Share your thoughts on this one. My gripes are under Physical Setup, Current Condition, and Layout.
SLEX: Persistent Issues: SLEX consistently has potholes and rumbles that remain unfixed for months or even years. Example, there’s a bad bump just past the Alabang exit that feels like a bad speed bump in the overtaking lane. If all lanes are crowded and another car tailing you that you can’t really put on brakes, you just hope for the best it doesn’t damage much in your car. Fortunately the gridlocks we’ve been having has mitigated this issue 💀. This among a lot more various road bumps until Sto Tomas area. Don’t even get me started with STAR tollway.
Skyway: - Subpar Modifications: the ‘improvements’ they’ve been implementing the past years like the addition of lanes without proper width, and poorly covered old lane markings, feels like I’m driving on a musical road tuned by a tone-deaf person.
The close distance as well of the outside lanes to the edges feels like a safety issue, with such small buffers compared to the NLEX connector which has a more considerate design.
Also how they handle the traffic from South Superhighway entry and the exit leading to NAIAX - at one point there’s a stop and go system implemented. Like on an expressway???
Toll Gates: - Inferior Infrastructure: While NLEX has faced numerous issues in the past for RFID issues na news pa, initiatives like those in CALAX demonstrate potential improvements, including future barrier-free tolling as per news (or kahit yung entry lang). In contrast, SMC’s Skyway Stage 3 toll booths appear temporary and lack the robustness expected from national infrastructure projects.
The recent mishandling pa of tollbooth placements on NAIAX, causing unnecessary gridlocks, highlights SMC’s trial and error approach in handling such a delicate and integral part of the capital region and also the backbone of our national capital’s economy (char oa pero medyo totoo naman)
Aesthetics✨ - Lack of Cohesive Design: medyo shallow na to pero the aesthetic quality of SMC’s toll gates is noticeably inferior compared to those under Metro Pacific’s NLEX and CALAX’s na standardized na yung tollbooth designs with their arches. SMC’s kiosk-style toll booths lack visual appeal and fail to evoke confidence for a national project.

• Structural Design Choices: medyo shallow na din to and a personal preference pero the first time I’ve been outside the country - Hong Kong and Singapore - their overpass feels so clean and more robust. One common thread I gathered is their design choices. The choice of construction materials, such as cheap-looking steel girders with thick concrete on top, immediately loses any visual appeals. This is also more apparent when these overpasses are so high up na it’s so hard to ignore. More aesthetically pleasing designs, like box concrete girders seen in SCTEX exits in Clark North or the current NSCR projects - both are or were managed/designed by Japan- offer a better view. The worst one na I always passby is the Skyway extension in Alabang, ang taas-taas and ang pangit-pangit.

Anyway let me know your thoughts on this one. From SMC bagging most national projects e.g. SLEX TR4, Skyway extension to their Bulacan airport, and a supposed masterplan of more interconnected skyways along Roxas Blvd and an extension spur line in Buendia to serve Makati CBD, I’m pessimistic on the overall experience of these future infrastructures.

Chapter 3: The Nightmare Made Flesh
The full moon cast an eerie glow over the quiet streets of Willowbrook as Sheriff Ethan Blackwood patrolled the town, his eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of the creature that had been terrorizing the community. The past few days had been a waking nightmare – the brutal attacks, the mounting fear, the desperate search for answers. And now, with the revelation of the glowing eyes and otherworldly growl that Deputy Sarah Harding had witnessed in the woods, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that they were dealing with something far beyond their understanding.
As he turned onto a deserted side street, a sudden movement caught his eye. Ethan slammed on the brakes, his heart pounding as he peered into the darkness. There, illuminated in the harsh glare of his headlights, stood a figure that defied all reason and sanity.
It was humanoid in shape, but there was nothing human about the creature that loomed before him. Standing at nearly six and a half feet tall, it had a bipedal stance that was uncannily human, but its body was a grotesque parody of the human form. Its limbs were elongated and disproportionate, with a hunched, unnatural posture that spoke of a twisted, inhuman anatomy.
The creature's skin was a sickly grayish-brown, mottled with patches of dark, coarse hair that sprouted in uneven clumps across its body. Its face was a nightmarish fusion of human and bestial features, with sunken, feral eyes that glowed an eerie yellow in the darkness. Its nose was flattened and broad, with large, flaring nostrils that twitched and quivered as it caught Ethan's scent. And its mouth...its mouth was a jagged maw filled with misshapen teeth that protruded at odd angles, giving it a perpetual, horrifying snarl.
As Ethan watched in mute horror, the creature began to change before his eyes. Its body convulsed and twitched, bones snapping and reshaping beneath its skin. Flesh rippled and bulged as muscles grew and shifted, and the sickening sound of tearing skin filled the air as the beast's form stretched and contorted into something even more monstrous.
The creature's arms elongated into long, spindly limbs that ended in gnarled, clawed hands, almost human in appearance but tipped with wickedly sharp talons. Its legs grew more powerful, more canine, with digitigrade feet that looked capable of propelling it forward with terrifying speed and agility.
And through it all, the creature's eyes never left Ethan's, burning with a malevolent intelligence that spoke of a human mind trapped within a monstrous form.
Ethan sat frozen, his mind reeling with the sheer wrongness of the thing before him. This was no animal, no mere beast. It was an abomination, a perversion of nature itself.
Then suddenly the creature threw back its head and let out a howl that shook Ethan to his very core – a sound of pure, unleashed bloodlust and fury. Then, with a speed that defied belief, it lunged forward, its jaws snapping and its claws outstretched.
Ethan barely had time to react, throwing the car into reverse and slamming on the gas. The tires screeched as he careened backwards, desperate to put distance between himself and the nightmare made flesh. In the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of the creature bounding after him, its powerful legs eating up the ground with terrifying speed.
Ethan's hands shook as he fumbled for the radio, his voice cracking as he called for backup. He knew how it would sound, knew the disbelief and terror his words would inspire. But he had no choice. The people of Willowbrook were in mortal danger, and it was his sworn duty to protect them.
Even if it meant facing down a monster straight out of humanity's darkest nightmares.
As he waited for his deputies to arrive, Ethan's mind raced with questions. What was this creature? Where had it come from? And most importantly...how could they hope to stop it?
He didn't have the answers. But one thing was clear.
The hunt was on.
And this time, the prey was a twisted fusion of man and beast, a creature of fang and claw and insatiable hunger.
Ethan took a deep breath, his hand tightening on his gun. He didn't know what horrors the coming days would bring, what nightmares they would have to confront.
But he knew one thing.
He would not rest until the streets of Willowbrook were safe once more.
Until the creature lay dead at his feet, and the long night of terror was finally over.
No matter the cost, he would see this through to the bitter end.
For the sake of his town, his people.
And for the memory of all those lost to the beast's savage hunger.

The new weapons are a lot of fun for PvE but they haven't really seen a lot of serious use in PvP, and at this point in the season people seem to agree that they're just not as strong as the classic blundesnipe (or pistol/snipe once in a blue moon if you're feeling spicy) meta. Scattershots are also pretty unreliable in my experience because of the sheer randomness of the spread making 2 or more of the shots whiff even at point-blank. Overall, to me this just feels like the harpoon tightrope season so far. Rare seems to know this, as they hinted towards a balance update in their latest update video.
This is a tricky topic to talk about because while people have been sick of blundersnipe & boarding meta for ages, it is objectively hard to use and making the more technical strategies equally as strong as blind sword-spamming would be bad game design. At the same time, I think this game's pirate-v-pirate combat really fails to satisfy the pirate fantasy unlike the naval and the open world. Bhopping around, spamming food as soon as you get hit, gambling on oneshots... It's all very videogamey. Right now is the perfect opportunity to touch up one of the game's only objective weak points. Here's a list of ideas I've had:

• Remove the one-blundy. Make the thing shoot one fewer pellet. It's just too much. It's uninteractive, it's overcentralizing. This one feature completely warps the dynamics of boarding PvP. You are throwing by not having access to it on ladder defense, and you are throwing by not having access to it on offense. It doesn't make sense for the big loud clumsy shotgun to be the perfect stealth weapon, and it makes kills and deaths feel unearned.
• To compensate, slightly tighten the spread and increase the knockback. This turns it into more of a two-tap combo tool, while making it more consistent at ranges other than melee. Still synergizes well with the sniper
• Give throwing knives their 1-hit-KO backstab. Honestly I think knives are pretty well balanced, maybe make them a bit quicker to arm for how hard to hit they are. But the fact that you can't sneak up behind a cannoneer and spy tf2 backstab them is just heartbreaking. The stab doesn't feel like it has a usecase. It would probably be a pain in the ass to add back detection codewise, but if they plan on giving more content to stealth pirates later this year, this is an absolute must.
• Make sword blocking and whiffing more important. Take some cues from fighting games here - in sword v sword duels, committing to the whole 3-hit combo should be risky. If you block all 3 hits, the opponent should be recovering for long enough that you get to guarantee some serious hits on them. The "hitstun" / combo interruption also needs to be addressed, as at the moment its janky nature just leads to mindless M1 spamming. This would add a nice dynamic of patience to sword duels. A parry system would also be awesome, but that's beyond the scope of a simple mid-season balance pass.
• Add some sort of jump cooldown or something. Endless bhopping artificially buffs long-reload weapons like the sniper and blundy. More mobility does not always mean more fun.
• Make eating a slightly longer animation that can't be cancelled. Make people quit complaining about "foodreg" when they mess up their swap times by just eliminating that as a concern.
• Increase the reload times on the sniper. It's important that the eye of reach stays strong in ship-to-ship combat, but right now I don't think it has much of an opportunity cost when you're on the same deck.
• Let the double-barrel charge its shot faster. Right now it just feels so gummy and terrible to use. Maybe even put the charge on a different key or something, like R when you're already reloaded.

Hello everybody,
I recently changed the front wheel brake pads on my CRF300 Rally (with ABS) at around 19,000 km. The old pads had about 4mm left, but I replaced them to be on the safe side. Now, it seems like the front wheel turns a bit harder (stupid me don't remember if this was already the case before or not, I know I am stupid ;) ).
When I spin the front wheel, it only makes about 1.5 revolutions compared to around 5 revolutions when the brake caliper is not mounted. I understand that disc brakes always apply a slight braking force to the discs, but is this normal?
Here's how I did it:

1. Removed the entire caliper (I reused the screws, but according to the service manual, I should use new ones, which I will do once they arrive).
2. Removed the old pads and the rattle clip.
3. Cleaned everything, including the pistons and pushed them back (reservoir was open).
4. Reused the rattle plate and mounted the new pads (original Honda).
5. Slid the pin through the pads (tip greased with silicone lube).
6. Mounted the caliper.
7. Do some braking, then retighten the screws of the caliper.
8. Loosened the axle alignment screws, applied pressure to the forks, and tightened everything to spec, except for the caliper holding screws. I used 20 nm instead of 30 nm because I reused the old screws and read that they might elongate, so I reduced the torque to be safe.
9. Flushed and replaced the brake fluid.
10. Topped up the brake fluid as the level was a bit low.

After a test ride of around 10 km with some emergency braking from speeds of 50 km/h, the disc gets hot but is still touchable. Is this temperature normal? Or should it be handwarm?
Sorry if this seems like a basic question, but this is my first time doing this replacement and I am a bit nervous. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I've got slopes and on occasion my 2022 z6 stalls going forward downhill and is very stubborn to engage wheels. I feel like an idiot flapping my arms and going a few inches at a time before stalling again. I try to finesse the E-brake to stop rolling without triggering the brake cutoff, but I never know when it will engage again. Works fine otherwise. I'm always on highest speed setting. Thoughts on cause and how to remedy?

Hi! It started with what seemed to be the sensor on the electronic emergency brake. Dashboard went nuts, all assists such as EyeSight turned off. But, the main brakes themselves felt and worked fine, and the e-brake worked as expected.
When you applied it (pulled up on the switch), you could hear the little motor activating the parking brake.
When you pushed the switch down, you could hear the motor, and the brake would release. The little red light would flash, but wouldn't stay on.
OK, I could live with that, I thought, and bring it in on Monday. (this was last weekend)
Then later in the day, "no brakes" on the highway. Pedal went all the way to the floor. I could pump them and regain some hydraulic pressure. Was able to stop, and slowly brought it in to my mechanic of choice.
He replaced the e-brake sensor, and the master cylinder gasket.
It's been there a week because he said he's having trouble bleeding the brakes. Still feels soft.
I'm thinking... did he replace the gasket that goes to the booster and not the whole master cylinder? Is this a bad MC with an internal leak, and we'll be here forever if he doesn't replace that?
Either way, if the rear seal of that MC was bad, how can I tell if the corrosive brake fluid got into the booster? I do not recall seeing any leaks at all, anywhere.
And the brake hoses and fittings all seemed to be fine. Nobody cut our brakes!
Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm at a loss because what does the e-brake sensor have to do with the main brakes? What kind of satanic coincidence would cause both of these completely compartmentalized systems to fail at once?

Hey, so you ever get a birthday present that's so not your style, but you really can't return it because it'd be really awkward? Normally it's like, I dunno. Shoes, or shirts or something like that, right?
For me it was four fire-breathing horses.
Okay, so I should clarify. My dad didn't really give me four fire-breathing ponies to keep. It was more of a test for him to treat me like his son again.
See, I just recently got out of a Styx oath that would have led me to eternal damnation if I didn't fulfill it. It's a long story, but to keep it short: I swore an oath on the Styx to be a brave hero by my eighteenth birthday when I really should have just pinkie promised. But yeah. My dad, God of War and dad of the year took it well. …In that he pretty much said that I was a waste of space, disowned me and he'd personally hand me over to the Styx for eternal damnation.
Nice guy. Really should get into motivational speeches.
The night before, after riding the high of not having the threat of being sent to Super Hell I had a pretty bad dream. I mean, it wasn’t the normal David nightmare. It wasn't me killing endless hordes of monsters while my dad laughed at how pathetic I was.
Well, half of that. It was just my dad. To be honest, rather I’d take the monsters.
He was laughing at me, with that smug face of his, in that all-leather biker outfit with the shades that made him look even more like an asshole, as if that's hard to believe.
Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to cuss. Anyways yeah. Me and my dad. Not the best relationship, even by demigod standards.
He gave me a toothy grin, like a shark’s as he circled around me. I instinctively stood up straight, at attention. As much as I hate my dad, ticking off a god is a pretty dumb thing to do. Plus, I was pretty dumbfounded to see him here in my dream of all things.
“Well, color me surprised. To be honest, boy, I thought I'd end up taking care of this myself. So, congratulations on that front. But, sorry to burst your bubble, it might be good enough for ol’ Styxy but…it’s not good enough for me. But, you know, I'm a generous guy! Prove me you're a warrior. Do that, and I'll welcome you back in the family with open arms. I even got the perfect way for you to prove yourself.”
Without warning, he tossed me a set of keys with a miniature boar-headed keychain and a really big switchblade on the end of it. I fumbled with it before slipping it into my pocket.
“An oldie but a goodie. Used to let my sons prove themselves to me all the time with this one. Now, I'm sure once you see what I got planned you'll know the rules, considering you're a fuckin’ nerd. But in case you forget…”
He lowered his shades, revealing balls of fire as he glared right at me.
“Sundown. My temple. Don't be late or I'll toss you in the Styx myself. Well! Have fun, yeah? I'm looking forward to watching you fail this one, like your last quest. Now, get up. Clock’s ticking after all…”
“Gaah!”
I snapped my eyes open, falling out of my bed and onto the hard floor under me. As soon as I hit the floor, I could hear one of my many siblings start to stir from their sleep. Immediately, my sister Tiffany started to sigh as she shot up from her bed. I could see her pastel pink sleep mask perched on her head as she glared into the darkness of the early morning. She groaned in frustration, her words cutting through the quiet of the dawn.
"What the hell are you idiots doing?"
To be fair, I could see why she’d think that. Most of my siblings were fond of pranking each other every now and then. The chaos of the Ares cabin was unmatched from most cabins, except maybe Hermes. But, when you cut off her beauty sleep, the threat of an angry Tiff was usually was enough to make nighttime a truce. Usually.
My sister rubbed her eyes and looked down at me. I sheepishly gave a smile as I rubbed my head, still sore from when it hit the floor.
"Seriously, David?"
Tiffany got out of bed and silently made her way to me. She wordlessly held out a hand and I grasped at it as she pulled me up.
"Thanks Tiff. I had this dream, where Dad called me a nerd and was talking to me about testing me now that my Styx Oath is..."
I felt something hard and metallic poke against my leg, from my sweats pocket. I pulled out the unfamiliar object and to my surprise, there were the same keys from my dream. My eyes widened as I realized that my dream was a little bit more than usual demigod stuff.
"Oh. That...wasn't a dream."
She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the keys that sat in my hand. I played with the accessories, absentmindedly feeling the boar head and the switchblade knife. She leaned in, peering at the keys as the dawn started to rise.
"What the hell are those for?"
She looked to the keys, then back at my face, and then the keys again. She looked at me as if I just said that Kronos was about to come back and throw an ice cream party courtesy of the Titans.
"You're telling me Dad gave those to you or something? You're joking. Have to be."
I shook my head, but I could see why she thought so. I was pretty sure I was near the bottom, if not at the bottom of his list of favorite kids. If I was being honest, I was pretty sure he wanted me dead more than a few times.
"Tiff, you know that I'm not exactly Dad's favorite by a long shot. Why would I say something like that and risk him getting even mad more mad at me because of my lying? Dad disowned me, remember? He mentioned something along the line in my dream that if I pass his test I'd be treated as one of his sons again but he didn't mention what it..."
The gears started turning as I looked at the keys in my hands.
”A test…keys…sundown…oh no. Oh, no.”
I immediately pocketed up my keys and started putting on my shoes. No time for pants, sweats would do just fine, I just had to make sure to take my wallet with me, considering I was going to New York now. I had to be quick or this test was over before it even started.
"No. I...I think I know what it is. But if I'm right, then shoot I gotta get going then! Before our brothers take it."
In hindsight, I probably should have told Tiff a bit about my thoughts. But, the more I delayed the more issues that could have cropped up. I just had to make sure it was safe.
"Take what? Where the hell are you going?!"
I burst out of the cabin, staring at what was in front of our cabin. I felt a bit of nervousness bubble up as my thoughts were proven true. Tiffany was close behind me as she walked outside our cabin. I looked at her face and caught an expression of wonder as whatever she was going to ask me was forgotten. Parked in front of the cabin was a red and gold Harley. The seat was white leather and gave a sorta…humany vibe to it that I did not wanna think about. Only one thing came to mind, something I knew instinctively from the moment I saw it. Dad's War Chariot.
Or as the god of war would call it, his chariot.
"I...I think dad wants me to take his ride for a spin."
I ran my hand over the cold metal, and I realized what Dad meant about the “oldie but a goodie.” A while back, before the Second Titan war ended, and all of the children of the gods had to be claimed, there was a ritual all sons of Ares went through. It was something all my brothers did at fifteen. Drive around his Chariot and return it before sundown. It wasn't easy, my Godly siblings, Phobos and Deimos both loved to mess with whoever was in charge of the chariot at the time. And you had to deal with monsters too, but overall when it came to demigod stuff it wasn’t the most dangerous around. I dunno if that says a lot about how dangerous this life can get though.
But, shortly after the then-counselor Clarisse La Rue became the first girl to do it, Dad pulled the plug. I dunno if it was good ol’ sexism, someone totaling it, or dad not wanting to let all of his kids drive his ride, either way it wasn't super common nowadays. It wasn't like he stopped, but it was something given, not a right. Dad letting me do this was him at least giving me a chance to prove myself to be one of his kids, which was more than I expected to be honest.
I took a breath as I looked at Dad’s ride, feeling a pit of unease in my stomach as I started to climb in. If it wouldn't end up with me being tormented for the rest of my short life, I'd tell him no and go back to sleep. But, telling a god no, especially my dad is a neat way to be turned into a rodent. Or a fine red paste. Or a rodent that would be turned into said paste.
Tiffany's brows furrowed as she processed my words, a layer of disbelief on her face as she chewed over it.
You? He wants you to drive it? I...that...what the hell?"
I fought off a wince as she looked at me, then the ride, then back at me again. I could tell she was a bit annoyed. I mean, yeah from her perspective I was singled out by dad to do something she probably wanted to do for a while. I felt a pit of guilt in my stomach, it wasn't fair, really. But at the same time I had to do this.
"I mean, seriously? He must be out-"
She cut herself off. Calling my dad crazy was another way to get turned into a rat that would then be turned into a fine paste. Actually a lot of things carried the threat, my dad is kinda a jerk. I sighed, figuring I might as well tell her about why Dad was doing this. I didn't wanna hide it, but it's not like I like to talk about the fact that I've been disowned for two years. She knew, most of us did. But it's not something I like bringing up, because yeah. It sucks.
"I read a bit about previous Ares campers. He used to do this more often, at first only his sons did, but later his daughters could. I dunno why he stopped but, this isn't really like he's doing it because he's proud of me. I'm sorta disowned, remember? He said if I can drive the chariot, he'll take me back as one of you guys again. It's...more of a test to earn myself back into his good graces, I think.”
Tiffany listened to my explanation, not saying anything for a bit She looked a bit bothered about the fact that I was chosen to drive the Chariot, which again, not surprising.
"Ugh, I guess that makes sense."
I could hear the frustration in her voice as she crossed her arms. I winced again, preparing for her to resent or hate me. But to my surprise, I heard her add more in a softer voice.
"Well, don't get yourself killed trying to pass this stupid test, I don't want to have to explain to everyone why you're not coming back."
Her icy tone defrosted as she looked back at me with a bit of concern in her eyes. She seemed less annoyed and more worried about me, which was sweet. Not that I'd let her hear that. I hoped that maybe, dad would let her give it for a spin later down the road. If anyone deserved it, it would be her. I gave a nervous laugh as I took the keys out of my pocket.
"Of course, I passed my Styx Oath, didn't I? It'd be really dumb of me to die right after barely avoiding that, right? Oh, yeah. If Ellie asks for me, tell her about dad's little test he has for me. Hopefully it won't be too long but you know how it is with godly stuff. I should be back in time for us to hang out for the rest of my birthday once I do this for dad. I'll bring back something cool!”
I felt my trepidation fade away as I prepared to drive. Lots of my siblings dreamed of piloting the chariot. It wouldn't be right to reject the opportunity when it was given to me. And, who knows? Getting back in Dad's good graces (or as much as one can get in them) might help me out. At least I would have one less target on my back. As I sat down in the white leather seat, I put the keys in the ignition and instantly it began to morph.
OOC:Read this while listening to whats coming up
The front split apart into one steel horse that slowly split into two, and then four cream-colored horses that looked around with a cruel intelligence. The seat dipped, and warped before it became a horse-drawn chariot I was now standing in. The chariot was gold and blood red, adorned with the lovely images of people dying gruesome deaths, because Dad's taste in decor is somewhere between military surplus and serial killer, apparently.
“Okay…so, I need to get to Dad's temple before sundown. I don't know New York highways though, so how can I…oh hey! A gps!”
My fingers brushed against a touch screen set up on the chariot and punched The Intrepid into the coordinates. I gave one last wave to my sister before I lashed the horses and they immediately took off. I led them out of camp easily enough, but as we reached the highway they sped up to an impossible speed for a chariot. Their speed was even faster than any cars on the highway, rivaling the time that Aphrodite camper drove us to the beach once. I pulled back on the reins, trying to get them to slow down. Instead, they gave a rebellious snort and went even faster.
I would like to say that I embraced my inner Ares kid and relished the challenge. But I'm not going to lie, when you end up going past 80 MPH in a chariot, you tend to think you're going to die, fun fact. I screamed for most of the way, yanking and pulling at their reins so we could bob and weave through traffic.
It's a bit of a drive from Camp Half-Blood to New York City, I know it well, it’s a pretty common place for me to go for some monster slaying. But, up until now, I've been in the passenger seat while Argus drives. The speed of the horses really made the time go by faster. As we entered the city, the horses started to slow down and I felt a ray of hope as I started to steer them through the city. I gave a triumphant laugh as I looked down at my ETA. It was surprisingly quick, considering how congested New York can get. And I didn't see hide or hair of either one of my godly brothers, so I felt pretty good, all things considered.
“Huh. That's weird. There's not many cars today…my luck must be turning around!”
“Traffic update: Incoming Monsters. Rerouting. Cannot reroute.”
“Huh?”
Immediately, a massive boar the size of a garbage truck burst from a nearby alley way behind me. Behind the massive pig, two armored bank cars recklessly merged into traffic. One leaned out, revealing a gray-skinned human in body armor brandishing a shotgun.
“Of course! I had to open my big mouth! Is there anything that I’m going to have to deal with?”
“You are on the fastest route!”
“Well that’s just GREAT! Now I can be on the quickest way to the underworld!”
”Rerouting to: D.O.A. Records, Los Angeles.”
“Woah, woah, woah, no! Keep me on The Intrepid! The Intrepid!”
Seeing all these enemies together though, I started to put a thought in my head. They all had something in common, now that I saw them all in front of me. A boar was sacred to Ares, Spartoi too came from a dragon sacred to him. I put the pieces together as I saw the monsters come out of the woodwork and all to me. Now things made sense. The lack of Phobos and Deimos, the sacred beings to Ares, the lack of mortals on the street.
I didn't see my siblings because Dad wanted to mess with me personally.
Even now, I don't know if he wanted to test me in a Spartan way, or if he just wanted to get rid of me without kinslaying. Either way, I couldn't back down now. Not when I was so close. I snapped on the reins and the rebellious horses continued on their path, bickering and weaving left and right as they snorted and whinnied.
I heard the wiz of something traveling through the air and quickly moved out of the way. A metal feather hit the chariot, bouncing off the hull and onto the ground. I looked up and saw a few birds. They were black and crow-like, but their feathers had a metallic sheen, like iron. Their wings flapped and I heard the sound of metal on metal as they soared above me.
“Dad called in feather-shooters too? Come on!”
I steered left and right as I evaded the metal feathers shooting at me. The newcomers behind me quickly gained as I bobbed and weaved. I had to figure a way out of this, and fast. Problem was, I was quickly outnumbered and outmatched. I wasn't the best at archery, and my sword could shoot a blast of force, courtesy of the then Forgemaster. Main issue was it took a bit to charge, and I couldn't take them on so high up.
I couldn't run. I needed to fight out of this. But even if I could fight the two Spartoi and the big pig, the problem was the birds. I didn't have a ranged option…or did I? I looked to the horses, breathing embers as they huffed and pulled the chariot further on. Ares kids couldn't talk to horses, but these were godly horses. They seemed smarter than your average horse. Maybe I could talk them into behaving, the same way I got some of my siblings to listen to the plan during Capture the Flag.
“Hey guys, are you bored? I'm sure Dad and my brothers take all the good fights, huh? You know, if you guys continue fighting each other, I might lose this and you guys will miss out on a good fight.”
At first, I thought it fell on deaf ears. But then, they stopped their jostling and started to take a more unified path as we raced along the streets. Like I thought, they enjoyed a good fight as much as their owner did.
“That's what I like to see. Look, we're pretty surrounded right now. What do you say we rampage a bit before I take you guys home?”
An evil-sounding whinny came from the horses. I couldn’t really speak horse, but I took that as an okay and pointed at the birds above us. Did I feel stupid? Kinda. But as long as it worked, I couldn’t complain.
“See them? All yours. I'll cover you guys from the ground forces, and in exchange, you guys fall in line. Alright?”
A burst of fire came from one of the horses in response and I heard a loud squawk as it engulfed one of the feather-shooters. I breathed a sigh in relief as the rest of the birds started to scatter. They veered left and right in an attempt to avoid the flaming streams that were now sporadically being fired in their direction.
“Alright! Good job, I'll leave it to you!”
I gave a smile as I turned behind to my land-based foes, quickly gaining on me. I could hear the occasional woosh of fire as the horses fought the birds. One of the armored trucks caught up to my right and one of the spartoi leaned out of the vehicle. They aimed down the sights and pointed their shotgun at me.
“Sudden traffic in your area. You will be delayed by…five minutes. You are still on the fastest route!”
“Woah, that’s not fair! Come on Dad! A gun? Really!?”
I felt a tug in my stomach. It wasn’t something I could do a lot in a row without being exhausted, but I had some sorta pull when it came to weapons. When I gave a command, they were able to fall right out of their owner’s hands.
“Alright, let’s even the playerfield shall we?”
I held out my hand and they dropped it, the gun fell onto the ground, crushed by the wheels of the car. The second caught up to my left and once again, a spartoi leaned out of their car, weapon in hand.
“Another one!? Come on! How am I going to…”
I was jerked to the side as the horses suddenly veered right. At first, I thought it was the horses misbehaving again, but then a monstrous squeal came from behind me, rushing forwards.
Crash
I heard the sound of steel groaning as the boar rushed past the truck, pushing their truck out of the way as they aggressively charged forward. It was a good thing I managed to get out of the way, or else I would have been in trouble. I could see the spartoi shaking their fist as they spun out, their car massively dented with a massive gash in the armor. Now that I had to deal with two enemies, I decided to use the boar’s momentum to my advantage. I pulled back on the reins and the boar kept barreling on, too fast to stop as I made the chariot suddenly stop and then take a sudden turn away from the temple. The boar ran straight into a brick wall, seemingly dazed but otherwise okay.
”Rerouting...”
That temporarily took care of two of my enemies. Now that I had one to worry about, and my horses were pretty steady, I could start this fight in earnest. I kept one hand on the reins as I grabbed my Miku keychain. I unclipped it, and the keychain turned into a katana, with said keychain still on the bottom. It was my sword, Anime (I want to clarify, my friend Jules named it, not me). One of the Spartoi readied a spear and lunged at me. I parried it with my blade, and stabbed at their chest. I felt my blade plunge into their body. I pulled away at it, slashing at it again to tear it apart. To my disappointment though, the monster quickly reformed.
I don't know what I expected, to be honest. They wouldn't be much of an immortal soldier if they died after the first hit. But it bought me valuable time as we pushed forward. Almost as soon as its bones knit back together, it struck at me. I guarded once again, my sword starting to glow brighter and brighter with each strike. Our blades clashed and separated again and again for, I don’t know how long to be honest. I was putting up a good fight, but I just couldn’t gain the upperhand in that fight. For starters, if it was a monster or even a demigod it’d be ten ways to Tartarus at the moment. But, no matter how I sliced or diced it, the immortal soldier kept on coming back. Also, I just wasn't used to multitasking like that, I held on as tightly as I could, but the brief times I practiced Chariot combat with my friends Jules and Cel, I was either driving or fighting. Both at the same time was hard, and I was lucky that the horses were so cooperative.
I heard the whinny of one of the horses ahead as I looked back to the front. No sign of the birds meant that there was a few extra-crispy feather-shooters along the road somewhere, which was good news. But then, I looked out in front and realized that there was a big problem. One of the trucks we left behind somehow got in front of us, blocking the road with their car. Five spartoi were standing outside of the car, swords and spears drawn as they headed the chariot off.
At this moment, I knew I was screwed. I was too fast to just stop. And, even if I did stop, I’d have to deal with all the angry skeleton men chasing me down. I just winced, bracing for impact. But then, I heard a neigh as the horses pulling my chariot started to turn into steel and combined once more. The chariot started to shift, the creak of metal folding and turning. I quickly sheathed my sword as the reins turned into chrome handlebars which I gripped like my life depended on it. The chariot continued to morph until once again it was a motorcycle with flame patterns. I veered as left as I could, narrowly avoiding hitting the side of a nearby building as I sped past the skeletal blockade. I braked, motorcycle now turning back into the chariot form as I turned back and watched as the car that was chasing me slammed straight into the other.
The now pissed spartoi stumbled out of the wreckage and started to scream undead obscenities to each other. I couldn’t speak ghost, but whatever they said seemed to be pretty rude, because both sides started to unsheath their swords and get into an all-out brawl. One of the spartoi sliced the other in two, and they didn’t reform this time as their essence slid into their black sword.
Huh. Well, that was one way to deal with them.
“Whew! Good horses.”
I turned, ready to snap the reins once again, but I stopped as I saw what was waiting for me at the other end of the road. The boar, still very much on my trail stood in front of me. It pawed at the ground in front of it, and my horses started to do the same. I stared at the boar, unsheathing Anime once again as we stared off.
“Keep straight for…500 feet.”
The thing about boars is that they can be pretty deadly. They’re brutish and aggressive, and they go down fighting. You know the crossguard that’s near the pointy end of a spear? That’s so the animal doesn’t run up the spear to take you out with it. You don’t think them being that dangerous, but there’s a reason that dad’s symbol is a boar.
I had to make this quick, and efficient or I’d end up maimed, or worse. I snapped the reins one more time, and the horses started to dash down the street. The boar squealed as it barreled to me. I could see it get closer and closer. I grit my teeth, holding my blade in my right hand as it started to shine more and more brightly. My hand held onto the grip tightly, bracing for my next action.
I’d have one shot at this.
I miss, I’m dead.
I hesitate, I’m dead.
I don’t hit the vitals, I’m dead.
Time started to slow around me as I watched the boar rush at the chariot, enraged as it reached the point where there was no stopping it now. I could see the powerful muscles push and pull, the beast using all its power in an attempt to off me for good. I felt heat coming from the front as all four horses breathed a stream of flames at the swine. The boar kept on charging forwards, through the fire as the flames engulfed it. An angry squeal erupted from the inferno as it lept up from the sea of flames, still on fire as it used its strong legs to clear the horses and go straight for me.
Breathe in
I felt a sense of calm wash over me as I pulled my sword hand back. My blade shined brilliantly, even in the May sun. I watched it fall ever closer to me, the flames still eating away at the flesh. I stared into its ever-angry eyes, burning brighter than the flames surrounding it. I don’t falter. I’ve faced monsters that have crushed my bones. I don’t feel fear. I’ve fought creatures that could have killed me in five seconds. This is it. I need it to be perfect.
Breathe out.
SHING
I swung my blade and a rush of air followed it, making an arc that flew to the boar. I don’t doubt my skills. I simply watch, confident that this will end the monster once and for all. The blast, charged from my fight flew unimpeded. The beast’s chuffs turned into surprised squeal as it sliced the boar cleanly in two, bisecting it from the snout down. I sheathed my sword and put both hands back on the reins, eyes on the road as I barely watched what came next. The flaming boar started to fade into dust, still falling through the air until only a tusk was left. I held out my arm and caught it with my right hand.
“Oh hot, hot!”
I juggled it a bit with one hand before placing it down on the chariot floor. I grinned triumphantly as I realized what happened. Dad tried to test me, to see if I was “worthy” or he genuinely tried to kill me. Either way, I beat him this time, proving to him that I was more. That he underestimated me when we first met, that I was a brave warrior all along. In the end, I proved to him that I could fulfill my Styx oath even past what was expected of me. I laughed as I sped up, I felt pretty good about my victory. I wondered how his face would look, or if I could read his expression past his dumb sunglasses.
But as I rounded the corner, a terrifying sight came to my face as my glee turned to sorrow. I watched with horror as I realized Dad’s influence on the fight kept a more dangerous foe than any before at bay. Now that the fight was over, he had no reason to keep it around, and for once, I wasn’t sure if I could get through this unscathed. I gulped as I put my hands on the reins, not ready to face the impossible challenge alone. I hoped it wouldn’t break me as I prepared what little I had to fight this foe.
”There is an unusual amount of traffic in your area today.”
“Now you tell me…”
None other, than New York traffic.
I’d like to say that I did something else. Like I defeated an army of drakons on my way, or managed to fight off crazed demigods sent by my dad…but no. It was pretty much just traffic the rest of the way there. It was long and arduous, but I managed to make my way over to The Intrepid. After that traffic,I had to say, the amount of crazy drivers was almost San Francisco bad. I’d have taken as many spartoi and boars as dad could throw at me, if it meant I wasn’t drowning in the sea of cars. I drove down Pier 86, feeling a sense of relief as I got closer and closer to the aircraft carrier turned museum. As I got within eyeshot, I realized that dad said to take it to the temple, but not where to drop it off at.
It would be really stupid to end up failing just because I wasn’t sure where to leave dad’s ride. I got off the chariot, and was eyeing the prices of a ticket.
“Adults are thirty-six, Seniors and College Students…thirty four… Oh hey! Children of Ares get in free! Now, how do I wheel dad’s chariot through the front…”
Suddenly the side gate opened, lights flashing and clanging as it automatically retracted. The person standing in the booth waved me over and I hopped back onto the chariot, driving it by cautiously. They were dressed like a security guard, shades covering their eyes as they looked down onto their phone that they were absentmindedly playing with. Eyebrow piercings peeked out from behind the shades. They were tall, looked about early twenties, and seemed like your average bored museum guard, if not for that sorta godly aura I got from them.
“Take the chariot this way, Lord Ares will be at the end of Pier 86. Can’t miss him.”
I eyed the godling suspiciously. They seemed like one of those myriad younger and minor gods I saw when I was on Olympus. Not anyone I’d know, but if they wanted to stop me, it’d be annoying to get past them. They didn’t seem to be that dangerous, at least right now. But when you were a demigod, you learned to be wary of free handouts.
“Uh…look man, I’m going to be honest. I just got through some hellish traffic to get through here. So if like, you’re leading me into a trap or if my godly brothers are going to show up to try and take this, can you just start the fight and save me the trouble? It’s been a long morning, and I just wanna get this over with.”
I stared back at my reflection through their mirrored shades. Growing up, I always thought of myself as gangly and awkward. I could see my messed up hair, tousled from the wind. I stood tall, and although I wasn’t the buffest Ares kid around, you couldn’t call me skinny anymore. I looked almost heroic as I held the reins atop the chariot. Was that how I looked now? The godling shook their head as they chuckled, putting down their phone as they looked at me in the eyes.
“Kid, even for a god like Ares who likes conflict, you don’t do something like that in a temple. You can’t just attack his kid on his own grounds. Plus, it's part of the rules of war to respect neutralized zones. Trust me, you’re home free.”
“Oh. Um, thank you.”
He nodded and went back on his phone. I snapped on the reins and the chariot trotted along, even fire-breathing horses had to follow traffic laws apparently. I was on guard, not taking the godling’s words at face value. Mortals in a daze parted around the chariot, a few snapping pictures at me. I freaked out for a split second before I heard the tourists being in awe at what I heard to be a “vintage bomber”. Dumbfounded, I stopped for a brief second. It didn’t even have wings! But, I could see the mist shimmer around me and for a brief moment, see the silhouette of the plane around the chariot. It was an old fighter, a single propellor with flaming horse art on the nose.
“P-40B Warhawk? Alright, guess we’re working with that.”
I frowned a bit, trying to think if I knew that before this, from a school project or if it was more demigod shenanigans. I was never into fighter jets, but when you’re a demigod sometimes your parent’s godly influence shoves itself into your head and it’s always confusing when it does.
I drove the “plane” to the end of the pier, where I could see my dad sitting down on a barricade, blocking off a massive plane above him. It wasn’t used for war apparently, because I had no clue what type of plane it was. Looked cool though, it was really narrow around the nose end and the wings were all near the back end. He had a big wicked-looking combat knife in his hand that he used to clean his nails. He looked up at me, disinterestedly, before going back down to the knife.
“You’re alive.”
I couldn’t tell from his tone if that was a good or bad thing. It seemed… neutral. Like he was stating the sky was blue. But, overall I’d take that as a good thing, considering our last meeting. I spoke a bit warily, not sure if he was in a good or bad mood considering my victory.
“Uh, so Father. I’m finished with what you-”
“No. You’re not.”
“I’m not!? Do I need to do anything or-”
A moment of panic snuck up into my chest. For a brief moment I was afraid he was going to pull a twelve labors on me, but then he whistled and held out his hand.
“Not until you give me the keys kid, then it’s done.”
I hopped out of the chariot, the reins in my hand turning into keys as the horses went back into their motorcycle form. I somewhat clumsily tossed it to my dad, who grabbed it. He pushed himself off his perch, first making sure his motorcycle was unharmed. Then, he turned to me, eying me up and down as he circled around where I stood. I stood still, at attention as I felt my heart racing in my chest. I felt like a deer, cornered by a wolf just waiting to strike. Yet, the first pang of anxiety soon settled down. If he wanted to take care of me, he would have done so already. Or sent something more dangerous like a Drakon at me when I was driving. I felt my heart leap up into my throat as he clapped a big hand on my shoulder. The gesture wasn’t hostile, if anything, the motion seemed friendly. But his grip was anything but. His hand, like the claws of a tiger dug into my shoulder as he grinned at me.
“I have to say, I thought you were a lost cause, but look at you kid. Took you long enough, but I guess you have enough of me in you after all. Well, a late bloomer is better than being completely useless, but man! You were one of my most pathetic kids when you took that oath. I don’t think I had a kid as wimpy as you in a long time. Well, I’m glad my little nudge helped you keep that oath up after all. It would have been a waste of a perfectly good warrior if you didn’t shape up.”
I looked at him, dumbfounded. He helped me? He didn’t do anything! I wasn’t stupid enough to point it out, but I guess he knew what I was thinking as I felt his grip tighten as he growled.
“Come on, don’t give me that look, kid. Oh, don’t look so surprised. Tip of advice: don’t dip your toes into cards. You have a horrible poker face. Your mom was the same way. But, yes. I helped. Not that kids these days would understand. Parents these days are too soft, including most of us gods. Back in Sparta, we’d leave our kids to fend for themselves. Just give them barely enough food and let them hunt or steal the rest. If they end up dying in the hunt or starved, well that’s fine. They were too weak to do anything of note anyway. You should consider yourself lucky I was generous enough to just turn my back on you.”
He chuckled low, and my blood ran cold as he shook me. I shook my head, fighting off a wave of dizziness as he threatened to take off my arm.
“Oh, but that’s in the past! You passed your agōgē period, all by yourself. Now that is true strength.”
His evil grin widened as he gave me the closest thing to an approved look he’d ever given me. I furrowed my brow as I shook my head. This credit, it wasn’t mine to take, was it? Before I could think, I spoke what was on my mind.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t do this by myself. Everywhere I went, I had someone to help me out. If it wasn’t for the help from my friends, I don’t think I would be standing here. I didn’t-”
My dad’s good mood instantly soured as his grin warped into a snarl. His grip, although somewhat friendly now seemed dangerously tight as he frustratingly interrupted me.
“Oh for the love of! I’m complimenting you, kid. Look. I don’t care about those other twerps one way or another. Allies are fine enough in war, as long as you don’t make them do all the work. Kid, you’ve gotten strong all on your own, like a true son of mine. Don’t deny you and me the kleos you rightfully deserve ever again. Shut up and just take the honor.”
“I…uh…yes, Dad.”
I was surprised that all it accounted to was a mild scolding. My dad, too seemed to calm down after I agreed with his words, as he went back to a smile. He put his hand back into his pocket as he started to walk up to his chariot. He ran his finger across the chrome finish, taking out a cloth and cleaning off my fingerprints from the metal.
“About your joyride. Not bad, not bad at all. It took you a bit to embrace your birthright, but you ended up not even scratching my ride. Nice. Nice. Saves me the trouble of buffing it out. Now, if you could only stop complaining at everything that opposed you. You’re a man, aren’t you David? Start acting like it. If you think a bag of bones and a pig are hard, just wait until your future. The stronger a warrior gets, the stronger their foes get. Make sure you’re strong enough to stand up against them before you end up a stain on the pavement.”
I heard the engine rev as he got into the seat. He threw a bag at me that I clumsily fumbled with before I fully caught it. I opened it, and a few golden drachmas shined back at me.
“Since your agōgē finished up, consider yourself un-cut off. Even I’m not heartless enough to leave a son of mine stranded in New York. Keep the rest. Feel free to hang around my temple, and help yourself to the gift shop if you want, it’s on the house, happy birthday and all that. Just don’t go overboard.”
He turned the motorcycle, wheeling it around so he could leave the pier. He turned around, giving me a few more parting words he shouted over the roar of the engine.
“Don’t think you’re done yet, David. You got a lot more to grow. Especially now that you can receive my blessings again. What, did you think that taking a good hit was all you can do? You’ll see sooner or later. See ya kid! Don’t disappoint me.”
He revved his engine one more time and took off, leaving me behind on the pier. As I watched my dad leave, I realized that with that resolved, the last of what made my Styx Oath so suffocating was finally finished. A part of me felt that I’d always keep the consequences of it with me. Either dad would continue to disown me, or I’d be horribly injured from my jobs. But, to my surprise, everything worked out alright. I worked as hard as I could, and now everything was over, truly over. I…wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I mean, like obviously I didn’t wanna have them with me for the rest of my life. But, for all of my oath’s lifespan I had the deadline looming overhead, and my expectation was that something would happen to me as a result. I was glad to have it over with, but I never felt that I could relax until now. The feeling of not having the anxiety of my imminent demise was something I wasn’t familiar with, and to be honest I still have trouble relaxing. As he disappeared into the afternoon traffic, I realized that, so too did my previous life.
Maybe…maybe I could afford to enjoy my life now after all.
OOC: And there we have it! The final David storymode relevant to this storyline! I meant to have this yesterday but I didn't see the modmail that gave me the okay until literally an hour ago oop. Which means that yes, the Chariot and Ares both are approved from the mods.
Big thank you to Tiffany's writer, angelspoint for helping me with her parts, I had a blast working with them! Hope you enjoyed David's Victory lap!

Skinwalkers in Rural Michigan
I recently purchased a 10,000 lumen flashlight to illuminate the surrounding woods as I walk my dog in the evenings. I have been hearing some strange noises at night, and I figured it would be nice to see everything that boxes me in as I walk Max, my dog. But boy was I wrong. I should have been afraid of what can't be seen outside the veils of my iphone flashlight. What was to be exhumed by my flashlight terrified me to my core. This happened a week or so ago, November, 2nd 2022, Harrison Michigan. The evenings were approaching abruptly now. It was only 8:30pm when I decided to take my golden retriever on one last shit walk before I got settled in for the night. At this time, in rural Michigan at least, it’s pitch black. I cursed underneath my breath as I opened the door and peered out. Fuck, chilly and dark. God, why haven’t I moved south yet? Max was timid this evening, which was so really unlike him. Very strange. The darkness emanating from outside my house poured in like a disease. It was void of any color. Upset about not replacing my porch light, I pulled out my new amazon special, this week it was a 10,000 lumen flashlight. Feeling its expensive metallic body in my hands felt exonerating, and the excitement to use it overthrew any bad vibes Max was giving. He whimpered as soon as the door opened, he then put his tail between his legs and shivered. I scoffed at his weak tendencies here, this was so unlike him. I turned this ungodly bright flashlight on and showed it forward. “For fuck sake look Max, nothing to be afraid of y-” I was cut off. My mouth gaped at what was in front of me. Shown in the powerful beam of the flashlight was a contorted lanky humanoid figure. It slumped down from a standing position and got on all fours like a person miming a frog. Then it jerked its head up and sniffed the air. Animistically. It turned its head and bored its stare right into my eyes. Then it darted into a bush on the edge of the woods. The edge of the woods that surround my entire house. I heard leaves crackle and watched the skin colored creature dissipate into them. I focused the beam of my light directly onto that bush. It was incredibly bright and the bush appeared like high definition from the immense light, especially in contrast to the oily blackness that surrounded me. The bush shaked ominously, like a predator was inside, shifting around. A familiar feminine voice came from that bush. “Please help me… oh god please help… help… help mee…” And the leaves rustled again. Max whimpered in terror and got between my legs. I grabbed the baseball bat that I kept beside the front door for just such occasions and held it beside my head in a “ready to whoop” gesture, the other hand on my flashlight. I shakily started towards the bush from my door. Max bolted inside, leaving me completely alone. “Helllppppp meee” the voice cooed. The soft feminine coo of the voice crackled a little this time. Yeah, almost as if something was masquerading as a female, and luring me in. I was about 6 feet away by now, I could feel the blood pulsating in my temples. Goosh flesh ran down my body. “Helllpp,” deeper voice “Meeee!” An elongated ashy white arm flung towards me at ankle height. I instinctively stomped down on it. I heard cracking and sloshing from underneath my shoe. I stepped directly onto its wrist. I heard a shriek from inside the depths of that bush and the hand sprung up like a trap being set off. The strength possessed by this creature was unreal, it slung me to the ground and began to reel me into its bush where it resided. I screamed, smacked the arm with the bat as hard as I could and then lost control of the bat. It fell next to me as I was dragged closer to the bush, now my feet were inside the leafy abyss. The voice turned into my mothers voice. The clawed hands grasp on me tightened with tremendous strength and the nails dug into my skin through my pants. “Help me Nathaniel. Your mother needs help. I can't walk.” Yeah alright. I shined my light into the bush. What I saw still makes me tremble. It was my dead mothers face there alright, but atop an ashy white skinned humanoid skeleton with backward joints. The arms bent unnaturally opposite of how they should, the legs were bent like a frogs ready to pounce. The eyes were milky white, but were extremely intelligent and they gazed into my consciousness. With all of my force, I horse kicked my deceased mothers face and heard a massive crunch as my heel connected with her masqueraded nose. A profane yelp of pain blasted into the darkness of this B.F.E. where I lived. The grip on my leg loosened just enough from the blow for me to break free. I shot upright and turned to the door. I dropped my flashlight in this madness and couldn’t give a shit less. It could keep it for all I fucking cared. I bolted towards the door, and as I reached the halfway point I was Illuminated by a blinding bright light from behind. Almost like a spotlight beamed right onto me. My. Fucking. God. That thing had my flashlight and was pointing it directly at me. “Helpp… Nathaniel. Help me son.” The light started to bob up and down. Whatever was holding it was lurking closer and closer to me, and was gaining on me much faster than I was to the door. So much for not being able to walk. I ended up winning the foot race miraculously. I jumped inside my door and slammed it behind me. I heard a loud thump into the door immediately following its closure. My mothers late voice came again, beckoning me. “Son. You know your mother has taught you better than this. Let me in. Please, my son.” The light shone through the window at me, blinding me. Seeing spots and now disoriented, I fumbled myself up and managed to lock the door. Max was at the furthest point possible from the door, glaring at the door trembling in fear. Three solid knocks from the top of the door frame. Then the light was gone and I heard a metallic clunk, the thing must have dropped the flashlight on its retreat. The light now was gleaming off a huge tree. I watched a tall skinny humanoid creature with long contorted ligaments jerkily run towards that tree. His legs bent opposite of how our legs do, and same with the arms. Then it bent down in the same erratic way that it moved, and got onto all fours as it approached the tree. It paused a second and peered up the trunk. His head swiftly snapped to my face. Its now black and sunken eyes stared into my soul. I froze in terror as it climbed that trunk, with its face directly bored into me mind you, like squirrel. Scurrying right up it, never leaving contact with my eyes. The light undoubtedly should be blinding his vision, but the sense of intelligence of it knowing my existence was uncanny. Light didnt hurt it. As it ascended it smiled at me, a predatory grin. It disappeared into a purple dot that was still in my vision from when I was blinded by the flashlight. As I moved my head to try to see the creature, I watched tree leaves russell and saw no more of it. Yet. I locked the doors that night and cleaned up Max’s accidents from not going out. At night as I was asleep, I was awoken by my mothers soft voice from right outside the bedroom window. “Let me in Nathaniel..” Then directly following this motherly imitation came a 10,000 lumen flashlight beamed into my face. I heard the window slowly open, but I was blinded by the light.

Skinwalkers in Rural Michigan
I recently purchased a 10,000 lumen flashlight to illuminate the surrounding woods as I walk my dog in the evenings. I have been hearing some strange noises at night, and I figured it would be nice to see everything that boxes me in as I walk Max, my dog. But boy was I wrong. I should have been afraid of what can't be seen outside the veils of my iphone flashlight. What was to be exhumed by my flashlight terrified me to my core. This happened a week or so ago, November, 2nd 2022, Harrison Michigan. The evenings were approaching abruptly now. It was only 8:30pm when I decided to take my golden retriever on one last shit walk before I got settled in for the night. At this time, in rural Michigan at least, it’s pitch black. I cursed underneath my breath as I opened the door and peered out. Fuck, chilly and dark. God, why haven’t I moved south yet? Max was timid this evening, which was so really unlike him. Very strange. The darkness emanating from outside my house poured in like a disease. It was void of any color. Upset about not replacing my porch light, I pulled out my new amazon special, this week it was a 10,000 lumen flashlight. Feeling its expensive metallic body in my hands felt exonerating, and the excitement to use it overthrew any bad vibes Max was giving. He whimpered as soon as the door opened, he then put his tail between his legs and shivered. I scoffed at his weak tendencies here, this was so unlike him. I turned this ungodly bright flashlight on and showed it forward. “For fuck sake look Max, nothing to be afraid of y-” I was cut off. My mouth gaped at what was in front of me. Shown in the powerful beam of the flashlight was a contorted lanky humanoid figure. It slumped down from a standing position and got on all fours like a person miming a frog. Then it jerked its head up and sniffed the air. Animistically. It turned its head and bored its stare right into my eyes. Then it darted into a bush on the edge of the woods. The edge of the woods that surround my entire house. I heard leaves crackle and watched the skin colored creature dissipate into them. I focused the beam of my light directly onto that bush. It was incredibly bright and the bush appeared like high definition from the immense light, especially in contrast to the oily blackness that surrounded me. The bush shaked ominously, like a predator was inside, shifting around. A familiar feminine voice came from that bush. “Please help me… oh god please help… help… help mee…” And the leaves rustled again. Max whimpered in terror and got between my legs. I grabbed the baseball bat that I kept beside the front door for just such occasions and held it beside my head in a “ready to whoop” gesture, the other hand on my flashlight. I shakily started towards the bush from my door. Max bolted inside, leaving me completely alone. “Helllppppp meee” the voice cooed. The soft feminine coo of the voice crackled a little this time. Yeah, almost as if something was masquerading as a female, and luring me in. I was about 6 feet away by now, I could feel the blood pulsating in my temples. Goosh flesh ran down my body. “Helllpp,” deeper voice “Meeee!” An elongated ashy white arm flung towards me at ankle height. I instinctively stomped down on it. I heard cracking and sloshing from underneath my shoe. I stepped directly onto its wrist. I heard a shriek from inside the depths of that bush and the hand sprung up like a trap being set off. The strength possessed by this creature was unreal, it slung me to the ground and began to reel me into its bush where it resided. I screamed, smacked the arm with the bat as hard as I could and then lost control of the bat. It fell next to me as I was dragged closer to the bush, now my feet were inside the leafy abyss. The voice turned into my mothers voice. The clawed hands grasp on me tightened with tremendous strength and the nails dug into my skin through my pants. “Help me Nathaniel. Your mother needs help. I can't walk.” Yeah alright. I shined my light into the bush. What I saw still makes me tremble. It was my dead mothers face there alright, but atop an ashy white skinned humanoid skeleton with backward joints. The arms bent unnaturally opposite of how they should, the legs were bent like a frogs ready to pounce. The eyes were milky white, but were extremely intelligent and they gazed into my consciousness. With all of my force, I horse kicked my deceased mothers face and heard a massive crunch as my heel connected with her masqueraded nose. A profane yelp of pain blasted into the darkness of this B.F.E. where I lived. The grip on my leg loosened just enough from the blow for me to break free. I shot upright and turned to the door. I dropped my flashlight in this madness and couldn’t give a shit less. It could keep it for all I fucking cared. I bolted towards the door, and as I reached the halfway point I was Illuminated by a blinding bright light from behind. Almost like a spotlight beamed right onto me. My. Fucking. God. That thing had my flashlight and was pointing it directly at me. “Helpp… Nathaniel. Help me son.” The light started to bob up and down. Whatever was holding it was lurking closer and closer to me, and was gaining on me much faster than I was to the door. So much for not being able to walk. I ended up winning the foot race miraculously. I jumped inside my door and slammed it behind me. I heard a loud thump into the door immediately following its closure. My mothers late voice came again, beckoning me. “Son. You know your mother has taught you better than this. Let me in. Please, my son.” The light shone through the window at me, blinding me. Seeing spots and now disoriented, I fumbled myself up and managed to lock the door. Max was at the furthest point possible from the door, glaring at the door trembling in fear. Three solid knocks from the top of the door frame. Then the light was gone and I heard a metallic clunk, the thing must have dropped the flashlight on its retreat. The light now was gleaming off a huge tree. I watched a tall skinny humanoid creature with long contorted ligaments jerkily run towards that tree. His legs bent opposite of how our legs do, and same with the arms. Then it bent down in the same erratic way that it moved, and got onto all fours as it approached the tree. It paused a second and peered up the trunk. His head swiftly snapped to my face. Its now black and sunken eyes stared into my soul. I froze in terror as it climbed that trunk, with its face directly bored into me mind you, like squirrel. Scurrying right up it, never leaving contact with my eyes. The light undoubtedly should be blinding his vision, but the sense of intelligence of it knowing my existence was uncanny. Light didnt hurt it. As it ascended it smiled at me, a predatory grin. It disappeared into a purple dot that was still in my vision from when I was blinded by the flashlight. As I moved my head to try to see the creature, I watched tree leaves russell and saw no more of it. Yet. I locked the doors that night and cleaned up Max’s accidents from not going out. At night as I was asleep, I was awoken by my mothers soft voice from right outside the bedroom window. “Let me in Nathaniel..” Then directly following this motherly imitation came a 10,000 lumen flashlight beamed into my face. I heard the window slowly open, but I was blinded by the light.

I got this hub in the mail today from a seller on eBay. It’s a Nexave roller brake hub with a 8/9 cassette body. I noticed when I put it up to the frame it had extra room on either side of the locknuts. So I pulled out a ruler and lo and behold it measures out to 126mm and not 135mm. I plan on just using appropriate sized washers to make up for it but does anyone know why or how this could have happened? According to (this)[https://productinfo.shimano.com/ja/spec/lifestyle-comfort-freehub-roller-brake] it is supposed to be 135mm
Edit: the only thing I can think is that when I install the roller brake it will make up the distance but I’m not sure if that’s the case

Skinwalkers in Rural Michigan
I recently purchased a 10,000 lumen flashlight to illuminate the surrounding woods as I walk my dog in the evenings. I have been hearing some strange noises at night, and I figured it would be nice to see everything that boxes me in as I walk Max, my dog. But boy was I wrong. I should have been afraid of what can't be seen outside the veils of my iphone flashlight. What was to be exhumed by my flashlight terrified me to my core. This happened a week or so ago, November, 2nd 2022, Harrison Michigan. The evenings were approaching abruptly now. It was only 8:30pm when I decided to take my golden retriever on one last shit walk before I got settled in for the night. At this time, in rural Michigan at least, it’s pitch black. I cursed underneath my breath as I opened the door and peered out. Fuck, chilly and dark. God, why haven’t I moved south yet? Max was timid this evening, which was so really unlike him. Very strange. The darkness emanating from outside my house poured in like a disease. It was void of any color. Upset about not replacing my porch light, I pulled out my new amazon special, this week it was a 10,000 lumen flashlight. Feeling its expensive metallic body in my hands felt exonerating, and the excitement to use it overthrew any bad vibes Max was giving. He whimpered as soon as the door opened, he then put his tail between his legs and shivered. I scoffed at his weak tendencies here, this was so unlike him. I turned this ungodly bright flashlight on and showed it forward. “For fuck sake look Max, nothing to be afraid of y-” I was cut off. My mouth gaped at what was in front of me. Shown in the powerful beam of the flashlight was a contorted lanky humanoid figure. It slumped down from a standing position and got on all fours like a person miming a frog. Then it jerked its head up and sniffed the air. Animistically. It turned its head and bored its stare right into my eyes. Then it darted into a bush on the edge of the woods. The edge of the woods that surround my entire house. I heard leaves crackle and watched the skin colored creature dissipate into them. I focused the beam of my light directly onto that bush. It was incredibly bright and the bush appeared like high definition from the immense light, especially in contrast to the oily blackness that surrounded me. The bush shaked ominously, like a predator was inside, shifting around. A familiar feminine voice came from that bush. “Please help me… oh god please help… help… help mee…” And the leaves rustled again. Max whimpered in terror and got between my legs. I grabbed the baseball bat that I kept beside the front door for just such occasions and held it beside my head in a “ready to whoop” gesture, the other hand on my flashlight. I shakily started towards the bush from my door. Max bolted inside, leaving me completely alone. “Helllppppp meee” the voice cooed. The soft feminine coo of the voice crackled a little this time. Yeah, almost as if something was masquerading as a female, and luring me in. I was about 6 feet away by now, I could feel the blood pulsating in my temples. Goosh flesh ran down my body. “Helllpp,” deeper voice “Meeee!” An elongated ashy white arm flung towards me at ankle height. I instinctively stomped down on it. I heard cracking and sloshing from underneath my shoe. I stepped directly onto its wrist. I heard a shriek from inside the depths of that bush and the hand sprung up like a trap being set off. The strength possessed by this creature was unreal, it slung me to the ground and began to reel me into its bush where it resided. I screamed, smacked the arm with the bat as hard as I could and then lost control of the bat. It fell next to me as I was dragged closer to the bush, now my feet were inside the leafy abyss. The voice turned into my mothers voice. The clawed hands grasp on me tightened with tremendous strength and the nails dug into my skin through my pants. “Help me Nathaniel. Your mother needs help. I can't walk.” Yeah alright. I shined my light into the bush. What I saw still makes me tremble. It was my dead mothers face there alright, but atop an ashy white skinned humanoid skeleton with backward joints. The arms bent unnaturally opposite of how they should, the legs were bent like a frogs ready to pounce. The eyes were milky white, but were extremely intelligent and they gazed into my consciousness. With all of my force, I horse kicked my deceased mothers face and heard a massive crunch as my heel connected with her masqueraded nose. A profane yelp of pain blasted into the darkness of this B.F.E. where I lived. The grip on my leg loosened just enough from the blow for me to break free. I shot upright and turned to the door. I dropped my flashlight in this madness and couldn’t give a shit less. It could keep it for all I fucking cared. I bolted towards the door, and as I reached the halfway point I was Illuminated by a blinding bright light from behind. Almost like a spotlight beamed right onto me. My. Fucking. God. That thing had my flashlight and was pointing it directly at me. “Helpp… Nathaniel. Help me son.” The light started to bob up and down. Whatever was holding it was lurking closer and closer to me, and was gaining on me much faster than I was to the door. So much for not being able to walk. I ended up winning the foot race miraculously. I jumped inside my door and slammed it behind me. I heard a loud thump into the door immediately following its closure. My mothers late voice came again, beckoning me. “Son. You know your mother has taught you better than this. Let me in. Please, my son.” The light shone through the window at me, blinding me. Seeing spots and now disoriented, I fumbled myself up and managed to lock the door. Max was at the furthest point possible from the door, glaring at the door trembling in fear. Three solid knocks from the top of the door frame. Then the light was gone and I heard a metallic clunk, the thing must have dropped the flashlight on its retreat. The light now was gleaming off a huge tree. I watched a tall skinny humanoid creature with long contorted ligaments jerkily run towards that tree. His legs bent opposite of how our legs do, and same with the arms. Then it bent down in the same erratic way that it moved, and got onto all fours as it approached the tree. It paused a second and peered up the trunk. His head swiftly snapped to my face. Its now black and sunken eyes stared into my soul. I froze in terror as it climbed that trunk, with its face directly bored into me mind you, like squirrel. Scurrying right up it, never leaving contact with my eyes. The light undoubtedly should be blinding his vision, but the sense of intelligence of it knowing my existence was uncanny. Light didnt hurt it. As it ascended it smiled at me, a predatory grin. It disappeared into a purple dot that was still in my vision from when I was blinded by the flashlight. As I moved my head to try to see the creature, I watched tree leaves russell and saw no more of it. Yet. I locked the doors that night and cleaned up Max’s accidents from not going out. At night as I was asleep, I was awoken by my mothers soft voice from right outside the bedroom window. “Let me in Nathaniel..” Then directly following this motherly imitation came a 10,000 lumen flashlight beamed into my face. I heard the window slowly open, but I was blinded by the light.

Authors note: sorry about the long as all hell wait for this one. I work in retail management and the start of the spring is always a massive rush.
[First]/[Previous]
Memory transcription subject: Zevek, deeply moved Venlil
Standard date: September 4th 2136
I blubbered weakly, whimpering to myself in the weak light of my room. Overcome with a level of raw emotion that came a from a source that I would've never imagine.
wrong...everything we've been told about the humans was wrong...they are so much more than beasts..so much more than just some...curious quirk of biology...no more than a true people could craft a story so...moving.
I wiped away the last of my tears credits for the human movie BladeRunner slowly scrolled up the screen. "He...just wanted to be a person.." I whined in the dark, still trying to wrestle with my own about the past claw. I had been arrogant, foolishly confident in myself when I had first started. The humans had a level o cultural diversity that was head spinning merely on the surface. So much to just, and so much I simply just lacked the perspective to fully understand. The sight of their raw, unmolested eyes at the beginning had me a shaking wreck in my seat, but soon the events that unfolded simply had me too enamored. The pride I felt from braving such a hurtle was quickly drowned by the tale that unfolded...But once I was working into the depths of their media was when things truly began to spiral into an utter journey, one that had only begun. I had begun with simply searches that went along with my own expertise. Mainly engineering and machine learning tech, and promptly into a treasure trove of stories and media that kept following this trend that kept coming up with these apes.
Duality. so much hate, yet raw love, so much violence, yet so many tales of peace and empathy. This species was utterly madness, one moment is brutality, mercy, forgiveness..it simply made no sense..I...have to know more, not enough data...
"Ok." I huffed to myself as I slid the movie application out of the way. "Let's see how else these humans entertain themselves." I began to work away at my interface, punching in simply 'games' into the search bar. Naturally a veritable wall ran into me and I began to move my way through it with a care, until I came across a video...of some kind...battle simulation...My tail curled in confusion as one human was visible in some kind of smaller box, judging from features the human seemed young. My spine still try to rattle out of my back at those bright green pools that were blazing with an almost manic focus. I took another long breath, paws balling up on my desk, biting down on the instant reflex to dive under the desk. Sure...I've learned to brave it...sort of. The main screen of the footage, show some kind of heads up display. The long powerful arms of a human clutching a weapon that bobbed with the gait of the bouncing view. Clearly thi-
"Got a guy on your left main hall!!" I jump at the sudden urgent bark of another human voice, nearly falling out of my chair. The human on screen seemed to barely react, but this...simulated human he was controlling suddenly whirled in the given direction. The firearm snapped up to the sights with blinding speed, the weapon barked, cutting down another virtual human in mere seconds. There was some kind of odd chime and above the body a human set of numbers popped above the head, adding to the score at another corner. "Good tap, dude was trash..."The worlds were lightning, the choppy and quick barks between hunters on the move, the human not even breaking his stride as he piloted his avatar. I sat by in my seat, ears flicking at the sounds, enamored I let this video play. Watching how the human so efficiently and rapidly maneuvered through structures and streets with ease, slaying other digital humans. it was brief but the context was clear.With shaking paws I type into the search bar again, the words smashed out with ease.
-[Strategy, combat simulation game]-
There was another flood of entries, several of them showing many such titles...trailers, and vids. Claws slipped by as I watched humans not only against programs but each other, contesting in grand games of resource management and strategy. Simulated nations as small as pre space flight fiefdoms to interstellar empires, jockeying for power and dominance. I sat there in silence, can of sprunk going warm as enormous interstellar fleets, coordinated by a human juvenile, roll over other human star empires. Deftly maneuvering fleets, cycling exhausted and damaged ones back to shipyards in time with fresh vessels. They sent the heaviest out to key assets, intentionally bracketing the other's to crush they're strongest. My tail hung limply as I took a drag from the can, which landed in the bin to join the others.
these are entertainment, they play these for fun....combat sims of all kinds they play for fun...I'm starting to think that Tarva was wise to side with these creatures, if this is what they're younglings are capable of in their pastimes, then they are showing incredible restraint in their martial prowess...more data...another entry..
I cracked opened another can, and gave a cabinet below my desk a kick, it slid open, full of various local nuts. The paw full was stuffed in my mouth as my claws flew across my interface.
-[non violent digital games]-
As if this search was mocking me another utter wall of returns washed across my interface, was there anything these human *don't d-*My train of thought feel face first into the pavement as a video came on, another of these digital games but...The sound of gushing water rippled through my ear pieces as a human gabbed on about some nonsense on a stream. While on screen they were..washing a construction vehicle. From the little avatar that was wielding a power-washer, blasting away at the mud and grime caked on the machine. I wrack my brain for what kind of reason of why any creature would engage in such a thing for anything but training. It simply made no sense, illogical towards enjoyment....and yet. My eyes tracked the flowing water, watching as mud and filth was blasted away to reveal its hardy finish I..I felt a satisfaction. That kind of sensation where you take your first bite into a fruit, that same feeling when something you've made slides into its planned place.I didn't know how long I watched the massive construction machine be washed..but it was downright hypnotic to watch.Something tells me I've only barely scratched the surface of these creatures....
Standard Date September 5th 2136
I slinked back into my apartment after my work claw, sighing as I hung up my cloak. Work had been fine, it got rather funny when management had come to down to check on our progress and pretended to know what the brahk he was talking about. But such thoughts were lost on me while I went back to my terminal sitting back down and loading my earth search engine. My secret researched continued, this time I decided to take a far more broad approach with my work, and went for history.
-[Human history]-
[Memory subject time lapse: 3 standard hours][Resuming playback, subject brainwave patterns at low stability]
I lay there in my chair, I just didn't know..how to feel at this point. Several times I had to stop, several times I nearly heaved my lunch into my garbage. Several times I was moved by the words of human hearts. Several times I was taught horrible lessons that have to be learned in horrible times. I was shown the mountains of bodies it takes to truly fight against those who would do evil. They're stories told me of how people despite all this could forgive, how...they fought for those we would put down without a second thought.
I've truly gone off the deep end haven't I..because every time I think I've come to some kind of understanding of these human's, they break the pattern, so they've done so much, come to far..I'm not sure what to even be afraid of anymore..I still don't have enough..
Across my screen, a man a truly ancient human that seemed to be naught but skin and bone, but his terrible predator eyes shone. Those blue pools gleamed with an ironclad conviction that despite his decades of retirement. He was telling his story among a lengthy documentary of the human's second world war, which even with its age was still the most brutal conflict they're species ever knew. It was such calculated savagery, the utter destruction, the ruthless genocide, everything that I would come to expect from a predator species. But then more of the footage came along with the old humans talking.
"Ya..ya see..we have been pushing a'way over inta' paris for the better'parta fiave weeks.." The ancient male rumbled in his seat towards the camera, his hellish eyes making my pelt want to leap off my bones, but his words had me mystified. "I was just about smoked five steps ta'hell after pushin through them lines, only thing keepin me goin was thinkin about not being killed by no damn nazi boys..." The human worked his strange and loose lips for a moment, sharp gaze sliding away from the camera."When ah wus out there, pushing inta paris, we had a stop, and my busted up ass was so dog chewed t'hell out I just leaned on a corner pole and didn't give much of'a damn, but den.." His words slowed, a certain something gleamed in his eyes, was it guilt, determination, the species was still too alien for me to tell. "I saw dis lil girl out there, walking down tha street our way all dusty and looking like the devil had took'a swipe at'er..she sidled on up'ta me..gave me a half toothed little smiled and thanked me, since she lived in the part of city we had cleaned out for'em..Her name wus Noelle it was.." I felt my throat tighten along with the long dead human in the footage as he fought to keep up the words."then she walked on away, an all of tha'sudden..Ah weren't tired no more..."
The man's words rung deep within me while the documentary went on. So much agony, so much destruction, met headlong with conviction, forgiveness and determination. How could creatures so vicious and lethal and the same time show such grief and almost mad drive to aid their fellow being?
At every turn they seem to jump between the actions of prey and predator, banding together, seeking to defend themselves from danger, fleeing and submitting in the face of death and danger. Yet in the very same moment some humans act like true predators, instantly reacting to perceived threats with determined, relentless force. Then..in so many instances this bloodthirsty rage they seem to summon is at its strongest when they're kin are threatened..These creatures only grow more complex the more I research..
I rub my face as I slip into bed, sliding onto the mattress, paws coming to my face. Despite the long paw, sleep couldn't come. My glasses stayed on, the display flitting as I kept up my reading into human histories..seeing their story.
I'm done for..Brahk..I'm done for...I have to keep this a secret, because I'm starting to understand these predators...
Memory transcription Subject: Zevek, Distracted Venlil Standard Date: September 6th, 2136
I can research and work all I like, but a venlil still needed to eat and get to all the little drudges of life. This rest paw was going to be expended on errands. Sure I'm a herd and family of great affluence and I could easily have everything I needed delivered directly to my apartment on my hefty salary. I decided against such a practice, seeing as a waste of credits when I had paws where such tasks could be taken to. Besides...I was thinking sometime outside would do me a bit of good.
Mind still in awash from my research, I connected my glasses to my pad, clipped it to my belt, and slipped my cloak on my shoulders. After a momentary pause, I quickly snatch up my pair of wireless ear buds. Flicking the doc open, I push them into my ears as they connect to my interface into them, and keying my pad into my terran connection.
Slipping into the cold biting air of BlackRock I set up the browser yet again in an off box in my vision as I walked, grocery bag folded under an arm and out the door. My paws worked along the road towards the small tram station stop at the center of my hab block. I began to slip into the pedestrian traffic, small groups of venlil moving together made then easier to slip around. My searching through the countless song lists gave so many options, so I simple threw caution to the wind and picked something at random as I stopped at the platform. I let the music player shuffle
Stairway to heaven-Lead Zeppelin
For what I was expecting for the music of the humans it was far gentler in its beginning. It began with a low and soft kind of string instrument that I recall was a 'guitar' from my studies. I leaned back in the cheap plastic seat of the tram, barely noticing I was in it how hypnotized I was by such sounds. Then the human began to sing, its rumble growl so oddly melodic, as he began to sing me a song about a stairway to heaven. There was something so melancholic about it, some cultural points weren't hitting, but even someone as socially inept as myself could pick it up. By the time I was slipping off the tram I felt an odd spring in my gait as the song picked up, despite its screeching notes there was something about this electric guitar that scratched an urge I didn't know was there. The song was at full swing towards its in when I entered the simple market nearby my home, I found my tail swaying and bobbing to the alien yet bewitching rhythm.
And she's buuuying a stairway to heeavaan..~
The incredible voice of the human tapered off into a soft silence while I was picking out some proper snacks. Venlil music was often very gentle and easy on the ears, but even this oddly mellow human song had a certain spark the my own people's simply lacked. While I stuffed a fruit back and another case of drinks in my bag my search for another song was far less timid that before. A small moment of memory slipped in..going about my brother's and fathers constant talk about the taint of predators, how it would corrupt all it touched. It sent a small spike of..guilt..maybe remorse while I stood at an end-cap.
Well..I've already delved into their history and entertainment for several paws now, your already down the mine shaft Zevek, might as well see the bottom..Besides, its not like they're culture will infect me that badly will it?
[Time lapse: 1 hour of shopping and music surfing later]
I never been one for dancing, in fact I'm sure I couldn't dance to save my life. Additionally, I've never had much motivation, or the raw confidence to do so..
That is until I starting hearing songs like this...
For some reason the beat just had me moving, I didn't realize how much I was moving until I was a few stops on the train, and by the time I was off the train I was dancing my way home. Perhaps something had my mood high, perhaps..with my predator disease having gone so deep I lacked the concern. A full bag of groceries hanging from the crook of my elbow as I went along.
Nor did I care about the looks I was getting as I came bouncing off my train and into my neighborhood. In my gyrating, grooving walk I gave an utterly perturbed mother and gave her a jovial tail flick as I passed her up the stairs.
I found myself swaying to the human's voice as I idled in the elevator, something about the tenor and melody. The beat making my paws sway and bounce, head swaying as the music began to grow. The peak rolling through my ears as I all but flowed through the door, arms spread wide as I slid through my door.
STAY WITH MEEEEEEEE..~
I didn't even realize I was singing along as I bounce along in my room. Arms rolling in ways I never would have never done in public, my tail wrote patterns in the air that even I didn't know. Her voice was simply incredible..how could I not move..I could feel it in my soul..I was on my bed at one point e- bling-bling! The sound of the specific chime tone I had set up for Dayna's message suddenly sounded out. After giving the floor a perfect exterminators tackle I scrambled, face blooming as I snatched my pad. Gaze rapidly scanning over the new message.
-hey Zevek, how's it going?-
I swallowed a little at the message, clearly I couldn't tell her about my highly incriminating research into her species completely. Yet, my heart ached at the very concept of lying to her, it was a foolish impulse. But I did my best to get something on the screen.
-its been going great Dayna, I've been looking a lot into human culture, why didn't you tell me that your species had such a huge range of music?!-
Half truths we're the finest lies, as father would always say.
-it what happens when your culture is constantly shifting and changing, human tribal nature causes a lot diversification, but more importantly, I've got some awesome news Zev!-
My ears perk forward, my fingers flying over the keyboard.
-what kind of news, do tell?-
-they gonna push my program forwards, I'm packing for my trip to Venlil prime as we speak-
In that moment, alone in the dark, my heart leaped for more reasons than I'll ever know.

In the end, it wasn’t even close. It came between The Monkees and The Doors, who both scored the vast majority of the votes. Turns out, The Doors lit a greater fire underneath the members of Toddintheshadow’s subreddit as “Light My Fire” won over “I’m a Believer”.
1) “Hey Jude” (The Beatles) https://youtu.be/mQER0A0ej0M?si=IOOOxQKLgBvM2mRg
This highly obscure Beatles song spent a measly nine weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100. Written primarily by Paul McCartney, "Hey Jude" was a global number-one hit, topping charts in the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. It tied the 1968 record for the longest Billboard Hot 100 number-one run at nine weeks—a record it held for nine years until Debby Boone (an artist Todd has covered) beat it with “You Light Up My Life”. Notably, at over seven minutes, it was the longest single to top the US charts at the time. The song, which has sold around eight million copies, ranks among the greatest songs ever on many critics' lists. Originally titled "Hey Jules," McCartney wrote it to comfort John Lennon's son Julian during his parents' breakup. The lyrics promote a positive outlook and encourage finding love. The song culminates in a four-minute "Na-na-na na" coda.
Yeah, so I’m pretty confident this is winning the poll. It’s only real competition is what’s at No. 4.
2) “Love is Blue” (Paul Mauriat) https://youtu.be/Y_tPE3o5NWk?si=2IMt4M_4usRP46iE
"L'amour est bleu" (or in English, "Love Is Blue") is a song whose music was composed by André Popp, and whose lyrics were written by Pierre Cour, First performed in French by Greek singer Vicky Leandros (appearing as Vicky) as the Luxembourgish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, it has since been recorded by many other musicians, most notably in this case by French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat, whose instrumental version (recorded in late 1967) became the first number-one hit by a French lead artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, spending five weeks at the top. I would go into the lyrics, but this version doesn’t have lyrics. It remained the only French song to top the chart until 2017, when Daft Punk was a featured artist on The Weeknd's number-one hit "Starboy".
This is a very cool easy listening instrumental. It has a baroque pop influence to it no doubt influenced by what was happening in contemporary music. I like this song.
3) “Honey” (Bobby Goldsboro) https://youtu.be/rZiEY3O-FWk?si=ONNbUmykbmPwiM2t
"Honey" is a song written by Bobby Russell. He first produced it with former Kingston Trio member Bob Shane, who was the first to release the song. It was then given to American singer Bobby Goldsboro, who recorded it for his 1968 album of the same name, originally titled Pledge of Love. In the song, the narrator mourns his absent wife, and the song begins with him looking at a tree in their garden, remembering how "it was just a twig" on the day she planted it. Only in the third verse is it finally revealed that "one day...the angels came," and that his wife had died. Goldsboro's version was a hit, reaching No. 1 in several countries, including the US, spending five weeks at the top (it was the 200th to reach No. 1).
Oh man, this song sucks. It’s so schlocky and stupid. Unfortunately, it was indicative of the type of schlock that would top the charts in the uncool 70s. It is widely considered one of the worst songs to ever top the charts, and I agree.
4) "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (Otis Redding) https://youtu.be/7C-VscEQugk?si=OiSQuUQVuZg6kloj
A posthumous No. 1 for soul legend Otis Redding, it was co-written by Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. Redding recorded it twice in 1967, including just three days before his death in a plane crash on December 10, 1967. The lyrics convey a sense of resignation and the calm acceptance of life's struggles, with the singer watching the ships roll in and then roll away again. Redding considered the song unfinished, and planned to record what he considered a final version, but never got the chance. It was released on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous #1 single in the US.
If this was the unfinished version, then holy cow, what would the final version sound like? Absolutely amazing song. It gets my vote.
5) “People Got to Be Free” (The Rascals) https://youtu.be/PGUhdwTyziM?si=aVORpZSy0bG2auOb
"People Got to Be Free," The Rascals' third and final US No. 1 hit, was penned by band members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, with Cavaliere on lead vocals. This upbeat yet passionate song calls for tolerance and freedom. Released during the turbulent summer of 1968, it topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, marking the group's longest run at number one. Although some linked the song to the 1968 assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy It was actually recorded before Kennedy's death and was inspired by a hostile incident where the group, sporting beards and long hair, faced threats from locals after their tour vehicle broke down in Fort Pierce, Florida.
I love The Rascals (or Young Rascals as they were formerly known). Great band. The best band to fuse soul and rock. And this is a great protest song.
6) “Sunshine of Your Love” (Cream) https://youtu.be/y_u1eu6Lpds?si=-eyy704gRCjLo4tJ
This 1967 song by Cream was written by Pete Brown and Cream members Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton, the latter of which is everyone’s favourite boomer (Bruce and Clapton wrote the music; Brown the lyrics). It had two chart runs in the US. Originally, it peaked at No. 36 on the Hot 100 in late-1967, but a re-release in mid-1968 saw it reach No. 5 on the Hot 100. With elements of hard rock and psychedelia, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs, and features one of the most iconic guitar riffs of the 1960s. It is one of the most acclaimed and enduring songs of the psychedelic era.
Although Clapton is an asshole, you can’t deny his guitar playing, at least back then. Damn, this is a great song. What a riff. The guitar work is so catchy and cool.
Rounding out the Top 10 is “This Guy’s in Love With You” (Herb Alpert) (No. 7), “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (Hugo Montenegro) (No. 8), “Mrs. Robinson” (Simon & Garfunkel) (No. 9) and “Tighten Up” (Archie Bell and the Drells) (No. 10)
View Poll

My Gotrax Apex has a speed limit of 15.5mph (25kmph). Once the scooter reaches the speed the motor stops accelerating and cruises at that speed, no matter the load, hill, weight, wind, etc. My goal is to remove this limit, and let the scooter achieve whatever speed the 250w motor can without overheating it. (Scooter Specs: Battery 36v 6ah (reads 42v when fully charged, around 31v when discharged), motor 36v 250w, Sensorless Control Model: TH8510 DC-36V KZ-APEX-H8510-25KM Max current 15+-1A)
(assume the following: Yes, I know this might break the scooter. Yes, I disconnected the battery before touching anything. Yes, the battery will discharge sooner when going faster. Yes, the motor might break from going at max capacity all the time)
I've been watching youtube videos about how people remove the speed limiter on other e-bikes and scooters. It usually takes disconnecting the "white cable" (or other color depending on the device). Other times, there is a secret menu in the console that helps them bypass the speed limit i.e., Press power n-times, hold your brake and throttle at the same time, say bloody mary 5 times, etc. None of these seem to apply to the Gotrax Apex.
I did find that when you press the power button 5 times the screen shows a T 1 on the screen, and the 1 blinks. After trying multiple things I was not able to make this 1 change. I don't even know if it has anything to do with the speed at all. There is nothing in the user manual that talks about this. I did find other reddit posts of people asking about this "T 1" but nobody found a real answer for this mystery. (image from fajardomoon in reddit https://www.reddit.com/ElectricScooters/comments/1bu47cw/gotrax_apex_pro_5_press_menu_what_does_this_do/ )
t-1 On console
I ventured inside the TH8510 sensorless controller and found a plethora of cables and acronyms, but found no easy answer on what to do to bypass the speed controller. On youtube some people do a shunt mod, others bridge a specific connection in the back of the controller to GND (ground) and achieve the bypass; but again, none of those controllers match the Gotrax so I couldn't find the right terminals to bridge or where to perform a shunt mod.
I do see two "SL" teminals, could they mean Speed Limit? I don't know. Please take a look (I tried to label everything I see in the controller
https://preview.redd.it/b7nmlgfxb11d1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2a76b69a640aad7f35aa0f832c910077f0abd45e
Gotrax Apex Sensorless Control Casing and lable TH8510
TL;DR: What do I need to do bridge to remove 15.5mph speed limiter in the gotrax apex controller?

I passed James another beer from the cooler between my feet and cracked open another one for myself.
“How’d you figure it out?” I asked him.
“She told me,” James replied in a flat emotionless tone as he twisted the gold ring on his finger, “Told me the baby wasn’t mine and to start packing my stuff.”
I didn’t say anything back to him. What could I say to someone who’d just lost his wife like that? I let the silence linger and continued sipping my beer while I watched the sunset behind the trees.
James had us parked in a different spot from where we’d usually drink, which was Ashburn Park. That night James had us parked near the entrance to a trailer park about 30 minutes outside of town. I thought it was odd at the time, but I’m not one to give the man any grief about where we’d sit and drink our beers, he’d had enough on his plate.
I finished two more beers before I tried to break the silence, “So where do you think you’re going to stay?” I quickly added, “You can stay at my place as long as you like, I was just wondering if you’d had other plans in mind.”
James didn’t answer me right away, I could see the wheels turning in his mind, like he was formulating a plan right there on the spot.
“I’ll probably head out of town,” He finally answered, “It’s about time I get out of this shithole anyway.”
Everyone from our town always said the exact same thing: “I’ll get out of this shitty little town someday; I’ll make it big. I’ve got plans that are bigger than this place.” Hardly anyone ever leaves. Eventually they realize they don’t have the money to relocate or they don’t have the education to get a decent job in a place where the rent is higher. Usually, they get their girlfriend pregnant and then they are stuck. I have a theory that half the women in this town are only here for the purpose of keeping us stuck. My girl is the only reason I’m still here.
It made me sad to see my old buddy James making the decision to leave, but at the same time I was proud of him. Maybe I’d get to visit someday. “Good for you, man” I said, clapping him on the shoulder, “Any idea where you might go?”
I regretted the question as soon as I said it, I knew he didn’t have a plan and I didn’t want to press him, but James didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled the gear shift on his car and started driving.
I took another few sips of my beer before I asked him, “Where we going?”
“Just feel like driving,” James replied.
I sucked down the last foamy dregs of my beer, tossed the can with the rest of the empties at floorboards under my feet and pulled out a fresh one from the cooler. If things were going to be awkward all night, then I was going to get good and drunk.
We didn’t drive far. A few miles down the road from the trailer park we pulled into a gas station. As soon as the car rolled to a stop I got out of the car and told James I was going to run in and grab another case of beer and some cigarettes. I asked if he wanted anything.
His reply: “If you’re not back in this car in 90 seconds I’m leaving without you.”
I hurried inside the convenience store, trying not to let James’ comment hurt me. I understood, the man was in pain, but that’s no reason to take it out on me.
I emerged from the gas station 2 minutes later - 12-pack in hand - to see James screaming at me through his car’s open window, “Get the hell in!” he was shouting.
I jogged over to the car and hopped in. The second my butt hit the seat, he was peeling out of the gas station, leaving a trail of black exhaust clouds behind us as his beat-up old Pontiac was pushed to extremes it hadn’t seen in years.
“What’s the deal?” I asked him, pouring the newly bought beers into the cooler of ice, “Got someplace to be?”
“Hand me another beer,” James barked, avoiding yet another question.
I cracked two beers and handed him one. James took it from my hand without looking at it and took two huge gulps.
“It’s getting dark,” I said to him, “You should turn on your headlights.”
James didn’t turn on his headlights. He didn’t even seem to hear me; it was almost like he was in a trance. Instead, he pressed his foot down on the accelerator. Steadily, the speedometer climbed. The old junker started to rattle and shake after 50mph, but still it reluctantly climbed.
“James!” I yelled over the roaring engine, “You’re too drunk to drive this fast! Slow down!”
Trees, and road signs and driveways whipped past us in a blur. We blew past a stop sign and hit a small bump in the road sending us airborne for a brief and terrifying moment. When we came back to the surface of the Earth, I could hear the low hanging muffler on the car drag against the asphalt. I was sure if I looked back, I’d see a trail of sparks flying off behind us. Empty beer cans rattled and rolled at my feet and for the first time in my life I’d said an honest prayer asking God to not kill me in that piece of shit Pontiac.
We took a sharp curve around a wooded bend in the road and suddenly taillights were visible ahead of us. James saw this and mercifully pressed the brakes until we were back at cruising speed.
I shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat and glanced over at James. The usual banter and lighthearted conversations of our late-night drives were a distant memory, the car was filled with a heavy, unnerving silence. The dim glow of the dashboard lights cast eerie shadows on James’ face. There was an intense focus in his eyes I’d never seen before.
“Beer,” James said, breaking the silence. He rolled down his window and tossed out his empty before snatching the fresh beer from my hand. He seemed to relax slightly, resting his wrist on the top of the steering wheel and tapping a beat on the car’s dashboard with his gold wedding ring.
We were closing in on the taillights in front of us, they belonged to an old black Jeep. I recognized it. We were sitting outside of that trailer park when that Jeep pulled out then we followed it to the gas station where I’d bought beer and smokes.
James was following this car for some reason.
“Hey James,” I began, trying to keep my tone casual, “You’ve been following that Jeep in front of us, haven’t you?”
James didn’t answer. The moment of relaxation melted away. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, his jaw tensed. The silence was suffocating.
We followed the Jeep and watched from across the street as it pulled into a McDonald’s drive-thru. “Beer,” James demanded, never taking his eyes off the Jeep.
“James,” I pleaded, “What’s going on with that car? Are you okay?”
“Beer,” He replied.
I handed him a beer then asked the question I’d been too afraid to let fly, “Is that him? Is that the guy?”
James chugged the entirety of his beer, then held his hand out for another one. When I didn’t immediately hand it over to him, he finally looked over to me, his eyes were dark and hollow, “I’m going to kill him,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.
A cold shiver ran down my spine. I tried to search James’ face for any hint of a joke. Some sign that this was just a twisted prank. As if he could sense what I was thinking James reached into his pocket and pulled out a snub-nosed revolver.
Upon seeing the gun my mouth went completely dry. He was serious. I felt dizzy, my tongue felt like it was swollen. I wanted to puke. Then all of a sudden, we were moving again.
My mind raced trying to process the shocking revelation. I felt trapped, the car suddenly felt like a cage.
“James, listen to yourself,” I finally managed to find my voice again, “You’re throwing your life away. Think this through.”
James' grip on the steering wheel tightened even more, “Beer,” he said, holding out his free hand.
For the first time that night I took a really good look at James. He was emaciated, his hair unwashed, his bloodshot eyes were ringed in deep dark circles, the smell of his unwashed clothes was only topped by his horrendously bad breath.
Warning signs.
If I’d been a better friend, I’d have mentioned all these things to him weeks ago. I’d have asked him if he was okay. If he needed help. I’d have paid a hooker to take him out on a date. There were a million things I could have done to help my friend, but instead, like most guys, I’d ignored the warning signs and bought him a drink instead. We’re like rubber bands, if you stretch us too thin then we snap.
I just happened to be riding shotgun when James snapped.
“Beer,” James said again.
I lunged forward and grabbed hold of the steering wheel and pulled towards my side of the road. The car swerved violently; tires screeched on the pavement.
Then nothing.
James had pistol-whipped me.
When I came back to consciousness, we were back in the trailer park where we started the night. I raised a hand to my forehead to find a trickle of blood running down the side of my face. I pulled a beer from the cooler and held it to my wound.
In the darkness the trailer park looked even worse than it did in the daylight. We were deep in the maze of trailers, several of which appeared to be abandoned with broken windows and open doors that swung in the chilly night breeze.
I looked to James and saw he was laser-focused on something in the distance. I followed his gaze and saw the jeep parked about 50 yards ahead of us in front of a dilapidated old airstream trailer.
“James, please,” I urged weakly, each word sending stabs of pain ricocheting inside my head, “Let’s just leave, this place feels…wrong. We shouldn’t be here.”
James ignored me, his eyes fixed on the Jeep, “There he is,” he said, under his breath.
I turned to see the driver emerge from the black SUV. He was nothing more than a silhouette in the darkness, but I could tell he was tall, thin and moved with almost unnatural grace. The figure seemed to glide across the unpaved driveway and into the trailer. He left the door to the trailer slightly ajar as if inviting us in. Something inside of me screamed at me to move in the opposite direction. I could feel goosebumps ripple over my entire body.
James fidgeted with his wedding ring, turning it on his finger, then he turned off the car and moved to exit the vehicle.
I made one last desperate plea, “James! Don’t –“ and was cut off by the closing of the driver’s side door.
I sat in the car, the engine ticked softly as it cooled. I watched through the windshield as James approached the derelict trailer, his silhouette was barely visible as he moved through the shadows. The trailer park was unnervingly silent; the only sound was the whine of a door to an abandoned trailer swinging in the wind.
James turned to me one last time as he reached his target trailer. Even from a distance I could see the grim determination on his face. Then silently, he disappeared into the trailer’s ajar door.
My heart pounded; the seconds stretched into an eternity as I waited for any sign of what was happening inside.
The silence was deafening. I strained my ears, listening for a gunshot, shouting, any indication of a struggle inside of that trailer but there was nothing, just the creaking of a rusty hinge of a door swinging in the wind.
The minutes dragged by, each one amplifying my anxiety. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard – how long had I been here? My head swam. I could feel sweat trickling down my temple. Or was that blood?
“C’mon” I muttered between shallow, uneasy breaths, “What’s taking so long?”
Suddenly, I was overcome with the chilling sensation of being watched. My eyes darted around as I surveyed my surroundings. All those dark windows and large chasms of darkness between the trailers would be perfect places to hide. I felt like I was a fish in a bowl, exposed, vulnerable and trapped.
Unable to bear it any longer, I made the decision to leave the car. I opened the car door – the creak of the dented door in its frame sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness. I winced.
My heart pounded in my chest as I crept towards the trailer. “James?” I called softly, my voice barely loud enough to reach my own ears.
I arrived at the trailer door and peered into the dim interior. The inside of the trailer was a chaotic mess. Newspaper clippings and papers with strange symbols on them covered the walls. James’ snub-nosed revolver sat on the floor of the trailer, just inside the door, as if it was daring me to come in and pick it up.
“James?” I called again, louder this time, as I stepped inside. My eyes scanned the small room and every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn back. I reached down and picked up the revolver and released the cylinder only to find it empty. Someone had removed the bullets. I pocketed it and moved deeper into the trailer.
I reached the backroom where I expected to find James and the man he’d been following all night. My stomach churned as I reached out and gently pushed the door open. It was a small bedroom, nothing more than a bed, a closet and a nightstand. There was no sign of a struggle, no blood, no bodies. Just an oppressive, heavy silence that seemed to swallow all sounds.
It was as if James had vanished into thin air. My hands started to shake. I could feel a primal fear bubbling up deep inside of me along with the inexplicable feeling that I was trespassing in a place not meant for human presence.
I backed out of the trailer not wanting to turn my back on a single shadow within that place. Once I was clear of the door, I turned and sprinted back to the car. I jumped into the driver’s seat, locked the doors and reached to turn the key in the ignition when I noticed a sticky note attached to the glove compartment it, it read: “Open”
With my shaking hand I reached out and pulled the handle of the glove box. As I opened it 6 bullets and James’ golden wedding ring spilled out and onto the floorboards below. Inside, I found a second sticky note, it read: “You can’t kill what you don’t understand.”
Within seconds I was speeding my way out of the trailer park, my eyes flicking between the road ahead and the rearview window, half expecting to see something chasing me.
I didn’t want to go home, I had the inescapable feeling something was waiting for me there, so I drove until the sun came up. Around 10am I drove James’ car into a lake and walked home.
I spent the entirety of that three-hour walk fidgeting with James’ wedding ring while trying to unravel what had happened that night and the only answer I could come up with was that James was meddling with forces far greater than himself, and in doing so had crossed a line from which there was no return. The true nature of what had happened in that trailer would remain a mystery I would never unravel. The only certainty was that that night had changed me. It left a scar in my mind that would haunt me forever.