Hello! I am wanting to do some cleanup of my humble bundle items and would like to get desitny 2 legacy for steam preferably but welcome any other game offer. Thank you for checking out my post and below is the list of games I am offering.

1. 112 Operator
2. A Mortician's Tale
3. Agents of Mayhem
4. Alien Spidy
5. Amnesia: Rebirth
6. Amnesia: The Dark Descent + Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
7. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7 Ashampoo
8. Book of Demons
9. Boundless
10. Broken Age
11. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
12. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
13. Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
14. Corridor Z
15. Crying Suns
16. DUCATI - 90th Anniversary
17. DV: Rings of Saturn
18. Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC
19. Darksiders Warmastered Edition
20. Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
21. Draw Slasher
22. Drawful 2
23. Driftland: The Magic Revival
24. EarthX
25. Endless Space 2
26. Europa Universalis IV
27. Expeditions: Viking
28. Fable Anniversary
29. Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered
30. Fury Unleashed
31. GNOG
32. GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC
33. GameGuru
34. GameMaker Studio 2 Creator 12 Months YoYo Games
35. Go Home Dinosaurs
36. Going Under
37. HIVESWAP: Act 1
38. Hacknet
39. Hexologic
40. Inmost
41. Intro to Game Development with Unity Zenva
42. Iron Danger
43. Jurassic World Evolution - Deluxe Dinosaur Pack
44. Kingdom Two Crowns
45. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
46. Liberated GOG
47. Lostwinds
48. Lust for Darkness
49. Lust from Beyond: M Edition
50. MXGP - The Official Motocross Videogame
51. Magicka
52. Max Payne 3 Rockstar Social
53. Monaco
54. Moon Hunters
55. Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021
56. Music Maker EDM Edition Magix
57. Music Maker EDM Edition Magix
58. NecroWorm
59. Neverout
60. Nex Machina
61. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
62. Orbital Racer
63. Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
64. PAC-MAN™ CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2
65. PDF-Suite 1 Year License PDF-Suite
66. PGA Tour 2K21
67. Party Hard
68. Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook and Starfinder Core Rulebook Paizo
69. Pathway
70. Pawnbarian
71. Pixplode
72. Popup Dungeon
73. Post Void
74. Quantum Break
75. RESIDENT EVIL 2 - All In-game Rewards Unlock
76. RPG Maker VX
77. Radio Commander
78. Maneater
79. Endzone - A world Apart
80. Beyond The Wire
81. The Survivalists
82. Lacuna - A sci-fi noir Adventure
83. 8 Doors
84. Greak: Memories of Azur
85. Fling to the Finish
86. Tohu
87. Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville
88. Resident Evil 0 HD REMASTER
89. Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony
90. Ring of Pain
91. Roarr! Jurassic Edition
92. Rustler
93. STRIDER™
94. SUPERHOT
95. SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
96. Say No! More
97. Shing!
98. Slinger VR
99. Song of Iron
100. Soulblight
101. Speed Brawl
102. Starfinder: Pact Worlds Campaign Setting Paizo
103. Stealth 2: A Game of Clones
104. Sunset Overdrive
105. Super Hexagon
106. Supraland
107. Telefrag VR
108. The Amazing American Circus
109. The USB Stick Found in the Grass
110. The Witness
111. This is the Police
112. Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove
113. Tooth and Tail
114. Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
115. Train Valley 2
116. Treasure Hunter Simulator
117. Tropico 4
118. Vagante
119. Vikings - Wolves of Midgard
120. WARSAW
121. Wanderlust: Travel Stories GOG
122. Wandersong
123. Wargroove
124. We Are Alright
125. West of Dead
126. Wizard of Legend
127. Wizard of Legend
128. World of Goo
129. Worms Revolution
130. X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
131. Zombotron
132. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
133. Fallout 76 + Fallout 1
134. Thronebreaker: the Witcher Tales
135. Othercide
136. Shady Part of Me
137. Scourgebringer
138. Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel
139. Five Dates
140. Doom Eternal
141. Tribes of Midgard
142. Encased: a Sci-fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG
143. Olliolli World: rad edition
144. Grow: song of the Evertree
145. Connan Chop Chop
146. Hokko Life
147. The serpent Rogue
148. Wasteland 3
149. Greedfall
150. First class trouble
151. Backbone
152. TOEM
153. Where the water tastes like wine
154. Blade assault
155. Super magbot
156. Hell Let Loose
157. Eldest Souls
158. Raji: An Ancient Epic
159. Morbid: The seven acolytes
160. Spellcaster university
161. Surviving the Aftermath
162. If Found...
163. Genesis Noir
164. EMBR
165. Ghostrunner
166. Destroy All humans!
167. Killsquad
168. Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos
169. Suzerain
170. Chcken Police
171. Naruto to boruto: shinobi striker
172. The Dark Pictures Anthology
173. Red Solstice 2: Survivors
174. Nebuchadnezzar
175. Police Stories
176. Evan’s Remains
177. Per Aspera
178. Just Die Already
179. Before We Leave
180. Paradise Lost
181. Iron Harvest
182. Project Winter
183. Rustler
184. The Henry Stickmin Collection
185. Farmer’s Dynasty
186. Between The Stars
187. Midnight Protocol
188. Maneater
189. Endzone - A world Apart
190. Beyond The Wire
191. The Survivalists
192. Lacuna - A sci-fi noir Adventure
193. 8 Doors
194. Greak: Memories of Azur
195. Fling to the Finish
196. Tohu

Does anyone know of any hotels that offer suites with two bedrooms and two bathrooms in Montreal? Before you say "google it" I've been trying for hours and had not much luck. Traveling with a group of 5-6 people. Would prefer to be all in one hotel room as opposed to separate. Honestly, the number of bedrooms doesn't really matter. Mostly just want the two bathrooms so it's easier showering & getting ready in the morning. It's looking like AirBNB or vacation home rentals seem to be like our only option. Which is fine. My friends & I are just used to staying in hotels with the ammenties and we're usually able to find suites in hotels like this in other places we've traveled for not crazy expensive. I know this is a random ask and I'd figure I'd ask before giving up lol.

All of the ILs have gone abroad as of last week. SO had agreed to take care of their elderly pet because they didn't want to put him in a pet hotel and their other option took several months to say they couldn't do it. I will be honest, I feel like we have been inconvenienced by them for their own gain (and no gratitude- it was almost just expected).
But I have digressed. The real point of this was about the day we had to go collect their pet, we sat down for dinner and across the table FIL says "so you're planning to have a baby next year". I almost fell off the chair and MIL started telling him off for asking about something she had apparently been telling him. SO denied saying anything to her, despite the fact that we have started talking more seriously about ttc and talking timelines etc. SO must have mentioned something without thinking when he went and visited MIL on his own.
I had a long talk with SO about the info diet his family, particularly MIL are meant to be on and told him that sharing that is telling my business and I didn't want that.
Anyway they are out of our way until just before the major holidays (except when they video call to talk to their pet haha).

Just including the "summary/blurb" part because that's what I'm most stuck on. Thank you so much for taking the time! ___________
Twenty-three year old Matt Cantor and his wife Ellie need to make this month’s rent. Luckily, Matt is a Walker, meaning that he is able to project his soul out of his sleeping body. A nice long train-ride should be plenty of time to peer invisibly over a few very rich shoulders onto laptops and phone-screens, juicy passwords to online-banking accounts…
But things go sour when Matt’s soul is abruptly ejected out the back of the train at fifty miles-per-hour into a sunny meadow-- Walkers like him can’t cross running water, and he and Ellie missed a buried sewer-line on the map while they were planning all this out. Luckily, it’s not all a waste. Wandering around the meadow, waiting for his wife to wake him up, Matt stumbles across a mysterious man in a suit, burying an ornate treasure-chest. Not-so-luckily, when he and Ellie make their way back to the meadow to dig up the chest for themselves, they find that it is empty… despite still being locked with a heavy padlock. Before the two of them can figure out what’s going on, they’ve already attracted the attention of a gang of otherworldly death-monsters and accidentally stolen a baby. It’s only because of the terrifying candle-magic of Ellie Cantor that the now-three of them manage to survive their first encounter with the strange creatures. But despite Ellie’s sharp wit, peerless style, and bone-chilling power, she’s only going to be able to get them so far. Pryce Gilligan, Matt’s grumpy old Walking-teacher, can’t offer much either. There’s nothing for it but to just cross their fingers and push forward.
By the time there’s anything even close to a plan in the works, Matt has found himself turned bright-yellow, flung out the open window of a hundred-story building, flown on giant wings of wax through a full-mooned Beijing midnight, killed and brought back to life as an eyelash curler, and forced to run through a neon-orange hotel hallway without any pants. If he and Ellie are going to survive the rest of their topsy-turvy trip, they’re going to need to learn all over again how to trust each other… and that sometimes, no matter how clever you try to be, there’s nothing smarter than making stupid work.

Valid theories as to why Nine Mile Hole was so very special to Forrest Fenn are out there, if one cares to look carefully enough. But nobody yet to my uncertain knowledge has pointed to hints in The Thrill of the Chase or other evidence that explain why Fenn might have been so emotional about his journey to the special place that he cryptically described in the poem. Yes, it was the place he wanted to die, and that alone would be a good enough reason for emotion. Yet the sort of sentimentality that Fenn betrayed about the place – for example when he read the poem out loud – suggests something even deeper and more sorrowful: a sense of loss that is larger than the man himself.
It so happens that there truly is a source of information that reveals why Nine Mile Hole was so sacred to Forrest Fenn: an emotional connection had been forged as a result of dual tragedies. It is contained in poetry masquerading as prose written by Ernest Schwiebert, an expert on flies and flyfishing, in his seminal Nymphs: Stoneflies, Caddisflies, and Other Important Insects including the lesser mayflies, Volume II (2007).
The existence of this text and its importance to the chase was originally revealed by Vertigo, who first shared it on The Hint of Riches forum. Later, Vertigo reposted the excerpt from the Schwiebert text on Medium here along with the other results of his excellent research. All the Vertigo entries are a must read if you want to try walking in the shoes of Forrest Fenn. I won’t repeat that portion of the Schwiebert text previously shared by Vertigo in its entirety although I will include a few of the most relevant excerpts to help tie everything together.
What I want to focus on here is the emotional and motivational parts of the tragic story that Schwiebert eloquently told in the paragraphs that Vertigo did not quote. This material is critical in my opinion to understanding the importance of Nine Mile Hole and what happened there to make it the place where Fenn wanted to die.
To summarize, the fires that devastated Yellowstone in 1988 were in part the result of government mismanagement of forest fires on Federal land, much of which was due to political games (e.g. to discredit members of the other political party). These fires created havoc and destruction in the Madison watershed and its fisheries that went largely unacknowledged by environmentalists and the public at large. Only those who had fished those flywaters in the decades before the fires could truly understand the extent of the negative impact on the river and its riparian ecosystem.
Among other casualties, the brown trout hideout at the famous Nine Mile Hole was spoiled, and the spring-fed pond secreted in the woods nearby was literally wiped off the map. Its crystal clear waters – a quarter mile up a cold rivulet from the legendary hole on the Madison – had once rewarded the most tenacious Brown with the perfect spot to spawn. Now there was only brown sludge in its place. To someone who had intimately known Nine Mile Hole, its matronly crystalline pond, or any other riverine wonder of the Madison watershed in Yellowstone, it was enough to utterly break their heart.
Forrest Fenn's feelings about the ordeal were very much in the same vein as those expressed by Ernest Schwiebert. The difference was that the latter man did not need to keep a secret and therefore could lay bare his emotional injuries.
Indeed, the 1988 fires must have devastated Fenn similarly if not more so. But this grand tragedy was not quite as catastrophic to him as being diagnosed with cancer and given slim odds of surviving it. The year 1988 was not particularly kind to the man.
Fortunately, the forests and rivers of Yellowstone always seem to recover from the worst tribulations that nature could manage to throw at them, and so did Fenn. But not without a profound impact. The battle for survival and the scars left behind had connected Fenn to his special place at a level so primal and emotionally raw that it was almost umbilical. How could there ever be another consideration when it came to the somber task of choosing the place to take his last breath?
And then came the FBI raids in 2009. The Feds had had a hand in destroying his Shangri-La in Yellowstone in 1988, and now it seemed they wanted to finish robbing him of treasure while desecrating his reputation and castle in Santa Fe.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, he said to himself through sublime gritted teeth and with a resolve that only the gravely aggrieved can muster. I'm going to carry out my plan. In Yellowstone Park, damn the consequences!
The following is taken from Nymphs: Volume II, starting on page 237. Unless noted otherwise, boldface is mine for emphasis.
I note that Vertigo excluded an important portion of the first paragraph of the story so I will re-quote this paragraph in its entirety. He then faithfully reproduced the next 7 paragraphs, which I won't repeat but will highlight a few excerpts. See Vertigo's Medium post for the full text of the 7 paragraphs, or "DYODD" and buy the book.
Schwiebert's account contains several additonal paragraphs beyond the 7 quoted by Vertigo that are just as important in my opinion, plus there is a footnote that helps enormously to shed light on things. I quote these in their entirety as fair use in order to support the theory being advanced in this entry.

But the entire Yellowstone was ravaged by a series of wildfires in the drought of 1992, and one of the worst of these fires had crossed into the park from Bridger National Forest in Wyoming, just north of Grand Teton National Park.⁶ The great lodgepole forests of the Bechler and Firehole watersheds had become a tinderbox, and vast acreages of primeval timber were surrendered to the fire. Magnificent stands were transformed into fire-blackened cemeteries of snags. Entire mountainsides were utterly scorched as steep timber-filled ravines became incandescent chimneys filled with fire. Slopes of unstable volcanic soils were stripped of their trees and rendered vulnerable to the erosive impacts of winds, rains, and melting snowpacks. Frightening shrouds of talcum-fine soil and ash were carried aloft as storms worked across the Yellowstone Plateau. Gullies were quickly cut into unstable hillsides, and large alluvial fans of gritty clay and ash were formed at many places along the Madison, Gibbon, and Firehole. Such fans were visible immediately below Seven Mile Bridge on the Madison, and there was much worse damage at its famous Nine-Mile Hole, which had been the most popular pool.

Schwiebert makes an error here: the great drought and fires were actually in 1988 as he correctly states in Footnote 6; see near the end of this post.
The next 7 paragraphs are faithfully reproduced in full by Vertigo … I highlight a few key lines. Following this, I start to quote the paragraphs that are excluded from Vertigo's work.

Nine-Mile lay just below the highway, in a beautiful corridor of primeval lodgepoles and ponderosas …
It was a striking place with secrets. There was a crystalline springhead pond across the water, about a quarter mile beyond the river, and completely hidden behind a dense screen of intervening conifers.
Large brown trout were known to enter this minor lodgepole tributary in October to mate and lay their eggs …
I once caught a good fish in the little pond itself … a handsome five-pound hen that had apparently spawned and wintered, and then elected to stay.
The cold spillages of the crystalline creek entered the river in the uppermost shallows at Nine-Mile …
It was a spring-hole worth knowing. Large trout often gathered there in hot weather, basking in its cool temperatures where the ledge rock shelved off into a secret pocket. I could usually count on at least one good fish there, because most anglers simply fished the primary currents of Nine-Mile without covering the pocket below its aquatic weeds.
The fate of Nine-Mile, however, was a terrible surprise.

Compare to page 141 in TToTC with the following words bolded and in red: "Cancer is a terrible word." Boldfaced and redlined text is used within the memoir in only four places, twice in reference to cancer and twice to suggest a warning that something is scalding hot: "DO NOT TOUCH!". The reason for this editorial oddity should be obvious: red for fire, and the red boldface connects cancer to fire.

The fish-filled secret below the weeds was smothered with silt and trash, and the spring-hole itself was gone. I became curious about the fate of the forest pond, and forded the river to inspect it. Dour rivulets of slurry came spilling through the trees, and I was astonished when I reached the tarn.
Its crystalline shallows were completely filled with slurry and trash. A tiny paradise had been destroyed. The outlet was clogged with refuse and silt, and the barrage of trash had raised the water in the lake until its overflows were forced into several braided channels farther downstream. No trout could ascend such gritty rivulets to spawn, and no freshly hatched juveniles would use its spatterdock riches to reach smolting size. Nine-Mile itself had been irrevocably changed, and after dutifully suiting up, I found myself angry and unable to fish.

Compare to "There'll be no paddle up your creek, Just heavy loads and water high."
Consider why Schwiebert was "angry": the full extent of the devastation was perhaps preventable if Forest Service management had actually cared about the ecosystem within their purview instead of trying to score political points.
Schwiebert continues the story as follows, not quoted by Vertigo.

Some ecologists have argued that postfire impacts have largely proved beneficial because natural lightning-strike fires are obviously implicit in our natural forest ecosystems. The science of such truths remains clear. Lodgepole cones do not surrender their seeds without exposure to hot temperatures associated with natural fires, and the argument that ancestral fires have played a substantial role in the ecological history of such forests is sound.
Such apologists further contend that once-dangerous thickets of deadfalls and dry tinder in these lodgepole forests had healthily been purged, and argued that these Yellowstone fires had cleansed its historic forests. The new grasslands created were alleged to have improved bison and elk habitat because both are grazing species, but both bison and elk lacked major predators then and had become much too plentiful before the fires. The ecosystem did not need more bison and elk. Other apologists waxed poetic about the beneficial impacts of the fires on avifauna and their prey within the boundaries of the Yellowstone, but none mentioned their horrendous impact on the famous Yellowstone trout streams.
Some fishing writers have written pieces echoing the doubtful thesis that everything had been improved through the purging of the fires, and that the fishing had also been helped. One reported unusual numbers of larger fish in the Firehole. This was irresponsibly wishful conjecture on the part of observers who lacked a fifty-year perspective on the Yellowstone and its fisheries, and were not competent to pass such judgment. The truth is much less felicitous. Several key tributaries had become so choked with postfire sedimentation, ash, and charred debris that their fish, including large trout that had never seen anglers, had been displaced from their headwaters to find refuge in the Firehole itself.
Such fish were not a happy portent.

Compare the above paragraphs to Fenn on page 141 of TToTC where he follows up the redlined and bolded "Cancer is a terrible word" with "The disease it defines represents nature in its most repellent form."

Fires also ravaged the hillsides along the lower Gibbon. Steeper slopes had quickly eroded, forming labyrinthine networks of raw gullies and wounds leaving the narrow highway below Gibbon Falls buried under great alluvial fans of mud, gritty precipitates, and trash. Heavy equipment had cleared the right-of-way, leaving great windrows of marl in many places, and the Gibbon became choked with waist-deep strata of raw sediments and ash. The great beauty of the box canyon below the Gibbon Falls had been charred and scarified by fire, leaving a river littered with postfire trash and mud winding through cemeteries of charred lodgepoles. I did not attempt to fish, and decided to investigate the fire damage along the Firehole.
The fires had decimated its remarkable lodgepole forests in many places between the Cascades of the Firehole and the Fountain Flats above Nez Perce Creek. I turned south on the old freight road toward Ojo Caliente, and found more fire damage there, but worse burns had overwhelmed the shores of Goose Lake. Its trees had been killed in fires of such temperature and intensity that their fire-seared trunks looked like they had been coated with shiny black lacquer. Fire had smoldered in the great mattresses of dead needles that once carpeted the entire forest floor, and when I used a tire iron to root deep into the burned earth, I found that fire had festered into its thick mattresses of pine needles to depths of eight and ten inches. Goose Lake was now encircled with skeletal lodgepoles that had been killed and charred by fire, although damselflies were still emerging from its shallow margins, swimming ashore to climb the blackened deadfalls and split their nymphal skins.
The scars were much worse beyond the lake.

Compare to cancer as above and to the poem words "Tarry scant": the word tarry could also mean covered by tar in addition to its more common interpretation of delay.

I reached the river and simply sat in the car, staring at its crippled forests with tears in my eyes, remembering the circling seasons I had enjoyed in these uncommon meadows. There were decades of happy memories from this place. I had shared a number of wonderful picnics at Feather Lake with old friends like the late John Hemingway, the late John Daniel Callaghan, and Bud Lilly. I particularly remember awakening from a post-lunch nap on the lodgepole bench at Feather to find Hemingway looking upstream toward the geyser plumes at Midway.
"Know what's wrong with this place?" Hemingway said with a sigh.
"No," I confessed.
"We don't own it," he said.
The narrow trace and cul-de-sac were no longer sheltered in a theatrical corridor of lodgepoles and big ponderosas, and a place of remarkable beauty had been utterly sacrificed and lost. The Firehole still flowed under the fire-blackened bench, a glittering necklace of bright water, with great billows of steam still rising from the geyser basin upstream. I had shared this place with a long parade of people across more than fifty years, and the morning was filled with echoes. I left the car and was surprised by the silence. There were no birds, no brash camp robbers arrived to beg for table scraps, and no skittish chipmunks scuttled across the forest floor. There was nothing for buzzards to scavenge, and no voles to interest circling hawks. The pale September sky was empty. Wind stirred in the blackened snags, which groaned and creaked. The meadow had offered some remarkable sport over the years, and I had hoped to fish, but there was no thought of fishing now.
I drove slowly back along the washboard trace toward Ojo Caliente, through its fire-scarred mausoleum of trees, as a big storm was starting to gather and build along the Pitchstone Ridge. Its conifers had also been ravaged as the wildfires crossed into the Firehole watershed, leaving its summits a raw wasteland of charred earth and gritty ash. The sun had quickly surrendered to an ominous gunmetal sky, and as the storm finally broke along its battlements, immense clouds of loose soil and ash billowed high into the darkening gloom. Such spiraling squalls of silt and windmilling ash would eventually reach the little Firehole itself, and further despoil its hyaline currents. I suddenly understood how profoundly its watershed had been changed.
And it utterly broke my heart.

😪
Footnote 6 on page 735 is revealing. It reads:

There is much credible evidence that these fires had begun outside Yellowstone Park, in the Absaroka headwaters of the Yellowstone in the Shoshone National Forest, and in the Teton National Forest north of Jackson Hole. The fires were fought on national forest tracts, but firefighters were withdrawn once the fires entered the national park itself. The fires were permitted to burn inside the national park for short-term political purposes, because 1988 was an election year. Our natural-fire policy had actually emerged under Presidents Nixon and Ford, and was based on sound forest science, but its application became a regional political issue when both Nathaniel Pryor Reed and Cecil Andrus refused to extinguish a number of controversial fires on federal land. Political opponents fought the Yellowstone fires aggressively outside the national park because the blazes had apparently begun in campfires and lightning strikes on the national forests. Firefighters had been deployed while these fires were still burning on tracts of commercial saw timber, but were stopped once the fires had crossed into Yellowstone. Some of the worst damage occurred on the Firehole and Thoroughfare, and these fires were not fought until they threatened park installations at Canyon and Fishing Bridge, and the historic art sauvage hotel located at Old Faithful. Andrus was no longer Secretary of the Interior when I met him, but during an interview in his office at Boise, I sought his opinion of the Yellowstone fires. Andrus still believed that the bipartisan natural-fire policy had been supported by good science, and pointed out that more than twenty petrified forests within park boundaries suggest that Yellowstone had survived worse destruction, although that perspective is little comfort to anglers who will never again enjoy the pristine Madison and Firehole of recent memory. He agreed that Yellowstone itself was not large enough to protect its aggregate ecosystem, and further conceded that a zealotry that had continued to advocate natural-fire policy in the worst drought summer in recorded history had perhaps been unwise. But he shook his head over the political tactics of appointees in the Forest Service, who had protected tracts of commercial saw timber while later permitting the Yellowstone itself to burn, and had further attempted to discredit the Carter Administration during the election of 1980.

From TToTC page 26: "One day my father gave me a spanking at school for running across some stupid desks, then that night he gave me a spanking at home because I got a spanking at school. The more I thought about that the more I felt put upon. When I explained to him that I'd been double jeopardized he told me that those things didn't count in a dictatorship. That's when I started to mistrust governments."
From TToTC page 147: "Now I feel that my father is sitting on the edge of a cloud somewhere watching. If he knows everything about me he's pretty busy lighting candles, some of them on both ends. But I hope he knows that I've been sometimes guilty only by innuendo, and that's why I wrote my epitaph with such profundity: I wish I could have lived to do, the things I was attributed to."
In 2009, the FBI raided Fenn and several other art dealers – and alleged looters – of Native American artifacts in the Southwest. The raid resulted in the confiscation of just four items from Fenn (none of which could be proven as having been obtained by him illicitly).
https://www.sfreporter.com/news/coverstories/2009/08/19/stealing-the-past/
This was more than just a nuisance … Fenn's reputation had been impugned and two other dealers who were arrested after the raids committed suicide. These guys were likely people he knew or may have even been his friends. A third man arrested in the case also committed suicide; he was a government informant who essentially helped the federal agents entrap the Four Corners dealers.
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/dealer-blame-fbi-for-seller-suicides-in-four-corners-looting-case/article_f8613507-1b71-513a-ba21-43a6b0622c0b.html
Fenn was supposedly very angry and threatened Tony Dokoupil with legal action when the reporter spoke with old "pothunting" acquaintances and revealed some unsavory information about Fenn's artifact-collecting past, for example: "... Fenn wasn't just taking a treasure or two but returning to caves and stripping them clean …" In the end, the publicity of appearing in Newsweek magazine at such an early stage in the treasure hunt must have overridden Fenn's desire to keep some of those things that he "was attributed to" under wraps.
https://www.newsweek.com/forrest-fenn-wants-you-find-his-treasure-and-his-bones-64427
The FBI raids – based on purchases of artifacts by a government informant using government money to entice dealers to specifically sell him contraband, and which were conducted by multi-agency SWAT teams – were highly controversial for many locals. No doubt Fenn was pissed off at the Feds more than ever at that point. Despite the epitaph he wrote for himself, he certainly did not want to be remembered as "the old guy in Santa Fe raided by the FBI".
Less than a year later, he published his memoir with its treasure hunt poem. Little chance the timing was just a coincidence.
Finally, does anybody find it intriguing that Fenn rarely if ever talked about the 1988 fire in Yellowstone? It happened the same year he got cancer (or did it?), and he talked plenty about that personal ordeal. The fire and its aftereffects utterly destroyed some of his most cherished places where he had fished for trout and melded with nature since he was a young boy, including his (probably) favorite fishing hole at TOP SECRET "Nine-Mile" and not to mention the magical wood on the far bank of the river with its secluded crystal pond to which he would have gone alone and sat under pine trees, napping, daydreaming, watching wildlife, marveling at the mountain and river vistas, and writing poems or love notes to his wife. Yet not a peep from him about the conflagration that ravaged all of that? Curious.

As this game will likely be in french, I'll continue now then in french, the translation will be below. Sorry if there are any errors, I'm not a really good english writter
Salut, je suis Ash, ça fait 3 ans que je suis DM. Je suis à la recherche de quelques joueurs pour ma future campagne. J'aimerai lancer cette campagne avec au moins 4 joueurs. J'adopte quelques règles maison que j'appliquerai une fois de plus dans cette campagne. Le but étant d'améliorer la qualité de vie de la campagne, facilité la mise en place de stratégie ou augmenter l'immersion. Je suis ouvert sur beaucoup de suggestions cependant j'aurai toujours le dernier mot sur ce genre d'ajout, s'il ne font pas l'unanimité la discussion sera ouverte à la FIN des séances.
La session débutera dans les premiers niveaux. Probablement niv.1 (qui passera très vite après la fin de l'introduction). J'ai tendance à faire du Dungeon Crawling régulièrement, ainsi attendez vous a en faire même si ce ne sera pas le centre de la campagne. (J'en ai deux de prévu pour le premier Arc) Le but ne sera pas de traverser l'histoire le plus facilement/rapidement possible mais de vivre une aventure tous ensemble. Ainsi j'attends que les interaction entre les joueurs soit bonne (même si elle ne doit pas toujours l'être entre les personnages).
La magie est très faible dans la région où vous évolué, ainsi la plupart des paysans n'ont jamais vu de paladin et encore moins des mages. Attendez vous a être idolâtré ou crain selon vos actions. L'ambiance de la campagne est déjà définie, mais je suis ouvert sur les détails de votre historique, alors si certaines institutions cohérente avec l'univers doivent changer leur fonctionnement ou apparaître, ça peut être discuté.
Voici une courte introduction à la campagne si vous êtes intéressé.

Vous incarnez un groupe d'aventurier dans un région paisible. Vous n'êtes pas vous même de grands héros ou des tyrans. Bien que ce ne soit pas l'ambition qui vous manque.
Au cours des derniers siècles les inquisitions on eu raison de nombreuses atrocités occupant les territoires voisin, ainsi lorsqu'en pleine nuit vous avez été alerté par des appels à l'aide entrecoupés de hurlements monstrueux, vous avez tout de suite compris que quelque chose ne tournait pas rond. Encore fallait il trouver la raison de cette attaque et les conséquences que celle-ci allait soulever dans la région.

TLPL : Si vous souhaitez passer un bon moment dans un univers Medieval Fantasy n'hésitez pas à me contacter dessous ou en privé ! 🙂
La campagne aura lieu sur foundry et tout les joueurs seront en vocal sur discord Pour finir, je vous invite à me contacter si vous souhaitez me poser des questions. Ce sera un plaisir de vous répondre.
--------------- Now the translation :
Hi, I'm Ash, I've been DMing for 3 years now. I'm looking for player to enjoy my next campaign. I would like to launch it with at least 4 players. I've been using some house rules when DMing I'll still apply to this one. The main objective is to improving quality of life, establishing a strategy or increase immersion. I'm open to change, but I'll still have the last word on rules. If you don't agree with one of them I'll be happy to discuss about it at the END of the session.
The first session will most likely start in the first levels. I often tend to do Dungeon Crawling, but don't expect to be the center point of this campaign. (I've only 2 dungeon for the first part of the story). I don't expect you do rush through the story. The goal is to enjoy a great time together. Thus i'm hopping for good interraction between you and other player. (They can be less good between characters).
Magic tend to be low in the playing area, so most commoners didn't saw any in their whole life. Expect to be loved or feared for your usage of it. The setting is already establish, but i'm open to change some details for include your characters idea in the story when it doesn't change the whole world.
Now a short introduction to the campaign if you're interessed

You play as a group of adventurers in a peaceful region. You yourself are not great heroes or tyrants. Although it is not ambition that you lack.

Over the past few centuries, the inquisitions have overcome many atrocities in neighboring territories, so when in the middle of the night you were alerted by cries for help interspersed with monstrous screams, you immediately understood that something was wrong. was not spinning.
It was still necessary to find the reason for this attack and the consequences that it would raise in the region.
TLDR : If you want to have a good time in a Medieval Fantasy universe, do not hesitate to contact me below or in private! 🙂
The campaign will take place on foundry and all players will be vocal on discord
Finally, If you wish to ask me questions. It will be a pleasure to answer you.

The AITA mods won’t allow me to post the update there.
First I want to say I officially stole bro's best friend, she's mine now, I refuse to be a third wheel again.
Anyways, a few thing's happen and I thought I would share it with you.
That saturday after coming home from my bro's place I couldn't stop thinking about my parents, K was with her siblings, and I was just pacing around the house for a bit rethinking all my life until K returned, Bro called her, but I was raging and couldn't talk to her, so I went out and ended up walking to my parents house(like 25 minutes walking), K following me.
I got there, my sister was there(but not her ILs or husband), I couldn't hold it, I exploded on them, an argument ensued, I basically called them horrible parents and sister, homophobes, ableist, mom and sis arguing back, dad always just watching.
I then spoke directly to my dad and told him how weak he was for having my mother always fight his battles, or speaking for the both of them, and that all the bs he used to tell my when I was a kid about friends and how to navigate the world and that he understood me was all just that, bs.
Then I went directly to my sister and told her how much hurt she has caused me for siding with her in laws over her own sister, how she ruined our relationship for those people.
Then my mom, I told her that I know she loves controlling people but I wasn't going to allow her to do so with me anymore.
I proceed to uninvited them, my dad stands up and says "you can't do that, please don't do that", mom tells him to not worry I won't do it, bro shows up, him and K calm me down, I remember a comment and I told them if they want to see my wedding I'll send them a zoom link, then we left. I shutdown for a few days.
When I came out of it K suggests we postponed the wedding, I refused, I felt better the following days.
Then on friday, the night before the wedding, K and I return from having dinner at her favorite place, and my dad's in our door, he said I was right, apologized for everything, said he will be leaving mom, I said nothing, he then hands me a book, our wedding gift and asked if he could get a zoom link, then left.
I couldn't sleep, so I went and open the book, a cooking book he made, with my and K's favorite recipes, baby food for the future, tips on how to select the best ingredients, I cried, K found me and we cried.
I ended up sending him a link, he was wearing a suit with a tie with food items in it that I got him years ago. I haven't talk to him since, I'm still processing.
And bro walked me down the aisle.

As far as he could remember, Traka had always wanted to make a difference; ever since learning about the threat of the Arxur and the brave Gojids who faced them at their borders, he had always wanted to join the Fleet, to protect the innocents and to leave a lasting change in the Galaxy.
While he ended up in a menial role and grew increasingly cinical regarding the supposed innocence of the Federation's people, deep down he still wanted to be that change, which is how he ended up going blind into a personal investigation that turned out much greater than what he believed at first.
Which was why he had finally come to a decision.
He had already told the Extermination Officer meant to supervise him that he was calling off the supposed investigation into a smuggling ring due to lack of clues and that he would need to go back to his own superiors as soon as possible to report on the lackluster results.
What he was actually planning was to reach Venlil Prime to personally tell Governor Tarva about what he uncovered; he knew that even if she took his word on it seriously he would still face serious repercussions for abusing his position to illegally conduct an investigation, but as long as an official inquiry was started over the action of the local branch of the Exterminator Corps then their awful plans for the colony dissidents could be stopped.
He had managed to convince his supervisor that his report was time sensitive enough that he couldn't wait for the next public shuttle to leave Luyten, so they were preparing a private one that would be ready to depart within a couple of days; meanwhile he was busy packing his meagre belongings and questioning his own sanity in between, knowing that even in the best case scenario he would get kicked out of the Defense Fleet at minimum.
Turning around to retrieve his datapad he was annoyed at finding once again a dusting of chipped paint over the bed covers, if there was something he wasn't doubtful about it was the fact that he couldn't wait to leave his current dwelling; he knew he had chosen a rather cheap hotel, but with how often he found flecks of the worn-out ceiling all over the blanket he had to wonder how it had not crumbled down yet.
He had just finished packing neatly his travelling bag when a chime from the door told him he had a visitor.
Despite wondering who could possibly pay him a visit he still went to open the door, only to find himself face to face with an Extermination Officer in full gear.
"Yes?" he asked, wishing for once that their suits would allow for a greater degree of individuality, to at least better recognize whoever was in front of him.
"Something came up regarding your investigation, I was asked to escort you to the main offices so that you could be made aware of the details" the Officer told him before adjusting his helmet.
Aside from the surprise of hearing someone who wasn't an head officer speaking directly to him, Traka was left confused about what he just heard; did they actually found a smuggling ring afterall and believed it to be the same one he was supposedly investigating?
He was tempted to refuse, he wasn't under any obligation to go along with their request after he had already called off the investigation, but it would probably look suspicious to show no interest over news regarding his made-up justification for his presence on the colony.
"Alright then, let's move along" he answered before locking the hotel room behind himself.
Soon they were both back in the streets and walking away from the center, toward the periphery of the town, where the administrative buildings for the Exterminators were; meanwhile he was busy coming up with a way to not get tangled with whatever they found if it indeed turned out to be about smuggling, perhaps by claiming that it was a different group of smugglers altogether? No, if anything that sounded even more suspicious.
He was so taken with coming up with a valid excuse that it took him a while to realize that they should have already reached the main offices and looking around he was confused when he didn't recognise any building.
"Hey, where are we going? I thought we were making for the main offices?" he asked nervously.
"We are, but the main road is currently under maintenance, so we have to take a longer route" the Exterminator answered, before stopping his helmet from slipping lower "Don't worry, it shouldn't take more than a few more minutes."
Despite the reassurance Traka was getting more and more nervous the more they walked, none of the deserted streets they crossed triggered even a twinge of familiarity, the streetlights getting sparser the further they walked.
His newfound paranoia was already feeding him all sort of awful scenarios and to his own chagrin he couldn't really disprove any of them; had they finally realized he had lied about his investigation? No, if that was the case they would have had the official support necessary to just barge into his room, no need to trick him into going somewhere isolated first.
For the first time since coming to Luyten he started regretting having to leave his handgun at the Exterminators Headquarters, knowing he could defend himself if necessary would have been a balm to his frayed nerves.
It didn't help that the Exterminator escorting him Protector-knows-where was constantly fidgeting, always resettling the strap of his rifle, always fixing parts of his suits as if it was ill-fitting, as if he was unfamiliar with it, as if-
As if it wasn't his own.
He managed to keep walking, but the raising of his spines was a dead giveaway to his true feelings.
"Say" he started, struggling to keep a casual tone "I don't think you have been assigned to me before, whatever happened to the guy before you? I thought his turn ended next morning."
For a few seconds the Venlil in front of him remained quiet, before giving a dismissive flick of the tail.
"There was a predator sighting in the suburbs, they called in all the more experienced officers, so I ended up stuck with you."
"I see" Traka went along "Nothing too serious I hope?"
"No, it's still unidentified but there has been no casualty" the Venlil explained.
"So a good old 49-6?" he prodded.
"Yeah, like I said nothing special" his escort confirmed after a brief hesitation.
Traka stopped walking and it took a few seconds before the Venlil realized it, turning around to fully stare at him.
"Is anything wrong?" he asked with an hint of something Traka couldn't place in his voice.
"Oh nothing" he answered, trying to ignore his suddenly dry throat "I just didn't know Exterminators answered to calls for drunk and disorderly."
The way the supposed Exterminator suddenly tensed to his words were a greater confirmation than his mistake was; the blankness of his helmet visor made impossible gauging the full extent of his reaction and Traka suddenly was hyper-aware of the gun still in the Venlil paws.
"Mister Traka" he begun cautiously, raising an open palm toward him, trying to not appear hostile "I can assure you we mean you no harm."
"We're not going to the Exterminator HQ, are we?" he asked sarcastically, completely ignoring his words.
"Mister Traka, despite the clandestine nature of this operation, we're not your enemies" the Venlil insisted, lowering the rifle until it pointed to the ground "If you'd follow-"
That's when Traka took the opportunity to charge him shoulder first, forcing the Venlil to throw himself to the side lest he was impaled by his spines; he quickly turned his charge into a run and tried to get out of sight before the impersonator could recover.
He could still hear him shout something, but he didn't stop to listen more closely, more preoccupied with losing the Venlil within the maze of abandoned streets.
He had just stumbled into an empty parking lot when he was blinded by a car lights being turned on from within an alley; the sound of something zipping through the air was enough to shake him from his surprise and focus instead on the fuzzy outline of someone standing from the bed of a pickup truck and aiming something in his direction.
He stumbled trying to turn in another direction, before the sound of an engine coming to life reached him, pushing him to pump his legs even faster.
He threw himself into another alley just in time for something to plink against the wall right next to him, the nature of whatever they were shooting at him still a mystery that he wasn't in a hurry to solve.
Even as he reached the other end already panting, he could hear the truck going in reverse trying to turn into the same alley, something that confirmed his hunters weren't about to give up that easily.
He looked around for some side passage too narrow for the vehicle to follow when he caught sight of a blur rushing at him; he instinctively swiped at it, stopping its charge and revealing it to be another Venlil, this one holding some kind of staff with semi-circular prongs as its head.
Taking advantage of his surprise Traka grabbed at the tool and pulled sideways, dragging the unprepared Venlil along with it and leaving the way ahead open.
He struggled to start running again, when he felt something prickling his shoulder before the truck drove out from the alley; already panicking he decided vandalism was second to his safety and he shouldered the door of a nearby building, the hinges proving frail enough to give out under the impact, letting him stumble inside.
He rushed through what looked like the inside of a supermarket, zig-zagging between aisles before finally collapsing against the cashier's desk, desperate to regain some breath; he reached for his shoulder and felt around until his claws found something, pulling it out to reveal a sewing needle with a small paper cone glued to its eye.
He was still puzzling out why they would be shooting at him with something so harmless when he heard steps following in his wake, making Traka groan in exasperation and forcing him to stand up again on shaky legs.
This time it took him three tries before the front door finally fell out of its hinges, and then he was off running again, this time hobbling in exhaustion while his pursuers were slowly gaining on him.
He had barely crossed the street when his legs fell out from under him and he crumpled to the ground; he found that any attempt to get up again was too much effort for his body, no matter how much he urged it otherwise, a sparse group of Venlil slowly encircling him as he struggled.
Despite the situation, his panic was taking second seat to confusion, he knew he wasn't used to physical effort, but he still felt more tired than he should have.
One of the Venlil suddenly took all of his sight and Traka found himself staring upward at the hazy silhouette as they lowered one of their arm toward his neck, some kind of tool shining in their paw.
He felt another prick and suddenly everything went black.
​
First-Previous-Last

Qu'elle est cette publication?

Avec l'accord de mes comparses modérateurs (bénévoles et d'ordinaire détendus), je vous partage, traduite en français, la publication que plusieurs subreddits publient pour manifester contre la nouvelle politique de Reddit. Nous nous joignons à son propos. Le but de cette publication est de lancer la discussion ici, pour avoir l'avis de tous sur les actions que nous devrions entreprendre. Commencer par lire ce qui suit et nous détaillerons après la traduction de la publication originale.

Que se passe-t-il?

Reddit a récemment changer sa politique, ce qui mènera à leur mort toutes les applications tierces permettant d'y accéder ; applications qui pour la majorité amènent des fonctionnalités non présentes sur l'application officielle de Reddit.
Le 31 Mai 2023, Reddit a annoncé l'augmentation du prix d'accès de l'API (jusqu'ici gratuite) à $20M/an, ce qui est impossible à payer pour, par exemple, Apollo, Reddit is Fun ainsi que Narwhal et BaconReader...
Même si vous n'êtes pas un utilisateur mobile, ce n'est que la première étape dans le plan de Reddit de détruire toute customisation, comme par exemple Reddit Enhancement Suite ou l'utilisation de old.reddit.com sur ordinateur !
Ce n'est pas un problème que pour les utilisateurs : beaucoup de modérateurs et modératrices de subreddits utilisent des outils qui sont accessibles qu'en dehors de l'application officielle pour garder leurs communautés dans le bon chemin et pour empêcher le spam. Cela inclut les bots de modération et de nombreux filtres existants contre l'astroturfing et la désinformation.

Quel est le plan

Le 12 Juin, de nombreux subreddits (y compris les principaux subs francophones, comme france et /poitoudebout) vont passer en mode privé en signe de protestation. Certains vont revenir en clair après 48 heures: d'autres seront fermés indéfiniment (sauf changement de cap de Reddit), étant donné que beaucoup de modérateurs ne pourront plus modérer avec les mauvais outils que propose l'application officielle. Ce n'est pas une décision que nous prenons à la légère : nous le faisons car nous adorons Reddit, et pensons que ce changement va nous empêcher de continuer ce que nous aimons faire sur cette plateforme.
Cette fermeture totale de 2 jours n'est pas un but, et ne sera pas la fin. Si le 14 juin Reddit n'est pas revenue sur sa décision, les communautés de Reddit utiliseront la mobilisation occasionnée par l'événement et le bruit que ça fera dans les médias pour entreprendre d'autres actions plus radicales.

Que pouvez-vous faire?

1. Plaignez-vous Envoyez des messages aux modérateurs de Reddit /reddit.com, qui sont les administrateurs du site: message reddit: soumettez une requête support request: commentez dans des fils sur le sujet /reddit, par exemple celui-ci, laissez une critique négative sur l'app store d'Apple ou de Google à l'application officielle - et laissez votre pseudonyme dans la critique.
   
2. Parlez-en. Criez le sur tous les toits, et pas que sur Reddit. Faites en des memes, faites les moites. Plaignez-vous de ça à votre chat. Suggérez aux modérateurs que vous connaissez de nous joindre sur ce sub: /ModCoord.
   
3. Boycottez et parlez en... sur les alternatives de Reddit! Ne soyez pas sur Reddit du 12 au 14 juin - à la place, allez sur votre alternative préféré et faites du bruit là-dessus!
   
4. Ne soyez-pas insultant. Aussi frustrante que soit la situation, les menaces, les insultes et le vandalisme empireraient la situation et rendraient inutiles nos actions en diminuant le soutien éventuiel des personnes moins engagées. Faites votre possible pour rester polis, raisonnable et de ne pas enfreindre la loi (en sommes restez DETENDU-E-S).
   

Donc, nous, membres de FranceDetendue, que faisons-nous?

Premièrement, merci d'avoir pris la peine de tout lire. Deuxièmement, je vais détailler ce que nous pouvons faire ensemble :

1. Participer à la mise en privée du 12, mais revenir deux jours plus tard. Cette décision ferait en sorte que nous supportons le mouvement, sans pour autant perdre notre communauté. Cependant, elle pourrait être moins impactante.
   
2. Participer à la mise en privée, mais de durée indéterminé. Une décision plus impactante, mais qui pourrait être définitive si Reddit ne revient jamais en arrière. Ce serait dommage de perdre ce que nous avons bâti ensemble, mais la décision revient à vous.
   
3. Tout simplement rien faire. Ce n'est pas la direction que nous souhaitons prendre avec les autres modos.
   

Si nous décidons de mettre en privé, de façon temporaire ou définitive, nous avons une alternative à vous proposez : Lemmy. Lemmy marche comme Reddit, en sous-communautés, mais étalées sur plusieurs sites qui peuvent interagir ensemble, ce qu'on appelle le Fediverse. Peut-être que certains d'entre vous connaissent Mastodon, l'alternative de Twitter. Mastodont fait aussi parti du Fediverse. L'avantage du Fediverse est qu'il est impossible de se faire de l'argent avec ça, les instances ne marchent par donation, et si une instance est abusive, il suffit de migrer à une autre en deux clics.
Si vous êtes intéressé-e-s, je vous propose de créer une instance Francedétendue sur Lemmy.

Un message plus personnel maintenant :

Je sais que ce subreddit est destiné à oublier les dramas de la vie quotidienne, à soufler un peu et éviter les polémiques... Si nous décidons de nous mobiliser, c'est pour pouvoir garantir la survie de cet espace. Sans outil de modération adéquat, nous ne pourrons plus bannir à tour de bras qui bon nous semble vous protéger de la désinformation, des pubs cachées, des injures et des spams.
Dans cette partie, je m'exprime en mon nom propre, pas seulement au nom de la modération :
Cette mesure est un bras d'honneur tant aux utilisateurs de cette plateforme qu'aux nombreuses et nombreux modérateurs qui travaillent bénévolement, garantissant la la future valorisation boursière de Reddit.
Quand cette mesure entrera en application au 1er juillet, je quitterai la plateforme sans regret : cela signifiera que ce site aura tout à fait rompu avec l'esprit de liberté qui m'avait fait rejoindre ses communautés. Ça fait une dizaine d'années que j'écume les subs, mais je n'ai aucunement envie d'assister plus encore à la destruction du Reddit que j'ai aimé et qui me semblait l'un des derniers bastions du web résistant tant bien que mal au verrouillage corporatiste d'Internet.
Et puis on va pas se mentir, l'appli officielle pue du cul.
Sur ce, bisou et bonne soirée !

Looking for Around the Horn?
Hey Sportsfans — it's time for Week 10 of baseball Power Rankings: Happy first Monday of June, everyone! Hopefully you've paid your rent, paid your bills, and sent us our monthly check to keep your favorite team higher than they deserve. Have a fabulous Monday!
Every voter has their own style / system and the only voting instructions are these:

"To an extent determined individually, you must take into account how strong a team is right now and likely to be going forward. You must, to some degree, give weight to the events and games of the previous week."

TRANSPARENCY: This link will show you who voted each team where and has added neat statistics!
New Voter Chance: Are you a fan of the Dodgers? We received tepid response last week and are still looking for a new Dodgers voter. I'll be reaching out to Dodgers shortly to help with the search. -- apologies for the delay. Check out this link to see how to apply!
If something is a little messed up, feel free to pester me let me know.
Total Votes: 29 of 29. Technically a perfect vote?

#		Team	Δ	Comment	Record
1		Rays	0	Why replace writers with AI when the Rays bullpen has proven to be the most cost efficient way to generate drama in 2023? The team doing so well makes it hard to complain, but Jason Adam also makes it so easy, yanno? Happy pride month y'all! In other positive news, Glasnow has looked good if not otherworldly in his return, he'll look to continue finding his groove. Yandy Diaz also hit a quintessential little league homerun, which should make everyone everywhere happy!	42-19
2		Rangers	0	hahahahaha offense go brrrrrrrt. Big week this week with a series against the struggling Cardinals and then the big weekend matchup against the Rays. Ending another month on top of the division and we are having fun!	38-20
3		Braves	0	Horrid start to the week by losing a series to the Oakland "Triple A's" (don't @ me...I heard their own annoucers call them that), but we salvaged the week in AZ thanks to Eddie Rosario playing OUT OF HIS MIND and capping off our weekend with a go ahead Slam in the top of the ninth on Sunday. We are banged up on the hump, but are pushing through. If this is a rough patch, I am happy. First up this week is the Mets. A very important series to get it all back on track.	35-24
4		Astros	+2	Crucial series win against the Angels to finish off the weekend. Saturday's game was a lot of fun, aside from the top of the 7th inning - but we don't talk about that. Let's talk instead about how Alex Bregman's grand slam, 4-walk day can be 100% attributed to his wife throwing out the first pitch (it was Girls Night Out) and Bregs subsequently skipping the photo op with her to finish his warm-up.	35-24
5		Dodgers	-1		35-25
6		Orioles	-1	Alternating wins and loses all week this past week. Losing two out of the last three series is not great. I then thought about it and obviously the Orioles can't win every game and can't win every series, so thinking they can, means I have more confidence in this team than I have in a very long time. Aaron Hicks has been a pleasant surprise filling in for Cedric, batting .455 with an OPS of 1.208. Even though the fans were severely against getting him, he seems to have been the right move so far. The next six games are against Milwaukee and KC, hopefully we go at least 4-2.	37-22
7		Yankees	0	Another strong road trip, another handful of injury questions. Is Nestor really hurt, or is this a “get right” phantom stint? Will Judge need IL time? Wtf’s Bader’s situation? In better news Stanton, Kahnle, and Donaldson are back, and Rodon is set to face live batters. It would be really fucking cool if we could get off the IL merry-go-round though.	36-25
8		Blue Jays	+1	Very nice bouceback week(ish) after our AL East foes took us to Pound Town, with series wins over Minnesota and Milwauke (Algonquin for "the good land") before sweeping the Nye Mets. Bassitt continued to build on his '23 legend by nearly throwing another CGSO while his wife was going into labor in another country. Vladdy lasered his first HR not off a shitting-his-pants position player since May 4th, and still hasn't hit one at home, which is WILD. Belt overcame DFA screams from dipshits after an abysmal April (.519 OPS) with a hero-ball May (.940 OPS). Big tests coming up, tho, with HOU, BAL, MIN, and TEX next on the docket. Someone throw an irradiated spider at Manoah or something.	33-27
9		D-Backs	-1	The Diamondbacks had a decent week, sweeping the Rockies in four games and coming within one out of taking two of three from the Braves. Alas, the Diamondbacks' bullpen is still the Diamondbacks' bullpen. Additionally, Geraldo Perdomo's abysmal peripherals are catching up with his early-season performance, and third base remains a question mark, as Josh Rojas still doesn't have a single home run on the season.	35-25
10		Twins	0	A 4-3 week, including another series win against the reigning WS Champions! The lineup still isn't consistent though and we're being carried by our good pitching. There's time to fix those issues as the summer goes on, especially in the AL Central where we don't have a lot of competition.	31-29
11		Brewers	+2	In the words of noted Brewers fan Tom, "i don't understand how each day the lineup can look worse than the day before, like each day feels like rock bottom then it gets even worse somehow" That's pretty much Brewers fandom opinion of the Spring Training esque lineups Milwaukee is trotting out day after day. Somehow the team was 4-2 in the last week though. (Thanks Reds). Also, Reddit effectively kiling third party app support is terrible, and might actually be the thing that gets me to leave this Californian Hotel.	32-27
12		Red Sox	0	You know, I liked baseball more when we weren't .500. Losing Chris Sale to the injured list right as we get Whitlock and Paxton back is cruel but predictable. Our rotation has a lot of talent, but lacks the stamina to actually go deep into games. Houck, Whitlock, Pivetta and Kutter are all decent to really good 1st/2nd time through. Pair them up and have them each throw ~3-4 innings and you've basically Frankenstiened two 110 ERA+ starters! CHaim hire me please :)	30-29
13		Pirates	+4	The Pirates had a miserable May. The pitching went from excellent to merely good while the offense was put on life support. The Bucs, who were 20-9 at the end of April, had dropped under the .500 mark on Memorial Day. Since then, the Bucs have won 5 straight — 2 against the Giants to pick up the Pirates' first (and only) series win in May, and then a sweep of the Cardinals for the first time since 2018. Yeah, the Pirates are only 31-27, but that puts them just a game out of first in the NL Central. Not bad considering where this team stood a week ago.	31-27
14		Angels	0	When he has been on the field and not getting into it with fans or wasting away on the injured list, Anthony Rendon has been a quietly solid presence in this Angels lineup. Slated to return back to the lineup within the next couple days, the team could use a boost in the middle part of the order, especially with runners on.	31-30
15		Mariners	-4	A Mariner is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the Mariner is old, and the term Mariner has its etymological roots in a time when sailing ships were the main mode of transport at sea, but it now refers to the personnel of all watercraft regardless of the mode of transport, and encompasses people who operate ships professionally, be it for a military navy or civilian merchant navy, as a sport or recreationally. Up next: 2 @ Vedder Cup bros, 3 @ Troutanis	29-30
16		Mets	-1	Since my last update, we swept the Phillies and we got swept by the Blue Jays. This is a weird Mets team who I think may just be pretty mediocre, though I suspect they'll stick sneak into the playoffs. Our record is back at .500 and we have the Braves in Atlanta next, which is not the kind of shit you want to see. Omar Narvaez will likely return from the IL this week, creating an interesting roster crunch which shouldn't be interesting at all, since current backup catcher Tomas Nido has an OPS of .278.	30-30
17		Marlins	+1	Sweepy has been busy so far this year. The fish complete their 4th sweep of the season on the visiting A's, reports are sketchy but apparently he was last spotted saying "Mets are over rated". We'll get further clarification on what he meant by that next time he resurfaces. Sandy is going through it right now, if im being honest i think hes working through some mechanical issues cuz hes still lowkey struggling with location. His last outing was fairly good save one inning where he allowed a bunch of runs but he is slowly improving. Very slowly. The his week the marlins are gonna host the royals, followed with a trip to south side chicago.	32-28
18		Giants	-2	The Giants went 2–4 with two 1-run losses. Normally losing a series to both the Orioles and Pirates would be problematic, but in the New Age, both teams are good and the Giants played hard 80% of the time. They are 5–7 in 1-Run Games, and 1-2 in extras, and with a +1 Run Diff (18th in MLB, -5 spots) they are slightly underperforming expected W/L Record. The Giants will be without Joc, Yaz, Conforto, Estrada, and Bart until tomorrow (expected), and Alex Wood is the latest casualty – gone for 12ish days. The rotation, led by Cobb, Webb, and Disco, will rely even more on the bullpen which usually means Jacob Junis (yay!) and Manaea (: / ). Cleaning up their act some, the bullpen ERA is now 20th in MLB (+3) and the whole staff at 15th in RA/G (=). The inconsistent offense, hampered by injuries and some mini-slumps, sits at 14th in RS/G (-2). Giants fans must hope a return to health will boost the bats, the younglings liven back up, and the bullpen holds the line @ Coors Field ( : / ) and vs the question-mark-of-a-team Chicago Cubs.	29-30
19		Padres	+1	It was the first game at Petco for my Niece and her Father. He'd long written off the Padres, as a team of nobodies that would never try to win at a sport that ultimatley rigged for markets that weren't in San Diego County. As a sign of goodwill from my Sis, his ex-wife, they had amazing seats, down by the first base side, that were each in the triple digits. Over the last few years he'd gotten into the sport for the first time since '98, and for my Niece, it was the first time following any pro sport in her life. They sat down at their beautiful seats, had a couple of 'dogs, and by the third inning, San Diego was behind 7-0. Sigh. The Padres average 39k at Petco, ranking 5th in the majors in attendance. They have a 13-17 record in those games.	27-32
20		Guardians	+3	I was on vacation this week, so I haven't been as aware of baseball as I should be. I did go to two games at Camden and two at Nationals Park while on my trip. The Guardians won a series against the Orioles and split one with the Twins, so now I'm being optimistic and will probably embarrass myself again. Also, I hope the Reds ranker is doing okay.	27-32
21		Phillies	-2	What a miserable week it was to be a Phillies fan. They salvaged a 2-4 record by winning the weekend games against the Nationals, but were dreadful all week in games that were just close enough to keep your hopes up. The Phillies are currently 4.5 games out of the 3rd wild card spot with 3 other teams ahead of them. Trea Turner, who you'd think would have one of the highest floors in the league, is hitting .232 with a dreadful .276 OBP. Alec Bohm hit the IL, which means the infield regularly includes one or two of Josh Harrison, Kody Clemens (who's actually been quite hot the past few weeks), and AAAA quality Drew Ellis (who went 3/3 with 2 walks and 2 home runs on Sunday). The bats and pitching have completely died, but that's thankfully set the stage for Nick Castellanos to do what he does best. This week: a homestand with 3 against the Tigers and 3 against the Dodgers.	27-32
22		Cubs	+2	This week was a much needed bounce back for the Cubs, as they took 2 out of 3 from both the Rays and Padres. Unfortunately, the week was marred by yet more struggles in the clutch and with RISP as well as Justin Steele's injury. Steele is out for at least 2 starts with forearm soreness, and will be dearly missed as he has kept the Cubs in game after game. The Cubs continue their West Coast road trip this week with sereis against the Angels and Giants following today's game in SD.	26-32
23		Cardinals	-2	The Cardinals should be playing better, they aren't. They've been bad all season. Short of collective epiphany that sees them 30 up in their next 40 (lol, doubt it) there's no useful information I can put in this box past "Fire John Mozeliak."	25-35
24		Reds	+1	It finally happened boys. After just a month of being separated, she gave me official divorce papers. I think she’s made it abundantly clear she has no interest in fixing things, and you know what? I get it. It’s alright. She told me straight up that she didn’t feel anything between us anymore, and no amount of therapy or counseling is gonna fix that, whatever was there is gone. She’s felt like that for a while, I just refused to see it, I was in denial. But i’m not anymore. I’m free, I am once more ready to set sail on the ocean of loneliness until I find land. I hope I can find land. I gotta find land. How we’ll divide time between our son is yet to be determined, but I know we’ll find a good compromise. I’m just…happy that the air is clear. No more pretending to enjoy each other's presence, no more fake smiles to mask our emptiness. No more. Anyway, let’s talk Reds baseball. We had a good road trip where our offense managed to shine but a horrid home series where we got pantsed by a division rival. The front office just refuses to throw the fans a bone. We continue to give playing time to people like Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild, all the while prospects like Elly De La Cruz and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are tearing up AAA to the point where there’s really nothing left for them to do. Both had problems with their Walk%, so what happened? The last couple weeks both have significantly improved their walk rate. They have nothing left to do in AAA if you ask me and plenty of the fanbase. Imagine if both can be successful in the MLB, what kind of boost of energy that would give to this team while they’re still in striking distance of the NL Central crown. Our starting pitching is still a major liability, Graham Ashcraft has just flat out forgotten how to pitch. The Bullpen is still keeping us in games and our offense can be truly clutch at times, but consistency is one thing we’ve lacked all season. Consistency, consistency, consistency. It’s not here. But with an injection of young talent, things could definitely turn around, or I guess you could say something that’s become a bit of a motto here in Cincinnati and with our recent ownership groups: We’re just a couple years away.	26-33
25		Tigers	-3	RIP Riley Greene. RIP Eduardo Rodriguez. I guess the White Sox walkoff on Saturday where a Jose Cisnero pitch domed the home plate umpire for a wild pitch was emblematic of this week (shrugs). As a side note, man is this linup brutal, sporting a team slash line of .226/.302/.349 for the season. Yikes! This week: 3 at PHI, 3 vs. ARI.	26-31
26		White Sox	+2	The AL Central being so competitive/non-competitive is the worst thing for the White Sox right now. Despite being 9 games under .500, they are only 5.5 games back in the division. They're stuck in limbo right now. In any sane world, they would already be selling parts, but in all likelihood, they'll have to sell some of the future at the deadline, only to go on a cold streak in mid September, finish 8 games out in the division, and make this awful season feel even worse.	26-35
27		Nationals	-1	Rough week for the Nats losing 5 of 7 and getting even worse news with the announcement of Strasburg being shut down from all physical activity. While I can't speak for all Nats fans, I can speak for myself: Stephen Strasburg has absolutely nothing to prove. I genuinely would be ecstatic for him to ride off into the sunset without throwing another pitch before unvailing a statue with Zim on the corner of Capitol and Potomac.	25-34
28		Rockies	-1	No Blurb Submitted	26-35
29		Royals	0	Congo rats to Scott Barlow on notching his 50th career save. And congo rats to Aroldis Chapman for rebuilding his career and being a trade chip. The Royals are going to fuck up the return, but at least he can get something back in another couple of months. I'm looking forward to surgery so I can be too drugged up to give a shit about this team.	18-41
30		Athletics	0	More a question than a curse, how could hell be any worse?	12-49

at the Triceraton’s Island home
King Triceradon “I was hoping Fox would visit us again, but why is the young royal wolf observing my grand aquarium?”
Maku “Fox is staying at the sharpclaw citadel in Sauria for a month. So I just wanted to see the merfolk families in your grateful home…”
Farah “Guessing you are worried that they’re not feeling comfortable with their environment?”
Maku “No, just wondering if they were remembering their previous land-dwelling experience. Also, I was thinking about how I joined Team StarFox when I first left my underwater home…”
King Triceradon “Well I want to know how Fox McCloud became a merman before he came to visit.”
Maku “I remembered seeing him descending from the surface world and wearing a strange meshed suit. As I swam up to rescue the drowning Fox, I used my magic to turn him into a merman and his merged fishtail has torn open the meshed leggings.”
Farah “So what happened after you rescued Fox?”
Maku “After he fainted from his transformation, I brought the unconscious McCloud back to Laguna and asked a friend to help bring the new arrival to the hotel and remove the meshed suit that he’s wearing.”
King Triceradon “What a rescue! So what happened next?”
Maku “After removing the meshed suit from his body, we safely placed an unconscious merman Fox on the bed and then I swam to a chair nearby to wait for him to awaken. Moments later, he regained consciousness and wondering what happened.”
Farah “Seems like he was confused about being a merfur.”
Maku “Well maybe he was a little concerned… anyway after introducing to each other and chatting about the artifact, I helped Fox to swim and showed him the underwater city before going to the palace.”
King Triceradon “Was it hard for Fox to swim with his new tail?”
Maku “He had a difficult time keeping up, but later found himself swimming with ease!”
Farah “Fox was always feeling stubborn when figuring things out and then finding out what was wrong. So what happened next?”
Maku “After touring around the city, I led Fox to the palace and he bravely met my father while asking about the stolen artifact. Then after a while, Fox explained about his team and the exciting missions that gave my father an idea.”
King Triceradon “Guessing he sees you lighting up with curiosity.”
Farah “I’m guessing that the king was really worried about you and decided to let you go beyond the surface world.”
Maku “Yes, I always get scolded for exploring beyond the kingdom’s boundaries. But when meeting Fox McCloud, he had a great conversation and was able to trust me.”
King Triceradon “So what happened after listening to Fox’s stories?”
Maku “My father had asked Fox to let me join StarFox after having his teammate retrieve the stolen artifact. So after swimming up to the surface world, the blue vixen brought the artifact back from the corrupted mayor.”
Farah “I’ve heard of blackmailing deals, but seems like the mayor made a dark bargain with a seawitch!”
Maku “Yeah, they really ticked off my father when he noticed something was missing…”
King Triceradon “So after Fox’s beloved brought the artifact, what happened next?”
Maku “After the task is completed, my father turned Fox back into a bipedal which he embarrassingly grabbed his folded uniform from his teammate’s hand. Not always a first time that a naked bipedal feels embarrassment!”
Farah “I still felt shocked when my clothes fell off before transforming into a mermaid…”
King Triceradon “Enough from getting off topic, what happened next?”
Maku “After Fox is reunited with his beloved, my father has decided to let me go and join StarFox. Somehow he has conceded his struggle to keep me safe.”
Farah “Almost sounds familiar of a movie that I watched before.”
Maku “So after I changed myself to a bipedal, I hugged my father by saying goodbye and boarded into Fox’s starfighter before heading to Subspace Headquarters.”
King Triceradon “And since you came to visit, you’ve been feeling homesick and depressed about your family!”
Farah “Maybe you could stay here for a few days while interacting with the merfolk in my husband’s Grand Aquarium…”
Maku “I don’t know... my older brother is back at StarFox HQ and my teammates would be worried about me.”
King Triceradon “I was going to contact Andorf about our idea…”
Farah “We would be your godparents and the servants could prepare a guest bedroom for you. Think of it like a second Laguna kingdom!?”
Maku “I’ll need to think about taking up your offer, and maybe I’ll bring my older brother for a visit…”

Booked a three nights stay for a standard king room. Got a free upgrade the day before check in to a high floor two room suite with city view. The room is very spacious and comfortable. Housekeeping is quick and efficient. Staff have been super nice. Parking has two 208v outlets for EV charging, can get a loaner cable from the front desk. The hotel is attached to a big mall that reminds me of a shopping street in Shanghai. So many Asian shops and eateries. We've enjoyed the food a lot! Lot of other shopping and eating within just a few blocks. There is an Executive Lounge on the 18th floor that serves a mini hot breakfast and has non-alcoholic drinks available 24 hours. Main restaurant on third floor has big breakfast buffet, free for Diamond members. Food was excellent quality and kept fresh. Great service.
Overall, this is a gem of a hotel.

Booked a Hilton Resort Hotel originally was booking online for $280/night for King Studio room, but called before booking to ask a few questions. They ended up just booking the reservation on the phone, and while doing so applied a Hilton Honors Discount for my Gold Status that is given with a Platinum Card. $200 for the room instead, so already saved $80.
Upon arrival with Gold, I am eligible for room upgrade if available. I simply ask and receive a top floor King Suite with Balcony over the beach for no charge. Hard to put the upgrade into $, but $695 id say has gotten me $150-$200 in one stay in what I would have paid for the same room. The 5x on flights and hotels is only scratching the surface of this card!

First Chapter
Chapter Sixteen
Parvati Devdhar was, by now, used to a lot of nonsense getting flung her way. There were times when she wished she was back being some no-name trying to claw her way up the film-industry ladder. Sure, that also had its particular flavor of horribleness, but at least then she knew where she was and what she was doing.
Now? Now she was lauded by all, worldwide, but that just meant that she was a bigger target for every bunco artist who thought themselves a movie producer. She’d already had multiple offers from supposed Hollywood executives and she’d rebuffed them all. When she wanted to make the move into so-called ‘Western’ films, she’d do so on her terms.
One of the things which helped her keep her cool was Ravindar. Dear Ravindar, the jeweled bearing upon which her entire life now turned. He’d…well, it was hard to describe how he’d come into her life. He’d just…shown up in her orbit, somehow, and she’d gratefully accepted that fact. But now Parvati knew that he was the main thing keeping her sane, just by his mere presence.
She looked at the message on her phone again, as if trying to will it away with her mind. She then looked up at Ravindar, who stood with his usual phlegmatic calm next to the only door into her room. As usual, his black turban was immaculate and neatly wrapped, forming a triangle which met perfectly in the middle of his forehead. His loose blue shirt and white pants were also perfectly composed. His long dark beard, neatly combed, shone with fragrant oil. At his wrist one could just make out the glitter of his ‘kara’, the physical representation of his bondage to truth. Across his substantial chest stretched his ‘gatra’, the harness which Parvati knew held his his kirpan ready at all times. She also knew that the latter weapon was not something worn merely for religious reasons, it would indeed be deadly sharp. Parvati had never seen it, nor would she ever ask for him to display it, but she knew that Ravindar would never wear a weapon unless it was functional and capable of killing.
“Is this serious?” she asked him. At the moment the pair were speaking English; they switched up languages every month or so, just for practice. Parvati was now an international star, after all.
Ravindar didn’t do anything as crass as shrugging; he merely raised one eyebrow. “It appears to be, ma’am.”
“The actual government. Of the actual United States. Wants to meet us?”
“I’m sure they only want to meet you, ma’am.”
“Well if they want to meet me then they’re going to bloody well meet you as well. You can be assured of that.” Her English still held a tinge of a British accent, a holdover from the lessons when she’d first learned the wretched language.
“I will be there if you wish, ma’am.”
She motioned towards the other end of the couch she perched upon. “Ravindar Bhindal, you have now been standing for at least six hours straight. There is a reason we humans invented couches and chairs and such things. Please, I invite you to take advantage of our forefathers’ ingenuity.”
He gave a rare smile. “I prefer standing. But I also thank you for the offer.”
Parvati looked again at the offending message on her phone. “How did they get my number?”
“The Americans are quite clever about such things, ma’am,” said Ravindar.
“They don’t even want us to go anywhere. They just want us to stay here for a while and they’ll arrive.”
Ravindar’s rare smile didn’t fade. “The mountain thus comes to Mohammed, yes?”
She laughed. “I’m not a Muslim, you giant silly-billy.”
“Silly-billy,” said Ravindar as he rolled the syllables around in his mouth. “Where did you pick up such a delightful phrase?”
“You have never seen the Venture Brothers, then? Good. We have something to watch when we next have some downtime.” Parvati tapped at her phone. “Whenever that might be. Okay. I’m going to say ‘yes’, but I need you to agree.”
“Ma’am, whatever you do…”
“No!” snapped Parvati, harsher than she meant to. Then, more softly, “Ravindar, it isn’t fair for me to just drag you into this. This could be a scam or some sort of strange kidnapping attempt. I’ll have my hackles up, as they say, and I trust your judgement and abilities. But I want you to agree to this.”
To his credit, Ravindar did consider her words for several seconds. Finally, he nodded. “I’ll be there, ma’am.”
Parvati tapped at her phone to send the reply.
__________
Ravindar watched with a gimlet eye as the troupe entered the hotel suite. First through the door were two people in black suits, with obvious earpieces and matching haircuts. They scanned him while he scanned them. The three then nodded at each other with the familiarity of those who earn a living escorting VIPs.
Parvati Devdhar sat facing the door, and now she was seated like cross-legged royalty in the middle of the couch instead of slouched against one end. Her hair was neatly combed and lay like a wonderful dark waterfall over one shoulder. If Ravindar was honest (which of course he was) she’d chosen quite the stunning green sari to greet her new maybe-employers. It was still a bit hazy as to what the bloody hell the Yanks wanted.
One of the dark-suited newcomers touched his earpiece, then nodded. “Thank you for making time in your schedule to see us, ma’am.” His eyes flicked up towards Ravindar. “We have four more coming in, all right?”
“Do as you will,” replied Ravindar.
The next one through the door was a shorter and darker-skinned American, wearing casual clothes. But Ravindar was not fooled. This one held himself like a warrior, and he when he met Ravindar’s gaze the two came to an immediate and mutual understanding. But then the newcomer’s eyes got big when he saw Parvati seated upon the couch.
“Oh wow!” he burst out, then composed himself. “I’m, ah, I’m Corporal Luca Martinez. US Army. Pleased to meet you, um, I meant meet the two of you.”
Ravindar kept up his stone-faced exterior, but inside he smiled as yet another person fell into fanboy exclamations upon seeing the person he protected.
After Martinez followed three others, but not just any three. First was a dumpy white man who looked vaguely familiar to Ravindar, but the next two…
Well, the next two were, by now, very well known. One was a small, narrow-shouldered woman with skin almost as dark as Parvati’s. This was the woman who’d first talked to aliens, and speaking of which, the next person through the door was an even shorter…woman? Yes, woman with blue scales and golden horns and this was the point at which Ravindar’s brain shut down as he tried to keep from just passing out.
“Hi!” said Chao Me Chu, with an unnecessary chipper tone to her voice. “Um, I’m Chao and this is Captain Sadaf Ta’Shakka, of the Shakka clan and current captain of the Exultant Finger of Rithro. You might have heard of her.”
The latter bowed and then chirped something which sounded like a budgie falling down a flight of stairs.
The dumpy man turned to the two of them. “They don’t have translators, Sadaf.”
Parvati un-crossed her legs and stood with a regal air. “May I approach?”
Chao looked in a bit of panic at her compatriots, who all nodded. “Um, sure. Hang on, I think I have some translator earpieces somewhere…” She began digging in one pants-pocket, only to be interrupted by the dumpy man who now held out two pieces of plastic in his palm.
He looked up at Parvati and Ravindar. “Pablo Rosas, ma’am and sir. Pleased to make your acquaintance. If you want to understand our guest, you’ll need to wear one of these. It’s your choice.”
Ravindar looked over the scene; his training kicked in as he judged avenues of attack and escape. Finally he stepped around the couch and plucked one of the earpieces off of Rosas’ hand. He screwed the plug into his ear, his eyes fixed upon the smaller blue alien in front of him.
Sadaf waited until his earpiece was settled before speaking. “Can you understand me now?”
He nodded to her, then nodded back to Parvati. “It is as they say, ma’am. Do as you see fit.”
She stepped forward and daintily picked up the remaining ear-piece. Ravindar did not know how she did it, but somehow Parvati make the act of shoving a chunk of plastic into one’s ear look like a masterclass in elegant composure.
“I bid you welcome to our humble country,” she said to Sadaf. “I hope you find it pleasing.”
“Very much so!” exclaimed Sadaf. “It is so…I don’t know the proper term…vibrant? Forgive me if that comes across badly. The translator matrix can only do so much.” Her horns flattened back against her scalp in a clear unspoken message of please don’t yell at me.
Parvati laughed that silvery, liquid-like laugh which had made her a world-wide star in the first place. “Oh, my dear captain, ‘vibrant’ is quite a fitting appellation.” She stepped forward, making sure that both Ravindar was at her back and that she was in eye-line of the two security guards flanking the door. “I also, of course, saw you when you first appeared to us humans. And then, of course, there was that other time.” She bit her lip…that was a bit too theatrical of a touch, if Ravindar was honest (and he was). “I am glad to see you uninjured.”
Sadaf gave a very human-looking shrug. “Only because of some supreme effort by some of your species. I’m just glad that nobody died. I guess the Sacred Mothers were looking out for us all, eh?”
Ravindar now felt a need, an almighty need, to buttonhole the little alien captain and start questioning her about her religion. But instead, he stood back and remained content to merely observe.
“I’m sure the Sacred Mothers were,” responded Parvati. “I also must say I appreciate your choice of clothing when you first appeared to the world.” She spread her arms and nodded her head down towards her own emerald-colored sari. “As you can see, it’s a fashion style I myself quite appreciate.”
The little lizardoid alien waved one clawed hand. “Oh, I can’t take credit for that. Teresa Vila was the one who made my dress for that occasion. I’m sure our people can set her up with your people, just in case you want to use her.” Sadaf looked up at the looming figure of Ravindar, and one of her amber reptilian eyes gave him a wink.
Somehow, that made him feel better. He still had his guard up, but this didn’t feel like a trap.
Parvati now made a great show of examining Captain Sadaf’s uniform. “My, that does look quite nice. Ravindar, do you think something similar would look good on me?”
“Um, ma’am…” He desperately tried to figure out what the hell to say. He was supposed to be part of the scenery, why was she drawing him into this? “It is quite a good color combination.”
“Indeed. I may retain the services of Teresa Vila and ask her to make me look this…distinguished.” Parvati motioned at Sadaf’s uniform. “Not exactly the same, of course. This is a military uniform?”
Sadaf glanced at those behind her as if to seek support. “Well, not quite. The Coalition Exploration Bureau is not strictly a military organization, but our ships do carry considerable weaponry.”
Parvati smiled in a regal manner. “Then I shall not copy your uniform, out of respect for those brave people who serve in your ranks. I’m merely an actor.”
“A very good one!” said Martinez with excitement, “You should have seen her in ‘Ashutosh’!” He then pulled himself back in. “Sorry.”
Chao laughed and stepped forward. “Ms. Parvati, may I shake your hand?”
“Of…of course.” The Indian woman looked a little confused as Chao gave her hand a firm shake.
The Thai woman pointed a thumb behind her at Martinez. “This dude has, in every situation I’ve met him in, acted like the stone-cold professional. I mean, he is one but he still tries his best to act the part. Five seconds after meeting you? He’s tripping over his own tongue. I just wanted to thank you for letting me see that.”
“Well, you are very welcome,” said Parvati, “Now. While I do appreciate the visit, and I do feel privileged, I’m sure you’re all very busy people. I sense there is some reason you’re here rather than because of some whirlwind world tour. You see, your mysterious message did not tell me why you’re all here.”
With the actor’s hand still in her own, Chao blurted out, “How would you like to go into space with me?”
Parvati fixed the smaller woman with her gaze automatically, then the full import of Chao’s words struck her. For once, she looked flustered. “I’m sorry, what?”
Rosas performed a truly epic facepalm. “What Ms. Chao is trying to say, ma’am, is that…”
__________
“Why do I have to go into space?” Martinez, for once, did not look comfortable in his own skin. He and Matt were waiting for the final briefing to start, at some undisclosed location. Even Matt didn’t know exactly where they were, and that was saying something.
But for the moment the latter smiled, his eyes still closed. “Why are you complaining? You all will be safe as houses. Seven or eight days, max. Plus you’ll be riding in comfort the whole way. Hell, the Apollo guys managed to go to the moon and back in about the same time and they had to piss into a tube and shit into bags the whole time.”
“But they’d trained! For years! I mean, I’m just some fuckin’ idiot grunt.”
“It’s the deal we made. If Parvati goes, then Ravindar goes with her. That part is non-negotiable. So, if Chao also goes then we’ll need a Ravindar for her…or a Ravindar-lite, if you will…”
“Fuck you, Toke.”
“Buy me a drink first, Martinez. I mean, it does look good. We got the two main people, each wearing body-cams the whole time to capture the full experience, each with their own badass studly bodyguard to get the ladies and/or gents who swing that way all worked up.”
“Studly?” Martinez looked down at himself. “I mean…who’s gonna get worked up over me?”
“Lean dude with serious abs, takes care of himself, tracker beyond compare who is also death on foot and, oh, is also very honorable and nice and handsome?” Matt opened one eye to look down upon him. “Trust me, even if Chao says no, after this you’re gonna have to beat the ladies and/or gents who swing that way off with a stick.”
The subject of his gaze turned it back upon him. “Wait. How do you know I have serious abs?”
Matt just chuckled. “It’s all just part of the scenery, my man. You go through enough deployments, you find out what everyone’s packing, in every department.” He grinned at Martinez. “You ask her out yet?”
“…no.”
“And why not? This is the perfect time. Once the agreement is done, it’s gonna be a couple of weeks of whirlwind training, then you all get to go up.” Matt pointed his thumb at the ceiling. “Aaaall the way up to L5. You’re gonna be farther out than anyone except the Apollo astronauts. But you’re gonna be on camera the whole time, not exactly a good time for some covert kissy-smoochy stuff, even if some of you want to be the first humans to do it in freefall. Right now is the golden opportunity, if you ask me.”
“I just, I…is it the right time?”
Matt fixed him with that glare, the one which had made even the most senior of senior sergeants soil themselves. “I am not going to put up with this dancing-around horseshit anymore. Corporal, if in the next twenty-four hours you have not declared your feelings to Chao, you WILL wake up and find yourself duct-taped and shoved inside a closet with her for the following twelve hours. She can do what she likes with you, or she can walk out. However it goes, you will not get released until those twelve hours are up.” He leaned back.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Then don’t test me, bitch. You’d better hope that she doesn’t have a bondage fetish and view you as a sub. I mean, if you’re into that kind of thing that’s great, I won’t judge you. I never judge such stuff.”
“That’s not how it works, Toke. BDSM has rules, okay? You gotta set things up right, you gotta discuss it beforehand, with safe-words and aftercare. Aftercare is the key…” Martinez trailed off as he realized how much he’d just revealed.
“Why, Martinez, I didn’t know you swung that way. By the way, I still don’t judge.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’m now going to ask you a direct question. Do you want to get duct-taped up and shoved into a closet for Chao to, heh, ‘discover’ you afterwards? Does that sound like Seven Minutes In Heaven to you?”
Corporal Luca Martinez tapped his fingers together as he stared at the floor. “I mean…okay, yeah. I kinda want her to take charge like that. But I mean…I dunno, she’s gonna think I’m some kind of freak.”
Martinez flinched as a weight settled on his shoulder. But Matt’s hand was kind, as were his eyes. “I got news for you, Luca. We’re all freaks, each in our own way. The best thing we can to is to help each other find another fellow freak. So here’s what I’m gonna do, seeing as how I am such a nice guy. I’m gonna approach Chao, talk to her, make sure that she’s down for getting a little or maybe a lot kinky with you.”
He pulled Martinez in closer. “So, then, if you wake up in a closet somewhere, with your wrists and ankles duct-taped together and another piece of tape over your mouth, you will know her answer was ‘yes’. The safe-word, or rather safe-gesture, will be this.” Matt made a weird waving motion with the fingers of one hand, like an octopus trying to hail a taxi. “Got it?”
“Um, yeah. I got it.” Martinez was still in the midst of trying to get his brain back into order. “We should also have a safe-word. I mean, once she gets the tape off of my mouth. Speaking hypothetically, of course.”
“Of course,” replied Matt with deadly calm. “Let’s nominate…hmm, tapioca. That’s a perfectly cromulent word.”
“Tapioca.” Martinez shuddered. “Eugh, I hate tapioca.”
“It’s not about the actual word, it just needs to be far enough off from anything in the particular scenario to make sure the dominant one realizes that something is wrong and that they need to stop the scene right now and proceed right to the aftercare and cuddles.”
“How do you know so much about this shit, mystery man?”
Matt just smiled. “I am vast. I contain multitudes.”
“Fine.” Martinez looked at the far wall. “Go ahead. Ask her. I just…I know I’m being all kinds of a stupid cowardly idiot. I know I should take you and McCoy’s advice and go up and talk to her. But I just…” He curled into himself on the chair. “I just can’t. Not with her. I don’t wanna mess it up. She’s…fuck, I hate to say shit like this, but what if she’s the one?”
Matt’s big mitt gave his shoulder a slight squeeze. “Well this is what friends are for, Martinez. So. I’ll ask her, and she’ll say yes or no. And a ‘yes’ will involve you getting taped-up and shoved into a closet so that she can step in and let her freak flag fly upon your defenseless person. So I will ask you once last time, are you cool with that?”
“…yeah."
“Right. Remember, you said ‘yeah’.”
“I did.” Martinez looked up as his primary duty then came crashing back down upon him. “What about Ravindar?”
“What about him?” asked Matt.
“I mean, do you think he’s a solid dude? They’re still trying to track down the insiders for that whole shit at Camp David. I met him, he seems like he’s okay, but I could never forgive myself if Chao gets hurt because I was a star-struck doofus.”
Matt dropped his hand from Martinez’s shoulder. “Now, corporal. Do you remember the lesson they told you your very first day in basic training? The one that wasn't in the official manual?”
The latter thought hard. “Don’t fuck with the Gurkhas?”
“Yes, that is indeed wise advice. What did they say after that?”
“Um…don’t shit where you eat?”
Matt sighed. “I see they’ve skipped a bit in your training. You see, right after Paragraph One (which is all about the Gurkhas), there should be a subsection A which should say ‘the same also applies to Sikhs’. Yeah, Ravindar is a solid dude.”
__________
“Beta-amyloid plaques?” asked Dhuz. “Interesting.”
Zawahir Ibn Harith shrugged. The two of them stood in a small room, examining a giant screen which showed a high-contrast image of a human neuron. “It’s what builds up over time,” he said. “We’ve looked at various ways to scrub these plaques out of the brain, but nothing seems to work.”
Dhuz touched her wrist, and the much-coveted holographic display formed. “It might be because you’re tackling the problem too late. We auhn have a similar disease. It’s a protein derangement issue, similar to your ‘mad cow disease’, and this is what we found out…”
As Zawahir looked at the data scrolling past her display, he felt a sense of God’s presence resting on himself. He now knew what exactly to do.
It was the most obvious thing in the world.
__________
The man was clad in a dark-blue polo shirt, and he smiled into the camera with the perpetual cheer of someone who is doing what they love for a living. His glasses were clean, and there was the merest hint of gray at both of his temples. “Good morning folks, I am John Insprucker, Principal Integration Engineer here at SpaceX, and it is my great pleasure to be here with you to witness this rare launch of a Falcon Heavy, one which will be fully expended. This is a big one, folks, this isn’t any satellite or gaggle of Starlinks. No, today we're putting serious tonnage into orbit. I’m pleased to be joined by a very special guest, one Salvatore T. "Tory" Bruno, CEO of our sister company United Launch Alliance.”
The camera pulled out to reveal a bald, smiling man sitting next to John. He was more formal, wearing a snazzy-looking suit complete with red tie. “I’m very glad to be here, John. But we must not forget our other guest.”
Insprucker laughed. “Why, of course I didn’t forget! To everyone watching, it’s my pleasure to introduce to you all Grakosh, engineer of the Coalition Exploration Bureau corvette known as the Exultant Finger of Rithro.”
Everyone watching online (which was pretty much everyone on Earth) gasped as a pale, meter-long form wriggled his way from up under the table. Grakosh coiled around John’s shoulder and nodded his strange, three-jawed head at the camera.
“Very pleased to be here, John. Tory.” He nodded over at Tory Bruno, who held out a fist. Grakosh responded by bumping his ‘nose’ into that fist. “This will be a big throw, as you humans say.”
Bruno laughed. “Or a big yeet. The kids today would say that instead.”
“Ah, the kids.” In spite of a distinct lack of shoulders, Grakosh managed to somehow shrug. “They will always come up with new words to confound us elders, right?”
Bruno laughed. “That they will.” He and John now looked up towards the screen above them, which showed a white triple-rocket next to a tower clad in dark metal. The center core was mostly pristine, but the two rockets flanking it looked well-used, with lots of soot extending up the sides.
The trio watched for awhile while John kept up the patter to avoid any dead air. They all knew this livestream was not a mere PR stunt.
“How much?” asked Bruno at an appropriate pause.
“Twenty tons,” responded John.
“And then we’ll send up fifteen tons after this, on Vulcan.” Bruno’s face became set in determination.
“Then we can go to work!” said Grakosh with enthusiasm. “Plus we’ll be shepherding Ms. Parvati and Ms. Chao!”
“That you will,” said John. He turned to address the camera. “As you probably know, the aforementioned two humans’ visiting the Rithro will be a live-stream event broadcast without ads, free to the entire world.”
“Four humans,” added Grakosh.
“Of course,” said Bruno. “Truly a historic moment for our species, in any case.”
Grakosh twirled his head, his species’ equivalent of throat-clearing. “May I say here, in front of the whole world, you humans never cease to amaze me with your cleverness. Why, only a few weeks ago we were discussing details on what the patching material had to behave like and now we’re in the midst of launching literal tons of that material into orbit!”
“We just hope it works,” said Bruno. “But if it doesn’t, we’ll just have to try again.”
“Indeed!” The little alien wiggled against John’s shoulder in obvious happiness, not knowing that the gesture would result in an entire shadow-economy revolving around what the kids called ‘the cute alien snake dude!’, one with lots of knock-off plushie simulacra of himself. Forty years afterwards, the copyright lawyers were still sorting through the entire mess.
“We are now at T-minus seven minutes,” John said as a clipped, feminine voice sounded throughout the studio. “Engine chill has begun.” He was not your typical PR type, but he knew how to keep talking. “What that means, is that chilled vapors of the oxidizer and fuel are now begin fed through the engines…”
“Twenty-seven engines,” added Bruno. “You are all madmen.”
John grinned as he realized that he could tag-team with Bruno, who was himself a born PR person. “Twenty-seven engines, or one, or two, or three…after awhile it’s just numbers.”
“Still. Twenty-seven? Gives me a case of the vapors just thinking about it. Anyways, folks, as my colleague here says we’re now getting the engines used to being cold. There’s gonna be a lot of cryogenic fluid getting flung through them in the near future and we need all of the metal components in there to be ready for that…”
“Strongback retract. T-minus five minutes.”
John stepped in smoothly. “And that means that the transporter-erector structure, which carried this Falcon Heavy out to the launch pad, will now uncouple from the rocket. The TE will continue to ‘top off’ the tanks inside the craft until T-minus zero.”
John and Bruno continued their back-and-forth banter over the next few minutes, with Grakosh interjecting here and there in a very cute manner, which again created more headaches for those poor lawyers forty years hence.
“Falcon Heavy is in startup.”
John straightened up. “All right folks, we are less than one minute from launch and the vehicle itself has now taken control of the countdown.”
“Intriguing,” said Grakosh. “You don’t control it yourselves?”
“I mean, we could still do that,” said Bruno. “After all, we did in the past. But with computers nowadays it’s a lot faster to let the rocket itself figure out if things are copacetic. If not, it can shut itself down faster than we ever could.”
Another voice sounded throughout the studio at T-minus forty seconds. “This is the mission director, we are go for launch.”
“Excellent news, folks!” exclaimed John with true happiness. “Forty seconds to go, and nothing has cropped up to scrub this. The weather looks good…man, Tory, look at that view.” The screen next to him showed an azure sky, chilly but with not a hint of clouds.
“That does look nice,” said Bruno. “Of course, I’m glad I’m not out there. Even Florida winter is still winter. I’ve been living in warm weather for too long, my blood’s too thin to put up with any serious cold.”
“Me too, brother.” John and Bruno shared a fist-bump, then after a pointed glare from the non-hands-using member of the trio they performed a mutual three-way bump with Grakosh participating using his head.
“T-minus ten. Nine. Eight. Six. Seven…”
The three of them stared at the screen with rapt attention. Like any proper missile men, the trio could get excited about a model-rocket launch from some grand-daughter’s back yard.
“…Five. Four. Three. Two…” A brilliant orange flame appeared from the bottom of the triple rocket.
“…Engines at full power, and liftoff! Liftoff of Earth Repair Mission One!”
Behind him, John could faintly hear the cheers of the SpaceX crew as the screen became flooded with light. The huge rocket surged off of its launch pad, before the view cut away to one much further off. It was equally as bright; twenty-seven rocket engines were now working in sync to convert RP-1 and oxygen into go-fast juice.
John then realized he was on his feet, screaming his damn-fool head off. His little alien comrade didn’t seem to mind; Grakosh was waving his tri-fingered tail at the screen and whooping it up as loud as any human. Tory Bruno now stood beside him, also whooping and dispensing back-slaps and head-bonks to all and sundry.
He’d watched humans get launched into space but somehow, John knew that this was different. This was not just some publicity stunt. This launch mattered. Humans were taking that first proper step into the galaxy. One which said, ‘we are here to stay’.

Hi!
I am currently doing early NYE planning (the early bird catches the worm and so on), and after spending NYE in Napoli last year, I am looking to explore the South of Europe once more with the missus.
Napoli was extremely crowded during NYE, so we might opt for cities like Thessaloniki and Athens in the first weeks of January instead and look for something a bit more relaxed.
So, do you have any recommendations for an island or coastal destination for NYE? We are looking to spend it a bit quieter, maybe with a jacuzzi and we are food lovers, so some traditional restaurants nearby would be great. A firework and/or any special celebration would, of course, still be interesting. Definitely more interested in folkloristic stuff than DJs. As mentioned, we might be looking for a smaller town for the actual NYE and then move to the more popular destinations in January, when fewer crowds are expected.
Heard about the Gala dinner at the Olympic Hotel in Athens but that might be a bit snobby and pricey?
Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Hi! I'm visiting Europe and will be taking a backpack. I'm a chronic over-packer, and this is my first one-bag trip.
We will be flying into Amsterdam and from there visiting Munich, Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. We will stay in each location for an average of 4-5 days with train travel in between. We plan to do laundry, so I can wash items as needed. Mainly doing touristy stuff, although we may end up going to the Bohemian Switzerland Forest for some light hiking. Edit: Forgot to mention I will be traveling from mid-July to early August!
The bag: I have a Cotopaxi 35L. I'm taking a Pacsafe cross-body bag and an under-the-clothes sports belt for my cards/ passport.
Pants

• Betabrand dress pant yoga pants x3 (I can dress them up or down, wearing one pair on plane)
• PJ shorts
• 3/4 crop athletic pants (for potential hiking in the Bohemian Switzerland Forest, working out at hotel gym)

Shirts

• Casual short sleeve shirts x5
• 3/4 casual shirt (wearing on plane)
• Black tank top (also doubling as a PJ shirt)
• Cardigans x2 (grey and black)
• Tank top workout top (for hiking or gym workouts, if needed)

Dresses:

• Casual black A-line dress (hits above knee)
• Casual green A-line dress (hits above knee)

Etc.

• Bathing suit - TYR one piece (for thermal baths)
• Bras - 3 (2 bralettes, 1 sports bra)
• Underwear - 5
• Socks -5
• Light jacket- still trying to determine what to take (maybe Patagonia Houdini for layering?)
• Sparse toiletries (planning to use items at the hotels)
• Phone charger + Kindle + noise canceling headphone
• Mini straightener
• Sports tape (for wrapping a minor injury)

Shoes

• Brooks Levitate 5 w/ custom orthotics (black)
• Allbirds Tree Runner w/ custom orthotics (white) or similar
• Flip flops (for thermal baths)
• Rothy's flats w/ custom orthotics (do I need these if we aren't doing anything nice/ fancy)?

Some questions:
Would you recommend different clothes for light hiking, other than general workout clothes? If ticks are a problem, I may need to bring long pants/ long shirt instead.
Anything I can jettison? Anything I should add? I usually run cold, so I'm worried I'll be chilly in the mornings/ evenings and I'm not sure what I should bring for layering.
Edit 2: Anyone have suggestions for some comfortable shorts/ skirts? I only own businessy skirts for work so I have no idea what I'm doing re: light bottoms.
Thank you all so much for your advice and feedback! I just found this sub last week and reading previous posts has been so helpful in generating this list.

Attention : manifestation du 12 juin contre les modifications de l'API de Reddit. # Ce subreddit se joindra à la manifestation commençant le 12 juin contre les modifications de l'API de Reddit qui tueront essentiellement toutes les applications Reddit tierces. # This subreddit will be joining in on the June 12th protest of Reddit's API changes that will essentially kill all 3rd party Reddit apps. ## Que se passe-t-il? Un récent changement de politique Reddit menace de tuer de nombreuses applications mobiles tierces bien-aimées, rendant un grand nombre de fonctionnalités de qualité de vie non vues dans l'application mobile officielle inaccessibles en permanence aux utilisateurs. Le 31 mai 2023, Reddit a annoncé qu'il augmentait le prix pour passer des appels à son API d'être gratuit à un niveau qui tuera toutes les applications tierces sur Reddit, d'Apollo à Reddit est amusant à Narwhal à BaconReader. Même si vous n'êtes pas un utilisateur mobile et que vous n'utilisez aucune de ces applications, il s'agit d'une étape vers la suppression d'autres méthodes de personnalisation de Reddit, telles que Reddit Enhancement Suite ou l'utilisation de l'interface old.reddit.com. Ce n'est pas seulement un problème au niveau de l'utilisateur : de nombreux modérateurs de subreddit dépendent d'outils uniquement disponibles en dehors de l'application officielle pour maintenir leurs communautés et combattre le spam. ## What's going on? A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users. On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader. Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface . This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free. ## Quel est le plan? Le 12 juin, [de nombreux subreddits](https://old.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/1401qw5/incomplete\_and\_growing\_list\_of\_participating/) se "fermeront" pour protester contre cette politique. Certains reviendront après 48 heures; d'autres disparaîtront définitivement à moins que le problème ne soit correctement résolu, car de nombreux modérateurs ne sont pas en mesure de faire le travail qu'ils font avec les mauvais outils disponibles via l'application officielle. Ce n'est pas quelque chose que nous faisons à la légère : nous faisons ce que nous faisons parce que nous aimons Reddit, et nous croyons vraiment que ce changement rendra impossible de continuer à faire ce que nous aimons. ## What's the plan? On June 12th, [many subreddits](https://old.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/1401qw5/incomplete\_and\_growing\_list\_of\_participating/) will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love. ## Que pouvez-vous faire en tant qu'utilisateur? * Se plaindre. Envoyez un message aux modérateurs de /reddit.com, qui sont les administrateurs du site; message reddit; soumettre une demande d'assistance; commentez dans les fils de discussion pertinents sur /reddit, tels que [celui-ci](https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/12qwagm/an\_update\_regarding\_reddits\_api/), laissez un avis négatif sur leur application iOS ou Android officielle et signez votre nom d'utilisateur en soutien à [ce message.](https://www.reddit.com/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont\_let\_reddit\_kill\_3rd\_party\_apps/) * Faire connaitre la cause. Parlez-en sur les subreddits connexes. Suggérez à toute personne que vous connaissez qui modère un subreddit de rejoindre l'effort de mod coordonné sur /ModCoord. * Boycottez et passez le mot... au compétiteurs de Reddit! Restez complètement à l'écart de Reddit à partir du 12 juin, optez plutôt pour la plate-forme de votre choix non Reddit et faites du bruit pour vous soutenir! * Ne soyez pas un imbécile. Aussi bouleversant que cela puisse être, les menaces, les grossièretés et le vandalisme seront pires qu'inutiles pour amener les gens de notre côté. Veuillez vous efforcer d'être aussi sobre, poli, raisonnable et respectueux des lois que possible. ## What can you do as a user? * Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as [this one](https://www.reddit.com/reddit/comments/12qwagm/an\_update\_regarding\_reddits\_api/), leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to [this post.](https://www.reddit.com/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont\_let\_reddit\_kill\_3rd\_party\_apps/) * Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join the coordinated mod effort at /ModCoord. * Boycott and spread the word... to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely from June 12th - instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support! * Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible. ## Que pouvez-vous faire en tant que modérateur? * Rejoignez l'effort coordonné sur /ModCoord * Faites un message collant montrant votre soutien, [Un modèle a été créé ici](https://www.reddit.com/ProCSS/wiki/api\_protest\_template) que vous pouvez utiliser ou modifier à votre guise, et assurez-vous de crossposter à /ModCoord. ## What can you do as a moderator? * Join the coordinated effort over at /ModCoord * Make a sticky post showing your support, [A template has been created here](https://www.reddit.com/ProCSS/wiki/api\_protest\_template) you can use or modify to your liking, and be sure to crosspost it to /ModCoord. **Merci de votre patience en la matière,** **-Équipe de mods** **Thank you for your patience in the matter,** **-Mod Team**

Welcome to Leja Nada

Amongst the countless asteroids of the Ferrofloro System, lies a cluster connected by strange gigantic vines. This is the Deritus Belt, an independent space colony of AI Constructs. By its very nature, the nation is efficient, well organized and heavily regulated by a central authority known as the Core Council. However, one area is free from the Council’s control: the space port of Leja Nada.
Leja Nada lies on Krelios, one of the most industrialised asteroids of the Deritus Belt. What began as a small black market to sell off goods that failed quality control, is now a sprawling robotic city. A city that enjoys special administrative status, is free from regulation and oversight of the Core Council, and is a product of chaotic free expression and self-agency.
Leja Nada was founded on one simple principle: everything remains off the books. Unlike the rest of the Deritus Belt, goods sold here do not have a record-trail of the supply chain. No one asks where the goods came from or who’s buying. To keep transactions anonymous, the city even has its own crypto currency called Koins, separate from the usual Galactic Credits used in the rest of the nation.
All of this makes Leja Nada a hot bed for trade, specially from less-than-legal acquisitions.

Arrival

All sizeable spacecrafts would dock at the Nadia International Spaceport. In the spirit of anonymity, Cargo Manifests are not required to be submitted to the port authority. However, if you wish to off load items here, a mapping of storage container identification and delivery addresses (and optional handling instructions) can be submitted at any time during your stay. The port will dispatch drones to make the necessary deliveries and provide you the invoice.
Once you connect to the local digital network, most trades can be handled at our online marketplace without you ever needing to step one foot outside. For those who do wish to disembark, it is advised they carry their own life support systems with them.
The only currency accepted in Leja Nada is the local cryptocurrency, Koins. If you don’t have any or wish to open a crypto wallet, Currency exchangers are available at the spaceport.
Once you exit the spaceport, you will reach the Metro terminal, which is serviced by most Metro lines as well as a special shuttle service to the Organic District.

Organic District

Just beyond the space port, a shuttle carries travellers to a cluster of giant glass domes. Inside each dome is an artificially maintained environment suitable for a range of organic species. If you are organic, this may be the only place in Leja Nada where you may find breathable air and consumable food. After all, Leja Nada is an asteroid city for robots.
While many consider the organic district to be a comfortable lounge for layovers, it is a permanent residence to a modest population of organic expats. Some of them have a sizeable stake in the local industrial empires; some are in the hospitality industry for organic visitors; others have simply taken odd jobs within the district, servicing other residents.
The Organic District is its own mini economy and society within the larger one of Leja Nada (Organics only make up 5% of the population). But it is a melting pot of many galactic cultures owing to the wide range of species that live here. Over time many of these residents have drifted away from their own cultures and have been subsumed by the local one.
For organic visitors, the district provides a range of accommodations. For those with immense wealth, The Centaurus is the obvious choice. Occupying its own dedicated dome, it is the epitome of luxury offering spacious suites and unparalleled amenities tailored to the needs of every galactic species.
For those on a more modest budget, we recommend Triple Tree in the Green Dome. While many mid-tier hotels exist in Leja Nada, Triple Tree stands out for its eco-friendly aesthetics, excellent service and glowing reviews from influx of Treegard visitors.
Lastly, if you're just here on a routine trade trip and just need a place to crash during the layover, Pod hotels dot the Organic district in every block. Down the Rabbit Hole in Night Sky Dome is one such establishment with some notoriety for their hallucinogenic 'amenities'.

The Undergrowth

For adventurous organic visitors who wish to step outside the comfort of the Organic District, it is advised to bring your own life support system with adequate refills. Electric Power access points are ubiquitous throughout Leja Nada but oxygen or water resupply is non-existent.
From the Space Port, visitors would find the Metro Rail station. The Port Station is a nexus for most lines, including the Orange Line, the first to be built. It winds through the oldest parts of Leja Nada often referred to as The Undergrowth. As the city expanded and made room for new residents and services, these older parts got buried under layers of pipes, wires and newer buildings forming a metallic jungle that may prove hard to traverse for many beings. The residents here usually embody smaller robotic shells designed for the troublesome terrain.
The neon-illuminated Undergrowth is largely a residential area today, usually for the less economically fortunate. However, one main point of interest here for outsiders is the Black Arm Bay. This used to be first shipyard on Leja Nada where spaceships were both built and repaired. Many of the earlier clientele were pirates who could not dock in more respectable ports to tend to their battle wounds. More often that not, the ships weren't the only things that needed repair and thus the Black Arm Bay soon housed many mechanic workshops. As the city expanded, the shipyard was abandoned for newer ones but the mechanic district stayed and only expanded.
Today, it is a very specialized black market that deals in all manner of parts and upgrades, housing many veteran mechanics, fabricators, and Code Rippers. And the rule of Leja Nada is: No Questions Asked, No Answers Due.
However, visitors should be warned that the Undergrowth is most prone to petty street crime and those without self defence capabilities should refrain from venturing too deep here.

The Chrome Road

The main Freeway running across the newer parts of Leja Nada is called the Chrome Road. It branches of into many districts, each controlled by a different corporation. These corporations operate their districts like little fiefdoms, controlling physical access to only those with a valid invitation. However, along the Chrome Road itself are a plethora of public access buildings, ranging from Ryzer's Sports Arena to Julia's Skin House. All of these establishments exist to give purpose to Deritians to inhabit physical bodies: From competing in demanding physical sports to relishing in base pleasures.
At the far end of the Chrome Road is House of Helia. Trade is the lifeblood of Leja Nada, but with most of it is of a dubious nature and between parties with no reason to trust each other, there has always existed a need for a neutral safe ground and an arbitrator. With most of the city being divvied up between mega corporations, House of Helia is the large trade hub where one can conduct business without threat of foul play. Safety here is guaranteed by Helia herself, the oldest being in Leja Nada, the founder of this city, and the original operator of all of the factories on Krelios. Many consider her a First Daughter of the God Queen herself, though there isn't ample evidence to support this chronology.

Meta Notes

If it seems oveunder-whelming or you're not sure where to dive in or how, hit me up on Discord and we can hash it out. As I didn't get a lot of time to hash out much of my claim this shard, feel free to take creative liberties and say you have prior contracts here, have a sizeable stake in a factory here, or have specially been invited by a Mega corporation. All's fair game (except for Helia). Considering this is a pretty shady location, if you wanna commit some crimes, please do! The local crime lords Corporations are pretty lenient as long as it doesn't disrupt their business.

Hi all,
I'm thinking of riding the Guelph to Goderich trail this summer and looking for some recent info. I'll go from about Ariss to Goderich, stay overnight, and then come back the next day. I have the endurance to do this but I don't know the trail, so I have some questions for anyone who has ridden it!
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• Can I do this on my roadbike (700x25s) with the proper tires, or do I need to go to my mtn bike (29er)?
  • My roadbike has an older frame and i'm limited to 700x25's, **maybe** 28's but likely not.
  • I've got Conti GP5000's on them since i normally burn on asphalt but I'd willing to sub out tires better suited to the trail.
  • I'll ride the mtb if that's the better idea. I'd consider buying tires more smooth than what I've got right now (Spesh fast track, standard rockhopper tyres).
• How much bikepacking gear do i need if i just overnight in a hotel or airbnb in goderich?
  • I don't want to buy too much bikepacking gear for just one overnight.
  • I've asked at shops but I'd like to get info from some one who's done it so I don't buy more than I need.
  • what kind of pack do i need to hold a swap-out clothes and make sure i've got enough fuel for the ride?
  • p.s. yes i already carry mech and tubes for flats.

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Thanks, locals! I have the legs to do this but I don't normally overnight and I don't know the trail beyond elmira. But it seems like a fun little thing to do.

Just finished staying at an Embassy Suites for the first time and loved having the separate living room (particularly great when traveling with kids). Are there any other hotel chains that offer this perk?
Thanks!

Foundations of Humanity 28 (Upturned Stones) - an NoP fanfic
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Thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for establishing the Nature of Predators Universe, and for allowing Fanfics to flourish! Thank you again, u/Braquen, u/Acceptable_Egg5560, u/BiasMushroom721, and last but not least u/Liberty-Prime76 for proofreading! This is my side of the Nature of a Giant crossover!
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Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil tourist
Date [standardized human time]: Sept 11th, 2136. Middle of 3rd Claw
“Well then, what would that make me?”
I jolted, swinging around at the sound. I had felt the voice come from behind me and resonate in my own chest. My fur stood on end as I locked onto his baleful eye glaring down at me. Alvi was frozen to her seat and Maeve had a hand to her chest, her chair now sat nearly half a tail from the table from her jump, her veil fallen from the jolt.
“Jesus Fucking Christ, Tarlim!” She swung her head to meet his eye over her shoulder, “How are you so quiet? Please don't sneak up on me like that.”
Tarlim continued to stare me down, and I could feel myself crumbling under the weight of his attention, though Jacob broke his concentration with a kind greeting, which Maeve returned likewise before asking, “Would you like to join us? These two were just teaching me about Predator Disease. I hope that isn’t a problem?”
Just like that?! Just mentioning his diagnosis set him wild earlier, and we’re just going to keep talking?!
“Not at all!” Jacob replied while he wandered over to the opposite side of our table and sat himself down. So I guess we are going to just keep talking! Even though the Giant was so obviously glaring down at me! But despite that, they just sat across from us, squeezing onto adjacent seats.
I found my tail wrapping itself around Alvi. I didn’t want her to get hurt. I didn’t want anything to happen now that they found us. How… How did they find us? “How did you know where we were?”
The Beast swung its arms wi-
NO! No! Night be damned, you WILL get this through your thick skull Valek. Tarlim. He! Is Tarlim!
Tarlim swung his arms wide, emphasizing the otherwise barren balcony. "You have a human with you. It wasn't hard to guess. It’s a rather familiar feeling. I always seem to end up in a place that the rest of the herd isn’t, and the same seems true for humans." His weighty focus came back to me, "I believe one of you was saying that was a symptom of predator disease?”
“That’s right,” Maeve answered immediately, clueless to or pointedly ignoring Tarlim's eyes on me. “Though it confuses me how the behavior of observers can be part of a diagnosis. That seems… less than scientific.”
“Yes, I would also like to know the logic behind that,” his ears and eyes locked onto mine while pointedly eating a dough ball, “I am very curious.”
Maeve gave me a nod of encouragement, urging me to continue, “Well… I-If the herd is avoiding someone, they must not be communicating ‘safety’ well enough. O-Or even being aggressive! So they would need to be taught how to not be a danger to others.”
“Really?” His ears were perked to signal his interest. ”And since everyone runs, screams, freezes, and cowers at the sight of me simply…” His voice wavered into silence. I could see his expression barely holding back rage and despair as he forced himself to hold a neutral serious expression.
It was Maeve who finished the thought. “Simply for being what you are. Valek…” She faced me directly. Her voice was a tone I heard when we talked about difficult things; devoid of accusation and yet carried by a desperate need to know, “do you believe that a living creature, any thing, sapient or not, should be abandoned because of how they are born?”
My ears fell flat. I could feel the attention of the world on my psyche, and I felt my tail pull from Alvi to protect myself instead. “I… No… But… But what if they’re a danger to the herd? Even humans wouldn’t keep a dangerous human free, would they?”
Jacob spoke through one of his dough balls. “Depends on what you mean by ‘dangerous.’” He swallowed and picked up another, “most ‘dangerous’ humans are like those Venlil who stabbed their partner, or that other Venlil who smashed their partner’s head on some stairs.” What?! The three of us were all startled at that news. “One was a fear response, the other just a simple accident. Worth a punishment, sure, but not always imprisonment.”
Maeve gulped and added, “Jesus, what happened on Prime Station…? Anyway, something else I noticed is: your process seemed very… proactive. Humans are reactive to injustice, or at least we try to be. Even if we know someone is at high risk of being a danger to those around them, we believe it is wrong to punish them for something they haven’t done. Innocent until proven guilty is a key tenet of our entire justice system.”
“Hey, it’s like they said,” Tarlim swallowed another ball, “it’s about teaching, not justice.” And levied his next challenge against me. “So what is it that I need to be taught? After all, you guys freaked out at seeing me, so you must know exactly what made me so aggressive and dangerous! Right?”
Of course I know why I freaked out! It was because he was big and… he was big and… No, no, that wasn’t the only reason! It couldn’t be the only reason. He was… he was big and he… His teeth! That’s it! They were… big and… And… Was that really it? Was that as deep as this fear went? I can’t even say I was afraid for my life, or for Maeve or Alvi’s life. Not next to how I felt running across the farm. There had to be something more to this than just how he looked!
My mind was spinning trying to justify itself, when Maeve cut through the fog, “Valek… What do exterminators… do?”
I thought for a long moment, “They… They protect us from predators. When there is a predator sighting, they investigate, locate, then exterminate the creature.”
Maeve took a moment to think on my words, then continued, “So what would an exterminator do… if a sapient was a Predator? Would they exterminate them too?”
“Ah, that’s simple!” A gruff voice leapt over a mouthful of dough, “They shoot ‘em with a flare with shotgun-level powder, douse ‘em with gas, and watch ‘em burn alive! That’s what they do!”
The sudden shock derailed our lesson, before Maeve asked incredulously, “Excuse me?? Did you just say exterminators… exterminate… with fire?!” Fear was evident behind her voice.
That couldn’t be true! The exterminators weren’t like that! They were- they were…
The Gi- Tarlim propped up his data pad toward us. There was a human wearing a blue spacesuit standing opposite what looked like more than a dozen exterminators in full flamer gear. The human held up one hand. “Hail people of Venlil Prime! I come in Peace! Take me to your leader!” Instantly, the exterminator closest to him pulled out a flare gun and shot the human. He fell to the ground, the flare bouncing off.
“Ah must say,” Jacob picked up another ball of dough, “Ah thank God Ah wore that suit. That flare still gave me a good bruise, but at least Ah didn’t need any skin grafts.”
I wanted to say it was just that one Venlil. But when the human defended himself, he was doused with fuel. Then there was… there was Tarlim. He was scrambling. Trying to save the human. Trying- trying to protect a friend! But he couldn’t! Jacob was set ablaze! He- he was!
The video ended with Jacob burning on the ground.
They had to have their reasons! Their duty is to protect the herd! They were trained to do only that! They take an oath to do only that! They can’t be… Evil! There’s proof they aren’t!
Like there’s proof they helped people during Herd Protection?
My heart stopped still.
“I-I need to go.”
---
I could only hear my claws clacking against the tile as I bolted down the stairs, through the arcade and out the front door, filling my lungs with fresh air. In the noise of the city surrounding my isolation, I felt my heart steady its pulse, and I walked aimlessly to clear my head.
I looked around at the city, constantly moving and beating with life and activity. This was the prosperity that the Federation promised us, that Exterminators put themselves in harm's way to protect. Was all of it just a facade? Some cheap veneer to cover bloodstained rot? We weren’t a utopia, I had never believed that; the Federation and Exterminators can’t be perfect. But Emerald Marble, Krakotl researchers, Tarlim’s imprisonment… These kinds of things are not accidents, and are not the work of a single person.
My mind drifted as I tried to understand why, while my paws carried me back to the hotel. I didn’t take stock of my surroundings until I heard the familiar buzz of the Forum, and stopped a moment to listen.
“My cousin Mavek got into the JEOTC, you know! That kid’s going places!”
“Did you hear? Farzer’s son was diagnosed with predator disease.” --- “I always knew something was off about that boy.”
“I saw one of those freaks on the street.” --- “Another? Are you sure it was one of them?” --- “I saw the scars on their neck! There’s no doubt that they were from there!” --- “I still can’t believe that they would just throw all those monsters out on our streets.”
“No, really! I saw it!” --- “That’s a puddle of Speh! Nobody could live in those drain tunnels for so long!” --- “On my mother’s Star I saw it! I think they’re hiding in there, working together; planning something!” --- “But they’re diseased! They don’t have the brains to work together!”
“And now the landlords are trying to more than double our rent!” --- “Double?? But- but we’re barely making ends meet as it is!” --- “Look, there’s still time to negotiate the contract. In the meantime, I can get more double shifts in the lumber yard.”
“So I called the exterminators, but instead of setting out gas or poison, they bring out the flamers! An entire half of that reserve burnt to ash! Those things only had a couple years until they were ready to cut!” --- “What?! But that reserve was part of our finance plan! How are we going to pay the equipment loans when that forest’s harvest comes around?” --- “We’ll think of something. Brahk. It was a Groben root chewer! They shouldn’t burn the forest just ‘cause it bit a worker’s hand!”
Of course: it's here too. How deep do I have to dig to see these things? Are they even buried at all?
I looked for and found a place to sit, then dug out my pad. Tarlim seemed surprised we didn’t know about him, but Alvi had, and she lived in the Capitol, so his lawsuit must have been televised. And he was right, all I had to search was ‘Dawn Creek correctional facility’ and I immediately found page after page of reports.
“A shame upon Corrections!”
“The secret drug trade of Dawn Creek”
“The failure of Dawn Creek’s Correctional Facility: Doing more harm than good.”
“Against the Herd: The predators deserved it!”
“Venlil weakness on full display”
“The illegal modifications of proven therapy devices!”
I clicked on that last one, figuring it would be the most likely to describe even a little of what physically went on inside. And it did. My stomach turned over and my heart sank to meet it: pictures of empty cells, empty of inhabitants and beds and tables and light. An open bathroom that once was sterile now a splashed palate of grime and filth. A kitchen that no one should ever eat from, with food that defies definition.
And the therapy devices! The Herd Therapy room had a photo of the safe spot, one of the investigators standing inside for scale. The article said that the room would commonly take twelve but that circle looked like it was rated for half that! And the electronics for the floor… They were a nightmare! The voltage was shown to be half-again over the mandated amount!
Then I saw The Chair… it was too big. A massive crown of connectors for the head. Metal clamps for the limbs instead of cloth straps. Electric probes set apart that a normal Venlil would be too small to connect. There… there was only one person that could have been used on.
“My stars… Why had it taken so long for the Light to find this?”
Maybe because it was never in shade?
‘Facility patient testimonials’. It took skipping three pages to get past all of Tarlim’s lawsuit, before I found another one. “This is the third week that I’ve been on latrine duty. Doctor Volm said it would teach me to value the herd. B-But I have to do it alone! I don’t understand…” Spoken from a patient of Clegel Falls Correctional Facility, followed immediately by the same Dr. Volm talking about how the diseased needed to learn their lesson with hard work. That the neglect was simply from a lack of staff. And the author sung the Doctor’s praises in their prose.
Fine. If hard work is how you fix predator disease, then what is their success rate?
The patient name went nowhere, she testified while incarcerated and never left. But the author was prolific, and I found one story that followed a success case. Checking their name, four others were released with them, in addition to a pawful from around the planet. Perfect! I would be able to cross reference their names and find out what happened! Doing just that, I found other release records, but it was just the same names again.
Ok… well if it is so successful, they must want everyone to know it! So finding lists of released persons shouldn’t be too hard. ‘Correctional facility release stories’... hmm, nope. ‘Correctional Facility successes’ - OH that is not what I meant. Brahk. Fine, how about ‘Dangerous predators released on the city’. There we go.
There’s Dawn Creek again. Guess Tarlim wasn’t lying about setting everyone loose. Alright here we go. Let's check these names. There’s my twelve. And there they are again. And again. Why is this story eve- Wait. [Standardized Human Times: 2129? 2126? 2132]...? They’re just releasing the same list over and over!
Were these people even patients?!
I checked each article detailing their release, and they couldn’t even get their diagnoses straight. Same issues: predator sympathizer was on every list, herdless behavior on most, excessive aggression on one or two, but they kept switching who had what. Ok, fine, just pick one!
Kaulna. The first article with her name mentioned predator sympathy, so start there. Treated at the Capitol… and Sweetwater? And Glacierview?? They’re on opposite sides of the Band!! Sun blast it, fine, what about early life? Nothing about education. This ‘Kaulna’ is alive and well in Clegal… and four years old. Oh, one with a medal for honorable service?? No, He died before my Kaulna’s first treatment.
Alright let's try Chelm the… Gojid Harchen? Ok what about Tarsi… who has three single biological mothers in separate cities. Brahking spawn of speh! Stranek?! Anyone?!
Please! Just one person! Just one person who got out who’s not- who’s not…
There was one.
“My son was cured after we took him to the Facility. Only took a few paws to find the right sedative!”
Wait, paws?
I altered my search. ‘Correctional sedatives’. Tons of stories now appeared. New stories. A parent would bring a child in and they would get a sedative to correct the ‘disease’ the child had and be sent on their way. There were several results about such things happening on the Yotul homeworld. But… none of these people were actually interred in the facilities. I found a public list of inmates who were incarcerated in the Capitol in the last month and compared names with the parents talking about their kids.
The kids who returned weren’t on the list. The kids who didn’t… they were.
None of the kids who were on the list had any records of leaving. No record of someone leaving after checking in. Only… only…
… Tarlim. I’m so sorry Tarlim.
I felt the wind around me as my legs sprinted back to the arcade. I shouldered through the door and kept running back to the food court, then bounded up the steps to our table, spurned again by the sound of Alvi crying.
“If what… They do is a choice… what even is a predator?” I crested the top of the stairs, “What… what even is predator disease?”
I knew the answer.
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