#otto salin

[puckpocketed]

new babygirl unlocked!! and he has HAIR!!!!!!

[ID: Photo of Los Angeles Kings prospect Aatu Jämsen in his Pelicans uniform. His hair is backlit to almost seem white, and streams out from under his helmet. /. End ID]

oh my GOD!!! new babygirl indeed... its giving barbie its giving goldilocks its giving hair on a my little pony toy... !

Quick notes on Aatu Jämsen. i am quite endeared. he is exactly my type of hockey guy <3

Plays RW! Drafted 2020, round 7, 190th overall. Before signing with the Kings, was playing for the Lahti Pelicans. Bit of a late bloomer, but he's tearing it up lately!! Probably why he got the nod from LA.

Per EP Rinkside, "Players with Jämsen's creativity are a rarity in Liiga. In a league where systems and team-wide strategy are at the forefront, Jämsen stands out with his puck skills and a flair for the dramatic. He's a legitimate dual-threat weapon in the offensive zone, and has also made some slight improvements to his physical game; a necessity if he wants to try to conquer North America next season."

So he's known for being very flashy. Quick, soft hands. Creative. Highlight reel stuff. GOATED on the shootout, apparently always trying crazy dangles in game... I'm SURE this type of prospect will be fine in the LA Kings system (<- lying but hopeful!! aslkdaskjl)

Here he is bullying the shit out of NHL24 champ/youtuber/ex-goalie Eki in the shootout. he yells "KUCHEROV" in triumph at one point after scoring on this guy who (checks notes) laced up skates to play goalie 2 times in the last 4 years - and i think that's so fucking lame and deeply charming.

and I am not surprised at all; he is VERY popular in the Finnish league.

Last month he got into a fight with Tampereen Tappara's Otto Rauhala. VERY unexpected, he's not a fighter at all. Rough google translate from this article, cleaned up a little by me:

Interviewer: What happened there? Jämsen: I don't know. Interviewer: So would you say Rauhala started it? Jämsen: You could say. I didn't appreciate his check in the first period of the game. Nothing more than that."

This is whole exchange is SO funny to me. what happened? he doesn't know. but if he had to say? then that guy fucking started it!!! but that's all <3 LMAO

HE MOONLIGHTS AS A RAP MUSICIAN. HELLO. His stage name is KIDJAM$EN kjlasdkljadlak HELP..,, here is one of his songs set to a short looping montage of Pelicans hockey players.. i think its a playoffs hype song??? I cannot understand a word of it. it DOES bang though!!! He plans to pursue music as a career if hockey doesn't work out. jumping from one risky career to another with no fear honestly go off!!! faith trust and pixie dust <3

everything about him i can dig up is like He's SOO flashy. eccentric. strange creachture. He bleaches his hair to get it that light. he did it to imitate Otto Salin, per this article. The picture is worth a thousand words tbh:

the fucking. LV sweater. the sunglasses. the coy look up at the camera. okay!!! cunt !!! <3

In the same article: he got very serious about nutrition and exercise last season after coming back from a break and getting BLASTED by his coaches for being out of shape. from the sounds of it, this dressing-down triggered his current meteoric rise? He was nawwwt taking his conditioning seriously before this. Since then, he's gained weight and become stronger, and has dedicated himself fully to going pro!

same article again: he's the scion of a hockey family - and god isnt that always the story?? His dad played for the Pelicans. his brothers Juuso and Vili also play hockey. The three have distinct play styles like a cute little set <3 Juuso the goal scorer, Aatu the playmaker, and Vili the GOON!!!

ough MIDDLE CHILD ALERT!!! it all makes SO much sense now....

Due to his flashiness on-ice AND off-ice, he naturally is a lightning rod for criticism. ice hockey is notoriously conservative as a culture and everything about him goes against this. Jams... Jammie... Jammer... idk what to call you BUT. your swag too different your slay too cunty, they're trying to kill you but you wont let them!!!!!

it seems instead of pivoting and making himself more palatable, he's only doubled down. i love and support him for this. if anyone has been on my blog they know i enjoy my guys with big personalities just as much as i love the quiet/underrated ones.

in conclusion, WELCOME TO LA. YOU ARE PERFECT FOR THIS TOWN, GORGEOUS <3

[nonametis]

2, 18, 20? (:

2. Teams you have a soft spot for?

Who have I not mentioned yet? I don’t really see myself as fan of any DEL teams, maybe Berlin? But I like knowing what’s going on with Straubing, and also Ingolstadt and Köln (fourth line teams). I got a soft spot for whichever teams in Norway Jussi Tammela is on, which was Ringerike this past season and will be Sparta Sarpsborg for the next one. And the Hannover teams, because my friend lives close. Technically more the Indians than the Scorpions, but either are okay.

18. who would be on your dream hockey team?

Okay, this is just really going to be MY guys

Goalies: Noa Vali, Jonas Stettmer

Dmen: Sisu-Petteri Lehtonen, Otto Salin, Aron Kiviharju, Topias Vilén, Eemil Viro, Antti Tuomisto, Ruben Raffkin, Valtteri Pulli

Forwards: Markus Nurmi, Juuso Pärssinen, Mikael Pyyhtiä, Louis Anders, Roope Mäkitalo, Ville Järveläinen, Viljami Marjala, Oliver Kapanen, Kristian Tanus, Topias Haapanen, Juhani Jasu, Jonne Tammela

Is it obvious I’m still watching Liiga more closely than I do the DEL or NHL? Not at all I presume? This is also not realistic at all, but yeah, this is a pretty good luck over my (mostly Finnish) guys

20. A player you think is underrated?

That puts pressure on me 😭 and I have no idea what people actually say about these guys, unless they’re the really popular guys. I already mentioned Pära for this in another ask, so I gotta go for someone else. I don’t think we can say that Momü is underrated. Juraj Slafkovsky isn’t really either. I mean, staying on the topping of Liiga, Topias Haapanen or Juhani Jasu might be? Although, Jasu maybe not if HIFK got him now (😭😭😭😭😭) but Toppe maybe? I mean, I’m not mad if K and I stay alone as his (hopefully mostly invisible) Fanclub, but I think sometimes people tend to keep focussing on the hot and coming first liners and stuff, and the fourth liners can blend in with the background. Which I don’t think he hates from what I can glean from his media presence.

[histoireettralala]

Noblewomen, Family and Identity

Women's use of seals points to activity and identity independent of their husbands, and the seals themselves indiciate that they saw themselves in the context of their own ancestry as well as identifying with their husbands; this was common in the British Isles and in France north of the River Loire. Devorguilla de Balliol depicted herself on her seal as a widow, holding in her right hand her husband’s Balliol shield, and in her left the lion-shield of her father’s lordship of Galloway; smaller shields provided a reminder of her own connections with the earldom of Chester and the royal house of Scotland. The reverse of the seal gave the place of honour to the lion of Galloway over the Balliol arms. Marie de St Pol, countess of Pembroke, also had a female figure in the centre of her seal; on one side was the shield of her husband Aymer de Valence, and on the other that of her father, Guy de Chastillon, count of St Pol. The seal could also epitomize a woman’s claims to power and land; the way in which Galburge de Mévouillon gave herself the title of lady of Serres on her seal in 1259 emphasized her claim to the lordship.

Surnames and titles display a similar desire to advertise birth, marriage, property, and authority. Marie de St Pol continued to use her father’s name after her marriage, as did Marie de Berry and Marie de Sully. Hereditary and marital titles were combined, as when Mahaut, heiress to Artois, and wife and widow of Count Otto of Burgundy described herself in the early fourteenth century as ‘countess of Artois and palatine Burgundy and lady of Salins’. Anne Stafford, daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, and Eleanor de Bohun, combined ancestral, parental, and marital titles when she styled herself countess of Stafford, Buckingham, Northampton, and Hereford, and lady of Brecon and Holderness [..]

Family identity for noblewomen was of primary significance, but did not prevent them from having a wider identity as well, mainly with their fellow-nobles, whether these were neighbours, friends, distant kin, or people they met at court. The knightly orders of the late Middle Ages point to the importance of chivalrous networks for men, but these overlapped with social and religious groupings in which both men and women were associated. The evidence of household accounts points to the amount of contact and socializing among the nobility by means of letters, messengers, and hospitality. Mahaut countess of Artois was in touch in this way with many of the nobility of France, and kept up to date with the news of births and deaths.

Jennifer C. Ward - Noblewomen, Family and Identity in Later Medieval Europe, in Nobles and Nobility in Medieval Europe.

[notiziariofinanziario]

Sono ingenti i danni che il maltempo ha fatto su Orbetello

A Orbetello chiesto lo stato di calamità. Alberi caduti su roulotte e bungalow, ombrelloni portati via dalla spiaggia una strada chiusa. A Orbetello dopo la nottata di maltempo si fa la conta dei danni. L’assessore Roberto Berardi è stato in piedi tutta la notte per seguire l’evolversi della situazione assieme a Chiara Piccini, Marco Quaglia e all’ingegner Luca Carretti dirigente dei lavori pubblici del Comune. La strada della Valentina è stata a lungo interrotta, il vento ha spezzato la palma che si trovava davanti al Duomo di Orbetello, in piazza Giovanni Paolo II, alle Saline sono stati portati via lettini e ombrelloni forse da una tromba d’aria che avrebbe colpito anche il campeggio. Un pino è caduto sulla roulotte di servizio di un ristorante e un altro su un bungalow. Sette-otto piante da un giardino privato sono cadute sulla strada della Giannella bloccandola. I Vigili del fuoco hanno prima messo in sicurezza l’Aurelia, letteralmente cosparsa da un tappeto di aghi di pino, poi le altre strade. Ci sono intere file di pini sradicate dal vento. A Fonteblanda quattro grosse piante sono cadute tutto attorno ad una casa che fortunatamente non è stata colpita. Al momento sono al lavoro le squadre della Protezione civile che hanno operato tutta la notte. «Stamani sono previsti una serie di sopralluoghi – afferma Roberto Berardi – anche nei parchi e nei giardini delle scuole in vista della riapertura». Read the full article

[goalhofer]

2024 IIHF World Juniors Finland Roster

Wingers

#18 Rasmus Kumpulainen (Oshawa Generals/Lahti)

#19 Konsta Helenius (Mikkelin Jukurit/Ylöjärvi)

#21 Samu Bau (Ilves/Helsinki)

#22 Kasper Halttunen (London Knights/Helsinki)

#25 Max Koskipirtti (Michigan Tech Huskies/Espoo)

#28 Jere Lassila (J.Y.P./Jyväskylä)

#29 Lenni Hämeenaho (Porin Ässät Ry/Hajaani)

#33 Jani Nyman (Ilves/Valeakoski)

#36 Janne Naukkarinen (Saimaan Pallo/Lappeenranta)

Centers

#20 Oiva Keskinen (Tampereen Tappara/Ylöjärvi)

#24 Aleksanteri Kaskimäki (H.I.K./Espoo)

#32 Emil Hemming (Turun Palloseura/Vaasa)

#34 Tommi Männistö (Michigan State University Spartans/Riihimäki)

Defensemen

#3 Otto Salin (H.I.K./Helsinki)

#4 Arttu Kärki (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds/Viala)

#6 Kasper Kulonummi (Tampereen Tappara/Helsinki)

#10 Emil Pieniniemi (Oulun Kärpät/Kuopio)

#12 Joona Väisänen (Dubuque Fighting Saints/Espoo)

#13 Kalle Kangas (Helsingin Jokerit/Vantaa)

#15 Jesse Pulkkinen (J.Y.P./Laukaa)

Goalies

#1 Eemil Vinni (Joensuun Kiekko-Pojat/Vantaa)

#30 Niklas Kokko (Oulun Kärpät/Oulu)

#31 Noa Vali (Turun Palloseura/Forssa)

[lamilanomagazine]

Cagliari, presentata la stagione 2022 del Teatro delle Saline

Cagliari, presentata la stagione 2022 del Teatro delle Saline. Un cartellone ricco di appuntamenti con oltre sessanta spettacoli adatti non solo agli appassionati ma ad un pubblico variegato che potrà apprezzare le produzioni isolane e non. I dettagli del programma sono stati illustrati oggi, venerdì 21 ottobre 2022, in una conferenza stampa ospitata al Teatro delle Saline, alla quale ha preso parte anche la Presidente della Commissione Cultura del Comune di Cagliari, Enrica Anedda Endrich. “Per me non può che essere un onore partecipare a questo lancio perché – ha commentato la Consigliera Anedda - il Teatro delle Saline e Akròama rappresentano un pilastro fondamentale delle attività culturali del Comune di Cagliari che ci auguriamo possano essere sempre più ricche di quantità e qualità. Anche per questa stagione, la qualità c'è tutta e credo sia un ottimo modo di educare i bambini alla cultura, quello di portare via le famiglie dalla tv la domenica pomeriggio per farle arrivare in teatro. E presto sarebbe davvero bello se il giardino del Teatro delle Saline venisse rimesso in ordine per essere utilizzato nel periodo estivo per gli spettacoli all'aperto”. Un'idea questa già presa in considerazione da Lelio Lecis, Direttore artistico del Teatro delle Saline, che ha già pronto un progetto di riqualificazione non solo della parte esterna, ma di tutta la struttura. “Questa vogliamo che sia intesa come la stagione del risveglio” ha spiegato Lelio Lecis. “Veniamo da due anni difficili ma piano piano la gente sta tornando alle vecchie abitudini e siamo felici di vedere come, rispetto alla passata stagione, ci sia stato un incremento del 30% sulle vendite dei biglietti per gli spettacoli. Ormai il nostro è un appuntamento ben radicato in città e ora più che mai abbiamo voluto incentrarlo sulle famiglie, non solo per quanto riguarda gli appuntamenti per i più piccoli, ma anche con i temi scelti per la rassegna dedicata agli adulti”. Quattro i turni per ogni rappresentazione, che sarà preceduta, mezz'ora prima dell'apertura del sipario, da “Frammenti” un breve spettacolo, diverso per ogni giornata, che negli anni precedenti ha avuto un grande successo. Il calendario propone, dopo “Casa Rosmer” (dal 2 al 5 novembre), “Molly Bloom” (dal 9 al 12 novembre), “XYZ. Dialoghi leggeri tra inutili generazioni” (dal 16 al 19 novembre), “Darwin inconsolabile” (dal 23 al 26 novembre) e per chiudere “A number” (dal 14 al 17 dicembre). La domenica, invece, spazio ai più piccoli con “Famiglie a Teatro che propone otto appuntamenti, con inizio sempre alle 17, tra ottobre e dicembre. Si inizia con “Baracca & Burattori con Pinocchio” (il 30 ottobre e 6 novembre), per proseguire con “C'erano una volta...Santa Lucia e la Befana” (il 13 e 20 novembre), “Johnatan, un marinaio” (il 27 novembre e 4 dicembre), “Cipollino” (11 dicembre) e per chiudere “Storie del passato” (18 dicembre). Prima di ogni spettacolo, la Presidente di Akròama, Elisabetta Podda, intratterrà i piccoli spettatori con “C'era una volta...il mito”.... Read the full article

[lakings9]

Credit: LA Kings

[two-us-two-ks]

Good luck in the NHL, Otto Salin!

[liigainenglish]

Merry Crisis from Kemell and Salin

[gr9science]

How were neurotransmitters discovered?

Up until around the 20th century, most scientists beleived that the communication of energy in the brain was electrical, but in 1921 a german pharmacologist named Otto Loewi performed an experiment on some frogs, that showed that neurons communicate through chemicals.

In these experiments, Loewi manipulated the vagus nerves of the frogs to slow down their heartbeat by controlling how much saline was in the vagus nerve.

This experiment proved that mediating the chemical concentrations in the body and brain can affect heart functions.

The first known neurotransmitter was acetylcholine.

Source: Wikipedia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotransmitter

[juhollamago]

absolutely dead that the Senators asked HIFK’s Otto Salin which team he’d like to be drafted in and his response was “doesn’t matter, as long as it’s somewhere warm”

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[britishsass]

stream ramble collation

stuff you said aloud is in quote marks and paraphrased usually because of the fallibility of memory

traeh: junior agent communal pinboard is SUCH a good idea

also they ABSOLUTELY keep hiding chloe but its gone from 'keep her secret keep her a runaway' to a game

compton and fred talking about hats together

ace: it adds to the mysterious arua

[owl] "Chloe is having so much fun hiding"

traeh: yep my thoughts exactly, they no longer think she needs to be hidden but shes having fun being Sneaky

and the junior agents are having fun being Sneaky as well

ace: honestly it would count as good covert-op training

owl: [something about fred and compton friendship & fred not being in ps2 which i didnt fully process]

ace: And, now I'm thinking about Fred's T-rex arms again

traeh: yeah the junior agents get SO good at stuff like illusions etc

owl: "Compton's proportions, he is so short"

ace: man needs those grabber-nabber things just to function

traeh: raz already is fantastic at bluff checks - boy managed to get through 2 and a half obstacle courses for levitators and telekinetics while not knowing how to levitate

but all the others get good at just BSing etc

ALSO please picture norma using her pyrokinesis to wield

owl: "Some of the interns would have already been good at making stuff up, especially Morris. He runs a pirate radio he's going to be so good at making stuff up."

traeh: yeah morris is SO good at just making things up

Owl: "Morris annoyed me but he grew on me over time. All the interns did, I didn't like them at first because of how they acted towards Raz. Also there's no way Gisu is straight."

ace: Still got my bi hc loaded

traeh: i saw someone saying theres no way shes got an older sibling

shes either an only child or an older sibling

ace: I say it everytime I get the chance, hah

quantum: re: gisu siblings(?) the "I'm not a baby" "yes you are" line radiates 'I have at least one younger brother i bully affectionately' energy

traeh: norma, lizzie, morris, and gisu assembling a bunch of metal poles and glass panes into a huge fishtank while adam and raz flop in the corner with psipops

sam has gone to pester whoever is in charge of the fishtanks about salinity etc

ace: seeing fishtank and flop defaulted me to fish flopping and it is... an.. image in my mind's eye

traeh: reusfdk hahaha thats not what i meant

also quantum YES gisu with a little brother

owl: "Fred deserves more friends, his proportions are stupid and I love him, and the Bonapartes have to be a pretty well-known family because they're literally related to Napoleon Bonaparte, and then one day Fred just vanishes! Because there's no way his family would have told people that Fred was thinking he was Napoleon! I think about that a lot. I think about that a lot. Like, Gloria is famous and it'd be well-know she was going to Thorney Towers, but the others? Fred, Edgar, Boyd - well Boyd might be famous for setting a place on fire, but Edgar's a nobody and Fred's just the Bonaparte boy. Fred's just...a nobody, he's not the strongest he's not the smartest, any adjective you pick another Thorney Towers resident probably is it more, he's got so much pressure on him as a Bonaparte and he needs to learn the world wont end if he takes a break, thats probably me also talking about Otto and myself too"

owl: "Sorry about rambling about Fred so much, but I think about him a lot. Out of all the others he does stand apart i think."

Owl: "I'm just getting pictures of everyone. I need a picture of Cassie. I'm sorry, Cassie, you deserve so much better than me."

ace: I've been thinking more about Markie again. I think she just got worse and worse. Maybe she can be a decent person but oh boy that's gonna come with a lot to make up for

Owl: "Yeah, Markie needs to make up for a whole lot at this point."

Owl: "Helmut looks so soft and huggable. Man, I want to hold him close and just snuggle up to him. He's so kind. I love Helmut Fullbear."

[owl is drawing a many armed nightmare at this point]

ace: the nightmare is armed and dagerous.

I'm sorry for the half though out puns but my brain demands it

traeh: the pun goes in the ramble submission

ace: thus my role is fufilled, hah

keeping out of reach is probably advisable

traeh: oh a fact about the handwraps thing that got brought up in frankies stream: similar fabric wrapping techniques were/are used by broke people in cold countries like russia to keep the feet warm

when theres no access to warm enough shoes/socks or they have damaged shoes or w/e

ace: ah, cool!

traeh: implying that nona would possibly prefer to be wearing gloves!

This, my friends, is why you join the streams-- I go off on tangents, Ace shares great puns, and we've got amazing ideas and aus.

Thanks again for gathering this for me! I'll re-read when I have the chance.

[snippychicke]

Aftermath--Three

Chapter Three is here! The last of the set up chapters, after this is mostly just...fluff. 

No warnings, I think. A surprise waits inside, however. 

First | Previous

 Otto had spent most of his adult life working for the commission. A few time jumps to different eras and decades, but mainly staying somewhere in the 1960s since it seemed the more precarious times. Nuclear war liked to develop at the drop of a pin, and even the most well-meaning change could spell Armageddon thanks to trigger-happy Americans and Russians. 

(Though a few times it was the UK and France. And once China, which the rest of the world hadn't realized had nuclear weapons until it was too late.) 

But no matter where or when he was, he was with his brothers. Oscar might have mingled with the civilian population once in a while, but he, like Axel, either had other responsibilities or would rather relax at their temporary home than deal with the locals. 

He wasn't used to civilians and their quiet, dull lives. Granted, Lorelei often had her radio on to break the silence if she were home, and the grainy black and white TV was usually turned to the news. (She also had a habit of chattering while changing the dressings on his eye every morning and every night. Even if half the time her southern drawl made her words hard to understand, her tone and lit were pleasing to listen to.) 

It was still dull, with nothing but the pain to distract him from his thoughts. Losing Oscar had been hard enough, the wound still fresh on his heart. Even now, he expected his younger brother to try and ambush him just to get a reaction out of him. Or hear him trying and failing to sing to the more upbeat music on the radio, stumbling over the English words. 

Then he lost Axel; his last memory of his older brother being of his hands around his neck and Axel's face twisted in both rage and grief of not controlling his actions. Otto found himself praying to some unknown power that Axel was out there, somewhere, carrying on. 

Otto feared if their position had been reversed, he wouldn't be strong enough. He struggled as it was, but the thought of finding Axel gave him strength. Believing his brother was out there gave him the motivation to keep trying to regain his strength. 

And startling Lorelei was becoming decent amusement as well.

"Why are you doing pushups?! Shit, your eye is bleeding again!" (It often did at inconvenient times, leading to her fretting like a mother hen. She wouldn't rest until he allowed her to fuss to her heart's content. )

"Why are all my kitchen knives impaled in the garage wall?" (Relearning to aim with just one eye was becoming a chore. And he gave in to the need to take a break just as she returned from work. She quickly forgot about the knives as soon as she saw he was bleeding, again,  and about five seconds from passing out.) 

"Jesus Mary and Joesph, I swear Otto, you may not be a serial killer, but you definitely have a screw or two loose!" (He swore she hadn't dusted the cobwebs from her ceiling in decades, but considering how small she was compared to him, he couldn't wholly blame her. To his amusement, she tried to steal the feather duster he had found, jumping pathetically to try and reach it as he held it out of reach. It reminded him of Oscar, and then it wasn't quite as amusing.)  

It wasn't that he was getting soft towards her; it was simply that he had a sense of honor. The reverse of an eye for an eye; she had been kind insane enough to help him. The lengths she went to and fussing over him as if she genuinely cared, made him feel indebted to her. He could tell Raymond didn't trust him, giving him a dark look when he visited every day. 

But he couldn't harm her. He had no reason to (and it certianly wasn't because she tried so hard to show him kindness. Like when she tenderly brushed his hair away from his forehad when she feared a fever. Being so careful during dressing changes, her voice soft and soothing, her touch gentle. She quickly picked up on his body language and did her best to distract him when his thoughts got dark.) 

It was nearly two weeks before he was feeling well enough to think about leaving seriously. Two weeks no sign of Axel. He kept an eye on the news for anything bearing his brother's mark, but there was nothing—no trail for him to follow, making him antsy. 

The longer he stayed, the farther Axel was. (He refused to believe there was any other reason. Axel was out there. Somewhere.) 

It felt a bit wrong to leave when Lorelei was at work with nothing more than a note saying thank you on the kitchen counter and assuring the small room was in perfect condition (or as best as could be, considering the old worn everything.)

It took him a while to find the small cat house, feeling like it was halfway across the suburb of south Dallas (or it could have been that he wasn't quite up to strength just yet.) The ragged curtains were still drawn shut; a few of the cats lounging in the windows  enjoying the sun while others relaxed on the small steps thanks to the little cat door Oscar had crudely cut shortly after they had 'moved in.'

The cats welcomed him with plaintive meows, rubbing and threading through his legs. The fact the place smelled like an unclean catbox was enough to confirm Axel was no longer using it as a base. The large bag of dry cat food was spilled across the kitchen and living room, yet the cats were far more interested in him as he searched the small house for any sign of Axel. 

But every trace of their residence had been cleaned away per protocol, with not even the vaguest of hints where Axel's next destination was.

Except, for some reason, his and Oscar's bags were still stuffed in the hallway closet, packed and ready for a quick retreat, just as they had left it. The ache in Otto's chest strengthened at seeing his little brother's pack buried beneath his, the white and black milkman hat sticking out from where Oscar had quickly stuffed it before that last mission. 

Otto could still remember chastening him to take better care of it if he honestly wanted to keep it, and Oscar had groaned he would fold it correctly when they got back. 

Except his little brother didn't return with them that day. 

Only the cats were witness to him, pulling the hat out and falling to his knees as he clutched it to his chest, biting his tongue to trap the scream of agony from escaping. 

                                                        --+--

Lorelei supposed she shouldn't be too surprised when she returned to an empty house. She had noticed a restless shift in Otto for the last few days. The kind she had seen before in others that had stayed with her to recuperate before they too moved on. 

At least he was kind enough to tidy up after himself (was it embarrassing that he was a better housekeeper than her?) And he had even left a piece of paper saying thank you that she pinned to her fridge. 

She knew Raymond would be relieved when he found out he had left. Even though Otto proved he wasn't about to hurt either of them, her soul brother was about as distrustful as could be when it came to him (granted it was somewhat earned.)

But she was going to miss him and his odd antics. Like how he had sat at the kitchen table, all of her knives laid out before him along with an old whetstone he had found somewhere in her junk drawer, and spend probably at least a few hours just sharpening the dulled blades. (Generally, after he used them for target practice.) His determination to find some odd house chore she had slacked on and finish it without so much as a word. 

 He had been silent, but it wasn't the oppressive silence like her father's had been, where she knew he was boiling about something (like her existence). Sure, once in a while, it would be broody or antagonistic when Raymond visited, or something reminded him of something dark in his frankly mysterious past. But otherwise, it had been amicable. 

Even when she was chatty out of nerves or after a particularly stressful day, he hadn't seemed annoyed. Instead, she sometimes would catch a faint smile as she prattled on. Or even a light huff of laughter when she made a joke, and he shook his head slightly because her jokes were usually terrible puns. 

"Oh, I'm an old biddy," she sighed to her comatose patient the next day, setting up another saline flush along with the IV antibiotics. "Here, I keep telling everyone that I'm fine being by myself, yet here I am getting attached to an absolute stranger. I should just get some cats, huh?"

The man was silent, which she expected. The doctors had just been in to check the healing stump of where his leg had been. Which meant the nurse had dosed him with plenty of pain meds just an hour before. Partially to help negate the pain from the procedure itself, but also so he wouldn't try to grab the nearest person as a hostage. 

That encounter still left many of the other nurses hesitant to enter the room. It had been the day after the John Doe had been brought in the emergency room, found by a couple of hunters just outside of town with a traumatic amputation of his left lower leg.

One minute he had been asleep (or assumed) as the doctors discussed treatment plans, and the next, he had jumped up, grabbed one of the nurses, and had a ballpoint pen pressed against her throat while swearing something in an odd language as everyone scrambled. 

What was with white-haired men and being violent? Granted, she had never seen Otto like she had the John Doe, his pale blue eyes wild with both rage and pain. 

Which was why restraints were now strapped to the remaining three limbs. The straps rattled against the metal sidebars as John Doe stirred, making Lorelei pause. His young face was twisted into a grimace, and she moved to brush his forehead out of instinct.

"Bror?" He mumbled, making her stomach twist in guilt. She didn't think her rambling would wake him.

 "Shh, it's okay, hun. Just get some rest," She smoothed his messy white hair, smiling as he relaxed back into sleep. 

"Lorelei, you know you're crazy, right?" One of her fellow nurses asked as she slipped from the secured room and into the nearby nurses' station, "Going into that room by yourself. You saw what he did to Mary Lou!"

"Well, how would you feel waking up without a leg and a bunch of people hovering over you, talking in a different language," she shot back defensively as she grabbed John Doe's chart.  

"Not homicidal," her coworker responded, working on her own chart notes. "I mean, I'd scream for sure, but I doubt I'd be able to move the way he did. Hell, I doubt I'd ever been that quick." 

                                                      ---+---

Lorelei supposed she shouldn't have been happy to see Otto sitting on the front steps of her home the next evening. She had a crappy day, her feet were killing her, and she was planning on just crashing in her bed. Yet seeing him on the cement step, two large backpacks sitting on the dilapidated porch, made the end of her day a little better. 

He looked up, the bandage still wrapped around half of his face, but she was pleased not to notice any blood staining the gauze. She wasn't so happy to see the melancholy expression on his face.

 She took a seat on the step next to him, feeling warmth radiate him to chase off the chilly December air. She wasn't brave enough to look at him, and instead plucked a piece of dead grass from the lawn. "Don't tell Ray, but you make a decent house guest. Not many men clean up after themselves, let alone fight me about dustin' or sweeping them cobwebs out." 

She peeked a glance after a pause and felt relief to see a faint smile on his face as he focused on the dusk colored sky. "I won't ask what you've been up to, as long as it ain't gonna be bringing any police around here." 

"No," he answered her joking comment gravely. 

"Kay, good."  She tore at the blade of grass some more. "So... Are you looking for a place to stay, or are you just here to say bye for good?"

This time he did meet her gaze. His dark eye looked haunted, and she could see the telltale marks of crying by the red rims and puffiness of his lids. Her fingers ached to reach out and try to soothe the crease around his good eye, to bring some sort of comfort, so she shifted to sit on her hand instead, hoping he would think her fingertips were cold. "Because like I said, you're a nice house guest. You do your own share of the chores, and you can stay as long as you like. Just no more using my good steak knives as darts, you got me?"

"Yes," he answered solemnly, making her heart jump. "...Do you like cats?" 

His question surprised her for a moment before she smiled. "Yeah, I do. I was just telling my patient that I should get a few."

He nodded his head without elaborating further, though she swore there was a thoughtful expression on his face as he watched the last glimmer of the sun fade away. 

The silence this time was broken by her stomach growling, earning an amused glance from Otto as she blushed. "Right. Well, I'm hungry,' she hurriedly jumped up and offered her hand to him. "Shall we?" 

He accepted her hand, the callouses firm against her skin. It still surprised her how tall he towered over her. "Let's see; I have fish sticks or hot dogs. It's up to you…."

                                                   ---+---

Lorelei woke the next morning to a blank and white angular-face cat kneading her pillow; its purr a deep growl. As soon as the cat realized she was awake, it butted its head against her as a greeting, its purr becoming louder. 

"Where did you come from?" She asked as she sat up, allowing him to crawl into her lap. The cat, of course, didn't answer but continued to knead her lap. She picked up the cat and descended the stairs, following the smell of sausage and the quiet mewl of other cats. A group of them were sitting expectantly at Otto's feet, jumping when he would toss a piece of an egg at them. All of them boney and looking as if he had found them wandering the streets. 

"Dare I ask?" She asked, shifting the cat to protect her modesty as he glanced over at her. She didn't miss the quick once-over before he shrugged and returned towards breakfast.

"You said you liked cats." 

Living with him was going to be fun, Lorelei decided as she allowed the cat down to join its brethren at his feet and instead shuffled towards the fridge. "True. I did say that." She just didn't expect so many. They were all weaving around him, eager for a treat, which made it hard to count, but she swore there were at least a dozen. "So… do they have names?"

"Bebis." 

She waited for him to elaborate and frowned when he didn't. "Are you saying they are babies, or that they are all named Bebis?"

"Both," he answered, shooting her a quick half-smile as he flicked another piece of an egg at them. 

"Oh no, that isn't going to work. I mean, I fully agree they're babies, but they need their own names." She busied herself with setting up the kettle for coffee, trying not to think how easy it was moving around each other, or how much happier she felt compared to the last two days. 

It was the cats; she decided as one jumped up on the counter to pester her. Definitely the cats. She blushed when she noticed Otto watching her out of the corner of her vision as she baby-talked to the small tabby that looked like it hadn't eaten in weeks. 

Just the cats.

Next Chapter 

[ilcovodelbikersgrunf]

Un piccolo e rinomato paradiso nel cuore del Mediterraneo. Un luogo tutto italiano che da sempre è sinonimo di turismo estivo per eccellenza, luogo rinomato e sognato dai turisti di mezzo mondo. Parliamo della Sardegna, una delle due isole più grandi del nostro Stivale.

In molti la desiderano per il mare cristallino, le spiagge di sabbia bianca, le insenature, le scogliere, come anche la qualità della movida, senza dimenticare crociere e giri in barca. Ma la Sardegna non è solo questo. È anche borghi, antiche tradizioni, cucina tipica, montagne e antichi mestieri. L’isola ha mille sfaccettature ed è per questo che piace tanto, anche e soprattutto nell’anno in cui tutti ci sentiamo un po’ più liberi dopo tanti mesi di restrizioni.

Le idee di viaggi in Sardegna non mancano. Basta solo affidarsi a Tramundi, il tour operator online che compone per te diversi tipi di pacchetti pensati in base ad esigenze ed idee diverse di vacanza. Dal soggiorno romantico, a quello divertente con gli amici, fino a quello relax con la famiglia. Basta davvero poco per non aver nessun tipo di pensieri con la certezza di poter vivere una vacanza organizzata in ogni minimo dettaglio, con sicurezza e innovazione.

I posti più belli da vedere? Sarebbero infiniti ma Tramundi li ha “raccolti” per te in una sorta di best place da esplorare. Per chi voglia assaporare le tante sfaccettature dell’isola non può perdersi il tour della Sardegna. Otto giorni tra il mare tra i più belli del mondo. Da Cagliari ad Alghero fino a Porto Cervo, tra camminate vista mare, tintarella in spiaggia, storia e tradizione tra borghi, saline e vita in miniera.

Fuori dai classici itinerari c’è poi una Sardegna tutta da scoprire. Tramundi ti porta in Barbagia, la regione montuosa più vasta dell’isola. Un itinerario d’eccezione tra paesaggi storici, storie di artigiani e antiche tradizioni. E poi immancabile un tuffo in mare, quello del Golfo di Orosei.

La Sardegna e il suo lato più selvaggio? Esploralo con il tour dedicato al surf tra spiagge caraibiche, mare cristallino e tanta adrenalina. Vacanze all’insegna dello sport e dell’avventura cavalcando le onde più alte d’Italia in alcune location tra le più invidiate, tra tutte il Pan di Zucchero. Vacanze in barca a vela per chi cerca relax e divertimento. Da La Maddalena alle Bocche di Bonifacio per viaggio fatto di sole, mare, spiaggia, tuffi e viste meravigliose da angolazioni privilegiate tra Sardegna e Corsica.