#vinal flooring

[ibs-gateway]

Open - Craftsman Family Room

Example of a mid-sized arts and crafts open concept family room with gray walls, a tile fireplace, a conventional fireplace, and brown floors.

[larkawolfgirl]

I just feel so tired anymore. I have to get up earlier for this new job so I'm waking up tired, getting tired while still at work, and I feel so tired now already at 7:30. But on top of the physical tiredness I also am getting burnt out by also doing pet visits, a training program (which I've been skipping because of time conflicts and tiredness), and trying to move. My sister also broke down today about our moving situation which made me feel emotionally tired. I don't want to ramble about specifics but we may or may not move but it's an emotional issue.

[swede1952]

Good morning. 🍄🍄🍄

31 May 2024

They used to cover the insides of cars with mostly fabric, I'm not sure, but I don't think that they do that anymore except for the seats. The problem with the fabric back then was eventually there was a rip here and a rip there. The same for vinal seats, which was just plastic covered fabric. That was especially evident in a car's ceiling, seats, and floors. I frequently saw, even owned cars with a bare metal ceiling, bare metal floor, seats with some springs exposed, and a cracked vinal dash. The dream was to have all those things fixed, but that takes money, so it never happened. I don't want to forget mentioning the empty spot where a radio used to be.

"I have one car that works; it's fast and safe: an Audi 5. And I have two old cars that never work: an old Peugeot convertible, and an Alfa Romeo Giulia". - Daniel Bruhl

[eggie-o]

laying on my bedroom floor at 10:20 listening to my newest joan jett vinal with headphones so my parents don’t get pissed im staying up lateish on a school night not doing homework im having suchhhh a good time :D

[articlesub410]

Cleaning Services New Jersey

Cleaning Services New Jersey

MACROCLEAN LLC is a Franchisee of CleanNet USA. We've been providing our services to New Jersey and surrounding areas since 2002. Fair prices, superior quality and exceptional customer service are guaranteed when you work with us.

Since our founding, MACROCLEAN LLC has been known for quality services, exceptional efficiency and the highest level of professionalism. No matter what service you’re looking for, we guarantee to not only meet, but exceed your expectations and ensure your full satisfaction. Our team is up for every job, managing projects with the skill and experience our clients have come to expect. Please get in touch to learn more about our team, our company or for details about the services we provide.

You can count on MACROCLEAN LLC to not only meet, but exceed all your needs and requests. Learn more about the services we provide below, and let us know if you’d like more information about a specific offering.

Janitorial Accounts: We service hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space every day. Whether you need daily or weekly cleaning we can always accommodate your needs and work on schedule that suits your business best.

Floor Care: Floors are one of the most  important elements shaping the image of your company. Our vast expertise in hardwood, vinal, VCT, granite and marble floors maintenance will set you apart from your competition.

Carpet Cleaning: A coffee spill or that high traffic area can spoil the look of the most beautiful carpet. Let us bring it back to its original look. Our how water extraction method and use of hydrogen peroxide based carpet cleaner will ensure the highest sanitation level.

Windows Cleaning: MACROCLEAN LLC is committed to getting the job done, especially when it comes to this service. You can count on us to be professional, timely, efficient and make sure you’re satisfied every step of the way.

Power Washing: MACROCLEAN LLC is committed to getting the job done, especially when it comes to this service. You can count on us to be professional, timely, efficient and make sure you’re satisfied every step of the way.

[deramin2]

That thing costs significantly more than my mortgage (2BR 2BA) for a converted barn that clearly has no insulation. And what looks like vinal floors over unsealed concrete. That thing will cost an arm and a leg to heat and you'll still freeze to death in the winter as all the nails pop out of that cheap drywall. Trailers are built better than that. Plus the sound probably echos around in a deeply unpleasant way.

Sure it technically has some space, but it would be horrible to actually live in.

on Zillow like. that is not a house. words have meaning. you cannot call that a house.

[iancroasdell]

Watch "New Vinal floor installed Handyman Plus Van" on YouTube

https://youtube.com/shorts/NyeIYbWyAVk?feature=share3

[carpetflooringdubai]

We seals & fixing wallpenal, flooring, vinal, carpet and artificial grass. If you want to decorate your house, drawing room, office. You can contact us. We carry out everything with skilled craftsmen. Call for details. call/ WhatsApp ⤵️ .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0558948828 . https://wa.me/c/971558948828 . . . #GreenCarpet #artificalgrasscarpet #floorings #Wallpanel #wallpaper #wallgrass #plantsflower #floewrs #putboll #ArtificialGrass #artificialgrassinstallation #artificialgrassdubai #grass #grasscarpet #artificialgrassexperts #landscaping #homedecor #Dubai #uae #syntheticgrass #artificialturfsupply #artificialturfproducts #greencarpet #fakegrassinstallers #carpetflooringdubai #floorings #Artifical plant/ flower, grass (at Dubai, United Arab Emirates - UAE) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXpSoHBNNv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[zazrichor]

bronte brisbois | archer darrow | vinal holt | floor huxley

[doberbutts]

AAAAAAAAA CONGRATS ON HOUSE MAYBE? What are your first moves if all things go well? Anything you'd like to change? Which room will be yours?

Thank you thank you thank you

It's not official yet but once they send back the paperwork with their signature it's officially mine provided it passes inspection and our attorneys don't hate each other. So 🤞🤞🤞

Honestly I'd rather not have carpet but at the same time it is almost brand new carpet so it seems a shame to rip up immediately. I'll probably leave it tbh and focus more on whatever's causing the vinal flooring to ripple like that. Same with the paint- it's new paint which seems a waste to immediately paint purple over it so again I'll likely leave the paint in favor of other cosmetics such as light fixtures and such.

What I'd like done to this house asap are:

FENCE even though the yard space isn't huge I want a fence for the dogs.

There's garden space out front and I'd like to grow some useable herbs and spices if I can keep randos and wild animals out of my garden.

A bidet for the toilet for 👀 reasons 👀 as well as a removeable shower head better for washing the dogs.

One of those video doorbells- I've been home during more than one attempted home invasion and at this point especially without Creed I'd really much rather know who is trying to come into my house without needing to go to the door.

Speaking of smart devices- I'm still trying to figure out a bluetooth speaker for my kitchen that can play music off my phone but also let me do voice activated commands (mostly timers) that also isn't listening to/recording my conversations like an overpriced wiretap.

Personally I'd like motion activated lights at both doors for the same home invasion reasons.

✨ fairy lights ✨ on the porch and deck. Because I am incredibly gay and they're pretty. Solar powered if I can get that working.

I'd like to move the shed off the useable yard space and onto some of the paved driveway if I can. That way the dogs have more space.

And... honestly I've been doing a lot of thinking about living alone and I don't really want to. So I'm still deciding how I would open up that smaller bedroom (the weeb room lmao) for rent and make it a fair arrangement for the person living there. I'd honestly love to offer it as a safe place for LGBT folks to find themselves, but I also know that I would need that person to share some of the household expenses (esp with how expensive utilities get) and I know it can be difficult for some people to really get any type of money especially when on unemployment or disability. The good news is provided the dog has some amount of training and won't eat my chihuahuas it'd be dog-friendly housing, but the bad news is that they'd definitely have to like dogs 😅

[ninjashin]

kaiju one of the most powerful shinigami in his kingdom. kaiju was not always a shinigami because he was once a hamano. a long time ago when kanji were being suggested and shinobi nation was created to prevent human exestion and samurai empires kaiju had one that yosagiru sasaki he was born from the shinobi family that was sasakiru kaiju had a lot of brother had 75 older brother he was younger all your brother was better ninja more kaiju he couldn't get past his brother and he saw that kaiju was a disappointment in the family his father always beat up his son who got the most was the kaiju and his mother never did anything. when kaiju ran away from his house sasakiru was depressed because he was suffering a lot so he thought if he throws himself from a waterfall to kill himself another very beautiful girl saw that sasaki was going to suisida so she stopped on the sasaki side she convinced how beautiful it is to see the landscape at cachueira and sasakiru is delighted with her face and her kindness so she manages to prevent sasaki from killing himself. so sasaki asked for the girl's name the girl's name was mukira so mukira takes sasaki to show that she still needs to live to enjoy life. so mukira takes sasaki to his mansion since mukira is part of japan's upper class family if his father is an apprentice swordsman so sasaki saw that mukira's family was his real family. it's been seven years and sasaki is part of the family but aviar a problem one of the samurai soldiers wanting the rights to the land of mukira's father but refused so samurai always has so much more mukira's father he is very strong another samurai almost killed more sasaki was quick and broke the sword with a common knife. one night mukira called sasakira to go outside so they stayed in the coach house if sasaki even dies but he didn't want to so give it to sasaki so that he becomes her husband then sasaki and mukira will get engaged. one more day his father find out where sasaki was so he sent all his children to look for sasaki and kill those in the mansion. sasaki and mukira went home but saw that the hallway was full of blood when they went to the house they saw that all relatives this uncle great grandparents cousin brother was dead. then sasaki's brothers appear were throwing the kunai at them two plus one kunai hits mukira sasaki gets desperate to save mukira but saw that kunai hits right in the heart mukira speaks for sasaki that I love you. sasaki cries a lot more than that you see his heart being destroyed by the hate so sasaki took the katana and it was a canine guts and corns flesh of the body and a cloth of blood went to the ceiling on the wall and on the floor so sasaki fights his father the two they were fighting slowly but sasaki cut his father's throat and to vinalize his father sasaki ripped out his father's heart and destroyed his father's heart sasaki asked for everything and to take out his hate and humans and killed everyone who was in the village women and children. more your grandfather hyuga your great grandfather. hyuga tries to convince sasaki but sasaki doesn't want to know anything he just wants to kill humans hyuga tries to stop his great grandson so sasaki then tries to rip his great grandpa's head sasaki was out of control so hyuga accidentally cuts off his head and hyuga didn't want to kill his grandson. in the next art I will continue in the story.

[tropic-havens]

Viñales, Pinar del Rio, Cuba

Cuban farm on the on the back road to Vinales. I was cycling in Cuba for 2 weeks. The afternoon cycling the back road to Vinales will live in my memory forever. It was scorching hot but fortunately the scenery was breathtaking and light good so I stopped to take photographs every few minutes. This scene is idyllic - thatched farm buildings, beautiful tree, cockerel, worker fixing up something and little girl sat on the floor drawing (I think). No doubt life there is much harder than my soft western office job - but a view like this I still envy.

[charonaraccoon]

Maverick Viñales, Luca Marini (if possible others VR46 riders) + mafia!au + meet messy + "suck on that.”

Okay, so this just happened, don’t ask me, why. It’s a bit bloody and certainly messy, but also a little more than a drabble, so I hope, you like it, anon, thank you very much for this difficult and still so amazing prompt, it’s been a pleasure! <3 

Luca Marini has been one of the PD’s brightest hopes of the century. He’s young, has acquired his forensic degree at 20, been part of more than one nationwide and famous investigations and specialised in the mafia to an extent, which outshined his colleagues’ by a mile. But what impresses Valentino Rossi, leader and the mainly responsible person for the IAMTF – the Italian Anti-Mafia task force – the most, is how Luca has deserved this spot in his team like no one else. Despite he’s his brother – or maybe even because. Because they are related, Luca has always tried his best to never have people talk behind his back. So when they arrive in Spain to follow a lead from Sicily over Naples all the way to Figueres, it’s no surprise Luca is Valentino’s second man in the field, shadowing him around the van and closer to the huge abandoned building in the outskirts of the Catalonian city. They followed all kinds of hints here, bogus money, weapons and drugs and they all seem to lead to Maverick Vinales, a young thug taking over more and more of the Spanish-Italian mafia. Valentino counts his men, Marco and Luca to his left and right, further back Franco with his fedora pulled into his face as far as possible. Stefano exhales cigarette smoke through his nostrils and he’s never seen the young detective this nervous. Vale nods at Luca. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, we’re just taking down the most dangerous Mafioso in the world. What makes you think, I wouldn’t be okay?” The way he says it and the way his eyes twinkle in the darkness of the unlit street make Valentino smirk. Luca has hunted down Maverick for years now, following his every step on European soil and his attempts to get a foothold in North America, New York to Las Vegas. They’ve placed spies and cons, listened to conversations and got their hands on documents. Once they’ve got him, he’ll spend the rest of his days in prison. Luca is more than ready to lead this charge, and still- “Alright, Bambino. Be careful. After me.” Valentino checks his old colt, completely tranquil now and back into the mode of a seasoned and experienced cop, and with a wave of his hand leads half of his task force to the back entrance. Luca takes a deep intake of breath, stubs out his cigarette and nods, before following his brother and boss into the building. They get a good look at Vinales behind the ceiling-high racks, checking on some documents with furrowed brows. Luca feels his legs shake beneath him, as he sees the Spaniard nonchalantly letting cigarette smoke escape from the corner of his mouth, fedora sitting lazily and crooked on his black hair. Damn, I never realised he was that hot. But Vinales isn’t just hot, he is endearing in his perfectly fitting dark-green suit, the loosened tie, the brown-green eyes behind black glasses. Luca has his difficulties looking away, until Marco stops him in his tracks. Before he can scoop closer to his colleague and look for Valentino to wait for his signal, he realises Franco hissing. The door behind them opens with a loud creak and Pol Espargaro, Vinales second man, catches them red-handed. “What the fuck?!” he yells, before someone (Migno, given the quick fuse) pulls the trigger and the projectile hitting Pol’s chest makes him stumble backwards through the door. That’s it, their cover is blown.

“NOW!” Valentino yells and the members of the IAMTF jump out of their hiding spots and into action. Luca doesn’t know what happens next. Shots are being fired, wounded policemen and gangsters alike drop to the floor, blood pouring from lighter or more severe bullet holes. All Luca focuses on is the man he hunted like an animal over the past five years, the man he holds a personal grudge against for throwing his hometown into a turmoil of violence and corruption. He shoots one of his foot soldiers, one of the Marquez-boys, as it seems – Taller, Alex, shit. He jumps at Vinales and wrests him to the ground. He loses his gun, as Vinales kicks his arm, but he manages to place a hard punch against his stomach. He grips his brass knuckles and hauls them at his face. The loud groan and drippling of blood, as Vinales’s lips immediately start bleeding makes utter euphoria rush through him. “Suck on that, fucker!” But the Spaniard doesn’t give in, he stumbles to his feet and knocks all air out of Luca’s lungs with a blow to his solar plexus. He catches a glance at him and hesitates. A loud gunshot makes them both startle. “No!” Luca yells, as Vinales wrestles himself free from his grip and storms out of the door. “Go, go, go!” Valentino screams, voice pained and Luca comes to a halt with squeaking dress shoes, as he realises, his brother got shot. Valentino has a hand firmly pressed against his stomach, blood dripping from his fingers. Next to him Jorge Lorenzo sinks to his knees, holding onto his bloody hand with a pained groan – Valentino had managed to shoot him while they fought for the gun. “Go, Luca, damn it, GET HIM!” Luca swallows, taking a long look at his brother, before he picks up his colt and storms past the gangster. The night is icy cold and ripples of ice cover the brick wall, when Luca jumps down the staircase and onto the nightly black tarmac. A few feet in front of him stands Vinales – unmoving and with his back tuned to him. Luca swallows a mixture of panic and blood, when he lifts his gun and points it at the Mafioso’s head.

“IAMTF, show me your hands!” Luca has expected a lot from this night, but certainly not to see Vinales’s shoulders drop and him to turn around after the very first order. What surprises him even more is the deep hurt in the gangster’s eyes, the tiredness looming there in the green-brown. “I’m sorry.” “W-what?!” “I don’t want to hurt you.” “Why not? I’m cop, you like killing cops, don’t you? You hadn’t had an issue with it before.” And Maverick takes his gun, pulls the slide back and clear silver bullets ripple to the ground, all eight of them, the whole magazine. Luca stares at the bullets in utter shock, rain drops reflecting on the metal shells like diamonds. “You haven’t shot once…” “No.” “W-why?!” “I’m not meant for this kind of life. I want out.” “You’re just saying that so I let you go.” But Luca’s hand around his colt trembles, his heart is in his mouth. Maverick sighs. “Then shoot me.” But Luca can’t. He sees this man in front of him, the suit rumbled, hands shaking and eyes still so inexplicably sad. “I deserve it, come on.” And Luca, whose whole life has revolved around this moment, lowers his weapon and spreads his arms. “No. I’m arresting you.” “They’ll kill me in prison. If you arrest me, I’m a dead man, you could as well just shoot me now.” It’s not the hunt, which fascinates him any longer, it’s these eyes staring at him in the darkness of the alley. It’s the simplicity of that, the truth so blatantly being spread out in front of him, which makes Luca’s breathing hitch. At the same time, Maverick doesn’t plead, he doesn’t sink to his knees and beg for his life, he’s kept his pride and backbone. Luca can’t look away, until he does, facing the building and fading shots reverberating through the night. Luca functions on autopilot, when he throws his gun at Maverick. “Shoot me. The shoulder or the leg. They’ll believe me, when I tell them, you overpowered me. Take the gun. The roadblock is South from here, head Eastward.” Maverick catches the gun, but stares at him with wide eyes. “W-why..?” He asks this time around, equally astonished as Luca has been mere seconds earlier. “Because I think, you’ll make it up to me.” And he does. All of it. The bullet pierces through Luca’s skin and goes right through his left upper-arm. Maverick merges with the shadows of the night, as he flees through the dark alleyway. Luca does return to find his brother pissed, but alive. They do believe his story. The team is ordered back to Italy – empty-handed apart from both Marquezs and Espargaros. Luca resigns from the task force and returns to his second passion. He repairs and sells motorbikes. They never hear a word of Vinales again, he’s gone like the wind. Two years later Luca finds a hand-written letter in his mail box. He bows down to pick it up and feels the old familiar sting of the bullet wound. He tears open the envelope, cigarette smoke clouding his vision for a second. It’s a one-way flight ticket to Buenos Aires. One thousand dollar cash. And a note. “Come and find me, detective.” And Luca does. He finds Maverick on a deserted beach outside of Palermo. He looks different in the loose white shirt and longer hair, but way better. When he takes off his sunglasses, Luca realises his eyes are lively and warm. “I hope the money for the flight ticket was clean.” “You found me.” “You knew, I would.” Maverick nods and points at their surroundings with a wide gesture. “It took me a while, but I’m legit now. I kept my promise. Will you?” And Luca sees his own reflection in Maverick’s eyes, before he dives into his arms and the kiss so full of pent up emotions it makes them stumble over the sand. When they part Maverick has a hand buried in Luca’s unruly mob of blond hair and Luca clings to his loose shirt. So the kiss wasn’t enough then. “I think the only crime you can commit now is run away.” “Never.” Maverick whispers into his hair, before pressing a kiss to Luca’s forehead. “Be it from violence, my family or who I am at heart. I’m done running.” We both are.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Vendetta

The cold air swirled around the abandoned warehouse as Vinal pulled up in his air car. As the engines died down he emerged, pulling his coat close to him, and gazed up at the decrepit structure. Broken windows covered the walls, crumbling paint and rusting metal decorated the outside, and a faint creaking sound came from the main loading bay doors as the shutters swayed in the wind. Looking down at his chronometer, Vinal reached into the air car and withdrew a briefcase then calmly strode into the shadowy innards of the warehouse.  Ureti eyes were poor in dark areas, a condition he had learned during his travels to be called “Night Blindness”, and Vinal struggled to find his way through the dark hallways. Were it not for the occasional hole in the ceiling or open door to an abandoned office he may very well have gotten lost in the structure, but the instructions he had been given were clear.  He remembered the map that he had been given and pictured it clearly in his mind. He walked down the initial long corridor, made two lefts then a right, proceeded down a partially flooded hallway, and finally entered the main warehouse floor.  The main floor’s ceiling had several large holes in it that cast beams of pale moonlight that lit the area. Aside from a couple of mounds of fallen girders the floor was completely empty.  As Vinal scanned the room he saw what he had come for. In the center of the room, under the largest pillar of moonlight, were his wife and daughter tied up and gagged. They sat back to back with each other tied to metal chairs with a wad of cloth in their mouths. As they saw Vinal they both began struggling and shouting to him but the gags muffled their cries robbed them of any sensibility.  Vinal smiled and took a step forward when a voice called out to him in a strange robotic tone.  “If you want to ever hold your family again, stay right where you are.”  Vinal froze, his eyes darting around the room in an attempt to identify where the voice had come from. He was staring at his family when a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness just behind them and stepped into the pool of light they were under.  He couldn’t make out much detail as the figures coat hid most of their features, but the sheer size of them was telling as they stood nearly 6.5 feet tall with wide shoulders and thick arms. They had a hood covering their head and the darkness inside of it obscured their face, but what Vinal could make out were two burning red eyes that seemed solely focused on him.  Vinal hefted the briefcase in front of himself for the figure to see. “I brought the money, it’s all here just as we agreed. Take it and let my family go.”  The figure cocked their head to their side and just looked at Vinal. “Do you think me an idiot? Open the case from there and show me the contents.”  Vinal slowly clicked open the latches and opened the briefcase, holding it so the figure could clearly see the Ureti currency neatly stacked. The figure nodded at the sight of such wealth. “My my my, you must really love your family to have gotten that much so quickly.” They took a step closer to the tied up duo causing them to panic and struggle more. A large gloved hand came up and cradled the mothers face, tilting it side to side as if it was a prize dog being inspected at a tournament. “Tell me, how much do you think she’s worth?”  “Don’t you dare touch them!” Vinal shouted, his voice echoing throughout the ruined building. The figure chuckled and let go of the mothers chin. “Such fire! She must be worth a great deal to you then.” They looked down at the daughter before stepping in front of them and crouching down on their hind legs. “This one’s younger, and smaller; probably worth far less to you, yes?” The gloved hand came up again and the daughter retracted while screaming louder into her gag.  “I said don’t touch them!” Vinal took a step forward and the figure instantly stood back up to their full height. “I’m only trying to talk business here.” they said, casually shrugging their shoulders as if this was all a joke.”There’s no need to get emotional now, I’m only trying to establish which one takes the bigger sum.”  The figure let out a loud laugh that pushed Vinal too far and in a flash he drew the compact pistol from his sleeve and fired off a burst into the figure. It hit them dead center and they toppled over like a sack of bricks, shredded fabric fluttering the air where the bullets tore through, and the body hit the floor with such weight that it sent a small tremor through the building as his daughter began loudly crying.  Vinal was breathing deeply as he kept his gun trained on the figure, waiting to see if they were really dead or not. He stood there watching the body for what felt like an eternity before taking a single step forward. Keeping his gaze on the body he took another step forward. When it still didn’t move he took another step forward, then another, and another, and another, until finally he was sprinting across the room to his family.  He tossed the gun aside and scrambled in front of his daughter. “It’s alright now, the monster’s gone now.” He placed his reassuring arms around her and let her sob into him for a few moments.  “Bit hypocritical aren’t we?” Vinal started turning as he heard the robotic voice again and saw the figure now towering over him. “We’re both monsters here.” He made a dive for the gun but the figure grabbed his outstretched arm and flung him across the room like a rag-doll. He smashed into a wall and bounced off it hard to the floor. He felt the breath leave his lungs and barely noticed the rumbling footsteps that were drawing ever closer to him.  Stupid of me, Vinal though, of course he’d be wearing body armor. Should’ve aimed for the head.  He got to his knees and saw the figure approaching him, the faint shine of polished metal flickering from the gaping hole that Vinal’s bullets had tore. Just as the figure reached down to grab Vinal’s throat he drew the hidden knife from his boot and drove it into their forearm.   The blade snapped like a twig and violently flung past Vinal slicing his cheek before embedding itself in a wall. The figure looked down at their forearm, then back at Vinal now holding a broken knife and laughed.  “I see you haven’t lost your old tricks!”  Grabbing him by the throat he lifted him off the ground and pinned Vinal to the wall. Even this close Vinal still couldn’t see what lurked in the shadows of the hood save for the red eyes. His arms desperately started flailing and tried to pull himself out of the vice grip.  “What a spry little bug you are.” The robotic voice laughed, “We’ll have to fix that before you chop your own head off.” While Vinal struggled he could hear an undertone of anger in the voice and grew more frantic to get free when the figures free fist came smashing into his left shoulder. There was no restraint in the blow and Vinal could feel his bones and muscles shattering under the impact as his limb went numb and limp.  Vinal screamed out in pain and looked at his ruined arm. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.” The figure said as they calmly changed hands gripping his throat and brought another crushing blow to his right arm shattering it in a similar manner. Vinal hung limp in the figure’s grasp as they flung them back into the pool of light where his family still were captive.  “I’ve played out this moment in my head for so long.” The figure spoke as they calmly strode over. They leaned down and flipped over Vinal on to his back so he could see his family clearly.  “Please....” ,Vinal gasped through ragged breaths, “Don’t hurt my family.”  The figure stopped at that and cocked their head once again. They leaned down and hovered over Vinal. “I asked you the same thing once; you were not generous then with your reply.”  “Who...who are you?”  “You really don’t remember me do you?” The figure stood up and began removing their coat entirely. “That’s alright, I’ve had some changes done since last we spoke.” The coat fell away revealing a purely robotic body. Vinal noticed in horror however that the head head a glass dome holding a strange organic looking lump with wires running in and out of it. “That’s okay though, because you’ve been on my mind every single day for the last 60 years.” “What...what the hell are you?” “Can’t you tell?” The robot chuckled again and did a small mocking twirl. “I’m human.” Vinal coughed and struggled to rise only to fall back down again. “I’ve seen humans before, and you look nothing like them.”  At that the robot crouched down and grabbed his throat once more in a blink of an eye and brought them to face level. “Oh, I know you’ve seen humans before. You’ve seen them up close and personal, even spoke with them. That’s where I first met you.”  Vinal tried to move his arms but they were beyond repair at this point and hung limply. He was considering his next steps when the robots words struck him suddenly.  “What are you talking about? I’ve only seen humans in news reports.”  The robot looked at him and he could sense that what he had said had clearly upset the robot. The robot then slowly turned their head to the tied up wife and daughter. “Oh, now I see.” They turned their head back to Vinal. “You haven’t told them about your past, have you?”  “That’s nonsense.”  “Is it?” The robot dropped Vinal back to the floor and stomped to the wife. With a casual tug they ripped out the gag so she could speak again.  “Tell me, what did he say he did for a living?”  The wife stared at the robot confused. “TELL ME!” The robot shouted startling her.  “He-he-he said he was a merchant.”  “A merchant?!?!?”  The robot looked down at Vinal. “Even in your later years your still just a hopeless liar!”  A swift kick impacted Vinals stomach sending him right into the tied duo.  “Stop it! You’ll kill him.” the wife cried out.  “Fitting as he already killed me once.” The robot’s response shocked the wife. “What do you mean by that? Why did you kidnap us!? How do you know my mate?!”  The robot leaned down to her level, gazing at her as if she was bullshitting him; but the serious look in her eye told enough that she was curious.  “I needed you two to bring him out of hiding and ensure he wouldn’t run away” The robot calmly spoke. “Sixty years ago I wasn’t a walking metal doll, I was human.” Tapping their brain case as several bubbles rose up from inside the yellow liquid. “I ran a merchant ship known as the Summer Grey with my sons.” The robot looked at the daughter. “They would have been about her age.”  “That doesn’t ex-” “I’M GETTING TO IT!” the robot shouted again silencing her. “One day we were attacked by a group of pirates. They bored easily enough and killed all the crew save for me and my boys.”  “We had just dropped off a haul on a nearby world and were empty; a fact the pirates didn’t like, least of all their captain. Can you guess who that was?”  The wife looked at the robot then down at her mate still struggling on the floor.  “No....”  “Oh yes. Little Vinal here was once known as “Scorned”. He took me and my sons down to the ships hold and demanded I open the sealed vault that held the recent profits. I told him to go to hell, to which he replied by taking both my sons and putting a gun to each of their heads. He then asked how much I would pay to save their lives. I told him he could have everything if he spared their lives. He said he’d consider it if I could open the vault in sixty seconds or he’d shoot them.”  The robot stood up and once again hovered over the broken Vinal. “He counted down loudly as I turned the dials and inserted the keys to unlock the vault. Just as I opened it he reached zero and shot both of my boys. They fell to the ground as if their strings had been cut as their bodies twitched in a pool of their own blood. He had his men then break nearly every bone in my body and leave me sitting in my command chair forced to look at the dead bodies of my sons while they escaped.” “Since that day I spent every waking moment working towards finding this monster. When my body parts began failing me I had them replaced with augmetics. Years went by and more and more of me was replaced until I became the machine that stands before you now.” “You...you spent your life for revenge?” “I spent it for my sons!” the robot shouted with such force that the walls shook. “The day this monster took the joys of my life and left me broken was the day the blood vendetta was signed. I will not be laid to rest until I have avenged them!”  The robot was pacing back and forth now. “At one point I felt that revenge wasn’t worth it, that my sons would want me to go on with my life; and for a while I did. Then one day I look up and see him walking past with you two. The family he had taken from me he had built for himself, and that oushed me over the edge once more.”  Reaching down, the robot snapped the ropes tying the daughter and wife. The daughter sprang to her feet and leapt to her mother and the two embraced each other.  “You can stay here and try to save this stain on the galaxy,” the robot continued as it turned its back to them, “or you can take the money and go start a fresh life somewhere else. The choice is yours.”  The wife looked at the robot, then at her mate.  “Tell me this thing is lying.” she said softly. “Tell me he’s wrong!” “Of course he’s wrong!” Vinal called out. “I would never do such things!”  She stared at him for a long time before reaching down to pick up the briefcase.  “What are you doing? He’s lying!!!” Vinal shouted.  “Maybe.” she said as she picked up the briefcase in one arm and her daughter in the other. “But you were never good at it.”  She left the building without bothering to look back at the repeated shouts from Vinal and disappeared into the darkness.  Vinal sat there in silence, expecting his own death any moment.  “You know I had planned to kill them originally.” Vinal looked up at the robot casually stroking their non-existent chin, a muscle memory from their previous life.  “I had it planned out so you would lose your loved ones just as I had. Rather more poetic than me impaling you to a wall and skinning you alive.”  Vinal began weeping, realizing that he was to be tortured. “But in a way this is better. You didn’t just lose your family, they chose to leave you behind; and you will have to live with that for the rest of your miserable life.”  The robot stomped past the puzzled Vinal and picked up his coat.  “You’re not going to kill me?”  The robot looked down at Vinal as it put on its now tattered coat. “Had you asked me that yesterday I would have thrown you into oncoming traffic and watch your body be battered to pieces. But I don’t feel the need anymore after seeing the look in your eyes as your own family walked away from you.”  the robot leaned down, their red eyes glaring into Vinal. “You’re already dead. There’s nothing more I could do to you that would be as damning as what they just did to you now, and you’ll have to live with that for how many days you have left.”  The robot stood up and without warning crushed Vinal’s legs by stepping on them with their robotic feet.  “I thought you said you wouldn’t kill me!?!?” Vinal cried as the robot strode away.  “I won’t, but that doesn’t mean the blood loss, vermin, or starvation won’t get you instead. Best of luck getting back to your vehicle with those limbs.” With that the robot strode away into the darkness leaving behind a broken alien in more ways than one. 

[mr-boingloins]

We recently bought a 27' fifth wheel trailer. We are going to paint the inside and put in some vinal laminate flooring. Cry and I will be living in this in northern California so we can be close to our kids.

We are excited about this new adventure!!

[jashasedai]

So there is this new documentary on Superbikes on Netflix. It’s got a lot of commentary by Colin Edwards(Superbike legend)

His commentary is filmed at his motorcycle training camp(The Texas Tornado Boot Camp) and he is sitting in front of a couple dirtbikes, maybe in a garage or barn.

On the last segment(there has been no traffic behind him this whole interview) there is a random 8 year old kid standing there, checking out the bikes.

And the film crew didn’t find it necessary to shoo the kid away or reshoot that part of the interview.

It’s not his kid.

Just some kid from whatever group he’s training, we have to assume. Comfortable enough to stand there with a film crew 6 feet away, just lookin at some bikes and chilling with Colin.

And it reminded me of the story in the Verse where Colin is at the WMC budget meeting.

Guests at the Conference

Even at the World Motorcycle Center, business meetings went on way too long. Half an hour or an hour on Tuesdays when Colin had to sit and listen to every department head give their reports, so he, as the head of the smallest department, could say, “Yeah, Battler, Tito, and Animal are doing okay.”

He scribbled on the scratch paper in front of him, and then stopped himself. It was a waste of resources.

The conference room door opened and closed, and Colin didn’t register it until Cal, who was translating for Jenny’s Rider, Midnight - who was explaining some problem the laundry department were having - leaned away from Colin.

Colin looked down. Claymore was standing there, looking up at him. Colin tilted his chair back and put his arm down, hooking it around Claymore’s legs. The strong little foal clung to Colin’s shoulder, as much climbing up Colin’s arm as Colin was lifting him into his lap.

He settled in with his head on Colin’s chest, and Colin could hear his breathy little voice murmur for a moment before he closed his eyes.

Stefy was reporting on the progress of the land buy for the annex the motocross Riders would use in California.

Now that was an interesting project. The land was out in the desert by Edwards Air Force Base. Nothing to do with anything he was here for, though.

Colin glanced up at the head of the table. On Ricky and Ratchet’s right, Rasoio was engaged in listening to Stefy and Bomber talk. It was great watching him talk. He lived whatever the person speaking was telling him. His body language loud enough even Colin could read it.

I wonder if that is a result of spending so much time trying to get me to understand him, Colin thought, drawing a little square on the scratch paper, boxing off the scribbles he’d made earlier. That wasn’t wasting, because he’d already made those marks.

The edge of the paper was probably fair game, too. He wouldn’t be making notes on that.

Cal stopped translating and leaned away from Colin again. A little brunette appeared, just taller than the top of the conference table.

Amaranta was holding hands with another little brunette, this one a colt. There was a little blonde colt behind them, wiping his nose on his red sleeve.

[I missed you,] Amaranta squeezed further between Colin and Cal’s chairs.

[You can stay, but you must be still,] Colin told her in very small gestures.

He looked at the ubiquitous Piglet and Firecracker. He didn’t have room for all of them on his lap. He shifted Claymore to one side, disturbing his rest and earning a reproachful whir. Mackenzie was sitting on Colin’s other side and he held his arms out for Amaranta. She smiled and went around the back of Colin’s chair to the burly stallion. Piglet stood with big eyes, arm outstretched, still holding Amaranta’s hand, the other hand on his chin. He turned and tried to squeeze up under the arm of Colin’s chair, head first.

Colin redirected him over and held him on his left leg. Claymore stared at Piglet for a moment and then closed his eyes again.

Firecracker drew back from a similar invitation onto Cal’s lap, and stood beside Colin, head rested on his bicep.

At the other end of the table, Ivan’s recruiting report had begun. It was always one of the longest. It was the report the rest of the meeting was strung around, like monitors on a particularly potent motorcycle. Colin refocused his attention. This was something that pertained to him.

Someone moved up behind him. He looked over his left shoulder.

Tito rested a hand on Colin’s left shoulder, but the matchable aged colt didn’t take his eyes off Ivan and his report. [It is important to pay attention, I cannot speak with you right now,] His body language said.

Good boy. Colin smiled.

The door opened and closed again. This time it was dropped audibly. The colt took in the crowd in and around Colin and tapped Cal’s arm. [Will sit up,] He gestured, and then made a little engine growl. It was an affirmative noise, that meant something like, “We’ll get this done.”

Cal lifted Animal up and he took the pen from in front of Travis Pastrana, and then the paper as well, and bent over the table and began to draw.

“Sorry to interrupt you, Ivan,” Ricky said from the head of the table, holding his hand out in the wait gesture. “What’s happening here?”

“Beep!”

It was a quiet beep.

It probably wouldn’t have echoed around the room like it did if everyone hadn’t been completely silent.

Colin looked up the conference table, where every face was staring at him and his guests. He realized Rasoio was grinning hugely and doing a tiny wave at Amaranta over the head of Claymore’s twin, Gladius.

Valentino was looking down and pinching a smile.

The man in the center of the head of the table was not smiling. His mouth was a little bit open.

He raised a hand palm upward in a gesture that didn’t need translating.

Just to be clear, he said it as well.

“What’s going on?” Ricky Carmichael, owner of the WMC asked Colin, head of a department that managed exactly 3 Riders.

Colin looked around at the crowd of his friends. He was viscerally aware of the fact that the door had just opened again and another set of small footsteps was making its way across the floor.

Travis moved and pulled Mule onto his knee.

“What?” Colin asked. He leaned over and squeezed Mule’s outstretched hand, and gave the foal a welcoming smile.

Travis dandled Mule, and the colt turned around and gave the man a huge smile.

Cal gestured around Animal’s drawing project. “Well at least they’re quiet.”

Featured Racers

(Adult)Midnight- Jenny Tinmouth (Isle of Mann expert)

(Adult)Battler- Ben Spies (Superbike, MotoGP,) Deaf Rider

(12)Tito- Prematch Esteve Rabat, Deaf Rider

(5)Animal- Prematch Jorge Navarro, Deaf Rider

(5)Claymore- Prematch John McPhee, Gladius’ twin

(5)Gladius- Prematch Luca Marini, Claymore’s twin

(Adult)Bomber- Stefy Bau (Motocross champion)

(6)Amaranta- Prematch Maria Herrera

(7)Piglet- Prematch Maverick Vinales

(8)Firecracker- Prematch Brad Binder

(6)Mule- Prematch Jack Miller