Vans store surprise az

First thing to say is I’m a relatively casual player. For most of the year I feel like my team has always been two steps behind the power curve until TOTS where I’ve had a bit of luck and got Bernardo Silva, Varane and Dias fairly early on. However, even with those players I was still struggling to get through division 3 and 2, with games being either extremely attritional sweat fests or absolute demolitions (you know, when you score/concede three instantly).
In recent days things seemed to have suddenly changed and I’m not quite sure why. During Ligue 1 TOTS I had pulled Mendes and Clauss and liked using them while trying to do the cup grind. Sissoko and Fofana were also cheap and dominant in the middle but I wasn’t a fan of all the others I was able to access such as Cavella, Mavididi. My aim was to try and find a full chemistry squad build which I could afford that featured Mendes and Clauss, because I seemed to do better than when using Cole and Cancelo (TOTY). I couldn’t afford any of the beastly Ligue 1 French strikers and so struggled to get full chemistry with the prem players mentioned above. But then everything changed when I pulled Ben Yedder the other day with my red rewards that suddenly appeared in the store! I actually pulled Ben Yedder twice. I’ve never used his card but he was the missing link I needed.
In terms of how my team ended up. I use 4-3-2-1. Allison GK, Clauss RB, Dias and Varane, CBs, Mendes LB, Alonso CM, Sissoko CM, Bernardo Silva CM, Kaka (91) left CF, Salah (out of position) right CF, and Ben Yedder ST. My tactics are basically balanced, with direct passing, Sissoko as the defensive midfielder, Salah and Ben Yedder as the strikers (in this formation Salah’s attacking AI is excellent) and Kaka sort of operating as a floating left winger. The wing backs are overlapping but I tend to play them as inverted wingbacks with build up starting with Alonso or Bernardo. Although maybe not the best you do get some nice authentic feeling play. Typically I’ve struggled against players who know the mechanics that short circuit the AI, e.g. those stupid early crosses, or pinged through balls to Mbappe. Having said that my defence AI is pretty good at negating all but the worst cheese.
As I said I’ve always been struggling to get into division 1, but since assembling this team I’ve experienced a complete turnaround. I easily passed through Division 2, often dominating games in passing, chances and possession with so many attacking options to enable excellent moves and authentic feeling build up play. The combination of Salah, Ben Yedder and Bernado, even though small kings, is genuinely game changing compared with my previous attacking options such as Torres, Forlan and others.
However, the most surprising thing I’ve noticed is that I am absolutely flying in Div 1. I played five rivals games last night and easily won all of them. Most of the teams appeared better than mine or level (eg Zidanes, Vieira all over the place), but my squad is always competitive. What I can’t work out is whether the competition is just weaker in the league compared with previous leagues or I’m just experiencing the feeling of having a meta team that suits my game style (which is depressing given how it shows the advantage pay to win players will have). However, I do doubt the latter because I am sure every player in my team could be replaced by a better player. So I’m wondering whether this reflects a more general experience where divisions 2,3,4 are bottlenecks on progress, while division 1 has mild difficulty drop before hitting the top players in Elite?

KARD - Szerencsére mind a Facebook oldalunkon, mind a Discord... Facebook
Szerencsére mind a Facebook oldalunkon, mind a Discord szerverünkön kiváló közönségünk van, nagyon ritkák az elszabadult komment háborúk és a trollok száma is nagyon alacsony. Ezt egyébként nem volt annyira nehéz elérni, 126 embert tiltottunk ki a Facebook felületünkről az elmúlt egy évben, miközben a követőink száma 7000-ről 24000-re növekedett.
Időről-időre természetesen megjelennek mindenféle sötét árnyak egy-egy poszt alatt, amíg a kitiltás fényében kővé nem válnak. Na de kik is ők? Milyen típusaival találkoztunk a Facebook kellemetlen faunájának.
ROGÁN GYERMEKE: Nem sokszor, de azért előfordult, hogy megtalált minket valamelyik fideszes beszélő fej, akiknek az a feladata, hogy a Rogán gyárban előállított narancsos propagandát a saját verziójában előadja. Ezek a figurák csak fizetett bohócok, viszont a közönségnek felhőtlen szórakozást kínálnak és jellemzően az erdőbe szaladnak nyitott szájjal.
A PINCSI: Ők Rogán gyermekeivel érkeznek, a lábuk mellől csaholnak és ott ugrándoznak körülöttük, mint egy... pincsi. Nehéz megfejteni, hogy valaki miért gondolja azt, hogy jobb lesz az élete, ha valamelyik ZS kategóriás ner figura körül sertepertél és magából kikelve hőbörög, ha bántják a bálványát, de hát kinek a pap, kinek a szovjet propagandista. Ha az emberük távozik, ők sem maradnak.
AZ OKOSTOJÁS: Rendkívül kellemetlenek tudnak lenni, mert úgy csinálnak, mintha intelligens társalgást akarnának folytatni, de valójában csak nárcisztikus seggfejek, akik szeretik hallani a saját hangjukat, ezért mindenbe belepofáznak, majd váltig ragaszkodnak a saját igazságukhoz még akkor is, ha ehhez végül teljesen ki kell facsarni a valóságot. Képtelenek az önkorrekcióra, ezért nagyon hamar hátsófelet lehet belőlük csinálni, de ezt nem veszik észre és ugyanúgy tolják a saját csacskaságaikat tovább. A lényeg, hogy fontosnak és okosnak érezhessék magukat.
A FOSSZÍLIA: Beleragadt a kommunizmus és az előző rendszer gyűlöletébe, de azt már nem vette észre, hogy a rendszerváltás után a kádári mélyállam nem került felszámolásra, csak átalakult és most már nem MSZMP-nek, hanem FIDESZ-nek hívják. A narancs rendszerre úgy tekint, mint amelyik végre igazságot szolgáltat az előző rendszer bűneiért, ezért magából kikelve képes azonnal [email protected]ázni mindenkit, aki a nert kritizálja. Nagyon szomorú figurák, foggal-körömmel védik azt, amit gyűlölnek.
A KISDOBOS: Hasonló a fosszíliához. Leragadtak a kádárizmusban, de ők tökéletesen látják, hogy a fidesz visszahozza ugyanazt a jól ismert, fingszagú, suttyó, ügyeskedős világot, ahol a mindennapi túléléshez szükséges okosba elintézzük megoldások uralják a mindennapokat, ha pedig az ember nem beszél ki, akkor a hatalom (talán) hagyja élni. Ezt a rendszert jól ismerik, így hát örülnek is neki, végre megkönnyebbülést érezhetnek a szabad világ terhei után, ahol saját felelős döntéseket kellett volna hozniuk. Ez nem ment, amitől frusztráltak is lettek, így visszavágynak a gulyáskommunizmushoz, örömükben pedig, hogy Orbán ezt visszaadta nekik, szorgalmasan fel is mondják a szükséges rigmusokat.
A BOLSEVIK HAZAFI: Ők azok, akik a magyarságukat abból az egy elképzelésből vezetik le, hogy azonnal vissza kell állítani a Trianon előtti határokat. Bárkinek bármit hajlandóak elhinni és megbocsátani, ha csak egy turulfingnyi kapaszkodót is látnak benne, hogy az esélyt kínál a revízióra. A legújabb messiásuk Putyin, aki a szélsőfasz legendárium szerint majd jól visszaad mindent, miután megleckéztette a nyugati világot, ezért ugyanúgy ki kell tartani mellette, mint annak idején Hitler mellett. Putyinnal és az oroszokkal kapcsolatban így már nem számít '48, '45, '56 meg 40 éves elnyomás, mert hát ugye az már régen volt, meg a szovjetek voltak meg az ukránok. Így lesznek a hazafikból bolsevikok, bár valójában mindig is csak holdkóros futóbolondok voltak.
A FERENCISTA: A DK közönségének szélső része, akiket súlyosan letarolt a Gyurcsány iránti kritikátlan rajongás. Azonnal megsértődik, ha báncsák a Ferit, szívből gyűlöli Orbánt és szentül hisz abban, hogy a Fidesz hatalmát csak az égből angyalszárnyakon, kezében lángoló pallossal aláereszkedő Dobrevné Ferenc képes egy suhintással eltörölni a föld színéről. Az nem számít, hogy ezzel már 14 éve próbálkoznak ugyanolyan sikertelenséggel, 4 kétharmad megalakulásában segédkezve, amelynek kiváltó oka és oszlopos pillére is a Feri. Nem értik, hogy mások miért nem látják a fennkölt nagyságot Gyurcsányban, ezért rendkívül hamar belekezdenek mindenki más hibáztatásába, ha imádatuk tárgyával szemben nem találkoznak elismeréssel és csodálattal. Ők a Fidesz epilepsziásra fanatizált vakhívő kemény magjának a másik oldala.
AZ IGAZSÁG BAJNOKA: Ők azok, akik mindig megpróbálnak rámutatni, a "másik oldal" is milyen gonosz, ennek figyelmen kívül hagyása esetén pedig azonnal kettős mércét és hasonlókat kiabálnak. Azt állítják magukról, ők nem állnak semmilyen oldal mellett, csak nem szeretik az igazságtalanságot. Valójában csak elvtelen fajankók, akik képtelenek a komolyabb összefüggések megértésére, az intellektuális hiányosságaikat pedig morális felsőbbrendűségi pozícióval próbálják pótolni. Jellemző varázsszavuk: "De az USA Irakban és Vietnámban!". Érdekes módon valahogy mindig a nyugati vélt/valós igazságtalanságok fájnak nekik, így valószínűleg a KISDOBOS-okból fejlődtek ki.
A BÜSZKE KOLDUS: A saját sikertelenségüket a kormány sikerpropagandájával oldják fel. Amíg ner biztosítja számukra a mindennapi sikereket, megvédi őket a rájuk leselkedő veszélyektől, mentesíti őket a döntésektől, kivívja számukra a tiszteletet, felkínálja számukra a csordaélményt. Nem számít nekik, hogy nem jön ki a matek a hó végén, vagy hogy az onokának nem lesz matektanára, a lényeg a büszkeség érzése, amit a kormány magyarokért vívott kultúrharca biztosít számukra. Ezek az emberek nem értik, hogy a világ miként ment el mellettük, ők pedig tehetségtelenségből, gyávaságból, lustaságból vagy butaságból képtelenek voltak hozzá alkalmazkodni. Azt érzik, hogy valami nem stimmel, de nem megoldást, hanem menedéket keresnek, amit a ner fel is kínál számukra a fenti szerint. Minden olyan információra dühödt vadsággal reagálnak, ami megbontja ezt az egyensúlyt és felvillantja számukra, hogy az életük ilyetén alakulásáért ők maguk a felelősek.
A FÁBA SZORULT FÉREG: Nekik mindegy mi van a posztban leírva, valamit akkor is üvölteni fognak. Ha nincs köze a poszthoz akkor is. Ők azok akik a focimeccsen a Mindenkit gyűlölünk táblát tartják. Leginkább persze saját magukat.

I can’t stand this person. I need advice on how to burn them in a way that stops them from negging me.
Storytime:
I had to take an advanced statistics class last semester, I found the class to be extremely difficult, so swallowed my intellectual pride and found a tutor through the school.
He was just close enough to my age to think it was acceptable to ask for all of my social media accounts. Reluctantly, I gave in, hoping it would at least ensure his continued presence.
Throughout the semester, this guy was surprisingly helpful in explaining stats to me. I gotta give credit where it's due. But here's the catch: he also revealed some seriously concerning and downright bizarre stuff about himself. I'm talking about hanging out with Andrew Tate, claiming he got "special favors" from priests when he was 15 and enjoyed it (yikes), and even bragging about helping his friend in Thailand run a questionable "Twitch haram."
After the semester ended, he kept reaching out to me, insisting we hang out. Against my better judgment, I agreed to go to a Taco Tuesday/DJ Night he was hosting, mainly for the train wreck entertainment it promised. And boy, was I right. The party was a total flop. Imagine five people, most of them overweight and utterly dull, festering together on a couch in the corner of the room while they became transfixed on 99c store light-up toys and fidget spinners. Meanwhile, my tutor-turned-host was noticeably blown out, sporting a gaudy gold jacket, prancing around like a maniac, showing off his giant golden Jenga set, and randomly fiddling with the DJ equipment. It was a train wreck of cringe.
After enduring one hour of his shenanigans, I couldn't take it anymore. I discreetly texted my fiancé to come and check out the madness/scoop me. They arrived, took one look, and we swiftly made our exit.
Since that odd night, I've rarely spoken to this person. I ignore his Instagram messages 99% of the time, which he sends far too often. Most of them are just inane attention-seeking bs, but whenever I post a picture of myself, he manages to squeeze in some snide remark about my appearance. It's annoying, to say the least. This person is the epitome of cringe, and I have zero desire to engage with them.
​

Még pályakezdőként elég nagy zavar van a fejemben hogy egy egy munkakör pontosan mit jelent főleg hogy ha egy google keresés alapján sok egymással akár nem összeegyeztethető álláspontot leírást is látok. Én most arra lennék viszont kiváncsi hogy akik esetleg ezekben a munkakörökben dolgoznak, egy egészen primitív egyszerű megfogalmazásban el tudják e mondani hogy mi valójában az ő feladatuk az adott munkakörben (pl DevOps, Product Owner, BI Developer, SAP Konzulens, Cloud Engineer és igazából bármelyik másik munkakör ami nem olyan egyértelmű mint mondjuk a "Java fejlesztő")

Last Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that brain-computer interfaces could solve the biggest bottleneck in human progress. Musk is known to have launched the Neuralink in 2016. He believes the company’s technology can help humans achieve “symbiosis” with artificial intelligence. Simply put, people will be able to combine their brains with computers.
When it comes to brain-computer interfaces, the first impression may be that Musk makes monkeys “mind-type.” Since then, Musk’s Neuralink has been developing brain implants designed to treat diseases such as paralysis and blindness. Recently, however, the Chinese team was surprised.
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https://preview.redd.it/td5cw74car4b1.png?width=830&format=png&auto=webp&s=6058b820c106cd26a9f00636a1f822b32e2f299a
The world’s first brain-computer interface test on monkeys was successfully conducted
Recently, the world’s first nonhuman primate interventional brain-computer interface test has been successful in Beijing, which is of great significance to promoting the field of brain science research, marking China’s brain-computer interface technology among the international leading ranks.
The experiment was led by Professor Duan Feng’s team from Nankai University and jointly completed with the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army (301 Hospital) and Shanghai Xinwei Medical Technology Co., Ltd., which broke through core technologies such as endovascular EEG signal acquisition and interventional EEG signal recognition. According to the video, the surgical monkey just needs to “think” to bring the food to the imports.
This technology has been widely used in medical, military, and other fields, such as it can help patients with stroke and ALS recover, and even store human thinking, consciousness, and memory in the future. This series of very magical results have begun to happen. It seems that some scenes in sci-fi blockbusters are not so far away from us.
Brain-computer interface refers to a direct connection between the brain of a human or animal and an external device to exchange information between the brain and the device. At present, there are mainly three kinds of BCI, invasive, non-invasive, and interventional BCI. Neuralink, founded by “Iron Man of Silicon Valley” Musk and a team of scientists, is one of the few companies that develop invasive brain-computer interfaces.
In contrast, the interventional brain-computer interface technology used in China is safer. According to information released by Nankai University, the team sent interventional EEG sensors through the singular vein into the sagittal sinus and the motor cortex brain region. After surgery, the team successfully collected and identified the non-human primate interventional EEG signals, realizing the active control of the robotic arm.
It can be said that the interventional brain-computer interface takes both intrusive and non-invasive strengths while avoiding the shortcomings of both. From the current development, brain-computer interface technology has made breakthroughs, which may first help to the medical industry. Guotai Junan Securities pointed out that medicine and health is the main application scenario of brain-computer, and the future will gradually penetrate entertainment, smart home, and other fields, and become an important form of human-computer interaction.
Brain-computer interface technology will enable the metaverse
Brain-computer interface is a complex system and a basic tool for reading and writing on dynamic network data of neurons. What is more surprising is that, with the sudden rise of the Metaverse, people have great expectations for the integration and interaction of the virtual world and the real world. Many people in the industry believe that the brain-computer interface is the cutting-edge technology hatched by Metaverse.
In the future, brain-computer interface technology will enable Metaverse, and the brain-computer interface is expected to become the next generation of human-computer interaction technology, the ultimate form of Metaverse. At the same time, with the continuous development of Metaverse in the future, the strong support of national policies, as well as the continuous exploration of brain science, the brain-computer interface will become the next generation of Metaverse entrance after VR and AR, realizing the real Metaverse.
According to the White paper on brain-computer Interface standardization released by the China Institute of Electronic Technology Standardization, the potential market for brain-computer interface technology (Brain-Computer Interface, BCI) will soon reach tens of billions of yuan. Another prediction analysis believes that the brain-computer interface in the next 20-30 years, the commercial application will gradually land, will open a 100 billion dollars of market.
The technical race has already begun. Brain-computer interface technology is an important strategic direction of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. The future industry represented by the brain-computer interface has stepped into the fast lane, and the formation of breakthrough scientific research achievements and innovative applications is the strategic need for innovative development.
WiMi Hologram Cloud focuses on brain-computer interface achievements
At present, the brain-computer interface field has tried to combine technology in the consumer field, and the application of in-game interaction is becoming more and more popular. It is understood that WiMi Hologram Cloud (NASDAQ: WIMI) has started to develop BCI game models and paradigms based on brain-computer interfaces. The game model was designed with a P300 brain-computer interface to explore a feasible and natural game execution experience using electroencephalography (EEG) signals in a practical environment.
According to the report, the novelty of the WiMi Hologram Cloud study is reflected in the design of the BCI games and the paradigm, which integrates the rules of the game and the characteristics of the BCI system. In addition, the convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm is introduced to achieve high accuracy on the training samples. This brain-computer interface system not only provides a form of entertainment but also provides more possibilities for game control.
To be sure, WiMi Hologram Cloud is based on the CNN BCI game model, forming a platform that can meet the interests of both healthy and disabled users. For healthy users, brain-computer interface games are mysterious and technical, which increases the charm of the game and is very conducive to the promotion of the game. For users with disabilities, BCI games provide them with a fair gaming platform, not only allowing them to play games with healthy users in the same way but also as a functional rehabilitation system to help patients with rehabilitation training. WiMi Hologram Cloud’s application of brain-computer interface technology to entertainment games is an important part of promoting BCI technology from the scientific research stage to the practical application market stage.
Conclusion
On the whole, although the new achievements of brain-computer interface technology in China have attracted global attention, it needs to be admitted that at present, the research perspective of foreign brain-computer interface technology is more advanced than that in China, and there can be some technological breakthroughs from 0 to 1. However, the advantages of China are more reflected in the range from 1 to 10, that is, domestic enterprises are good at learning from overseas innovative ideas, making better improvements and engineering realization of products, and pushing the products to the clinic more quickly. In short, if you want to catch up, and eventually lead the industry trend, the core point must also be to increase the investment in basic scientific research.

Sziasztok! Próbálta már valaki a silkyway termékcsaládot? Sampon+balzsam+hajpakoláson gondolkozom, a facebook kommentekben áradoznak róla, plusz az influencerek videóiban is úgy tűnik hogy csodaszer, de azért ezek felett vannak kétségeim. Nektek van valamilyen tapasztalatotok róla? Nekem vastag szálú, dús, fénytelen és nagyon száraz hajam van, nem tudom mennyire lenne jó megoldás.

Hey friends, I’m just here to vent a little if that’s okay. I’m having a really hard night. Been at my new job 3 days, which is at an egg farm. They said they’d use me for more veg crop stuff because I have a certificate in horticulture but it looks like they just have me sorting eggs and working the store.
After 3 days, not even 3 full days, it has caused me to burn out and melt down. I thought this was a smaller farm, it’s like one step down from a factory farm. Egg sorting is kind of nice because I love repetitive work, but the machinery is so fucking loud, and it’s a cramped area, and everyone is running around with eggs. I’m surprised I haven’t dropped any yet!!!!
The overstimulation and exhaustion has led to a big meltdown tonight. I let myself stim and thankfully it cut it shorter than I thought it’ll last, but I still feel so unstable.
I actually told them I’m sick just so I don’t have to come in tomorrow. I cannot handle it. It makes me feel absolutely pathetic and sub-adult for not being able to handle a fucking job. I know I can work and am able but I realize I need a good environment to thrive. Surprise surprise.
Thankfully, my friend who works on a farm says they need a new horticulture person so I am hopefully getting that job and quitting this one. The people are lovely, but the job is just not for me. I just can’t do it. I feel a sense of guilt and shame about it. I’m ashamed I called in sick.
But in this state I cannot work. All I did was stay in my bed from 3pm until 9pm. I wanted to go to the gym because it’s a big part of my schedule and mood regulator but I was so burnt out I couldn’t even do it. I haven’t gone to the gym at all this week and that’s making me feel so wrong because it’s deviating from my schedule which further fuels my emotional discomfort.
Ugh anyway, I know it’ll be okay. I just wish I was NT sometimes so I can just handle things. I feel like such a baby sometimes.

Sziasztok!
Tüntetés van tüntetés hátán, de persze egyik sem megy semmire. Ha behúzzák a függönyt a Parlament ablakán, máris nem látszik az a tömeg.
Megfordult bennem - miért nem léptünk még eggyel feljebb? Mi tart vissza, hogy a transzparensek helyett erőszakosabb legyen a nép? Ha csápolunk, senkit nem fog érdekelni. Ha teszünk valamit, annak lehet foganatja.
Hatalmas az infláció. Adót adóra halmoznak. Az oktatás romokban. Az egészségügy romokban. Semmilyen látható intézkedés, vagy törekvés nincs, hogy jobban éljünk. Csak akkugyár, mert az kell! A médiából folyik a propaganda.
A céljuk a népet a nép ellen uszítani, hogy megegyük egymást, mielőtt hozzájuk érnénk. Összeugrasztják a csoportokat, holott a cél közös: élhetőbb Magyarországot.
És ha ehhez egy felborított kuka, vagy füst, betört üvegek és "ide veled, régi kardunk" kell, hát legyen. A kartonpapírra írt szlogenek és a kanapékommentelés nem menti meg az országot.
Mire várunk? Tapsra? Tapsolok.

So I’ll start by saying that I live in Japan where the garbage disposal rules are strict, but full of loopholes. One of which I’ve exploited multiple times.
Futon disposal. Normally you would buy a sticker from the convenience store for a designated amount, call the city to tell them what you are disposing, and finally set it out neatly wrapped up for them to collect it on a designated date and time.
Or… you can do what I’ve done the many times I moved and cut the futon up into pieces which can fit in garbage bags and just throw them out like that. The bags themselves only cost a few hundred yen, so even if I used them all I would still save like 500¥ ($5ish).
The first time I did this it took quite some time because I had already packed away the best tools for the job (heavy-duty scissors). But the other times were quick and efficient, so it really was worth the time and effort to save that extra money.
So, fast forward to April this year when I got transferred (a natural and common occurrence in Japanese life. Side note, you haven’t really lived in Japan until you’ve gotten transferred or accidentally walked into the adult section of a Don Quixote) and I’m preparing to use my “life hack” to once again save a few bucks. I was giddy just thinking about what I could spend the extra cash on, possibly a few turns of the Chainsaw Man gatcha gatcha machine?
I was actually carving up TWO futons this day. You see, the apartment was listed as pre-furnished, which fit my transferee lifestyle well, but in my experience they don’t usually come with futons. So before moving in I had one set to be delivered that day. To my surprise, they already had one for me! It was nice for the time I was living there, but now I had twice the work. Oh well, I have my system all set in place, this won’t be any trouble, right?
Oh boy was I wrong. The first futon, the one I bought, went down fine. I cut the fabric, sliced through the seams, and finally the only thing left to do was rip up the foam. Same as I’ve done several times before. Broke a small sweat, but I had plenty of energy to do that again. So far, there have been zero fuck ups. So I crack my knuckles, grab my heavy-duty scissors, guide them to the edge of the futon and I make my first incision.
There was zero resistance. “Nice,” I ignorantly thought to myself. I make a second incision and now… I have massively fucked up. For anyone who has accidentally cut into a down futon, here’s some advice that I wish I had been told prior to this moment; Don’t Panic!
As feathers careened out of the futon I pushed down on the incision. More feathers flew out. I grabbed a handful of feathers and tried desperately to shove them back in. More feathers flew out. So I stopped and let go of everything. Feathers continued to pour out like a waterfall. My whole apartment, and by extension everything still unpacked, was now covered in feathers.
You know how in movies people might get shot and go flying? Or jump from a ten story building into the dumpster and come out unscathed? All of that is now waaaaay more believable to me than anyone having fun in a pillow fight with down pillows. I lost an entire day cleaning that up. I dot know how many feathers were required to make that futon, but if someone told me it was in the millions, I would believe them.
So now I have an amendment to my life hack; To avoid having to pay for your futon to be disposed of in Japan, you can cut it up into pieces which can fit in garbage bags and throw them away as usual… UNLESS it’s a down futon! Just follow the guidelines your municipality has.
TL;DR In an attempt to save money in disposal fees, I cut open down futon, which resulted in my entire apartment being covered in feathers.

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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.”
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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.

Got a 36 cent raise. No interest in moving me up positions within the store or the company. Then ASMs act surprised about me putting in my two weeks. I’m 25 years old with just an associates degree, but now I’m ready to work full time at a job that’s more challenging in terms of personal and career development. Another company has decided to hire me as a manager and I’ll be getting a 20% pay increase when I start compared to what I was making before. It’s wild how someone else at another company can see so much in me that no one at TJ Maxx did apparently.

Nem a politikai következményeit kérdezem, mert azok nyilván nem lesznek. Arra vagyok kiváncsi, hogy képesek-e még ezek normális országirányításra, esetleg belátni a hibáikat, más módokat keresni amikkel kikormányozhatják a hajót a viharból. Hogy elkezdett rohadni a rendszer, az egyre világosabb. Pár következmény: -A rendszer egyik szimbolikus ékköve a nemzetközi sportesemény rendezés. Sorra mondják le azokat, amiket korábban Magyarországnak ítéltek -A kormány egyik fő tartópillére az építőipar földbe állt. Állami beruházások és tőkeinjekció nélkül visszatértünk az építőipari körbetartozások korába -Oktatás romokban -Újra kilőtt az elvándorlási hajlandóság -Kiszámíthatatlan trükkökkel sarcolják a külföldi beruházókat -Egészségügy romokban -A kormány rárontott a lakosságra. Napi szinten kotorásznak a pénztárcánkban. Gyakorlatilag a nép fizeti az ő balfaszkodásukat -Nyiltan kezdtek el beszélni róla, hogy a befagyasztott unió forrásoknak búcsút inthetünk -Egyre nyilvánvalóbb, hogy ismét sikerült egy háborúban a vesztes oldalt választani -Harcban állunk a saját szövetségi rendszerünkkel. Az agresszort meg igyekszünk mosdatni.
Van kiút ebből a szargödörből ezeknek az irányításával?

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Ondersteunde landen - T&C

A magyar kormányt olyanok tartják hatalmon, akik nem okosabbak, mint egy ötödikes. Ehhez képest mi az, amivel nem rendelkezik egy tizennégy vagy 16 éves fiatal ahhoz, hogy megítélje, mi történjen a Lánchíddal? Vélemény.
Hallatlanul aggályos, példátlan és felháborító, hogy Karácsony Gergely a 14 éveseket is bevonja a budapesti konzultációba. Ezt attól a hatalmi gépezettől tudjuk, amelynek legfőbb törekvése, hogy az agyhalottakat és az idült alkoholistákat vonja be a politikába olyan üzenetekkel, amelyeket itt azért nem idézhetünk, mert rovatunkban egész oldalas hányósfejet meg egyéb emojikat nem szokásunk megjeleníteni, mivel nem agyhalottaknak és idült alkoholistáknak készítjük a lapot.
Nehéz lelkesedni azért, hogy a főváros gyakorlatilag lemásolja a nemzeti konzultáció irányított kérdéseit, egyirányú, binárisra egyszerűsített problémafelvetését. Az viszont éppenhogy előremutató, hogy kikéri azok véleményét, akik előreláthatóan még hatvan évig viselik a mai döntések következményeit. Ellentétben a nénikével, aki könnyen ágál amellett, hogy Európa helyett mielőbb csatlakozzunk a dicsőséges Szovjetunióhoz, hiszen ő úgysem éri meg a végkifejletet.
A tiltakozás mögött az a megfontolás áll, hogy a 14 vagy 16 éves budapesti lakos nyilvánvalóan képzetlen és éretlen megítélni, mi legyen a Lánchíddal vagy a fővárosi költségvetéssel. Ő ezt még nem tudhatja, ahogy azt sem, hogy a németek mind megfagytak az elmúlt télen, Lengyelország radioaktív sivataggá vált, és a román gyerekeket mind egy szálig elvitték a frontra – persze ezt azért sem tudhatják, mert nem igaz, viszont százezrek hitték el fél éve, hogy ez lesz, aztán most egy pillanatig se gondolkodnak el azon, át lettek-e vágva a palánkon. (Át.) A magyar kormányt azok tartják hatalmon, akik nem okosabbak, mint egy ötödikes.
Egy 14–16 éves gyerektől mellesleg elvárja az oktatási rendszer, hogy biflázza be a XIX. század gazdaságpolitikáját, egészen a cséplőgépig, abból pedig dolgozatot ír és felel is, hogy ki, miért és hogyan építette a Lánchidat. Nem tudja Clark Ádámot? Nem vágja a hídpénzt? Széchenyi István életét? Egyes, fiam, leülhetsz!
Rohadtul illetékes ezek után abban, hogy mi történjen a Lánchíddal most. Ha valakinek joga van beleszólni, az ő. A tizenévesek átlagban többet tudnak a Lánchídról, mint bármely másik korcsoport, és pláne többet, mint azok, akik szerint Oroszország a normalitás hazája, hiszen ott jól lecsukják azt, akinek a gyereke háborúellenes rajzot készít az iskolában; ezzel szemben Ukrajnában biolaborok működtek direkte az oroszok kiirtására.
Énfelőlem vitatkozhatunk azon, kell-e minden idiótának szavazati jog, de senki se fog meggyőzni arról, hogy ezt életkor alapján kellene szétválogatni. Nem kérdés, hogy rengeteg tizenhat éves kamasz van, aki nemhogy a Lánchídról, de az egész világról – az Európai Unión és Afrikán át egész a Szaturnuszig – tájékozottabb, mint számtalan meglett állampolgár, aki szerint meg kell állítani Brüsszelt, mielőtt levágatja a gyerekeink tökét. Már miért ne szavazhatnának egy informális felmérésen?
Sőt, miért ne szavazhatnának máskor is? Ugyan mi az a képesség, az a tudás, amivel rendelkezik egy krumpliért vett szavazó, de egy tizenhat éves fiatal nem?
Ha végignézünk a kormányzati médiagépezeten, vajon milyen célközönség rajzolódik ki abból? Érett? Művelt? Gondolkodó? Megfontolt? Nem: a legállatibb ösztönöknek, a legprimitívebb reflexeknek játszanak, és kifejezetten akadályozza a munkájukat, ha valaki például tudja, merre van Európa, micsoda az tulajdonképpen, és hogy mi a kifogása a mi kis kánságunk ellen. Semmilyen lécet nem látunk, amit meg ne ugorhatna egy óvodás.
De térjünk csak vissza a Lánchídhoz, és a leckéhez, amit bevasalunk a gyerekeken, akiket a döntésekből viszont kirekesztenénk. Ennek az objektumnak csak az egyik különlegessége volt, hogy nem kellett többé révészre várni, hogy Budáról Pestre átkeljen az ember. A másik a jogállamiság, amit akkor még nem így hívtak. Hanem közteherviselésnek.
A Lánchíd botránya abban állt, hogy azon hídvámot kellett fizetnie mindenkinek, kivétel nélkül; vagyis a nemeseknek is, akik pedig hozzászoktak, hogy törvényen felül állnak. A mai érdeklődő talán úgy gondolhatja el ennek a radikalizmusát, hogy elképzeli, Völner Pál vagy Tiborcz István ugyanúgy börtönbe kerül, mint egy biciklitolvaj. Szóval hogy nincsenek kiváltságok, előjogok, jogosítvány a lopáshoz, hanem mindenki fizet: a hídvámszedő bódé előtt paraszt és nemes egyenjogú.
Ez majdnem olyan aggályos, mint hogy egy tizenhat éves gimnazista véleményt nyilvánítson a felnőttek dolgáról.
Végül nem lett belőle nemzethalál, sőt az úgynevezett reformkort még mindig hazánk fénykoraként emlegetjük; úgy tűnik, nincs semmi hátránya annak, ha néhány pohos nemest megfosztunk az előjogaitól. Sőt abba se hal bele az ország, ha elvesszük az összes privilégiumukat, és egy árva fillért se kapnak pusztán a nevükért. Az országnak hídra van szüksége, csatornára, rádióra és újságra, iskolára és egyetemre – de kiválóan megvan nemesek nélkül. Ebbe beleértjük a vitézi rendet is, mellesleg.
Hát ennyi közük van a Lánchídhoz a tizennégy éveseknek. Hogy az övék is. Tűzzel-vassal vertük a fejükbe – hát akkor most álljuk a szavunkat Széchenyi nevében is!

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So I recently moved to Hawaii, and my mother had picked up some stuff from the pharmacy for me (antidepressants, heart medication etc), along with some other stuff I had forgotten to bring with me and sent them overnight on Saturday, so the package was due to arrive Tuesday. I went to pick it up today, and to my surprise the package weighed next to nothing, and on closer inspection it looked like it was cut open and taped back up. After opening it, I found there was literally nothing in the package, as if somewhere along the way, someone opened it and removed the contents. My mother had the UPS Store pack the items up in front of her and ship them out, and it's a bit distressing due to the medication that was in the package.
I have spent the entire day trying to file a claim and getting the runaround. First I tried calling UPS, got nowhere with the automated system, so my mother went to the UPS store and was told to file a claim online... Well, I spent the better part of 2 hours trying to help her through that but the website just kept hanging during random parts of the claim filing process. Needless to say, I didn't get very far and I don't know what to do or who to even talk to at this point. It feels like UPS doesn't want anything to do with claims with how convoluted the filing process can be.