Once More (Unto the Breach) [FINAL RESULTS]

Community Challenges & Competitions
360

Team “Buy Skyrim”

After the meal, they decided to move on…until like 60 miles later, when Naomi saw the car is putting out steam.

NAOMI: What the hell has happened?

NATHAN: Probably just some random steam from the car. I know Hessenburgs of that era is pretty much famous of putting out steam from leaky radiators…due to some quirky design that is so complex that sometimes a leak is probably normal…but we can’t tell it either since that could be even worse.

Somehow, the car have gotten a bit crappy. The car keeps losing power, and people in the car started to worry.

VINCENT: I sense the worse thing is incoming. Be prepared, fellas.

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Turns out the worst has happened. The car is overheating, and then vehicle died when they are nearly approaching Ohio. Luckily, Nathan called in a road assistance group, and several minutes later the car was fixed. For them, the race is (finally) over.

But what they got is, the race is not just about anything about winning. It’s the experience they got matters. Infact, all of them loved the race and they wanted to compete it again…of course if they got the time as well.

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A lot of things have change several months after the race. Vincent is successfully graduated from Harvard Business School and started his own company, selling phone software that is somehow very successful. Naomi finally got her parent’s permission to date with Vincent, and now she is Vincent’s fiance and they are now happily after together. And Nathan found his passion on vehicle tuning and he started his own car tuning vlog channel in YouTube. This endeavor is really successful and he gained a lot of followers too.

But the most important thing is…where’s the car right now? Everyone is expecting it is going to be sold or scrapped, but actually, it wasn’t.

https://i.imgur.com/0LRZvZM.jpg

In fact, Naomi, who drove the car for most of the time ended up loving the car so much that she bought the car later since she haven’t got anything to drive yet. Obviously, it was fixed, and improved with loads of parts ranging from a new engine, brakes, suspension and also interior improvements. The result is a 310 horsepower high-performance daily driver with better handling and much reliable than before. Yeah, although the car is mostly funded by Vincent but yeah, it’s still her new daily driver.

https://i.imgur.com/xYfUUl9.jpg

The other different thing compared to the original is the colour. She painted the car in bright red because she feels like the car fits the color well and of course, red is her favorite color.

END

Epilogue

November 21, 2019, 1:00 PM, San Francisco

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That day Vincent and Naomi went to a 5-star hotel for a stay, as they are planning for a trip there. And then behind their car there is a 1979 Sisten Country Cruiser moving. (Don’t worry, the car is NOT following them at all)

And there are 2 guys Inside the old wagon. One of them is the Henry “Death Eye” Quinn, the notorious gang leader of the infamous “Death Eye Club” gang, and the one that drives the car is indeed, his driver.

HENRY: Yeah. are we at the bank yet?

DRIVER: Nah, boss. but soon we’re going to start a mayhem. Trust me.

The car arrived at the bank, armed with guns. Later another van came, and that van carries more armed gangsters. All we can say is nobody in the bank has prepared for a bank heist yet.

Notes from bxDroid

Starting from this point, due to several reasons I decided that I will retire from competing in any Automation competition, and this will probably be my last ever competition I will join. Now, if you ask me that is a bad thing, nah, I don’t think so since I’m pretty much tired doing it as of these days. I will still continue producing cars for my companies, and Drivers.com is still going on with no stops as well.

But wait, what the hell is that epilogue? Random shit?

As I stated, I will stop joining competitions, but this doesn’t mean that I will not starting any in the future. Yes, my friend. I’m planning for an Automation competition soon, perhaps using a similar format like this one, and that guy is involved as well. Stay tuned, because there’s going to be a fun time coming.

Huge thanks to the people that joined the competition as well, and always, have a fun time. And those who are still running, I wish y’all have a good race.

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361

Team Tiger Trouble (+1)

As the team closed in on the Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum, it was Jaden who said, “I really wish we had the time to stop there. I mean, the Humans have such a respect for these transports, and the engines that propel them.”

“I’m not stopping, Jade.” Kaylie said, her clawed hands gripping the wheel more firmly as they cruised along.

“I may be able to be of assistance.” Nova said. “Accessing the Toledo Ironworks Museum database… Compiling data… Rendering 3D holographic images… Hard-light projector is warmed up. Beginning History Lesson.”

Kiva tipped his head, then watched as Nova materialized in the car with them, in miniature scale, standing on the center console.

“In the year 1919, Toledo Ironworks started the construction of automobile internal combustion engines. Under contract by Townsend Coachworks, they produced a 397 cubic inch flathead inline eight cylinder engine, the first engine the company produced. Converting the units, that is a 6.506 liter engine.” Nova said, accompanying the information with an image of the engine.

“In 1925, Townsend Coachworks purchased Toledo Ironworks, and through an unusual partnership, allowed them to keep their company name and operational autonomy. During the event the humans call ‘World War II,’ through the years 1941 to 1945, Toledo Ironworks constructed engines for military aircraft.” Nova showed an image of a propeller-driven fighter plane, which turned and banked as if it were currently in the middle of combat, before it dissolved into bright particles as she continued.

“After the war, in 1946, Toledo Ironworks produced a small displacement twelve cylinder engine, with the cylinders grouped into two banks of six. The common designation is a V12. This engine, at 305 cubic inches, or 4.998 liters, was intended for use in luxury automobiles. Initially offered with four carburetors, a later model replaced this arrangement with three two-barrel carburetors.”

Kaylie noticed that they were running low on gas, and stopped to fill up the tank again. At the same time, Nova continued with the history lesson.

“In 1952, Toledo produced the 287 cubic inch Iron Eight. This engine is a V8, of 4.703 liters, and is part of a long-lived series of power units, being referred to as late as 1969, by the name of the Ardent Small Block. By 1953, Ardent Motor Corporation purchased Townsend Coachworks, which included Toledo Ironworks. By 1959, the Iron Eight was modified to a displacement of 333 cubic inches, or 5.457 liters. At this time, it was still referred to as the Iron Eight.” Nova showed another image, this time of the engine with one of the cylinder heads rendered transparent, and showed the difference in size between the 287 and 333 cubic inch versions. “In 1965, a performance oriented variant of the Iron Eight was created, and given the name ‘Triple Three.’”

The next image was of a car, and Nova explained, “From 1960 until 1972, Townsend made a luxury car using a 500 cubic inch V12, exclusive to this model. At 8.194 liters, and constructed entirely of cast iron, this engine is quite heavy, but due to the cylinder arrangement, it is incredibly smooth.”

“In 1967, the Ardent Big Block was created, with a displacement of 444 cubic inches, or 7.276 liters. Unofficially, the engine gained the name ‘Triple Four’ though no Ardent documentation ever shows this engine being called that. Two years later, in 1969, the Triple Three T/A was created, producing 230 horsepower from the factory. That same year, the Big Block was given a ‘Super T/A’ variant, with 372 horsepower.”

By now, the gas tank was full, and the fuel was paid for, so Kaylie got back into the car and started them back onto the road.

“In 1972, Ardent Motors purchased 40% of Suzume Motor Manufacturing Industries of Japan, with agreements to share their technology. By 1974, Toledo Ironworks lost what was left of their autonomy-” Nova said, though paused briefly as Kiva spoke up.

“That rattling just got louder. Are you sure you didn’t accidentally buy snake oil instead of gasoline?” Kiva said, deciding that humor might relieve some of the tension.

“I’m sure. I didn’t use the pump with the big red nozzle, so I think I got the right stuff.” Kaylie said.

Nova, never to be deterred, continued. “-autonomy, and their American operations was completely folded into Ardent Motors as part of their Powertrain Design Bureau. In 1979, the engineers were tasked with creating more efficient and compact engines for Ardent Motors. By 1982, the 1.9 liter Toledo Trivalve four cylinder inline engine was created. It is of a single-overhead-cam design with three valves per cylinder, 12 valves in total. This engine design was used with minimal design changes for almost 25 years.”

As Nova finished displaying the four cylinder engine, she switched off her holographic projector, gracefully disappearing in a flash of orange light. “That concludes our virtual tour of the Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. I hope you do not mind that I made a slight donation of 30 Silver Crowns to the museum for the use of their database.”

Kayden shrugged, then said, “It was worth it to avoid the stares we would’ve gotten if we stopped. So we spent the same amount on our transport, but we enjoyed the virtual tour.”

Just then, Nova piped up with, “Incoming text-based message from the event organizers.”

“Well, we’re going to damn well try!” Kaylie said, as Nova read the message out loud.

“Are you asking me to send that as a reply?” Nova asked.

“No. We don’t need to taunt the organizers, Kiva already did that by turning the chat room purple with yellow font.” Kaylie said.

(OOC: A huge thank-you to @VicVictory for the information! He wanted an info-burst, and honestly, I wanted to do the same, but couldn’t find the right way to ask.)

7 Likes
362

For people who are a bit behind on RP: You’ve got a little chance to catch up here. I’ve got an IRL (car-related) event planned for this weekend which requires significant disruption of my personal/sleep schedule. Hard to say when my next update will be, but 72 hours seems to be a good bet.

5 Likes
363

TGGBA: SC

They trundle along at a reasonable pace.

YURI began speaking to EMILY about the dream.

YURI: “Emily… last time I slept I had a really weird dream”, spoke in a somewhat weak voice.
EMILY: “What happened!?”
YURI: "So you know when we were watching “End of Evangelion”… I had a dream like the “End of Evangelion.”
EMILY: “Sounds interesting…”
YURI: “So basically, I was piloting some mecha thing called “Unit-E231” along with two other units, another girl in the “Unit-E331” and a boy in “Unit-E233”, and we had to fight a lot of these weird big creatures, which were very powerful, just as powerful as our mecha robot things. The “E233” was very damaged later, and suddenly I had a flashback to when we first went to see these mecha, where a Haruna Isekai picked me up from a stopped van and took me there.”
EMILY: “Wow… that somehow sounds awfully like the End of Evangelion at parts.”
YURI: “In the end, I went to save Keiji.”
EMILY: “Who’s Keiji?”
YURI: “Keiji… he piloted Unit-E233.”
EMILY: “Wait, you said about being picked up from a stopped van?”
YURI: “Yes. I was in a van touring America with 2 boys and a girl, and at some point we stopped.”
EMILY: “Why does this sound so familiar?”
YURI: “Wait. It could happen?”
EMILY: "It’s only a dream… I don’t think it’ll happen.
YURI: notices a red Isekai pass them “I hope no–なに！？” (What!?)
EMILY: “What’s wrong?”
YURI: “I just saw a Haruna Isekai.”
EMILY: “Don’t worry, all will be fine.”
YURI whimpers and trembles in fear that she will experience that scene similar to “End of Evangelion” in reality.
Yuri’s concern that her dream may be reality. Emily tries to help her, but it doesn’t do anything.

3 Likes
364

Previous time block

Sunday, 2PM - 4PM Eastern Time

Legend of Terms:

POI NOTE: I will NOT be pre-warning of upcoming POI points. I will ONLY auto-stop teams for two things: fuel and, when completely exhausted, rest. Anything else you want (including tourist POI, restaurants, premature fuel, rest at any point before complete exhaustion), YOU need to PM me in advance (before I run the time block that you’d complete it in). Also, please don’t map out everything from here to the end in one PM… try to keep it within a couple time blocks. Remember: Tourist POI and sit-down restaurants (not fast food) give bonuses to morale and fatigue, but take some time. Tourist POI also give points to the POI award at the end.

BD: Block Distance. This is the amount of mileage covered during the current 2 hour period.
OD: Overall Distance. This is the total distance that the team has covered since the event started.
FS: Fuel Status. Approximate fuel reading on the vehicle’s fuel gauge.
MRL: Morale modifier
FTG: Fatigue Level
Last Town: Last town of note that was passed (will not include tiny villages)
Next Waypoint: Should be self explanatory.
Weather Condition: Current weather condition at the end of the time block.
Notes: Any notes I have for your team during this time block. Including POI results, car issues, etc.

VicVictory:
BD: 151 mi OD: 2466 mi FS: 1/3 MRL: +1 FTG: +4
Last Town: Rocky River, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issues: Smell of burning transmission fluid.

@Elizipeazie:
BD: 133 mi OD: 2356 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: +6
Last Town: Holiday River, OH Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Holiday River, OH. Team is starting to feel tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@kobacrashi:
BD: 137 mi OD: 2560 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: +6
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather: 89 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Erie, PA. Team is feeling slightly tired.
Ongoing issue: Car is making a fairly intense grinding noise when turning right.

@Madrias:
BD: 103 mi OD: 2560 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: +6
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 89 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled and performed an oil change in Erie, PA. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH
Ongoing issue: Rattling noise in engine. Chip in windshield.

@Mikonp7:
BD: 137 mi OD: 2507 mi FS: 3/4+ MRL: +0 FTG: +10
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Cleveland, OH. Team is exhausted and will autostop next time block unless otherwise specified. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Centurion_23:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2028 mi FS: 3/4+ MRL: -0 FTG: +3
Last Town: Rockford, IL Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 89 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is in the middle of replacing the rear main seal. Repair will bleed into the next time block.
Ongoing issues: SES light is on. Rear main seal is leaking (repair in progress)

@Xepy:
BD: 148 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: 3/4+ MRL: +1 FTG: +6
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team has refueled in Toledo, OH. Team is starting to feel slightly fatigued. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Boiled_Steak:
BD: 126 mi OD: 2334 mi FS: 1/2- MRL: +0 FTG: +8
Last Town: Holiday River, OH Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is tired. NEW ISSUE: car is down on power, and backfiring frequently. SES is on.
Ongoing issue: Slight hesitation at high speed. Hesitation is getting worse.

@GetWrekt01:
BD: 141 mi OD: 2337 mi FS: 1/3 MRL: +0 FTG: +2
Last Town: Holiday River, OH Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has has completed repairs. NEW ISSUE: SES re-illuminates after 15 minutes on the freeway. Team is starting to feel slightly fatigued. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: SES light is on.

@Ryan93:
BD: 0 mi OD: 1962 mi FS: LOW MRL: +3 FTG: -6
Last Town: Madison, WI Next Waypoint: Red Cloud Park
Weather Condition: 82 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has eaten a BBQ picnic meal, and checked into the Hampton Inn in Madison, WI. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Radster:
BD: 144 mi OD: 2442 mi FS: LOW MRL: +1 FTG: +9
Last Town: Toledo, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint completed: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team is very tired and will auto-stop next time block unless otherwise specified.

@SkylineFTW97:
BD: 152 mi OD: 2007 mi FS: 2/3+ MRL: +0 FTG: +3
Last Town: Rockford, IL Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Wisconsin Dells, WI.

@Keikyun:
BD: 135 mi OD: 2351 mi FS: 1/3 MRL: +0 FTG: +4
Last Town: Holiday River, OH Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

Vehicles that are traveling in packs:

Note: vehicles within ~5 miles of each other are within CB range. Group chats via social media are available.

Team Greasy Lightning

“Ugh, it’s getting worse!” Jen groaned and wrinkled her nose.

“You’re just imagining things, dear,” Rick soothed.

Fuzz looked down at the dash, taking stock of the gauges. Nothing out of the order, no pressure or temperature warnings. “I dunno. Everything feels fine, but I gotta agree with Jen. It seems like it’s getting worse.”

Rick shrugged. “We’ll check the fluid at the next stop.”

6 Likes
365

Team Tiger Trouble (+1)

Kaylie pulled into the gas station, the Sinistra’s engine coming to a rattling stop as they all got out. Kayden was paying for the gas, Kaylie was going to do the oil change, Jaden was heading in for some snacks with his new ID and credit card, and Kiva was being barely helpful by moving the seats around so that Kayden could drive.

While Kaylie was busy with adding fresh oil, they heard a horrible crunching, grinding rattling noise as a Reduit GSR 20 (@kobacrashi) joined them at the station.

“Hey, that’s one of your competitors, Tier 3 Autosport.” Kiva said, before Kayden grabbed Kiva’s hand and pulled him back into the front passenger seat, the hybrid landing in the seat with a grunt.

“We have no reason to prank them.” Kayden said. Just then, Jaden joined them with the big bag of junk food, and said, “Twin Suns, that boxy thing over there made a lot of noise when it arrived.”

“Yeah, that wagon sounds quite bad indeed. Sun and Moon, I’d place good money on the CV joint going out.” Kiva said, watching as they got back in after refueling. Kayden, Kaylie, and Jaden were also in the Sinistra at this point, and the two teams started their cars at the same time. The Sinistra Traville gave a tremendous rattling roar as Kayden mashed the gas pedal, aiming to get on the road just before the Reduit could, though it was door to door with them once they hit the road.

Kiva cackled as the two cars began the slow drag-race, blocking faster traffic as they were urged onward by drivers more intent on saving their cars than actually pulling a sizable lead.

3 Likes
366

Previous time block

Sunday, 4PM - 6PM Eastern Time

Legend of Terms:

POI NOTE: I will NOT be pre-warning of upcoming POI points. I will ONLY auto-stop teams for two things: fuel and, when completely exhausted, rest. Anything else you want (including tourist POI, restaurants, premature fuel, rest at any point before complete exhaustion), YOU need to PM me in advance (before I run the time block that you’d complete it in). Also, please don’t map out everything from here to the end in one PM… try to keep it within a couple time blocks. Remember: Tourist POI and sit-down restaurants (not fast food) give bonuses to morale and fatigue, but take some time. Tourist POI also give points to the POI award at the end.

BD: Block Distance. This is the amount of mileage covered during the current 2 hour period.
OD: Overall Distance. This is the total distance that the team has covered since the event started.
FS: Fuel Status. Approximate fuel reading on the vehicle’s fuel gauge.
MRL: Morale modifier
FTG: Fatigue Level
Last Town: Last town of note that was passed (will not include tiny villages)
Next Waypoint: Should be self explanatory.
Weather Condition: Current weather condition at the end of the time block.
Notes: Any notes I have for your team during this time block. Including POI results, car issues, etc.

VicVictory:
BD: 107 mi OD: 2573 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: +5
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: NEW ISSUE: Transmission has started to slip. Team has stopped in Erie, PA to refuel and drain/fill trans fluid. Team is starting to feel slightly fatigued. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issues: Smell of burning transmission fluid.

@Elizipeazie:
BD: 142 mi OD: 2488 mi FS: 1/2+ MRL: +1 FTG: +8
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint completed: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team is tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@kobacrashi:
BD: 140 mi OD: 2700 mi FS: 1/2- MRL: +1 FTG: +8
Last Town: Buffalo, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Niagara Falls. Team is very tired and will auto-stop next time block unless otherwise specified.
Ongoing issue: Car is making a fairly intense grinding noise when turning right.

@Madrias:
BD: 143 mi OD: 2703 mi FS: FULL MRL: +1 FTG: +8
Last Town: Buffalo, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Niagara Falls. Team is feeling tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH
Ongoing issue: Rattling noise in engine. Chip in windshield.

@Mikonp7:
BD: 55 mi OD: 2562 mi FS: 2/3 MRL: +1 FTG: +1
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has stopped for the night at the Cobblestone Hotel in Erie, PA. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Centurion_23:
BD: 97 mi OD: 2125 mi FS: 1/2+ MRL: +0 FTG: +1
Last Town: Chicago, IL Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has finished repairing the rear main seal. Team has run into moderate traffic going through the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
Ongoing issues: SES light is on.

@Xepy:
BD: 153 mi OD: 2604 mi FS: 1/2 MRL: +9
Last town: Erie, PA. Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Boiled_Steak:
BD: 117 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: 3/4 MRL: +1 FTG: +10
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team is exhausted and has auto-stopped at the Comfort Inn Downtown in Cleveland, OH.
Ongoing issue: SES is on. Car is down on power, and backfiring frequently.

@GetWrekt01:
BD: 136 mi OD: 2473 mi FS: 1/3 MRL: +1 FTG: +4
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team has refueled in Cleveland, OH. Team is feeling slightly tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: SES light is on.

@Ryan93:
BD: 0 mi OD: 1962 mi FS: LOW MRL: +3 FTG: -6
Last Town: Madison, WI Next Waypoint: Red Cloud Park
Weather Condition: 84 degrees, clear
Notes: Team his asleep at the Hampton Inn in Madison, WI. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Radster:
BD: 9 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: FULL MRL: +1 FTG: -4
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Cleveland, OH. Team has checked in for the night at the Comfort Inn in Cleveland, OH.

@SkylineFTW97:
BD: 113 mi OD: 2120 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: +5
Last Town: Chicago, IL Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Chicago, IL. Team has encountered moderate traffic in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Team is starting to feel slightly fatigued.

@Keikyun:
BD: 133 mi OD: 2485 mi FS: FULL MRL: +1 FTG: +6
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 88 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team has refueled in Cleveland, OH. NEW ISSUE: Stereo has failed. Team will suffer a comfort penalty. Team is starting to feel slightly fatigued. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

Vehicles that are traveling in packs:

Note: vehicles within ~5 miles of each other are within CB range. Group chats via social media are available.

Team Greasy Lightning

It didn’t take long for Fuzz to figure out that their transmission fluid needed to be changed. Between the smell, and the burned brown color readily apparent on the stick as he pulled it out, it was all he needed to know to make the decision to pull the plug and drain as much of the old fluid from the transmission as possible.

Yes, as he was refilling it, his sister became the bearer of bad news.

“I’ve been on like four different forums, guys,” she said solemnly. “I guess these things have a lot of transmission problems. And that if you’re burning trans fluid, your torque converter is probably shot.”

“What?” Fuzz grumbled. “No way. Senators are supposed to have some of the best automatics out there.”

Jen sighed. “I’m just reading what this says.”

Rick wiped his hands on a shop rag and peeked over her shoulder as she scrolled through a message thread. “Wait, scroll back a sec. Yeah, right there.” He paused, mouthing the words first before repeating them. “You don’t normally hear about this problem because the same transmission is used in all Senator models. But Keystone didn’t beef up the trans for the M37 trim, so they have too much power for the trans.”

“God damn it,” Fuzz cursed. “That’s bullshit.”

“It’s right here,” Rick shot back.

Fuzz continued to utter curses under his breath as he finished refilling the Senator with fresh fluid.

5 Likes
367

Team Tiger Trouble (+1)

Kaylie kept looking back out of the rear window as Kayden kept his clawed and rather heavy foot on the gas pedal. “They’re falling behind.” She said, her tail twitching. Kiva looked around the headrest of the passenger seat, and Jaden saw the small gold ring in Kiva’s eyes thicken up, threatening to hide his natural purple.

“Nah, I can still see them clearly, Kayden. I’d guess maybe three miles back.” Kiva said. Jaden, figuring out what Kiva had done, carefully reached into the bag of snacks and grabbed the box of gummy worms, looking for a green one, before moving as far away from Kiva as he could manage in the car. With a quick and unpracticed motion, Jaden stuck the gummy worm up in front of Kiva’s right eye. Kiva gave a startled flinch, his eyes quickly snapping back to their usual purple.

“Asshole.” Kiva growled. “I thought that was a snake at first.”

Jaden smiled, then said, “I figured when I saw your eyes changing color, you had to have Drakian eyes. Spoke to a few of them, so I know about the optical zoom thing. It is how I know you have a narrow visual cone when doing that, and I figured that a prank on the prankster made a good idea.”

Kiva chuckled, then said, “If I knew you were into pranks, Jaden, I wouldn’t have let my guard down about zooming in like that. I’ll remember that for the future.”

Kayden asked, “What’s it like, being able to do that?”

Kiva shrugged, then said, “Most days, I don’t use it. I suppose it’s like carrying reading glasses or a magnifying glass with you, and using that, but not having to remember that you need it. Of course, it’s a bitch when I’m tired. Bad enough trying to deal with fatigue making it hard to focus, but if I’ve had to use that natural zoom a few times in a day, I end up with sore eyes that struggle to focus after a few hours. Still, I’d rather have it than not having it. If anything, the one thing I’d change about my eyes if I could, it’s the whole “full-spectrum” thing.”

Kayden asked, “Full-spectrum?”

Kiva gave a light nod, then said, “Seeing into the near-infrared and ultraviolet ranges. Really fucks up my color spectrum and brightness of things.”

Kaylie nodded, then said, “You see everything as being brighter than it is, right?” When Kiva nodded, Kaylie grinned before continuing, “I figured that out when you told me about the bright pink and neon orange ribbons you used on Greasy Lightning’s car.”

“Well, there were some in the store that were practically glowing, and I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s eyes, specifically my own, with those ribbons.” Kiva replied.

Jaden said, “I’m starting to get a bit hungry.”

“We’ll stop soon enough for food.” Kayden said.

4 Likes
368

Sunday, 6PM - 8PM Eastern Time
Legend of Terms:
POI NOTE: I will NOT be pre-warning of upcoming POI points. I will ONLY auto-stop teams for two things: fuel and, when completely exhausted, rest. Anything else you want (including tourist POI, restaurants, premature fuel, rest at any point before complete exhaustion), YOU need to PM me in advance (before I run the time block that you’d complete it in). Also, please don’t map out everything from here to the end in one PM… try to keep it within a couple time blocks. Remember: Tourist POI and sit-down restaurants (not fast food) give bonuses to morale and fatigue, but take some time. Tourist POI also give points to the POI award at the end.

BD: Block Distance. This is the amount of mileage covered during the current 2 hour period.
OD: Overall Distance. This is the total distance that the team has covered since the event started.
FS: Fuel Status. Approximate fuel reading on the vehicle’s fuel gauge.
MRL: Morale modifier
FTG: Fatigue Level
Last Town: Last town of note that was passed (will not include tiny villages)
Next Waypoint: Should be self explanatory.
Weather Condition: Current weather condition at the end of the time block.
Notes: Any notes I have for your team during this time block. Including POI results, car issues, etc.

VicVictory:
BD: 153 mi OD: 2726 mi FS: 1/4 MRL: +1 FTG: +7
Last Town: Buffalo, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Niagara Falls. Team is feeling slightly tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issues: Smell of burning transmission fluid, minor slippage of transmission.

@Elizipeazie:
BD: 71 mi OD: 2559 mi FS: FULL MRL: +1 FTG: +1
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Erie, PA and checked into the Cobblestone Hotel. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@kobacrashi:
BD: 123 mi OD: 2824 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: +10
Last Town: Syracuse, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Syracuse, NY and checked in for the night at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Syracuse.
Ongoing issue: Car is making a fairly intense grinding noise when turning right.

@Madrias:
BD: 74 mi OD: 2777 mi FS: FULL MRL: +1 FTG: +3
Last Town: Clifton Springs, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Clifton Springs, NY and stopped for food at Warfield’s Restaurant. Team is tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH
Ongoing issue: Rattling noise in engine. Chip in windshield.

@Mikonp7:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2562 mi FS: 2/3 MRL: +0 FTG: -8
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Cobblestone Hotel in Erie, PA. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Centurion_23:
BD: 138 mi OD: 2263 mi FS: 1/4 MRL: +0 FTG: +3
Last Town: South Bend, IN Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 85 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has passed into the Eastern Time Zone. Team is starting to feel slightly fatigued.
Ongoing issues: SES light is on.

@Xepy:
BD: 149 mi OD: 2753 mi FS: LOW MRL: +0 FTG: +11
Last town: Buffalo, NY. Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Niagara Falls. Team is exhausted and will autostop next time block unless otherwise specified. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Boiled_Steak:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: 3/4 MRL: +0 FTG: -9
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Comfort Inn Downtown in Cleveland, OH.
Ongoing issue: SES is on. Car is down on power, and backfiring frequently.

@GetWrekt01:
BD: 150 mi OD: 2623 mi FS: 1/2+ MRL: +0 FTG: +6
Last Town: Fredonia, NY Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is feeling tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: SES light is on.

@Ryan93:
BD: 0 mi OD: 1962 mi FS: LOW MRL: +1 FTG: +0
Last Town: Madison, WI Next Waypoint: Red Cloud Park
Weather Condition: 84 degrees, clear
Notes: Team wakes up at 7pm and will be on the road at the beginning of the next time block. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Radster:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: -9
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 85 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Comfort Inn in Cleveland, OH.

@SkylineFTW97:
BD: 144 mi OD: 2264 mi FS: 1/4+ MRL: +0 FTG: +7
Last Town: South Bend, IN Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has crossed into the Eastern Time Zone. Team is slightly tired.

@Keikyun:
BD: 138 mi OD: 2623 mi FS: 1/2+ MRL: +0 FTG: +7
Last Town: Fredonia, NY Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: Stereo has failed.

Vehicles that are traveling in packs:

Note: vehicles within ~5 miles of each other are within CB range. Group chats via social media are available.

Team Greasy Lightning
(Later)

5 Likes
369

Team Tiger Trouble (+1)

“Three tigers and a hellhound walk into a restaurant.” Kiva mumbled as they walked into Warfield’s Restaurant.

With food and a table, the four started talking strategy.

“So, I kinda noticed that you weren’t quite treating this as a race.” Kiva said, and Kaylie nodded in reply, swallowing a mostly chewed mouthful of food before saying, “Nova said something about turtles and rabbits earlier. We’ve been saving the car for the end of the run.”

Jaden grinned, then said, “Well, this would be a good time to pick up our pace. I’d volunteer to drive, but I can’t do it for very long.”

Kaylie added, “I already had a turn today. I can’t do another.” Kiva gave the three of them a pointed look, then said, “No. I’m not registered for this challenge, so I can’t drive. Plus, I’m not wrecking your car and eating the blame because of it.”

Kayden shrugged, then said, “I can keep going, but I am not going to like it.” Jaden looked at Kayden with shock on his face.

“You would use that? I know you had the ability, but to use it in a time of peace…” Jaden said, seeming stunned.

Kiva looked in thought, then gave a knowing nod. “His nanites. You’re really going to use Combat Mode, Kayden? I’ve seen Mal do that, but only when someone attacked him personally.”

Kayden nodded, and as they finished their meal, the four headed back to the Sinistra Traville. Kayden took the driver’s seat again, Jaden took the passenger seat, and Kiva sat next to Kaylie in the back.

Kayden flipped open Nova’s screen, tapped in a six digit code, then said, “Nova, prepare for battle, safeties limited.”

“Confirming combat mode set, safeties set. Limiting perception of fatigue and pain, increasing oxygen uptake by increased respiration, accelerating heart rate. Engaging fight-or-flight response with instinct suppression.” Nova responded, her voice no longer the light-hearted feline, instead the sound of a harsh, war-weathered battle-maiden.

The changes in Kayden were visibly obvious. While he’d been relaxed mere seconds before, he was now as tense as a bowstring ready to fire, his breathing deepened and slightly growling through sheer volume of airflow, and his blue eyes were wide open, reflecting the dim light from the streetlights.

“Yeah, that looks like what I expected.” Kiva said, as Kayden turned the key. The Sinistra rattled to life, and as they hit the road, it was obvious that things going forward were going to be very different.

5 Likes
370

Team Gizzle

Later :slight_smile:

2 Likes
371

Previous Time Block

Sunday, 8PM - 10PM Eastern Time

Legend of Terms:

POI NOTE: I will NOT be pre-warning of upcoming POI points. I will ONLY auto-stop teams for two things: fuel and, when completely exhausted, rest. Anything else you want (including tourist POI, restaurants, premature fuel, rest at any point before complete exhaustion), YOU need to PM me in advance (before I run the time block that you’d complete it in). Also, please don’t map out everything from here to the end in one PM… try to keep it within a couple time blocks. Remember: Tourist POI and sit-down restaurants (not fast food) give bonuses to morale and fatigue, but take some time. Tourist POI also give points to the POI award at the end.

BD: Block Distance. This is the amount of mileage covered during the current 2 hour period.
OD: Overall Distance. This is the total distance that the team has covered since the event started.
FS: Fuel Status. Approximate fuel reading on the vehicle’s fuel gauge.
MRL: Morale modifier
FTG: Fatigue Level
Last Town: Last town of note that was passed (will not include tiny villages)
Next Waypoint: Should be self explanatory.
Weather Condition: Current weather condition at the end of the time block.
Notes: Any notes I have for your team during this time block. Including POI results, car issues, etc.

VicVictory:
BD: 107 mi OD: 2833 mi FS: 3/4+ MRL: +1 FTG: +5
Last Town: Syracuse, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather Condition: 78 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Clifton Springs, NY. Team has stopped for dinner at Dinosaur Bar-B-Q in Syracuse, NY. This will bleed into the next time block. Team is feeling tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issues: Smell of burning transmission fluid, minor slippage of transmission.

@Elizipeazie:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2559 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: -9
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 74 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Cobblestone Hotel. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@kobacrashi:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2824 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: -10
Last Town: Syracuse, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather: 78 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Syracuse.
Ongoing issue: Car is making a fairly intense grinding noise when turning right.

@Madrias:
BD: 159 mi OD: 2936 mi FS: 1/3+ MRL: -1 FTG: +4
Last Town: Fort Plain, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather Condition: 78 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is very tired. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH
Ongoing issue: Rattling noise in engine. Chip in windshield.

@Mikonp7:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2562 mi FS: 2/3 MRL: +0 FTG: -11
Last Town: Erie, PA Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 74 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Cobblestone Hotel in Erie, PA. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Centurion_23:
BD: 134 mi OD: 2397 mi FS: FULL- MRL: +1 FTG: +6
Last Town: Toledo, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 73 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Swanton, OH. Waypoint complete: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team is feeling slightly tired.
Ongoing issues: SES light is on.

@Xepy:
BD: 80 mi OD: 2833 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: +8
Last town: Syracuse, NY. Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather Condition: 77 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Syracuse, NY. Team is exhausted and has stopped at the Marriott Downtown in Syracuse, NY. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Boiled_Steak:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: 3/4 MRL: +0 FTG: -11
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 74 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Comfort Inn Downtown in Cleveland, OH.
Ongoing issue: SES is on. Car is down on power, and backfiring frequently.

@GetWrekt01:
BD: 151 mi OD: 2774 mi FS: LOW MRL: +0 FTG: +8
Last Town: Clifton Springs, NY Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Clifton Springs. Team is feeling very tired and will autostop next time block unless otherwise specified. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: SES light is on.

@Ryan93:
BD: 149 mi OD: 2111 mi FS: 1/2 MRL: +0 FTG: +0
Last Town: Chicago, IL Next Waypoint: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum
Weather Condition: 75 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Madison, WI. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.

@Radster:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: FULL MRL: +0 FTG: -10
Last Town: Cleveland, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 74 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is asleep at the Comfort Inn in Cleveland, OH.

@SkylineFTW97:
BD: 142 mi OD: 2406 mi FS: 1/2+ MRL: +0 FTG: +9
Last Town: Toledo, OH Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 84 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Holiday City, OH. Waypoint complete: Toledo Ironworks Heritage Museum. Team is very tired and will autostop next time block unless otherwise specified.

@Keikyun:
BD: 65 mi OD: 2688 mi FS: 1/2- MRL: +1 FTG: -1
Last Town: Buffalo, NY Next Waypoint: Niagara Falls
Weather Condition: 74 degrees, clear
Notes: Waypoint complete: Niagara Falls. Team has checked into the Embassy Suites in Buffalo, NY. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: Stereo has failed.

Vehicles that are traveling in packs:

Note: vehicles within ~5 miles of each other are within CB range. Group chats via social media are available.

Team Greasy Lightning

Jen: Hungry and rather tired. Needs beer and BBQ.
Fuzz: Super hungry. Definitely needs BBW, annoyed that he’s driving the next leg and can’t drink.
Rick: Worried that there will be a belching and farting contest in the car afterward, despite Fuzz not having alcohol.

5 Likes
372

Team Tiger Trouble (+1)

The engine roared as Kayden put his huge foot down, launching the Traville down nearly empty streets. Kaylie gripped the front edge of the rear bench as the car got a little bit light over a small bump, while Jaden familiarized himself with what the humans commonly called the “Jesus Handle” above the passenger seat. Kiva seemed completely unfazed by the rougher ride, even seeming to relax more as Kayden picked up the pace.

“How does this,” Kaylie started to say, though paused as the Traville went light again through an intersection, “not bother you at all?!”

Kiva laughed, a somewhat musical sound similar to a rain of small glass fragments, then said, “This is my normal. I drive an off-road converted muscle car and I like going fast.”

Jaden growled as Kayden floored the car through a yellow light. “You might not get hurt if we crash, Kayden, but I will. Don’t do that.”

Kayden turned to glare at his brother, who instantly backed down, aware that Kayden wasn’t quite all there right now, his mind focused on one task to the exclusion of every other thing. When Kayden went back to watching the road, Jaden tried to relax, realizing just how close he’d been to reassigning Kayden’s focus from ‘drive the transport’ to ‘beat on my brother’ and resolved to avoid that for the near future.

As if the car wasn’t already cramped, Nova spoke up with, “Kaylie, Kivenaal, make some room back there.” Kiva slid closer to the door, as did Kaylie, and Nova fired up her hard-light holographic projector, appearing in the back seat between them. Unlike before, where she was dressed in a flowing white robe, Nova was now dressed in full plate armor, showing that she was just as affected by Kayden’s battle mode as he was. Even though it was just her choice to represent herself, Nova felt more secure in at least appearing armored, with her armor painted to match her stripes.

As Kayden kept driving, it was obvious that being in battle mode without a fight was starting to wear on him just a little. Nova mentioned to Kiva, “At the next fuel stop, Kaylie will fill the fuel tank, but you will need to spar with Kayden, Kivenaal. He has been battle ready for two Earth hours, and there has been no battle to fight. The Tigrilan military often had warriors sparring before large battles to keep them combat ready. As the only other one in this vessel with fighting experience and the ability to heal from any accidental injuries, I have to ask you.”

Kiva shrugged, then asked, “Why can’t you do it, then? I know your hard-light mode lets you hit and be hit.”

“It is not the same. Yes, he could spar with me, but it would take twice as long and do half as much for his needs. A match against you would only take a few minutes, and would get his adrenaline back up, as well as burning off the restless energy in favor of useful energy.” Nova replied.

“So, lemme get this straight: You want me, the unarmed and unarmored hybrid, to fight against a much larger and stronger warrior who just happens to have armor and a blade. I might have my crazy moments, but I don’t have a death wish.” Kiva said.

Jaden looked at Kiva, then said, “It might be a tight fit, but I have my ceremonial armor in the cargo bay. You are about the same height as me, but you’re built more like Kayden is.”

“Well, that solves armor, but weapons are still an issue.” Kiva said.

Nova suddenly said, “Having analyzed the contents of your bag, you have enough materials to make a makeshift dueling staff. Two, if you do not mess up the first one. The cardboard tubes from the gift wrapping paper would have sufficient structural integrity to handle one duel. Properly reinforced with the clear package sealing tape, they would be robust enough to last far longer than necessary. I might be able to provide assistance in the construction of these items.”

Kiva grabbed the six empty cardboard tubes, then the tape. Nova helped with sliding the tubes together and applying tape where it was needed most for reinforcement, as well as helping Kiva cut the tubes to the right lengths.

When they were done, Kiva had two complete dueling sticks, each barely six feet in length, ready for the inevitable duel.

“Well, at least you’ll look the part when Kayden gives you a royal beating across the parking lot.” Jaden said. Kiva glared at him, then said, “Looks like I’ll have a duel with the Warrior, and a duel at Dawn, then.”

Nova nodded, then said, “I was beginning to wonder what those pistols were for. Unconventional, but I suppose they work for the purpose.”

3 Likes
373

Team Gizzle
Later again… kind of busy this week sry guys I will do it later.

1 Like
374

Previous Time Block

Final Results

Legend of Terms:

POI NOTE: I will NOT be pre-warning of upcoming POI points. I will ONLY auto-stop teams for two things: fuel and, when completely exhausted, rest. Anything else you want (including tourist POI, restaurants, premature fuel, rest at any point before complete exhaustion), YOU need to PM me in advance (before I run the time block that you’d complete it in). Also, please don’t map out everything from here to the end in one PM… try to keep it within a couple time blocks. Remember: Tourist POI and sit-down restaurants (not fast food) give bonuses to morale and fatigue, but take some time. Tourist POI also give points to the POI award at the end.

BD: Block Distance. This is the amount of mileage covered during the current 2 hour period.
OD: Overall Distance. This is the total distance that the team has covered since the event started.
FS: Fuel Status. Approximate fuel reading on the vehicle’s fuel gauge.
MRL: Morale modifier
FTG: Fatigue Level
Last Town: Last town of note that was passed (will not include tiny villages)
Next Waypoint: Should be self explanatory.
Weather Condition: Current weather condition at the end of the time block.
Notes: Any notes I have for your team during this time block. Including POI results, car issues, etc.

VicVictory:
BD: 327 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: LOW MRL: -1 FTG: +13
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 62 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Albany, NY. Waypoint complete: New York State Museum. Waypoint complete: Logan Airport. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issues: Smell of burning transmission fluid, minor slippage of transmission.
FINAL STATUS: Team crosses the finish line at approximately 320am Monday morning. Final MRL/FTG: +15 (YEEHAW!) / +37 (Holy crap. Bed, NOW.)

@Elizipeazie:
BD: 0 mi OD: 2559 mi FS: FULL MRL: +4 FTG: -2
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 81 degrees, clear
Notes: Team wakes up and gets back on the road at 2a. Team has refueled in Clifton Springs, NY. Team has completed 3 waypoints. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
FINAL STATUS: Team arrives at approximately 1110a Monday morning. Final FTG/MRL: +17 (YEEHAW!) / +13 (Slightly fatigued)

@kobacrashi:
koba
BD: 0 mi OD: 2824 mi FS: FULL MRL: -3 FTG: -25
Last Town: Syracuse, NY Next Waypoint: New York State Museum
Weather: 64 degrees, clear
Notes: Team wakes up and is ready to go by 2 am. Car will not move and makes a grinding noise when attempting to do so.
CRITICAL FAILURE: Failing right front CV shaft has stripped out the hub. While this would be considered fixable, failure occurred after the first team crossed the finish line, thus team is considered out.
FINAL MRL/FTG: +5 (not bad) / +0 (feeling fresh)

@Madrias:
BD: 224 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: LOW MRL: +2 FTG: +11
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 62 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled in Albany, NY. Waypoint Complete: New York State Museum. Waypoint Complete: Logan Airport. Team is EXHAUSTED. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: Rattling noise in engine (Noise has intensified). Chip in windshield.
FINAL STATUS: Team crosses the finish line FIRST, at 109am ET, Monday morning. Engine is wheezing and rattling like a paint can, but still running. Final FTG/MRL: +17 (YEEEEHAW!) / +39 (Holy Crap. Bed. NOW.)

@Mikonp7:
BD: 598 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: 1/4 MRL: +4 FTG: +0
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 80 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is on the road at 2a. Team has completed 3 waypoints and refueled twice. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
FINAL STATUS: Team crosses the finish line at approx 1045a Monday morning. FINAL MRL/FTG: +15 (YEEHAW!) / +13 (slightly fatigued)

@Centurion_23:
BD: 763 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: 1/3 MRL: +3 FTG: +2
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 85 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has completed 3 waypoints, refueled twice, and taken a 4 hour rest break.
Ongoing issues: SES light is on.
FINAL STATUS: Team has crossed the finish line at approx 150p Monday afternoon. FINAL MRL/FTG: +7 (Pretty fun) / +20 (tired)

@Xepy:
BD: 327 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: FULL MRL: +3 FTG: -38
Last town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 80 degrees, clear
Notes: Team gets back on the road at 6a. Waypoint complete: New York State Museum. Waypoint complete: Logan Airport. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
FINAL STATUS: Team crosses the line at approx 1030a Monday morning. FINAL FTG/MRL: +3 (Feeling fresh) / +13 (YISS!)

@Boiled_Steak:
bstk
BD: 0 mi OD: 2451 mi FS: 3/4 MRL: +0 FTG: -11
Last Town: Cleveland, OH
Weather Condition: 66 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is ready for the road at 1a, but car will not start.
CRITICAL FAILURE: Cam bearings failed, cams damaged.
FINAL FTG/MRL: +0 (Feeling fresh) / +3 (aight)

@GetWrekt01:
BD: 386 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: LOW MRL: +3 FTG: -23
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 81 degrees, clear
Notes: Team stays in a hotel in Syracuse until 5a. Team has completed 2 waypoints and refueled once. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: SES light is on.
FINAL STATUS: Team crosses the finish line at approx 1215a Monday afternoon. FINAL FTG/MRL: +6 (Feeling fresh) / +16 (YEEHAW!)

@Ryan93:
BD: 1049 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: LOW MRL: +4 FTG: +30
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 63 degrees, clear
Notes: Team has refueled four times, completed four waypoints, and taken a 4 hour rest break. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
FINAL STATUS: Team has crossed the finish line just after midnight TUESDAY morning. FINAL FTG/MRL: +30 (Bed… now!) / +18 (YEEHAW!)

@Radster:
BD: 709 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: 3/4 MRL: +4 FTG: +14
Last Town: Boston, MA Next
Weather Condition: 74 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is back on the road by 11p. Team has completed 3 waypoints and refueled twice.
FINAL STATUS: Team crosses the finish line approx 850a Monday morning. FINAL FTG/MRL: +16 (Slightly tired) / +11 (YISS!)

@SkylineFTW97:
BD: 754 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: LOW MRL: +3 FTG: -5
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 86 degrees, clear
Notes: Team stops for the night, and is back on the road at 6a. Team has completed 3 waypoints and refueled 3 times.
FINAL STATUS: Team has crossed the finish line at approx 455p Monday evening. FINAL FTG/MRL: +22 (tired) / +11 (YISS!)

@Keikyun:
BD: 472 mi OD: 3160 mi FS: 2/3- MRL: +4 FTG: -12
Last Town: Boston, MA
Weather Condition: 74 degrees, clear
Notes: Team is back on the road at 3a. Team has completed 3 waypoints and refueled twice. TEAM MORALE IS HIGH.
Ongoing issue: Stereo has failed.
FINAL STATUS: Team crosses the finish line approx 835a Monday morning. Final FTG/MRL: +7 (Feeling fresh) / +17 (YEEHAW!)

Team Greasy Lightning

The lights were just a blur to Fuzz at this point. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the thought process that identified the city as Boston had failed to connect. There was the barest comprehension, only brought forth by the voice on his phone’s GPS gently barking orders, that they were near the end of the run.

Rick was sound asleep in the back of the Senator, snoring lightly as he leaned against a pillow on the door, rear window slightly cracked. Jen was awake, in the barest sense of the word. Her eyes were like garage doors propped open at the bottom, but her breathing was regular and she occasionally exhibited one of her nervous tics, a propensity to clean under her nails with her other nails.

Green exit signs flashed by, growing to a burst of brilliance as their headlights approached, only to fade just before their chariot passed by.

“Where are we?” Jen mumbled.

Before Fuzz could come up with an answer, the GPS chimed in. “In one mile, take Exit 26, Logan Airport, then, bear left.”

“There, I guess,” he responded softly.

A gentle smile crossed her lips. “We did it.”

“You wanna wake Rick for the big moment?”

She looked back at her husband. His neck was curled backward slightly, and his lips and nose twisted in a comical mask by the pillow. She shook her head. “Let him sleep. He’ll probably have to help us get settled in, anyway.”

The mile passed, and Fuzz guided the decrepit Keystone toward the short term parking area of the airport. Two minutes later, their journey ended as they pulled into a stall and set the parking brake. No sooner than Fuzz had taken a deep breath, his phone chimed with a notification.

It was a message from the event organizers.

Congratulations on completing a long, grueling road tour in your unique pile of junk. We have detected that you are within the deactivation zone, and as such, may now open the little… present… we left for you…

Fuzz looked up from his phone and grinned. “You’ve been waiting three thousand miles for this.”

OK, Here are the awards!

Time winner: @Madrias
Time average winner: @Mikonp7
POI stops winner: @Ryan93
RP awards: @Madrias, @Ryan93, @Keikyun
WWVB: @Xepy … reminds me of my old Saturn coupe.
Hard luck award: @Kubboz … the dice really didn’t like you. The eyelash mobile should have made it all the way, but instead made a really early exit.
Ballsy award: @SyberRacer … In the words of Gibbs from True Lies… “Stupid, but ballsy.”
Zen award: @Madrias is the hands down winner here. He is the only one who consistently performed both RP and pace/fatigue management from start to finish.

As for the “present” from the organizers, anyone who attempts to open it before the finish, or anyone who is considered out that attempts to open it… it immediately starts smoking and emitting a massive amount of heat, leaving only bits of burned glass and a small amount of melted metal when all is said and done. Anyone who makes it and opens it in the deactivation zone… You get a small bottle of 18 year single malt scotch, a voucher for dinner at the finest steakhouse in Boston, a dash plaque for your car or collection, and a participation trophy. And a small block that says “throw me in the big cement garbage can before you leave.”

Thank you all for participating in this round! There were a lot of fun vehicle entries and storyline posts.

12 Likes
375

Congrats to all of the winners!

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Team Tiger Trouble (+1)

After a rather vicious (at least to anyone watching who wasn’t aware that they weren’t actually trying to kill each other with the cardboard sticks) fight in the gas station, Kiva and Kayden settled back into the car. The engine fired up, this time with a bit more rattling to it, but Kayden didn’t care. He put his foot down, leaving a solid black stripe from the pump to the street as they left the lot.

Kiva looked exhausted, and slumped sideways in his seat, ending up resting against Nova’s holographic shoulder, until she admitted to Kaylie, “Holding this one up is taking a lot of effort for my hard-light generator. If you could switch seats with me, Kaylie, everyone would benefit from it.”

Kaylie nodded, unbuckling her seat belt while Nova strained to lift Kiva into a semi-stable seated position. Once she had, Nova vanished long enough for Kaylie to scoot over and get belted in, then reappeared in the window seat. Kiva leaned back over and rested his head on Kaylie’s shoulder instead, none the wiser.

Up front, Jaden was keeping his attention on the road, which wasn’t quite necessary, but he needed something to do other than annoying Kayden.

As for Kayden, he was driving like a tiger possessed, sending the car rattling past the New York State Museum as the engine started to wheeze.

Still, they did not slow down. The engine rattled, roared, and wheezed along as Kayden belted the car to Logan Airport, where he parked the car, the engine still rattling away. It kept rattling along until Kayden turned the key, and the world went silent.

Jaden looked at the dashboard clock, which read 10:10 PM, then realized that they never reset it in each time zone. Plus, how accurate could it be, anyway?

“Nova, time check?” Jaden asked.

“It is currently 5:78 in the Upper Ten.” Nova said.

“Local time, not home time, please.”

“It is currently 1:09 AM.”

Kiva woke up, then grabbed his comm and called Mal.

“Hey, we made it. Now get your fuzzy butt down here for the party.” Kiva said.

“I don’t do parties.” Malavera responded, and Kiva laughed.

“Your battle-brother just won a race, Mal. Be social for just once?”

Mal landed the Polar Star with little effort, as the ground was still mostly clear of people. He opened the hatch and stepped out, white fur and white robes making his red manes stand out as clear as daylight in the light of the parking lot.

With a bit of convincing, Team Tiger Trouble got Mal’s permission to sleep on the ship until more people arrived. The four of them got into the Maximum Readiness bays, closed the lids, and were woken up at 3:20 in the morning to meet with Greasy Lightning.

The four of them didn’t look at all as if they’d spent the past day on the road, instead looking as if they’d gotten a great night of sleep despite only being under for two hours. Malavera joined them in greeting Greasy Lightning, wanting to meet Fuzz in person.

Considering Malavera looked like a two-headed werewolf, with white fur and blood red manes, with armor on under his robe, and the mother of all rifles strapped across his back, his decision to show up when the team was exhausted was probably not the best idea in the world.

As soon as Fuzz looked up from the notification on his phone, Mal crouched down next to the car and stuck a head in through the open window.

“So, I hear you’re my new battle brother.” Mal said to Fuzz, while he looked with his other head through the rear window at Rick. Kiva showed up on Jen’s side of the car, grinning like a madman. “So, didya like the present? I don’t know what you did to Kayden that he hired me to get revenge, but I can honestly say, I am so very glad you did it. It’s not as much fun trying to prank Mal over there, he doesn’t tend to take it well.”

Kiva turned and gave a malicious grin to Jaden, before saying, “And I believe we’re still on for pistols at dawn. I don’t feel like waiting.” Kiva reached into his bag and pulled out two brightly colored foam dart guns, then said, “Orange is mine. You get Green, Jade. Fitting.”

Mal shook his left head, then said to Fuzz, “We can spar later, I need to oversee a duel.”

Kiva and Jaden stepped ten paces apart and tried their level best to hit each other with the foam darts, each time they missed taking a step closer and trying again. Kiva won the duel three steps in, with Jaden not having figured out that the dart guns don’t shoot flat.

In the meantime, Kaylie opened the box along with Kayden, and after a few seconds, Nova in her normal golden tigress form, in a brilliant golden robe. They carefully removed the bottle of scotch, grinned as they saw the steakhouse dinner voucher, and removed the dash plaque and trophy from the box.

Kiva came wandering over, spotting the block at the bottom of the box, then said, “Now that’s clever. Even I wouldn’t have been able to keep that from making a royal mess of things.”

“It’s not contraband, is it?” Kayden asked, looking at Kiva as he studied the block.

“No. At least, not the kind of contraband that gets you in trouble. I’d wager this is Thermite. Stupid stable, takes a lot of heat to set it off, but when it goes, it goes hot.” Kiva said, picking up the block and dropping it in the cement trash bin.

It was Mal who noticed that Fuzz, Jen, and Rick were about to collapse from exhaustion. “I shouldn’t do this, but so long as you take no pictures, you may rest in my ship. The sleeping bays with the golden stripes will have you feeling like you had a full night of rest in time for breakfast.”

(A big thank you to @VicVictory, for yet another awesome one of these runs. Thank you to all who participated, it was a lot of fun. For anyone who wants to, my team has no better place to be right now, so I’m up for some light role-playing for those arriving. At about 5:30 AM, we’re going to get the grill out and make up some food.)

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On the todays episode of “How the fuck it that happen”:

A rusty imported car with a “No-fucks-givin”-Turbo Setup, wins best avg time.

Thanks @VicVictory for running this. I enjoyed even tho i didnt really had time to write anything

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Pit Stop US

Way back (a day ago now?) after the crash…

J: All the trouble for this little package?
He proceeds to try to open it…

The package gets hot, and starts smoking as James drops it in surprise. He watches it catch on fire and melt very quickly in an extremely hot fire for the small size.

J: The fuck?!

Charles (still concussed): Did a stub yer toe?
James: NO! Damn package was rigged to burn up!
Charles: Oh soundsa bit like me time— He stops short as he gets flash-backs to when he served.

The Original Pit Stop crew decides to take some time off the show and let some of the newer co-hosts do it for a few episodes…

To be continued…?

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Traggiogio's BIZARRE ADVENTURE: SHITBOX CRUSADERS: ONE MORE FINAL.

After a long journey, the van reaches the final stop. Stereo dead, engine even rattlier, interior fallen apart.

D: “So here we are. We made it.”

E: “SUGOOOOI!”

H: “Hell yeah!”

Y: “Wait, I’m getting a call. It’s from Japan.”

E: “Oh, what is it about?”

Y: “I think they’re going to arrange transport.”

E: “Let’s wait in the van, and just reminisce of the fun times we had.”

Y: “Sure, why not? They sent a message too.”

E: “What is it about?”

Y: “They’re on the way, the plane just landed. They’ll be here 9:30AM.”

E: “Let’s enjoy our time together. Hey Dave and Haru, we’ll take some alone time.”

D: “Yeah, sure. We’ll take a nice walk.”

Actions of sorts happened in the van, such as reading manga, watching anime and [REDACTED].
The two arrived from their walk at 9:25.

Y: “I need to get ready, they’ll be here any moment.”

The convoy of two JRSDF Isekais make their way to their area, passing by two rare 90s vehicles.

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E: “I’ll miss you, loved spending all this time.”

D: “Great seeing you!”

H: “Best of wishes to your future!”

Y: “I’ll miss you all too…”

Suddenly, Emily spots two red-and-white Isekais marked “JRSDF UN”…

E: “Wait, are they the people from your dream?”

Y: “OH KUSO! They’re here!”

The two Isekais arrive. The first one, marked “E235” occupies a parking spot near a blue Yamanote, with the second one, “E331” parking next to the first one.

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YURI waves her last goodbye, as she gets in the Isekai marked “E331”, with 6 other people.
Featuring my awful image editing!

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The two Isekais drive off, with Emily weeping slightly.

D: “I guess I should also go. I’ll drop you off at the airport later, but let’s have one more meal together!”

H: “Em, are you okay?”

E: “I-I’m fine…”

H: “Come on, soon we’re going home.”

They get in the van.

H: “Oh, I forgot about this package. Let’s open it!”

D: “Yeah, why not?”

HARUKI opens the package. Inside is a small bottle of Scotch, a piece of paper reading something about a really fancy steakhouse, a dash plaque and a trophy. Oh, and a brick.

H: “Maybe we can go to this steakhouse?”

D: “On it.”

They drive off. Sooner or later, they arrive, and have an excellent meal…

THE END.

...or is it?

Back in the Isekais...

Yuri introduces herself to the 6 other occupants.

Y: “Hey, I’m Yuri.”

A young man introduced himself, and after him a young woman also introduced herself. They happened to be 19 years old, just like Yuri. These two are KEIJI AMEMIYA, and KAORI INOUE.

Keiji: “Hey Yuri. I’m Keiji, pleased to meet you.”
Kaori: “Hi Yuri! I’m Kaori.”

Yuri realises how similar this was to her dream, but also were some differences. For one, Kairi is now Kaori. The Isekai is a petrol engine, and is white and red rather than silver and red.

YURI, thinking “Wait, is this reality?”
YURI punches herself in the head as a reality check.
YURI: “THIS IS REALITY!?!?! なに！？”
Suddenly, a voice from front appears.

“What’s wrong”

YURI: “What is your name?”

The front passenger introduces herself as Natsuki Haruna, an engineer for the JRSDF.

Half an hour later, they arrive at the airport. They all go through and load the Isekais and themselves in a Kawasaki C-2, marked “JRSDF” with the similar paintjob to the two Isekais, except grey.
The C-2 spools up with the distinctive sound of the GE CF6 engines permeating the cabin. Soon, they are in the air!

To Be Continued...

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