Faux leather sofa under $500

Friend is selling a 2016 Lexus IS 200t with roughly 135k miles for $12,500. Car has had 1 owner before her. In Southern California for reference.
Seems to be under the low end of the Kelly Blue Book private party range value. Assuming it doesn't have any issues and passes a mechanic inspection, is this a no-brainer?
Is it rare to find a car under KBB private party range value that doesn't have large issues?

Living in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat doesn't mean compromising on style and comfort. With a dash of creativity and thoughtful planning, you can transform your HDB home into a personalized haven that reflects your unique taste and lifestyle. In this article, we present a collection of trendy and innovative renovation ideas along with expert renovation contractor to help you elevate your HDB living experience.
Open Concept Living
Say goodbye to cramped spaces and embrace the open-concept living trend. Knock down walls to create a seamless flow between your living, dining, and kitchen areas. This not only enhances the sense of spaciousness but also encourages social interaction and connectivity. Consider installing a kitchen island that doubles as a dining table, adding functionality and a modern touch to your home.
Smart Storage Solutions
Maximize the limited space in your HDB flat with smart storage solutions. Opt for built-in cabinets and shelves to make the most of vertical space. Explore hidden storage options such as under-bed drawers or ottomans with storage compartments. Utilize multi-functional furniture like sofa beds or extendable dining tables that can adapt to your changing needs. By keeping your belongings organized and minimizing clutter, you can create a more visually appealing and functional living environment.
Statement Walls and Creative Lighting
Transform the look and feel of your HDB flat with statement walls and creative lighting. Consider adding textured wallpapers, geometric patterns, or a vibrant accent color to create a focal point in your living room or bedroom. Experiment with different lighting fixtures, such as pendant lights or track lighting, to add depth and ambiance to your space. Creative lighting techniques can also highlight artwork or architectural features, further enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of your home.
Bring Nature Indoors
Introduce a touch of nature into your HDB renovation by incorporating indoor plants. Create a vertical garden using wall-mounted planters or install hanging planters near windows. Plants not only add visual interest and freshness to your home but also improve air quality and create a soothing ambiance. Choose low-maintenance plants that thrive indoors, such as pothos, snake plants, or peace lilies. Additionally, consider adding natural materials like wood or bamboo to your furniture and decor choices to create a warm and earthy atmosphere.
With these trendy HDB renovation ideas, you can unlock the full potential of your living space. From open-concept living to smart storage solutions, statement walls, and incorporating nature indoors, there are endless possibilities to transform your HDB flat into a stylish and functional home. Embrace your creativity, personalize your space, and enjoy the elevated living experience that reflects your unique personality and preferences. Homerenoguru provides the most experienced renovation contractor are always ready to help you out in all aspects to transform your home as you like it.

Tourism is a small but important part of Kashmir’s economy. However, in the name of tourism, the government should not put the fragile and already-strained natural resources and public infrastructure in the region under even more pressure, lest it lead to a complete destruction of the beautiful valley, which is home to 7 million people.
Four years after India made Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) its youngest Union territory, the region is expected to receive around 2 crore (20 million) tourists this year. This was revealed by the lieutenant governor of the Union territory Manoj Sinha in April while laying the foundation stone of a medical college in the outskirts of Srinagar.
Sinha said that the number of tourists J&K is set to receive during this year would break all previous records of tourist influx into Kashmir.
Will the Union territory, especially the ecologically fragile Kashmir valley, be able to accommodate such a huge number of tourists?
What about the amount of waste 2 crore tourists will generate? Does the Union territory have the infrastructure to treat this waste scientifically, considering that the number of tourists visiting is more than twice the population of the region?
Do we have scientific waste management systems in place in Srinagar and other tourist places of J&K?
In this article I will be explaining all this with facts and figures.
Shrinking farmlands and tourism
Tourists who visit Kashmir are fascinated by the natural beauty while they move around on the Jammu–Srinagar highway (National Highway 44). They are often seen taking pictures in the saffron fields of Pampore or with the mustard flowers elsewhere in the valley (which bloom in abundance around the spring season— March to April).
Does the Union territory have the infrastructure to treat this waste scientifically, considering that the number of tourists visiting is more than twice the population of the region?
When tourists visit Pahalgam, they take selfies near the apple trees that dot the landscape on the way to this beautiful tourist resort.
Imagine what will happen if the beauty of this landscape is allowed to perish? There will be no reason for tourists to visit Kashmir. More importantly, it will become well-nigh impossible for Kashmiris to live in Kashmir.
The government’s own data reveals that agriculture landholding in J&K has come down drastically. As per a report published on 10th agriculture census (2015–16) by the financial commissioner of revenue for the erstwhile state of J&K, the total number of operational holdings in the state was 14.16 lakh, operating on 8.42 lakh hectare of land.
This was 14.49 lakh holdings operating on 8.95 lakh hectare of land in the 9th agriculture census ( 2010–11).
This means that in a mere five-year period, J&K had witnessed a decrease of 2.27 percent in the number of holdings and a decrease of 5.92 percent in the operating area under agriculture.
The average holding size in J&K during the 10th agriculture census (2015–16) stood at 0.59 hectare. This has come down further in the 2021–22 agriculture census whose final report is yet to be made public.
As per the 2015–16 agriculture census, around 84 percent of farmers in J&K were marginal farmers and 11.29 percent, 4.10 percent, 0.78 percent and 0.04 percent farmers had small, semi-medium, medium and large land holdings respectively.
Marginal farmers are those who have less than 1 hectare of land holdings, small farmers have 1–2 hectare of land holdings, semi-medium farmers have 2–4 hectare of land holdings, medium farmers have 4–10 hectare of land holdings, and large farmers have more than 10 hectare of land holdings.
In the 9th agriculture census, the average land holding in J&K was 0.62 hectare and between 2010–11 and 2015–16 agriculture censuses, there has been a decrease of 0.03 hectare of agriculture land holding.
The unofficial figures say that the agricultural land has shrunk further in the last five–six years and is now only around 0.5 hectare. If this downward spiral continues, I believe that in the next 25 to 30 years, 90 percent of the rural population in J&K, especially in the Kashmir valley, will become landless.
We will see only concrete structures on our agricultural land. It will have serious consequences for our agriculture economy and tourism will be severely impacted as well. There will be more floods as our wetlands and lakes are choked and the built up concrete area doesn’t allow water to seep into the ground.
Unscientific waste disposal and illegal mining
In future, shrinking farmlands will not only impact our agriculture and tourism but will also have a direct impact on management of our municipal solid waste.
In J&K, 90 percent of the urban local bodies, including the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and smaller councils and committees have no official landfill sites. Waste is not treated as per the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016. Even in Srinagar city, the only garbage dump site located at Achan Saidpora is choked and emits an obnoxious smell, especially during summer months.
Enough land isn’t available in our towns and cities to set up scientific landfill sites. In hilly towns, this is even more of a challenge, especially in Ramban, Doda and Udhampur, where municipal solid waste is dumped unscientifically in forests or waterbodies.
During the last decade, the SMC has not been able to acquire even 50–60 acre of land for creating a landfill as an alternative to the overburdened Achan Saidpora site.
In 2017, the then deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, who was also the Minister for Housing & Urban Development Department (HUDD), while responding to a question from a legislator of Srinagar, Mubarak Gul, said on the floor of the J&K assembly that a committee had been constituted under the district magistrate of Srinagar to look for land to create a new landfill site in Srinagar but the committee could not find even 10 acre of land to set up the new landfill site.
It is a well-known fact that Srinagar and a majority of the districts in J&K have small landholdings and most of the land is already occupied by shopping complexes or housing colonies and finding large patches of land to set up landfill sites or garbage dump sites is a herculean task.
This is the reason that a majority of our water bodies, such as lakes, wetlands, rivers and streams, have become waste dump sites and this author had to move a formal application before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to ensure a clean-up of the Doodh Ganga river in the Srinagar–Budgam area.
This waterbody is being used to dump solid waste at multiple locations by local residents. The Geology and Mining Department has auctioned this stream for riverbed mining with effect from September 2021 to 2026. The project proponent is mining as deep as 10 metre while only mining till 1 metre depth is allowed.
Huge cranes and JCB are also used for extracting sand, boulders and gravel, which is in violation of the J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2016 and the guidelines of J&K State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).
In addition, the SMC and a few other government bodies have set up around 13 wastewater pump stations on the banks of Doodh Ganga, which flush out untreated water and sewage into the stream in violation of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Keeping these violations under consideration and after providing the material facts, the NGT imposed a penalty of ₹35 crore on the government of J&K in October this year
In March this year, a ₹3 crore penalty had already been imposed. The money was released from the coffers of SMC, the Department of Geology and Mining and the municipal committees of Chadoora and Budgam.
In the Poonch district of Jammu, the local municipality is using the Poonch river as a garbage dump site. In this case, too, a few months back this author had to move an application before the NGT. Notice was issued to the district magistrate, Poonch and the pollution control committee, asking for a detailed report from them. The case is listed for hearing in July.
Conclusion
Heaps of plastic waste can be seen in the tourist places of Kashmir, such as Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Yusmarg and Doodhpathri. The government should seriously think about banning plastic in these tourist spots.
The pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave are littering in the high altitude mountains, which is even more dangerous because the waste does not decompose easily in the freezing weather at such high altitudes. The cave is also adjacent to the magnificent Kolahoi glacier and the waste acts like a hot knife through butter, trapping sunlight and cutting through the white snow and ice.
People visit the cave for spiritual reasons, but when they engage in anti-nature activities by throwing plastic, food and other wastes in the pristine glaciers and mountains, it leads to environmental destruction.
In Srinagar city alone, around 500 metric tonne of waste is generated daily and this quantity goes up during the tourist rush in summers. Unfortunately not even 10 percent of this waste is treated.
Same is the case with other tourist places of J&K such as Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam. When 2 crore tourists visit J&K in a year, how will authorities manage them? Do we have scientific landfill sites? What about the carbon footprints these tourists will leave?
So it is advisable that the government must first concentrate on ensuring that all tourist places have a scientific waste management system in place. Plastic must be completely banned. No food items packed in plastic wrappers should be sold at tourist resorts.
The pilgrims coming for pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave should not be allowed to carry any plastic packed food materials and the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine should also be reduced, as recommended by Nitesh SenGupta Committee report.
Tourism is a small but vital part of Kashmir’s economy. But we must not let unregulated tourism put an unbearable strain on the natural resources and infrastructure of the region. By doing so, we may earn quick bucks for a few years, but it will ultimately result in Kashmir becoming a trashbowl.
Let us not allow Kashmir valley to become a trash valley.
https://theleaflet.in/unregulated-tourist-influx-kashmir-dreads-the-final-straw-that-will-break-the-himalayas-back/

Hey everyone!
I am currently looking for a talented animator to make about a minute of animation for a music video I am working on.
The animation would be Sailor Moon inspired and consist of about six scenes. One would be a character walking down the street (looped), one would be them seeing a dog on the street, one would be them picking the dog up, one would be a shot of them with their hair raising, one would be a Sailor Moon-esque transformation scene and one would be them walking away with the dog next to them (looped).
I am open to the budget depending on the quality of work, but ideally I would keep it under $500 USD if possible.
To apply, please supply some examples of your 2D animation and please let me know what kind of budget you'd be looking at!
Thanks!

Hey everyone!
I am currently looking for a talented animator to make about a minute of animation for a music video I am working on.
The animation would be Sailor Moon inspired and consist of about six scenes. One would be a character walking down the street (looped), one would be them seeing a dog on the street, one would be them picking the dog up, one would be a shot of them with their hair raising, one would be a Sailor Moon-esque transformation scene and one would be them walking away with the dog next to them (looped).
I am open to the budget depending on the quality of work, but ideally I would keep it under $500 USD if possible.
To apply, please supply some examples of your 2D animation and please let me know what kind of budget you'd be looking at!
Thanks!

Hey everyone!
I am currently looking for a talented animator to make about a minute of animation for a music video I am working on.
The animation would be Sailor Moon inspired and consist of about six scenes. One would be a character walking down the street (looped), one would be them seeing a dog on the street, one would be them picking the dog up, one would be a shot of them with their hair raising, one would be a Sailor Moon-esque transformation scene and one would be them walking away with the dog next to them (looped).
I am open to the budget depending on the quality of work, but ideally I would keep it under $500 USD if possible.
To apply, please supply some examples of your 2D animation and please let me know what kind of budget you'd be looking at!
Thanks!

First Prev Next Royal Road Patreon
u/KieveKRS providing the Trash certification of quality! (with help from u/coldfireknight cuz this one needed it.)
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Nalah affixed the massive shield to her back, the rectangular form large enough for him to fit behind while only needing to crouch slightly. It was mostly ironwood, but the sides and front were metal-plated, so it still weighed a considerable amount. Despite that, the thing’s bulk hardly seemed to be noticed by the blonde-furred female, likely due to the constant construction work she involved herself in. It paired oddly with the long pike she insisted on using, but he couldn’t deny that poking at things while hiding behind a mobile wall sounded like a good idea.
Jax was wearing his new armour, the bulky chest-piece a mirror of his blond-furred pack mate’s. Though he forwent the protection a buckler or likewise would offer, he doubled up on gear. Gauntlets, vambraces, pauldrons, and anything else he could wear to compliment the massive axe he had taken a liking to.
Where Nalah was fitted to look like an apocalypse survivor—her protections limited to her torso, forearms, and shield—the black-furred male resembled a giant, if underfunded, paladin. All he needed now was some religious imagery and a penchant for exalting the qualities of their god. Joseph almost nudged the guy to suggest it for kicks.
On second thought, he decided that Jax absolutely did not need a reason to start yelling about the Human-turned-religious-figure, because there was no way in hell he wouldn’t. There was no telling what he would choose to say, and the Grand Hunter was perfectly happy never knowing.
Having been with the male as long as he had, it would probably involve ‘taming’ females or something else that would leave him groaning for weeks, if not just contemplating another high-dive from the cliff.
Joseph fixed his own equipment, the ‘Wraith armour’ worn over his own thin iron breastplate. He wasn’t thrilled to wear the extra weight, but it beat being mauled by the thing they were heading out to kill. The trips so far had been tolerable, fog and overcast skies keeping the temperature in check, but he didn’t want to go out in this on a hotter day as Summer really kicked back in. He was sweaty enough without baking inside all this crap.
He adjusted the wolf-skull mask, the rest of the hunting party having gotten over the worst of the unease it gave them. Though they’d needed to rotate people out for the sake of fairness, this would be their eighth consecutive scouting. Using the information that Raine and Faye provided, they narrowed down a likely stomping grounds for the creature and were systematically clearing sectors. It might have been discouraging to keep looking after so long, but the occasional marking on trees and the odd moss-wolf corpse tipped them off that they were getting close. There was still another week’s worth of searching left if today wasn’t the day, but somehow he doubted they wouldn’t need that long.
All in all, they numbered six; larger parties were attempted, but their efforts at stealth quickly became pointless between so many trudging through the forest and stopping for breaks. There was a bit of a scare where one of Mi’low’s pack went missing, but the guy had just stopped to relieve himself. Since the discovery was made by someone else knocking him over in the process by mistake, they decided that keeping the number smaller made communication easier. And lowered the amount of grumbling about needing a bath.
Jax, Nalah, two security members, one of the hunters, and him. Sure, grabbing Tel or the Wraiths would have been a bit more useful for cohesion, but they were all busy with things, and he didn’t want to grind everything in the settlement to a halt for nothing if the search turned up empty again. They were more suited to taking out their fellow Lilhun than some monster in the woods, as much as he disliked the thought.
Scarlet was spending a lot of time with Violet and the new Atmo, Faye was spending much of her recovery with the moss-wolves and moss-pup, and Tel was in the process of helping Harrow shore up the few security members that were slated to become snipers. Kaslin was still learning chemistry with Toril, and Raine was helping whoever needed a hand, so that marked off all of his usual accompaniment. He could have taken more of his direct pack, but they all had important things to take care of as well.
Sahari was managing the pack and putting people where people needed to be put, Pan was working with Idee and Heralt to make a line of armour for the whole pack, and Mi’low was...well, Mi’low. He was pretty sure she was unofficially the master of the hunter’s lodge and spent most of her time keeping track of what came in and out of it, while also making sure that everyone got their fair share. It needed to be done with the settlement growing as much as it had, and it kept Mi’low busy enough to stymie the flow of complaints, so he wasn’t about to complain.
They double checked that they had everything that was needed; food, water, arrows, bolts, and some bags to store anything that the snares had caught on the way back. Four ranged and two melee weapons meant that they would be mostly using Jax and Nalah to soak hits if it came down to it, the others peppering it with projectiles. Given that Harrow was insistent on the bear-thing being resistant to anything they could use at a distance, they also carried spare weapons for the ranged users, just in case. Nodding, Joseph gestured to the group finishing up their preparations for the day’s trip.
“A moment, sir?” Scarlet called to him as she approached the gate, the Wraith flanked by Rose and Cobalt. The two Atmo were decked-out in their own armour, which appeared to be almost entirely metal, save for the palm lining the inside for comfort. Each of their six legs were adorned with broad shields, their bases capped off with a flat storage carriage. They looked like someone had a little too much fun testing how much the insects could effortlessly carry and had ended up with sapient hexapedal tanks.
“Only if you explain why those two would look more at home if they had cannons installed on their backs,” he quipped, an expression somewhere between surprised, amused, and plain dumbfounded plastered on his face. The blackish red-furred female smirked for a split-second before resuming her usual servile presentation.
“The young mistress had extended her request for these two to accompany you.”
Joseph tilted his head incredulously. “Violet told you to send them?”
Scarlet nodded, gesturing to the outfitted Atmo. “They have been under her tutelage for some time now, and wish to be of assistance.”
The Grand Hunter snapped his mouth closed when he was about to ask why his daughter would teach them anything that might be useful for fighting a deadly beast. Of course she did; It was one of the first things he did for her. It would have been weirder for her not to pass on what she knew after all the hours she spent either seeing him coach the others, or being coached herself. With the time she had under her belt, she was the local Atmo Close Quarters Combat specialist, and no one else understood how the modified boxing she learned worked with their bodies like she did.
He wore a hesitant expression, shifting his weight to his other leg. “Well, they’ve certainly geared up.”
“It is a product our smith is rather proud of,” the Wraith affirmed confidently.
He exhaled slowly. “Seems a bit much.”
She seemed to be expecting the remark, barely pausing to register what he said before responding. “Your kit wishes you safe, yet understands you would not allow her to accompany you. These two wish to be of assistance.”
To punctuate her point, the two nodded in agreement, walking forward and slinging some of the backpacks onto their carriages. It seemed ‘no’ wasn’t something they were going to accept after Violet had said her piece. He sighed, conceding that they wouldn’t slow the party down with everyone carrying so much weight in equipment, regardless of the bags. They took breaks frequently enough to accommodate the Atmo, so that wouldn’t hinder anything either.
“Fine,” he relented with a wave of his hand. “We’ll take them. Not like they’d hurt anyway. But–” He put a warning into his tone. “–they’re not playing the hero and getting themselves killed. This isn’t going to work if they think any of us dying is still a net positive, got it?”
The two Atmo mimed their understanding, Scarlet replying with a victorious smile. Joseph couldn’t help but bemusedly roll his eyes. The female had taken rather well to baby-sitting, and that seems to have extended to humouring the young Queen’s schemes now. It wasn’t an unwelcome addition to their little sojourn. At least they could haul back any larger game without it tacking hours onto the return trip.
He thanked Scarlet for her trouble before dismissing her, confirming with the group that everything was accounted for, and set off before it grew too late. He wasn’t looking to get caught out in the woods during the night. The Lilhuns might be fine, but he was pretty well blind unless the moon felt generous.
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Jax watched the two Atmo quietly follow on the sides of the group, their heavily armoured forms posing no issues with their naturally soundless movements in the forest. In the den, they would make moderate clacks and clicks as their chitinous legs contacted the ground, but the soft dirt and foliage stifled all but the smallest report of their travel. With Scarlet supervising alongside Violet, he wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that the former Blade had influenced their movement with the goal in mind, though he had never paid much attention to how they walked before to compare.
He had to admit, having them carry the additional equipment was exceedingly useful. He had proposed having the group use the newly acquired platforms on their more arachnid-like abdomen to rest in shifts, but Joseph was quick to insist that the insects were of lesser stamina than even Lilhuns. The phrasing seemed like a comparative insult, but Jax had more than enough experience with the Human to know that he had simply spoken his mind. To him, everyone had sub-par stamina. Training had gone some way to remedy the discrepancy, but the Grand Hunter could still continue for longer than even the most well-conditioned of them.
The black-furred male rolled his shoulders, feeling the heft of his axe shift with the movement. It was an impressive size, the weight well-balanced and its edge sharp. He had once laid it to the ground out of curiosity and confirmed that it was about as tall as Pan from head to haft, though only if she stood to her full height. Regardless of its size, it was still lighter than the armour he chose to don.
Having only really worn leathers or a few sets of ironwood protections, the encumbering prominence of the iron equipment took getting used to. It wasn’t entirely restrictive, but did put a damper on any chances he had of sprinting from danger. That was fine, he supposed, since he was wearing it against a beast he had no experience with. It could very well outrun him regardless, and he would rather have the defences in either case.
Nalah seemed to be doing fine, the large barrier she kept on her back swaying slightly as she walked. She was unhindered by it, her movements barely affected by the bulk, which was reassuring. Joseph, however, seemed to be panting more than usual, the rolling cloud coverage easing as the sun progressively warmed the environment. The fog from earlier meant that it was rather humid, and that seemed to bore no well wishes for the male encased in dark leathers and thick plates. He had even flipped down his hood, the sweat beading on his skin adding a sheen to his visage.
“I liked this better when the sun didn’t exist,” the Human lamented quietly, just loud enough for Jax to hear. The black-furred male chuckled.
“It would be rather dark.”
Joseph glared at him for a moment before rolling his eyes. “I just don’t rank ‘heavily armoured hike through the woods’ high up on my list of things I want to do regularly.”
“I believe that list would be occupied by your mates, no?” he ribbed playfully, a smirk arising when the Grand Hunter shunted his eyes closed in a grimace.
“I hate you.”
“I can see your smile underneath your displeasure, Joseph,” Jax quipped, nudging the male with his elbow, then giving an apologetic smile when his friend almost fell. Joseph sighed, waving Cobalt over and fetching a water-skin from the luggage that the insect was ferrying without breaking stride—though he needed to be careful not to get stepped on.
The Atmo always amused Jax. Be it their passive demeanour hidden by their towering stature, or his interactions with the den-kit, they never failed to be curious people. Having the two that accompanied Volta with them was an unexpected development, but he couldn’t claim to disapprove. If they had been imparted the methods of combat that Violet had cultivated, then there was little worry of them being harmed by naught but perhaps their current target. At least not until there was a better reference of its strength than the single encounter the first-years had so long ago.
At the time, it had smashed pillars and pierced flesh effortlessly, claws proving to be little more than tempting ministrations of tender touch to the thick hide. Jax only had some of the pack’s recount to base the experience off of, but was content to take their word for it. He was, ashamedly, preoccupied taking care of baser needs when the event transpired, so he was woefully unprepared for the eventual encounter. Still, he was afforded the best the settlement had to offer so that he might serve his duty of protecting the Grand Hunter. Harrow would never forgive him if only he returned.
His thoughts were disturbed by Joseph calling for a rest, Jax’s legs thankful for the break from supporting the unusual weight for so long. The Human dispensed rations and water for the pack, the Atmo waiting until everyone else was supplied before accepting their portion. They rested on their base directly, instead of curling their legs beneath them like Jax had become accustomed. Perhaps the armour impeded such, or they wished to remain mobile in the event such was required. Regardless, they blocked what little breeze there was, forcing the Grand Hunter to walk beyond them to enjoy it in the shade. It was short-lived however, as Rose quickly repositioned to stay between the pack and whatever lay beyond their protections.
It was a futile effort, it seemed, because it repeated again twice before Joseph groaned loudly and threw himself atop the carriage to lay back, his legs dangling at the knee. He seemed perfectly content with the unorthodox arrangement, snorting his amusement along with a muttered comment about a ‘taxi.’
The entertaining sight was marred by a distant yelp, snapping the group to attention. Jax and Joseph traded looks, subtle nods and gestures given to move out while remaining quiet. Ignoring his earlier complaints, the Grand Hunter flicked his hood up and donned the mask, drawing his crossbow and readying a bolt. The hunter of the pack mimicked the preparation, the two security members loosely nocking their arrows while Rose, Cobalt, Jax, and Nalah took point.
They proceeded quietly for far longer than the proximity of the noise would have suggested, but marks and gashes upon the trees implied a moving conflict. Thoughts of it being a lost cause quickly became moot as a closer growl and bark shattered the careful silence they had been maintaining.
Motioning for the pack to stop, Joseph waved Jax forward, Nalah approaching the other side. Using the large shield as additional cover, they peered around a particularly thick tree. Locked in combat were two moss-wolves, both attacking a truly massive grey creature.
Twice the Human’s height, half that in width. Four pillars as legs—the muscular trunks sinewy and defined—supported the disturbing hunched figure, the wide base tapering slightly into a thick and extended torso. A singular eye-stalk replaced the head, the ocular organ atop it pitch black and free of any indication of its focus. Four arms with deadly claws parried and sliced the two yellow beasts as they attempted to drive off the predator, a sickeningly large maw gaping to catch any attempts at a lunge. The mouth of the creature almost occupied the entirety of the available surface area upon its front, the jagged bone tools of manduction undulating with the promise of sustenance.
Joseph pulled them back, cursing under his breath as he tried to fight off the tension. From Nalah’s worried expression, it seemed his caution was rather potent, the other members of the group smelling his reaction as well.
“So, what’s the plan, Jax?” the Human whispered, his grip on the crossbow alternating with his fingers stretching across the trigger lest his fidgeting cause a misfire.
“I thought that, with your record, you would wish to tame it for the settlement,” Jax replied while thinking through a plan of action. He was glad that his friend trusted him, but he wished he had known the true scale of the beast prior. Joseph grit his teeth, turning to glance past the tree again with sarcasm pouring out of his response.
“Can’t quite see Winnie-the-woodchipper there playing great with kids.”
“You say that after adopting an Atmo as kit, Grand Hunter,” he returned, nodding to himself when a plan formed. The Human smiled, the banter easing the tension somewhat. “Rose, Cobalt, you two are the most well defended of us. Circle around and drive the beast this way. You should be capable of such without noise, yes?”
The two insects nodded, emptying their luggage behind a tree so as not to lose any of it before disappearing into the trees. The slight glimmer of their iron armour was the only indication of their position through the dense forest. Jax hoped that the beast was not particularly curious about the dimly pulsing glare, nor finished with its current altercation in time to impede the pair.
Satisfied with their progress, he motioned for the two security members to scale a tree and gain a superior vantage point. Their weapons would be able to maintain a more rapid pace of sustained fire at longer ranges. Joseph and the hunter were instructed to hide behind trees nearby, though the Human would need to remain grounded as his lack of claws made scaling the large flora difficult with his equipment.
Finally, Nalah and he positioned themselves much closer, in order to flank the creature as it fled the Atmo and occupy it long enough for the others to bleed it out, if not outright dispose of it.
With the forms of the Atmo peeking through the brush opposite them, Jax raised his axe to signal the start.
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Joseph felt the hammering in his chest, his heart preparing him to fight for his life against the walking abomination that easily outclassed the only other predator that he had experience with. Sure, the moss-wolves were easy to take down once you had equipment and a plan, but that thing screamed danger.
He watched Jax and Nalah set up behind thick trees, their goal being for Jax to hopefully disable a leg or two with the war-axe while Nalah occupied it with the shield. As the two strongest members of his little family, he trusted both to do their job.
As a clusterfuck of animal and torture device, he had no faith in the creature playing along.
Swallowing his hesitation, he adjusted his grip on the crossbow again, mentally tallying his shots and cursing himself for not researching explosives. Sure, Toril didn’t want to be involved in that kind of weapon, but at the moment, the tailless white-furred male could suck it up and make one anyway. Joseph would give his left nut to see how quickly the chemist would make weapons of mass destruction just to annihilate whatever that thing called home.
Jax raised his axe, glinting the sunlight of it towards the Atmo. Receiving the start signal, the two clicked and loosed a deafening screech, the Human’s ears ringing even from this distance.
The beast seemed unperturbed by the noise, though the lack of visible ears may have had something to do with the lacklustre effect. Regardless, it did notice the two armour-clad insects charging at it, and smartly decided to extradite itself from the area. The moss-wolves, however, didn’t quite get the memo, mistaking the advancing assistance as yet another foe to defend themselves from.
He had to say, Violet taught the two well. They flashed their blades out in the same flicker jab that he had shown his daughter, and with an unceremonious squelch, the two bisected canines landed in four pieces, a vibrant green ichor now staining the weapon-like appendages of the Atmo. Undeterred by their first act of violence—as far as he was aware, anyway—they continued herding the beast.
It wasn’t as fast as they might have feared, its quadrupedal gait hindered by its proportions, but it was still quick enough to be damn intimidating. Its arms acted as a counter balance, constantly adjusting this way and that just to keep it stable. That thing was clearly never meant for sprinting, all its mobility being given to the overactive maw that pulsated with the exertion.
He readied his crossbow, the shaking in his hands not ruining his aim against such a large target. He eyeballed the distance between the creature and the ambush point, forcibly moving his finger off the trigger so that he didn’t fire early.
Closer. Come on. Almost.
Now.
Jax wound up like a particularly enthusiastic lumberjack, putting his full body into the rotation. The massive axe swung like a horizontal pendulum striking home with all the finality of a clock tolling midnight. It bit into the front leg of the beast, only sinking a few inches before momentum nearly wretched the weapon from the black-furred male. Luckily, the force and timing was enough to trip it, the creature crashing to the forest floor with a deafening roar of pain.
They could hurt it. That made him feel better.
His relief evaporated as the beast swiftly recovered, hauling itself from the ground faster than he thought possible, but his archers took it for an unspoken signal. Arrows and bolts peppered its thick hide, to no effect—it shrugged off the projectiles like they were nothing more than pine needles, none sinking far enough to gain notable purchase.
Jax hefted his axe for another strike, careful not to over-commit this time. Nalah prodded the beast wherever she could with her pike, the melee weapon sliced and skewered just past the surface of the hide, though not enough to do more than marr. It was, however, enough to gain the attention of the target, the creature swinging two of its four arms to rake across the shield that the blond-furred female held. The iron plating across the front let out an unearthly shriek as claws ripped and crumpled the metal.
Well, fuck.
Nalah was quick to react, treating the shield less as an immovable barrier and more like a slight distance buffer, dodging in and out of range to steal jabs with the polearm. The security members nocked another volley, picking different targets than before. An arrow bounced harmlessly off the black orb of an eye, another finding purchase in what passed for gums in its mouth.
The hint was received; aim for the mouth. Thankfully, that was a large target. Less thankfully, it realized that flashing its teeth was detrimental to its health, slamming the maw closed.
Jax managed another swing, this time into one of the rear legs. It wasn’t as effective as the first strike, but it did warrant a sweeping double back-fist from the creature, scoring Jax’s armour with shallow claw marks as he jumped backwards. Joseph let out a breath as he fired his second shot, only just narrowly missing the sliver of a gap between razor teeth that the enraged attack afforded. It couldn’t keep its mouth shut forever, each frenzied swipe pulling its form enough for glimpses of softer flesh within to appear. The hunter dropped from their tree, darting across to reposition for a wider angle to capitalize on. The creature noticed, lunging forward to eviscerate the easier target.
Joseph blinked as two armoured figures jumped in front of the Lilhun, raising their blades in a tight guard to block the four arms grabbing for a quick meal. The beast recoiled with a thunderous screech, two of its appendages sporting deep gashes that fountained blood, while the others managed to impact above the edged outside of the blades. Rose and Cobalt pressed forward, buying time and space for the hunter to collect themselves and scale up another perch. Taking advantage of its pain, two new arrows ripped through the air, smacking into exposed inner flesh. Two new protrusions joined the first in the mouth, one landing next to the existing projectile, while the other cleared the gateway of serration, driving deeply inside of it.
More flicker jabs and extended straights pushed and cut the beast as it tried to gain distance from the two that wounded it, every retaliatory strike earning it another gash in its grey hide.. Unencumbered by the constant barrage, Nalah thrust into its legs more vigorously, her body leaning into each attack to gain every inch of penetration she could into the muscle and thick hide.
Jax used the chance to score another chopping blow, doubling down on a previous wound to a back leg—striking bone this time, based on the unholy wail the beast uttered. Joseph raised his crossbow to land another shot into its mouth, but the beast flailed wildly to fend off the ambush.
Rose managed to block, Jax lunged backwards, Nalah deflected most of it with what remained of her shield, but Cobalt was caught by a strike, taking the hit to its torso. The Atmo flew backwards, rolling when it landed, the carriage and assorted armoured plates trailing behind it. Rose shifted instantly, covering the direction that their companion had been sent while Jax and Nalah focused on pulling the beast away from the downed combatant.
Joseph’s eyes flicked to the Atmo, waging an internal battle on whether helping the insect would be better or worse for the situation as a whole. He didn’t want to lighten up their assault if it would just mean more injuries, but Cobalt could be in dire need for a patch job. It was hard to tell from where he was.
Cursing, he bolted from his spot, firing off one last round into the gaping maw before clipping the crossbow onto his armour and sliding on his knees in front of Cobalt, healroot hastily retrieved from his pocket.
He paused, sighing in relief when none of the armour bore more than deep gashes, the carapace underneath unblemished by the attack. Cobalt clicked lightly, dazed, but otherwise seeming unhurt. Unlearned in the physiology relevant, he ushered the Atmo to remain out of the fight for fear of concussion or something similar. They could look at the insect back at the base to be sure later.
“Joseph!”
His head spun around at both Jax and Nalah screaming his name, a massive clawed hand sweeping at him—the monster's approach unnoticed while he focused on Cobalt. Lacking a better option, he lunged forward towards the underside of the beast to dodge the swipe, crashing to his shoulder on the dirt below.
The creature raised a leg above Joseph, pounding the earth scant inches from his head as he rolled sideways. Ignoring the kicked up dirt, he brought his fist to the underside of the beast, flicking the release on his bracer.
Blood spouted from the newly formed wound, the blade breaking at the mechanism as the massive animal lurched in pain, Joseph rolling out of the way of another attempted trampling. He scrambled to his feet, feeling the wind of another strike narrowly missing him.
Yeah, that would probably kill him.
Luckily, the injuries renewed the desire to flee in the monstrosity, the group of attackers proving too dangerous to continue challenging. It stumbled away from them, sparing Cobalt from its panicked trudging. Jax and Nalah started to run towards him, worry evident in their eyes, but he barked for them to finish it, redirecting the two to keep the pressure going. He didn’t want to mention the pain in the arm from where the bracer hitched. It didn’t feel broken, and thus was irrelevant.
Pressure applied, the grey beast picked a random direction free of opponents to escape, ignorant of the waiting security. When it was too close for them to shoot into its mouth at a decent angle, they slung the bows over their shoulders and drew the swords they had been afforded, patiently waiting with the blades turned down.
It passed below them, the two Lilhuns dropping from the branches to put their full weight into the plunging blades. Both landed on the large target, one sword sinking deep into a shoulder, while the other managed to pierce one of its hip joints. The beast spun haphazardly to dislodge the ‘new’ threats, both security members kicking off and finding new trees to set up in.
Whatever damage was actually done, it had lost the use of an arm, and its gait shifted awkwardly as the blade lodged in its hip worked more harm with each shambling step.. Emboldened, Jax picked up the pace, struggling to position himself with the amount of metal he wore. Ducking another swipe of its claws, he saw his chance and swung, pivoting with his axe as a counter weight. For the third time, his axe blade found the wound in its leg, adding a sickening crunch as the bone snapped from the impact.
The creature swung wildly, forced to favour its two remaining good legs, and the only other leg that could still support at least some of its weight. It was unstable now, the hunched figure swaying while unmoving. Unable to run, it decided to go down with as many of them as it could.
Rose caught up with the attack, drawing attention from the comparatively squishy Nalah as the blond-furred female deflected a wayward swing with her shield. The once iron-plated ironwood now sporting little more than jagged scraps of metal atop its silver wooden structure, a series of deep gouges marring the surface. Two lunging thrusts with the pike bit flesh, drawing new blood from the beast.
Joseph loaded his crossbow, getting off two bolts, but not managing to keep it steady enough to hit anything of use, his arm faltering under the weight of the weapon. Cursing, he decided to flank the beast and try his luck with the other bracer. If nothing else, the force in which the blade deployed was enough to pierce the thick hide, and the others were doing a good job of distracting it.
The red armoured Atmo let loose a series of directed swings, the fifth severing an arm in motion, the flying appendage forcing Nalah to raise her shield to block the unorthodox projectile. The female was sent sprawling from the weight of the impact, but the beast was too busy voicing its agony to take advantage of it. Jax worked another two chops into the broad legs, but neither managed to incapacitate it any more, and the prolonged exertion was slowing his reflexes.
As if cued into his waning energy, the beast flung Jax with another strike, the hunter of the group sinking a bolt deep into the cavernous flesh of its mouth to prevent an attempt at following up.
Joseph roared, desperate to finish it off before the creature could do the same to his downed pack. He sprinted at the monster's back and slid underneath it with as much speed as he could muster. Throwing his fist into the passing undercarriage, he let the deployed blade leave a long gash in its wake.
The grey monster lost its ability to stand, torn tendons, blood loss, and inflicted injuries taking their toll. The Grand Hunter kicked off his knees to fling himself out of the way of the collapsing figure, grimacing as the remaining bracer proved unable to support the abuse he had put it through. He looked back at the beast, the flailing body failing to right itself as teeth did little more than gouge dirt, its back exposed. Rose approached, raising their blades together and plunging it through the body over and over until it stopped moving.
Exhausted, the Atmo dropped where it was, breathing heavily. Joseph’s instinct to yell their victory was delayed as he hurried over to Jax and Nalah to confirm he didn't need to bring back bad news. Nalah seemed fine, if a bit sore from hitting the dirt and rolling, while Jax just asked to lay down when he heard that everything was over. Cobalt came over to the group, the armour that had come off collected atop the carriage it had managed to loosely affix to its base.
It was light, a chuckle originating from the Human as he slumped to the ground against a tree, but soon the entire group was roaring with laughter as victory settled in their minds. The two security members helped the hunter begin disassembling the beast, their contribution to the fight leaving them with more energy than the rest. They hadn’t been slacking off, that much was certain. The number of arrows jammed into the maw of the thing would have guaranteed a few extra seconds of survival and chances to escape if one of them had been forcibly tossed into there, and it had caused enough pause for the rest of them to get in a few hits up close.
Joseph rested across from Jax and Nalah, letting his heart rate slow from the rapid pace it had been pinned to since the start of the conflict. His arm continued its protests, but from the amount of movement he still had, he guessed that he had just strained the elbow. A few days taking it easy should straighten that right up.
Once the active members were about half way through processing the creature for hide and meat, Cobalt approached him, a mimed request for assistance putting their armour back on being redirected to Nalah since he doubted he could lift the damn pieces without hurting himself at the moment. She obliged, getting the blue Atmo back in full attire, though it took a while.
Rose stood first, stopping over to allow the hunter to place collected bits and pieces onto the carriage before securing it with whatever they could make due. A security member gathered the moss-wolf corpses for a similar treatment. Waste not, want not, he supposed.
Rose ended up carrying most of their spoils. When he was about to ask why, he, Jax, and Nalah were dragged to Cobalt and hefted onto the carriage. A series of confused questions revealed that the rest wanted to head back before it started getting dark, and it was pretty obvious who was the most exhausted of them. Lacking the will or energy to argue it, he flopped back on the Atmo as the trees passed them by, Nalah resting her legs across him as her head sat on Jax’s lap. The black-furred male didn’t so much as smirk, so it was clear he had pushed himself too far to quip about the arrangement as he laid down.
“The next time you wish to exhaust me this much, Joseph,” the Head of Security started after a long while of silence, tiredness in his voice, “I would prefer it to involve my mate and a bed.”
The Human snorted, closing his eyes and enjoying the lack of walking as the surprisingly stable Atmo carried the three of them. “Fuck off, Jax.”
“Of course, Grand Hunter.”
Next
A/N: Patreon is fixed!... aka new one cuz problems with the last. Check it out to support the story, get AI character art every now and then, or even preview sections of chapters as i write them! (aka, before kieve gets to fix them :D)

Stand Name: The Meanest of Times
Namesake: album by the Dropkick Murphys
Localized Name: 「The Meanest of Years」
Stand User: Corbin "The Fuse" MacCaffrey-
Appearance: Standing at 6’2 with a limber build with grayed red hair in a small rat-tail ponytail, green eyes, a full fuzzy beard and mustache, numerous scars from bullet wounds and shrapnel, a tattoo of the words "Tiocfaidh ár lá" in all caps in a gothic font is written down his spine, and has two prosthetic running blade legs colored like the Irish flag. For clothes Corbin wears a black muscle-t, black flat cap, a black two-hole balaclava, a woodland camo military uniform with his jacket buttoned halfway, black sneakers, and black fingerless gloves.
Background: Corbin is a 59 year old man hailing from Donegal, Ireland who was an active IRA member during the Troubles and is now a mercenary under the employ of "Feel Good Inc.". Corbin is a very brash, zealous, and vulgar man who prides his Irish heritage greatly. But even still he is dedicated to the people he calls his friends and is very unshakable in his alliances, oaths, and what not.
Corbin was born into a very patriotic family who were very about their Irish pride and instilled this patriotism into Corbin who gradually adopted these beliefs. Corbin was a very street-tough getting into scraps at a very young age making him a bit of a fight seeker. But a calling came for Corbin in 1972 when Bloody Sunday, where British soldiers shot protesters who were protesting the internment of Irish nationalists, happened. Corbin was beyond outraged by this and at the age of 18 he signed up to join the IRA where he was trained as an urban guerrilla.
Through the course of 7 years of fighting in the Troubles, Corbin took part in bombings, shootouts, smuggling, propaganda, and a few assassinations that turned him into a zealot of a soldier willing to die for the cause. Though was an incident during a bombing in his 5th year of duty, when Corbin had set a shorter timer than expected and the explosion shredded his legs. One of his fellow soldiers got him to a hospital where the doctors had to amputate his legs. Corbin was surprisingly ok with this, if anything he was just mildly annoyed and was soon fitted with some running blade prosthetics. He adapted very quickly and was soon returned to the frontlines where even his lack of legs didn’t stop him fighting at his full potential.
However, the British army was closing in on Corbin and his fellow soldiers and decided to go into hiding in Dublin as even Corbin could see that the war wasn’t going in their favor. Corbin laid low for a long while even after the Troubles was over but still kept in contact with his IRA buddies. Though after years of laying low, Corbin grew restless and wanted to throw himself back into the fray. He then found an ad for "Feel Good Inc." where he became fascinated with their mercenary work styled as vigilantism and signed himself up. He was then brought on made a name for himself as a very experienced mercenary, who was proficient in explosives and urban combat and had claimed lots of contracts. This led to him being recruited into the "Demon Days Unit" which are FGI’s most elite mercenaries.
Corbin met the Captain of the DDU and got into a scrap with him when the Captain pulled out a very odd knife. Corbin caught the knife with his hand and the Captain immediately pulled it out and stopped fighting him to the confusion of Corbin. He became even more confused when the wound on his hand immediately vanished. And after the weirdest debriefing he had ever received talking about the concepts of "stands" and "stand users" Corbin eventually understood and passed the test to join the DDU.
Corbin has now been the crews demolitions man, blowing up anything that needs blowing up with absolute devotion to FGI’s cause. He may be a rather brash individual but he always be willing to put his life on the line to help his DDU friends.
Other Facts: •Favorite food is bacon and waffles •Is quite the party drinker, and tends to get wasted often •Favorite drink is whiskey •Has a hip flask at all times that he takes swigs from •Has an playlist on his phone that is just filled with Irish war songs •Favorite song is Come Out Ye Black and Tans
Stats: ACT 1-2-3
Power: C-B-A
Speed: C-B
Range: B
Durability: D
Precision: C-B
Potential: B-C-E
Appearance: ACT 1: Standing at 5’3 「The Meanest of Times」looks a robotic humanoid with a black welder’s mask with a green visor for a head, a slim brown body that’s scratched and dented, noticeable spikes where it’s feet should be which mimics Corbin’s prosthetics, rivets all over it’s body, and wears jean shorts and a brown leather vest.
ACT 2: Now standing at 5’8, TMT maintains a very similar appearance to ACT 1 with the welding mask with 2 green visored eyes and brown body, but it’s body is more athletic now. The rivets are now more symmetrically placed all over the body, with some on the knuckles for some added kick to punches. The spikes are now full on feet with poles acting as ankles and the stand now wears a shirt under it’s now buttoned up vest, regular jeans, elbow and knee pads, and a black belt with a clover buckle.
ACT 3: At it’s final height of 6’2 TMT is now more burly still maintaining the welding mask with a single bright green eye for a visor and it’s rivets now a bright gold. It’s legs now have ankles and it wears a grey shirt under a brown leather jacket with rolled up sleeves, a black flat cap, brown jeans, bandages to cover it’s exposed arms, more rectangular elbow and knee pads, two black leather belts worn in an x-fashion with golden cross buckles, and white sneakers.
Abilities: RC-XD: 「The Meanest of Times」has the ability to create a small remote controlled car in the style of a black Cadillac van with a C4 explosive inside of it. The van also has big wheels which are adhesive and let it drive on walls, a long antenna on the right side of it’s hood, and a dash-cam inside it as well. Through a electronic control pad that TMT summons, Corbin can control the van and see with dash-cam inside to maneuver it to it’s location and deliver a explosion. This ability modifies with each ACT.
ACT 1: Can create one small remote controlled van with a bomb in it with adhesive wheels that let drive on walls.
ACT 2: Can now create a remote controlled plane and boat variant for more versatility but can’t swap between the forms. The bomb has had an increase in power.
ACT 3: Can now make 3 remote controlled vans that can swap between their car, plane, and boat forms making them all-terrain. The bomb is now extremely powerful in this ACT.

I'm looking for speed in the 70-80's, four or five energy hard points at a minimum and enough tonnage for heatsinks.
I am wanting to engage at under 1000 but over 500. I'm less interested in alpha than sustained fire. ECM is something I'd like to try.
Maybe a timberwolf? I quite like my MC2-A.

First post,sort of, be sweet, I want to buy a used car preferably hatchback as I'm getting older, 52 (f) and have to take my trash to a landfill. It's hard for me to get the trash out of the back of my husband's truck,.so thought a Hb might help. Our truck is old and won't last forever. I'll be paying the car off in full in January or February 2024, could be December. I don't want anything more than 12k in price,most 14, just used and semi decent. My credit score is 718 and I have 3500 down. Was told I could just get a new one (dealership) I don't want a new one. I barely drive. After searching I got a message, I'll "try" to post no cars available within radius under $350.00 a month . I'd go 450 for what I'm looking for, becuase I know I'll be paying it off soon, but who knows what will happen. I'm a pessimist at heart and don't want to pay 500 a month for a used car. Any advice? TIA! Edit: this isn't about what kind of car to buy, this was a question about the other things mentioned. I don't need help with What kind of car. Thanks, just needed some folks help in general, that's it.

TL;DR: Excluding megapixels, does the Q3 produce better photos than the Q2?
I am offered a great deal on a used Q2 online, from a guy who seems honest and serious. Basically I managed to argue the price almost 600€ under what others are selling them for in my country. (4000€ instead of 4600€). It looks like it's in nice shape judging from the photos, but there's no thumb grip and not many extra bells and whistles. It does come with the original packaging, and a half-leather case with a strap and only one original battery.
However, I did get to try the Q3 a couple days ago, and looking at the raw files on my computer (albeit not the same photo since it was different days) i feel like the Q3 has more micro contrast, sharpness and depth and "feel" (dare I say "vibe"?) to it, while the Q2 perhaps looks a bit flatter and softer.
Is this just my brain playing tricks on me? I know the Q3 is newer so "it must be better"? But perhaps they produce the same photo had it been a proper side by side?

I'm completely new to TikTok this year, and I was liking videos from Account A that I posted on Account B, and vice versa.
I thought the first couple minutes of a post is important, so I was using my other account to like my other post.
I have had both accounts since February, I have been posting several times a week, and both are getting 25-1,000 views with under 500 followers.
The other day, I read somewhere that TikTok flags you as spam if you do this from different accounts on the same device. Am I totally screwed and should start these accounts over, or will it remedy itself since I am no longer going to do this?
Thanks!

This is the official end of the first Volume. Next week will begin Volume 2!
After a lot of progress on my story, I'm making changes to my Patreon and instead of reading 3 chapters ahead, you'll get access to 5.
Elijah Commission
Azeline Commission
The Little Menace
Worship Her
If you want to read 5 chapters ahead, check out my Patreon!
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Bennett was dead asleep in his hammock when he was roused by hushed whispers and the sound of activity echoed throughout the room, seemingly amplified by its cramped space.
“Ben.” A voice called out.
As the engineer slowly opened a singular eye, he found himself struggling to make sense of the situation. A figure was just a few meters away from him, rifling through a bag when they turned around and faced him. However, Bennetts groggy state prevented him from fully discerning who or what was responsible for the disruption.
“Ben, wake up.” The voice called out one more time.
Scowling in irritation, Bennett chose to ignore the voice and flipped over, burying his face into the hammock's fabric. He was determined to get back to sleep, even as the voice grew more insistent and the room's activity continued.
“Ben, wake the fuck up!” The voice finally yelled.
Suddenly, Bennett found himself suspended in the air, his groggy state replaced with fear and anxiety as he was forcefully yanked out of his hammock. He tried to process what was happening, but before he could comprehend the situation, he felt the cold embrace of the hardwood floor.
THUD
“Argh! Fuck!” The Engineer groaned as he slowly lifted himself up off the ground. "You goddamn asshole!" Bennett snapped, his voice hoarse from the mixture of pain and anger.
Standing over Bennett with a cackling Fairy on his shoulder, Elijah decided he wasn’t going to wait for the stubborn man to get up on his own. "It's time to get up," Elijah said, turning around to continue sifting through his bag. "We got a lot of shit to do before we leave, and I can't afford to have you sleeping in."
Bennett’s glare shifted between his captain and his sadistic partner. "Fine, fine. I'm up," he grumbled, rubbing his sore back. He knew Elijah was right, but that didn't make the sudden wake-up call any less infuriating. Yana, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying Bennett's misery, her laughter ringing in his ears.
THUD
Pulling out his remaining Bioscanner, Elijah began running diagnostics on the device, ensuring it was in working order for when he delivered it to Salvanius. It was a trade that he was loathing, but it was a trade he would make 1000 times if given the chance to get the rest of their equipment back. Even if they only managed to find a quarter of their property, that was still a lot better than having nothing at all.
As the Bioscanner's display indicated the device was functioning optimally, Elijah let out a small depressed sigh and slid it into his pocket. "Alright, let's get this over with," he said, opening the door and stepping out into the dimly lit corridor. Bennett followed, still grumbling under his breath about the hostile work environment while shifting his stink eye at both Yana and Elijah.
THUD
“GOD DAMNIT!!” Bennett yelled, rubbing his head after hitting the top of the door frame.
He had completely forgotten how cramped everything was on this wooden death trap and how he had to crouch throughout the entire interior. Frustration and annoyance etched on his face, Bennett muttered a string of curses under his breath as he adjusted his posture to avoid the low ceilings and narrow passageways.
“Midgets…” The Engineer sneered as he heard Elijah snicker father up ahead.
It only took a few moments for Elijah and Bennett to reach the deck, and there they observed Rhea efficiently issuing orders to the ship's sailors. Her authoritative voice rang out over the hustle and bustle of the ship’s crew, who were quickly scurrying about, securing ropes and checking supplies. What really caught their attention, though, was Rhea was finally out of her armor.
Adorned in a faded white linen long-sleeved shirt, Rhea left her chest straps slightly undone, revealing a hint of her modest, but alluring cleavage. The Knight Captain’s slim, athletic figure was displayed in stark contrast to the thick padding underneath the metal armor she normally wore. To accentuate her figure, the tight brown linen pants she wore hugged her humbly, but satisfyingly shapely curves and seamlessly tucked into her leather boots. The outfit, deceptively sultry, effortlessly exuded a sense of casual confidence and undeniable charm.
Turning her head slight, the Knight Captain finally noticed the two Humans and acknowledged them with a nod. “Good morning Sir Elijah, Sir Bennett and…” She made a difficult face when her eyes locked onto Yana.
“Your Honor will do!” The Fairy said in a chipper voice, crossing her legs. “I am both a Goddess and a confirmed Eternal Judge of the Fae courts!”
Rhea’s expression turned sour for a moment, but decided it was best not to engage any further with the mischievous Vanir. "Very well, good morning Your Honor," Rhea replied, forcing a polite smile. "We're running a bit late, but we should be ready to set sail in just a few hours.”
Elijah raised an eyebrow at the small fairy at the mention of being a confirmed judge, but shifted his attention back towards Rhea and nodded in understanding. "We'll be ready whenever you are," he said with his eyes traveling up her entire figure attire before refocusing on her face. "Just give us the signal when it's time to set sail." .
“I’m assuming the northern woman is still asleep?” The Knight Captain asked, tilting her head curiously.
Seeing her long elf ears bounce up and down seemed to be the final straw for Elijah, as an unbidden and almost adolescent fascination welled up within him. He blinked a few times, trying to regain his composure before replying. "Uh, yeah, she’s still asleep," Elijah finally responded, exhaling deeply. "We’ve been up for almost 36 hours, so I think it's best to let her rest for a while longer." he replied, trying to maintain a professional demeanor despite the lingering fascination with her elf ears.
Bennett narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he regarded his captain with a disgusted look. "Can you control yourself?" he asked with a judgmental tone.
Also noticing Elijah’s basically ogling her, Rhea couldn't help but laugh at the exchange while running a hand through her hair. "I'm glad to see at least someone finds me attractive," she said, her cheeks tinted with a slight blush. Elijah cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of dignity as he shifted his gaze away from her.
"Ah... My apologies, Lady Rhea, but I was caught off guard," Elijah said, giving her a genuine smile. "I wasn’t prepared for the famed Knight Captain to be so beautiful out of her armor. It's a pleasant surprise, to say the least."
Rhea found herself momentarily speechless as her cheeks flushing a deep shade of red. She wasn't used to receiving compliments, let alone being called beautiful by someone as striking as Elijah. A small, bashful smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she looked down to hide her embarrassment. "Well… I, um… Thank you, Sir Elijah.” she managed to say, her voice uncharacteristically timid. “I appreciate the kind words."
Noticing the usually confident and stern Knight Captain was completely flustered, Elijah knew she was on the backfoot and went for blood. “You’re more than welcome Lady Rhea,” he responded, bowing his head. “I was just saying it how I see it—”
"Yana, zap him!" Bennett ordered, sensing that Elijah was about to push his luck too far.
The mischievous fairy didn't hesitate, and with a magical pop, she immediately shifted forms, transforming the fiery inferno atop her head into a flowing teal, wind that cascaded past her shoulders. After her transformation, a maniacal grin spread across her face as she clutched two fistfuls of Elijah's hair.
“AHH FUCK!” Elijah yelped in pain.
A light chuckle escaped Rhea's lips as she watched the scene play out before her, momentarily pushing aside her embarrassment and wariness of the group. Their playful antics, though unprofessional, stirred a sense of lighthearted camaraderie she hadn't experienced in years. The thrill of exploring the unknown alongside trusted friends had been lost to her ever since she joined Salvanius' Order. The organization's rigid structure and hierarchy had dampened her once-adventurous spirit, and witnessing Elijah's crew sparked a touch of envy within her.
Yana, still grinning mischievously, finally released her grip on Elijah's hair. The man, now fuming with anger, made a hasty attempt to snatch her out of the air, but the nimble fairy easily dodged his grasp, giggling all the while.
"I'm going to kill the both of you!" Elijah yelled, glaring at both Yana and Bennett. His frustration only caused more laughter from the fairy and an amused smirk from Bennett, who crossed his arms and leaned back against the railing.
"Come now, Sir Elijah, there's no need for violence," Rhea interjected while covering her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her own laughter. "I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive their little prank.” She continued, adjusting her hair that was flowing in the wind. “We’re going to spend a few long days sailing if we’re going to catch up with them, after all.”
Glancing back at her crew, Rhea's face returned to its usual stern expression when she noticed the sailors gawking and whispering amongst themselves. It was evident that her momentary display of mirth had taken them by surprise, as they rarely saw their Knight Captain in such a lighthearted state.
"What in the name of Tylas are you all gawking at!?" She roared, placing her hands firmly on her hips “GET BACK TO WORK!”
Rhea's eyes narrowed as the scrambling crew members hastily returned to their tasks, their faces pale with fear. The ship's atmosphere instantly shifted back to its usual disciplined state as the sailors focused on their duties, aware that their Knight Captain's gaze was upon them.
Elijah let out an annoyed sigh in the realization that he was probably never going to catch that little psychopath and shifted his gaze to Bennett. “I’m gonna get you.” He hissed hatefully. “Mark my words, you piece of shit.” However, Bennett merely smirked in response, clearly unfazed by his captain's threats.
Just as Elijah was about to ask the Knight Captain about the whereabouts of her liege, the man himself appeared on deck. Salvanius came sauntering up the planks that connected the ship to the docks, his imposing figure drawing the attention of everyone present.
"It's quite rare to hear you so jovial, Rhea," the Demigod remarked, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Rhea, slightly taken aback by her liege's observation, straightened her posture and cleared her throat.
"My apologies, your grace," she replied respectfully, attempting to regain her usual composure. "I shall see to it that this Cog is ready to depart, post haste."
Salvanius waved a dismissive hand, his expression softening slightly. "There's no need to apologize, Rhea. It's good to see you enjoying yourself, even if just for a moment. However, you are correct; our guest would most likely appreciate departing as soon as possible."
With that, Rhea nodded and began barking orders to her crew, ensuring that everything was in order for their imminent departure.
Turning to his guests, Salvanius addressed them with an air of authority. "I assume you two have the magical tool..." He paused, recalling the events that transpired the previous day. "I mean, the tool. Is it ready?"
The two Human’s exchanged glances before Elijah stepped forward, pulling out the bioscanner from his pocket. "You’re not going to be able to understand it, but I’ve configured it in a way where you can still get a lot of functionality without having to read." he explained, holding the device out for Salvanius to see.
Time flew as Elijah went into an in depth explanation of the bioscanner's functions and features. He walked Salvanius through everything all the way from disease diagnosis to health monitoring and treatments. With each new feature the human listed seemed to make Salvanius’ jaw drop lower and lower until he found himself looking like a fool.
"And finally, if a red tube with a bolt of lightning ever just starts flashing, all you have to do is flip it over so these panels face the star and just wait," Elijah explained, pointing at the bright orb in the morning sky as he showed the Demigod the solar panels. "It's designed to recharge itself using starlight, so you'll never have to worry about finding a power source."
Salvanius' eyes widened even further, if that were possible. "Astounding," he breathed, clearly impressed. "And you’re just willing to give this to me…?"
“Eh.” Elijah shrugged dismissively. “I have augments- I mean I can already do most of that stuff other than a few things, so it’s mainly just redundant fail safe incase I’m away or dead.”
A complicated expression spread across Salvanius' face as Elijah mentioned that the device was merely a redundancy measure in case of his absence. Suddenly the prospect of having this man as a retainer became much, MUCH more appealing. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted when the Vanir made its appearance by landing squarely on Elijah’s shoulder while glaring daggers at the Demigod.
Salvanius met Yana's gaze and sighed, dispelling the intrusive and dishonorable thoughts of taking these Artificers for himself.
“I understand.” The demigod said, turning his focus back to Elijah. “The Holy Dominion will not forget this grace you’ve bestowed upon us.” He gave a grateful nod before spinning around and heading towards the dock.
However, he soon came to a halt as his eyes fell upon a group of women arguing with his knights at the ramp leading to the ship. The women seemed intent on gaining access to the ship, their arms laden with various items, including several sizable platters of food.
“W-Wait! I-I was instructed to board!” A slim and fearful redhead said, holding a large burlap sack.
Something felt… Off about her.
It was almost as if Salvanius could recognize the woman, even though he was fairly certain he hadn't met her before. Then again, he had met a great number of people in this damned village, but his instincts kept nudging him to take a closer look. But his thoughts were interrupted when he recognized the Beastkin woman and the gaggle of Ferfolk slaves next to her.
"What do ye mean we ain't allowed entry!? I gotta deliver me gratitude before it's too late!" the dog-like woman bellowed, her voice full of frustration and urgency.
An amused huff left Salvanius’ mouth before looking over his shoulder. “I do believe you have guests.” The Demigod said before making his way down the plank.
“Let them through.” He said to his knights, waving his hand dismissively as he walked past the group.
The knights obeyed without hesitation and stepped aside allowing the gaggle of women to board the ship. "Thank ye, yer grace," The dog-like woman bowed deeply before her and the Ferfolk ran up the ramp.
As Elijah approached at the edge of the ship , confusion spread across his face as Mara suddenly appeared with her renowned tubers in hand. The woman stopped a good distance away, staring intently at the man, attempting to gauge his reaction and determine whether he would be receptive to her presence. Seeing he was just staring at her impassively, Mara gathered her courage, and stepped forward with a warm smile.
"I... I wanted to give ye this as a token of me gratitude…” She said shyly. “Ye know, for everything ye done for us."
Elijah's eyes flicked between Mara and the tubers, his confusion slowly melting away into a wry smile as he flicked his hand in a beckoning motion. The action caused Mara’s Shyness to completely dissipate as she bounded forward and handed him the tubers with enthusiasm. "You really didn't have to, but thank you," Elijah said, accepting the gift.
Mara beamed at his response, clearly relieved. "It's the least I could do!” She said, with her tail wagging vigorously. “I couldn’t bear the thought of not makin’ amends with ye.”
Turning around, Elijah handed this plate of tubers to the salivating Engineer and watched as Yana bolted off his shoulder in an attempt to attack the pile of food. Shaking his head, Elijah turned back to Mara and the group of women with a bemused expression. "Hopefully they’ll leave me some," he commented.
“Ye can always come back and get more.” Mara replied with a coy. “I’ll let ye have all the service ye want.”
A chuckle escaped Elijah’s mouth as he ran a hand through his hair. "I might just take you up on that," he said with a smirk. "Your food isn’t the only thing I’m going to miss."
Mara's cheeks flushed deeply at Elijah's reply, her tail wagging even faster as she tried to play it cool. "Well, I'll be sure to make myself available whenever ye are in need of some company," she replied, propping up her supple chest.
Elijah couldn't help but let his eyes wander for a moment before meeting Mara's gaze again, a lopsided grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "I'll… keep that in mind as long as you promise not to try to get me killed again." he replied with a goofy tone that made the dog-girl giggle.
“So all I need to do is spread my legs if I’m ever in need of your forgiveness?” Azelines voice rang out from behind him as the blond Elf woman emerged from the ship still rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.
With a mouth full of fried tubers, Bennett decided to chime in. “I told him his dick is going to eventually get him killed.” He said, beckoning the Ferfolks to place the other platters on a nearby box.
Bringing a hand up to press against his eyes, Elijah let out an annoyed groan before turning his attention towards the two. “Why do you have to make this weird?” He asked in exasperation. "It’s all about sincerity.”
Bennett snickered, shoving another tuber into his mouth. "Ah yes. You hear that Aze?” He continued in a mocking tone while elbowing Azeline in the ribs. “You need to put more effort in your apologies!"
Azeline smirked, her teasing nature starting to leak out. "Is that so? I guess I’ll make sure any future apologies come with… an appropriate amount of sincerity and effort." She said, striking a pose that was more satirical than seductive.
“Jesus Christ…” Elijah muttered under his breath while his two crewmates broke out into laughter. “I hate both of you.”
The laughter continued after successfully eliciting an annoyed response from their beleaguered captain. However, a quiet seemed to take over the deck as everyone's attention shifted towards the approaching Knight Captain. "So that's the type of man you are, Sir Eli-jah" Rhea remarked with a raised eyebrow. "I'll bear that in mind when you try to charm me with your honeyed words."
“Oh god damnit…” Elijah facepalmed and dragged his hand down his face as another roar of laughter erupted from everyone in the group.
Rhea’s hand was covering her mouth as she tried to suppress a chuckle. “A-Anyways…” She chortled. “We should be ready to sail any moment now, so make sure you’re all prepared for departure.” The woman said, walking off in the direction of the Helm while her shoulders shook in mirth.
Elijah just stood there for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Where the hell is Auri?” He asked no one in particular, his frustration starting to show.
“A-Ahh… H-Hello.”
Recognizing the voice, Elijah looked up to see a petite woman with bright red hair looking up at him expectantly while holding onto a large burlap sack. Glad to see that he at least didn’t have to go hunting for the dainty woman, Elijah let loose a heavy breath of relief. “Alright, I’ll go tell Lady Rhea-” He tried to say, but Auri interrupted him.
Auri squirmed nervously before asking, "Umm… Should I be worried that you also have designs on me?"
“Oh for fucks sake!” Elijah threw his arms up and let them slap against his thighs in frustration as the rest of the crew barked in laughter. "Let’s just go already!”
Yana however, completely ignored the incessant bickering and Instead, she hungrily finished off one of the smaller platters of tubers and chomped down on the last tiny morsel on the wooden plate. Sighing Contentedly, the Fairy’s gaze fell upon Mara and her small group of Ferfolks as they said their goodbyes and disappeared from view. In their place was the other, more fidgety whelping that always looked at her servants with gleeful eyes. The man was far weaker than the other, but at least he seemed somewhat reverent towards Eli and Ben.
In their stead, the more fidgety whelping appeared, the one who always seemed to look at Ben and Eli with eager eyes. Although this man seemed far weaker than his sibling, he at least displayed a measure of reverence towards her servants.
Turning her head up towards the clear blue sky, Yana placed a hand on her tiny belly and sighed contentedly. She couldn't wait to see what other delightful mortal delicacies or fanciful experiences she would get to experience in the future.
​
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Hey everyone, I've been playing guitar for over a year and want to keep improving my skills at home. The problem is, I live in an apartment and tube amps are out of the question. I'm looking for advice on quality multi-effects units for headphone practice so I can rock in silence.
As an experienced guitarist, basic starter gear won't cut it anymore. I'm looking for pro-level sounds to suite my needs without dropping $500+ on an amp I can't even use! I started with a Zoom G1on but quickly outgrew its limited features and synthetic tones.
I've seen recommendations for the Donner Arena 2000 with 100 amps/200 effects for $229, as well as the Mooer GE200 for $280, but want realistic sounds and playability, not something that feels like a toy. Boss ME-80 is top of my budget at $299 - is it worth the cost or are there newer, lower-cost alternatives for professional modeling today?
Ease of use is important, as is the ability to download additional high-gain/effects options. I'm tired of basic sounds and need gear that will keep up with my skills. There must be high-quality options for experienced players to practice at home without tubes!
Any advice is much appreciated. I want back to really rocking, only silently through headphones. What should I consider for pro-level headphone tones on a budget as an experienced guitarist? The Donner or Mooer both seem promising if their quality stands up. But open to any recommendations that balance professional features, sound and value under $300 for home studio use.
Thanks in advance for your input. I'm ready to invest in gear to match my abilities - just trying to determine the best multi-effects option for experienced players on a budget. I need an upgrade from my starter equipment for quality practice in an apartment! Please send your recommendations and any thoughts on the Arena 2000 or GE200.
Let's get back to rocking - in silence! There must be a solution for guitarists beyond the beginner level to hone their skills at home without tubes. Help me find the right pro-level modeling option under $300!

Selling various graphics cards and parts. Was used mostly for mining and some light gaming. Everything was purchased in May 2022. Everything has been cleaned, recently tested, and works great. GPU’s were never under any stress, even in the summer. All items listed below come with the original box and cables (aside from the mining rig frame, the risers cables, and the 5 fans).
All sales will be shipped by USPS Priority. I will send you a tracking number and pic of box if you like. My packing is excellent. Will give discount for multiple purchases. Prices include shipping to CONUS. Only looking to sell, no trades. Payment can be via PayPal or Crypto. Around 92101 for local purchase.
I have 32 confirmed trades in SteelbookSwap and 16 trades in YGOMarketplace for reference.
Timestamp
Graphic Cards:
MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio = $670 Shipped or $600 Local
Gigabyte Aorus RTX 3080 Xtreme = $500 Shipped or $440 Local
MSI RTX 3080 Gaming Z trio = $480 Shipped or $420 Local SOLD Locally
EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra = $250 Shipped or $200 Local
EVGA RTX 3060 TI Gaming X = $200 Shipped or $160 Local
EVGA RTX 3060 XC = $150 Shipped or $125 Local
Computer Components:
EVGA Supernova G+ 1000W PSU (Quantity is 2) = $70 Shipped each or $60 Local each
SSD, CPU and RAM photos
Intel I3-10100f with stock cooler = $40 Shipped or $30 Local
Crucial 8gb stick = $15 Shipped or $10 Local SOLD Locally
Samsung 870 EVO 256GB Sata SSD = $20 Shipped or $15 Local SOLD Locally
Mining Parts:
Mining Rig Frame, GPU Risers, Add2psu, PCIE 1x4 adapter - 8 risers, adapter, Power meters, wireless USB adapter, and an add2psu - $35 for all Shipped or $25 Local SOLD Locally