#Plastic Garage Floor Tiles

[groundone1]

Types of Garage Floor Tiles

If you're looking for a way to protect your concrete garage floor, consider installing garage floor tiles. They're durable, easy to clean, and come in a wide range of colors.

Garage floor tiles are made from various materials, including hard tiles and PVC tiles. Both types can be resistant to oil, chemicals, and water. However, hard tiles are more robust and can withstand heavy weight and vehicle tires.

Another option is garage tiles that use peel-and-stick construction. These tiles require more precision, but can eliminate a jagged seam. This makes them a better choice for larger spaces.

Interlocking floor tiles offer a number of design options, including different size tiles. They're also simple to install. The best type to choose depends on the look you're going for.

Interlocking tiles can be a great way to create walking paths in your garage. Some tiles are designed with colored borders.

For a smoother look, there are garage tiles that feature a checkerboard pattern. You can also intersperse the main field tile with a contrasting color.

For a busy garage, there are slate tiles. They come in a variety of colors, and are designed for high traffic. There are also flexible tiles, which are great for commercial gyms.

There are many different types of tiles to choose from, but understanding the benefits of each one will help you make your decision. No matter which type you decide on, your new garage floor will last for years.

[morefloor12]

Plastic Tile For Garage Floor

Your garage floor is more than just a foundation for your vehicles and tools — it’s a crucial part of your home’s functionality and aesthetic. Gone are the days when garages were merely storage spaces. Today, they serve as workshops, home gyms, studios, and even entertainment spaces. With this shift in function, the importance of having a durable, stylish, and practical garage floor has never been greater. Enter plastic tiles for garage floors — an innovative and cost-effective solution that can transform your garage into a space that works for you.

In this in-depth blog, we’ll explore everything you need to know about plastic tiles for garage floors, from their benefits and types to installation tips and maintenance. Let’s dive into why plastic tiles are a fantastic choice for your garage and how they can elevate both the look and usability of your space.

Why Choose Plastic Tiles for Garage Floors?

Plastic tiles have become increasingly popular for garage flooring, and for good reason. They offer a range of benefits that make them an attractive alternative to traditional flooring options like concrete, epoxy, or even rubber. Below, we’ll break down the key reasons why plastic tiles might be the perfect fit for your garage.

1. Durability and Strength

Garages endure a lot of heavy use, from the weight of vehicles to the frequent movement of tools and equipment. Plastic tiles, often made from high-density polypropylene or PVC, are designed to withstand this wear and tear. These tiles can support thousands of pounds per square inch, making them more than capable of handling the weight of cars, motorcycles, and other heavy machinery.

Additionally, plastic tiles are resistant to cracks, chips, and other forms of damage that can occur with concrete floors. Whether you’re parking a car, working on DIY projects, or setting up a home gym, plastic tiles provide a tough and resilient surface that can handle it all.

2. Easy Installation

One of the most significant advantages of plastic tiles for garage floors is how easy they are to install. The interlocking tile design allows for quick and efficient installation without the need for adhesives, special tools, or professional help. This makes plastic tiles an excellent option for DIY enthusiasts who want to tackle the project themselves.

The installation process typically involves snapping the tiles together, much like assembling a large puzzle. Because no adhesive is required, you can start using your garage immediately after installation. Moreover, if you ever need to move or change the layout, plastic tiles can be easily removed and reinstalled without damaging the floor.

3. Variety of Styles and Colors

Garage floors no longer have to be dull or utilitarian. Plastic tiles come in a wide range of colors, patterns, and finishes, allowing you to customize your garage to suit your personal style. Whether you prefer a sleek, modern look with solid black tiles or a more dynamic appearance with a checkerboard pattern, plastic tiles offer endless possibilities for design.

Some tiles even mimic the look of more expensive materials like wood, stone, or metal, giving you the aesthetic appeal without the high cost. With so many options available, plastic tiles can help you create a garage floor that complements the rest of your home and reflects your personality.

4. Resistance to Chemicals and Stains

Garages are often exposed to various chemicals, including oil, gasoline, and cleaning solvents. Plastic tiles are highly resistant to these substances, ensuring that spills won’t permanently stain or damage your floor. Unlike concrete, which can absorb liquids and develop unsightly stains, plastic tiles are non-porous and can be easily wiped clean.

This chemical resistance is particularly valuable if you frequently work on cars or use your garage as a workshop. Knowing that your floor is protected from potential damage gives you peace of mind and allows you to focus on your projects without worrying about long-term maintenance issues.

5. Slip Resistance and Safety

Safety is always a top priority in a garage, especially if you’re working with tools, heavy equipment, or vehicles. Plastic tiles are designed with safety in mind, offering slip-resistant surfaces that help prevent accidents. Many plastic tiles have textured patterns, such as diamond plate or coin designs, which enhance traction and reduce the risk of slipping, even when the floor is wet.

Additionally, plastic tiles are more forgiving than concrete in the event of a fall. The slight flexibility of the material can cushion impacts, making your garage a safer environment for you and your family.

6. Comfort and Insulation

Garages can be cold, uncomfortable places to spend long periods of time, especially if you’re standing on a hard concrete floor. Plastic tiles offer a more comfortable surface to walk and work on, providing a slight cushioning effect that reduces fatigue. This can be especially beneficial if you use your garage as a workshop or home gym, where comfort is essential for extended activities.

Plastic tiles also offer some insulation benefits, helping to regulate the temperature in your garage. This can make your garage warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, creating a more pleasant environment for all your activities.

7. Easy Maintenance

One of the best things about plastic tiles for garage floors is how easy they are to maintain. Regular sweeping or vacuuming will keep the floor free of dust and debris, while occasional mopping with a mild detergent will help keep the tiles looking their best. Since the tiles are resistant to stains and chemicals, you won’t have to worry about deep cleaning or refinishing the floor as you would with concrete or epoxy coatings.

Moreover, because plastic tiles are modular, any damaged tiles can be easily replaced without affecting the rest of the floor. This makes long-term maintenance incredibly convenient and cost-effective.

Types of Plastic Tiles for Garage Floors

Not all plastic tiles are created equal. Depending on your specific needs, there are various types of plastic tiles to choose from. Let’s explore the different options available and their unique features.

1. Rigid Plastic Tiles (Polypropylene)

Rigid plastic tiles are made from high-density polypropylene, a material known for its strength and durability. These tiles are typically used in environments that require a tough, impact-resistant floor. They are also resistant to most chemicals and offer excellent load-bearing capacity, making them ideal for garages that house vehicles and heavy equipment.

Rigid plastic tiles usually come with a textured surface, such as a diamond plate or coin pattern, which adds to their slip-resistant properties. These tiles are available in a variety of colors and finishes, allowing you to create a customized look for your garage.

Advantages of Rigid Plastic Tiles:

High Durability: Can handle heavy loads and frequent use.

Chemical Resistance: Protects against oil, gasoline, and other substances.

Slip Resistance: Textured surfaces provide additional safety.

Design Options: Available in multiple colors and patterns for personalization.

2. Flexible Plastic Tiles (PVC)

Flexible plastic tiles are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a softer and more pliable material compared to polypropylene. These tiles are ideal for garages where comfort is a priority, such as home gyms or workshops. The flexibility of PVC tiles provides a more cushioned surface, reducing fatigue and improving comfort during extended periods of use.

PVC tiles also offer excellent resistance to chemicals, stains, and moisture, making them a practical choice for garages that see a lot of spills. They are available in various designs and can be interlocked for easy installation.

Advantages of Flexible Plastic Tiles:

Comfort: Softer surface provides cushioning and reduces fatigue.

Moisture Resistance: Non-porous surface prevents staining and water damage.

Easy Installation: Interlocking design simplifies the installation process.

Variety of Styles: Wide range of colors and patterns for a customized look.

3. Vented Plastic Tiles

Vented plastic tiles feature an open grid design that allows for drainage and airflow. These tiles are particularly useful in garages that are prone to moisture, as the vented design prevents water from pooling on the surface. This can help reduce the risk of mold or mildew forming underneath the tiles, keeping your garage floor dry and safe.

Vented plastic tiles are often used in environments where water, snow, or mud is frequently brought in, such as garages in regions with harsh winters. The open grid design also makes these tiles easy to clean, as debris can be swept or hosed away with minimal effort.

Advantages of Vented Plastic Tiles:

Moisture Control: Prevents water from pooling and promotes air circulation.

Easy Maintenance: Debris and dirt can be easily swept away.

Durability: Strong and resistant to heavy loads and chemicals.

Safety: The open grid design provides slip resistance and reduces hazards.

How to Install Plastic Tiles for Garage Floors

Installing plastic tiles in your garage is a relatively simple process, even for those with limited DIY experience. Below, we’ve outlined a step-by-step guide to help you achieve a professional-looking result.

1. Prepare the Surface

Before installing your plastic tiles, make sure the garage floor is clean and free of debris. Sweep or vacuum the floor to remove any dirt, dust, or loose particles. If there are any cracks or holes in the concrete, repair them with a suitable filler and allow them to dry completely.

Although plastic tiles can be installed over most surfaces, it’s essential to start with a clean and even foundation to ensure the tiles lock together correctly and remain secure.

2. Plan the Layout

Once the surface is prepared, plan your tile layout. Start by measuring the garage floor to determine how many tiles you’ll need. Decide on the design and pattern you want to achieve, such as a checkerboard or solid color layout.

It’s a good idea to dry-lay the tiles before locking them in place, as this will give you a chance to make adjustments to the design or placement before committing.

3. Install the Tiles

Begin installing the tiles in one corner of the garage and work your way across the floor. Most plastic tiles feature an interlocking design that snaps together without the need for adhesives. Use your hands or a rubber mallet to ensure each tile is securely connected.

As you install the tiles, periodically check that the rows remain straight and aligned. This will help you achieve a professional-looking finish.

4. Trim the Edges

Once the main area of the floor is covered, you may need to trim some tiles to fit around walls, doorways, or other obstacles. Use a utility knife or a cutting tool to make precise cuts, ensuring a snug fit against the edges.

Take your time with this step, as clean cuts will give your garage floor a polished, finished appearance.

5. Install Edge Pieces (Optional)

Many plastic tile systems offer edge pieces that create a smooth transition between the garage floor and the surrounding areas. These edge pieces are particularly useful if your garage leads directly into your home or driveway. They can be snapped into place just like the main tiles, creating a seamless and professional look.

Maintaining Plastic Tiles for Garage Floors

One of the best features of plastic tiles is how easy they are to maintain. Regular care will keep your garage floor looking great and ensure it lasts for years to come.

1. Regular Cleaning

Keep your plastic tiles clean by sweeping or vacuuming regularly to remove dirt, dust, and debris. For a deeper clean, use a mop with warm water and a mild detergent. Avoid using harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners, as these can damage the surface of the tiles.

2. Address Spills Immediately

While plastic tiles are resistant to stains and chemicals, it’s still a good idea to clean up spills as soon as they occur. Wipe up oil, gasoline, or other liquids with a cloth or paper towel to prevent them from spreading or creating slick spots on the floor.

3. Replace Damaged Tiles

If a tile becomes damaged or worn over time, it can be easily replaced. Simply remove the damaged tile and snap a new one into place. This modular design makes plastic tiles incredibly convenient for long-term maintenance and ensures that your garage floor always looks its best.

Why Plastic Tiles for Garage Floors are Perfect for More Floor

At More Floor, we understand that your garage is more than just a place to park your car. It’s an extension of your home and a space that should reflect your style and meet your practical needs. Plastic tiles for garage floors offer a versatile, durable, and visually appealing solution that can transform your garage into a space you’ll love spending time in.

Whether you’re looking to create a workshop, a home gym, or simply a more organized and attractive garage, plastic tiles provide the perfect foundation. With their easy installation, wide range of design options, and low maintenance requirements, plastic tiles are the smart choice for any homeowner looking to upgrade their garage floor.

This blog offers a comprehensive guide on plastic tiles for garage floors, emphasizing their benefits, types, installation, and maintenance. The goal is to provide valuable insights to help readers make informed decisions about enhancing their garage spaces with plastic tiles.

[lulunothulu]

Water Balloon Fight

Summary: Bradley’s always keeping you on your toes. Today happened to be a hot ass day, leading him to bring out the big guns… literally.

Contents: just pure fun and fluff, some swearing, mentions of sex

A/N: GIIRLLL I was giggling and kicking my feet writing this 😂 ENJOYYYYYY!!!!!! And don’t be afraid to ask for requests!!!

Bradley had a rough day at work today. Not only was it hot as shit, but he’d been doing push-ups all day because of a bet Payback made with Maverick. So as soon as he was off work, he went straight to Walmart and loaded up on water balloons.

Why? Because he could.

Aaaand because he had to get back at you for the prank you pulled on him this morning.

You had left a Halloween mask on the couch and made it look like it was you. Nearly scared the living shit out of him when he went to kiss you goodbye for the day.

But now it was his turn to get revenge.

He knew you’d be home a little later than normal so he set everything up, Home Alone-style.

Balloons in a bucket over the garage door, water guns set up and pointed at said door, the works.

He changed into some swim trunks and left the red bikini he loved seeing you in on the small table by where you park in the garage. He only hoped you’d read the note he scrawled out before walking into the house.

The note reads:

Hey baby, do you mind changing into this? I really wanna try something tonight ;) leave your stuff in the car, I’ll get it after.

When he hears the garage door open almost an hour later, his heart begins pounding into his chest and the giddiness bubbles up his throat in anticipation.

Finally, he hears you giggle to yourself and some shuffling before the doorknob on the garage door twists. And in slow motion, he watches as the door opens to reveal a bikini-ed you beaming at him before a plastic bucket of water balloons falls on you, soaking you up in seconds.

Your eyes squint and mouth opens in surprise, causing him to laugh hysterically.

“BRADLEY BRADSHAW!” You scream at the top of your lungs. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?”

Before he could even get out of the way, you’re running and grabbing a water gun from the kitchen counter and running at him, sliding all over the tiled floor. Shaking the laughter out of his system, Bradley runs to the front door and swings the door open, you following close behind.

“When I get my hands on you, you’ll be sorry!” You yell as you chase him around the front yard.

“Oh, I’d love to see your hands all over me,” he yells over his shoulder.

“Fucker, stop running so fast!” You say, pointing your gun at him and spraying his back with water.

He yelps in laughter before turning around and spraying you with two hand guns he kept in his shorts elastic, causing you to yelp right back at him in a fit of giggles.

Seeing the smile on your face was definitely worth all of this.

You keep spraying until he’s good and soaked, stopping with your hands up in defeat.

“I’m out,” you breathe. “You win this time, Bradshaw.”

“Well, well, well,” Bradley drawls. “Looks like Mr. Bradshaw won this round, Mrs. Bradshaw.”

He struts up to you, a wide smile on his face, before he leans down and kisses you ‘hello’.

“Hi, Buttercup,” he tells you after he pulls away from your kiss. “Let’s go take a bath and you can tell me all about your day.”

With a swift motion, you’re laid over his shoulder and being ran into the house, water trailing from the front door to the bathroom.

A/N: She’s short and sweet but she did a lot of things to my soul 😂 p.s. what’s the magic word? (Check the tags)

[pseudowho]

Domestic Bliss: Higuruma Hiromi #2, Storm

"...as gale force winds sweep Tokyo tonight, emergency services urge members of the public to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary..."

You stepped over to Hiromi, who was stood in front of the evening news, and shot you an apologetic half-smile; "...rain check on that date-night, then?"

With a disappointed little grimace, you opened your mouth to answer, and were interrupted by the violent smack of rain and blustering winds against the window.

"A very literal rain check, I think," you grumbled, cupping your hands around your eyes to look into the cloud-blot blackness, the storms dragging night-time in prematurely.

Hiromi crept up behind you, looping his arms around your waist, and resting his chin on your shoulder; "You still have the pleasure of my company, at least?"

A few hours later, curled under Hiromi's arm as you both read, you heard a telltale drip, drip, drip on the living room floor. Hiromi looked over his reading glasses, both of you giving each other a concerned side-eye.

"A leak. Good," Hiromi clipped, hands on his hips as he looked at the ceiling, "wind must have blown some tiles off...gonna ruin the ceiling...hang on--"

In just his white shirt, black trousers and loosened black tie, you soon heard him clattering round in the garage.

"Hiromi..." you called, concerned, "...what are you doing?"

"Fixing it," he stated, walking past you with a plastic sheet and a hammer. Hiromi swung open the front door with a whoah! as the wind swept it open with a bang. You followed him out into the blustering wind, and dark, driving rain.

"Hiromi, no," you gasped. He looked up to the roof, pushing his reading glasses onto his head. He gave the drainpipe a test tug, and nodded, satisfied. You heard nails jangle in his shirt pocket.

"Hiromi yes," he answered, holding the hammer sideways between his teeth, and tucking the sheet into the back of his belt. You clutched your hands around your mouth as Hiromi scaled the drainpipe and windows, his legs long and spidery, reaching the slippery roof in record time.

"Oh my fucking god," you gasped, your fingertips pressed to your forehead, "don't fall! Don't you dare fall, Hiromi!"

Hiromi crawled across the roof, locating the patch of missing tiles. Soaked to the skin, his white shirt transparent and sticking to him, he battled with the sheet against the wind, pinning it under his knees, and hammering it into place.

Hiromi stood, looking down at his handiwork, making a circle with his thumb and forefinger. Slipping in his dress-shoes, Hiromi stumbled down from the roof, while you ohmygodohmygodohmygod'ed under your breath. Jumping down the drainpipe, he stood in front of you, drenched and proud of himself.

"You could have died," you chastised while he scoffed at you, dragging you back inside, ever the risk-taker.

"Didn't die, though," he smirked, pulling you flush to his soaked body, "and now I'm your hero."

You smiled, begrudging as he nuzzled into the shell of your ear, "Yeah, yeah, you're my hero, I suppose..."

"...and what do heroes get?" He breathed against your neck, high on his own adrenaline, twitching to life inside his boxers.

"Changed," you insisted, slapping his wet chest, laughing as he refused to let you escape, "heroes get changed, Higuruma!"

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This 1928 Spanish Revival in Long Beach, CA has so many wonderful retro features that are preserved. 3bds, 2ba, $1.02M.

Small foyer with a fancy carved arch and sconces sculpted into the wall. I've never seen anything like that.

But, look, there're more. Beautiful Spanish style fireplace and a recessed built-in bar.

The dining room has a shallow recessed wall niche that's just big enough to highlight a sideboard.

Check out this wonderful original kitchen. Vintage stove, cabinets, tile, everything. I have to appreciate how the owners took such good care of it.

Original backsplash and faucet.

The mirrored door opens to the old milk delivery window. They must've put that little plastic shelf in the wall for steel wool soap pads (when everyone knows that you simply put them back in the box and they're good as new).

Wonderful vintage stove.

What a lovely, sunny kitchen dining space.

And, look, it has 2 corner cabinets.

Check this out- not only does it have a folding ironing board, but it has a little board for sleeves.

And, look at this- a little galvanized metal lined cabinet for the iron. I wonder if the vintage iron will convey.

TV room. (Could they have chosen more uncomfortable chairs?)

Now, here we are in a closet.

A trap door in the floor opens to the basement. Since I only see one step, it must have a ladder.

This bedroom is lovely, but it's not very big since they have the bed on an angle.

The bath! It has a big built-in vanity table.

And, orchid plumbing fixtures. I've seen vintage colored sinks and tubs, but they always have a new white toilet. They may have gotten this toilet from an architectural salvage yard.

In the hall, ahead, there's a built-in desk. On the left is a built-in armoire. And, there's also a phone niche with a folding seat.

The primary bedroom is so royal looking. It looks like Old English around the ceiling border. And, look at the built-in with the pull-out mirrors.

Beautiful vintage shower room.

This home is amazing- gated driveway with porte cochere and 2 car garage.

In the large yard is an addition.

It's a large addition and has this great studio, plus 2 other big rooms that use for storage.

And, look at this detail in the wall outside- a little gnome niche.

The lot is .15 acre.

https://www.compass.com/listing/1985-san-francisco-avenue-long-beach-ca-90806/1532701137276580849/

[gallaghersgal]

DAY TWO → haunted house, lip gallagher

TAGS & WARNINGS → college mkverse!!! established relationship, standard haunted house things

WC → 400ish

you didn’t want to go to the lambda “halloween horror house” in the first place, but your whole sorority fam was going, and your little all but begged you to come along and play wingman for her. and of course you were a good friend. so you agreed. 

that’s how you found yourself clinging to lip’s bicep as he guided you through the makeshift labyrinth in the lambda house. the garage was partitioned with dark curtains and illuminated by eerie lights, a thick fog gathering at your feet as you walked. your friends giggle ahead of you and taunt the pledge in the faux electric chair, playing the part of psycho killer. 

you avert your eyes from the way he shakes, unable to drown out his convincing screams, and much to your disdain you hear lip chuckle. “he’s gotta be an acting major, y’think?” he says, warm breath fanning across your skin. you don’t respond, and his voice softens, “MK, y’know ’s all fake, yeah?”

you don’t answer immediately, a fearful gasp leaving you as your eyes screw shut at the sight of another boy with fake blood splattered across his clothes, holding up a genuine looking axe. a shiver runs through your body at the thought, the same overactive imagination that plagued you with nightmares as a child now supplying infinite ways in which this all could go wrong. “it’s so fuckin’ stupid,” you grumble.

“kinda is,” lip teases, but his hands rest on your hips, keeping you right against his chest. “come on, i’ll get you out. ‘s okay kid, y’re okay.” he guides you around the twisting corners of the horror house until you’re in the clear. “made it out, y’scardey cat,” he taunts again, trying to lighten the mood as one hand rubs your arm. 

you open your eyes to see a couple of frat brothers manning the bar, one drinking straight from a bottle of rum. your heartbeat slows down a bit, and deep breaths paired with a gentle kiss to your head soothe you. 

one of the guys on bar calls out to you, “yo! y’want a drink, angel?” he asks, clearly referring to your costume. that doesn’t stop lip from asserting himself, stepping up to them.

“a beer f’me and a cup of punch f’my girl, yeah?” he says, keeping one arm wrapped around your waist. 

“and two shots, please,” you add. 

once the two of you have your drinks lip guides you into the main room where the music is blaring. a grin stretches his lips when he backs you up against the wall, caging you in with his body. “you feeling better, baby girl?”

you huff out a laugh and nod. “yeah, ready to be wayyy more drunk thank i am right now. didn’t pregame nearly hard enough.” you hold the little plastic shot glass up in a cheers motion, lip doing the same before the two of you down the shots. liquor burns your throat and your eyes squeeze shut as you shake your head, “god, didn’ know they gave me tequila,” you grumble. 

“yeah?” lip asks, the hand not holding his beer falling to your waist after he tosses the little cup on the murky tile floors. “gave me vodka, c’mere.”

he crowds into your space and the next thing you know his lips are on yours, tongue pushing into your mouth to lick at the tequila taste. 

© gallaghersgal, 2024. inbox. masterlist. dividers © saradika

[lovelytsunoda]

life in plastic, it’s fantastic // zhou guanyu

summary: zhou and y/n build their daughter a dollhouse, inspired by a very familiar garage.

pairing: girl dad! zhou x female! reader

zhou guanyu takes being the best father in the country very very seriously

he makes sure that his little girl had everything she could ever want

every doll, barbie dream house, art set, science kit

driving her to every soccer practice, making traditional chinese pastries and snacks for the team, hand pressed orange juice

y/n comes home from a girls afternoon out to find zhou sitting at the dining room table, surrounded by hot glue sticks and cardboard

“babe, what the fuck are you doing?”

he’s staring at something on his phone, messing around with this cardboard box

“I’m building a dollhouse.”

and zhou is beaming as he turns the box around, opening it up to reveal this nice big dollhouse

“does it look familiar?”

and it does. zhou has built his daughter a scale model of the alfa romeo garage

down to the white tile flooring with his last name painted out in red (made out of shiny white translucent plastic he clearly got from a plastic duotang folder)

the team logo stuck against one wall

right now, he’s building tiny headsets for the dolls that are going to sit in the garage

made out of paper lips, pompoms and cut up curly hair ties

“this must have taken you hours, honey. i would have helped if you asked.” she laughs, dropping her purse and sitting next to him. “what do you need me to do?”

pleas imagine mr zhou guanyu sitting at the table and trying to glue little cardboard pieces together to make a tiny doll desk

stitching together little sauber race suits for the dolls

matching the remote control ferrari that Fred bought the couple when he first learned they were expecting

10/10 for girldad zhou

and of course, his daughter loves it

zhou and the little one holding races in their living room with rc barbie cars

making up radio messages to each other

TAGS

@cl16version @scuderiamh @oconso @magnummagnussen @libraryofloveletters

[fiveraccoonsinatrenchcoat]

Quiet My Fears (With The Touch Of Your Hand) Ch. 4

Steve Harrington x f!reader

Description: Robin doubles down and Steve's having nightmares, imagined and real.

Warnings: Language, Steve is extra sad in this one folks.

Word Count: 3635

Previous Chapter! - Next Chapter!

My Masterlist! - Series Masterlist!

Notes: I'm back! Everyone come collect your crumbs!

Summer heat enveloped Steve as he got out of the car into the garage, hot and soft on his skin after having sat in the harsh (though definitely welcomed) blow of the air conditioning during the drive back from the grocery store. He circled to the back of the vehicle, opening the trunk and deftly weaving his forearm through the loops of as many plastic bags as he could in one go; three on his right arm, three on his left, the final bag gripped in his non-dominant hand.

It wasn’t his parents' garage, he wasn’t sure whose it was, but the detail didn’t seem to hold any importance at the moment. 

The door to the house was unlocked, the residents home, so he carefully twisted the knob and inched inside. He winced as the bag containing the dozen eggs he’d bought bumped into the doorframe rather hard. He hoped the sliced cheddar cheese had taken the brunt of the whack.

“I’m home!” he called into the house and put the bags on the kitchen counter. He heard faint commotion coming from upstairs, followed by rapid footsteps.

“Oh, thank Christ,” you responded as you revealed yourself from behind the doorway to his right. It was most certainly you, though you seemed frazzled, and maybe a tad older than he thought you should look, though again, the detail seemed irrelevant. 

“What happened?” Steve questioned, concerned.

“Donny Dino has disappeared,” you explained. Steve seemed to grasp the severity of what you’ve just said, despite how silly it might sound to an outside observer.

“Not Donny Dino,” he proclaimed, a smile on his face despite the shake of his head.

“Do not laugh, this is a life or death situation!” you exclaimed, though you seemed to be suppressing a laugh of your own.

“It is not ‘life or death.’ It’s a stuffed Brachiosaurus.”

“A stuffed Brachiosaurus that our son loves more than both of us combined!” you declared. You moved across the tile floor to the other side of the kitchen, checking underneath the table as you went. “Why can’t these kinds of crises ever happen to you, huh? I go to the store, the kid sits happy as a goddamn clam, but the moment you leave, shit hits the fan!”

“We will find Donny Dino, alright?” Steve assured you. You bent down to look underneath the sofa, probably for the fourth or fifth time. “He’s here somewhere.”

“I know, it’s fine, but he’s panicked, and that always leaves me panicked, and-” you cut yourself off, straitening up and turning to look at Steve, when a small voice called with all its might;

“I found him!”

Another bout of quick, excited footsteps followed, a small boy bounding down the steps and stopping only just before ramming himself into Steve’s knees. Looking at him, with his own big baby deer eyes and the fluffy green dinosaur held tightly in his arms, Steve felt a swell of adoration bloom in his chest

“Where was he, buddy?” you asked as you scooped him up into your arms.

“Under the bed,” the boy explained very matter-of-factly.

“What?” you asked, deflating just a touch. “You told me you already looked there, little dude!”

“I didn’t see him the first time!” 

“Or the second time, or the third time, yeah, yeah,” you said, smiling as you walked into the kitchen with Steve following behind you. 

Steve worked quickly to get the groceries put away as you and the boy sat at the table pushed up against the windows, discussing the harrowing journey poor Donny Dino had to go through before finally being rescued from “the under the bed,” as the boy put it. Steve had just opened one of the cabinets, back turned towards the kitchen table, when a loud crack of thunder sounded, seemingly coming from nowhere. 

“That’s odd. Didn’t think it was supposed to rain today,” Steve said as he turned to look out the windows. The bright, sunny sky he had been under just a few minutes ago had darkened, turning a foreboding gray, filled with fat storm clouds and crackly lightning. A pit formed in his stomach; no, that’s not right, that can’t be right. 

“Steve?” you asked from behind him, voice small and unnaturally even, like you had to think out your words very carefully. 

You were standing now, and the boy in your arms had his face tucked into your neck. Steve was about to ask you what was wrong when big, horrible vines made themselves visible from behind you, wriggling and dripping with muck as they slowly, painfully slowly, began to intertwine around your neck, your ankles, your son.

“No,” Steve breathed out. “No!”

He ran, darted towards the two of you faster than he thought was possible. Not fast enough, though, as the vines ripped you backward into a thick black void behind you, sounds of your and your sons screaming mixing together into a horrible ring as you went flying away from-

Steve flew upright in bed, back stiff as a board. Not real, not real, it wasn’t real. His breathing was coming out strangely, though he couldn’t tell if it was too fast or not fast enough. Either way, he probably wasn’t getting the right amount of oxygen. He shut his eyes again, hard, and ghosted his hand to your side of the sheets to really, finally prove to himself that you’re okay, you’re asleep right next to him, and-

His hand was met by empty sheets.

Oh, god, what if it hadn’t actually been a nightmare? What if it had been real, and he had just forgotten? He threw himself out of the bed and scrambled out into the hall.

You were sitting at the end of the kitchen counter. The linoleum was raised above the rest of the surface there, and you were perched on one of the tall bar stools with a textbook laid out in front of you. 

“Are you alright?” you asked him.

“Yeah,” Steve supplied quickly. “Sorry, yeah. Just, uh, just a bad dream.”

“Your turn this time, huh?” you joked, though Steve was still reeling and could do little more than just nod his head and trudge over to you.

All of you still had upside down nightmares, though for the most part, they had steadily been slowing down, yours and Steve’s included. Unfortunately, however, yours had come back in full force over the last few months. Your doctor said it was fairly common; hormonal changes can result in very vivid and oftentimes upsetting dreams, she had explained. You’d been waking up screaming at odd hours of the night at least once a week for the past month and a half. It made Steve feel wildly guilty.

You greeted Steve with open arms and pulled him into the tightest hug you could manage from where you were sitting. His fingertips glided ever so delicately across your bump before his whole hand planted onto it. Still there. He had to double check.

“You wanna talk about it?” you asked.

“No,” he answered.

“You sure? Might make you feel better.”

“Yes.” He pulled away from you and hopped up onto the seat next to yours. His eyes caught the time glowing on the face of the microwave. It read 5:02. “What are you doing up, anyway?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” you said. “Figured I might as well do something useful.”

You gestured down to the textbook on the counter. You had finals next week and, should you do as well as Steve knows you will, you would be graduating a month after that. 

“You want help?” Steve asked you. He picked up a stack of flashcards you had made.

“You should go back to bed,” you said, pulling the stack right out of Steve’s hands. It made him laugh.

“Only if you go with me, and I know you won’t, so let me help,” Steve insisted. You considered for a moment, and when Steve gave you some fantastic puppy dog eyes, you conceded.

“Fine.” You handed the stack back over to Steve, who accepted it with a dramatic flourish.

“Thank you. Okay, first question. I definitely don’t know this one,” he began. “John William Waterhouse is known for painting during which artistic movement?”

Come sunrise, you and Steve had powered through Art History, Women’s Studies, and American Literature. If the flashcards were anything to go by, you were going to pass each and every one of your finals with flying fuckin’ colors. 

Eight a.m. rolled around far too quickly for Steve’s liking, and as much as he would’ve loved to sit with you for the rest of the day, he had an opening shift he had to get to in an hour's time. 

Monday mornings at Family Video were about as dead as any store could get, but the completely full return bin kept him relatively busy once the doors were opened. Actually, if he timed the rest of the opening duties correctly, he could generally get through the day without having to do any real work at all. Usually, he would have been able to fill any extra time by chatting with Robin, but that seemed unlikely for today, if the scowl on her face from the other side of the front door told Steve anything. Keith had a matching disdainful look on his face as the pair came inside, though that wasn’t a surprise to anyone. 

Robin, of course, barrelled right past Steve into the break room without a word. He desperately wanted to follow her but knew he wouldn’t be able to say anything helpful. Keith stopped in front of him.

“I don’t know what the hell you did to her,” he remarked, voice as lifeless as ever, “but you really shat the bed on this one, huh?”

“I’m aware of that, thank you,” Steve muttered.

“Just felt like it was worth reminding you.” 

The rest of the day moved silently, and Steve was sure it would never, ever end. Three p.m. couldn’t get there fast enough. 

Keith, always on Robin’s side of any conflict (even the ones he knew absolutely nothing about), let her spend the majority of her shift doing paperwork in the office. That not only meant that Steve wasn’t able to get in a single word with her, but also that Keith was out front with him. All day long. He didn’t even get to sort through the returns like he wanted to; Keith commandeered that task pretty much immediately, leaving Steve to mindlessly walk circles around the store and pretend to look busy.

Steve spent most of the day weighing whether or not punching him in the face was worth his job.

Just past two o’clock, Robin poked her head out of the office, calling simply, “Keith! Come here for a second?” She retreated just as quickly as she had appeared.

“Watch the door,” he ordered as he rounded the desk. “And don’t touch my returns!”

Steve grumbled but did as he was told anyway. 

The pile of returns taunted him from the counter the whole time Keith was away. His organizational system didn’t even make any sense! Clearly, it wasn’t alphabetical, but it wasn’t by genre either, so-

“Harrington!” Steve jumped out of his skin at the sound of Keith calling his name, charging out of the back like a freight train. “What the hell did you do?”

“What?” Steve questioned.

“You did something!”

“And?”

“And, now I’m losing my best employee over whatever stupid bullshit you pulled!” Keith raved, slamming a piece of paper onto the counter. Steve turned his attention to it, eyes skimming across the words scribbled across the page in Robin’s chicken scratch handwriting. The only words his brain was really able to process were ‘two weeks’ notice’ and ‘last day’. 

“No, that can’t be right, she-”

“Everything was fine, and then you two got into this dumbshit fight, and you are fixing this!” Keith demanded.

“What do you want me to do?” Steve inquired. “She won’t listen to a word I say!”

“I want you to go into the office and make her stay!”

“But-”

“Office! Go!” Keith pointed towards the door.

Reluctantly, Steve left the counter and walked away. Behind him, he heard Keith call “You fucked with my tapes, didn’t you!”

Stalking through the short stockroom between rows of too-tall metal shelves, Steve felt like he was about to burst into tears. He stopped in front of the closed office door and read over Robin’s two weeks’ notice one more time before knocking on the door.

“It’s open,” Robin said through the wood. 

The office, and the stock room too, had no windows; the only light in either space came from the hissing fluorescent lights in the ceiling (it didn’t help that at least half of the bulbs had gone out, and Keith couldn’t ever remember to order more). It was always freezing back there, and the Spring heat mixed with the day’s forecast of pouring rain and dense, dark clouds, making the whole building humid to the point where there was condensation pooling on the cinder block walls. The whole back half of the place felt more like a cave than a building.

“You’re quitting?” Steve asked, holding the letter aloft. 

“The only reason I work here at all is because of you, idiot. And there’s no way you can keep working here now. I’m not gonna keep torturing myself here because of some delusional idea that you’re the same person,” Robin spat.

“What does that mean?” Steve asked. Hurt pooled behind his eyes and in his throat; he was worried he might choke on it. “I’m still me, I promise.”

“You lied to me for months.”

“And I’m sorry!” he lamented. “I should never have lied to you. I should have told you everything that was going on, from the very beginning! I was an idiot, but I was fucking scared, and-”

“I don’t really care, Steve!” Robin said. “You can be as sorry as you want to be, but that doesn’t change how much it hurts to know that you’d rather keep this shit from me than just fucking talk!”

Steve just stood there, mute.

“My last shift is next Monday. I’ll make sure Keith changes the schedule so we don’t have to see each other.” Robin stood up from the rickety old desk chair and quickly gathered up her belongings  from her locker.

“Wait, please don’t leave yet!” Steve pleaded. “Can we just talk about this?”

“Nope,” she spat out.

“Hold on, wait!” Steve chased after Robin as she darted towards the front door. Keith’s eyes followed the both of them. “Your shift doesn’t end ‘til four. Can we please just talk until then, at least?”

“Keith!” she blurted. “Can I leave early?”

“Are you still quitting?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then no,” Keith answered.

“See? Can’t leave yet,” Steve tried, desperate to get her to stay.

“Too bad,” Robin responded. She backed towards the door and called to Steve as she was pushing it open, sarcasm soaking her words, “ sure hope they don’t fire me.” 

Steve watched in silence as Robin unlocked her bike and peddled off, stormy winds whipping her hair and soaking her clothes.

“Great job,” Keith mocked. “I mean, really, that was a five star performance if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Fuck off,” Steve barked, walking passed the counter toward the stockroom door.

“Hey, you can’t talk to me like that!” Steve ignored Keith’s words as he gathered his own things to leave, his boss hot on his heels. “Where the hell do you think you’re going? You definitely don’t get to leave, I need you to cover the rest of Robin’s shift!”

“I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure something out,” Steve huffed, pushing the door open and stomping to his car. He sped out of the parking lot with a squeal.

Steve thought, sometimes, that he felt all of his emotions much stronger than everyone else felt theirs. He must, right? The only other person he knew who cried as much as he did was you, and that was really only because you were pregnant, so in his head, it didn’t count. 

He used to despise it when he was younger; he thought there was something wrong with him, though that line of thinking was most likely his father’s doing; Steve was always too sensitive for his dad. By the time he was in high school, he had gotten very good at pushing it all down, down, down, into the recesses of his brain, where sadness could transform into anger, anger into aggression. 

He’d grown up a lot since then, but he’d naively assumed that becoming an adult would make his feelings easier to handle. Clearly, he had been wrong, and he felt just as powerless and small in the face of his emotions as he had when he was little. It all felt far too big for him to have to face all by himself.

And he really did have to face it by himself. He had you, but it was really more like you had him. It was his job to shoulder the brunt of the weight, and god, he wished more than anything in the world that he hadn’t pushed Robin away like he did. He desperately needed her to untangle everything he was feeling, to revel in the joy and quell his incessant worry about what he (well, really you) was experiencing.

He knew that it was his own damn fault that Robin was angry, and the feeling left a physical ache in his bones. It wasn’t the baby she was mad about (he really hoped it wasn’t, at least) it was Steve’s cowardice. The lying, the sneaking, the fact that he was too much of a pussy to just tell her the fucking truth! And even in the end, she still didn’t end up hearing it from him! Every bit of vile anger that Robin threw his way felt completely deserved.

Steve had lost his mother, and now his closest friend, and if it weren’t for you, he might not have had anyone left at all. 

He had calmed down some by the time he made it back home. The sound of fat raindrops colliding with the roof of the car provided Steve with the perfect white noise to fill up his head and drown out his pathetic self-pity before he could walk through your apartment door and worry you with any of it.

Steve shut the door, turned to face it, and dropped his forehead to the wood with a thud. He shut his eyes and sighed. He could feel the condensation from his breath build up and make the paint feel sticky. So far, he had fixed exactly nothing. 

“That you?” you called through the apartment. 

Steve sucked in a sharp breath and responded, “yeah.”

You appeared in the kitchen. Steve tried his hardest to put on a convincing smile.

“How was your day?” he asked you. The absolute last thing he wanted to talk about was his own. 

“Good. Yeah, good,” you responded. You were fidgeting with the odds and ends on the counter, like you were pretending to dust. You flitted through the room. “My, uhm, my mom called.”

“What?”

“Told me they aren’t going to fly out for my graduation, so I shouldn’t bother saving them any tickets,” you stated very matter-of-factly. 

“Seriously?” Steve asked, dumbfounded.

“Yep,” you chirped. You began wiping down the countertop with a wet rag.

“Did you tell her. . .” he trailed off. He was sure you would know what he meant.

“Yeah. I did.”

“What’d she say?”

“Nothing. She just hung up.”

Steve wanted to kill your mother. He wanted to kill her for the way she treated you, and he wanted to kill your father for the way he did nothing about it. This was by no means a new desire for him, but whatever anger he had felt towards them in the past paled in comparison to how he felt hearing what you had just told him.

Your mother had reached a new level of cruelty that made his blood absolutely boil.

After the “earthquakes,” they wanted to move away, out of state, and you didn’t want to follow them. You had already turned eighteen at that point, you were an adult; they couldn’t force you to go, but your mother took it personally and your father was too much of a pushover to go against her wishes in any way.

Things just never really went back to normal after that.

“Jesus, that’s,” was all he could think to say. “That’s awful.”

“Y’know, honestly,” you began. “I think it’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Steve asked. The tone of your voice, the way you told him all of this as if it was no different from any other anecdote about your daily goings on, made him think it was very much not fine. 

“I am,” you said. “They don’t get to be half in half out of my life. Either they’re here, or they’re not here. It’s all or nothing, I’m not going to force them to love me if they don’t.”

“They do love you,” Steve insisted, though you only responded with a look that read as ‘are you fucking kidding me?’. 

“All or nothing,” you reiterated. “They have chosen ‘nothing.’ No good reason to pretend like they haven’t.”

Steve made his way over to where you were standing in front of the sink with your back turned to him. His hands met your sides in a wildly delicate touch, your name a whisper on his lips as they met your left temple. You turned around in his arms and he held you tightly as you cried.

Tiny Little Taglist: @sheisjoeschateau @hazydespair @damon-loves-pie @pariahsparadise @anislabonis-love @alexa4040 @starsforviolet @luvlexi-darling @palmtreesx3 @prestinalove

[imtryingmybeskar]

Come Home Chapter Seven. Joel Miller x F! Reader.

Your first group patrol with Joel leading. Anyone who has played TLOU2 will (hopefully) recognise this place as the radio tower that Dina and Ellie go to. No spoilers here, though.

Warnings for canon typical gore and violence.

Word count: 4656

Come Home

Chapter Seven - Vanish Like A Lipstick Trace

Christ this is uncomfortable. You shift, trying not to disturb your body too much, trying not to rouse yourself out of the sleep you were so desperate to cling to. But you can feel your mind whirring to life even now, beginning to enumerate what you needed to do today, noting the hunger pangs in your stomach, the fullness of your bladder. You crack an eye open and take in the towering tiled wall to one side, the plastic sheet on the other and heave a sigh.

Even with Joel’s visit, last night had been difficult. You had eventually been lulled to sleep by the warmth of the fire, head resting on your crooked arm and your book dropped to the floor by lax fingers. When you had awoken the room had been dark and cold, the fire almost out, and you realised you had no idea what time it was, though by all accounts it had to be either very late or very early.

Time to reclaim a little more humanity, you had thought. Foolishly as it turned out. Sleepiness and the knowledge that your house was secure and free of others, had quelled the fears within you to manageable levels, at least whilst you ascended the stairs again. You had picked out the room you would be staying in for now when you had explored earlier. It was the one with the ensuite, a corner room furthest away from the nursery. It was well lit too - or would be once the days became longer and brighter – with windows spread over two walls. Those windows faced both Joel’s house and the back yard, and before you had lain down you had noticed a small light glowing from Joel’s garage and smiled softly at the thought of Ellie practicing her guitar.

The bed was comfortable enough, way more than the bedrolls in the cabin and it was absolute luxury compared to some places you had rested your head. The linens you had put on were clean and smelled fresh and you felt guilty that you hadn’t showered before getting in. But exhaustion was tugging at you, begging you to close your eyes and so you had put on a fresh t shirt and socks to sleep in as a compromise. The duvet was fluffy, the pillows too and you closed your eyes expecting immediate unconsciousness to follow.

No such luck. You could feel the empty space around you. Not just to your side where Chris would usually be, but the vastness of the room and the house. The cabin had been near claustrophobic with both of you in there on occasion, but you had adapted very quickly and gotten used to the comforting feeling and sounds of a person next to you and a horse in the other room.

You tossed, you turned, you tried various positions to get comfortable and each time the bed creaked in a way that wasn’t familiar which set you even more on edge. Rest almost claimed you, once. But as soon as the dreamy, half dozing state took hold you were back in that black and forsaken place, the torchlight picking out the index written in blue, incongruous smears of red across it. Searching, searching for the right word – Cardiology, Theatres, Critical Care, Respiratory, Pedeatrics.

Finally, defeated, you had relocated to the ensuite. Wrapping yourself in the duvet and using one of the pillows you had used the bath as a makeshift bed. The high sides of the tub swaddled you and the lock on the door had been a further comfort - enough for you to finally sink into unconsciousness, and if you dreamed after this you did not remember them.

You had clawed your way back to the surface of consciousness breathing as hard as if you had been there for real and clutching a hand to your chest to feel the pounding of your heart. All was thankfully still in the house and you were grateful for the glow of the bedside lamp that you had decided to leave on.

The duvet hadn’t provided quite enough padding though, and your back protests as you sit up and stumble sleepily from the tub. You move the bedding from its resting place and put it back where it belongs, promising yourself that tonight you will be able to sleep in the bed properly. And now…time for that long-awaited shower.

Joel was right. There was nothing quite like it. Maria’s care package had included soap and shampoo and you scrub and scrub at your skin and hair until you feel squeaky clean. Then you luxuriate, allow the hot water to run all over your body, washing the soap suds and grime and cares and worries down the drain as you relax into its warm embrace.

A new day, and a fresh new you, with clothes that didn’t stink and a scalp that didn’t itch and clean, soap scented skin. You realise you’re almost smiling as you open up the curtains to the crisp, winter’s day, and once you’ve eaten a protein bar and drunk some tea you feel more than ready to take on the day’s challenges

You debate knocking on Joel’s door as you head out. For no real reason - just to say hi, to thank him again, to see those kind eyes but utimately you decide against it. He’s probably a busy man and he doesn’t need you bothering him every day. You’re sure you will see him around Jackson anyway.

As you head into the town proper, you find your cheerful mood sustained. It’s a beautiful day – pale, bright blue skies without a cloud to be seen, and the sun reflecting off the glittering, pristine snow that drifts against houses and walls and that near dazzles you. Its also freezing and the breath of both people and horses are very visible everywhere. Icicles have formed along the rooftops of most of the buildings and they shine brightly as you pass. You exchange polite nods with the people you see outside the various shops and receive a few greetings and smiles in return too. Maybe you could settle into the normality of this place. You just needed to overcome those fears underneath the surface. Or at least stuff them so far down inside that they wouldn’t come out again. Possibly not the healthiest coping mechanism, but if it worked…

Your thoughts are interrupted as someone hails you from behind, and you turn to see Vanessa striding up behind you.

“Well hi stranger,” she smiles. “How’s it goin’?”

“Better than it has been for a while,” you confess. “How about you?”

“I’m fed, I’m clean, I slept in an actual bed. Doesn’t get much better.”

“You’re right about that,” you mutter fervently, feeling a strange pang of guilt that you hadn’t managed to take advantage of the bed last night. “So…what are you all up to?”

“I was actually on my way to find you,” Vanessa smiles. “I volunteered to scout the area and Maria mentioned you’d be up for patrolling as well. She’s organised a group for us to join. I don’t wanna get too used to sitting on my ass here.”

“Likewise,” you agree. “These people have been good enough to take us in. I want to give something back if I can. Plus I’d like to see the lay of the land, get an idea of the surrounding areas.” And if I wear myself out enough, hopefully I can get some sleep tonight you think to yourself.

“Well, they’re meeting down at the stables. That is if you’re ready to go now?”

You nod and join the older woman as she begins to walk in that direction. “How about the others?” you ask. “Are they settling in?”

Vanessa nods. “Well enough. Tommy is taking Chloe out to visit the dam today to get an idea of how things operate. She was an electrician once upon a time. He looked like he wanted to hug her when she told him. As far as I know she’s never worked with hydroelectricity before, but still…you gotta assume she knows a damn sight more than most. Mark is focused on looking after Anna. I think he’ll be happy to never set foot outside Jackson again to be honest.”

“How is Anna?”

“Good. She’s already doing better with regular food and more restful sleep. Mark’s looking better too now he knows she’ll be safe. We took a couple of houses next to each other. Last night we all stayed in one though. It feels bizarre after camping and keeping watch for so long.”

“Oh I get it. I’m living next door to Joel – Tommy’s brother – and he had to talk me down after I got a little agitated in my place last night. Hopefully we can all just…relax. Get used to this place quickly.” Vanessa gave you a searching yet kindly look.

“If you need to, you can always stay with us.”

“Thank you.” Your words are warm and sincere as you feel a rush of affection for the woman in front of you. Everyone had been through the worst kind of shit, everyone had their demons. You hoped that one day you could feel like you wanted to rely on someone else again.

“Thank you, that’s a lovely offer, but I think I want to try to get used to my own space again.”

“I understand. The offer stands though. Just knock if you need us. We’re all neighbours now after all.”

As you approach the stables you see none other than Joel himself, bundled up in his brown coat and leather gloves again, and the affection you feel is amplified until it makes you feel a little breathless. He’s leading two saddled horses from the stables, another man, middle aged and balding, leading another two behind him. It isn’t until you get closer that you realise that one of the horses is yours and just who will be accompanying you outside the walls finally clicks into place in your mind.

“Well good morning,” Joel says affably. “Hope you slept well.”

“Like a log,” you lie, trying to keep your voice light.

He’s all business today, and while a part of you wishes you could catch a glimpse of the gentle side of himself that he showed you last night, you understand very well the demarcation of behaviour between survival and safety. He hands you the reins to your horse and you swing yourself into the saddle with practiced ease, giving the animal a pat as you do.

“Glad to hear it. You’ll need to be on form today. We’re going to run the creek trails within a 3 mile radius. We’ll be keeping east for the most part. Any infected we kill. Any fresh infected, we try to investigate where they’ve come from. We’ll be back within the walls by sundown. Any questions?” You shake your head and see Vanessa do the same. “Good. This here is Luke. He’s experienced in this kind of thing. Today is mostly about seeing how you deal with being outside, if we feel comfortable with you in two person patrols. If we actually take care of any business, so much the better. Supplies are in the saddlebags. Unless anyone has any objections we should get going.”

The day is near perfect, even with the low temperatures. The sun shines mightily and frost and compacted snow twinkle all around as you ride. The forest is peaceful, pristine, a haven of quiet and beauty and when you reach the creek trails after half an hour or so you marvel at the loveliness of the semi frozen streams that intersect the woods as the horses walk past them in single file. Joel leads and Luke brings up the rear and the only sounds are of faraway birds nestled deep within the black trees, the faint trickling of water as it falls over rocks, and the soft harrumphing of the horses as they progress. You allow your mind to wander, just a little. To indulge in the gentle rocking motion of the horse under you, the crisp, clean air that you’re breathing, the majesty of your surroundings.

Joel leads the party away from the creek slightly, into a clear section of the woods and then halts.

“We’re gonna ride on to one of our closest outposts,” he announces quietly. “We have a check in system there so we know how long its been since someone has visited. We have a few of these set up around Jackson and if you’re ever in a bind and can’t make it back after bein’ outside you know there is a secure shelter, supplies, a place to hole up for a while. This particular one hasn’t been checked in a while, so stay alert.”

The outpost is another twenty minute ride. As you approach you think it looks like some sort of old electrical station, probably connected to the dam once upon a time. An open space is bordered on one side by a functional looking concrete building and surrounded by fences topped with barbed wire. A few pillaged and decrepit cars lie abandoned here and there, and even though the undisturbed snow upon them tells you no one has touched them for a while, you still eye them warily as you pass. The building itself is accessed by an open metal shutter, small snowdrifts reaching into the building like tendrils, but Joel calls a stop to your party before you get there and motions silently for you all to look around. Nothing stirs. Not even an animal. It seems you are the only ones here.

After a few moments, seemingly satisfied that no infected are in the immediate area, Joel leads you beyond the shutter and into the building proper. It resembles nothing so much as a concrete basement. The light is dim, but the enormous hole in one wall sheds some light upon proceedings. Judging from the faded scorch marks on the jagged blocks at the edge of the gap, it was blown open by something or other a long time ago. A set of bare metal shelves sags against one wall, some rags and formless, nameless scraps of metal upon them. A door with an old sign warning of the dangers of high voltage beyond lies closed to your right and there are stairs ahead, blocked at the bottom with filing cabinets and fallen concrete and with more natural light filtering down from the collapsed ceiling above in a strangely inviting sort of way.

He dismounts and the three of you follow suit. “We’ll leave the horses here. You okay to keep ‘em company, Luke?”

The other man gives Joel a small salute of acknowledgment and begins to attach the reins to some piping against one wall.

“The supplies and safehouse are up there,” Joel explains with a wave of his hand toward the stairwell. “Past the stairs we have a small but effective defence system against infected gettin’ in. Still…we gotta check it out. But first…”

He trails off and beckons you and Vanessa to follow him as he heads to the right, past the closed door and through a corridor where you can see another crumbling gap in the exterior wall. It leads out to a small outdoor area, used for some kind of storage at one time or another judging from the debris on the floor. But that’s not what arrests your attention as you step back outside.

The view is breathtaking. You hadn’t realised just how high up this place was before, but you appear to be elevated the equivalent of several storeys. The glorious shine of the main body of the creek curves side to side beneath you, bisecting a view of rolling snowy hills and tall black pines stretching across the divide between there and here. It is startlingly blue, a splash of true colour amongst the mostly monochrome landscape, and you can see tiny bergs of shining ice that have broken away from the sides and are now buffeted by the powerful currents. Beyond its far bank lies a town full of rooftops, and from up here it looks peaceful, untouched, frozen in a more civilised time. The craggy grey mountains somehow look both bigger and further away from up here, their white tips almost invisible against the pale winter’s sky.

Your eyes feast, drinking in the abject beauty of the place and worries about what may or may not be waiting to be explored above fade to insignificance in your mind for a brief moment.

Vanessa whistles lowly beside you. “Some view,” she says admiringly, and you nod in agreement.

“Yeah, this outpost has its upsides,” remarks Joel in a casual way. “You see that?” He points to the town across the river. “That’s our next conquest as it were. We need to set up more stations around Jackson. To check for any supplies, see who else might be out there. All that stuff. We won’t be goin’ today of course. Somethin’ like that will require almost a day to travel to in these conditions. But I want you to understand the kind of thing you’re signin’ up for by volunteering to be scouts. It ain’t all creeks and forests. You’ll be expected to go into once inhabited unknown territory.”

“Well,” you say in a clipped voice as you turn from the majesty of the landscape and face your compatriots once more. “Shall we get this done?”

His gaze lingers on you for a moment and you realise that he’s wondering if you’re strong enough, capable enough to fulfil the role you have signed up for. You suppose you can’t blame him after what he witnessed last night, but all the same a surge of anger mixed with defiance sparks through your veins. This world hasn’t beaten you. Oh, its tried but never succeeded, not even in the darkest of times. There are hang ups and memories and shadowy recesses within that you will not revisit willingly, but you defy him to find anyone alive who isn’t affected in that way.

The upper floor is accessed, not by the blocked off stairs, but by a hollowed out space underneath them. The entrance to this small tunnel is covered by a metal sheet that Joel pulls back to allow you all to crawl through, and when you have enough space to stand again you are greeted by the sight of a length of rope hanging in front of you.

“Like I said - defence system,” Joel rumbles in a low tone. “While some infected can scale walls, I’ve not met one that can climb a rope yet."

Still feeling slightly stung at his mistrust in your abilities, you merely nod curtly and begin to ascend. It’s been a while since you’ve had to move your body like this, but the rope is sturdy, and the wall it rests against provides a brace for your feet as you progress upward.

As soon as you crest the lip of the floor above and hoist yourself up, you get a prickling chill across your scalp. Immediately ahead is a nondescript grey door, almost identical to the one downstairs, except there was no signage attached. Well, not unless you included the word scrawled across it in what looked suspiciously like blood.

Joel follows swiftly and you dimly recognise that he’s both spry and strong for his age before all three of you are standing before the door, taking in its simple message splayed in dark red.

You could hear Vanessa preparing to climb, the reverberation of voices suddenly all too loud in the tiny space as she fires some small joke at Joel and you hear his words of encouragement in return. Now unsure as to what might lie in the space beyond, you lean over the small drop to the floor below and wave frantically to get their attention. When they look up at you, you shake your head and put a finger to your lips. They immediately fall silent and you can see the hardening of their faces, the reassertion of survival instincts over the shared humanity of humour. They exchange an apprehensive glance before Vanessa starts to climb the rope.

DON’T

You share in the apprehensive looks this time and then quietly make your way to the door to press your ear against it. Silence reigns beyond, no staggering footsteps, no clicking or wheezing sounds. If the person had enough wherewithal to write on the door, perhaps they had enough presence of mind to end it before they turned too. Or perhaps not. You couldn’t bank on anything in situations like these unless you wanted some very unpleasant surprises.

The gun feels cold, yet welcome in your hand as you double check that its fully loaded. As you look back with a meaningful look at the others, your hand rests on the door handle. Joel’s brow furrows briefly and he steps forward, so close to you, so in your personal space that his breath stirs your hair and tickles your neck as he mutters into your ear.

“You sure you wanna go first?”

The burst of yearning that you feel to prove yourself to him (and more importantly to yourself) trills through you and you nod your certainty to him. Whatever he sees in your face seems to reassure him, and he returns your nod grimly as he draws his own weapon.

It is immediately apparent that no infected, in fact no one at all resides within the next room, as it is well lit with bright sunlight streaming through a long stripe of miraculously intact windows plastered across the wall ahead. Lumpen panels of machinery lie hunched in various places, dusty and disused. Low metal cabinets are pushed up against the walls, a few tables and chairs marking where desks once resided. A large, hardbacked book lies open on one of these table to your left and you can see various different handwriting represented in its pages. You take all of this in with a glance, but the thing that truly captures your attention is the presence of a second door in the wall to your right upon which another bloody message screams out.

Despite Joel’s certainty that no one has been here for a while, the door appears well maintained as it doesn’t creak as you gently push it open.

PLEASE DON’T

It is the ledger of those who have come to visit, the check-in that Joel had talked about. The last entry from a patrol is dated late October, and underneath that lies a message, hastily scrawled but thankfully in pen this time.

The ancient, mildewed carpet masks your footfall as you move inside the room. The presence of Vanessa and Joel is an almost tangible thing with how close behind they’re following, the tension between you all ramping up slightly as they take in the sight that you have. Nobody dares speak or move too loudly and Joel leaves the door open behind him as he enters. He crosses to where the book lies open, and beckons you both to him.

This place is too clean and too well stocked to be abandoned. So I can guess people are coming sooner or later. I tried. I never wanted to turn into one of those things but when the time came I just couldn’t. After putting down my friends and my family I was too much of a coward to do it to myself. I’m going to block myself into that room and hope no one gets hurt because of my inability to do what needed to be done. I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me, Matt. I should never have left.

Three pairs of eyes dart back to the door again, and it might just be your over active imagination but you think you hear a distressed whimpering noise emanating from behind it now.

“We can’t leave it in there,” Joel breathes, and you nod your agreement.

“If the person did manage to block themselves in, that will help us,” you whisper back. “If you try to open the door it will be attracted to the noise and I’ll be able to stab it through the gap.” As you speak you put away your gun and instead draw out your pocket knife, holding it ready.

Joel looks as though he’s about to ask you if you’re sure again, but at the look on your face he closes his mouth and merely nods.

The three of you cross to the door, where this time Joel presses his ear against the wall, listening. Almost immediately he draws back and this time his nod is one of affirmation. Infected inside. He mimes to Vanessa to stand back and draw her gun, a back up should you need it, and one fewer body in the doorway. Then he grasps the handle, turns it and pushes gently.

The clang of the door against whatever has been pushed against it inside immediately sets the creature within to a frenzied howling and you hear the clatter of objects scattering as it hurls itself toward the door in desperation. In fact, all it succeeds in doing is knocking the door shut again and Joel sighs in exasperation as he pushes again, bracing a little more firmly this time in order to give you the space you will need to reach through with the knife.

The runner inside is screeching and you know you need to end this quickly to avoid any other infected that might be in the vicinity hearing. Adding your weight to the door, you catch a brief glimpse of its face through the widening gap. Pale dead skin, gore dripping from its eyes and mouth from where the infection has made it bleed from its orifices, a black mouth full of shattered teeth. Taking aim, you plunge your blade directly into its eye, more blood joining what was already there. As it has no pain receptors active in its brain anymore it barely reacts, only screams louder in its ravenous fury and scrabbles at the door frame in an attempt to reach you. You stab again swiftly, your knife plunging deeper into its face this time. One more should do it…

Suddenly the world falls away with a sickening lurch and a loud clatter. The infected vanishes from your sight as the door flies open and you tumble into the room, rolling to the floor. You barely hear Joel’s anguished yell of “No!” before a hungry, snapping, shrieking maw is above you. Knife in hand, you brace your hands on its bony shoulders and use its own momentum as it lunges for you to flip it on to its back where you straddle its writhing form and plunge the blade hilt-deep into its eyes again, again, again, again until its noise is suddenly quieted and its movements stilled.

For the first time in what feels like hours, you exhale. You wipe your knife as best you can on the clothes of the runner before you stand and face the others. Vanessa is in the doorway looking pale, her gun still pointed at the scene ahead of her and as you catch her eye she seems to realise this and lowers it toward the floor. Joel’s features are panicked, his eyes wide, and his chest heaving. He is inside the room, mere feet from you, having clearly been on his way to assist in your struggle.

“I’m good,” you verbalise calmly to their unspoken question. “It didn’t get me. But I wish this asshole had saved us the trouble in the first place.”

“What the fuck is goin’ on up there?!”

Joel looks like he wants to respond but before he can, Luke’s voice floats up in a harsh whisper.

Next chapter

Taglist - @thisshipwillsail316 @prostitute-robot-from-the-future @elegantduckturtle @dihra-vesa @midwesternwitchery @just-here-for-the-moment @eri16 @readsalot73 @littlemisspascal @princessxkenobi @harriedandharassed @pagannightwitch @tentacruels @kirsteng42 @shirks-all-responsibilities @deadhumourist @pedrostories

[subspaceember]

Things I do not understand about the design of my parents house

Bathroom

The shower head is mounted a foot too low. I'm around 5'10 and my eye level is right where the pipe comes out of the wall. (This is the case for every shower in the house) which means the water starts to hit you around your nipples

The toilet paper holder thing is in between the toilet and the tub and requires an uncomfortable reach, actually hard to use, and so no one does

None of the towel racks are within reach of the tub, there's one on the opposite end of the room and on the opposite side of the toilet

There is a fan - however it just vents into the attic - no actual vent was ever installed - also it's the scariest looking fan ever made, you can put your hand through it. The one downstairs was a complete afterthought, when we moved in there was just a random plug hanging out of the ceiling that went to the fan - which vents into the drop ceiling... of the basement

That's right the bathroom that's in a basement and has no window that can open and also used to have carpet in a house with no HVAC system has NO FUNCTIONAL VENT FAN

There is a window - it's just a regular window that faces the front lawn, so hopefully no one's out there. There's blinds on it, but they're mounted away from the window so you can still absolutely see in if you stand in the right spot

It has an absurd amount of countertop - not really a bad thing, but it's very overkill for a bathroom

The soap tile thing came off the wall and refused to be glued back on - so there's just a big duct tape patch there now

General

The entire downstairs is drop ceiling, yup like an office building.

On top of that the entire downstairs was originally only lit by single bulb fixtures, like for closets, just bare bulbs in a dark, damp basement - except bathrooms which were fluorescent lamps

The basement has a very uncomfortable hallway, it's about 3 feet wider than most hallways and is of course lit by one light bulb

There's a random angled wall here, so one of the rooms has a random angled wall for some reason

The house has TWO water heaters, a more common full size one and a smaller like half sized one. Guess which ones plumbed to the showers - that's right the small one, the big one is only connected to the kitchen sink, washer, and the nasty added on shower in the garage that no one has ever used.

Right - there's technically a third bathroom, it is IN the garage, i mean it's literally added on it's like a box that just juts out into the room. No one has used this bathroom as it is - like i said in the garage and thus smells of dust and mold and also there's no floor.

The floor plan is very odd, there's a BIG room and I mean big on both the first floor and the basement, and lots of tiny rooms, including the one my parents tried to move me too, which is quite frankly too small for a twin bed what you're supposed to do with a room that size I don't know.

There's no water filter of any kind here, not really a big deal, although the water is literally pumped out of the ground so uh sediment is in everything - like, the water filter for drinking has dirt in the top of it

The dust the downstairs of this house has dust like no other dust, the networking stuff is out in the garage where the dust is the worst, and it's killed 2 ethernet switches and a modem, it's this thick brown dust that - even though the house has been cleaned - will never go away

The deck - which is covered in plastic fake grass terf carpet and is nasty - is actually held up by a big iron rod that was clearly added much later than when the house was built, along with a much newer staircase

There's just a big gap in the wall on the side of the carport with a 5 foot drop - no one knows why it's there

Oh yeah also- the carport is on top of the garage - the garage is not accessible for cars, as it's on the basement level, so hearing a car roll ON TOP OF THE ROOM YOU'RE IN is really nerve-wracking

There were no lights of any kind originally installed in the back of the garage, it was literally permanently dark (the part under where the cars park btw

I mentioned the lack of HVAC - the house does has an oil-burning furnace - which smells of oil and makes a loud BANG every time it turns on and off

The stairs

The stairs don't really fit so there's no landing and instead there's a angled stair to rotate into the hall basically right across where the landing should be - I've tripped and nearly died on this a lot.

The stairs have only one light, at the top, which is almost impossible to reach to change bulbs, (you have to put a ladder at the top so you're at risk of falling down the entire stairwell if you fuck up) oh and this means the weird angled step is ALSO in the dark :)

The stairs extend out into the hall which is great for tripping over and dying on the concrete floor.

I'm living in the house of leaves

[bionicle-ramblings]

More cat AU stuff, and I'm putting up a possible TW for more angsty stuff this time around. Not too much, but definitely going into some possibly distressing topics when it comes to the backstories of these cats

And I'm focusing on the Toa Metru cats this time more than anything

So, just saying it now, in terms of size, Nuju and Nokama are the biggest, as in they're tall and long. Whenua isn't kitten sized, but he's definitely not exactly the average size for a cat. Onewa, Matau, and Vakama are pretty averge sized, but Onewa is on the taller end

Matau follows Nokama EVERYWHERE. You swear there's some kind of cat crush going on, but you're never too sure

Seeing Vakama see the future for the first time was FRIGHTENING because you thought he was having a seizure. He wasn't. He did honk at you to warn you about a power outage, though

You found what about a hint of what Matau has been through due to his fur being dyed green and never having any chill whatsoever. You found out his last family was a bit "eccentric" to say the least, as in they got him on impulse and one day wanted to try out some pet-safe dye on him. There's also the way he always "reminds" you he's there by sitting on the counter, pawing at you, doing stunts, and even holding onto your hand. You remind him that you see him and he can treat knowing he'll be taken care of

You've had relatives try to "borrow" your cats before. While away on the way back from vacation, you got a text on how Nokama had basically been cat-napped by a relative because, "she's such a good cat," and you had to call the police to get her back. You've had similar events happen to Nuju and Whenu, but before your relative left, you heard a loud meow and realized your cats were getting stolen from you

You've had relatives also try returning/getting rid of your cats, namely Onewa, Matau, and Vakama. You had to get Onewa and Matau out of the pound and Vakama out of the garage

Needless to say, there are certain relatives that are now forbidden from coming to your house and you pampered the cats IMMENSELY because you missed them and didn't want to lose them again

Your friends are MUCH more forgiving; They house sit and make sure the cats are taken care of. Trays of ice for Nuju, books for Nokama, puzzles they do with Vakama's 'help,' movies and scratching stuff for Onewa, little random things to hide around the house for Whenua to find, and foldable tunnels that Matau can throw himself through

You only have plastic plates and cups and Onewa is the reason why. You've also bought a drawer for your knives because you don't trust him near your knife stand

You've cried in front of the cats before, whether it be because a movie, show, or book got you or because of life stuff, and they've all comforted you, even Onewa, who let you hug him

Speaking of Onewa, he likes to love bite you and likes holding your hand or fingers in between his teeth. It's purely a comfort thing for him, but it never hurts, so you're fine with it

You've seen Vakama lead all of the cats to a spider that was in your home and watched them get rid of it. It remains to be one of the most badass things you've seen from him

Matau loves when you have to clean any hard tiled or hardwood flooring because he and Onewa play on and through the chairs

Nuju isn't 100% a cold judge to you. He does enjoy curling into your arms at night and enjoys time alone with you.

The cats mostly get along. Nuju and Whenua are okay with each other, Onewa and Matau are best friends, Nokama is good at keeping Vakama calm, Matau is usually hugging up against everyone, Nokama is good at herding everyone, and Whenua shows everyone what he found after he showed you

As mentioned previously, Vakama was in a house fire prior to being with you. That fire was caused by a fight that happened between his original owner and some unsavory company, to put it lightly. The event left Vakama needing to be nursed back to health and without an owner or home, but he's since gotten better and has a burn scar to remember the event by, specifically one at the center of his head where his fur was burned off. After some digging, you found out where his original owner was buried and took Vakama to visit him. There was initial confusion, because Vakama's a cat and has never been to a graveyard before, but when he recognized where you brought him and whose grave he was at, you swear it was the first time you heard a proper meow from him and nearly cried because he was laying on the grave and refusing to move. Because you love your cat, you waited for him to be ready to leave and you were ready to give Vakama as much space as possible when you two got home. He refused to leave your side even for a second, resting in your lap and curling into you

You TOTALLY go all out for the cats on their "Got You" day(you celebrate adopting all of them on the day they were all together for the first time). Balloons, streamers, party hats, custom signs, a literal cake, you name it. Your friends help too, which is awesome. A few borrowed the cats to take them out for a little while(One took Whenua, Nokama, and Nuju to a bookstore to do some reading, one took Onewa and Matau to a park to play, and one took Vakama to visit his owner again begore they all met yo and got the cats a much-needed spa day; Onewa was fine with it, don't worry) and the cats were hella surprised to see how much of a crazy cat person you really were. To cut a long story short, it was an awesome day for you and for the cats, even if Nuju stared at you the entire time like you'd lost your mind, Matau and Onewa tried to destroy the decorations, and Vakama kept panting and needing to be held.the whole time. Nokama was more intrigued and Whenua was more curious than he'd ever been. The clean-up was a nightmare because you went all out, but it was all worth it because you love your cats. And yes, they had a bug cuddle puddle on your bed that night

[ashstatic]

You are very confused, why is this happening. "Hey, close the door! I am not sure what's going on but don't let the cat out."

You are pushed past the swat team as you're shoved into an unmarked windowless van. You land on your side. With your arms handcuffed behind you unable to brace for the fall. One of their radio crackles and you think you hear "not-activated." "Good" they reply into the walkie with pure rage staring you down. Do they know what that word means?

Two people in neon yellow hazmat suits join you in the back. The tiny window to the front shuts. "Hey should I be wearing those?" You ask as you point to them with your elbow.

They both laugh. "We're wearing them because of you."

The van starts moving. What is it you're supposed to say? "I require an attorney. Or I mean, I refuse to speak without an attorney present."

The biohazard suits look at each other and laugh again. Your confusion is comedy hour for these two apparently. "You gotta be a person for rights." What does that mean?

The suit on the left pulls out a binder and pen, flipping through some pages. "How long have you lived at 768 Sycamore drive."

"Well I mean, I grew up here but moved in last year after my mom passed. Was planning on selling it, but, I can't. Do you want total time or most recent?"

"Both." Says the person on the right. You can feel them staring at you with intensity even though you can't see through the mask.

"Till I was 17 and then this past year. So 18 total. What does that have to do with why I'm in a van?" The van goes over some bumps and you try to brace yourself as best you can.

Biohazard binder person checks off a few boxes. The other one leans over and points. "Really that one too?" They say. And the other nods.

"What do you like to do for fun?"

Now it's your turn to laugh. More out of stress and panic. "Are you trying to see who I'm compatible with for a date? I'm not sure either of you are my type frankly." You lean back and look to the side at if there was a window and not a metal door to look at. Why did you say that? You're not that cool or fearless. They both stiffen up and more boxes are checked.

One of them bangs on the partition and the driver opens the frame. "What do you want?"

"Go to the bunker. Sample #73 isn't activated now but..." They pause and look your way. "But, by our accounts and what we found at the house, they were recently."

"Shit." The driver says. The panel slams and you feel the trucks speed increase.

"How could I possibly have told you anything about myself. This is ridiculous. I have rights you know." You're now mad. Their body language changes to guarded. You're still cuffed so why are they scared.

Nothing else is spoken. It feels like a good hour has gone by before the van starts slowing down. Another five minutes before you come to a halt.

The driver opens the window. "We're here." The sound of relief from the biohazard suits is audible.

The doors open and you are not outside. You're in a garage or warehouse. The stark overhead lighting hurts. Someone comes running up in a lab coat. You notice, they are wearing a full face mask that obscures all features. In fact , everyone is wearing these masks. "Dr.Ellis." one of the suits says as they hop out of the van.

"Oh get them out of those cuffs" she says. She is wearing thick rubber gloves but helps you out of the van. She takes off your handcuffs. You rub your wrists and stretch your shoulder. You didn't realize how uncomfortable and stiff you got.

"This way." She says and starts walking down the hallway. Why not, you think. At least you're not cuffed. "Let's go to the break room down the hall, I know the vending machine was your favorite."

"I am grateful for you getting me out of those cuffs. Dr. Ellis was it. But I've never been here before. You have me mistaken. "

"Is that so." She says as you both walk into a stuffy room. Tile floor. Plastic table and chairs. The pot of old coffee scents the room. She gestures to a seat and you sit down. She takes a paper cup and fills it from the water cooler as large bubbles go gougg glugg glugg. She pushes the cup towards you as she sits down. "You must be thirsty."

In fact, you are very thirsty. The drive wasn't that long but you feel parched. You chug the cup in one breath and crush the paper cup. Why did you crush the paper cup?

"That's better." She says and takes off her mask and gloves. "I hate wearing these but I can't have you stealing my life. We've missed you 73."

"My name's....My name's not 73, it's..." Why don't you know your own name. "How come you aren't having any water."

"73, that's not water. You know that."

You look at the cup again, but it's not the cup that is interesting. Interesting isn't the right word. You are horrified and panicked. You no longer have fingers, hands or even an arm, but the end of bright red translucent tubes connected to your body. You know it's more than your arms but are afraid to pull up your shirt or demand a mirror to verify.

"We have missed you for ages you know." She says while leaning back in the chair looking you up and down.

"We've never met." You might not know what's going on, but you know...what do you know? Things are slipping from your memory.

Her voice is sympathetic. "It'll come to you. Don't fight it. You have been shifting for years. Lucky for us you shifted into this poor fool named Brian."

She picks up a box with the DNA test you just mailed. As in mailed in an hour ago. "Stealing things from post office boxes is illegal you know." Sure it was a petty thing to say but you were kidnapped by the government and are now red goo. Snark is all you got.

"Brian was people pleasing, small, and meek according to his coworkers and neighbors. 73, don't pretend that's not you." She smiles wide. "I don't even remember the name of the intern, tech, some doey eyed college student that suggested we make these kits. Make a fake company. They were right, some victims would fall for it. It seems your Brian was one of those fools. But that's not what got you. You got sloppy."

She stands up and throws out the box. "You didn't look for stuff to destroy before you shifted to stop you from doing anything stupid? Before you lost yourself in the initial merge? Before you could be 73 and Brian? I bet his body isn't even cold."

Feelings flood through you before memories can make sense of them. Feelings of pride, cheering your daughter on at soccer practice. Nervousness before presenting at your highschool reunion. Frustration from having to run again, you liked being whoever you were before Brian. You are mad. You were careful. You were free. You haven't seen this place since you were a child and you hoped to never see it again.

"We'll take better care not to let you skip away if we let you out for field deployment again." She says it as a fact, a promise, a threat.

You want to make threats. Threats about how you'll escape and move somewhere they will never think to look. Threats about how you will destroy everyone they love once they think they're safe. But you don't make threats. The sooner they think they broke you, the sooner they'll trust you to do their dirty work again. Dirty work which requires you to operate alone. And that's when you'll finally be free.

You tried an online ancestral DNA test just for fun. To your surprise, just after an hour, the FBI broke into your house and arrested you.

[tidytray]

The Essential Guide to Drip Pans: Benefits, Uses, and How They Differ from Drip Trays

A drip pan is a plain, yet very essential tool used for the catch and containment of liquids that may leak, drip, or spill from various appliances, machinery, or vehicles. Commonly shaped as a shallow tray with raised edges, it keeps liquids from leaking onto floors, countertops, or other surfaces. Drip pans are usually made with durable materials like plastic, metal, or rubber and come in various sizes, depending on usage. 

Advantages of the Drip Pans

Prevents Mess and Stains: It catches leaks before they hit the floor, thus saving time doing repeated cleaning.

Protects Surfaces: Actively forming a barrier between leaking fluids, hence preventing damage to concrete, tiles, and carpets.

Safety: When there is liquid spillage, especially oils, slippery surfaces may pose hazardous situations. Drip pans would prevent such hazards and therefore reduce the chances of falling or getting injured.

Safety with Environment: Most industries fall in the automobile and industrial genre, which deal with hazardous chemicals. A drip pan helps collect these fluids for proper disposal without polluting the environment.

Cost-Efficient: A drip pan is a cheap investment compared to the cost of repairing or replacing an affected surface by a leakage.

Places Drip Pans Are Used

Car Maintenance: To collect oil, coolant, and other fluids involved in the automobile maintenance and repair process. 

Home Appliances: Appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, and air conditioners may leak due to malfunction or condensation. So they are installed underneath such domestic appliances to collect excess water which could otherwise damage flooring.

Industrial Equipment: Various equipment and machines housed in industrial rooms or workshops produce oil, coolant, etc. and liquid spills may arise. 

Oil Drip Tray vs Oil Drip Pan

1. Design and Structure

Most oil drip trays have shallow edges and quite a large surface area so that drips can be caught in the area over which they occur. Drip trays are usually used where constant drips or multiple drips should occur over an extensive length, such as under cars or for heavy industrial equipment.

A drip pan is more deep and compact. They are designed for catching concentrated spills or leaks. They tend to focus on catching fluid from a defined location, like beneath a point of leakage.

2. Usage

Oil trays are used in garages, repair shops, or under large industrial machines where wide area coverage is required to capture. 

Drip pans are used in highly concentrated maintenance situations, like under oil filters or right below the engine when performing an oil change. 

3. Capacity

Oil trays afford a wider surface area, they usually hold more fluid, but the shallow sides mean they may not be able to contain extensive pools of liquid.

Drip pans have deeper sides and are used to contain greater volumes of fluid in the event of sudden, concentrated leaks.

Conclusion

Drip pans and drip trays have been in use in preventing oil or liquid spills in various settings. They can be found within the confines of your home appliance or the automotive garages. Both of them serve the same purpose, only differing through their design or application, thereby making each one suitable for situations. Knowledge of such differences is what makes a difference in choosing which one among them best works for you. 

[evawillyspage]

Garage Flooring

Garage flooring is more than just a surface to park your car—it's an important feature that can enhance your garage's functionality, durability, and aesthetic appeal. With the wide range of materials and styles available, choosing the right garage flooring can be a challenge. This article will explore the types of garage flooring, their benefits, and tips for selecting the best option to meet your needs.

Why Upgrade Your Garage Flooring? An upgraded garage floor does more than improve appearance; it provides benefits that extend the life and functionality of the garage space:

Durability: Garage floors need to withstand heavy loads, abrasions, and exposure to chemicals and oil spills. Ease of Cleaning: A finished floor is often easier to clean and maintain than bare concrete. Safety: Certain flooring materials offer slip-resistant properties, reducing the chance of accidents. Insulation: Some flooring options can add a layer of insulation, keeping the garage warmer in colder weather. Aesthetic Appeal: An attractive garage floor can enhance the overall look and even add value to your property. Types of Garage Flooring Here’s a look at the most popular types of garage flooring, each with unique benefits and applications.

Epoxy Coating Epoxy coating is one of the most popular choices for garage floors, known for its durability and sleek finish.

Extremely durable and resistant to stains, chemicals, and abrasions. Available in a variety of colors and finishes, including high-gloss and matte. Offers a smooth, easy-to-clean surface. Can be combined with decorative flakes for a unique, customized look. Cons:

Installation can be complex, requiring careful surface preparation and curing time. Susceptible to moisture issues if the concrete floor is not sealed properly. Needs regular maintenance and may require re-coating after several years. Best For: High-traffic garages and those looking for a seamless, professional finish.

Polyurethane Coating Polyurethane coatings offer similar benefits to epoxy but with additional flexibility and resistance to UV rays.

More flexible than epoxy, reducing the risk of cracks over time. Highly resistant to UV rays, making it suitable for garages with direct sunlight. Excellent chemical resistance and abrasion durability. Cons:

Requires a clean, dry surface and proper application for the best results. Generally more expensive than epoxy. May need a professional application due to precise installation requirements. Best For: Garages exposed to sunlight or requiring a slightly flexible coating.

Garage Floor Tiles Floor tiles come in various materials, such as PVC, rubber, and rigid plastic, and are often interlocking, making them easy to install.

Easy to install with no special tools or adhesives required. Provides good insulation and comfort, especially if rubber or PVC. Available in a wide range of colors, patterns, and textures. Individual tiles can be replaced if damaged. Cons:

May be less durable than coatings, particularly for high-impact use. Susceptible to moisture seepage if not properly sealed or installed. Some tiles may warp or expand in extreme temperatures. Best For: DIY enthusiasts and those looking for a customizable, easy-to-install solution.

Concrete Sealers Concrete sealers are clear, thin coatings applied directly to concrete, creating a protective barrier without altering the look of the floor.

Easy and quick to apply, often as a DIY project. Inexpensive compared to other flooring options. Prevents stains, dusting, and moisture absorption in concrete. Cons:

Limited impact resistance; does not protect against heavy traffic or chemicals. Needs to be reapplied regularly for continued protection. Doesn’t enhance the appearance of the floor as much as other options. Best For: Low-traffic garages or those looking for a basic, cost-effective protective layer.

Garage Floor Mats Garage floor mats come in various materials, like rubber and PVC, and are easy to lay down directly on the garage floor.

Simple to install, with no adhesive or special tools required. Excellent for protecting the floor from oil spills, dirt, and moisture. Provides good insulation and comfort underfoot. Easily replaceable or removable for cleaning. Cons:

May move or shift if not anchored down properly. Can be susceptible to staining or deterioration if exposed to harsh chemicals. Not as durable as coatings for high-traffic or high-impact use. Best For: Renters or those seeking a temporary or easily removable flooring solution.

Polished Concrete Polished concrete is created by grinding down the top surface of concrete and applying a glossy finish, resulting in a sleek, low-maintenance floor.

Extremely durable, withstanding heavy use and impact. Resistant to stains and spills once properly sealed. Requires minimal maintenance and is easy to clean. Reflective finish can brighten up the space. Cons:

Requires professional installation, which can be costly. Slick when wet, so it may need a non-slip additive. Less comfortable underfoot compared to other options like mats or tiles. Best For: High-traffic garages looking for a professional, long-lasting finish.

Choosing the Right Garage Flooring for Your Needs Consider the following factors when selecting the best garage flooring for your needs:

Durability Requirements: For garages used primarily for heavy equipment or vehicles, choose a high-durability option like epoxy, polyurethane, or polished concrete. Installation and Maintenance: Determine whether you prefer a DIY-friendly option (such as mats or tiles) or professional installation (such as epoxy or polished concrete). Budget: Garage flooring options vary widely in cost, with mats and sealers at the lower end and polished concrete at the higher end. Aesthetics: Flooring options like epoxy and polyurethane offer a wide range of finishes and colors, allowing you to customize the appearance of your garage. Weather Conditions: If your garage experiences extreme temperatures, opt for flooring that withstands these fluctuations, such as polyurea or interlocking tiles. Conclusion The right garage flooring can enhance your space's appearance and functionality. Each type of flooring offers unique benefits, from the sleek finish of polished concrete to the flexibility of garage tiles. You can find the perfect garage flooring solution to transform your garage into a stylish, long-lasting, and practical space by considering your specific needs- whether it's durability, ease of installation, or cost.

[artificalgrass]

Garage floor tile

Nowadays garage floor tile is a popular choice as it helps to transform the garage floors. These tiles are available in different materials like rubber, PVC plastic, polypropylene vinyl, etc, different materials have different benefits. One of the main benefits of these tiles is it is easy to install; they allow simple DIY installation we can install these tiles on any damaged floor. These loops to the peg interlocking system help to easily remove the tiles and re-install them in another location. These ties are highly durable and designed to withstand heavy vehicles and gym equipment.

[morefloor12]

Floors for garages

Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Flooring for Garages

1. Epoxy Flooring for Garages

Epoxy floor coatings are among the most popular choices for garage flooring. Made from a combination of resin and hardeners, epoxy creates a tough, seamless surface.

Durability: Epoxy is resistant to chemicals, oil spills, and abrasions, making it ideal for high-traffic garages.

Appearance: Available in various colors and finishes, epoxy gives your garage a sleek, professional look.

Easy Maintenance: The smooth surface is easy to clean and maintain.

Installation: Requires professional installation due to the precise mixture of chemicals. Also, proper surface preparation is essential to ensure the coating bonds well to the concrete.

2. Concrete Stain or Paint for Garages

A budget-friendly and simple option, concrete stain or paint is easy to apply and can enhance the look of bare concrete floors.

Affordability: This is an inexpensive option compared to other garage flooring solutions.

Variety: Available in various colors and finishes, stains and paints allow you to customize your garage’s appearance.

Short Lifespan: Concrete paint or stain may wear off faster than other options, especially in high-traffic areas or with exposure to chemicals.

Low Durability: It doesn’t provide the same level of protection or durability as epoxy or tiles. Regular reapplication may be required.

3. Interlocking Garage Floor Tiles

Tiles that interlock are a flexible and adaptable choice. These tiles are simple to install without expert assistance and are composed of a variety of materials, including PVC, rubber, and polypropylene.

Ease of Installation: No adhesives are required — simply snap the tiles together. It’s a great DIY project.

Variety of Materials: You can choose from durable plastic, rubber, or vinyl tiles depending on your needs.

Cushioning and Comfort: Rubber tiles offer a cushioned surface, ideal for workshops or home gyms.

Customizable Design: Tiles come in various colors and patterns, allowing for a personalized look.

Maintenance: Easy to clean and maintain. Individual tiles can be replaced if damaged.

4. Polished Concrete Flooring

If you want a low-maintenance option with a sleek, industrial appearance, polished concrete might be the perfect solution.

Durability: Polished concrete is incredibly durable and resistant to stains, scratches, and moisture.

Aesthetics: Offers a high-gloss finish that reflects light, making the garage appear brighter and more spacious.

Low Maintenance: Easy to clean with just a mop or sweep.

Cost: Slightly more expensive due to the polishing process, but it requires little upkeep.

Slippery Surface: Polished concrete can become slippery when wet, which may be a safety concern.

5. Rubber Flooring

Rubber flooring is another option gaining popularity for garages, especially those used as home gyms or workshops.

Shock Absorption: Ideal for absorbing impacts, making it perfect for spaces where heavy objects might fall or where you’re on your feet for long periods.

Insulation: Rubber provides insulation against the cold, offering a more comfortable surface than concrete.

Easy Installation: Comes in rolls or tiles that are easy to install without adhesives.

Maintenance: It’s easy to clean, though rubber can sometimes retain odors from chemicals.

Cost: Slightly more expensive than other flooring options but offers great longevity.

6. Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring is another affordable and visually appealing option that mimics more expensive flooring materials.

Variety: Comes in different styles, including patterns that resemble wood, stone, or tile.

Easy to Clean: Vinyl floors are resistant to stains and moisture, making them easy to clean and maintain.

Durability: While durable, it’s not as resistant to damage from heavy tools or sharp objects as epoxy or rubber.

Comfort: Softer underfoot compared to concrete or epoxy.

7. Natural Stone Flooring

For those seeking a luxurious, high-end look, natural stone flooring can make your garage feel like an extension of your home.

Aesthetics: Natural stone offers a beautiful, elegant appearance.

Durability: Stone floors are incredibly tough and long-lasting, resistant to heat, moisture, and scratches.

Maintenance: Regular sealing is required to maintain the look and prevent stains.

Cost: This is a high-end choice that can cost a lot more than other garage flooring options.8. Garage Floor Mats

Garage floor mats are a simple, cost-effective way to protect your garage floor while improving comfort and aesthetics.

Easy to Install: Simply roll out the mat where needed, no adhesives or tools required.

Portability: Mats can be moved around or replaced easily.

Variety: Available in various materials, including rubber, vinyl, and PVC.

Protection: Ideal for protecting against spills, oil drips, or stains.

Maintenance: Mats are easy to clean with soap and water.

9. Peel and Stick Vinyl Tiles

For do-it-yourselfers looking for an inexpensive and simple flooring alternative, peel and stick vinyl tiles are ideal.

Affordability: One of the cheapest flooring solutions available.

Easy Installation: No professional installation required; just peel and stick the tiles directly onto the floor.

Appearance: These tiles come in a variety of patterns and colors to match your garage’s style.

Durability: Less durable than other options like epoxy or interlocking tiles, but a great temporary solution.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Garage Flooring

1. Budget

Whereas concrete paint, matting, and peel-and-stick tiles are less costly, epoxy, natural stone, and polished concrete are more costly.

2. Durability

If your garage is frequently used — whether by vehicles, tools, or even bulky exercise equipment — you’ll need a floor that can tolerate damage. Among the most resilient choices are interlocking tiles, epoxy, and polished concrete.

3. Aesthetics

The look of the flooring will be a major factor for people who utilize their garage as an addition to their house. While interlocking tiles and vinyl allow you to create designs and colors, natural stone, epoxy, and polished concrete provide a sleek, professional appearance.

4. Ease of Installation

Peel-and-stick vinyl tiles, mats, and interlocking tiles are simple to install if you’re planning a do-it-yourself project. Because of their complexity, options like epoxy or polished concrete need to be installed by professionals.

5. Maintenance

Think about the amount of time you’re prepared to invest in garage floor maintenance. Epoxy and polished concrete are low-maintenance alternatives, but painted or stained floors could need touch-ups more frequently.

6. Comfort

Comfort is crucial for people who use the garage as a gym or workshop. While polished concrete or epoxy may be harder and less pleasant for prolonged standing, rubber and vinyl provide additional padding underfoot.

Final Thoughts

A number of criteria, including intended usage, maintenance, cost, and durability, influence the choice of garage flooring. There is a surface to fit any need, whether you’re looking for something more affordable like paint or vinyl tiles or something more enduring like epoxy or polished concrete. You may design a room that is both practical and fashionable by carefully weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each type of garage flooring.

Article Source :- https://medium.com/@morefloor12/floors-for-garages-97bdcaca391a