.

Juliette, the oldest at six, is in a baby blue poofy dress with a tiny tiara on her head. Sicilia and Angeline, the twin three year olds, wear matching purple dresses with tiaras too big for their heads.

Charles is suffocating in a too tight tutu with the most coveted plastic jade tiara in the toy chest which is sitting on his head as he sips ‘tea’ from the tiny tea cup.

The four of them are hunched over, gossiping about whatever. It’s funny and you can’t help but imagine what they could possibly be talking about.

Y/n quietly walks over to be husband but gets interrupted by Angeline.

“Mommy!” The toddler runs towards her mother and bumps straight into her leg.

“Hi Angie,” Y/n scoops up her daughter and pecks her cheek and rubs her nose against the toddlers.

Y/n sways to the side when she feels a tug on her calf. Sicilia reaches out for her mother with a pout on her face.

Y/n picks both the girls and cuddles up on the couch with them, equally giving them as much love as they need. Juliette squeals as she climbs onto the couch and wraps herself around her mother.

Charles glances at the four of them with a smile. Y/n waves for him to come over and he nods, standing up but deciding to take off his tutu first.

Charles struggle making Y/n laugh and the kids look up at their father and giggle. Charles scowls before making a funny face at his kids and wife as he walks over towards them.

“You like the tiara Cha?” Y/n lazily smiles at her husband. Charles sits on her right, next to Juliette. The six year old smiles as cuddles into her father’s side.

“I am a princess, am I not?” Charles grins as he touches the tiara. The three girls laugh again and get comfortable in their parents’ touch.

Y/n glances around the living room. The small plastic furniture, the tea cups embroidered with tiny painted pansies and the glittery dresses.

“What happened?”

“Tea time with sparkly,” Sicilia mumbles into her mother’s belly as she closes her eyes.

“Daddy’s so fun and he’s a princess like us.” Juliette smiles as she hugs her father.

Angeline yawns as she mumbles something while burying her face into her mother’s chest.

Y/n and Charles share a look and a smile before looking at their three daughters once again.

“How about we all get changed and then cuddle for a bit?”

The chorus of yes and okay is enough for Charles and Y/n to pick up their kids and carry them to their rooms whiling imitating the sounds of an airplane and laughing along with their three little princesses.

[viktuurishipper96]

if you’re new to my blog, hello my name is Lexi aka viktuurishipper96. I’m an artist who draws fanart (ace attorney) , ginjika and oc’s. My blogs consists of humanized Douglas (as you can tell and it’s by @/asktrio516 my favorite), lgbt content, original art, liberals are cool, Yuri on ice, ace attorney and so much more. I’m open for commission on ko-fi and I did a few zines including the miku zine, pin up Yuuri and Phoenix wright zine, the runner up for the yoi zineNarumitsu zine, magical girl zine, YGO zine and more. I love anime and cartoons (Yuri on ice being in my heart forever and ever). Here is my portfolio of my art as well here below.

And also, you can ask me questions or Sicilia (my oc) questions for example:

Is Sicilia has twin brothers named Donald McIntosh and Douglas McIntosh? Yes she does.

What’s your favorite twin from the TTTE series? Donald and Douglas of course, bill and Ben.

what’s Sicilia’s relationship with Donald and Douglas? They’re like brothers and sisters.

Does Sicilia likes Top hat and Hercules? Yes she does even though she’s an asexual.

Does Sicilia possess her gold dust power? Yes she does. It allows her to transform the engines into humanoids and so as the star fleets of the Bigg city port.

Hope you’ll enjoy your stay and I’ll be happy to talk to you via dm message if you want or wanting to do an art trade. Have a nice day

[her-reidiance]

A Kindred Spirit's Revelations, or: How This Arknights Player only came to love Lappland infinitely more — a Treatise by Her-Reidiance

I have had so many thoughts about Lappland in Il Siracusano it's insane. She afflicts my brain like Oripathy. Please bear with me, below is a long post and contains spoilers for the event.

EDIT: This part is misremembered, I apologize. The Saluzzos took in Cellinia Texas 7 years ago, after the Texas famiglia was "liquidated" for rebelling against Signora Sicilia. Yet Salvadore also sent Cellinia to live with them before the purge.

Lappland and Texas have been through how much together... was Lappland infected after Cellinia was taken in? How did those changes start to show... slowly or rapidly? Did Lappland's obsession begin with Cellinia first leaving Siracusa, or was it prior to that? Despite what we do gain knowledge of in the event, there's still some open doors.

We do know that they know each other quite well, and there's still some vestige of trust before the event's conclusion, this being my favorite representation:

The fact that Cellinia doesn't even bat an eye at the fact that Lappland broke into a supposedly well secured prison, but also the fact that she accepts the treat that Lappland brought, only to then realize it's her least favorite flavor — a fact Lappland had to have known going into this — sets my heart on fire. They know each other so well! They're complementary, contrasting, they have intimate knowledge of each other (take this phrase as you will, I already know how I do) and they regularly stay in some sort of off-balance with each other.

But the fact is, Lappland's obsession with Cellinia isn't just some textbook stalker with a crush, like what most would initially think given what had been presented prior to Il Siracusano. As Lappland says herself:

Lappland grew up the perfect Siracusan, the perfect Donna in training, the perfect killer. She was everything that could be expected of a woman in her station. She didn't see any way out of that life. It's what she was born in, it's what she will die in. But then along comes Cellinia Texas, doing nothing to save her family's life when the time comes to exterminate them, simply walking away from it all, and then walking away from her years later to go to Lungmen. Whatever condition Lappland was in by then, a switch was flicked on nonetheless, and she realized: "Oh... if it sucks... I can hit the bricks!"

But could she, really? What if Texas came back to Siracusa, and found that she could not truly escape her destined life after all, that she was just as bound to this place as Lappland was and would die here? That was the real test, and thus the events of Il Siracusano take place. But, when all is said and done, and it's just the two of them alone in the park...

I love this so much because it illustrates that our favorite insanity wolf has evolved! There is progress in her character arc! It's in an absolutely unhinged direction but it is no less in character for it. Her obsession has left from focusing solely on Texas as the Ideal, and now focused on destroyed Siracusa as a sort of Anti Ideal. Lappland now knows she is not bound by fate or blood or destiny to the place she was born. She too can simply watch the flames consume her family, her life, and walk away. And unlike Cellinia, she intends to be the one to light the match. The narrative gestures to this as well:

Lappland is now able to face the world, the wide world around her, not just as backdrops to her pursuit of Cellinia, but as hers to explore, to enjoy, to destroy as she wishes!

This moment is so much to me. It's the sudden clarity in her vision that demonstrates that she finally sees Cellinia as her own person, as just Texas the woman. Texas the Penguin Logistics courier. Texas, the woman who left. And she's no longer Lappland Saluzzo, shackled to her family name or a predestined future as its leader. She's... just Lappland.

Part time soulmates, Full time problem. No other dynamic can sum them up. Texas still cares for Lappland, just as she does Giovanna, as a part of her past that she did not altogether dislike. But she also sees more clearly than either of them. Giovanna, stuck in the past when she was Cellinia's best friend. Lappland, presently stuck on destroying the city around her as a final show of independence.

Finally, Lappland leaves the city, after a couple of loose ends are wrapped up. She wanders the wasteland, where the freshly defeated Zaaro happens upon her.

She fights Zaaro for THREE MONTHS in the middle of desolate wastelands. In all of that time, Zaaro didn't kill her, because he came to realize that there was no point in it. There was no satiation to be found for doing so, and that her fractured mind makes her a perfect candidate to be his next Fang. She is an empty husk, a woman who has nothing to live for by herself, but she is full. Full of training, full of potential, full of a singular goal; she is perfect to serve as the vengeance that Zaaro wishes to exact on Siracusa for his failure. And so, they team up, forming a bond forged in mutual hate. Not unlike the original appearance of Eddie Brock and Venom, truly.

The timing of the Azione Solo stories seems ambiguous to me, but some of them definitely take place after the main events of Il Siracusano. Of course, while I'm on the subject, let's discuss Lappland's solo story. I believe I have space left for more pictures so I'll share a few.

The summation is that Lappland makes a minor cameo in Cellinia's, in which she leaves a radio for the Texas to find, and she also goes about rooting through her family's estate one more time. She finds a photo of her younger self, and reminisces slightly on it. In between there was also a musbeast that she found and decided to keep, until it was taken and slain by the Saluzzo mafiosos.

After reminiscing about her father, and how doomed he — and as a result, she — are by being born as Saluzzos, as part of the mafia famiglie system... she destroys the image, while lamenting briefly that once again, the beloved pet of hers was killed by her father, laughing maniacally. To her, there still is no escape, or at least that's one way her mind leans. She knows Cellinia left, but maybe... maybe she cannot. All she can do is burn it down so there is nothing left to trap her. Nothing left to come back to. Scorched earth.

Finally, she dismisses Capone from her tentative services, having recruited him and Gambino at the end of Code of Brawl. Capone at this point realizes a bit just how absolutely feral and insane his "boss" is, and he is ready to die trying to kill her to be rid of her, by holding a knife in his sleeve. Of course, this is Lappland we're talking about. She sees through it right away and expresses probably one of her more genuine selves by stating that he's making a choice, and that's enough for her. He's free to go. The duplicitous Lappland, who prior might just have killed him for the sake of... sport? Insurance? On a whim? Lets him go instead, because she respects that he is making a choice for himself, rather than what he had been doing all event, which is walking on eggshells around her and trying not to be killed by her. We leave Lappland's story for now with this:

This implies that she returns to the city at some point after contracting with Zaaro. This to me shows promise of a continuance of her character. Lappland, The Fang of Zaaro, 6-star Operator coming sometime. Maybe during the Laterano event? After all, there's much more questions left to be answered... like why Lappland, a Lupo from Siracusa, can use Arts so well; and implied to be a skill of hers before her infection... but that's a ramble for another post.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you all understand my kinship with Lappland a little better, or at least have a bit more appreciation for this wonderful, horrible, terrifying, beautiful creature.

[bellysoupset]

Sicily - Part 1

I have no patience whatsoever! So here, have part 1:

-----------------------

Vin was not the type to make a big fuss out of his birthday. Most years he only went out with Leo, Luke and Bell and they got drunk and smoked weed, maybe sung in the karaoke.

But that was before. Before he got a super extra girlfriend who loved to party and didn't understand what "no" meant. Before he nearly broke his neck in a car crash and worried his parents half to death. Before his birthday incidentally lined up with a long state holiday.

So this year they were celebrating his birthday in "style" as Wendy had called it. She had been incredibly secretive about everything for a month now and Vince couldn't say he wasn't amused and enthralled by it. It was heartwarming to know how much he was loved.

He had, so far, walked on Wendy talking on the phone with his mother twice, in a zoom call with Lucas, with Jonah too, and hiding packages in the closet, giggling with Bella. So Vince couldn't say he was surprised when she straddled him in bed, a week before his birthday and held up a deep red box before his eyes.

"What is this?" he asked, lying against the pillows. She had a large, manic smile on.

"Open it up."

He rolled his eyes, putting away his book, marking the page and taking the box.

"You're a bit early for my birthday, honey, it's only in week..." Vince said, voice trailing off as he found a simple cardboard box, long and skinny under the paper wrap. By the package he had judged it was a watch, but no watch would come in a little paper box. A pen?

"Open it, open it, open it," Wendy said, almost bouncing with how happy she was. Vince smiled, pulling the lid off and then removing the box contents: a handmade long ticket, in Wendy's handwriting.

"I don't understand this, Wen," Vince said, picking up the paper and reading it. You're invited to the best birthday trip ever. Dress code: your birthday suit and that speedo I love. Turn it around- "what...?" he turned the sturdy cardstock around and then raised his eyebrows. Clipped to the back there was another ticket, this one not so handmade, "Wendy, no. This is too much."

"It's not," she rolled her eyes, leaning in and smashing her lips against his, "I wanna make love to you in a beach. I want to see if you get tanned or red like a lobster," she said against his mouth, "I want you to have the best birthday ever."

"Wendy, amore mio," Vince's voice was strained as he pushed her back, holding the ticket before her eyes, "this is a ticket to Tonnara. È in Sicilia, Wendy! Sicilia, Italia!"

She jumped when he switched from English to Italian and Wendy rolled her eyes, sitting back on her heels and cupping his face, "Vincenzo," she said in a stern voice, "we almost lost you this year, you understand that, honey? Please let us celebrate you?"

"Not in Italy!"

"No one else thinks it's that big of a deal," she smiled, hitting his nose with hers, "your parents wanted to go to Sicily anyway-"

"My parENTS!?" Vince exclaimed, pushing her off his lap and pacing the room, "Wendy Marshall, what did you do?!"

"Lucas has a house there! It's not the end of the world-"

"Lucas doesn't have houses, his father does!"

"We're going!" Wendy got up on the bed in order to be able to see eye to eye with him, "all tickets are bought, your mom is over the fucking roof. Bella and I already shopped for it. Jonah switched all his hospital shifts! It's in four days, Vince. We're going and you're going to love it and you'll let me and all our friends spoil you rotten because we love you and this was not just my idea, it was everyone else's too! Capiche cábron?"

"Cábron is Spanish," Vince scoffed, then his shoulders dropped as he took in a deep breath. A smiled sprouted up in the corner of his lips, "fine, but ask for it in italian."

"You want me to beg?" Wendy rolled her eyes, but she was smiling again, "you're out of your mind-"

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him and grinning, "say per favore, amore mio."

"No," Wendy looped her arms around his neck, "let me go."

He chuckled, squeezing her and letting his hand wander down, pining her to the bed, "can't believe I'm going back to Sicilia, I haven't been there in years..."

"Yeah," Wendy smiled, squirming under him and kissing him, "you're going with me. With all of us."

-------------------------

Wendy wasn't kidding about everything being decided already. Even his boss had been talked with, seeming entirely too smug as he cornered Vince in the museum after a tour.

"Your pretty little girlfriend said you two are going to Italy," Troy said, big smile on. He was a tiny man with striking blue eyes and a bowl hair cut, "sounds like a proposal sort of trip, Vince. Do you wanna tell me anything?"

"I'm not proposing," Vince rolled his eyes, "it's far too early for that, we've only been together for a year."

"Uhm," Troy shrugged, "well, you know how these college girls are. Ring before spring, Vince."

"Wendy isn't like that," he insisted, "it's not about some ring, it's because of the accident I had at the start of the year. Scared them all half to death."

The older man nodded in understanding, "scared us too, Vince. Either way, enjoy your trip. You don't have to come next Friday."

Vince raised his eyebrows, "you're giving me the day off...? Our busiest day?"

"Your little Tinkerbell is very convincing," Troy shrugged and moved away, leaving Vince stunned into silence.

"Did you bribe my boss?" Vince asked later that day, as he sat on the bed and neatly folded the clothes Wendy was throwing his way.

"Troy?" Wendy asked, crouching before a drawer and digging through her swimming suits, "no, I just asked."

"And he agreed? Easy like that?" Vince frowned, stopping folding a minty green dress, "are you a witch?"

"Yes," Wendy teased, looking over her shoulder and blinking innocently, "I'm an angel, amore mio."

"Well, clearly..." Vince shook his head, surprised, "you even convinced Leo to join."

"Can't take the credit for that one, it was more of a group effort between Jon and Luke," Wendy straightened up, stretching her back, "I talked with your mom and Sophia is sooo excited that Luke is going too."

"Oh no," Vince chuckled, "wait until she finds out Lucas is basically married and Bells is tagging along."

"Poor thing," Wendy laughed, "can't blame her, he's dreamy."

"Marshall, shut up," Vince rolled his eyes, "come to bed, you fold, let me pick my own clothes."

"We're going to carpool tomorrow," Wendy said, a handful of minutes later as Vince threw her the clothes he wanted to take, "you, me, Luke and Bell in Lucas' car. Leo and Jonah are going in Leo's car, the trunk is bigger for all the bags."

"Where are we meeting Luke and Bell?" Vince asked absently minded, "Jon's?"

"Yep, my car is staying in his building."

"Alright, honey," Vince couldn't help but feel a wash of anxiety dawn on him. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been on a plane, to Sicilia no less... Home.

They left terribly early that morning. Wendy muffling yawns against his bicep and Vince himself blinking against sleep. Jonah was already downstairs, in the parking lot of his building, but Leo wasn't nor was Jon's red car.

"He should be back in twenty," Jon explained, helping Vince get the bags out of the car and loading them in Leo's car, "he's taking the kitten to his work friend who's cat sitting for us."

"Bet you already miss her," Wendy chuckled, still sleepy, "Lucas texted ten minutes ago, said they were leaving too."

Vince made small talk, since Wendy left him to his own devices, face pressed to his arm as she napped standing. He had chuckled at her for opting to come still dressed in her pjs, but Wendy had simply rolled her eyes and said "it's a fifteen hours long flight, Vince. I wanna be comfy, I don't care what people say."

"You guys are already late," Leo said when Luke and Bell finally arrived, ten minutes later than they should be.

Lucas cringed, "sorry guys, my fault," he owed up, so Vince immediately knew it was actually on Bell. He looked at the ginger and frowned.

"Everything okay, Bella?"

She nodded, although she looked a little pale, "just not used to waking up so early," Bell yawned, rubbing her eyes, "let's go?"

Leo and Jonah waved goodbye, entering Leo's car with Leo in the driver's side and Lucas threw his keys to Vince.

"You drive, I'm gonna go in the back with Bell," he said, all smiley, although he looked a little tired too.

Wendy frowned, "guys? Everything ok?"

"It's alright," Bella sighed, sounding frustrated, "I just woke up queasy, that's all. Lucas is making a fuss."

"Aw sucks," Wendy sighed, "don't you wanna go shotgun then? Avoid carsickness?"

Bella shook her head, "no, I'm just going to try and nap. Don't worry about me."

It was an hour and a half to the nearest metropolis, where they were getting the plane. Wendy's type A personality, mixed with Lucas and Jon's control freak behavior meant that their flight only left at midday, but they were leaving town at 7 AM.

"You never know what could happen," Wendy shrugged when Vince voiced it, keeping her voice a whisper, "we could have a flat tire or there might be a traffic jam... If you ask me, we're leaving too late already."

"You're an insane woman, sweetheart," Vince shrugged, glancing at the rearview mirror. Lucas was resting his head on the window petting Bell's hair as she lied across his lap, "alright, buckle up. Folks."

They drove the first forty minutes quietly, Wendy napping against her window, Lucas far away and singing under his breath to soothe Bella. Vince couldn't remember if he had ever heard Luke sing, but he wasn't surprised his best friend had a beautiful voice, it was a pity he never ever sang.

As they neared the one hour mark of the trip, suddenly Bella sat up straight and rolled down the window, groaning loudly, "ugh," she moaned, poking her head out.

Vince glanced back to the rearview, "Bells? Do I have to pull over?"

A sick, airy burp answered him and then a groan as she kept her head out of the window, "uhm... I think so, sorry."

"It's alright beautiful, morning sicknESs is liKE ThAT!" he laughed the rest of his joke as Bella kicked his seat.

"I'm not pregnant you ass!" she groaned, clutching the door handle as Vince switched on the lights.

"Of course-ow?!" Vince whined when Lucas flicked his ear hard, moving on the seat to rub his girlfriend's back.

"Shut up, Vince," he scoffed, gently pulling Bella's hair away from her mouth with one hand, rubbing her back with the other, "we're stopping, baby, just take a deep breath."

"I'm trying," Bella groaned, another wet burp punctuating the end of her sentence, "Vince, pull over!"

"Just a second!" he exclaimed, keeping his voice low, although he doubted Wendy could actually sleep through the commotion. He pulled the car to the dust shoulder, near a gas station and no sooner the car had come to a stop, Bella pushed the door open and almost fell off with a harsh gag.

Lucas scrambling to grab her by the shoulder was the only thing that stopped her from taking a dive in the asphalt. Vin cringed in sympathy, reaching in the glove compartment where he knew Lucas kept napkins and a water bottle.

Only then did Wendy open her eyes, seeming out of it, "what's happening? We're here?" she yawned and Vin shook his head.

"Bella's redecorating the road," he said and Wendy took a second to understand. She let out a sigh.

"Aw, honey, switch places with me," Wen turned on her seat, already opening her door, "the backseat is no good."

He heard another wet, gurgly burp and more vomit hitting the side of the road. Vince glanced at the rearview, Lucas was rubbing Bella's back, seeming terribly worried.

"She's fine, Luke. Carsickness happens to us all once in a while..." Vin frowned as he saw a car slow down and stop a couple feet ahead of him. Leo jumped out, seeming confused.

Out of everyone, Leo was probably the most excited. He had never taken an international trip... Or any trip, so he was basically vibrating with happiness.

"Here," Vince handed Lucas the napkins and water bottle, "be right back."

He jumped out of the car and met Leo halfway through, "everything is fine, Bella just a little carsick," Vince said before the blonde could even question him, "you guys can go ahead, we'll catch up in a second."

"Are you sure?" Leo frowned, glancing past Vince's shoulder to where Bella was still hanging out of the door. Vin had left his own door open, so only the puddle of sick on the ground could be seen.

"Yeah, she's fine. Bells is tough as nails, don't worry," Vince smiled brightly, patting his friend's shoulder, "go on, we'll catch up at the airport."

"Alright... My phone is with Jonah, so just call if you need us to stop ahead," Leo nodded, "poor Bells, it's gonna be a long trip."

"Fifteen hours, kiddo, I thought you were excited" Vince rattled him, causing Leo to laugh and swat him away, walking back to the car.

By the time Vince was back in the driver's seat, Wendy had switched places with Bella and the poor ginger was pressed up against the door, her eyes closed.

"I'm gonna take this as a sign of good luck," Vince teased, while Lucas fished out a plastic bag from his carry-on bag and planted it on Bella's lap.

"Thanks," she said in a small, tired voice, "it better be good luck."

Vince smiled, slamming the door shut and squeezing her knee, "or pregnancy."

"I'll make sure to aim at your lap, you idiot," she rolled her eyes, slapping his hand sharply, while Wendy let out a scoff and Lucas groaned loudly, pushing his shoulder from the backseat.

"Just drive already, Vince."

He smiled, pulling the car back on the road. It was going to be a good trip, he could feel it.

TBC

[sciatu]

CERAMICA SICILIA

Chi jè l’amuri, s’amuri nun è? Picchi l’amuri è vuliri dari pi du santu beni chi tra dui c’è ma c’addiventa quannu poi scumpari?

Quannu l’amuri nostru sinni mori cu iddu si potta u to passatu tu votiti, sduvaculu du cori a vita nun è sulu u lassatu.

a idda ommai, lassala stari u beni i ieri, no fari raggia nun vuliri cuntu, nun ci spiari non fari du passatu na jaggia.

Spiati si ci dasti u giustu si ci dasti u dovutu rispettu: l’amuri non è piaciri o gustu è impegnu, sacrificiu, affettu

Picchì si sulu pigghi ma non dai si ogni cuppa è sulu a soi si a ragiuni sulu tu l’ hai nun è l’amuri chi d’idda tu voi

Voi na criata, chi mai si lagna chi sempri t’avi diri sulu si muta e mansa tu voi na cagna chi mai spia, mai voli un picchì

Voi sulu na fimmina i pezza fatta i rasta e tutta pittata chi mai ridi mai parra o schezza fossi bedda, cu anima stutata

Nuddu ni zigna ad amari nuddu sapi vuliri beni ma na cosa tu t’ha nzignari nun ama cu dugna peni

nun ama cu si fa patruni cu giusta tuttu nzuttannu cu voli sempre ragiuni cu voli fari sulu dannu

L’amuri è semi da giustizzia in nomi soi nun si po' mazzari non si dugna lacrimi e malizia quannu poi ni veni a mancari

Lassa a sciarra o a to ragiuni non ti luddari i mani du so sangu l’amuri mossi? finiu na stagiuni u mali chi senti ti fa liuni.

Cos’è l’amore se amore non è? Perché l’amore è volere dare, per quel santo bene che tra due c’è, ma cosa diventa quando scompare? Quando l’amore nostro se ne muore, con lui si porta il nostro passato, tu voltati, svuotalo dal tuo cuore, la vita non è quello che hai lasciato. A lei ormai lasciala stare, non far diventare il bene di ieri rabbia, non volere spiegazioni, non chiedere, non far diventare il tuo passato una gabbia. Chiediti se le hai dato il giusto, se le hai dato il dovuto rispetto, l’amore non è piacere o gusto, è impegno, sacrificio, affetto. Perché se prendi solo senza dare, se ogni colpa è solo sua, se la ragione ce l’hai solo tu, non è l’amore che vuoi da lei Vuoi una serva che non si lamenta mai, che ti deve dire solo di si, muta e mansueta vuoi una cagna, che non chiede mai, che non vuole mai un perché. Vuoi solo una donna di pezza, fatta di coccio e tutta dipinta, che non ride mai, mai parla o scherza, forse bella, ma con l’anima spenta. Nessuno ci insegna ad amare, nessuno sa voler bene, ma una cosa devi imparare, non ama che dona sole pene. non ama chi si fa padrone, chi aggiusta tutto insultando, chi vole sempre ragione, chi vuol fare solo danno. L’amore è il seme della giustizia, in suo nome non si può ammazzare, non si da lacrime e cattiveria, quando poi ci viene a mancare. Lascia la guerra o la tua ragione, non ti sporcare le mani di sangue: l’amore è morto? È finita una stagione, il male che senti, ti renderà un leone.

What is love if it isn't love? Because love is wanting to give, for that holy good that exists between two, but what does it become when it disappears? When our love dies, it takes our past with it, turn around, empty it from your heart, life is not what you left. Leave her alone now, don't let yesterday's love become anger, don't want explanations, don't ask, don't let your past become a cage. Ask yourself if you gave her the right love, if you gave her due respect, love is not pleasure or taste, it is commitment, sacrifice, affection. Because if you only take without giving, if everything is to blame only her, if only you have the reason, it's not the love you want from her. You want a servant who never complains, who only has to say yes, silent and meek, you want a bitch, who never asks, who never wants a why. You just want a rag woman, made of earthenware and all painted, who never laughs, never speaks or jokes, perhaps beautiful, but with a dull soul. Nobody teaches us to love, nobody knows how to love, but you have to learn one thing, it's not love if you gives only pain. you doesn't love if you make yourselves masters, if you fix everything by insulting, if you always want to be right, if you only want to cause damage. Love is the seed of justice, in its name one cannot kill oneself, one cannot give tears and malice when it then fails in us. Leave the war or your reason, don't get your hands dirty with her blood: is love dead? A season is over, the evil you feel will make you a lion.

[besiegedhunter]

Lappland Event

Theorycrafting a Lappland event from information from Terra: A Journey and information found in game. Also to further the Siracusa and Red agenda.

Continuing below:

To be more upfront about what this is, it's of course discussing this from the 4th PV trailer shown in the 5th anniversary livestream:

I think that there's opportunities that only work with 5.5 that could lead into the setting and plot points of Lappland's event that I want to discuss.

I suggest cherry picking what you think are applicable because I naturally don't work at HG, I'm just saying what I think works. I also don't know the direction that Lappland's story is going in, I have thoughts where it'll be set and some characters and things involved but her motivations I'm not entirely sure on. Il Siracusano was rather vague on it but if you have thoughts, I'd love to hear them!

Also I'm not as knowledgable on Zwillingstürme im Herbst as I'd like to be for this post. Which is to say this will spoil that event.

Now I'll be breaking them down into chapters:

Setting and Signora Sicilia

Relevant events and history

Signore dei Lupi and Projekt Red

The Bocca al Lupo

There'll be some other things placed here and there, with the first certainly getting into the lorebook the most and if you want to skip to any of these that's all good.

With that stated, let's get into it.

Setting and Signora Sicily.

So I'll be delving into the lorebook for this part however I don't have access to it right now and so only have so many screenshots I can use, which will be machine translated.

But for the setting of the event and the crux of my theorycrafting, I believe that it will take place in the capital of Siracusa: Montelupe.

I've got several reasons but the first one is that, as it's the capital of Siracusa, it's very probable that it's where Signora Sicily operates out of and Signora Sicily aught to be very important to Lappland's story ever since "To Be Continued" but throughout Il Siracusano we were purposefully left in the dark in regards to the scope of their history.

To be more specific:

When the Texas family declared independence from Signora Sicily, she ordered a purge of the family. Lappland led the Saluzzo forces in this event but her obsession with Texas and failing to kill her got her exiled from her family.

However next we hear, she's the one sent to deal with Gambino and Capone for Signora Sicily and in Il Siracusano, Signora Sicily offers her the chance of joining her Bocca al Lupo.

Since the Texas family purge Lappland has been working with Signora Sicily and was trusted enough by her to be offered to join her elite group. On top of that, Lappland's goal after Il Siracusano is destroying Siracusa which is an impossible task but the most easiest way to go about that would be by killing Sicily who acts as Siracusa.

That's an unfounded claim however and Il Siracusano really downplays the Lappland and Sicily stuff if she's planning on killing her. Just the point stands that Sicily is important and likely acting out of Montelupe. (You could also say Lappland as business with the Bocca al Lupo which I'll get back to.)

Relevant Events and History

The next reason is the meat of this, why it being 5.5 is important and what Montelupe really entails. So to begin, this is what we hear about Montelupe in the lorebook's section for Siracusa, in it's intro:

So from this alone we learn that Montelupe was at the head of Siracusa's drive for Independence from Leithania, a thing that we don't really learn much about from Il Siracusano. The only thing we really learn connects the two points:

In the chaos caused by the mafia following Siracusa's independence, Signora Sicily installed "Pistole e Ordine“ and the "Grey Hall" to establish order in the country.

We actually learn more about in the 4.5 event: Zwillingstürme im Herbst, set in Leithania.

As it explains: Siracusa was one of the ten founding tribes of Leithania, bound together by the magical pact of the Golden Rhythm. In breaking the Golden Rhythm, as seen in the lorebook passage, Siracusa gained it's independence and the Witch King did the impossible by fixing it and restoring order to Leithania.

The purpose of this is that we learn Leithania's side in 4.5 and in 3.5 the extent of it is Sicily dealing with the repercussions.

What if Lappland's event touches on this?

Perhaps her plan is to destroy Sicily or the Bocca al Lupo, returning Siracusa to the time just after it's Independence, contextualizing it and taking place in Montelupe which drove Siracusa's independence?

5.5 is the only time that can most accurately capitalize on the theme of Siracusa's Independence because of 4.5 depicting Leithania's side of the story.

But there's more to 5.5 being perfect.

See, the lorebook actually tells us why Siracusa joined Leithania and what the catalyst for it's Independence was.

Before there was a Leithania, the tribes that would found it were threatened by Sarkaz invasions. Siracusa particularly compared to the other nine tribes were in danger because of their harsh environment impeding their civilization from developing.

So Siracusa joined the other nine tribes to create an alliance against the Sarkaz invasion, which this being thousands of years ago likely meant that Kazdel was much larger, right on the edge of Siracusa and Leithania.

It was the Crusade led by Kal'tsit against Kazdel that all but destroyed Kazdel, did Siracusa feel it was safe enough to seek their independence.

Which not only connects it to the main story which of course focuses on the Sarkaz's story but more personally to IS5 where one ending appears to depict the crusade that would facilitate Siracusa's independence:

Since Chapter 14 and IS5 will come out before 5.5, we'll learn more about the Crusade and then 5.5 can show us how Siracusa was affected and Siracusa's Independence from Leithania that is rooted in these events and 4.5.

5.5 is the only time that can capitalize on the timing of 4.5 and IS5 to fully contextualize Siracusa's Independence, with Montelupe and Signora Sicily being ideal to do so.

As for looking towards the future, I think that the 4th pv trailer might provide us an idea for another event that it might tie into afterwards:

As stated before: Lappland and especially Sicily are connected to Laterano. And we don't know yet what Lappland's BoC skin is referring to:

Maybe we'll learn the full context inside her event and it'll tie into the Laterano plans that are coming up. If I'm right on her event delving into Siracusa's Independence and the Sarkaz, we might see whether Siracusa has any plans with Laterano in regards to the Sarkaz in her event also.

Signore dei Lupi and Projekt Red

Next is what I believe to be a subplot to the event akin to Lappland or Lunacub's plot in Il Siracusano but first I need to clear something up:

Lappland is not a Fang of a Signore dei Lupi and is not participating in their game. When Bernado took his own life in IS-9, Zaaro lost that round:

Red, Lunacub and an unnamed Fang are the only Fangs left in this round per what Bernado said and until only one of them is left, the next round won't begin:

I also believe that Lappland has her own idea of how she'll destroy Siracusa than using the Signore dei Lupi and doesn't really know or care what they are:

Which I don't think is to say that the Signore dei Lupi and the other Fangs won't play a role and interact with Lappland and be in her event. I actually think that this offers a unique circumstance to give us a fun scenario and insight into Red's story at the same time.

It's established early on in Il Siracusano that, go figure, Lappland works and stays at Rhodes Island:

It's obvious but I just wanted to establish that Lappland's time at Rhodes Island has been established and referenced which is important for this voiceline of hers:

Unless it's changed, I believe that Red and Lappland are the only 5*s with an Outstanding Combat Skill and this is a very interesting voiceline because you don't really see Lappland afraid and her saying she'd lose is nigh unheard of.

Il Siracusano depicted her playing everyone else like a chessmaster and scaring seasoned mafioso like Demetri just by her presence. Signora Sicily also personally invited her to join her Bocca al Lupo and she stalemated against Zaaro.

Saying she'd lose to Red coming from her isn't without cause but perhaps more importantly: this sets up them fighting and Lappland knowing of Red ahead of time.

There's also an OPERATORS page focusing on Lappland where she steals Pozy's coat thinking it was Red's probably, which sets it up as well.

I'd provide Red's comment about her but it doesn't exist, which arguably is more interesting than anything that could've been said because there is an official image that confirms that Red knows Lappland.

But it goes further than this because as interesting as it is for them to fight, it might be just as interesting for Red and Zaaro to meet. The reason being this, just before the Zaaro bossfight in IS-10:

Later on when Crownslayer discovers Red it's described in a very similar way and Red's skill is called Chill. It's also not something that Fangs do normally as Lunacub nor Bernado at any point are shown to exhibit the same effect.

Only Zaaro and Red. So if Red and Lappland fight, Zaaro could probably point out something about it that we otherwise wouldn't learn about. It'd also be an excuse for Zaaro to develop and be explored as a character, faced with another Fang or even another Signore dei Lupi if Grandma gets introduced.

Also it'd be really cool to see Lappland and Red fight as the 3D PV for the event.

But also I think it's possible that the "Unnamed Fang" could get involved as well. Either Red and them are drawn to Lappland, mistaking her for a Fang because they work off of smell or are both in the area and mistake Lappland as one and both fight her at separate times.

Either could serve as a miniboss before the main one and Red's subplot could end with her killing this Fang.

It could also tie into Montelupe's history and a theme of Siracusa's Independence as the "wild man" who tore apart Siracusa's "Golden Rhythm" was compared to what I'm pretty sure are the Fangs and maybe even one himself.

It could also further the themes of the wilderness and it's violence that Lappland's playing into and serve as a direct comparison to her, her beliefs and her methods.

The Bocca al Lupo

Another character who I'm even more sure will appear is Ben. I'm so confident I might even go as far as to say that he could be the main boss.

So firstly, he's already quite connected to Lappland. Firstly because of his monologue about her after she crashed into Texas's court case:

But also because this monologue of his effectively prophesizes where Lappland's story is going and the themes playing into it as well as how similar he is.

This is through how he is the one primarily driving the wilderness/violence vs civilization theme, which you could see Zaaro and Sicily being two ends of. Or Lappland and Texas. Which of course, the event ends off on:

Which contrasts Vigil and Penance's in the scene earlier that ends on: Civilization. In the same manner.

I also think that he holds similar views to Lappland but that he's come to accept Siracusa's current state as opposed to destroying it. He perceives himself as an outsider and Siracusa just being a wilderness where the people dress in civility but are no better than the wolves in the wilderness.

He despises it but where Lappland deems that she will destroy it, the wilderness and violence that stole her childhood, family, happiness away, he accepts that that's Siracusa.

And the thing about him as well as a parallel may be being drawn between them even further. As I've gone into before, Lappland was invited to become an Bocca al Lupo and Ben is the only other character who's been name dropped as being one:

And Il Siracusano really liked it's parallels with how Vigil and Penance mirror Sicily and Agenir. There's a possibility that Lappland and Ben are set up in a similar way but that's yet to be seen.

Either way, as one of the Bocca al Lupo, Sicily's wolves, if Lappland goes against her then they'll likely come for her and Ben would be one of them. And with his closeness to Sicily and his connections to Lappland, it's possible that he'll be an important adversary.

He also has an important talk with Lunacub in his Azione Solo so I wouldn't be surprised if he interacts with like, Red or the other Fang if they are in this event.

Wrapping it up

Those are my ideas for things that could feature in Lappland's event. I also think it's possible that this could be Suzuran's Mum or Dad:

We'll have to wait and see.

Also with W Alter being a Flinger Sniper, it's very possible that Lappland Alter will be a 6* Guard for anyone theory crafting what she could be.

Also y'know... Texas and Yato Alters being so close and Executors, Logos being the 4th Core Caster and 4th and 5th anniv non-limiteds being Core Casters, there's nothing to say Lappland won't be an Arts Guard or something.

Have fun. I hope this at least fuels ideas and uh, join me in hoping Red makes an appearance because if it's anything like 3.5 > 5.5 I could be waiting till 7.5 for her to get something if she doesn't feature in 5.5.

Please, she's been in Siracusa for two years already. Let her throw Lappland around a bit so Lappland can tell Kal'tsit back at Rhodes that she's fine, to make the next two years wait bearable.

[lordmartiya]

Hi. Today is the Ides of March, and I come to you not to defend Caesar but to contestualize his killers. Because I've noticed most people here are directly or indirectly influenced by William Shakespeare's play on the events, play that alters a few facts and presents Marcus Junius Brutus as the most sympathetic character of the entire mess for sake of drama, and forgoes ENTIRELY the historical context. Being Italian I grew up with MOST of said context, so allow me to present you with the series of civil wars that ended the Roman Republic.

The dominoes started being placed at the very start of the Republic, when, according to legend, the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (properly translated as Lucius Tarquinius the Fucking Arrogant - the English language doesn't have the right word to translate "superbus"), got the Romans so furious that they joined forces and chased him and his family out of town under the leadership of Publius Valerius and Lucius Junius Brutus (this name is important, remember it). No matter if the legend has any basis in history, the Roman here started LOATHING the King, and while the office was maintained as the Rex Sacrorum (King of Sacrifices) for its religious significance it lost all its political power, and every year the holder would be ritually chased out of Rome as a reminder of what happened to Tarquinius, a tradition that apparently continued all the way until the office's abolition under EMPEROR TEODOSIUS THE FIRST (the Romans loved tradition and could hold a grudge for a long time). Also, the Romans reformed their government around the Senate, whose families, the Patricians, formed Rome's nobility, so that they could properly rule their city, the villages and towns directly subject to it, and the largish alliance centered around Rome, accounting for any foreseeable future growth of said alliance. Keyword: FORESEEABLE. Because the founders of the Republic apparently anticipated Rome's control to expand at most from the Alps to Apulia, maybe Sicily if the local Greek colonies decided to pick a fight and their friends in Carthage decided to share.

Then the unexpected happened: the antics of the Mamertines, a band of mercenaries turned bandits, dragged Rome and Carthage into war and hatred, and when the second of the three wars ended Rome's hegemony extended from just south the valley of the Po river to Apulia, while the Po valley and the rest of Northern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and a large chunk of the Hiberian peninsula were now the provinces of Sicilia, Sardinia et Corsica, Gallia Cisalpina, and Hispania Citerior - and to top it off they had committments in Greece (as the Macedons had briefly entered the Second Punic War) and Africa (where Rome's new ally of Numidia was itching to go at what remained of Carthage's empire, with Carthage pinching every penny to pay the immense war reparations under the wrong impression that once they were done Rome would leave them alone and let them settle the score with the traitorous Numidians). Rome had grossly overextended its territory beyond the capacity of its institutions and was due a reformation - but much of the political power, and the war loot that came with it, was in the hand of the Patricians, and any workable reform would by necessity dilute said power, for starters by recognizing that many of Rome's Italian allies were now Romans in every way that mattered except the citizenship and its privileges (including a larger share of the war loot), and that the common people of Rome, the Plebeians (that's their literal name), were owed either a larger share of the loot themselves or some state-owned lands that various Patricians and Equites (the wealthy merchant class of former Plebeian extraction) had bought up. Thus the reformations stalled, for almost a century.

Then came Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who, recognizing the problem, used his term as Tribune of the Plebs to start addressing the problem and force a land reform in the Senate's throat, but in the process he broke a number of unwritten rules and was lynched on the orders of the Pontifex Maximus (this being one of the two circumstances where a Tribune of the Plebs could be killed in spite of being under religious protection, and the Pontifex had to explain himself after the fact or be executed himself). Thus the Senate was able to sabotage the reform by not allocating any fund to it. Then, to their dismay, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, Tiberius' younger brother, was elected Tribute and continued his work, even trying to extend citizenship to the Latins and Latin rights to the other allies... And used violence first, eventually leading to the Senate passing an emergency bill to kill him, even bringing weapons inside Rome's Pomerium (the area of Rome where bringing weapons was usually forbidden on pain of being beaten to death on the spot, and where any official's military power was annulled the moment they stepped in) if necessary. Factional violence had started.

Eventually, and with a war against Rome's Italian allies that had grown tired of just waiting to be recognized as proper Romans (plus the irreducible Samnites making one last play at reconquering their independence) that ended when the Consul Lucius Julius Caesar made the Senate cough up that citizenship (and the Samnites being wiped out as a nation for continuing the war even after Rome coughed up the citizenship), the factions coalesced around two well-meaning strongmen: the Populares, serving the interests of the people (including the Plebeians, a number of impoverished Patrician families, and part of the wealthy Equites merchant class) and led by the Plebeian war hero Gaius Marius, and the Optimates, serving the interests of the elites (the Patricians and the majority of the Equites) and led by the Patrician war hero Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Both Marius and Sulla, who had fought together against the new king of Numidia Jugurtha, recognized Rome was speeding toward self-destruction (Jugurtha literally PAYING OFF a number of Roman generals before Marius took over that war and brought Sulla to help whip the demoralized troops back into shape had proved that) and something had to be done, but disagreed on how... And eventually a civil war was fought. Marius initially had the upper hand, seizing Rome while Sulla and his army were away fighting Mithridates, but he died by old age before Sulla's return, and without him the Populares couldn't stop Sulla from winning back Italy. The first round went to the Optimates, with Sulla forcing reforms that stabilized the situation for a time before retiring for fear of becoming a tyrant. Sulla also took the chance to have a number of Marius' allies killed, but was persuaded to spare Marius' nephew - a skilled and brave swordsman named Gaius Julius Caesar. He still left his allies with a warning, that in this young man he saw many Marii - for this guy was THAT Julius Caesar (and a nephew of the now late Lucius Julius Caesar).

After Sulla's retirement and eventual death, things started unraveling again due the one thing he had failed to account for: the Senate was corrupted. So corrupted that eventually control of the state was usurped by three men: Pompey the Great, one of Sulla's old lieutenants and the war hero who destroyed Sertorius' Populares army in Hispania, saved Rome from the existential threat posed by the Illyrian pirates (who had grown strong enough to endanger Rome's grain supply due the Senate's corruption), and finished off Mithridates; Marcus Licinius Crassus, the richest man in Rome, the war hero that defeated Spartacus (and had Pompey promptly steal the glory as he was returning from Hispania), and major asshole who got so rich by buying up the firefighters, come to any house on fire, and telling the owner that if he didn't sell him the house at a much reduced price he'd let it burn (he was also the most hated man in Rome); and Julius Caesar, not yet a war hero in spite of how his own run-in with pirates went (those pirates thought he was joking when he paid up twice the ransom and told them he'd come back and have them all hanged to crosses. They realized he was serious when they discovered who exactly had just led a Roman fleet to storm their base and capture them all) but the apparent leader of the Populares by virtue of who his uncle was. With this arrangement, Crassus went to the east to try and conquer Parthia, Caesar got himself made governor of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gauls and got to work to conquer the rest of the Gauls at the first excuse, and Pompey remained in Rome to hold the fort... But Crassus got himself killed like an idiot, and without him the Senate was able to bring Pompey back into their Optimate fold. And when Caesar came back from the Gauls as a conqueror he knew he had two choices: go back peacefully and get killed, or take Marius' mantle and march on Rome. He choose the latter, and when the dust settled Caesar was the master of Rome and Pompey was dead, assassinated by the courtiers of Ptolemy XIII of Egypt to try and appease Caesar but instead royally pissing him off (that's how Cleopatra became the Queen of Egypt, she knew killing Pompey was a stupid idea and was already an exile, so when Caesar got the news she allied herself with him), with only one remaining Optimate army still resisting in Sicily under Pompey's son, Sextus Pompey.

Caesar was a much different man from Sulla. For starters, his reforms followed the Populares' ideals. Also, he didn't like to have people executed for being political enemies - a honorable death on the battlefield was one thing, but having someone killed in peacetime for having different political opinions was another, and Pompey's surviviving soldiers fell for him when Caesar ordered his men to let them live. And then there's the part that usually gets omitted in Italian school books: he had no intention to relinquish his power once he was done, and even planned to make himself King of Rome, even with the ghost of Tarquinius still looming over Rome. Being a genius, however, he decided to test the water first, most notably by arranging for his trusted lieutenant Mark Antony to publicly offer him a crown while STARK NAKED, so that it could be dismissed as a tasteless joke if needed. The people booed at Antony's action, so Caesar rejected the crown and tried to pass it off as a tasteless joke... But part of the public opinion started wondering about Caesar's true intentions, and a number of Optimates decided it was time to deal with Caesar.

These men, the self-proclaimed Liberators, were a number of lesser Optimates that for various reasons felt personally insulted by Caesar (one even owed him money), and took Caesar's probes toward kingship as excuse. Their leaders were Gaius Cassius Longinus, who Caesar had refused a political appointment in favor of someone else, and Marcus Junius Brutus, direct descendant of the Brutus that led the Romans against Tarquinius and infamous weathervane who joined anyone who seemed to be the strongest, first choosing to side with Pompey, who had his father's killed during Sulla's purges, because his allies had sided with him against Caesar, then siding with Caesar when he got the upper hand, and now realizing that his entire political career was at Caesar's whim (it was in fact him who got the appointment Caesar denied to Cassius) and the master of Rome could change his mind any time, and seemed rather inclined to support his trusted lieutenant Mark Antony and his grand nephew Octavian. The Liberators waited for a Senate session outside the Pomerium (as a number of Senators were also holding military offices), thus in a place where carrying weapons was allowed, and with their knives jumped Caesar on the Ides of March. The tyrant was dead, and they could now take whatever political office they wanted while Cicero, Rome's most honest man who was nonetheless biased toward them as an Optimate, brokered a peace with Caesar's allies... But they had mistaken Antony as a brute. At Caesar's funeral Antony gave a legendary speech and read out Caesar's will, in which he gave lavish gifts to the masses of Rome, thus turning the entire population of Rome against the Liberators to such a point Sextus Pompey didn't want anything to do with them, and igniting the third of the four rounds of civil wars that would destroy the Roman Republic and turn it into the Empire.

In conclusion, was Caesar killed for a good reason? Most certainly yes. But was Brutus a hero? Nope. He was a weathervane ready to switch sides the moment the tide turned, and turned on Caesar out of fear he'd cut his political career off if he opposed him (though Mark Antony turning the entirety of Rome on him apparently restored his coherency, as during the following war he finally fought to his own death). Thus screw Caesar, screw Brutus, and screw Mark Antony for restarting the war. Only Cicero and Octavian can be spared. Wait, wasn't Octavian just Caesar's grandnephew? Well, yes... But he was also Caesar's legal heir, equally ambitious and brave but much smarter and cunning, enough to secure his power first by allowing Antony to screw himself over by thinking with his lower head (Antony cheating on his wife Octavia with Cleopatra in spite of Octavia being the very model of a Roman bride pissed off a LOT of Romans. Especially her brother, who happened to be Octavian himself) and then by actually solving the entire problem of Roman institutions having overextended themselves (you know, what had started the entire mess to begin with), thus creating the Roman Empire while assuming the name of Augustus.

As for the knife block? It's made in Italy. Because we may hold Caesar as a national hero to this day, but with such an obvious joke...

[cicerenella]

Here is a new, sillier ask:

Do you think Romano likes Alfred? What do you think he thinks about him?

How hard would he throw hands if he saw what he did to pizza(I do not mean Hawaiian that's Canada's fault)?

What a lovely question!

If we're talking about modern day relationship, I would say that Romano both admires and despises the younger nation, and he has reasons for both.

On one hand, Romano admires Alfred. Today, he's one of Italy's major trading partners (yknow, being in the EU and all), not to mention the historical help that the US gave to the South during WW2 with the Husky Operation (Sbarco in Sicilia for my fellow italians). Romano probably sees Alfred as a bit naive and otherwise young fellow, but he has to admit that he's very powerful and did some pretty good things for him during the last century. He's...tolerable, to Romano's standards, when he keeps his mouth shut of course.

On the other hand however he...does not like him. Like at all. Romano is tremendously traditional, sticking to his culture like crazy. He does NOT like the whole "americanization" that Alfred seems to bring with himself wherever he goes. And he certainly does not like all the tremendous stuff Alfred seems to do to Romano's culture. He's like a grouchy grandpa in this, claiming that the young nation is irresponsible at best and should stop "butting heads where he doesn't need to".

I would also like to add that while the anime did a nice thing in portraying the hardships of the South during the industrial revolution, I do not personally think that Romano has worked for America. Yeah, okay, italian emigration to America blah blah blah. But If you studied what was happening in Southern Italy during that time, you would understand that there were SO many problems that it was unlikely for Romano not to be present during those times. Especially since a lot of peasant revolts were happening against the goverment (fucking Giolitti man). Taking this in account, I headcanon that Roma most likely went to America during the 20s only for a visit, encountering for the first time Alfred and seeing the "new world" with his eyes.

so to end this first question I would say that Romano doesn't particularly despise Alfred, but he also does not like certain aspects of his personality. and those aspects really seem to annoy him and push his buttons!

about the food discourse, the answer is very simple my friend: murder. literally, there's no throwing hands at this point but straight out homicide. for Romano, it is sacred to respect italian cuisine, and if he ever saw WHAT Alfred does to his beloved pizza (or anything relating to it at this point) back in the US...well, he would not react good. it would probably end in a broken, american nose and a loud shouting match🙃