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twoidiotwriters1 · 1 month ago

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Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: The concert was amazing I feel great -Danny Words: 2,476 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Cough Syrup' -by Young The Giant

XVI: I'm up to My Tits With Morons

Ara does not get to kill stuff, all she gets to witness is the egregious birth of more ant eggs and an outrageous rap from Apollo.

"I'm never calling that thing Mama," she protests as they crawl out of the nest. "There's something really wrong with you, man."

"Let's not go there," Apollo comes out behind her and examines what's in front of them. "It's a gateway, to the Grove of Dodona."

"Aren't we in the grove?" Meg asks squinting.

"No... I think this is more of an antechamber. The grove itself is behind those trees."

"I don't hear any voices." Meg tilts her head.

"The grove knows we are here," Apollo mumbles. "It's waiting to see what we'll do."

"Ara," Meg says shakily, reaching for her hand and tugging. "Look..." The girl follows her gaze and feels her soul leaving her body: There, hanging from the trunks framing the entrance, are cocoons of...

"Demigods," Ara says hoarsely.

"Oh, monstrous," Apollo closes ranks next to her. "We need to free them immediately."

"Wh-what's wrong with them?" Meg stammers.

Ara approaches Cecil and examines him, she sniffs the wrapping and makes a face. "Don't touch it, Lester." A growl comes from above and Peaches appears, severely beaten.

"Thank the gods!" Apollo beams. "Meg, hurry! Order your friend to—"

"Apollo." Meg points over their shoulders sounding stifled. Emerging from the tunnel are two broad and tall male figures, imposing and blond like Octavian, but these men are not as weak-looking as him and they're covered in armor. Ara steps to the side to hide Meg.

"Germani." Apollo stands next to her in a way that tries to be protective. When he speaks, the guards step sideways and let a third person enter the scene.

Ara's blood pressure drops. "Is that..."

"Emperor Nero," Apollo says darkly. "The Beast."

The man smirks. "Nero will do. It's good to see you, my honored ancestor. I'm sorry I've been so lax about my offerings during the past few millennia, but I haven't needed you. I've done rather well on my own." He eyes Ara, stopping a moment on the flowers in her hair. "Daughter of Olympus," Nero drawls the name as if she's a yummy dessert he can't wait to take a bite of. "The wonder of a millennia... finally within reach."

"It's me you want," Apollo steps in. "Cut these demigods down from their stakes. Let them leave with Meg and Ara. They've done nothing to you."

"I'll be happy to let them go once we've come to an agreement. As for Meg... How are you, my dear?"

Meg keeps her head down. Ara understands who the spy is then, but she's left stunned and speechless, having the Nero before them terrifies her so that she's scared her voice will give it away. One of the guards whispers something at Nero and he nods a bit.

"Soon. But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce my right hand, Vincius, and my left hand, Garius—Ah, sorry. My right hand, Garius, and my left hand, Vincius. Those are the Romanized versions of their Batavi names, which I can't pronounce. Usually I just call them Vince and Gary. Say hello, boys."

"They have serpent tattoos," Apollo points out, "like those street thugs you sent to attack me."

"I have many servants," Nero says casually. "Cade and Mikey are quite low on the pay scale. Their only job was to rattle you a bit, welcome you to my city."

"Excuse me?" Ara snaps out of her shock, but Apollo places a hand on her shoulder, knowing that attacking is exactly what Nero wants her to do.

"And these two gentlemen... they are actually Germani from the ancient times? How?"

"Lord Apollo, please," Nero laughs. "Even before Gaea commandeered the Doors of Death, souls escaped from Erebos all the time. It was quite easy for a god-emperor such as myself to call back my followers."

"A god-emperor?" Apollo tenses. "You mean a delusional ex-emperor."

"What made you a god, Apollo... back when you were one? Wasn't it the power of your name, your sway over those who believed in you? I am no different. Vince, fall on your spear, please."

Vince prepares to stab himself with the spear before the emperor lazily gives him a new command. "Stop, I changed my mind. You see? I hold the power of life and death over my worshippers, like any proper god should."

"The Germani were always crazy, much like you."

"I'm hurt! My barbarian friends are loyal subjects of the Julian dynasty! And, of course, we are all descended from you, Lord Apollo."

"Wh-what do you want, Nero?" Meg stammers.

"Straight to the point. I've always admired that about you, Meg," Nero smiles. "Really, it's simple. You and Apollo will open the gates of Dodona for me. Then these six will be released."

"You'll destroy the grove," Apollo states. "Then you'll kill us."

"Not unless you force me to. I'm a reasonable god-emperor, Apollo! I'd much rather have the Grove of Dodona under my control if it can be managed, but I certainly can't allow you to use it. You had your chance at being the guardian of the Oracles. You failed miserably. Now it's my responsibility. Mine... and my partners'."

"As if you'd know better than the god of prophecy," Ara scoffs.

Nero sighs. "Apollo wasn't always in charge, child. And unlike him, we act. You can't argue that he's done his job right, can you?"

"Triumvirates have never worked," Apollo scoffs. "They always lead to civil war."

"The three of us have come to an agreement. We have divided up the new empire... by which I mean North America. Once we have the Oracles, we'll expand and do what Romans have always done best—conquer the world."

"You truly learned nothing from your previous reign."

"Oh, but I did! I've had centuries to reflect, plan, and prepare. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to be a god-emperor, unable to die but unable to fully live? There was a period of about three hundred years during the Middle Ages when my name was almost forgotten. I was little more than a mirage! Thank goodness for the Renaissance, when our Classical greatness was remembered. And then came the Internet. Oh, gods, I love the Internet! It is impossible for me to fade completely now. I am immortal on Wikipedia!"

"We can still give permanent destruction a try," Ara says, lifting Almighty.

He laughs. "You're delightful, girl. But unless you're a goddess, I wouldn't bother trying, we're way above your payroll." Nero turns to Apollo. "I could explain my plans and everything, but I have a lot on my plate today. I need you and Meg to open those gates. They've resisted my best efforts, but together you three can do it. Apollo, you have an affinity with Oracles. Meg has a way with trees. The daughter of Olympus, I've heard, has some pretty good charmspeak. Get to it. Please and thank you."

"We would rather die," Apollo hisses. "Wouldn't we, girls?"

"You know it," Ara responds bravely.

"Meg?" Apollo tries again.

"She won't," Ara looks at him somberly.

"Won't what?" He scowls. "What's going—why are you crying, Meg?"

"Oh, my," Nero feigns shock. "It seems we've had a slight miscommunication. You see, Apollo, Meg brought you here, just as I asked her to. Well done, my sweet."

"I—I didn't mean..." Meg trembles.

Apollo looks at Ara and gets the slightest nod. "Meg, no. I can't believe—" He tries to step closer and Peaches aims a bite, but Ara points her sword at the creature between Meg's feet, keeping him away. "This man killed your father! He's a murderer!"

"The Beast killed my father," Meg says weakly. "This is Nero. He's—he's my stepfather."

"That's right, my darling," Nero smiles proudly. "And you've done a wonderful job. Come to Papa."

"Oh, that is messed up," Ara frowns. "I really wanted to kill you before knowing this, but now I truly need to see your head sticking out of a spear."

Nero barks out a laugh again. "Oh, you're truly perfect."

"Meg, we are friends." Apollo demands in outrage. "How could you do this to me?"

"You barely know her, Lester." Ara reprimands him.

Her tone makes Meg wince. "I tried to tell you, to warn you."

"She has a good heart." Nero hums. "But, Apollo, you and Meg have been friends for just a few days—and only because I asked Meg to befriend you. I have been Meg's stepfather, protector, and caretaker for years. She is a member of the Imperial Household."

"I risked my life for you," Apollo insists. "And that actually means something, because I can die!"

"We're all impressed, Apollo," Nero says with boredom. "Now, if you'd open the gates. They've defied me for too long."

"Nero, what have you done?" Apollo demands examining the trees.

"Oh, a number of things! We found a way into this antechamber weeks ago. The Labyrinth has a convenient opening in the myrmekes' nest. But getting through these gates—"

"You forced the palikos to help you? You used a nature spirit to destroy nature? Meg, how can you tolerate this?"

"Come now, Meg knows there are good nature spirits, and bad ones. This geyser god was annoying. He kept asking us to fill out surveys. Besides, he shouldn't have ventured so far from his source of power. He was quite easy to capture. His steam, as you can see, didn't do us much good anyway."

"And the five demigods? Did you 'use' them, too?"

"Of course. I didn't plan on luring them here, but every time we attacked the gates, the grove started wailing. I suppose it was calling for help, and the demigods couldn't resist. The first to wander in was this one—The last two were your own children—Austin and Kayla, yes? They showed up after we forced Paulie to steam-broil the trees. I guess the grove was quite nervous about that attempt. We got two demigods for the price of one!"

Before Ara can jump him for putting her campers at risk, Apollo does it first, but he trips and lands face-first half a meter away from her. She picks him up, too pissed off to even reprimand him. "Apollo!" Meg tries to reach them and Apollo jolts back.

"I don't need your help! Don't you understand who your protector is? He's a monster! He's the emperor who—"

"Don't say it," Nero growls. "If you say 'who fiddled while Rome burned,' I will have Vince and Gary flay you for a set of hide armor. You know as well as I do, Apollo, we didn't have fiddles back then. And I did not start the Great Fire of Rome."

"But you profited from it. Meg, your stepfather watched as seventy percent of Rome was destroyed. Tens of thousands died."

"I was thirty miles away in Antium! I rushed back to the city and personally led the fire brigades!"

"Only when the fire threatened your palace."

"I can't help it if I arrived just in time to save the most important building!"

Meg whines, trying to muffle their voices by pressing her hands on both ears. "Stop arguing. Please."

Ara has seen this too many times. Demigods influenced by evil because the gods, their main caretakers, abandoned them. It's infuriating to see so many kids suffer, so many souls get hurt and reaped just because the gods are too lazy to catch the abuser's hand before it can taint the world further. What a waste of godly power.

"You had the nerve to put a hundred-foot-tall bronze statue in your front lawn!" Apollo cries in anger. "A statue of yourself as Sol-Apollo, the sun god. In other words, you claimed to be me."

"Indeed. Even after I died, that statue lived on. I understand it became famous as the Colossus of Nero! They moved it to the gladiators' amphitheater and everyone began calling the theater after the statue—the Colosseum. Yes... the statue was the perfect choice."

"I fought there, against a giant. And here at camp, I will wipe the floor with your flimsy chin," Ara growls.

"Not now, dear, the men are talking," he brushes her comment away. "The point is, I had style! The people loved me!"

Apollo scoffs. "They turned against you. The people of Rome were sure you'd started the Great Fire, so you scapegoated the Christians."

"But the Christians were terrorists, you see. Perhaps they didn't start the fire, but they were causing all sorts of other trouble. I recognized that before anyone else!"

"He fed them to the lions," Apollo tells this to Meg as if that would make any difference. "He burned them as human torches, the way he will burn these six."

Meg trembles. "Nero, you wouldn't—"

"They will be released," Nero assures her, "as long as Apollo cooperates."

"Meg, you can't trust him! The last time he did this, he strung up Christians all over his backyard and burned them to illuminate his garden party. I was there. I remember the screaming."

"My dear, don't believe his stories! That was just propaganda invented by my enemies."

"Nero... you didn't say anything about making them into torches."

"They won't burn. It won't come to that. The Beast will not have to act."

"You see, Meg?" Apollo makes a face of disgust. "It's never a good sign when someone starts referring to himself in the third person. Zeus used to scold me about that constantly!"

Ara tries to speak in the calmest voice possible. "Meg, he's manipulating you. He's groomed you into believing you mean something to him..." She takes a step forward, and when Peaches doesn't attack, she keeps talking. "But when someone truly cares for you, there is no fear involved. You don't flinch at their sudden movements. Look at me," the young girl avoids her gaze. "Let me help you, Meg..."

She gives another step forward and Nero growls, which causes Meg to push her and run over to the man. Ara stumbles and Apollo steadies her. "Go away!"

"You'll open the gates," Nero says darkly. "Then Meg will see if she can use the trees to interpret the future. If so, wonderful! If not... well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it."

"Meg," Apollo tries one last time, "he's a madman."

"Nero cared about me, Apollo. He gave me a home. He taught me to fight."

"You said he killed your father!"

"No! No, that's not what I said. The Beast killed him."

"But—"

"Oh, Apollo... you understand so little. Meg's father was weak. She doesn't even remember him. He couldn't protect her. I raised her. I kept her alive."

"What a pig," Ara spits out venomously. All she wants is a clear shot, and she could tear this man to pieces with her bare hands.

"Meg..." Apollo keeps a hand on Ara's shoulder to keep her from pouncing. "I am so sorry..."

"She doesn't NEED sympathy." Nero snarls. "Now, my dear, if you would be so kind, open the gates. If Apollo objects, remind him that he is bound to follow your orders."

"Apollo, Ara, don't make it harder. Please... help me open the gates."

Apollo looks at Ara and sends a message through his touch. "Not by choice."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

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#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #leo valdez fanfic #doo #leo valdez x oc #toa fanfic

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vintageviewmaster · 10 months ago

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Brand: View-Master Company: Sawyer's Inc. Packet Title: Holland Packet Subtitle: N/A Packet Type: souvenir pak Packet Number: B 190 Packet Style: S5 Booklet: Included Reel Numbers: B 1901, B 1902, B 1903 Reel Edition: N/A Date: Undated Copyright: Sawyer's Inc.

souvenir pak Descriptions: Wien Neerlandsch Bloed - National Anthem of Holland

the story of Holland The 57½ million square miles of the earth would seem to most people a generous enough gift of nature and they would be content to leave it at that--but not the Dutch. With some ten million people crowded into an area no larger than tiny Massachusetts and Connecticut combined, they have boldly taken over where nature left off. With the aid of dikes and barriers of sand dunes they have added several million more acres of land to their country. More than half of the nation's population lives below sea level.

The earliest history of these people begins in about 55 B.C. when Julius Caesar, during his campaigns, found this area populated with Celtic and Germanic tribes such as the Belgai, Batavi, Frisians and Saxons. In 15 B.C. under Augustus, the territory was brought under Roman rule. During the third century a powerful Frankish tribe conquered many of the earlier tribes and the Frankish language (the official Dutch language now spoken in Holland) was generally adopted. The Franks accepted Christianity, but it remained for Charlemagne (742-814) to subdue the Frisians and Saxons and force them to accept this new religion.

Under feudal rule cities arose and petty disputes among the rulers enabled these cities to establish some measure of home rule. In the 15th century under Burgundian rule The Netherlands (which until 1830 included Belgium and Luxemburg) gained "The Great Privilege," a charter which greatly curtailed the sovereign's power in local matters. Then by marriage the country came under Spanish rule. The people rebelled and the long war which the Dutch waged against Spain (1468-1648) finally brought financial ruin to the Spaniards. Having freed themselves of Spanish restrictions, the Dutch grew rich with trade during the 17th century and acquired colonial holdings. But a century of decay followed and Holland lost much of its trade and some of its colonies.

In 1795 the country was conquered by the French. In 1815, following Napoleon's downfall, The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed at the Congress of Vienna. The southern provinces, dissatisfied with this union, revolted, and to avoid a general conflict the great powers allowed them to form the separate Kingdom of Belgium. Luxemburg was lost when Queen Wilhelmina came to the throne in 1890 because its law did not then permit female rule.

During World War I the country remained neutral, but in World War II the Germans invaded Holland. Queen Wilhelmina fled to England to carry on the government-in-exile. Dutch resistance lasted only five days, but the German wholesale, systematic destruction of the country left Holland in ruin. The recovery of this country from the war has been remarkable. The government of Holland, now with Queen Juliana as its sovereign, is a constitutional monarchy. Amsterdam is the constitutional capital, but the actual seat of government is in The Hague. The kingdom includes the Netherlands Antilles, Surinam and the western half of New Guinea. Rotterdam, located at the mouths of the two great rivers, the Rhine and the Meuse, is the biggest port in the world next to New York. Amsterdam, the largest city in Holland, rivals Antwerp as diamond-cutting center of the world. A network of 50 canals carves the country into hundreds of tiny islands which are connected by 400 bridges. Bicycles are the major form of transportation and outnumber cars about six to one. This low, flat land has a maritime climate—cool and damp—and strong winds blow steadily from the North Sea. Holland's natural resources are limited and the country imports many raw materials which are processed into finished products for export. Because of its geographical position and excellent harbor, Holland has developed into a great trading, transporting, and brokerage nation.

To foreigners Holland is symbolized by tulips, windmills, picturesque costumes and the quaint story of a boy with his finger in the dike. Tulips they have (and hyacinths) in countless numbers and the sale of bulbs is a serious and thriving business. The windmills are gradually being replaced by steam or electrically driven pumps. There are towns where local costumes are worn, but for the most part the Dutch are as up to date in their dress and ideas as any country on earth. As for the fanciful, fictional tale of the boy who held his finger in the dike all one night and saved his people from the sea, the Dutch--out of politeness to tourists—have erected a statue in his honor. But, as one official puts it, "Polite we are but quaint we ain't."

Population: 11,389,000 Basic Language: Dutch Capital City: The Hague Form of Government: Kingdom Best Known Industry: Raising flower bulbs, manufacture of textiles, clothing, shipbuilding and shoes Comparative Size: Approximately the size of the State of Maryland (13,025 sq. mi.)

#sawyer's inc.#viewmaster #view-master #holland #international packets #travel packets #b 190 #b 1901 #b 1902 #b 1903 #S5 packet #souvenir pak

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tetsunabouquet · 2 years ago

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9, 12 and 33 for your 50 followers event if that's not too much. 💙

It's not hun!

9 What's your favorite scene in KNB? Hmm, that's actually a bit of a difficult question but I feel like the scene in which Midorima has those tiny flashbacks about his team in the Shutoku vs Rakuzan game, and realizes what they have came to mean to him is very dear to me.

Not just the character development itself, but the stark contrast it paints between him and Akashi too. Akashi and Midorima have a dynamic that really interests me (and I have a few love triangle fics with these two stored). They were amongst the closest friendship pairs in the GOM, had similar enoug backgrounds and lead the Teiko team together as Captain and Vice Captain. Yet their philosophies couldn't be anymore different when it comes to teamwork, even during their Teiko days. Let's not forget, Midorima was the only one out of the GOM who never wanted to participate in things like quotas and betting and after Akashi's personality switch, he was the only GOM who never skipped out and continued training hard. Midorima always thought winning was important, but he believed in neither high pressure, or slacking. Then, after joining Shutoku and being defeated by Kuroko, he basically is the GOM to follow directly into Kuroko and Kagami's footsteps by finding his own 'shadow' in Takao. Meanwhile, Akashi would toss his teammates aside, would put them under high pressure yet allowed them to slack simultaneously. It feels like such an epic showdown of the differences between them as players and the friends they once were. Midorima was defeated, but he stood up to Akashi and made his point. Not a lot of people would have had the balls to do that.

12, Is there any historical event you'd like to witness?

As a history buff, there are plenty I'd like to witness! One high on my list would be the Revolt of the Batavi. I mentioned growing up on the Dutch countryside as a child, and it was actually the province where the revolt took place so it's a very important historical event to our region. (short summary, the Batavi were a Germanic tribe the Roman Empire had basically overtaken in their quest to conquer North Europe. The Batavi had a revolution against them, it failed but the Batavi had birthed an ideology that said, 'if all of our tribes were to stand together we could defeat the Romans'. And sure enough, this was the starting point of the downfall of the Roman Empire as the other tribes had listened to the Batavi). 33, What's the most recurring theme in your dreams? YA worthy plots surrounding other worlds. I often have dreams surrounding cities I've been, but there are entirely different buildings, streets, etc yet my dreams are consistent as if there's really an alternate universe out there were there's a huge theme park behind the central station of Berlin.

Another very frequent thing that happens in my dreams is the end of the world, where I get eaten by a monster or alien at some point. Sometimes, I even dream to the point where everything has been destroyed, I am dead and the world is beginning anew. Like Ragnarok from Norse Mythology.

Just last night, I had another weird ass dream that involved a magical world with pink trees. I suppose my sub-conscious is really invested in world building LMAO

#50 followers #questions #dreams #history #knb #akashi #midorima #my brain is obsessed with world building and alternative dimensions

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citrusreadstoa · 2 years ago

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Reading The Hidden Oracle: Chapter 29 (SPOILERS)

"I had never been so happy to see a killing field." Ummm, a killing field? Have we found the missing persons and are they now corpses? "we had found the myrmekes' dumping site" Oh ok good. UNLESS THE BONES OF THE DEAD CAMPERS ARE IN THERE. No, right? Tell me no.

"I was looking at a set of living doors." That sound like it'd make for an epic movie set. But, uh, what would opening these doors imply if they're living?

"I think this is more of an antechamber" ANTECHAMBER (n.): a small room leading to a main one

"Each stake was about the height of a crucifix" Startin' off positive, I see. "something that looked like a human head . . . They were human heads." Yep. Figures. But six of them? Who's the other demigod? New character? Oh, it's Paulie the palikos. But hey, we found 'em! Wait, are they gonna get set on fire?

Peachesssssss is here!

"Germani." ...Germans? Probably different from the ones we know. Do they count as monsters or mortals?

"Nero had always had expensive, impractical tastes." Hey, people keep saying that about me! I don't like having things in common with this neckbeard Nero.

"a bolt of white-hot power" Wait a minute, if we assume the Triumvirate have already achieved god or semi-god status, then do they have powers, too? Uh oh.

"my right hand, Vincius, and my left hand, Garius." I'm glad we got their names. That's very nice. I wonder if they mean anything. Anyway, I guess this answers who the three people in the Woods were. "their Batavi names, which I can't pronounce." Nero, you've had two millennia. Didn't you practice? I guess I shouldn't expect that basic courtesy of you. "like those street thugs you sent to attack me." Oh, so Cade and Mikey are the same kind of people. I wonder what their Romanized Batavi names and real names are.

"souls escaped from Erebos all the time." Oh, so they are mortal. And escaped souls. Nico and Hades are not gonna be happy to hear this.

"Without hesitation, Vince planted the butt of his spear against the ground." Vince, don't do it! You can find a better employer than Nero, I'm sure!

"And, of course, we are all descended from you, Lord Apollo." That's gotta sting.

"Considering she was facing the man who killed her father, she sounded remarkably calm." Oh, yeah. The Beast killed Meg's father, yet she's almost definitely working for him. That means he either has something she wants/needs or is holding something against her like maybe her stepdad's life or something else I can't think of off the top of my head.

"We have divided up the new empire... by which I mean North America." First of all: they're not thinking big enough. The last two big threats wanted to take over the world. These guys are going after barely a single continent. Second of all: they'd better not just split it by Canada/United States/Mexico. They can be more creative than that.

"'We would rather die,' I said. 'Wouldn't we, Meg?'" Okay, Apollo. You've got the conviction to oppose Nero even to the death, but don't assume Meg the twelve-year-old child is as eager to go rushing in to her death as you. "Then I realized she was crying." Exactly.

"Meg brought you here, just as I asked her to. Well done, my sweet." Yep. Knew it.

"The Beast killed my father. This is Nero. He's--he's my stepfather." Many questions. Is she disassociating Nero and the Beast because she doesn't want to think of them as the same person (especially if Nero has acted nice to her)? 'Cause it sounds like the Beast and Nero should be the same person. Also, how the heck did Nero come to be her stepfather. Did he just take her in off the streets? I really hope Meg's biological dad wasn't insane enough to marry Nero. Especially since Nero killed him. Well, maybe he manipulated her dad. Still seems unlikely that he'd do that just to get his hands on one demigod kid. He probably just killed the dad and adopted Meg and she had no choice in it -- the much easier method of obtaining an unwilling child soldier. Or child gladiator. Wait, did we ever get confirmation on that?

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