I rear ended my MYP while parking and was looking to get it repaired. I am located in Portland, OR and contacted all the Tesla recommended body shops and wait times for just estimates is 3 months. I asked if I decide to proceed what will be the wait time, on average its 6 months to 1 Year. One shop said they have 200 cars in queue. Is the situation this bad everywhere? Or its just bad in Portland, OR.
Did anyone get it repaired from non-Tesla certified shop?

Is there something wrong with my personality or my looks that affects the type of men I attract?
I used to wear a headscarf and dress very modestly, but I’d only get persued by older men. This would make me uncomfortable, especially when they would go about it in a weird manner like slow down or stop their cars when I’d be walking alone in secluded areas, motioning or calling me to come talk to them incessantly, stare at me even in front of their children, or ask me for my number after I innocently engage in conversation with them ( I usually don’t converse with strangers, but there have been instances where they pretend to need directions or help for example, and when I respond they change the subject). In college, I’ve had conversations with guys in my age group and I’ve given them my contact information just because they’re my peers, only for them to act weird too like send me sexual texts or ask me to send pictures of myself without my headscarf. I’m not bisexual, but I do attract women too sometimes, and even they only seem to be interested in me for sexual reasons, they’ll just make comments about my body.
I don’t wear the headscarf anymore, but I still dress modestly. Guys my age tell me I’m beautiful, and my male friends tell me I’ve had a glowup and look great especially since I’ve lost weight. I occasionally have to do group projects for school and the males I meet tell me they assume other guys are all over me, so I think I’m decent looking, but no decent guy ever persues me and I don’t understand why. Even when they’re attracted to me, they tell their friends that they’re interested in me or they tell me themselves, I’ve never been asked out on a date like my friends have or even been asked to prom in high school. People have told me it’s 2023, so I should be comfortable with showing equal effort. When guys have indicated that they’re interested in me and I try to show interest back or initiate anything they shut me down, but still continue to flirt with me which is confusing.
I think I look pretty average, I don’t really have any features that stand out in my opinion, but I’m not disgusting to look at. My friends and family tell me I’m beautiful, they say my good features are my baby face and big eyes, so I definitely don’t look intimidating or look unapproachable. Personality wise, I am easy going, I get along with everyone and people of all genders tell me they feel comfortable around me. So, I don’t understand why I only attract old men specifically those who only seem to be interested in me for sexual reasons, and why people in my age group never persue me even if they tell me they’re interested. Any ideas please? I know it shouldn’t matter, but when I see a lot of my friends get into proper relationships I assume there must be something wrong with me since I don’t get the same treatment from guys. Thanks!

Taking a week off work next week and toyed with the idea of going down to Cornwall for a few days for some hiking, camping, beach exploration etc. I don't have a car at present as I live in London so thought I'd get the train from Paddington to Penzance.
But upon browsing Trainline, a return Super Off Peak ticket will set me back £200 minimum, and for the more suitable times (aka an earlier morning train) it works out over £300. £349 to be exact, for an outbound train on a Monday leaving around 9.00am and a return train on Sunday afternoon.
£349, for a 5hr train journey. That is an obscene amount. Gobsmacking, actually. You can get good deals on flights to America for close to that, or a train ticket for a comparable journey time in most of Europe 3-times over.
How did we get to this point? Such prices make trains an unfeasible mode of transport for anyone other than the very wealthy who do it on a whim/for leisure purposes.
Is the purpose of public transport not intented to something that services the general public? Yet, they're inaccessible to the majority of the population unless you're just getting the train to the next town.
Long-distance train journeys just simply no longer seem a viable method of travel for the average person anymore, which is a real shame, as in theory they should serve individuals who can't/don't want to drive (for economic or physical reasons, for example), but still want to explore parts of Britain beyond their own backyard.
What's the answer here? Is there even one? Or is long-distance train travel in Britain imply a relic of history for the average person?

Namesake: Skyfall by Adelle
Localized Name: Blind Sky
User: Eurus "Yuri" Pallas (Eurus is the eastern wind god in greek mythology)
Stand Cry:
TL;DR Ability: Cloud/Water Manipulation

 Stand Appearance: Skyfall appears as a humanoid stand with a light blue (almost white) skin color. Water vapor leaks from the sides of its mouth and form clouds behind it. Its eyes shine gold. It has 4 shoulder rockets on both shoulders with two rockets each. Its skin ripples with whirlpools all over its body and the speed and size of the swirls depend on the humidity. Its colors will darken if there is more smoke than clouds (this color is when its weakest) and it will turn an orangish pink during dawn and dusk. 

Abilities:

 Passive - Skyfall can manipulate clouds and allow the user to step on them. It can also create its own clouds if near water but it takes time to make huge clouds. It can release stored water vapor from its mouth. Skyfall can also shoot the 4 spike rockets on its shoulders. This wont really injure the target (at most slin level wounds), but they are controlled and leave a trail of mist that the stand can use. The rockets have a duration of about 30 seconds each. Skyfall can also use clouds that are already in the sly but it takes around 8 minutes to fully bring them down. Blinded Vision - Using this ability, Skyfall can encase a target's head (or any object really) with mist or a cloud and manipulate how the water droplets reflect light making the target see things that arent there. The cloud can be removed if the target increases their body temperature, lifting the cloud or mist. The cloud is virtually invisible, but if someone puts there hand inside of it, you can feel the change in humidity Cloud Nine - Skyfall can encase a person in a cloud and convert it into water essentially drowning the person. The target can escape this though, by puncturing the water bubble with a blade or something sharp the extent of this ability is a 3 foot by 7 foot oval around a target. 

 Character Note: Yuri carries a portable humidifier that she attaches to bodies of water near her too boost his stand's ability. Her stand makes the humid air into clouds which it can use with its abilities. Yuri's Personality: Yuri is a short tempered girl, she wont usually accept a no for an answer (unless skyfall insists). She is a risk taker and doesn't follow a religion. Shes not against religion, just thinks the world will guide her how it wants Skyfall's Personality: Skyfall is Yuri's calmer half and has a mind of its own. Its almost an entirely different person. Still, it stays completely loyal to Yuri at all times. Skyfall believes in talking before fighting but will never turn down a fight if requested by Yuri 

 Stats: Power: B (Physical Attacks arent Skyfall's go to but it can dish out some good punches) Speed: D (most of Skyfall's attacks take some amount of time) Range: B (range is about of stand is 3 meters range of abilities are about 25 meters) Durability: C (Average stand dirability) Precision: C (not really about precision) Potential: B (its blinded vision ability can be used for a lot) 

TLDR: I am an early 30s F with a very close but intense and complicated relationship with my late 50s mother. For as long as I can remember, I have put a lot of weight on gaining her approval, especially when it comes to my romantic partners, but am at a crossroads now. I've met a partner that I believe has long term potential (despite some valid concerns). She's decided she will never be okay with him and wants no contact with him. I don't know if I just need to work on not needing her approval as much or if my relationship with my partner really is a lost cause.
Buckle up, because this is kind of a long one. I'm in my early 30s and have a very close relationship with my mother. Her house is split into two units, and I rent one side. While I make decent money, I've chosen this arrangement because it is mutually beneficial. I get a very good deal on rent, can help her with the mortgage, and she doesn't have to deal with bringing in strangers as tennants (which can be a complete gamble as anyone who is a DIY landlord can attest to). My father died when I was a teenager and I have no siblings. I'm not particularly close with any of my extended family, so she's the closest family member I have.
For the most part, we get along well. However, for my entire 20s, and now into my early 30s, we've had a lot of friction when it comes to my boyfriends/partners. I'll admit, I have a pretty terrible track record, but I've slowly been improving. One was just really immature and clueless, one was way older than me and had significant financial challenges, the most recent had some kind of personality disorder, was emotionally abusive to me and intentionally disrespectful to my mom. I was love bombed by him and felt trapped but eventually got out.
I did a lot of self work after the last one. Took time to heal, learn the early warning signs of abusive relationships and really work on my self esteem so I could better filter out the "losers" so to speak. I've been with my current boyfriend (mid 30s) for almost a year. He hasn't been abusive towards me at all, we've never had a single fight, he's a good communicator and we're able to work through concerns and challenges in a very civilized manner, we have a bunch of passions and hobbies in common, the physical aspect is great, and we both want to pursue something long term and serious (having kids together).
However, it's not without concerns. He was recently separated when we met and the divorce has not yet been finalized. We took things slow early on, about 5 months in, we made things official but the divorce isn't finalized due to self admitted procrastination on his part. It's not messy according to him, no assets need to be divided, they've been separated over a year, and it's just a matter of him biting the bullet and getting it over with. We've addressed that I'm no longer okay with him putting but off, and he needs to take care of it.
He is also paying child support, sees his two kids PT, does not have a running car and is living with his parents for financial reasons. He's put off getting a new car because he likes to walk and bike places, doesn't really need one right now, and again, has self admitted procrastination issues and hasn't gotten around to scrapping the old one and getting a new one. Yes, I know how bad that sounds, and I am fully aware he is not financially ready for the next stage in our relationship. He knows this, I know this. It is exceedingly difficult where we live. It's one of the most expensive places to live in the US, but we were both born and raised here and have a strong desire to stay in the area. I've told him I want him to get things in order, he wants to get things in order, but we both got caught up in the honeymoon phase of things, probably spent too much time and money on dates, and self/financial improvement got pushed to the wayside. We both decided to do something about this and have agreed to work on consciously building something together.
Aside from all of the above, his personality is a bit different than average. (So is mine). It significantly rubs my mom the wrong way. He's been unintentionally standoffish around her and has said a couple of impulsive/insensitive things to other people in her presence. He's never been intentionally hurtful towards her or me but has admitted that sometimes he gets caught up in the moment and says stuff without thinking. I'm not happy about it and not okay with it, but I'm more willing to give people second chances than my mom is. I've addressed this with him, he apologized and agreed to work on improving his demeanor around her.
My mom has a history of abusive relationships and has also done a lot of self work. A large part of that self work is having clear cut boundaries and not giving toxic people second chances. She has recently made a final decision that she is not okay with him, will never be okay with him and does not want to be around him or interact with him at all anymore. She feels he is toxic. I feel he is a good guy deep down that has significant challenges.
I'm not ready to give up on the relationship. I do feel he is genuine in wanting to improve and build something with me. However, I also know that actions speak louder than words and he has to back it up with actions. I want to give things a few more months to allow him to follow though. My mom doesn't believe he is capable of it because, "if he could have done it, he already would have done it". She believes he is unconsciously stringing me along because I'm a "catch" and he likes the comfort and companionship I provide him. I, on the other hand, believe people are capable of significant self improvement and that when partners work together, they can help hold eachother accountable to improve.
One reason I'm hopeful is that despite the fact that I could very tightly afford to get a place with him, he would be less financially stable than me right now, and he doesn't want to enter a living arrangement where he can't feel like a somewhat equal contributor. He doesn't want to take advantage of me financially and is always conscious about paying half or taking turns paying for dates etc. The same can't be said about my ex who did take advantage of me financially.
My mom and I have had a lot of heated talks about this. We both feel the way we feel. But have a fundamental disagreement about this. She would like to see me either end the relationship completely or put the relationship on hold until he can prove he can get his life in order (though she isn't forcing or coercing me to, that's just her ideal scenario). I, on the other hand, want to continue a relationship while he gets his life in order. I also have significant changes to make to improve my life and finances, and I want to do it alongside him. I'm not fooling myself into thinking he will for sure, and if he doesn't back up his words with actions and make a sincere effort, then I'm out.
I'm stuck because I don't know if I'm making the right decision. I'm having a hard time imagining scenarios like getting married and my mom not being at the wedding, having her first grandchild with him and her not wanting to visit if their father is around. Even if he becomes a millionaire years down the road, she still won't be okay with him because of the insensitive comments he's made in the past. I always pictured a nice, happy family where all the in laws get along, and that will never happen if I stay with him. I've thought about ending it with him, know that I could work through the grief, know that I could find someone else, but at the same time, I really don't want to. I love him dearly, more than I ever have any of my exes. It's a strange, deep kind of love I've never really experienced before. I feel like I would regret giving up on the relationship.
I think, if I stay with him long term, I need to do some serious work to not be so hung up on her approval. I'm getting mixed advice from friends, but most are saying to make the decision for me, not for my mom. However, it's hard for me to separate my desires from my mom's desires. For a while, I'll feel confident in my decision to stay with him, then she will air her grievances and I'll start feeling guilty and doubting myself and my decisions.
Anyone have any good advice? Has anyone ever had a satisfying relationship where their parents didn't approve and you somehow made it work? Can couples really work it out and improve together, or am I fooling myself?

So I'm just wondering if anyone has found a kit or something I could buy that has a lot of random hardware that has Nissan sizes for my s13. When my car got taken apart I was dumb and didn't categorize or put my hardware in a safe spot. Tho most of it was rusted anyway and broke. I know they sell big boxes of hardware and I'm sure some of that would fit. Is there anyone that sells it just for Nissans tho. I've looked and I got most of the sizes but I would buy out everything at my local hardware store lol and probably overspend. So a kit that has everything or most would be nice I know some people on ebay are selling stuff for like $300 but that's so expensive. I've made do with buying the closet bolt or whatever I needed and cutting to size or using Spacer's but I want to use legitimate hardware. If all else fails I'll buy one of those $30 200 peice hardware sets.

I recently got myself the palace edition of Unbound at a large discount and started playing the game. I have played the story mode for over 3 hours now and I'm at the point where I have to qualify for the grand race by completing a mini grand race at the end of each week.
However I feel so stuck as I cannot for the life of me save any decent money. My car right now is a shitty Honda Civic 2000 where I pour all my hard earned money to upgrade performance (still in B class) so I'm always left with 200-500 at most, and still I struggle to get 1st place in races even though I drive better than average in relaxed difficulty. And the huge buy ins mean the large cash competitions are no better than regular ones for prize money.
I have heard somewhere that career mode gives a lot of free cars, just wanted to know how to get those cars or where to get those and any tips to earn quick cash apart from just racing (even the cop chases barely gives me change money)

Hi all, I am new to NLP and would like to know if my logic below is correct.
Context: I have a dataset containing the "Reviews" of products and an indicator column indicating whether a product is discontinued.
What I have done:

1. First, I preprocessed my text data to strip any punctuations, turn words into lowercase, and tokenize the text
2. I train a word2vec model with my own data with w2v = Word2Vec(df["tokenized_text"], vector_size=10, window=10, min_count=2, epochs=2)
3. I also did some truncating/padding and indexing. In the end, I was able to get the embeddings for each of the words. For example, let's say observation n has review ['weight', 'long','red'] -> [[-0.1293, 1.203, -0.314,...], [-1.35, 0.32, -0.1353,...], [1.0294, -0.564, 0.134]]
4. Now, I want to input this into my logistic regression model to predict whether a product is discontinued. But my input has a very strange structure. For example, if I have 2 observations, then, the input looks like this:

[ [[-0.1293, 1.203, -0.314,...], [-1.35, 0.32, -0.1353,...], [1.0294, -0.564, 0.134]]
[[-0.53, 1.201, -0.17361,...], [-1.093, 0.43, -0.305,...], [1.019, -0.721, 0.1039]] ]
I read that I should take the average of the embeddings of each word. I'm wondering if this is what I should do. If
averaging -0.1293, 1.203, -0.314,... = x1
averaging -1.35, 0.32, -0.1353,... = x2
and so on...
Then, I will obtain
[[x1, x2, x3]
[x4, x5, x6]]
Now, I can feed this into the logistic regression model. Can anyone tell me if this makes sense? In general, if I want to use text data for classification tasks, is getting the word embeddings and averaging the embedding vector for each word a good approach? Could someone in the field of NLP give me some suggestions of things I can do with the embeddings (e.g., visualization, interpretation)?
Thank you so much in advance!

I have bigger arms, especially my upper arms are proportionally bigger to the rest of my arms than is average. Seems like smith scabs has the biggest size range for elbow pads.
Anyone with bigger arms have experience with the sizing of these pads? I am between getting XL (13”-14”) or XXL (15”-16”).
My measurements are 13” at the elbow and 15-16” above the elbow. So technically XL would be my size based on the size chart since their measurements are at the elbow, but then I am afraid they will not fit my upper arm.
If anyone has any experience or opinions, let me know!

So I have a 3.86 cGPA, and I’ll be rewriting my mcat end of July. Graduated last year and have used a gap year to make some money, travel, and rewrite my mcat while volunteering. As of right now I’m averaging a 130 in cars and around 128 every other section. Ive been volunteering at a hospital for about a year, volunteering in an online crisis call centre for a year, volunteered at my university in adjudication meetings, played high level competitive sports all my life, work at a restaurant for over 6 years, and participated in a few fundraisers. I’m also a psyc major so I don’t have any bio courses or second year chem courses like orgo for prerequisites. I’m in Ontario.
Not sure where to focus my applications so any guidance is very appreciated!!

I don't generally like looking at dicks anymore, I'm kinda repulsed by the dicks of strangers.... But I wanted to let you all know that a good 50% of the posts here don't look small to me, they look average. Some of them even look thicker than average 😅
And even the ones that are smaller still are beautiful, for dicks! Size only matters to people who haven't had someone give them pleasure any other way. It's a tragedy of how most men don't know how to bring women to orgasm.
Most of my partners have been average.. and a couple of them below average... The only reason the one who had a huge pp was better than most of them, was because he learned my body and how to help me reach orgasm.
My current partner is of average length, though he thinks he's small, and he has given me the best orgasms of my life. And I still remember the intensity of some of my first ever orgasms. Size doesn't matter to the people who matter.
And uhh, sorry if this post doesn't belong here... I just hate the way men's genitals and bodies are attacked constantly and very few people stand up for them.

Hey all, I have a manual and I’ve always hated driving the car with how uncomfortable the OEM shift knob is. Always leaving my palms sore and I would like to replace it. So I have two questions;

1. What process is there to remove the OEM knob? Google has limited results, I only found one forum post someone said it has to be cut off apparently? I’d like to save the shifter column if possible.
   
2. What size shifter do these have? I’m unfamiliar with manual sizes. I’d like to get a ball shift knob but I want to make sure it’ll fit in the shift column.
   

Thanks a ton!

Not sure if this has been addressed, but the text size and spacing of the chat bubbles on Android is horrible. I love the app and this is really the only thing that's a big QOL issue. When typing, the keyboard takes up 1/3 or 1/4 of the screen on an average phone. With the keyboard up you can only see your last message and perhaps one line from SL. Is is there anything coming down the pipe to modify the text size or the chat bubble size? I basically have to go to Private Mode to see more than 1 message while typing.

Hello Reddit! I (20f) was hanging out with a guy I have only been on a couple of dates with so far over the past two weeks (27m). He asked me to hang out last minute because he was in the area of my place just to go on a little walk.
Unbeknownst to me, he shows up and he has had quite a few drinks, was definitely not in a state to drive and was getting touchy-feely on the walk. He was not slurring words yet but was not able to walk anywhere near straight and occasionally he was tripping over himself. I walk him back towards where he came from to get anything he needs for home. I was going to make him take an Uber home, I didn’t want to fight him on this, but it was a non-negotiable though. I just wanted to see that he could get home safely.
He has been asking me to come by his place to meet his dog for a few days, I have been to his place before but never when the dog has been there. I am a little scared of dogs after a dog attack when I was younger, and he knew this before this evening. Dogs can make me uncomfortable, and it takes me a long time to warm up to specific dogs. Especially bigger dogs, and though this dog is only a puppy, it is medium size now and is going to be a big dog. Anyways, I agree to go home with him in an Uber because I know he will get home safe, but he wants me to meet the dog
While waiting for an Uber, one of his sober buddies rolls by and offers us a ride. While in the car, his buddy makes a comment about how he is happy to give us a ride home because me going home with him again means we can “sleep together again” or “fuck again” or something of that nature.
We get to his place, and he seems upset that I am not excited and enthralled to meet his dog. I reminded him that I am rather uncomfortable with dogs, and it can take me a few months to really warm up to a specific dog.
We sit on the couch with the dog, and the man decides to lie in my lap. within 5 minutes, he falls asleep. I was eating something so I was not going to get up for a bit, and I just let him sleep for a second. As I get up off the couch as gently as I can to not wake him, he did wake up and is upset that he fell asleep and says sorry. I was just trying to sneak out of his place to let him sleep, but now that he is awake I tell him I am just going upstairs for a second to throw something in the trash. I come back down right after that to his dog with zoomies or freaking out over something. The dog jumps on me multiple times, and I ask them to get down. This man is less than 12 feet away from me telling the dog, to get down numerous times, and I am trying to use my hands to aid in that. He says nothing and does nothing as he is passed out asleep. So I decided that’s enough and I am going to leave.
Today, he has come back and apologized to me for falling asleep on me, but he doesn’t know how I feel about what his buddy said or what the dog did.
I am overreacting for not wanting to be the talking point of his buddies like that? we have had sex, but I do not need to think that has to be the talk of the town.
I am wanting to tell him about what his dog did though. he knew that I was really hesitant with dogs, and this has definitely strained my relationship with him and the dog. Obviously, not the dog's fault that they might have some zoomies or were worried about something.
Honestly, after all of this, I still would see him again, but he is on damn thin ice. I think the way men talk about women when they aren’t there is really telling. I am upset that is how his buddies speak of me, with the sexual comment. I am upset that he was not more vigilant with me and his dog. Not to mention the fact that he showed up for the walk while reasonably intoxicated. How do I tell him this in the nicest way possible while still articulating the fact we are on thin ice? also, would like some sort of comeback response if he just tries to blame it all on the booze.
Thank you very much for reading :) Would love to hear all you have to say on the matter, good, bad, or otherwise.

If this doesn't belong here feel free to 86 it. I just thought my fellow thrombites would enjoy my experience.
I had a pretty nasty DVT in my right thigh and groin after back surgery six years ago. Thankfully, it was caught and treated before it got worse and I'm doing pretty well these days, taking Eliquis and wearing compression socks.
I wear the socks on both legs when wearing long pants because it makes even the non-clot leg feel good but wear only the right one when wearing shorts. (Let's face it, shorts and black knee socks make you look like either a Bahamian traffic cop or as if you just stepped off a cruise ship, neither of which is a look for me.)
So, last night I got out of the car in the parking lot of my local Target in a T-shirt and shorts, one compression sock and running shoes and began to make my way into the store. Halfway there, I hear running footsteps approaching from behind and just as I turned, this dude puts on the brakes a few feet from me and says, "How are you doing, sir?"
I responded with "I'm...OK" as I sized him up...tall, skinny and pale, wearing a baggy plaid shirt and ripped jeans, long, messy hair hanging out of a baseball cap two or three sizes too big and scraggly facial hair. Before I could say another word, he began making weird, repetitive hand motions in the direction of my lower right leg, as if he were conjuring something while babbling away in no language I could identify. After maybe 15 - 20 seconds of this, he clapped his hands together in front of him, gave me a gassho, said "god bless you" and turned on his heel and, literally, ran away.
So, to quote Carl Spackler, I got that going for me. Later this summer at my annual vascular appointment I expect a clean bill of health and the OK to throw away the anti-coagulants and the compression socks forever. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Today I pulled up to UPS. The lot was mostly full. I was happy to find a spot right in front of the door, but as it turned out, the next car was hanging over the line. There was actually another spot in the next row that I could easily have backed into, once I realized the issue. But I was like "Fuck that car; let them lament their shitty parking." And I squeezed my truck in there in a 3 point operation (properly centered in my space). I went in and started taping up my packages (I had to use an open window to get them out of the truck). Then I heard "Excuse me is that your white truck?" "Yes." "Can you move it?" "Well I don't really wanna lose my place in line here." I didn't realize she stayed standing there, waiting, but I noticed once I finished taping my packages. "Do you need to go right now?" "I would like to" "Well I'm sorry; I didn't park your car like that" (my spot in line was already slipping due to the distraction). I was all done within about 5 minutes, but she was already gone. She must've crawled into her seat from the wrong side. Now, there's probably plenty of subs where I could post this story and have my position supported. But I actually felt remorseful. I could've just parked in that other spot. Why did I seek to give someone a hard time? I could've taken a moment to move. Why did I actually give that person a hard time? I wish I could apologize, but it's too late.
Of course, your average TIFU is a little spicier. Sorry to waste your time. But I needed to share this for my own sake, as I endeavor to be a better person (I do plenty of shit that's worse than this).
TL;DR I was rude to someone today, and I'll just have to live with the remorse

I will leave the story of the title in the last paragraph
Need for Speed Rivals was released in 2013 and like many NFS games lately have some amazing things to it and some very strange decisions that keep the game down
Talking graphics the game holds up very well, if you squint you can mistake it for a new gen title, there isn't much Verity in scenary, it's mostly hillsides and trees but it's beautiful nonetheless, there is a slight desaturation always present which gives the game a bit of a darker look. The car models as always are really good
The Sound design is actually surprisingly good, even compared to the newer titles, each car from first to last sounds like an absolute powerhouse, slamming into other cars has a satisfying umph to it
The handling is pretty heavy, with quite a bit of downforce sticking you to the road, it's definitely more grip focused but can still maintain a proper drift with little problems, the sense of speed is amazing and it's genuinely thrilling going 200+ onto oncoming traffic
The map is pretty small, or atleast feel that way with mostly highways and wide open roads which present a wide playground for police encounters and allow for speed but miss out on quick turns and handling challenges most of the time
The campaign is a series of challenges separated by cutscenes for stories which you do to unlock cars and increase your level, these challenges range from winning races, taking on cops to smaller challenges like jumping a set distance, driving at a set speed etc
The main draw of the game I would say is the ability to play as both Racers and Cops, and you do exactly what you think you do as the two in a NFS game, you race and take down cops as racers and you take down racers as cops, both have their own campaigns, their own challenges and their own cars to choose from
The cops in the game are pretty well done, they have problems like being able to rubberband like nobody's business but for the most part they get the fantasy of a chase just right, you have two "weapons" at your disposal and so do the cops, the weapons range from shock ram, emp, spickstrip to turbo that makes you go super fast but it's very difficult to stop and turn, probably my favourite part is that unlike other NFS games nothing is halted when you are in a chase you can start races while in a chase, you can get repaired indefinitely during a chase, you can enter your safe house even if you are in the middle of a chase and this might make it sound like the game will be easy but no, on higher heat levels your car will feel like it's made of paper, one crash or 2 cop attacks will make you go critical so even getting to a safe house is a challenge, the standard risk reward is there, the more you stay out the more your multiplayer is, if you get busted you lose everything the standard but it works great
Car customisation is very bad, there are no body parts to change, not even spoilers, your car's body will look identical to every other player with that car, you can't change the rims either, colors on cars are unlimited, you can use a slider to make any color but the cool effects are missing just gloss, metalic or matte. Rims have a limited number of colors, there are a limited number of strips, decals, body paint and you have no control over the placement, it's all prebuilt, this is without a doubt the worst part of the game
Talking about weird things with the game, you can't start a new game, its impossible, your game is bound to your account and you can only progress further so on this replay I already had most of the cars, almost all the events I have gold already and the campaign was 100% complete. Not being able to stay again is such a werid decision I don't understand why, you also can't pause the game even if you are playing solo
Overall tho the game is definitely worth playing if you like racing games
Now for context on the title, I played NFS rivals way back when it released, almost 100% it because I liked it a lot, ofcourse being that it was 9-10 years ago I slowly forgot about the game and I always thought I played it on my uncle's account rather than mine because all my purched games are on steam, I don't buy games on the Ubi launcher or the EA launcher or the Blizzard launcher etc. So because it wasn't in my steam library I always thought I never owned the game I thought of buying it in steam but I had already gotten my fill so it wasn't high on my priority list, ofcourse I don't use my EA app like ever because you don't need to login to run EA games via steam so I never log it(even when I have to I don't browse the app just log in and minimise it), recently I did to see if it had any NFS games that steam didn't only to find Rivals tucked in a corner in my library and to say I was surprised would be an understatement

Hi everyone.
To Kill a Predator is a work of fan fiction set in the Nature of Predators universe originally created by SpacePaladin15 whose Patreon you should subscribe to.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Depiction does not equal endorsement.
Hope you enjoy it!
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Memory transcription subject: Jarkim, Unemployed Krakotl
Date [standardized human time]: November 30th, 2136
​
If they were following standard procedure, they’d be storing munitions separate from personnel and weapons. In guild offices there were hermetically sealed rooms for it, ensuring any stray fires would be snuffed out as soon as they devoured all the oxygen.
In a place like this, my bet was one of the sheds or root cellars. I had sent Russo and Mosun to handle the garage and workers’ quarters.
Of course it was possible they hadn’t got enough fuel, ammo, and explosives to prosecute their campaign. Possible, but unlikely. The attack on the shelter hadn’t been the actions of a group running on fumes.
Honestly, if I were in their position I’d hole up here too. A large farm makes sense. They’d have phosphorous, ammonium nitrate, local stores of benzene or fuel oils, ipsom grain to make into powder, even the septic tanks if you’re really desperate… there’s more ways to create fire bombs at your average farm than I can be bothered to count.
I ran the math in my head. I didn’t like the result I got: the Liberators probably had enough fire to turn every human in the district into ash several times over, and they might still have enough left over for everyone who voted for Tarva too.
I approached the first shed with Slavik. It was one of the simple above-ground ones. Unlikely target to bear fruit, in my mind, but it was the closest. “I’ll go in first. You watch out with the rifle.”
They nodded at me, grimly.
The door opened and I rushed into the darkness.
​
“It’ll be the fourth.”
“Why’s that?”
“Four’s a lucky number.”
“No it’s not.”
“Sure it is. If you have to count past it, you have to use a second paw.”
The first shed had been empty but for tools. The second had held spare parts for their generators. The third had led to a root cellar full of sun-dried and salted fruit, and some jars of preserves.
Lucky number four was a steel door surrounded by concrete inset into the ground, and as soon as it was wrenched open the stench of chemicals assaulted me. Even Slavik coughed with distaste, and they didn’t have a nose.
“Well Slavik, turns out you were right.”
“That… does not taste lucky.”
“It doesn’t, does it. Alright, let’s go.”
I moved in. Slavik was right behind me. We headed into the gloom, slowly waiting for our eyes to adjust. Slavik muttered a bit before turning on the light attached to their rifle. They swiveled their entire torso back and forth, eyes focused on the rifle sights.
Industrial tanks of chemicals stood like forlorn monsters in the dark, the threadbare light by the rifle’s muzzle casting ugly and stark shadows.
“Never should’ve come here.”
I froze. The voice was coming from behind me… and to the left.
​
There was a second Venlil, lunging out from behind one of the tanks with a breaching tool held in both paws. He struck Slavik’s gun, and I heard the weapon hit the stone floor somewhere in the dark. With a second swing he caught Slavik across the head, and they went down hard.
I lunged at him, talons grasping for purchase in the short Exterminator-cut fur of the assailant. I got a good digging grip and pulled him back, raking grooves in his shoulders in the process and sending the crowbar clattering into the shadows.
I recognized him as Vilrak, and he screamed with anger and pain and managed to strike me in the eye with his elbow. I reeled back, squawking, when his paw struck me in the stomach. Pain blossomed and spread like fire. His claws were outstretched, and dug in under the feathers and tore skin.
In response I lashed out with a talon, tearing bloody gouges in his snout. Venlil snouts are sturdy and solid bone, and I did little actual damage. It was still enough to send him back with a yelp.
We both caught our breaths, blood dripping from claw and talon alike.
Slavik was on the ground. They weren’t moving.
​
“Vilrak, it’s over… Stand down.”
His voice was filled with loathing. “…Jarkim. So Karta failed to get rid of you, you traitorous piece of-”
I interjected immediately. “What you’re doing here isn’t going to work.”
“Oh, but it is. We’re going to bring Venlil Prime back to sanity, and back into the Federation.”
“There’s no going back. The Interview, the humans, the proof that even the Arxur can be bargained with after they returned their Venlil cattle… The galaxy’s a different place than it was just a cycle ago.”
“So what?”
I plead with him to turn from his path. When he realized and accepted the situation, he’d do the right thing. Just like I had. “We’re going to have to learn to live in the new world. One that doesn’t need us. We believed our job was necessary… We were only acting on… On the information we had, the information we were given. But we were wrong. Listen to me, Vilrak. There’s another path here. We can reform the Exterminators. We can make it into something better, something that serves the community.”
He straightened up and lashed his tail at me, turning and walking away. One eye was locked on me the entire time. “Oh you stupid, sanctimonious fuck. You’re the only one who ever believed any of that predshit.”
I paused. “…What?”
​
He walked slowly. I followed, staying at a careful distance. “Being an Exterminator was the perfect job. We had respect. We had power, Jarkim! You’re the only one who didn’t seem to realize that! Oh, you useless damn joke of a Krakotl… You turned your beak and curled your talons every time you had to pull the trigger, and always made sure the PDs came in without a fight. The rest of us loved it!”
I felt sick. I had never liked Vilrak, but this was… Like Vikar, and Renak, and Luarik, and Karta, and… Not unprecedented. But hearing it put in such stark terms…
“I always hated rolling out with you, because you’re too insufferably straight-laced. The rest of the guys understood the opportunities. But not you, oh no. As soon as you get in the van the fun stops. No taking money to make PD cases go away, no letting off steam with the rods and some drunk, no sharing cuties collared in the back of the van…”
My talons itched to tear out his evil fucking throat. But more than that, I wanted to tear down the entire system I had been complicit in. I had looked the other way, made sure to not ask awkward questions I didn’t want the answers to. And that made me one link in the chain. The facilities, the prosecutors, the assessors, they were all working with the Exterminators. Everyone knew that we were the only way they’d stay safe, the firebreak between the civilians and the predators. So they let us do whatever we wanted.
“Vilrak… It’s not going to stay that way anymore. It can’t. It mustn’t. The winds are changing. If everyone’s as… sick and twisted as you, and the Exterminators can’t be reformed? Then we’ll be abolished instead.”
“That’s right, because the humans are fucking it all up! They did more for Venlilkind in one paw than we Exterminators have done since we joined the Federation, just by sharing food with the greys! And now everyone knows it!”
“Exactly. There’s no going back.”
“Yeah, well. It’s worth a shot.”
When he turned to face me again he was holding a flamethrower, the tank under one arm and the nozzle under the other. In the darkness I only realized he was firing when it spewed incendiary death in a wide arc.
​
I had to gracelessly take flight, leaping back and thrashing with my wings to get behind one of the chemical tanks in time. I ended up smashing into the wall for my trouble, and I felt something in my wing snap.
But seeing the burning trail where I had stood a blink of an eye beforehand, it was still a worthwhile trade-off.
Other than what little light the fires gave off, and the light from the open door, the room was dark. The flashlight on Slavik’s gun had gone out.
I slowly crept around the tank… step by step. Listening for the Venlil’s footsteps, and hearing nothing.
I heard the sound of the tank shifting nearby, and froze in place. I held my breath.
He was speaking from just a couple of wingspans away, in the dark. “You’re not the first predator I’ve had to hunt. And you’re not gonna be the last.”
There was a click as the flamethrower’s ignition line turned on.
A line of fire spewed from the muzzle, sending me scrambling for cover again. I needn’t have bothered, he wasn’t aiming at me.
With the second line of burning fuel gel, he created a ‘V’ shape against the wall. He was simply boxing me in, cutting off my escape. Standard procedure when dealing with poor-visibility terrain.
Now all he had to do was hose the enclosed area, and that would be it.
I felt panic slowly begin to flood my brain, and forced it down. I couldn’t let myself become an animal. He knew how to burn animals.
​
Gotta get out of here, or I’m kindling.
With only one working wing, I was rapidly running out of options. When Vilrak spewed another gout of flame, my options dwindled further. I took flight, my one wing fluttering as I twisted my body in a desperate attempt to get above the flames and the equally dangerous super-heated air right above them. I felt the oppressive heat and could imagine my feathers curl and blacken as I made my desperate lunge over the fire-wall.
My talons scraped the stone loudly upon my rough landing, and I ended up falling prone. I yelled out as I landed on my bad wing again.
Starting to rise slowly, far too slowly, I heard Vilrak whistle out a laugh from nearby. I saw his shadowed form looming out of the dark, lit from the side by the growing flames. The flamethrower’s ignition line clicking on. Faced straight at me.
There was a bright, sudden light. And a scream.
​
Vilrak reeled back. So did I, good wing raised in a meaningless gesture of defense. I couldn’t see anything, blinded by Slavik’s flashlight. I heard a shout. “Jarkim, get down!”
I laid myself prone on the ground without hesitation.
KRAK-Ow
Superheated plasma flew overhead, sizzling the air and filling the enclosed space with the rank stench of ozone.
The shot impacted Vilrak’s fuel tank. The ensuing breach sent burning fuel and bits of hot metal all over the cellar, and threw him back into the wall. With my head down I could do nothing but flinch and hope.
A searing lance of pain impacted my leg, making me squawk out. A glance down showed a piece of jagged metal the size of a wing feather sticking out of my thigh.
Blinking the spots out of my eyes and coughing from the smoke filling the room, I saw Slavik holding the plasma rifle. It was aimed at the prone Exterminator, who was already screaming and crawling. His legs were on fire, and looked shredded from shrapnel. The flames were eagerly eating their way up his short-cut fur, already spreading up over his back and sides. His voice was a high-pitched, babbling shriek.
All that confidence, bravado, and gleeful sadism had vanished the instant it was his turn. And I wasn’t a good enough person to not take some vindictive joy in that.
“Not the flames not the flames please not the flames!! No no no nono please please not the flames!! Help meeeeee!!!”
KRAK-Ow
The second shot took him in the face. I looked away sharply, not interested in seeing the results.
​
“C’mon, you useless lump. Move your ass before it’s cooked.” Slavik grabbed me by my good wing, dragged me out of the burning cellar like a sack of grain, and closed the door behind us.
The fire would eat through all the oxygen long before it burst any of the chemical tanks. Even so, Slavik didn’t stop dragging me until we were a good distance away and we could both collapse in a panting heap on the ground.
Slavik’s head was leaking orange blood into their wool from the hit, and an ugly lump was already forming on their head. They looked at me darkly. “…That was mercy. I’m not going to let myself become the kind of person who’d have let him burn.”
I felt jolts of pain searing through my body each time I coughed. “Khakh, Khahhk… Y-You just saved my life. You don’t have to justify yourself to me.”
They looked down at their weapon in silence for a while, before speaking so quietly that I barely heard it. “You’re not the one I’m trying to convince.”
After a long silence, I tried my arm and grimaced. My leg refused to even bend now that the adrenaline was flushing out, and I didn’t want to take the metal out in case it was sitting in an artery. I didn’t even want to know what my feathers looked like. “…Wing’s busted. L-Leg too. I’m no good like this. Khahhk… I’ll head back, you try to link up with the other team.”
Slavik shouldered the rifle, and lifted me up. “After I get you back to Hanya.”
The trek back was awkward, and slow. I was left to hop and cling to Slavik as they half-dragged me along. I hoped the other team was having more success.
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Memory transcription subject: Martin Russo, Human Refugee
Date [standardized human time]: November 30th, 2136
​
I raise my hand to Mosun. Three. Two. One.
The door opens. Mosun lunges in low, I sweep in high.
Nothing greets us but silence. We sweep the ground floor of the main house slowly, room by room. I move my aim back and forth like a metronome as I seek targets. My eyes dart around from place to place. Those saccades the Venlil are so afraid of.
The place shows clear signs of being lived in. Very recently. There are still-damp dishes in the kitchen.
The living room is an even bigger tell. On the table there’s a map of the whole district, and another of the town. Addresses are circled in different colors. I might not have recognized the map so quickly, except I’ve also been studying up for my own campaign.
As we search the place it appears that nobody’s home. They seem to have removed all the signs of the original inhabitants. I see pale reverse-shadows on the wall where once hung pictures or pieces of art.
I tap Mosun’s shoulder. He looks at me, and I point up, then down, and give a shrug. Upstairs or basement first?
As Mosun considers the question, we hear a scream. I freeze stock still, and Mosun’s eyes go wide. It’s from upstairs.
​
I brave a soft voice. “…Is that…”
Another scream. A word carries through the drawn out, inelegant blubbering. “Mhh-aaa-aahhhahhhu-hurttii-hi-hiiinnnn!!” My blood feels ice cold, and my stomach drops out.
Jesus Christ it’s my name. She’s screaming my name.
I’m acutely aware my tongue is dry.
Another scream, this time just a shrill sound of pain.
I’m running up the stairs. My grip on the gun is so tight it hurts. For a few seconds my thoughts don’t form words, just the panicked urge to rush to my beloved friend. To help and defend her.
Upstairs there are four rooms. Two on the left, one on the right, and one in the far back. The only one that matters is the one with the noise.
I rush to the door and almost wrench it open right away, but pause.
Stay frosty.
Mosun almost runs into me in his haste to keep up.
I turn and look at him. His furious face mirrors mine. I cringe as another shout comes from the room right beside us.
He nods grimly and grabs the door handle. We both take a couple of deep, steadying breaths.
I raise my hand to Mosun. Three. Two. One.
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Here's some fun fanart of Martin's Ghost Gun by Asclepius on the discord, thanks Asclepius!
https://imgur.com/a/zpJf1S9
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