#My vote is for Regis personally

[papakhan]

Which Khan gets this shirt

[skaruresonic]

Does your tribe have a written constitution? I know the Quechan tribe did since the 60s cuz I did research on them for a Landscape Arch class, but I heard it was inconsistent amongst other tribes given how destabilized things got. Still sucks how ass it is to vote for this country with the lack of poll booths and PO Boxes

If you consider wampum "written," maybe. But if you mean "written" as in pen and paper, then no.

Our laws are the laws of the Haudenosaunee, and the main law the Haudenosaunee have is the Great Law of Peace, which is orally recited every year. Last year some of my classmates went to Wisconsin to hear the Oneida recite Great Law.

That's not to say we lack all forms of documentation; many, though not all, of us carry tribal cards. They're based on the Jay Treaty which says Haudenosaunee people and First Nations people are allowed to freely cross between Canada and the US.

In addition to being an indicator of tribal enrollment, red cards should theoretically allow us to travel without forcing us to rely on US passports.

The catch, however, and what makes things annoying, is very few if any places recognize our tribal cards as valid forms of ID, even the places that arguably should, like the Rainbow Bridge between the US and Canada. Crossing into Canada is always a crapshoot because most guards don't give a shit and won't let you cross without a passport.

New York only officially recognizes Akwesasne (St. Regis) Mohawk tribal cards. They don't recognize Tuscarora tribal cards, and that's the reason I was unable to get my permit the first time I went to the DMV. It didn't count as a point of identification, and so I lacked enough points to pass qualification requirements needed to take the test.

---

Still sucks how ass it is to vote for this country with the lack of poll booths and PO Boxes

We're lucky in that we have a... semi-working mail service, but the more embarrassing issue is takeout, tbh. Sometimes restaurants will deliver to just one side of the rez but not the other. Or the delivery person will stand by their car and refuse to walk up to your porch because they binged too many true crime podcasts and think they're gonna get murdered over a pizza lmao.

Re. voting: a lot of us don't vote, which is another issue of tribal sovereignty.

People have a huge stick up their ass about not voting, and they like to wax poetic about how you're a fascist if you don't. But honestly, it's really not that simple an issue for us because we have to grapple with the very real possibility that if enough of us register to vote in US elections, it sends the federal government the message that we don't consider ourselves a sovereign and self-determining nation. That we consider them our government instead. And that could potentially give them grounds to disseminate us.

That's always a slippery slope no matter what because the government wants any excuse it can take no matter how small, but it puts a lot of onus on us to not rely on them as much as possible. As a result, we tend to neglect a lot of shit that most Americans would balk at, like discarding census requests, not getting a passport, and not voting.

My aunt chewed me out merely for registering to vote at the DMV. (Apparently Council keeps tabs on everyone who registers. As if I needed any more reason to call myself a bad Indian, lmao.)

Granted, I haven't voted since registering, but... She really laid into me over something I incidentally did while getting my permit because everyone rags on you about how you really should vote, right? So I wasn't really thinking about it and she got big mad lol.

[niaswish]

Planning the Future

This is based on an au I introduced in 2020 for the NyxNoct week (Chapter 7 of the Heroic Start by Shiary on AO3).

Rating: Teen +

Warnings: Slightly graphic violence near the end. Implied character deaths.

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, implied character deaths, Nyx Ulric/ Noctis Lucis Caleum, eventual fluff, no major character deaths, Dark-ish Nyx, Royalty AU.

Chapter summary: A much needed conversation between 2 princes offers them clarity and a path towards their future.

Nyx brought Prince Noctis to a nearby creek, far enough that they would be able to talk without being overheard but close enough that Nyx would hear if anyone needed him. When he finally turned to look at the man who had once been his prisoner, Nyx found himself unsure as to where to begin.

Thankfully, Noctis spoke first. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I was supposed to stay at the Temple last night." Noctis bowed apologetically towards Nyx. "I know you saw me with Unc... Marshall Leonis and I'm sure you were furious, rightfully so, at my presence with those responsible for the injuries your mother suffered."

Nyx scowled and crossed his arms. "If you're sorry then why did you do it?"

"To get them to leave." When Nyx raised a brow, Noctis continued explaining. "When I was brought here, it was against my will. But instead of being treated as a prisoner like I expected, I was allowed to move around and given a job that I actually liked." Noctis chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've never liked being royalty. Too much attention and pressure to be this perfect person."

Nyx scoffed, "What a stupid expectation."

"Ya, I was surprised by how relaxed you all are about royalty stuff."

Nyx shrugged, "The only reason the Ulrics still have royal titles is due to Lucis being annoying assholes about who can negotiate with them. At this point, being the Ruler of Galahd just means we get a vote in decisions and pretend we make them in front of other nations."

That got Noctis to laugh and something warm and fuzzy replaced the anxiety that Nyx had been feeling. Oh he was smitten alright, and apparently Ramuh approuved? He'd have to check with his mom later. 

For now Nyx still had something they needed to discuss. "Thank you for the apology and keeping Niflheim back until your friend could warn us. However, the Council has elected to wage war on Lucis because Marshall Leonis and your retinue broke the Oath King Regis made about respecting the payment due."

Noctis winced, "I figured that might happen." He turned to look at Nyx, "You don't agree do you? Otherwise why tell me?"

Nyx inclined his head, a slight appreciative smile on his lips. "Before the attack? I did but now... It seems like the wrong target for our Hunters. The only one who would benefit from such a war would be Niflheim. Not exactly what either of us want."

Noctis nodded in agreement for a moment before he frowned, head tilting to one side thoughtfully. "Wait. How did Lucis break that Oath thing in the first place? We've been losing against Niflheim for centuries and Galahd didn't do much when the Wall was reduced so... What happened?"

Nyx was surprised by the change in topic. "You never asked my mom that while you were at the Temple?"

Noctia glanced away, "I was too angry to ask when I was brought there initially then kinda...forgot?"

Nyx couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "Ramuh's staff! How on Eos have you been able to remember all those orders but forget to ask the reason why you were brought here?"

"Oh shut up!" Noctis hissed in embarrassed anger. "Just tell me already. It's not like Lucis could have sent enough soldiers to make a difference. We also don't have a lot in terms of supplies to share with how isolated Insomnia has become."

Nyx wiped the tears from his eyes even as he answered. "Information. We didn't need soldiers, weapons, or supplies -Galahd provides us with all that- but our abilities are limited to Galahd and the Storm. The Oath has always been about sharing information and trade, that's all."

"Information???"

Nyx nodded and leaned back against a warm rock, tilting his head towards the sun. "Lucis knew that Niflheim was gathering an army near Galahd, had caught wind of a plan to attack us. And yet your father and council made the decision to not share that with us. Then after the attack, they had the galls to deny ever knowing any of it."

Noctis frowned. "How did Galahd find proof of this?"

"Ramuh." Nyx shrugged. "An Oath with his blessing means he is aware of anything and everything related to it. If the information had been delayed or ignored by only a few then the Oath wouldn't have broken. Its destruction was proof enough."

Noctis stayed silent for a while, Nyx echoing it as he allowed the prince to process that knowledge. He took that time to take a good look at the man he'd come to love. Even with a thoughtful frown, Noctis was beautiful. Long lashes framed gorgeous eyes that seemed to shine with emotions, a veritable gate to how his princeling truly felt.

His body was that of a lithe but trained fighter, born from years of training. With an amused smile, Nyx noted that Noctis' muscles had changed in the months since Nyx had first seen it. Still healthy and fit, there was a new roundness to his figure, a lessening of the muscle definition that made Nyx wonder what kinds of meals his princeling had been getting in Insomnia.

Noctis' voice broke through his admiration. "My eyes are up here, Boss." Thankfully, Noctis' tone was amused and playful.

"And they're as gorgeous as the rest of you." Nyx spoke before his brain had caught up. With a hiss, Nyx hurried to apologize. "Sorry that was inappropriate. What did you want to say?" Lifting his eyes, Nyx noticed the blush on his princeling's cheeks. -and he wasn't going to think about how being called boss made his inside twitch.-

"Umm..." Noctis stumbled over his words for a moment before he managed to speak properly. "I have a plan to help you convince your Elders to not go to war with Lucis."

"Oh? Well, I'm all ears. What do you have in mind?" Nyx straightened and leaned closer.

×+×++×

Nyx greeted his mom with a hug and a question. "Did Ramuh know I'd fall in love with the princeling?" His mother laughed at him and he frowned. "I'm being serious, mom."

"I know, Nyx." She took a step back, a hand cupping his cheek as she answered. "No, Ramuh did not know you would fall in love. However, he had been keeping watch over Prince Noctis due to a stupid prophecy that Bahamut insists should come to pass. No, I will not explain that yet. It is neither the time nor of any importance now."

"When King Regis failed to warn Galahd of the impending attack by Niflheim, Ramuh saw it as a chance to give Prince Noctis a happier life. One free of the burden of royalty that he wilted under in Insomnia. The Oath initially specified that the Ruler would become the sacrifice but Ramuh decided otherwise. In his own words, Noctis has the making of a Galahdian and should be allowed to make his own path in life."

Nyx relaxed at that, relieved that Ramuh hadn't predicted his love for his princeling. He placed his own hand over his mom's with a soft smile. "Then can you help us with the Elders? We have a plan."

"I'm listening."

"A war between Lucis and Galahd would benefit Niflheim and open us up to further attacks. Prince Noctis proposes that instead, Lucis hires Galahd's Hunters to help them repel Niflheim from Lucis, with the price being twice what is ours to claim as well as all of (location). And... He's agreed to let me court him."

His mom raised a brow, "A Galahdian or Lucian courtship?"

"Galahdian Hunter's courtship, of course."

"And the offering?"

"Aldercapt's head."

His mother's eyes flashed bright white as thunder mixed with her delighted laughter. "Galahd's path is a war indeed! Just not the one the Elders envisioned. Very well, I'll deal with the Elders and your father. You, on the other hand, will have to deal with the Lucians."

"Mom!" But it was too late as his mom kissed his forehead and left, leaving him alone with a monumental task.

Ifrit's ass, how was he supposed to explain to a bunch of overprotective Lucians the concept of courtship Hunts?

A/N: Thank you for the great week! Feel free to ask me about this au whenever :)

[bgn846]

Marshal’s Creed FFXV Fanfic

Summary:            

Cor dresses up for the annual Halloween gala in hopes to win a bet. Can he beat out everyone else at the party with the best costume?

Notes:    

I had a fun prompt from my friend @ragewerthers for Cor Leonis getting invited to a Halloween party.... but what in the HELL is he supposed to go as?!  Do Regis and Clarus help him?  Do the boys help him?  Does he decide to go scary?  Funny?  Mythical?

I hope you all enjoy, I had fun writing this! :)

Work Text:          

“What is he wearing?” Regis asked under his breath from where they were standing near the steps to the throne.

“Not so sure, but it seems pretty popular with the ladies,” Clarus admitted as he craned his neck to see better.

“Dear six, he looks half-naked!” spluttered Regis after a moment.

“Sorta, he’s got pants and maybe something someone would consider a shirt on.” Though Clarus was still clueless as to what Cor had dressed up as.  The annual Halloween gala was always a fun event. However, the marshal never dressed up.

Ever.

It was only the quick thinking of Regis with the tempting draw of a bet that enticed their friend into wearing anything special this year. A hefty amount of 500gil sat waiting for Cor if he dressed up and won one of the sundry costume awards to be gifted that night.  The prizes given out were little awards trinkets, and the bragging rights until the next party.  Of course, Cor could care less about any of that, the only reason he’d even agreed, was to prove Regis wrong and maybe relieve him of some decent spending cash.

The king had figured Cor wasn’t creative enough to even stand a chance. Regis had merely snorted and waved him off when the marshal assured them he’d win something.  Now, as Clarus watched their friend navigate through the crowd he was beginning to think Regis might have to pay up at the end of the night.

The squeals of impressed party goers only got louder as Cor approached, as did the flash of lights from photos being snapped. The crowds dispersed once he’d reached the king.  Cor yawned once seemingly bored with the whole affair already. “You might as well give me the money now, Regis.”

“Never!” the king hissed, “You aren’t going to win, look at you! What is that, it looks like a pile of rags!”

Before Cor could answer a young staffer passing by interrupted them with a shout, “Awesome costume!” They left just as quickly as Clarus began to examine the outfit in more detail.

“I’m afraid I’m lost as to what you are, care to enlighten us?”

“Eh, this? I have no idea, Noct helped me pick it out.  Said it was the best costume to wear and had Ignis go online and order me one before I could say no.”

“You asked my son to help you?”

“Nope, he found out I was going to dress up and he nearly flipped. How could I say no, he begged me to let him help.”

“Still what the hell are you?” Regis asked in exasperation.

“An assassin I think?” Cor supplied with a furrowed brow. “Honestly, the kid was talking too fast for me to catch the exact name, but he said it was from a game.”  

“Why in the heck would an assassin wear that? Your entire right side is exposed, seems like a defensive nightmare.”

“I’ll admit it’s not exactly realistic but it’s comfy at least.” Cor offered with a shrug.

“I don’t know why you let my son talk you into this, you look ridiculous.” Regis was about to add more when another party-goer/staffer wandered by and started staring. They were of course after a picture of Cor.  The staffer was young and blushing like mad but still managed to ask for a selfie.

“I’m sorry what were you saying majesty? I got pulled away to have my picture taken because I’m going to win.”

Regis sneered and turned around to walk away.  Clarus couldn’t help but snicker at the sight. Regis was a sore loser so a part of him hoped Cor wouldn’t win, but he probably would. The marshal, though not a youthful twenty-year-old anymore, could hold his own in the looks department. He was only in his forties now but still trained just as hard. His well-defined six-pack was evidence of that.  Clarus suspected that most of the girls wandering over were trying to get a better look at what he’d been hiding under his guard uniform.

Cor for once didn’t mind the attention and even smiled for a few shots.  It was nice to see his friend out of his element for once.   “Have you seen his highness?” Clarus asked, figuring Noct would have at least had to help Cor get ready. Otherwise, the man wouldn’t have known how to wear the costume.

“Yeah, he’s coming soon, he was getting picky about his nails.”

“What?”

“You’ll see, he’ll match grumpy pants over there,” Cor announced with a chuckle. “Regis thinks sporting little tiny fake fangs makes him a good vampire. He’s so wrong.”

“Oh dear,” Clarus could only guess what Noct had conjured up. Ignis would have been key in gathering his needed elements, but the idea was most likely the princes. “What are the others dressing up as?”

Cor barked out a laugh, “I only saw Ignis and Prompto but it appeared they were wearing matching black suits.”

“That’s it?”

“Almost, if you don’t count the wolf tail they both had clipped to their belts and the wolf ear headbands.”

“I’m so confused,” he sighed. However, right as he was about to ask for more details a sudden hush overtook the room. Looking up he noticed what had caused the reaction. Ignis, Prompto, and his son were stalking over towards them. They all matched and looked quite formidable.   However, Noct seemed to be missing. The black suits had matching black shirts and ties to go with. One might take them all for security guards aside from the addition of the animal ears atop their heads. One thing Cor hadn’t mentioned was their eye color. Each had donned a pair of contacts that made their eyes look golden and cat-like.

As they neared, Clarus realized there was a fourth pair of legs hiding behind Ignis. This must be the prince. Waiting patiently as the group finally came to a rest in front of them, Clarus was treated to the reveal. A pale hand with amusingly long pointy black nails slowly crept out from behind Ignis arm.  It reached out and pointed straight at him.  Then in a move that had Clarus snorting with laughter, Noct curled his fingers and beckoned him closer.  

“You’re nuts if you think I’m letting you near me with those daggers,” he laughed.

Noct merely shook his finger and carefully leaned to the side to show his face. The prince’s hair was slicked back and someone had drawn in an exaggerated widow’s peak.

“I see you’re taking your role far more seriously than your father.”

“I shall win,” was all Noct uttered before he hissed and retreated behind his bodyguards again.

With a quick bow, Ignis led the way back out into the party.  The advisor was playing his part very well and looked like he’d snap a person in two if they even tried to talk to the prince. Prompto was fighting to hide a smile as they turned to leave. Gladio offered Clarus and eyebrow waggle and a wink before he left.  They were having fun it seemed.

“So forgive me for being a little behind on my fantasy lore, why are they all wearing animal ears and tails?” Clarus asked kindly.

“He’s a vampire and he needs his werewolf pack to protect him.”

“Ah, I see. Noct basically thought up the perfect costume, ensuring he doesn’t have to talk with anyone.”

“Pretty much, he’s clever in that way, unlike his old man!” Cor teased as Regis joined them again.

Ignoring Cor’s comment, Regis stared at Noct’s retreating party and tilted his head, “Was that my son?”

“Yep you missed the reveal; he’s a vampire with a coven of werewolves.”  

Regis simply smiled and straightened his shoulders slightly, “He takes after me in so many ways.”

Cor groaned loudly and rolled his eyes, “You wish, look it I’m gonna go mingle and get some more votes in my favor.  I’m winning this contest tonight, be ready to pay up.”

Regis tried to whack Cor in the shin with his cane, but the marshal was quicker and leaped out of the way. He laughed and casually wandered away, complete with a smug look of satisfaction.

“He’s such a brat sometimes,” Regis huffed.

“He’s only five years younger than you.”

“Shut it; let’s go see if we can convince the judges to ban him or something.”  

Cor did not get banned.

Clarus had the joy of watching his friend claim a very special award, the citadels’ sexiest costume. Apparently, the panel of judges was also distracted by Cor’s exposed right side and six-pack.  The few other contestants in that category didn’t stand a chance.  No manner of makeup could fake muscles or a square jawline.

Regis didn’t have to pout for long though when his son won the night's overall best costume design. The king was proud of his son and his friends. They’d banded together to create a memorable look.  Noct stayed in character when he accepted his award and tried to bite one of the presenters.  Gladio sprang into action and held him back.  The room erupted in laughter and cheers.

Suddenly thankful they could all enjoy moments like this together; Clarus smiled and looked over to his friend and King. Regis must have had a similar reaction as he returned a warm smile of his own and a small nod.

The rest of the night was a blur; Cor had come playfully demanding his money. Regis denied him, but Clarus knew he’d pay up in the morning.  His liege kept trying to accuse Cor of cheating since he was only wearing half a costume. The marshal would then wiggle his award in front of Regis’ face as a rebuttal.

The music soon turned up loud enough that they couldn’t talk anymore. Opting to retreat to the far corner of the room the three friends sat and relaxed.  They spend the remainder of the evening commenting on the costumes and the terrible music.

The End.

AO3 link is posted in the comments.

[secret-engima]

Finds and Feathers Drabble: Drautos

*throws this on here* Ow, my hands. This is over 2.5k words when it was meant to be maybe 1k but its done now so enjoy it. I hereby blame @oliverslewty @yudu097 and @faeconstellation for this. XDD Look at what got resurrected and merged with Fangs and Feathers verse.

BEHOLD the thing that y’all did the vote for *waggles eyebrows*.

...

-Titus has several reasons to hate the royal family. King Mors pulled back the Wall, which allowed his parents and uncles to be murdered when Niflheim invaded, leaving only him and his older sister alive (and even then, Titus was only alive because of Regis and his sister was only alive because she had moved to Lestallum three years prior). Regis had promised Titus aid and vengeance, but as the years went by, Titus’s homeland was never reclaimed.

-Then there was the Glauca suit.

-Titus had not wanted the thing now sitting under his skin, he had fought every step of the way through his capture and experimentation and their attempts to TURN him, make him betray Lucis in favor of the people who had burned his home.

-If he hadn’t had a sister to go home to, he thinks he would have listened to them.

-If he hadn’t had a sister who Titus had learned was with child right before his capture, he thinks he might have listened anyway, or at least not been as desperately reckless to escape. He would have taken his time to plot a way out, played obedient puppet to lower their guard rather than fighting his way out using the THING they had burrowed under his skin, even if it almost killed him.

-The Crownsguard hadn’t even noticed he was gone, and of course, what the Crownsguard didn’t report, Regis was too busy to notice.

-Worthless king. Spineless king. Selfish lying king who deserved to WAtCh hIs KInGdOm BUrN-

-It was only his sister’s horrified intervention in the height of his vitriol that clued him in on the fact that his thoughts were no longer completely his own. The suit, the armor, the thing that breathed and hungered and hated under his skin was connected to his mind so that he could command it at will, but that connection was two way, and its hate kept trying to bleed over into his own thoughts.

-Titus made a point to twist his spite and direct it at Niflheim whenever his thoughts strayed. True, he might hate the royal line for their failures, but he hated Niflheim MORE. Regis might not be the warrior king Lucis needed but at least he wasn’t the Emperor (at least he was a good man, even if good men made bad kings). On and on his thoughts spun in endless circles, a tug of war between two different kinds of spite and anger in the background of his everyday life that frankly made every day exhausting. It would have been so much easier to let the two thought processes combine and carry him away into a secret, righteous crusade against Lucis. So much easier to claim the power Niflheim had burrowed under his skin.

-He didn’t. Because of his sister. More than her…

-Because of his nephew. Because his nephew had no father figure to speak of (his sister had looked so worried when she told him of her one night stand with a nameless, pretty-eyed stranger that had made her pregnant despite protection) and had been born with fury under his skin, branded into his being just like the birthmarks that stretched across his face and body like jagged scars. SOMEONE had to teach his nephew to control the fury that seemed to have been molded into the boy’s soul from the womb, and Titus was the only one around to do that.

-Then one day when his nephew was seven years old and throwing a tantrum, the apartment shook and his nephew froze in astonishment at the bright, red-amber fire licking over his hands. In the stunned silence that had followed, his nephew had looked up at him with blood red eyes (his nephew’s eyes were washed out blue like his, not red, not RED-) and Titus had one more reason to hate Lucis Caelums.

-He never told Regis. Never dared. Regis was a man who loved children, and even in his blackest moments Titus would never suspect the man of being capable of harming a child, but Regis was married. Married to a wife he adored, a wife who had just recently had a son of her own. The scandal it would cause if Titus’s nephew was known, the strife that would erupt between Regis, Aulea, and Titus’s sister-. He couldn’t risk it.

-He had never been so glad that Regis had given him magic as a trusted member of his Retinue. A way to teach his nephew how to hide the magic burning under his skin and how to temper the wrath that threatened to shake the walls at any given moment (because his nephew was always angry, even when he was content and smiling and laughing with his mother, there was a tiny spark of anger lurking there, like the world had wronged him and he hated it).

-He still kept the secret even after Aulea died. Because Regis was grieving, and for all the bitterness that was both his and the suit’s, he wouldn’t inflict that kind of drama on the man while he was grieving.

-When his nephew was ten, Titus got a call from his sister, frantic and confused over her nephew, who had been watching a broadcast about the Oracle’s children when he suddenly passed out with a fever. Titus claimed a sick day and rushed to Lestallum to check on his nephew, found him already up and about a day after his mysterious collapse.

-His eyes were red and there was bitterness there.

-They didn’t stop being red even after Titus held him close and calmed the buzzing rage he could feel under his nephew’s skin.

-“I’m King Regis’s spawn, aren’t I?”

-Titus stiffened at the wording, glanced up at his sister as she pet her son’s hair and breathed, “You are my beloved son. Who your father is doesn’t matter to us.”

-His nephew laughed and the sound was broken. Then he pulled away and summoned fire to his hands so he could stare at his magic. When he looked up at his mother, his eyes were still the color of fresh blood, “I don’t like my name. I want to change it.”

-Titus and his sister had exchanged worried looks, but out of fear of a magic-fueled tantrum, Titus asked, “What name do you want?”

-A sharp, bitter sort of smile more at home on the face of a soldier than a child, “Xanxus. My name is Xanxus.”

-And that was that. His nephew stopped responding to his given name, only answered to the one he had given himself. He was different now, from whatever had happened, and Titus wished he could ask Regis about magic without raising suspicions, because was this normal for Lucis Caelums? This sudden change in name and development of a too-old (too bloodthirsty) personality?

-Xanxus’s eyes never did turn back to blue. Titus suspected there was too much anger there, lurking just beneath the surface as his nephew went out and picked fights with the street rats of Lestallum, as he ran off to join the Hunters at fifteen, adding yet another concern to Titus’s life in between his duties as Captain of the Kingsglaive, the suit constantly prodding his thoughts, and Prince Noctis (who had taken to trailing him around with big blue eyes that made it impossible to hate the brat) and his crazy pet Galahdian who had apparently taken a shine to him because he wasn’t “a useless herbivore” (whatever that meant).

-Titus should have known something would break someday. The tenuous secrecy and balance couldn’t last forever. Not with Xanxus’s temper and Titus’s terrible luck in regards to Lucis Caelums.

-Four months after Xanxus turned sixteen, Titus got a report from the front lines. A base of Kingsglaive had nearly been overrun by a Niflheim assault until an unknown teenager with magic had intervened and shot down the gunships with a combination of over-powered, red-tinted fire spells and guns that seemed to fire bullets of pure magic.

-Titus could do nothing to stop the report from reaching Regis, because several Crownsguard had been at the base at the time to refuel their truck on the way back to Insomnia and they had already reported the incident to the Marshal.

-Titus stood at a twitching Regis’s side, face frozen in neutrality that he didn’t feel as the throne room doors got flung open and his nephew was escorted inside by several glaives. Xanxus eyed Regis with contempt, his magic swirling openly around him like biting embers of anger and King Regis flinched at the feel of it before stepped forward, “You are-”

-“Your illegitimate spawn,” sneered Titus’s nephew and Titus inwardly groaned, “so what? Gonna try to lock me in your pretty Citadel so I don’t go around shaming your line?”

-Regis recoiled like he’d been physically punched and Titus openly winced and resisted the urge to tell Xanxus to do his breathing exercises, “No!” Sputtered the king Titus had a constant loyalty-hate relationship with, “I would never hold you here against your will!”

-“So you’ll just offer a lot of incentives for me to stay  and more incentives for me to not dare leave.” Retorted Titus’s living headache, “Don’t try the playing the nice sham you old b-.”

-That was enough of that, “Xanxus Certus Drautos, watch your tongue. I can still hold you down and wash that mouth of yours out with soap.”

-All eyes snapped to Titus while Xanxus made a face and a rude gesture and Titus sighed at the unspoken, panicky question in Regis’s eyes, “He’s my nephew. Yes, I’ve known about his magic for a long time.”

-Regis’s expression was so genuinely wounded Titus felt bad, “Then why did you never…?”

-Titus looked away, unable to withstand the hurt in the eyes of the man Titus thought was a bad king but knew was a good man (which was what made him a bad king), “We didn’t find out until the year Prince Noctis was born. I didn’t want my sister or nephew … or you … to suffer the scandal it would cause if he became known. And after the Queen died … there was never a good time.”

-Xanxus snorted, “Whatever, just scrub the reports and he can keep his precious reputation untarnished and I can go back to Hunting. Say one of your pet glaives used a new magic spell or something.” The glaives bristled at the “pet” comment, but Titus was just glad he wasn’t slinging his favorite word around yet (he doubted Cor or anyone in the room would react well to Xanxus calling the king “trash”)

-Regis turned back to Xanxus, reached out a hesitant hand, “You don’t have to leave. I will not stop you if … if you truly wish to go but I would … I would be honored to get to know my son-.”

-Magic rippled out like blood and fury and Titus instinctively put himself between Regis and Xanxus as his nephew snarled “I don’t belong to you, Trash King. I’m not your son, I’m your mistake and I will not be caged just so you can pat yourself on the back and feel better about ‘repenting’ for your ‘mistakes’.” Xanxus shook off the glaives that reached for him, fire burning dangerously up his arms and shoulders as he leaned around Titus so he could bare his teeth at a shaking Regis, his armiger flickering in and out of existence in red-amber as he spat, “You leave me and my mother the pyre alone or so help me I’m gonna-.”

-From the doors of the throne room, another magic signature spiked and Titus swallowed his spit in dread.

-What was Prince Noctis doing down here?

-Xanxus’s eyes went wild and he spun on his heel and Titus had a horrifying mental image of either his nephew or his crown prince dead on the throne room floor and half-dived for his nephew. He slammed against the red-tinted magic shield that formed and pushed outward, knocking aside everyone that might have stopped him as Prince Noctis, with no self-preservation whatsoever, ran up to Xanxus and smiled, “Xanxus, you’re here!”

-Wait. How did Prince Noctis know Xanxus’s name?

-Xanxus stared down at the nine year old prince with a cocked head, confusion in the set of his shoulders for a moment before he … relaxed, “Small Trash?” There was genuine confusion, disbelief, as if he wasn’t expecting to see Prince Noctis here, but that made no sense because Xanxus had only ever been to Insomnia in his life ONCE before now and there was no way he’d met Prince Noctis then. … Right?

-Prince Noctis stared around them at the shield hemming them in, then fearlessly smiled and hugged Titus’s nephew, “I missed you!”

-Titus prepared to batter down the shield in hopes of preventing regicide.

-Xanxus just patted Prince Noctis’s hair, armiger fading out of existence and magic settling to something slightly below screaming wrath, “Figures you’d be here, Small Trash.”

-“My name is Noctis.”

-“Xanxus. Xanxus Drautos.”

-Prince Noctis leaned briefly around Xanxus to blink at Titus, then resumed smiling up at the half-brother he shouldn’t know existed, “Titus’s…?”

-“Nephew, Small Trash. I don’t have a father.”

-Regis made a strangled noise, tentatively resting a hand on the shield keeping him away from his two sons, “Noctis…”

-Prince Noctis looked at his father, blinked with that unique, far-off stare he got when his seer magic kicked in and Titus felt his teeth grind as the boy looked up at Xanxus, “…You’re my half-brother.”

-Xanxus’s shoulders tensed, “Small Trash…”

-Prince Noctis turned and hugged Xanxus again, “It’s okay. He’s a good dad, I promise. He’ll love you. Please stay.”

-A shaking breath that felt … vulnerable. More vulnerable than his nephew had been since he was ten and claimed a new name, “I’m illegitimate, Small Trash. We both know what that means to royalty.”

-Slender arms hugged tighter and Titus watched in awe as his volatile nephew did nothing to throw the boy away, “Dad is different. I love him, and he loves me. He loves you too already. I promise. And I never break my promises.”

-Xanxus sagged in place, muttered a few scathing curses Titus had never been able to train out of him, then reached down and effortlessly picked Prince Noctis up and propped him on his hip like the boy was three and not nine, “Fine, Small Trash. I’ll give him three months. If I don’t like him by then I’m gone.”

-The shield dissolved as Xanxus turned around, “You got that, Trash King? You want to prove you’re interested in me as family and not a tool, you got three months to do it. After that I’m gone and none of your men better try to stop me unless they want to be dead.”

-Regis agreed even as the Marshal growled at Xanxus’s wording, but Titus didn’t care to listen. Couldn’t really think past his surprise because … because…

-As his nephew looked down at the half-brother he apparently already knew in his arms, angry but in a more tired and indulgent way, for the first time in years…

-Xanxus’s eyes were their natural washed out blue again.

-Oh, thought Titus quietly as Prince Noctis beamed up at Xanxus with amber eyes, magic curling effortlessly around Xanxus’s in a way that filled in and smoothed over all the screaming, jagged edges.

-Oh.

[chibi-jing]

About FFXV Episode Ardyn – Prologue

I believe (and hope) that this future piece of animation will contain everything we ever wanted to know about Ardyn’s past.

In fact, Ardyn’s DLC seems more focused on his awakening and his early years with the Empire, as the teaser trailer showed us. And that’s logical: in this way Square Enix can reuse things already done for the main game but never fully exploited like Regis model for example, or can pick up existing stuff to tell a new story like older Prompto model for young Verstael or even Insomnia. It also seems pretty rational from SE point of view to let us play Ardyn as he appears in FFXV and not someone completely different as he sure was in his past: it’s this character that people wanted to see when they voted for him in last year survey (and besides parts of his moveset already exists, facilitating the process).

But most significantly, it’s almost impossible for SE to give us Ardyn’s past in a form of a game. It would cost to much to be produced, would be too complicated and would offer too little possibilities in terms of gameplay compared to the workload needed to create a whole new world 2000 years before FFXV. These complications don’t apply to animation. Drawings always come from scratch and it doesn’t matter if you have to picture today’s landscapes or futuristic cities: the amount of work will be the same and the ratio quantity-price is far better than the cost of a lot of new assets for a 2 hours DLC. To summarize, you can tell more with animation for a lower cost compared to the equivalent you would need to create for a video game.

You could argue that we did see Somnus in the trailer so SE has already made new content regarding Ardyn’s past. That’s true, but what reinforces my theory is that this scene with Somnus takes place in a vaste empty field with no specific decor at all and is shown from a first-person viewpoint. This is not something that looks playable and since we’re watching it through Ardyn’s eyes, I believe all we’re gonna get from this time period will be cutscenes when Ardyn remembers or talks about his past. And that will be a totally good choice if what happened 2000 years ago is told in this animation. As SE did with Kingsglaive, we can see the tragic backstory before playing the DLC.

 By the way, the title clearly mentions “prologue”. What could be Ardyn’s prologue if not his past life as Ardyn Lucis Caelum? ^^

 You can do so much with animation, I sincerely hope they left their imagination go further than FFXV as a game and that they’ll offer us some amazing new visuals about the early Lucis, Somnus, and Ardyn as a hero. I do believe it!!!

[theonewiththevampires]

Vampire politics, part two: Titles

The leader of a community is called the Prince in English, this title is used by all genders. Members of the royal clan also use the title prince/princess. To differentiate between them the ruler is formally known as the Sovereign Prince, while the rest of the royal clan are prince/princess of the blood. The ruler uses the honorific, ‘your majesty’ while the others use ‘your highness’. Latin is the lingua franca of the vampire world and in it they use Princeps for the ruler and regis filium for the rest of the clan. Probably, I might change the Latin terms.

Under the community leader there are the Lieges of various cities or neighbors in the case of large cities, such was New York City. These sometimes use Liege as their title, other times they prefer Lady/Lord; they use the honorific, ‘your grace’. They used to call themselves ‘dukes’ but that has largely fallen out of favor. The Latin title used is Regulum. Members of their clan use the title dominum in both languages and the honorific, ‘my lady/lord’.

The Prince, of course, has a council. Well, technically there are three.

The first is the Prince’s personal council, made up of advisors and ministers they keep an eye on the community’s dealings and advice the Prince on matters. They are normally made up of the members of noble clans. If a vampire is intelligent enough to advice the Prince them surely their clan is smart enough to hold a city. Smaller, less desirable cities can be given to the clans of council members if they don’t have their own; if they can’t manage to keep those then they are off the council. Members of this council are all called councilor and either use the honorific, ‘your grace’ or ‘your excellency’; I haven’t decided yet. Ambassadors use ‘your excellency’ as well.

The other two councils are the Council of Nobles, which is just the Lieges of the area who gather to vote on matters, and the Council of Matriarchs (or Parriarchs as some communities are now calling it), which all clan leaders are a part of and are also allowed to vote on some matters.

Parriarch, Elder, or Ancient can all be used as titles if the person doesn’t have an official one. If a person’s rank is unknown then dominum or sir/ma’am are safe bets.

Obviously, vampires don’t use these terms around humans.

And yes, I did just stick the second declension neuter ending on several Latin words. I wanted them to be gender neutral and that was an easy way to manage it; if only English worked like that.    

[ledenews]

Democrat Jack Regis: ‘I’m Running as An American’

In a country enthralled with the duel between Republicans and Democrats, a long-time community activist in Belmont County has decided to add to the red-versus-blue battle. So, now along with the blue and red, there’s green and orange and black and purple thanks to Jack Regis, a council member in Martins Ferry for more than four decades. Since filing to run as a Democrat for a seat on the Belmont County Commission, has refused to wage the usual political war. Instead, the 72-year-old has purchased campaign t-shirts in the colors of local high schools.   “If you’re not tired of all of this negative political stuff, you’re a part of it,” Regis said with a snicker. “And if you’re part of it, vote for the other guy because I think it’s all ridiculous. That stuff is not about the people of this community and I’m about the people. That’s what this race should be about.”  Regis is well known in Belmont County because of his allegiance to Martins Ferry but also because he’s a long-time OVAC wrestling referee and a 17-year employee as the county’s Facilities Manager. Unlike many others in the area running for an elected position, Regis began campaigning the day he filed his paperwork in February. “And a lot of people have contacted me because they’ve wanted to talk to me about the issues they have on their minds, and I have enjoyed those conversations very much. I’ve also traveled to a few areas of the county and I have met a lot of people,” Regis explained. “I’ve been getting those kind of responses lately and it’s been a lot of fun. All along I’ve told people that I’d be a commissioner who will be out there speaking with the residents, and that’s exactly how I’ve gone about my campaign. “The big question I get most often is why I want to be a commissioner,” he said. “All I tell them is that I want the people to feel as if they can work with the Commission when they believe they need to. That doesn’t seem to be the sentiment right now and that needs to change.” Regis always has been involved with his community in Martins Ferry. Countdown to November Regis is a walking campaign slogan. “I want our young people to stay here at home.” “I don’t care about party. I’ll work with anyone and everyone.” “I’ll be the commissioner who comes to see you when you need me to come to see you.” The thing about Regis, though, is that he seems to mean every word. “I tell people that I want to restore some visibility to the Commission,” he insisted. “I’m also honest with the residents. I tell them I can’t promise them anything because it takes at least two commissioners to vote in favor of doing something. One commissioner is pretty powerless, and that’s what I tell people. “I also tell the voters that the only thing on my agenda is to help the residents with their issues, and to do everything we can to bring more jobs to Belmont County,” Regis explained. “I am running because I believe I can do a better job than the individual running against me. It’s that simple.” The odds, however, favor the Republican incumbent. According to the local Board of Elections, there are nearly 45,000 registered voters in Belmont County, including 8,700 Republicans and 5,000 Democrats. The rest? The statistics indicate there are just over 31,000 Independents in Belmont County. “I can’t remember one time when I have ever cast a vote with a certain political party in mind,” Regis said. “Yes, I am Democrat, and I’m not going to run from it. I’ve been a Democrat my entire life, and now suddenly I represent everything that’s wrong with everything? I’m not buying that for a second. “Have Democrats made mistakes? Absolutely. Have others from other parties done the same? You know it,” he said. “That’s why I intend to go into all of this with an open mind and it’s why I’ve never cared about what political party someone belongs to. Voters should only care about one thing … who can do the better job for them, and I am the person who can do the better job.” For many years, Regis has been a local wrestling referee. Shaking Hands, Kissing Babies If a voter in Belmont County wishes to meet and speak Regis, it will not be a difficult goal to achieve. That’s because the candidate has been and will be readily available in the community between now and November 8.  “I was born here and I’ve lived in Belmont County my entire life. I’ve raised by family here, too,” Regis said. “Because I’ve been involved with local government for so many years, I’ve seen the good commissioners and the absent commissioners. That’s how I know how I would be in the position. “I’ve worked with commissioners through the years and I can tell you the names of those who cared and the names of the people who I felt were just collecting a paycheck,” he said. “ The key, Regis believes, is interaction. “People like to feel important, and they like to know they are being heard when they have an issue,” the Democrat said. “So, I want to be the person who goes to meet them, listens to the problem, and goes to the county for their answers. Once I get that answer, then I will go back to the individual and tell them what I found out, and if their issue can’t be fixed, I want to be the person who explains it to them. Too often, decisions are never explained. “That’s why, if I win this race for commissioner, I will be attending meetings throughout the county so the Commission has a representative presence to answer questions, or to hear complaints,” Regis added. “If, for some reason, a a problem can be resolved simply because a commissioner made a phone call, well then I want to be that commissioner.” Read the full article

[naptis-lucis-caelum]

HAPPY 420 (Noctis x Reader)

welllll it’s officially 420 and I’m stoned so might as well right? based on this photo of Noct, Iggy, and Prompto getting high as fuck floating around, posted by his-shining-tears, and the source says Twitter but the link just goes to the homepage. if anybody knows the original source, kindly send it to my inbox please! idk why it got fluffy in the end, but yall know me i’m a thirsty Noctis hoe and will do just about anything to write about him lmao. AANNNNDDD ENJOY 

p.s. I know they’re in a tent in the photo but wtv

Rating: SFW

Pairing(s): Noctis Lucis Caelum/Reader

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Warning(s): Drugs, swearing

Plot Summary: The guys invite you to celebrate the mystical stoner holiday of 4/20 with a little help from Gladio’s not-so-secret stash.

Words: 2,143

As soon as you finished your last lecture for the day, your phone began to vibrate violently in your pocket.

New Message from CHOCOBO BUTT HEAD:

WRU????

“Oh, for the love of–” you hurriedly scrolled down in order to hide that extremely compromising photo of the Crown Prince and his Crownsguard. 

You lowered the brightness of your screen and scrolled back up again, pinching the screen and zooming on their faces. The only thing that gave Prompto’s current state of mind away was the redness in his eyes; Iggy was clearly stoned, with his eyes almost invisible; while Noct’s cheeky grin-and-thumbs-up combination made your heart flutter a little bit. Leaving the classroom, you replied,

omfg whose stash are u smoking?

CHOCOBO BUTT HEAD: irrelevant question

You knew for a fact that Ignis had grabbed Prompto’s phone to send that reply himself. 

CHOCOBO BUTT HEAD: u didnt answer the question

i just finished class

CHOCOBO BUTT HEAD: k cool were at the apartment

The sender’s disregard for mentioning whose apartment they were in specifically only meant that the person currently holding Prompto’s phone was none other than the owner of the apartment himself, Noctis.

...is that an invitation or

CHOCOBO BUTT HEAD: obvs

CHOCOBO BUTT HEAD: hurry

CHOCOBO BUTT HEAD: AND BRING FOOD

With two paper bags filled with chips, candy, and Ebony, you stepped off the elevator and entered the hallway. You could already smell the dank from there, hearing laughter faintly echoing the corridor. The noise gradually got louder as made your way to the apartment, confirming that they were indeed the laughter of your friends.

After a bit of struggling, you finally managed to ring the doorbell. Obvious shuffling from the other side of the door moved closer to you until a blondie opened the door.

“She’s here!” Prompto yelled out. He looked back at you and noticed the bags you were carrying, taking them off your hands and adding, “And she bought the food, guys!”

You closed the door behind you and followed Prompto into the living room. On the floor sat the other two who appeared in the photo; they were missing an additional person. You stared at each of their obviously stoned faces one by one, adding two and two together until it hit you.

“So,” you grinned, joining their circle and taking the space between Noctis and Ignis. “Does Gladio know you’re smoking his weed?”

Noct chuckled lazily, “Nope, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Ignis passed you a freshly rolled joint and a lighter. “Spark it?” he offered with a sluggish smile.

“Why thank you, Iggy.”

You took the joint and placed the filter between your lips, leaning forward as Ignis sparked the lighter. You took a puff, then another, and one more until the burn looked even from your end. A deep exhale with a cloud of smoke escaped your lips, adding to the already low visibility of the room. Psychedelic rock music softly blasted from Noct’s speakers on the table as you passed it over to Prompto who was busy digging in.

He grabbed the joint and took a sip of water. “You guys know what,” he inhaled sharply. “I love eating.”

Prompto took another puff, holding it in for a couple seconds before releasing completely. He passed it to Iggy who just opened a can of Ebony. Careful, he took a quick sip from his fountain of youth and followed it with a deep inhale of his perfect roll.

“And I love Ebony.”

The Prince happily accepted Iggy’s joint offer, moving forward to grab it before leaning back on the couch. He stretched out his right leg and fixed his left knee up. 

Giggling, he took his first drag of the new joint. “And I love–” He turned to you for a second then quickly looked away, shaking his head. “Lucis!” he quickly finished, exhaling the smoke.

“You always get nationalistic when you’re high,” you pointed out, erupting in laughter with Prompto and Iggy. 

Noct joined in and ran a hand through his midnight hair, “It’s because I think the past Kings of Lucis try to speak to me when I’m stoned!”

The roaring got louder with his comment and the joint started another cycle. You took it from Noct and passed it on to Prompto who kept it between his thumb and index fingers. 

“Do you guys think the past Kings see us right now?” he asked.

“If they did,” Noct said. “I just wanna say sorry to my great-great-great-grandfather’s grandfather,” he finished off.

Next thing you knew, Noct was already handing the joint to you. Has it been that long already? Or did I space out? Wow, this is some pretty good shit.

Your eyes began to droop, but from the corner of your eye, you could see the Prince watching you take a hit. Unsure of whether it was the weed or just you, you started to become more conscious of your actions as you handed the half-joint over to the marksman. Prompto let it hang on the corner of his lips for a few moments, fixing the snacks you had bought on the table in the middle of your circle.

“... I’m fairly certain His Majesty’s done his fair share of rule breaking,” Ignis chimed in, snapping you back into reality.

Okay, you were transcending your current realm. 

You shook your head to look at the three men chatting away. You must’ve been quiet for a while now, considering the fact that you weren’t entirely sure what they were on about.

“King Regis toking? Fuck me, that’d make for one hell of a cover!” Noct exclaimed as he entered a fit of laughter. 

Slowly, Iggy exhaled once more and a cloud of smoke appeared above your heads. He tapped Noct’s arm and showed him the remaining of the joint, prompting him to calm down a little bit so he could take his hit.

“Your old man? A stoner?” Prompto reiterated with his thumb under his chin. “I could so picture it, dude!”

“And as it turns out, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Ignis teased.

“Get off my dick, Iggy,” Noct joked in response, making all of you laugh this time. “And stop trying to sneak vegetables in my food all the damn time. If you like them so much, just eat it yourself!” He puffed out and stretched his arm out to you. “You should roach this,” he suggested with a faint smile quirking up his lips. 

“Nah, go ahead,” you offered back. “You’re already holding it.”

“But you just got here!” he retorted, moving his arm up and down to add emphasis to the burning joint. “Those in favor, say I.”

“I!” Prompto and Iggy voted together, raising their right hands in support.

You shrugged, “If you insist.”

You roached what was left of the roll, then killed it on the ashtray on the table. The moment you leaned back on the couch, you felt a tap on your arm and saw Noctis doing the exact same thing he was doing just now.

“Wait, what the fuck?” you said out loud, looking over at the filter of the last joint on the ashtray, then back at the joint Noctis was holding. “Didn’t I just kill one?”

“Dude, that was ages ago,” Prompto answered you as his right hand dove inside a bag of chips.

“No way,” you replied in disbelief. 

On your left, Noct refrained himself from chuckling, in turn making Iggy chuckle too. The two of them looked at each other and, unable to control themselves, burst into a mixture of heavy wheezing and loud ha-has.

Your eyes switched from studying Noct and Iggy’s face, bouncing back and forth as you watched them either slap their thigh or clap their hands. The Prince favored the thigh slap more, while the Royal Advisor preferred to clap his leathered hands.

“Ah, you’re so fucking cute when you’re stoned,” Noct blurted out, turning his head to face your blush-mantled cheeks. 

You rolled your eyes in a response but you could feel the heat on your face rising. Mockingly, you grabbed the not-so-new joint from his fingers and inhaled. “I swear,” you held your breath. “I just roached the other one.”

“If you did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we?” Prompto fired back as he pulled his hand out to take the joint. 

You paused, “But we were having a totally different conversation before this.”

“Indeed,” Iggy nodded. “Prompto and I best be going.”

“Huh?” you responded. “I just got here, Iggy! Come on, stay a while longer?”

“Just got here?” a voice from below you asked.

You looked down and found Noct’s head resting on your lap, his glassy blue eyes looking straight into yours. Once you began to feel the physicality of your body, you found your right hand unconsciously combing through his hair. When did he lie down?

“Yeah, didn’t we just...?” You pointed over at the overflowing ashtray on the table, spotting the countless filters resting on top of each other. The food was completely devoured, and you realized you actually felt pretty full.

“Holy shit, how stoned are you?” Prompto taunted. “It’s almost midnight and I’m fuckin’ sleepy.”

“Again, you guys don’t have to go,” Noct said. “Just sleep here!”

Iggy and Prompto looked at each other, rolling their eyes at that comment he just made. You stared as the two of them conversed with their eyes, obviously making sure you wouldn’t get the hint. 

“Nah, I’d rather sleep on my own bed,” Prompto declined.

“I share the same sentiments,” Iggy nodded, moving his hand up to adjust his glasses. “By the way, Noct, I’m in no mood to drive so I’ll be leaving the Regalia in your hands.”

“Ha,” Noctis scoffed. “I’m a great driver!”

“I meant to say, ‘don’t fuck it up.’” Ignis bit back. “Goodnight, you two.”

"Later!” Prompto called out.

This left you and Noctis’ head on your thighs all alone. You awkwardly continued to play with the softness of his hair, pretending like this was a normal occurrence in your friendship. He attempted to do the same, lightly grazing the thumb on his right hand over your left knee. 

Finally, he cleared his throat and broke the silence. “I don’t... I don’t think you’re in the condition to drive,” he stated.

“I-I–”

Was he seriously asking you to sleep there?

“I think I’ll be fine,” you nodded.

“Please, I insist!” he maintained. “If anything terrible happened to you...” 

Noct’s voice trailed off but he kept his eyes locked on yours.

You took a deep breath, “Alright. Alright, yeah, sure.”

Okay, he gets it, you’re staying the night. Calm down.

“Cool!” he squeaked, getting up and patting the dust from his cargo pants away. “I’ll... I’ll get the couch ready. You can take my bed,” he generously presented.

“Noct,” you titled your head. “Please, I’ll take the couch. I don’t wanna displace you in your home.”

He scratched the back of his head and aired out a laugh, “It’s no big deal, really!”

Your heart began to beat faster as the seconds passed. Finally, you plucked up the courage and proposed,

“I don’t mind sharing the bed.”

His sea blue eyes grew wide for a moment before he quickly bobbed his head up and down in extreme concurrence. You entered the bedroom behind him, and even though you’ve been in there countless times before, being along with Noctis was pushing your mind into overdrive, your heart into arrest, and your primal want into a need. 

As you settled into bed with him, all cleaned up and still quite blazed, you snuggled up to his side and patted his arm in an upward motion. He looked down at you and grinned, lifting his arm up and allowing you to place your head on his shoulder. Tilting your body sideways, you closed your eyes and rested your hand on his chest. 

It was a relief to know that his heart was beating just as fast as yours.

“Happy 420,” he said randomly, causing you both to giggle.

“Happy 420, Noct.”

He planted what seemed like a long, overdue kiss on your forehead. Maybe the next time you smoke together, the two of you will finally be vocal about how you feel for each other.

[goodandbadhearts]

Persona 5 verse for Pit

Name: Pit Steelland Nationality: Third generation American Japanese (Grandparents are american, but immigrated to Japan. He and his dad were born in Japan. His mother is japanese) Parents: Regis and Riko Steelland Age: 17-18 years old Occupation: Shujin academy student. Phantom Thief. Boxer. Arcana/confidant: Inner Strength Melee weapon: Gloves/gauntlets/hand wraps to cover his fists Ranged weapon: Bolt action rifle Persona: Muhammad Ali. Awakened Persona: Heracles

Design of Persona: A large stone golem with Ali’s trademark boxing gloves and shorts. The gloves both have the name Ali on them. The persona represents Pit’s inner strength and his love of boxing, as well as the future he wants. Which he wishes to become a geologist. 

Design of Awakened Persona: Similar to the design of Heracles from Shin Megami Tensei II. Except instead of the tattoos and the metal objects connected. And the clothing he wears is more akin to Greek clothing of that time period. Heracles’s hands are covered in a wrapping as well to represent his fist fighting skills.

Phantom Thief outfit: Pit’s thief outfit is quite simple. He is wearing a sleeveless lab coat to reveal his muscles and toned chest and stomach. As well as some black jeans, and sneakers. The outfit is also showing his rebellion of not wanting to become a boxer like he thinks his parents want him to be. 

Personality: Pit’s usually quite cold due to an incident that happened to him. Once the protagonist and the gang help him with his problem and he joins the phantom thieves he opens up and goes back to his old personality. Of a kind, and caring person. He is also quite smart, usually scoring really high in his class as he wishes to get into a good college so he can learn geology.

Background: Pit grew up in life with all the love he could get from both his mother and father. Growing up Pit and his father Regis and his mother Riko both spoiled him as much as they could. His father being a second generation American Japanese was able to join the police force where he met Riko who was already a detective. They hit it off quite easily and were quick to fall in love and marry. Pit was born and was smothered in love the moment he was born. During his childhood. Him and his father frequented a gym where Regis taught Pit how to box. Pit was a fast learner and quite talented. As he got older he got better. Soon enough becoming a boxing prodigy. By the time he was considered someone to watch for in the boxing world. Pit had already made up his mind. He decided he didn’t wanna become a boxer, but to become a geologist. Though his father seemed so happy to see him become an amazing boxer that he encouraged his son to make a career out of it. Which caused Pit to hide his true feelings to boxing. All he saw boxing as was a hobby and a way to spend quality time with his father who had to work a lot like his mom did. 

He wasn’t bothered by them working so much, he was just bothered by the fact his parents seemed to want him to do what they wanted and not what he wanted. Though the happiness of Pit’s family life would be soon torn apart by a fellow police officer by the name of Bunji Higuchi. Who was madly in love with Riko, but to Bunji. Regis stole her away from him. So he devised a plan to ruin the happy family so he could get her to leave Regis and come crawling to him.

 He hired a homeless man to mug Pit. When the homeless man mugged Pit, Pit ended up beating up the mugger with ease and leaving him seriously injured, but not enough to kill him. Or so Pit thought. After the fight Bunji came to help Pit and told him to run off and not to worry about anything. As he saw everything and could get the report done. Pit did as Bunji said and went home. Though Bunji finished off the homeless man by strangling him with some gloves on, as to hide his finger prints. He filled the report as Pit had killed the mugger, but labeled it as self defense. This put suspicion on Pit’s father Regis who was trying to get the police chief position against Bunji. The suspicion of if he taught Pit how to get away with killing and if it really was a self defense case and Pit not taking out his anger on a homeless man. This allowed Bunji to obtain the position, and once there. He used his status to ruin Regis’s police life. Taking him down a few ranks and giving him less and less work time. While doing this he tried to hit on Riko, but Riko didn’t even give him the time of day. To that Bunji also began to cut Riko’s hours as well and took her off a bunch of cases. Only giving them to her if she gave him ‘special time’. 

This all happened without Pit’s knowledge. The whole mugging incident happened during Pit’s second year at Shujin academy, garnering him the title of ‘killer’. He was subject to many rumors and lies spread through the school. People isolated themselves from him as he soon lost all his friends. He took it in stride as he focused on his studies even harder and soon enough becoming one of the smartest students in school. As for Pit’s boxing career he decided to put up his gloves and never box again. As well as never fight again. He took a vow of pacifism as to make sure he never kills someone again. Since he does believe he is a murderer like Bunji wants him and everyone to believe.

Story arc: Pit ends up meeting the Protagonist of Persona 5 through the rumors of him killing a person in self defense, and his amazing boxing skills. Morgana suggests to try and talk to Pit and see if the protag can get on his good side to learn about some fighting techniques for their time in the metaverse. When confronted Pit tells the protagonist to meet him in the alley near school where no one will catch them. Reluctantly the protagonist goes thinking to have Ryuji come for back up at the press of a button, but Pit surprises him by just telling him to punch him. After the Protagonist punches Pit he mocks the protag. Saying his punches need a lot of work and couldn’t harm a fly. After that Pit explains how he’ll help, but still not swing once at the protagonist. After a few days. Pit calls off the training as he and his family are in dire need of help. Which causes the Phantom Thieves to being their next case. After learning about Bunji Higuchi and how he’s purposefully not giving time to his father or mother. The thieves try and find him in Mementos. Though to the surprise of the thieves they get a hit and find out Bunji has a palace. 

A few more days of school and the protagonist gets more and more information out of Pit. Learning that Bunji is the police chief and his father is a police officer and his mother is a detective.  Luckily for them, his parents have no interest in the phantom thieves. Thinking they haven’t done anything wrong just yet. After their meeting Pit says he needs to get to work, and that he’s running out of time to get money for his parents to help with the bills, The deadline to help Pit before he and his parents get kicked out of their house and become homeless. Three weeks. As the team tries and think of what Bunji thinks of the police station. Yusuke suggests asking Pit about Bunji. Which the protagonist does. Pit reveals that his father always said Bunji thought he was like in his own temple dedicated to him when he was working under him. Which causes the meta-nav to lock onto Bunji’s palace. Which as Pit said. Turns out to be a massive temple. Where he thinks he is a God and he is helping the pitiful humans with his police authority.

The Phantom Thieves begin their navigation to the palace, though what they didn’t know was Pit was nearby walking to the police station as he had a ‘gut feeling’ that the protagonist was up to something, and as usual with his ‘gut feelings’ he was right. He was brought into the metaverse with the thieves. Though he was a little behind them. So as they began to investigate and find a way to the heart of Bunji. Pit wandered around as well. Confused as to why.. All over the temple he saw pictures of his mother Riko in the temple, and why she looked way more regal and beautiful than any human ever could. As if an artist drew her to look like a goddess. Though as Pit got deeper and deeper into the Temple he was soon enough captured. Which caused the Phantom Thieves to try and rescue him. When they arrive to save him from Shadow Bunji. Shadow Bunji reveals he doesn’t wish to harm his ‘son’. Shadow Bunji explains how the great Goddess Riko was stolen from him by the False Prophet, who is Pit’s father Regis Steelland. While explaining this, he also explains how he plans to bring back the Goddess and return everything back to normal. Even welcoming his ‘demi-god’ son Pit into his arms. Which Pit screams and shouts about how Bunji is out of his mind.

While Pit called him out on his sick twisted games. Shadow Bunji calls Pit a ‘half blood scum’ and has his shadows attack Pit. As the shadows push him down and get ready to kill him. Shadow Bunji explains how he set Pit up, and how he actually hired the homeless man to mug him. As well as how Pit didn’t even kill the man, it was in fact him that killed him by strangling him. So he could blame it all on Pit so he could win the police chief vote. 

When Pit learns the truth.. He just glares and feels his rage boil inside him. Finally bursting forth as he breaks free of the shadows. Threatening Bunji’s life he says to the man. “You took my happiness away from me, AND NOT JUST MINE! MY FATHER’S AND MY MOTHER’S! ALL FOR YOUR SELFISH WANTS TO BE WITH MY MOTHER!? THAT DOES IT! I’M GONNA FLOSS MY TEETH! WITH YOUR SPINE!”  and then he feels his mask appear on his face after he made his first threat of violence in over two years. As he touches his mask he collapses and doubles over in pain. Hearing the voice of his persona. Muhammad Ali.

“So you finally dropped that stupid vow huh? Good! You are a brute after all! No need to hide your true colors.” 

As he hears that he gags and begins to punch at the ground.  

“Now let’s make this contract! I am thou, thou art I! Your strength has been caged long enough! Your fists chained by lies! Go forth and bring ruin to all those who oppose your freedom!”

Pit finally stops struggling with the pain. Like others before he finally overcame the intense pain and grabbed his mask. His arms crossing as he put his right hand on the left side of his mask, and the left on the right side of his mask. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.. MUHAMMAD ALI!”

With that he rips off his mask and summons his persona, as well as summon his phantom thief outfit. With that he takes care of the shadows Shadow Bunji sent to kill him and the thieves. Causing Shadow Bunji to run off. Though to the surprise of everyone. Pit chases after Shadow Bunji wanting to make good on his threat. Though after a bit of running and Pit not being able to get through a door that Shadow Bunji locked so they couldn’t enter.

Finally getting Pit to calm down they get him out of the palace. Where at first Pit seems unaffected by the whole ordeal he just went through. Compared to how everyone else showed signs of fatigue Pit seemed way more energetic than before. Glad he learned the truth and was now gonna go back to boxing, of course after they finish the job and change Bunji’s heart. Pit is welcomed to the thieves and the team goes to their homes. Which they then learn that Pit immediately passed out once he laid on his bed. All that energy only lasted until that moment. Which the team joked about as the entire conversation Pit’s logo had the typing message symbol next to his name.. Which lasted a good three minutes before it stopped.

When the thieves defeat Shadow Bunji after completing his palace. Pit kicks the shadow’s ass for a bit, though of course he doesn’t kill him. Just gives him a few more punches as Pit lays it into Bunji about how he glorified his Mother as an object of affection and not one of true love. As Pit explained. “You had nothing more than a childhood crush on her and you just couldn’t get over it. IF you really did love her then the happiness she feels now would have made you happy.” That was when Bunji finally realized the truth and his shadow returned to his human self. They escape his Palace as it crumbles and then they get to see the real form of Bunji’s treasure. Which turns out to be a picture of Riko and Regis holding Pit as a baby. Bunji’s jealous desires manifested as he saw Riko in true happiness with the son she loved dearly. 

“To think it’d be all my fault that Bunji became so cruel to my family. Hehehe.. Almost kinda funny I’d be the one to take him down and change his heart. With the help of my friends of course.~” 

After the change of heart happens. Bunji resigns from his position and turns himself in for corruption, murder, and tampering with evidence. Pit’s father ends up being offered as the new police chief, but he refuses. Since he wouldn’t be able to spend time with his family if he did become the new chief. Though to compensate for all that was done to him and Riko. They received a raise and back pay for Bunji putting them off the clock. Saving Pit’s family from missing out on paying their bills. 

Confidant Arc: From that point Pit remains on the team and becomes the protagonist confidant. His entire confidant story line is about how Pit doesn’t wanna be a professional boxer like everyone thinks he has the talent for. He instead wants to become a geologist. Which surprises everyone that learns about it. Though as the confidant story line progresses. Pit gains enough confidence thanks to The Protagonist and he confesses to his family that he doesn’t wanna become a professional boxer and how he wanted to be a geologist instead.

Too his surprise his parents are quite supportive and are actually happy he’s not gonna be a boxer. Pit then explains how he thought they both wanted him to be one and it was why he was nervous to tell them the truth. Which his father Regis got upset at himself as he realized he probably did make it sound like they’d only be proud of him for doing boxing, but he cleared it up and apologized to Pit for doing that to him.

Before both his parents left to go to dinner. His father said to Pit. “You know.. Being a father of a geologist sounds kinda cool~” With that Pit’s parents left and Pit let out a loud sigh of relief. All that worry Pit had was for nothing, and he could now focus a hundred percent on his life’s goal of becoming a geologist.. With some boxing as a hobby. He thought it’d be a fun way to relax. Which he always found relaxing, even if he did get hurt sometimes.

With the confidant quest completed. Pit thanks the protagonist for being his friend and helping him overcome his fears of telling the truth about his dream. He then unlocks his ultimate persona. Heracles. The God of Strength.

[eblisbaculum]

In Defense Of

Inspired by this post

It wasn’t a very big leap to say that Prompto was Noctis’ only friend.

Sure, Ignis and Gladio were always around, and they cared about his wellbeing past what it meant to them as a job, but they’d only gotten to that level of friendliness because they were paid to be there.

That made Prompto special - he’d careened into his life with a slap on the back like they’d talked consistently for years. And if Prompto wanted to pretend that their first encounter in elementary didn’t happen, then so be it; all that mattered now was that they were as thick as thieves, and Prompto hadn’t had an incentive to be there.

Of course, there were perks to being best friends with the Prince of Lucis - Noctis would be lying to himself if he said it hadn’t been a worry that turned over in the late hours of the night since Prompto started making plans to hang out after school let out.

But he knew Prompto now - the guy didn’t have it in him to play anyone like that. He was all smiles and jokes and sometimes things went so far over his head they may as well have fired into the sun. He was a good person, and Noctis doubted there was a mean fibre in his body.

At least - that’s what he’d thought. Now he wasn’t so sure.

Noctis knew that for all his celebrity as the next in line for the throne, he wasn’t exactly the most popular person in school. Days where people crowded him and asked him what it was like being prince and how lavish the Citadel had to be were long gone. Instead, it was whispers behind his back of girls gossiping about how he and Prompto were “so obviously gay”, and that was why he’d never taken any interest, and the subsequent intense jealousy from the rest of the guys in his class because no one they ever fancied payed them any attention.

Noctis was used to their two faceted nature. Their backhanded compliments were just a given, because of course no one would outright attack the Prince of Lucis unless they wanted to have a meeting with the Kingsglaive.

Prompto, as it turned out, was not.

–

“Heeeey Noct!” Prompto chirped as his hands landed on Noctis’ shoulders, using them for support as he leaped over the back of the bench he was slouched against.

They’d been released from school a quarter of an hour ago. Noctis had had a particularly gruelling math test last period, but he was reluctantly relieved that Ignis had made him study. Hopefully his grades would reflect his efforts.

Prompto smellef like sweat beneath his deodorant, and when he dropped down next to Noctis and began runmaging through his bag he could see the sweat sticking his bangs to his forehead.

“Man, it’s so hot,” Prompto puffed, flopping backwards against the bench, tilting his head back to chug the leftover water in his bottle. His blazer was rolled into a ball and shoved into his bag - Ignis was gonna stop ironing it, one of these days.

“Yeah. Where were you today? Iggy made you a salad for lunch and it’s gone soggy.”

Prompto gave him a pointed look, even as he took the box Noctis offered him from his bag and set into the wilted greens.

“You thure you jutht di'n’t wanna eat your vege'th, Noct?” He swallowed. There was a splotch of dressing on the corner of his mouth that was driving him crazy. “What’re you, twelve?”

Noct hummed, leaning forward to swipe it away with his thumb like Ignis did when there was too much sauce in his burgers. Prompto munched on without care. How he could stand to eat so many vegetables was beyond him. “Only in spirit. So what took you so long? What happened at lunch, I didn’t get a text or anything, dude.

Prompto smiled guiltily. “Well. I uh, got to spend the day in the guidance counselor’s office…so that’s a thing. I didn’t want to risk getting my phone taken off of me - I just barely escaped a suspension as it is.” The guilty look got shyer Prompto laughed in the way he did when he was trying to avoid a conversation he didn’t want to have. “I…may or may not have accidentally broken Parvos’ nose with a dodgeball?”

Noctis lifted his brows. Prompto winced, putting the salad down and waving his hands dramatically like he was trying to gain the attention he already had.

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t mean to break his nose!” Prompto’s cheeks had lit red, sinking low in his seat. He was positively pouting, arms crossed defensively over his chest.

“Dude, you’re usually so onto that type of thing. What happened?”

“Well…my shoelace was untied, y'see…” he trailed off, eyes skirting sideways to watch a group of upperclassmen walking over to a waiting car. Noctis knew Ignis was probably just idling around the corner, waiting for his text.

Noctis snorted as he sent the text off, and less than a minute later Ignis’ sleek black car was pulling into a parking spot. He stood, shaking his head at him. “Say no more. Your clumsiness is gonna come back to bite you one day, Prom.”

“Hey, I take total offense to that!” He jumped up defiantly, and the remaining salad met the concrete in a splatter of leafy green and tomato red. Prompto turned to the car and smiled sheepishly. Noctis had to press his lips together to stop himself from laughing. Ignis’ head had dropped to press against the top of the steering wheel. 

“Okay, okay…only mild offense.“

–

Noctis didn’t really think on the incident much more. He offhandedly mentioned it to Ignis, who apparently thought his best friend nearly getting suspended was funny if the little smile he had on his face for the next ten minutes was anything to go by.

When he asked what the look was for, he only got a confusing “well, he is a Scorpio,” back.

Which made exactly zero sense.

It all came to a head one day when Noctis was late to school - his dad had made him sit in on some dumb council meeting on trade agreements, and he’d spent the whole time trying not to look like he was falling asleep.

It was already almost lunch, so Prompto was probably in their usual spot in the courtyard, so he began to make his way there when a voice stopped him just around the corner.

“Does King Regis even, like, do anything useful? Like, for real? My parents say the kingdom is gonna, like, fall to pieces or something before Niflheim even manages to get it’s gnarly fingers in here,” a high, mocking voice said.

Noctis rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like they even knew half the crap his dad had to deal with. He’d have loved nothing more than to lay into her for being ungrateful for everything his dad did for Insomnia, but a lot of it wasn’t general knowledge to the public, and he didn’t fancy having to fix the scandal it would cause, either.

He was just about to round the corner and at least make his presence known when Prompto’s voice came from down the hall, rapidly getting louder. In a cutthroat tone Noctis would have never associated with him he said, “Oh sweety, that is, like, so funny, because last time I, like, checked it was, like, your father’s, like, business, that’s like, ’falling to pieces’.”  He’d adopted a falsetto, high and snarky. Noctis was more than a little surprised by the way he mimicked her tone. He could almost imagine a cocked eyebrow and a hip jutt to match, like in the teen high school comedies Prompto liked to put on when he came to the apartment.

“Oh - oh look, it’s the Prince’s lap dog. Come on, Prompto, he’s like, not even here. What’s even the point in defending him?” Her voice didn’t sound as confident as before, the sounds of her other friends giggling around her. It reminded Noctis of the counsel members who’s vote got overturned.

For a minute, Prompto didn’t say anything, and Noctis felt real fear drill into his gut. But Prompto didn’t side with them, like he’d dreaded. Instead, there was the scuffle of footsteps, a surprised squeak as lockers crashed with a bodily impact. There was a chorus of “woah’s!“ and a "back off, Prompto! Gods!”

“He’s my friend, and he’s never done anything to you so quit mouthing off before I make you.”

Undetterred, but sounding far less confident, she missed, “You know as well as the rest of us that he’s got his head so far up his own ass that he’ll never see you as anything but his little bitch.”

Noctis sunk carefully against the wall. He was all at once furious on Prompto’s behalf, and also rooted to the spot.

In a voice Noctis had to strain to hear, Prompto laughed something bitter and sharp and said, “oh, you want this bitch to bite, huh? Because it’s worse than my bark, honey. Go ask Parvos’ nose.”

Noctis could almost hear her mouth opening and closing - he could feel his own doing the same. “Wait - Parvos?”

“You can say goodbye to that pretty little nose job if you keep talking shit.” His words were biting, and they sent a sharp zap of electricity up his spine.

Oh. Oh.

Well. That was - that stirred something in Noctis’ chest that he wasn’t sure he wanted to entertain the existence of.

“So why dont you and your friends back the fuck off before I smack you the fuck off? Okay?”

The other girls were quiet - Noctis could just make out their shuffling feet, like they didn’t want to be involved in the fight.

There was silence, and then the sound of the lockers being pushed against. With a last scoff that sounded weak to Noctis’ ears, She said, “w-well, why don’t you just go and fuck your boyfriend, Argentum? Gods!”

Her footsteps stomped away, several others scurrying after her. Noctis slipped out from around the corner, watching the gaggle of girls make their way out into the courtyard. Prompto was staring after them, cheeks flushed a vague pink and his brows drawn down with what Noctis thought looked oddly like contempt. It wasn’t an expression he’d ever seen on Prompto’s face, but the way he’d been speaking with the way he looked all hackles raised made Noctis feel queasy in a way that felt…really good.

Oh. Oh boy. Oh no.

This…this was gonna be a problem.

[karingudino]

Five new delivery kitchens in Chennai to give lockdown life a boost of flavour

One of many few perks of a government-mandated lockdown is the slew of conveniences that the hospitality trade has deftly developed to ship to your door. From Instagram kitchens to pre-measured DIY pasta kits, loads of traits have been kicked off final yr. And as we grapple with the second wave, in 2021, plates of fine meals proceed to be a supply of pleasure you possibly can depend on — a solution to satiate one’s urge for food for wanderlust and much-needed consolation. Here’s a checklist of latest takeaway and supply spots on our radar.  

The Madras Pizzeria From dough to door. These connoisseur wood-fired pizza choices by The Park Chennai’s new cloud kitchen, The Madras Pizzeria, spell love at first slice. With 12 thin-crust pizzas to select from at a typical 12 inches, the template is easy, fuss-free and satisfying. Government chef Ashutosh Nerlekar tells us, “We needed to place out a product that we all know we’re good at.” And given the entry of a five-star kitchen, you may be relaxation assured that high-quality elements are the norm. Anticipate classics just like the Margherita and Pepperoni in addition to a lesser discovered seafood possibility — Gamberi e mainoese — with prawns, cherry tomatoes and olives. Additionally notable is the even break up of vegetarian to non-vegetarian selections. Personally, our votes go to the Barbeque Rooster with caramelized onions and the 4 Cheese with indulgent toppings of buffalo mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar and do-it-yourself ricotta. INR 375 to INR 475.  

 Thalassery Rooster Biryani

 DumBir When Kappa Chakka Khandari launched Malabar Biryani Bento bins in the course of the lockdown final yr, orders poured in. And immediately chef and co-owner Regi Mathew knew the crew was on to one thing. Ever since, a ‘biryani solely’ takeaway enterprise has been on the brew — with specialised cooks from totally different areas to supply experience and a extra genuine expertise. Companion Augustine Kurian who’s dealing with DumBir, their new vertical that launched just lately tells us, “We presently have Thalassery and Lucknow types accessible to order, with Hyderabadi biryani on the way in which (subsequent month).” This contains selections of hen, mutton, fish, prawn, egg and vegetarian. We sampled the Malabar Rooster Bento field that was ghee-laden and wealthy, and other than the anticipated raita, got here with chammandhi (coconut chutney) and date pickle for a pop of sweetness! The delicately flavoured Lucknow Mutton Bento was accompanied by shammi kebabs, a paratha and butter hen, pickled onions and mint chutney. A broad spectrum of flavour and selection, in distinction to the same old. If this isn’t spectacular sufficient already, every field features a customized dessert — we acquired their signature Caramel Custard and Phirni, finest had chilled. Costs: INR 345 to INR 595.

 Korean Fried Rooster

 Hygge Chennai  This Instagram kitchen that opened store in March serves extra cuisines than most individuals have locations stamped on their passports. Get a mouthful of this: Mexican, Korean, Ethiopian, South Asian, Japanese, Latin American, Italian and American. Phew! Began by 28-year-old chef Gokul Kumar Mohit, who graduated from The Culinary Institute of America and has achieved stints at Michelin star kitchens like Junoon and Aureole in New York, we uncover the ethos behind this mission comes from his travels. “I needed to deliver my NY experiences to my beloved Chennai,” he tells us. Anticipate a rotational menu of cuisines with seasonal produce all the way in which. We opted for Fish Tacos with pickled beets (extremely really helpful) for some tangy zing and a Lamb Burrito Bowl filled with contemporary, seasonal veggies, lemon wedges and do-it-yourself salsa verde. Sadly, guacamole was not one of many sides, which was a contact disappointing. Nevertheless, the divine Basque Cheesecake for dessert, was fast to elevate our spirits proper again up! Order a day prematurely. Meal for 2 INR 1,000.

  Glass noodle salad

 Completely Thai After over a decade spent residing in Thailand, Prabha Ramesh has spent loads of time whipping up Bangkok staples for household and associates. Particularly given, she shares, “There have been many days the place, as a household, we’d crave genuine, flavourful, vegan or vegetarian Thai meals within the metropolis — however we have been unable to search out any locations that basically struck a chord.” This led to the beginning of Completely Thai (largely vegan) just lately with a compact eight-item menu of salads, rice and noodles and mains like Inexperienced Curry. We acquired a style of their common Som Tam (uncooked papaya salad) that comes with a dressing that could be a symphony of tang and candy. Crunchy, contemporary and nutty, courtesy the accompanying peanuts to garnish — this appetizer will get a thumbs up from us. We additionally suggest their Thai Pink Curry and sticky rice which has us looking forward to seconds. On the beverage entrance, Prabha tells us to look out for favourites like Thai Milk Tea and Milo Dinosaur on their menu quickly. Obtainable on Wednesday and Friday, for lunch and dinner. Order a day prematurely. Meal for 2 INR 800.

 ID Soul Breakfast Field

 ID Soul Field Residence-style meals filled with diet and flavour. That’s what the brand new ID Soul Field delivers, based on enterprise head Nithin Suresh. Wheat upma for breakfast, paruppu keerai kootu for lunch and ragi idlis for dinner? We discovered the seven-day day menu rotation choc-full with wholesome South Indian fare. The portion sizes are additionally fairly beneficiant as we found over lunch delivered to the workplace. The 13-item combo included rice, a tasty combined vegetable poriyal, melagu rasam, chapati and vegetable kurma… we wanted to share this regardless that it was a single serving. One of the best half? You get a seasonal contemporary juice in a bottle alongside along with your meal. We acquired a refreshing musk melon possibility that was simply what we wanted, a candy escape from the summer time warmth. Obtainable per meal, or on subscription. Jain particular meal bins have simply been launched. INR 450 covers breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

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source https://fikiss.net/five-new-delivery-kitchens-in-chennai-to-give-lockdown-life-a-boost-of-flavour/ Five new delivery kitchens in Chennai to give lockdown life a boost of flavour published first on https://fikiss.net/ from Karin Gudino https://karingudino.blogspot.com/2021/05/five-new-delivery-kitchens-in-chennai.html

[eichy815]

Land of Missed Opportunity

For the past three years, I’ve penned an annual Independence Day piece discussion on what it means to be American – where we get things right, and where we need to improve.  Last year’s edition, entitled “Amber Waves of Pain,” served as an “Open Letter to the Entire World” from my quaint little lips.  In it, I acknowledge the many shortcomings of the United States...while simultaneously calling out other countries (along with any of their own nationalistic citizens) and challenging them to do better, for their own part.

One year earlier, I’d written a piece entitled “Star-Spangled Manners” that explored numerous reasons *WHY* so much anti-Americanism exists in our world.  The year before that, I wrote one about how blind patriotism amongst Americans is dangerous while simultaneously weighing the nuances of the pros and cons inherent within American culture itself.

Any of these op-ed articles of mine are relevant to what we are currently enduring, within the context of U.S. politics.  The next three years will comprise a major turning-point in American history...what happens during the 2018 and 2020 national election cycles could make-or-break us, collectively.

So today, I’m going to summarize six major areas in which our “beloved” U.S. government has failed our citizenry.  These failures have occurred due to a variety of factors:  individual greed, bad messaging, incomplete (i.e. badly-written) policy details, institutional corruption, “oppression-ranking,” mass media complacency, and lack of personal empathy.

None of these topical areas, in and of themselves, would magically fix all of our problems. However, if we gave each of these areas more focused attention...we could indeed undergo a truly transformative revolution.

AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY

In February, I launched The REGIS Initiative – an acronym that stands for Raising / Eating / Growing / Inventing / Sustaining.  It’s designed to be a multifaceted drive to confront aspects of food production, farmers’ rights, drought alleviation, environmental stewardship, and pollinator protection – in terms of legislation, education, public awareness, and the localized nonprofit sectors alike.

My main gripe is that the issue of sustainable agriculture has failed to become a significant part of our national discourse.  Whether this is by design or due to incompetence (or a combination of both) is, quite frankly, irrelevant; the point is that we need to get this issue “on the map.”

All of us should strive to become “Agri-Warriors” – conscious, proactive citizens who demand to our lawmakers that they design legislation, youth curriculums, and philanthropic incentives to achieve the outcome of affordable, plentiful groceries and healthy growing conditions.  This needs to be prioritized, at every turn, to avoid mass-inflation or food shortages.

It isn’t “socialism”...it’s about our survival!

ELECTORAL REFORM – NO, FOR REAL!

Whenever politicians invoke “electoral reform,” they are usually referring to the common solutions of term limits, campaign-finance reform, and overturning Citizens United.

The latter is a tall order (as is any U.S. Constitutional Amendment) that will take many years – perhaps decades – to achieve.  Campaign-finance reform sounds good, in theory; but will it become a backhanded way of preserving sectarian privilege on behalf of Democrats and Republicans?  Term limits are another nice theoretical concept, but implementing them won’t make one lick of difference (and, in fact, may only exacerbate current problems) without simultaneously enacting large-scale reforms to D.C.’s lobbying sectors.

What we should be focusing on, with much greater fervency, are alternative forms of voting.  Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), Approval Voting (AV), or Range Voting (RV) would be the most logical alternatives.  We should be looking to examples such as the entire state of Maine (along with select U.S. cities) that have offered up such new systems to voters.  The recent June 13 broadcast of The View initially featured this issue (via a joint campaign commercial from gubernatorial candidates Betsy Sweet and Mark Eves) as part of its daily “Hot Topics” segments; but then, before the cohosts could discuss it amongst themselves with any substance, ABC cut in with “breaking news” about the Mueller investigation (which, ultimately, was a “non-story” about how Trump attorney Michael Cohen had agreed that he would cooperate with federal investigators).  

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but there’s no doubt in my mind that someone at ABC News intentionally disrupted/preempted The View’s potential discussion of Instant-Runoff Voting because, if other states begin to follow Maine’s example, it will probably disrupt and upend the two-party system (thus limiting the mainstream media’s ability to control the narrative).

MULTICULTURALISM...*ACTUAL* MULTICULTURALISM

In March 2017, I wrote a somewhat-controversial op-ed entitled “What No One Wants to Say About Racism.”  Many conservatives hated it because they don’t want to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism against people of color.  Many liberals hated it because they don’t want to acknowledge that some cultural and social forms of racism can additionally target white people.

I still contend that distinguishing between institutional (systemic), social (individual), and cultural (group-based) forms of racism will be the only way our society ever reaches any semblance of mutual understanding and cooperation.  Instead, too many people want to control the entire discourse on racial or cultural identities based on, narrowly, their own personal experiences and/or the personal experiences of those who they believe are getting a raw deal.  Or cherrypicked statistics that happen to “prove” their point.

Sometimes this manifests itself when folks insist that we all should be “colorblind” or how “the only race is the human race.”   At other times, people employ a “turnabout is fair play” philosophy alleging how it’s time for white people (or white-passing individuals) to be explicitly and pointedly targeted for discrimination, themselves.  Michael Eric Dyson – the classic example of a performance artist trying to pass himself off as “an academic” – epitomizes this toxic archetype.  

Not everyone should be expected to speak “on behalf of their race.”  And no one should be allowed to speak “on behalf of their race.”  Both systemic and personal experiences with racism need to be brought out into the open, keeping context in mind when looking at each occurrence.  No apologism for any of it.  No accusations that the narrator is making things up or “being too sensitive.”  No reducing those occurrences to “hurt feelings, ”political correctness,” or “cultural relativism” (and, thereby, writing them off). Not every person from a specific marginalized group necessarily has the exact same worldview.

As I discussed in my recent blog article, “Bigots Without Borders,” racism is a much more complex topic than either the Left or the Right would have all of us believe.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

After we take that first step of maintaining productive conversations on race and nationality, we all need to become razor-focused on actual solutions. Otherwise, platitudes without results only keep these vicious cycles repeating themselves.

The most life-threatening forms of systemic racism – police brutality targeted specifically at people of color – need to be stopped through meaningful criminal justice reform.  The platform of “Campaign Zero” – originally constructed by founders and organizers of the #BlackLivesMatter movement – has offered up the clearest path for enacting those changes.

Yet, instead of embracing “Campaign Zero” and trumpeting its proposed solutions, many guilt-ridden Caucasian liberals/progressives seem to think that caustic virtue-signalling (as described in my editorial piece from this past April entitled “White Knights of the Oblong-Table”) against other white people is somehow the wisest approach in lieu of direct policy changes.  Such cluelessness and tone-deafness from these so-called “anti-racists” will only exacerbate racial tensions.

#SorryNotSorry, but that’s a reality.

ECONOMIC STABILITY:  A “PIT STOP” TO PROSPERITY

Much has been said about raising the minimum wage, cracking down on corporations, or even guaranteeing employment and a basic income to all Americans.  The two peskiest questions that seem to come up, amid this particular conversation:  how do we administer it, and how do we pay for it?

My friend and fellow Morpheus magazine columnist, Pasquale Neri, wrote about this scenario in an op-ed piece from this past May.  He proposes guaranteeing a universal income to every qualifying American by replacing it with an opt-in guarantee of $52,500 annually in lieu of one’s Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits.  Unfortunately, his plan doesn’t address trickier confounding factors such as illegal terminations, geographic disparities, or limitations for citizens with disabilities.

Former Amazing Race contestant Justin Kanew – who is running for Marsha Blackburn’s open seat (Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District) in the U.S. House of Representatives – has floated a more workable idea that I myself have endorsed for many years now.  Rather than giving corporations lower tax rates right off the bat...why not offer corporate tax breaks as a REWARD for individual corporations that keep jobs stateside and add to the American workforce?

A lot of desire exists to raise the national minimum wage.  But not all industries are created equal.  Tell me with a straight face that an entry-level fast food worker and an entry-level computer programmer are equally deserving of $15 per hour.  Furthermore, American lawmakers have done virtually nothing to address the arbitrary taxation that hinders 1099 employees across-the-board.

Universal basic income, paid family leave, and The-Fight-for-$15 all sound lovely, in theory.  But, if implemented, what prevents these costs from being passed on to the consumers while driving up inflation?

IMMIGRATION REFORM

Two conflicting schools-of-thought, here:  “We are a nation of immigrants” versus “We must secure our borders by keeping out dangerous people.”

Nearly every politician claims to be in favor of “immigration reform.”  But what that reform itself literally involves – that’s dependent on the politician’s individual ideology.  I say – let’s pass a comprehensive immigration reform package that:   A.) mandates that people in the U.S. on work visas get paid wages identical to their American-born counterparts; B.) institutes a permanent renewal of DACA with clear and consistent guidelines; C.) incorporates a detailed and narrowly-defined version of The DREAM Act; and D.) establishes humane conditions for those seeking asylum from other countries.

When Democrats talk about “dismantling ICE,” they are usually referring to a broader goal of disempowering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from its current power abuses of indiscriminately detaining people.  We must also end the “Show Me Your Papers”-style exploitation of laws such as Arizona’s SB 1070.  In turn, the trend of “chain migration” needs to be ended by making it stricter and tougher for Americans to capriciously sponsor an extended relative for immigration status (without that potential immigrant having proven his or her skill set).

I’m also tired of hearing people on the Left blather:  “Everyone in this country who comes from a nonindigenous background is technically an ‘immigrant.’”  Um, no...everyone who is born in America (or who has at least one American-born parent) is automatically an American.  Isn’t that the principle used to deconstruct those unhinged claims from “birthers” that President Obama was somehow here illegally?  So you can’t have it both ways.  Even the earliest members of America’s Tribal Nations migrated to the North American continent from other parts of the world.  Plus, many indigenous tribes fought and enslaved EACH OTHER.  No one’s hands are clean, here.

We should be welcoming low-risk, qualified immigrants from every country (not just Norway, Donald!).  At the same time, people who claim to be “progressive” or “feminist” or “anti-racist” need to quit exploiting “white guilt”...meanwhile, right-wing fundamentalists and obnoxious neocons need to quit embracing white supremacy.

BROADER GOALS

Finally, if Justice Anthony Kennedy’s successor proves to be a conservative hard-liner who shifts the U.S. Supreme Court away from reasonable progress, Democrats need to campaign in 2020 on the promise that – under a Democratic president and Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate – they will increase the size of the Supreme Court from 9 to 11 justices.  This would be done in the name of judicial balance...particularly to neutralize any extremism if Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, or Sotomayor have to leave the bench within the next two years.

Call it the #TwoMoreRobes movement.  It would be historically unprecedented (FDR tried to do it – and failed – back in the late-1930s)...but, if the Far Right succeeds in securing a clear majority on the U.S. Supreme Court in the present, then the rest of us might not have any other choice.

LGBT people need better representation in all areas of public life.  The #MeToo movement needs to clearly become about sexual survivors taking back power from their abusers and predators...not this divisive binary that gets boiled down to “women-vs.-men.”

We’ve missed a lot of great opportunities for positive change in this country.  That’s why we must change the narrative itself.  That’s why we must put forth constructive policies as a clear rebuttal to the smarmy Talking Heads of cable news.

It’s obvious that power-hungry deviants wish to tear us apart for their own financial gain.  But that doesn’t mean we have to let them!

[chthoniclown]

Canon! :D

kinda already shared the main idea, but I’m never out of words xD as we know, Letho wants his school back, and as far as there is a new emperor (I voted for Morvran Voorhis for a bunch of reasons) who is totally proliberal, promagic, etc, he may try again with Nilfgaard.

 I think, Morvran would like the idea of imperial witchers but not the procees of making them: it’s too risky, too violent. Letho is not the kind of person to develop the method, I’m afraid, but it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t at least try if someone gave him the right idea. probably the only person who is crazy enthusiastic enough at the moment is Regis xD but srsly, he just moved to Nilfgaard, he is an immortal creature and a scientist, he recently murdered his very close beloved one friend… IT’S EITHER DEPRESSION TIME OR ADVENTURE TIME. I go for adventure. and yes, we obviously need to test things, not only study, and having someone immortal and interested by your side is a huge bonus.

I always thought that it’s damn strange of Sapkowski to never really scrutinize his own concept: like how does it even work exactly? why does no one try to lower the risks? what makes women unsuitable for this job? who the fuck invented mutations in the first place? and, like… what did this person do after the invention? where are their students? adherents? so many questions, so little answers. so, yes, SCIENCE BITCH xD

speaking about Letho&Regis (almost forgot about that), I don’t think we need much of explaination here. they are both free and… physical, in different ways. the rare moment when we really can use alcohol, flirtation (lol this word lol) and some pressure, and don’t feel dumb xD besides I started my fic with Letho being wounded. y’know. the bloody thing. life is hard for Regis.

I’d promise to post (at least unfinished) fic later, but I write in russian 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[newstechreviews]

The 2020 Emmys had to be different. Such is, of course, the reality for all awards shows right now. But the TV Academy’s annual self-congratulations ritual was begging for a revamp long before COVID-19 hit. Without a host to personalize the ceremony, the downbeat 2019 telecast drew just 6.9 million viewers—a 32% decline over the previous year. Another drop of that magnitude, and it might be hard to justify devoting three hours of Sunday-night airtime to a glorified industry event.

Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Because despite the unprecedented challenge—or, perhaps more accurately, because of it—this year’s Emmys turned out to be one of the most enjoyable awards shows in recent memory. That success wasn’t necessarily the result of any one big decision on the producers’ part. But many of the details worked well, from H.E.R.’s lovely rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” during the In Memoriam montage, to Jennifer Aniston frantically extinguishing a trash fire as part of a gag about sanitizing award envelopes—and then reappearing two hours later flanked by her Friends co-stars Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow. Bits by genuinely funny people like David Letterman (“Regis, I checked; you’re in the montage, buddy”) and Anthony Carrigan as Barry’s NoHo Hank (himself flimsily disguised as a U.S. postal worker) earned their laughs. Inviting essential workers to present a handful of awards could’ve come off as patronizing, but the show avoided schmaltz by actually letting them share their experiences. And clips of luminaries like America Ferrera and Lena Waithe speaking candidly on their early encounters with Hollywood was a welcome alternative to the usual guilty jokes about the industry’s racism and sexism from the obligatory white-guy host.

Speaking of which: Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t an extraordinary host by any means, but he was certainly better than nothing. (If that seems like faint praise, it’s a whole lot more than I can say for Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes this past January.) His mere presence throughout the evening brought much-needed consistency and enthusiasm to a telecast that, due to its far-flung nominees, could’ve felt scattered or low-energy. In fact, there was something kind of comforting about the very averageness of “Pandemmys” jokes aimed at easy targets like anti-maskers and Quibi (which Kimmel rightly identified as “the dumbest thing to ever cost a billion dollars.”) I mean, what feels more normal than an awards-show host doing just OK?

ABC via Getty Images—2020 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.Anthony Carrigan in a bit as his ‘Barry’ character NoHo Hank during the 2020 Emmy Awards.

Really, though, it was the winners who made the 2020 Emmy Awards special. It’s always heartening to see some of the best nominees take home trophies (or have the trophies delivered to their homes via interns driving Kias, as the case may be), particularly after the farce that was the Game of Thrones‘ atrocious final season winning top honors last year. And while there weren’t too many surprises on Sunday, Zendaya’s richly deserved Lead Actress in a Drama upset livened up the proceedings nicely.

As for the favorites that dominated the night—Schitt’s Creek in the comedy-series category, Succession in drama and Watchmen in limited series—each one fulfilled some vital function for Americans toughing out this pandemic year from our couches. And the acceptance speeches reflected how thoroughly the casts and crews understood what we were getting out of their work. Along with his gratitude, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong underscored his dramedy’s cathartic lampooning of the super-rich and mega-destructive with a torrent of “un-thank-yous” to Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and nationalist leaders around the world.

Watchmen honorees from Regina King to creator Damon Lindelof and writer Cord Jefferson leaned on the series’ most political moments, such as its wrenching depiction of the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre in Tulsa, and urged viewers to take advantage of voting tools like Ballotpedia. I was especially moved by Supporting Actor in a Limited Series winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen‘s speech, in which he acknowledged that Watchmen was a story about white domestic terrorism and inherited trauma, before pointing out that “it was also about a god who came down to earth to reciprocate to a Black woman all the love that she deserved. He’d offer her sacrifice and support, passion, protection. And he did all of this in the body of a Black man.” Abdul-Mateen continued, “I’m so proud I was able to walk into those shoes.” He dedicated his Emmy to the Black women in his life.

Nothing captured our collective thirst for comfort, positivity and familial togetherness more than the Schitt’s Creek sweep, which had the show’s major players—gathered in masks and formalwear at a small, socially distanced party—accepting seven straight awards. The Canadian ensemble was humble as always, giving generous shout-outs to each other and fellow nominees they admired, such as Issa Rae. “The internet’s about to turn on me,” Daniel Levy, who co-created the comedy with his father and fellow Emmy winner Eugene Levy, joked after his third time at the mic. “I’m so sorry for making this political, but I had to.” Even when they kept their masks on, you could tell how thrilled the members of the fictional Rose family were for each other. (“I can’t believe that Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara are my friends!” exclaimed their TV daughter, Annie Murphy.) Maybe it got a little old hearing them reiterate that the show was a celebration of kindness and inclusivity, but those values could not have been more refreshing at a time characterized by isolation, anger and mourning. For a few minutes on Sunday evening, it was possible for millions of struggling people across the country to imagine ourselves as honorary Roses—punched in the gut by life but united by human decency and capable of finding their way back to something like normalcy, together.

[alia15]

2020: Who Saw THIS Coming?

Remember when I retired from blogging?

I actually did retire, except, I consider this little corner of the Internet -- MY corner -- to be a place where I document the big stuff. I told you about my engagement and then came back several months later to recap my wedding. Remember that? The wedding that THANKFULLY occurred in late 2019 before the world turned to shit??

Yeah. You know what happened. “The pandemic.” “The virus.” “Covid.” Covid-19″ (I personally prefer the first five Covids; I feel like they really fell off after that). “CORONAVIRUS.” 

THE DUMPSTER FIRE THAT IS...2020.

Suuuuuuuuure, good ol’ Rona robbed Leo and me of our Italian honeymoon, but aside from that? We were able to squeeze in all kinds of fun things in good ol 2019 -- oh how I miss you, 2019 -- and have an unforgettable year. This year is proving to be unforgettable too -- just, ya know -- in like, a traumatizing sorta way.

Anyway, as I was saying, I have to document the big stuff on here. I imagine myself reading and looking back on this blog like an old, embarrassing diary (hell, I do it already) (the dating posts make me want to die) and who can omit THIS chapter? It’s got it all: a deadly virus, racially fueled riots and protesting, social injustice, a deranged madman in the oval office, and... MURDER HORNETS?

exactly. 

So rather than write out a whole long thing about my experience in 2020, I thought I’d break it down by month, starting in March. I’m going to be documenting the good, the BAD (there’s a decent amount of that), and anything new that transpired in that time frame. Did I take up any hobbies? Start baking sourdough? I guess you’ll find out. 

Let’s start with: 

MARCH. 

The good. There was immediately a novelty to this whole Covid-19 thing. In the first half of the month I was commuting, going to work in my NYC office, and doing my usual amount of social things on weekends. When it was decided in mid-March that we’d have to work and stay home for a “bit” (lol), there was something exciting about it. We made jokes about social distancing and masks and had cutesy puns for “quarantining.” We hit the ground RUNNING with Zoom calls/video chats. There was something fun and exhilarating about all this.

The bad. People I KNOW got this virus. People I know LOST people to this virus. My Grandma’s health took a turn and things did not look good, but I couldn’t go see her. Shit, I didn’t see ANYONE except Leo, and even he was going to work in his office every day. I had to get used to this abrupt abundance of...alone time. 

What’s new? I’ve always taken to social media as a creative outlet, but I QUICKLY started using it more -- and differently -- once things in the world got hairy. I treated my Instagram like my one gateway to the outside world, because it was: I surveyed my followers and asked how they were doing. I took silly videos talking to myself in the mirror. I wrote long captions on my photos letting everyone know what my experience was like. I tried to entertain those who were stuck at home, as I was, and needing an escape. 

Oh, and ya know... Tiger King.

APRIL.

The good. The weather was getting nicer, so Leo and I took advantage and often went for walks around our complex and even a local trail/preserve in our town. We started doing “lawn visits” to see our families from a distance, and that helped. For two people who were used to seeing their ‘people’ regularly, 3-4 weeks of not seeing them took a toll. I also started doing “Grateful April” on Instagram, where I shared a few things each day that made me happy/appreciative. Some followers of mine followed suit, which was awesome to see. 

The bad. Hmm, I think all this sitting and lack of moving is hurting my back? (#foreshadowing). Also, ENOUGH with the Zoom calls and “virtual happy hours,” for the LOVE OF GOD! Oh, and that “novelty” I mentioned in March? That wore off quickly, and a lot of us started to feel weird, sad, isolated, uneasy, unproductive and stir-crazy. Myself included.

We were also reminded that this was the month we were supposed to depart for our honeymoon. Ugh.

What’s New? I did some arts & crafts (I painted ceramic bowls I bought from Target), gave myself a mediocre pedicure, found new/creative ways to engage and interact with folks on social media (polls, asking questions like “what’s in your Amazon cart?” and “who sponsors your quarantine?”), and got to see what it was like to have a husband with hair. I also discovered my love of tie-dye and wore...a lot of it. 

Oh, and I was on CBS news talking about screen time. Iconic. 

MAY.

The good. The weather got summer-like and I definitely felt a MAJOR shift in my mood. Leo and I spent more time outside on our deck: listening to music, making margaritas, talking to neighbors. I even took work calls outside and got some much-needed Vitamin D. I had my first real “beach days” (bathing suit, chair and all). I started to FINALLY see my family in person; first, outside only -- and then eventually indoors.  

The bad. Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd, obviously. Dumb-dumbs protesting the lock-down and demanding haircuts. CLEARLY more to come on this. (See: June)

Oh, and my back pain? WAY worse.

What’s new? Some more arts and crafts: I started painting shells I found on the beach (lol).  I bought a pair of Crocs and documented the most absurd series on social media where I paired the heinous footwear with items that rhymed (Crocs & socks, Crocs & shamrocks, Crocs & botox...you get the idea.) I experimented with a few new recipes (made lemon poppy muffins & homemade vodka sauce). I re-watched Mad Men and it made me miss my office and coworkers. 

JUNE. A rough one. 

The good. We started doing more social things with our families: BBQs, celebrating Father’s Day, our nephew’s baptism. Doing this truly felt like “normalcy” and in those moments, we’d forget about all the garbage going on around us. I also decided (yes, after 3 friggin months of lock-down) that I needed to start exercising; something I needed for my physical AND mental health. I thought it could help my back -- which, yes, was feeling worse as time went on -- and it did make me feel good to spend a little time each day walking, jogging, lifting weights and just MOVING. 

The bad. Um? Everything? For starters, the racial tension in the country came to a head and erupted in a MAJOR way -- and while the protests and all the #BlackLivesMatter movements were a positive thing, it absolutely brought out the WORST in so many others. There was rioting, looting and violence. Racism ran RAMPANT. Karens went wild. “Covidiots” were ENRAGED about being told to wear masks. There was police brutality and a President who threw fuel into the fire. Tensions and emotions were at an all-time high and we all got a harsh dose of reality that this country has SO FAR TO GO in regards to equality and civil rights and even basic human decency. I was -- and still am -- sad for this country.

Also? I finally went for an MRI on my back and found out I have two herniated discs; well THAT certainly helps explain things! Shortly after, I pull my back out entirely, and could not walk or move. The pain is excruciating; debilitating and I think, “can things get any worse?” and then...

My Grandma passes away. 

It hurts. It still does. It was inevitable -- as death is, especially given her age and health condition at the time -- but it still felt like taking a bullet. I will always be grateful that I was able to get to see her one day before she passed away to say goodbye, but it’s hard not to be resentful that she didn’t get the memorial service and send-off she so deserved because of the pandemic.

(Side note: read about my amazing Grandma HERE)

In short, June sucked.

What’s new? We got a new stationary bike and set it up outside on the deck which was awesome, and I ended the month getting some epidural shots at the spine doctor. While the (strong) meds and injections didn’t exactly *cure* my issue, they made things a LOT better. Leo and I also drove into NYC (my first time there in MONTHS!) so I could go get my migraine Botox treatment at my neurologist. 

I voted by mail (which is not fraudulent, by the way) (#eyeroll) in the NY Primary. 

I also got not one, but TWO, amazing rainbows the week my grandmother passed away. I needed those, and I’d like to think she knew that.

JULY.

The good. More beach days and some consistent amazing weather (thanks, Mother Nature!). I started seeing a chiropractor twice a week and quickly respond REALLY WELL to treatment and start feeling a lot better. I put things into perspective and realize how lucky I am to live where I do -- on the beach -- and get to enjoy all this newfound free time doing things I enjoy. We also celebrate some family birthdays and have a small family gathering in honor of our beloved Dorothy. 

Have you noticed that “seeing family” always ends up in my “good” section?

The bad. Naya Rivera died unexpectedly, John Lewis died, REGIS died. Our President remains as unhinged as ever, we desperately want to #FreeBritney, and Kanye West has a really sad, scary and concerning, uh, episode. He’s also running for President, maybe? Or not? On a personal note, Leo and I tried to eat dinner on the beach one night and LIT-rally got attacked by seagulls. Weeks later, bull sharks are spotted in the ocean RIGHT WHERE WE LIVE, and they prohibit swimming. 

What’s new? Hamilton on Disney+: need I say more? The fig tree that’s been on our deck for three summers FINALLY started to grow figs! I re-watched Broad City and it is just... *chef’s kiss* perfection. Taylor Swift releases her album ‘folklore’ and I listen on repeat for seven days straight.

AUGUST.

Well, who knows? We’re not there yet. 2020 has certainly been a ride (and it’s not over yet; dear GOD), and I still can’t believe it ended up being this insane year, unlike anything I’ve EVER experienced. And while it undoubtedly has come with its fair share of challenges, it has also come with some blessings.

I have all this extra time now and I make a point to use it productively (most days). I log off from working and go outside, I walk the beach, go in our complex pool, ride the stationary bike, catch up with friends/family on the phone, read, and watch/re-watch shows.

The commute and hustle and bustle of every day in my pre-pandemic life would make me stressed and anxious; I was constantly snoozing alarm clocks, rushing in the mornings, dealing with overcrowded/delayed trains, and getting home late each night. 

Life has become slower, in a good way, and it’s made me appreciate the simple things. I care less about material things and more about the basics: enjoying nice weather/the outdoors, my home, my husband, my family and close friends.

I genuinely stopped caring about getting my hair and nails done, going out to dinner, getting dolled up, or traveling. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy all these things and I’ll of course do them again, but this whole situation made me realize that what I need *most* in this world are the simple joys that money can’t buy.

And for that? I’m grateful. 

*stay safe, friends.*