#how to prevent rust in your car

[seat-safety-switch]

Rust is my most hated nemesis. I have stared more than once into the crumbling mess of red death that was, long ago, a pristine steel panel. Many evenings have been spent cutting out rust, only to find more rust, and cutting out that rust only to find yet more rust. Everything on my car is actively trying to return to the earth, but I won't let it.

Maybe you're lucky enough to only own new cars, or so absolutely fortunate that you live somewhere that cars don't rust even when they get scratched. If that's the case, you can pretend that the rest of this story is actually talking about croissants. Croissants are delicious, rich, and buttery, and I'd probably have learned how to make them myself if I didn't spend what my Daytimer® estimates is three-quarters of my waking life fixing body and structural rust on my harem of shitbox cars.

For years, car folks have been lured by a series of snake-oil paints, oils, dyes, dips, and other formulations that promise to help prevent rust. Virtually all of them are horseshit: elaborate scams produced by an industry that knows they have a desperate customer, just like parachute companies. The most effective rust prevention is to hose your car down with lanolin, which is a sort of wax you make by crushing up sheep. It works well, but the trick is doing it every year, forever, perfectly, until you miss a spot and your car disintegrates at highway speed, like a sand castle being hit by an errant volleyball.

If you talk to someone rich, they propose simply driving a bad car in the winter, and keeping your good cars cooped up. This is impossible for me: not only do I have exclusively what the rich would call "bad" cars, but I feel shrieking agony every time I am destroying any vehicle at all through my carelessness and malice. That is, of course, unless I am racing the car, in which case it is understood by all involved that dying in battle is the most noble way for the car to ascend to Valhalla. There is no honour in scrapping a car because the rear subframe prolapsed on your way to work, so I enter my most precarious vehicles in ice racing in order to give them a good end-of-life experience.

Unfortunately, it turns out that the gaping rust holes reducing the weight of the chassis, and my devil-may-care attitude bumping rivals off the lake in fact is the secret formula to produce winning race cars. Now, I'm not as rich as your Inoues or your Sennas, but the $50 gift certificates to the local tire place really add up. I hear they've got anti-rust underbody spray, which seems like a good thing to do to whatever chunks of cars I can frantically weld together this summer in the few weeks before the leaves turn again. The cycle of life.

[floralexchange]

All Hope Relies On Us

Cross-posted on Ao3!

>Read there for more details and early uploads!

Chapter 1| Apartment 302

Your fingers tightened on the steering wheel as if his grasp still lingered, despite the many miles between you— his presence prickled at the countless marks lining your skin. The marks weren’t just bruises, but reminders of why you did it in the first place, who you did it for.

Glancing into the rearview mirror, your son rolled his toy car along the cushion of the seat, making soft vrooms with his mouth. You did it for him, watching his imagination run wild, innocence lining his young features, it was all you could hope for.

Though even his warm smile couldn’t chase away the shadows in your mind— the fear slithered up your chest, coiling tightly around your neck until you struggled to breathe, the memories suffocating you until it was all you could think about.

His hold on you was constricting, and it wasn’t something you wanted your son to live through, so you pressed the gas pedal harder— if you couldn’t get away from him in your mind, then you’d do it on the road. ________

Pulling into the assigned parking space and seeing the apartment complex lifted a weight off your shoulders, clicking the seatbelt out of the fastener and stepping out of the car. You circled around to the side that your son sat on, pulling the door handle softly and holding it open. Sometime during the trip he’d fallen asleep, his tiny hand closed around the toy car, his hold loose as his body limped from exhaustion. Just as you were about to reach in, a harsh breeze entangled itself through your hair, causing goosebumps to cover any inch of exposed skin. A shudder ran up your spine as you leaned in and unbuckled him, pulling the cartoon-themed blanket he brought over his body before lifting him out. You placed him in the crook of your shoulder and slipped your arm under his bottom, using your foot to push the door close and walk towards the trunk.

Your footsteps pressed against the broken concrete, almost too loud as it echoed in the stillness, the reverberance adding an eerie feel to the complex. A nagging feeling pulled at you and ushered you to look around, as if warning of a threat that wasn’t there. Though, you listened anyway, an empty sidewalk was visible due to the dim light, but anywhere else the light couldn’t reach was shrouded in shadows.

This did little to stop your growing paranoia, popping your trunk and snatching the clothes-filled trashbag before dropping it onto the ground. Your gaze flickered across the parking lot, pushing the trunk back down and picking up the bag, your grip tightening with every glance over your shoulder.

It was a handful trying to balance your son and prevent the bag from dragging on the ground, slowly making your way from the lot to the stairs of the complex. Looking up at how many stairs you had to climb, you could already feel the sore muscles, “Three flights,” You muttered.

…Two flights…

…One flight…

Patience was running thin, and so was your energy trying to power through the last few steps. The entire way up consisted of you taking a break every flight and readjusting Taylor so your arm wouldn’t go numb. Despite your exhaustion, you pushed through and climbed the rest of the stairs, seeing the door to your apartment lit by the dingy overhead light.

302, the numbers engraved into the metal plate, rusted from the elements and gradual erosion.

You approached the door, the moths that surrounded the light fleeing as you crouched down. Examining the rug that laid in front of the door before sliding your hand under, the scruffy material scratching your skin as you grabbed the spare key underneath. You pulled it out and shook your hand softly, the collected dust scattering into the air as you stood up to unlock the door.

After a few attempts, a soft click sound indicated it’d unlocked, pushing it open as a soft gust of wind escaped from the small gap. You reached back and pulled the trashbag in, dropping it on the wooden floor with a quiet thud before pushing the door close. Feeling around the wall for a switch and flicking it on, it illuminated the room in a familiar muddy yellow as you glanced around.

Continuing to hold your son while you explored, you ran your fingers along the wall, nicking the peeled paint that lifted in the corner. Walking through the hall led to the compact kitchen, the scent of grease and grime forcing itself into your nostrils, “Gross.”

You retraced back out and walked a couple of steps to the only bedroom, nudging the door open before flicking the light switch up. The lightbulb took a moment to respond as it stuttered on, it wouldn’t last long, apparent from the frantic buzzing. Moving to the small bathroom hidden in the corner, you peeked in— a sink, mirror, shower-tub combination, and a toilet hidden behind a half wall. Not much, but functional.

The apartment wasn’t in the best condition, and someone might’ve called you crazy for deciding to stay there, but it was yours. A place you could call home, where you could feel safe, no matter what the condition was.

A soft exhale parted your lips, a weight seemingly pulled off your shoulders and a pressure released from your chest. The air ran wild through your lungs for the first time in years, and the ability to breathe so freely felt extremely overwhelming, your hand cradling the back of Taylor’s head as you leaned back on the wall. Your legs couldn’t even hold you up anymore before you collapsed onto the floor, the sudden urge to cry crashing like a strong wave as your eyes brimmed with tears.

“Mama..?” Taylor lifted his head up, squinting softly up at you.

You quickly blinked away your tears, “Yes, love?”

His brows knitted together as he peered up at you, the slight pout of his bottom lip betraying his stern act, “What’s wrong? You look sad.”

His question hung in the air as you hesitated, “…Nothing, I’m just tired.”

“Promise?” He mumbled.

You nodded, “Promise.”

His eyes searched for any signs of dishonesty before plopping his head on your shoulder once he couldn’t find any. You maneuvered him sideways so he laid properly in your lap, gently rocking him to sleep as you fixed the blanket over the entirety of his body. He quickly drifted back off to sleep, his chest rising and falling as the rhythm of his breaths steadied and his eyes fluttered closed. Your hand traveled up to his cheek, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips as your thumb grazed his soft skin, before leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

The sound of the light buzzing pulled you out of the sentimental moment, a jarring sound emitting from the bulb before a loud popping sound rang and the light blew out.

“At least I don’t have to turn it off…” __________

Somehow, you managed to fall asleep perched against the wall, woken up by the sun peeking through the window blinds and flashing over your eyes. The sun painted the room in a warm natural light, an appreciated far cry from the murky yellow the lightbulb displayed.

Despite feeling more rested than usual, your neck quickly explained to you why to never sleep like that again— the muscles were stretched so unnaturally that you questioned whether or not you’d broken it. You inhaled sharply as your hand traveled up to your neck and gently massaged the sore spot, feeling the pressure loosening before yawning.

You blinked harshly to ground yourself, but something felt off—

Taylor.

You immediately sprung up off the ground, throwing the small blanket off your lap as your heartbeat skyrocketed through the roof. Taylor wasn’t on your lap anymore, wasn’t anywhere in the room, and before you knew it you’d ran out of the room ready to tear the apartment apart to find him.

“Vroom…vrooom..skkrt…”

Taylor’s little noises when playing with his toy car calmed you, not your heart rate but your mind at least, watching him as he pushed the car across the floor. The wheels spun tirelessly as it rolled all the way to the wall, ricocheting with a small thud before he got up to retrieve it.

“Oh- hi mama!” His smile reflected off of you like a sunbeam through a mirror, running up to you and throwing his arms around your legs, “I was playing with my car, wanna see?!”

The force made you stumble before catching your balance, running your fingertips through his hair as you powered on your soft voice, “Of course I wanna see!”

He ran back to where he’d left the car and picked it up, holding it up to you, “Here! It's red and… and it has really big wheels, and it goes super fast!”

He placed the car back on the ground, pulling it back while making tiny revving sounds before pushing it to showcase its speed, the sound of the metal casing against the wooden floor echoing out.

“Wow, that’s really fast!” You dragged, giving him a small applaud.

Before he could give a reply, a soft knock on the door rang out, both of you snapping to look at it. You froze, through the window you could see a silhouette, a man’s silhouette. Your heartbeat spiked again, but not in panic, in distress.

Without a second thought, you grabbed Taylor’s arm and pulled him up off the floor, running back to the bedroom with him in your arms.

You took the corner and hauled ass to the bathroom, your shoes scuffing the floor before you placed Taylor in between the toilet and half wall, his body coiling into the tight space.

“Mama, who… who is that..?” His voice shook, his bottom lip quivering as he peered up at you with wide, tear-filled eyes.

“I-… I don’t know,” You whispered, “But I need you to be really quiet for mama, okay? Can you do that?”

He nodded quickly, his shaky hands flying to cover his mouth. He tried to be strong for you, but the tears that spilled over went against that.

You rubbed his cheek, the tip of your thumb wet as you wiped the tear, “It’s okay love, it’s-… it's okay I promise.”

He had to be quiet, but you knew he was capable, your chest pounding as you stood— Taylor watching your every move. He pressed himself further into the corner, making you turn back to the door as you crept to the edge of the bathroom.

Silence filled every nook and cranny of the apartment, your heartbeat drumming in your ears the only sound you could hear, and the faint click of the front door as it was pushed open.

You didn’t lock the door.

Someone was in here.

You looked for anything that you could use to defend yourself, a broom in the corner most likely left by another tenant a while ago, it’ll have to do.

You quickly grabbed it before slipping behind the door, luckily for you it opened in a way that blocked anyone in the apartment from seeing you.

You pressed your back against the wall, trying to keep your breath steady and quiet so you wouldn’t be heard, fingernails digging into the grainy texture of the wooden stick.

Heavy footsteps echoed into the hall, you pinpointed that they were in the living room.

“A toy car?” They pondered, their voice hushed.

Definitely a man.

His words carried a heavy accent, Irish or Scottish maybe?

Your grip tightened as the footsteps made their way down the hall, approaching the door, every little step he took quickened your breathing to the point you had to hold it so you wouldn’t be heard.

His silhouette was visible through the gap of the door, disappearing and reappearing in the room, finally entering as he peeked past the door.

Adrenaline rushed through your veins, and the next second you were swinging the broom straight towards the back of his head.

He spun around just in time to catch the broom mid-swing, slamming against the wall and causing the structure to vibrate.

“Wha’ the- calm down lass!” He barked, eyes darting as he assessed what the hell was going on.

“Who the fuck are you and why are you in here?!” You yelled, refusing to let go of your hold on the broom.

He strained against your pushing, “I didnae know anyone lived ‘ere!”

Despite his distressed appeal, it was in one ear and out the other with you, a sudden burst of strength made you snatch the broom out of his grip and fueled you enough to swing again.

This time it connected, hard, the wooden stick smashing against his bicep with a nasty thud and even getting some of the bristles into the action.

“Shite!” He hissed, recoiling and cradling his arm, “I live next door, ya ken?! I swear I didnae know ye lived ‘ere!”

That sentence might’ve saved his arm, preventing you from swinging again but you still held the stick tightly in defense, “…How do I know you’re not lying?”

“I’ve-… I’ve lived on this floor for years, and I’ve been the only one.” He stumbled, trying to catch his breath, “I heard some noise and came to check it oot, I didnae know ye moved in.”

He put his hands up in surrender, keeping his back on the wall, “Now, could ya please put the broom down…?”

“No,” You snapped, voice like sharp glass as you cut right through his desperate plea.

He shrunk away, glancing between you and the daunting broomstick, “Not even… holdin’ it a wee bit lower?”

“No,” You repeated, “I’d actually prefer if you got out of my apartment.”

You glared, he squinted, and both of you stared down each other like a gunslinger standoff.

After a moment of consideration, he sighed, “Eh, jus’ promise not to hit me on the way oot?”

“We’ll see,” You hummed.

He pushed off the wall and you watched his every move like a hawk, stalking over him while you were ready to pounce if he tried anything.

It was a bit ironic considering your height differentials, after the effects of your adrenaline wore off you started taking in his appearance, specifically the weird mohawk that lined the top of his head.

What am I thinking about?, you shook your head as you followed him the entire way to the door, ensuring that enough space was kept between the two of you.

He stepped out of your door before pausing, turning around to face you, “Ya should lock yer door next ti-”

A forceful thud rang out, courtesy of you slamming the door in his face. You didn’t waste a second, locking both the top and bottom locks, before reaching for the security chain and inserting it into the slot for extra reassurance. After a second you dropped the broom, the wooden stick falling with a clank as you breathed shakily.

Hands desperately roaming the material of the metal locks, the fabric of your clothes, anything to try and ground your dazed mind— almost feeling dizzy from the shitshow that just transpired. Though one thought cut through the spiraling mess, Taylor. Your feet started carrying you back to the bedroom, pace quick as you went back to the bathroom to retrieve him.

He stayed exactly where you left him, his knees crunched into his chest, hands pressed over his ears and eyes squeezed shut. It broke you to see him so tense, crouching down and slowly reaching to move his hands away from his head.

“Taylor… love, it’s me,” You whispered, gently holding his wrists.

He opened his eyes cautiously, registering that he was safe before leaping in your arms and burying his face in the crook of your neck. His incoherent mumbles were stifled by your jacket, until eventually overtaken by weak sobs that soaked the material and dripped down like a calm stream. Ragged breathing accompanied his sobbing, lungs trying to intake enough air in between sobs, as your arms snaked around his fragile figure to anchor him to you. The warmth of his body engulfed you like a soft blanket pulled over your shoulders, a gentle reminder that both of you were gonna be okay.

There weren't any words you could use to console him, opting to cradle his head and rock him back and forth, almost as if you were putting him to sleep— the familiar motion seeming to calm him down. It was a tactic you used on a regular basis, and without a doubt it always worked like magic.

After a minute or two only his small sniffles could be heard, “You okay?” You muttered.

“I’m okay…,” He hummed, “Did the bad man hurt you…?”

Your breath hitched, words caught in a net as you hesitated. You cleared your throat, forcing them out before they could become further lodged, “N-…No. The bad man isn’t here. We’re safe.”

You felt him nod, his soft hair brushing against your neck, “No more bad man…”

You nodded along with him, “That’s right.” You willed yourself to believe such, it’s the least you could do for Taylor.

A vulnerable moment lingered between you, a tiny rumble purring from his stomach breaking the silence. The sound pulled at the corners of your mouth, despite the weight still bearing at your chest.

“You hungry?”

“Mhm,” He nodded, his head tucked into his chin.

You brushed a stray piece of hair out of his face, “What do you want to eat?”

He pondered, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt, “…Pancakes.”

Your smile grew, the pressure easing just a little, “Pancakes it is then.” __________

You held Taylor’s hand as you followed the hostess, weaving through the crowd of people waiting for their orders and waiters carrying large trays of food. The shouts of the cooks in the back mixed with the chatter of customers conversing while dining, blending with the sweet scent of syrup and smoky smell of meats floating through the diner.

You hadn’t been to a place like this in years, and the combined senses were starting to overwhelm you as you transversed through the crowd.

“Here’s your booth, and your waiter will be with you in a minute.” Her voice snapped you out of your trance, giving her a strained smile as she walked away.

You let Taylor sit near the window, watching him climb into the booth before sliding in after him. He shuffled over and grasped the edge of the windowsill, peeking out of the glass as he watched the various cars fly by on the road. While he was busy counting how many red cars he could spot, the waiter came to the table and set down two menus.

“Hello, my name is Joseph and I’ll be your waiter today,” He introduced himself, a friendly smile plastered on his face, “Can I get you anything to drink while you look over the menu?”

You flipped over the menu and checked the list of drinks, “Uhm… I don’t want anything,” You muttered.

He looked up from his notepad, flashing his brows, “Anything for him?”

You pulled Taylor back from the window and gestured to his menu, “What do you want to drink?”

He sat down and read over it before glancing up at the waiter, shrinking back in the booth, “…Apple juice.”

The waiter nodded and wrote down the orders, “I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”

He disappeared into the crowd of hungry customers, his friendly voice drowned out by the mass of clinking silverware and mindless chatter. Leaving the two of you to look over the menus, you slowly traced your finger along the outside of the menu, the laminated cover stained from the wandering hands of diners after several years. You peeled it open to reveal the different items you could order, decorated in upbeat and colorful fonts that danced around the pages.

Though, even all the cheerful colors and illustrations couldn’t mask the harsh reality you faced— the prices. Skimming each one felt like a sinking weight being placed on you, 17.99, 15.59, 19.29, even the simple kids meals steeped above $10.

“Mama, can I have these?” |Pancake Combo 12.79, the label read.

Taylor held the menu up for you to see, pointing to the picture of stacked pancakes with drizzled syrup, topped with whipped cream and a small amount of fruits. On the side included scrambled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, and two strips of smoky grilled bacon. He peered up at you excitedly, his hanging legs swinging back and forth under the table.

You glanced down at him, swallowing hard, “Yes, just wait until the waiter comes back, okay?”

“Yay!” He giddied, bouncing innocently in his seat.

After a while of pondering and playing How many red cars can you count? with Taylor, the waiter came back with his apple juice and slid it to him, the glass cup dragging against the table.

“Are we ready to order?” He questioned.

You looked down at Taylor, gesturing for him to tell the waiter, but he looked up at you warily before tugging on your sleeve and shaking his head softly.

You sighed and turned to the waiter, “He’ll have the pancake combo.”

“Pancake… combo,” He scribbled on his notepad, “And for you?”

Your grip on the menu tightened as you shook your head, “Oh I’m-… I'm good.”

The waiter’s brow raised, his pen clicking softly as he stopped writing, “Are you sure?”

“…I’m fine,” You pressed.

He glanced at you, and for a second, a moment of understanding seemed to flash across his features, scribbling again on his notepad before smiling softly, “Your order will be out soon,” his tone steady as he looked at you, the glint in his eye letting on more than you knew.

After another round of waiting, and of course playing Taylor’s car game again, the waiter weaved skillfully through the crowd while carrying a large tray on one hand. Dodging loose children with ease and without dropping a single thing. He approached the table and took two plates off the tray, placing one down in front of you and the other in front of Taylor.

You blinked, staring at the food, then quickly pushed the plate away from you, “Wait- I didn’t order two meals-”

He leaned down and gently placed his hand on the plate to stop you from pushing it, “Don’t worry, it’s on the house.”

Your brows furrowed as you looked up at him, “What? Why…?”

A warm smile tugged at his lips, “Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes, y’know?”

Before you could protest any further he walked away, disappearing into the crowd just as fast as he appeared. The knot in your stomach slowly unraveled bit by bit as you looked down at the plate before completely unraveling. A warmth spread across your face, and almost involuntarily, you couldn’t help yourself from smiling like a child, repeating his words in your head.

Maybe everyone does need a helping hand sometimes.

Read the rest on Ao3!

[thehorsewaslee]

Daybreak

Sejanus plinth x Reader(f)

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Warnings; No reader body/race descriptions (if any pls lmk) A little ooc. NO USE OF Y/N.

Wc: 4k

Summary; Zombie apocalypse AU

Being a light sleeper was once a negative trait, it meant the gentlest of wind rustling the trees faintly woke you up on days you really wanted to sleep in. Now it’s essential. It means having eyes on the back of your head. 

Perhaps your body was back in survival mode, being out in the open like this again. 

Sejanus hummed softly by your side, a tune you previously heard his ma sing in passing. You didn’t mind, but it definitely was the reason you woke up, even if he was trying to sing it very, very quietly, whether it was out of boredom or self comfort. 

You listened to his voice with your eyes shut for a minute or so, reveling in the moment’s comfort before you had to face the real world. Blinking your eyes open proved a little difficult and your gaze was immediately met with his palm near your eyes. You furrowed your brows before noticing a small ray of light peeking through his fingers, the sigh you let out let him know you were finally awake. 

“We were supposed to switch, Sej.” You got up, rubbing the sleep out of your face. 

“Yeah, but,” he shrugged. “Wasn’t tired.”

“Liar,”

“Plus you looked at peace,”

You rolled your eyes, pulling him in by his collar to rest his head on your lap, forcing him to get some shut-eye. He mumbled ‘so aggressive’, before getting into a comfortable twist and dozing off almost immediately. The bus window by his legs was open, meaning he managed to unlatch it sometime during your nap. It brought a steady gust of wind into an otherwise stuffy car. You were both tucked comfortably in the last seat of this school bus that sat in the centre of the highway you were crossing. The roof of the thing was almost caving in with the loss of the supports due to rust, the smell of which accompanied your every breath, the cool metal of every wall plunging the car into what you were sure were freezing temperatures. Despite the several layers you had on, the frost’s bite was still unrelenting. 

You found yourself fighting off sleep. 

The warmth of his body was welcome in the winter dawn, your own personal heater in the dead of cold. He ran hot year round, and he’d pull you into multiple conversations about how you’re probably the one to run cold and that ‘his temperature receptors are perfectly normal and functioning as intended.’, but you’d see him begin to break a sweat with the last days of winter every year. You’d just kiss him to prevent more questionable medical knowledge from spilling from his mouth because you were pretty sure he was only messing with you most of the time. 

“Okay, mister doctor,”  You’d roll your eyes. 

“That’s doctor doctor,” he’d quip back like clockwork. 

In a world where every corner is filled with uncertainty, Sejanus’ familiarity was the best constant in your life. 

Your hand found his scalp, your fingers moving gently back and forth to pass the time. It was great that he was such a deep sleeper. Deeper than quite literally everyone in town, you like to think that he could sleep through- well, an apocalypse. The sun peaked further up on the horizon, casting its rays through the front glass pane, broken and refracting in every corner. You now realised what he was doing earlier and so you mirrored his position by putting your palm directly over his eyes to shield him from the light, since he won’t be bothered by the weight of your hand anyway. 

It was a nice little set up, especially being so far away from the townsfolk’s prying eyes, but if you waited for too long into the afternoon then the warmth would bring out more infected onto your path, and so, just a few hours after he laid his head down, you had to wake him back up for the final stretch of your journey. 

You could see the mall -your destination- just an hour or so ride away from you, the road ahead safe enough thanks to Sejanus clearing out the infected that had stumbled out onto the path last night, taking them out effectively with a long-range rifle while you sat back and enjoyed the show, you were better close range anyway. Who better to have on a run like this than Sejanus ‘bullseye’ Plinth?  

He tries not to let his excitement show, you could tell, but his eyes usually gave him away. While the unrestricted wilderness was nothing new to you, Sejanus could count on one hand how many times he’d been completely vulnerable like this, and the adrenaline that comes with it all was enough to keep anyone on a constant high. 

His parents were filthy rich before everything, it allowed them to afford fancy cars and security detail when the outbreak started, and they were only out in the open for under a year before they made it to the settlement, Jackson. The Plinths were practically one of the founding families of the community, it gave them a massive edge of respect they so clearly earned. Still, Sejanus went through his childhood just as every other resident did, with military training and world history classes, plus extra  rounds with the guns as per his father’s request. 

Everyone in Jackson knew how to shoot, it was mandatory, but no one came close to Sejanus. 

He spent most of his post teenage days in the hospital building, doing his best to absorb whatever real med school graduates have to say. 

On a run like this, Sejanus really isn’t most people’s first pick, but you weren’t most people. 

He grabbed your hand softly, pushing it onto Callous’-your horse companion for the journey- nose, who promptly huffed his face away. 

You huffed as well, mirroring the mare’s frustration. “What is your problem?”

“You need to stop approaching him with ill intentions-” he chuckled.

“How does the horse know I have ill intentions, did he tell you that? Also I don’t have ill intentions! What are we even talking about, what are you- the horse whisperer?”

“More or less, yeah.” He laughed as he offered you a knee to climb up onto the saddle with before hoisting himself up.

 The reins fell between his fingertips effortlessly, the steering almost second nature to him. With an hour or so of trotting ahead, you found yourself smushing your face into his toned back, your arms respectfully at your side because he’s ticklish and any wrong move would send Callous sprinting down the road. You wanted to doze off again, but he wanted your company. 

“You mind finishing your story? Kept me on edge all night,”

A chuckle slipped past your lips. “Sure.”

The outbreak started when you were both 8, but instead of security you were sloshed around different government survivor camps with no idea where your family was. You had no choice but to survive, a word Sejanus knew nothing of, but you didn’t blame him for that. 

He never bored of your more lighthearted stories about weird things you saw on the run, so you keep the ride entertaining with anecdotes about children born the a race different to their supposed father and sugar coated stories about the taste of human meat. 

“And then he yelled- you’re eating Matt! I’m pretty sure I threw up after.”

“Yuck,”

“Yeah, Matt was an awful guy though, so I don’t feel that bad,”

“Awful in what way, taste or person?”

“Ha-Ha very funny.”

There was a beat of silence as he contemplated his next words, the smile on his lips becoming more difficult to keep hidden. “What did it taste like?”

“Before or after I found out?”

He pursed his lips and shook his head, “in general,”

“I don’t remember that well, I’m pretty sure I was just starving so it tasted fine,” you grimaced. 

“Do you crave it?”

You stared at him blankly, trying to decipher if he was being serious at the moment. “….yes,” 

He furrowed his brows, but before he could process anything, you bit into his back, causing him to yelp. 

“Ow!-” He tried to roll you off him. “Stop biting!” 

The mall couldn’t be more than 10 minutes away by now, you would have made it faster had it not been for the fact that you needed to conserve Callous’ energy for the journey back with the added weight of the supplies. Both sides of the highway were covered in dense forest, thick and unkept from its days of former glory. 15 years of unrestricted growth causing roots to inch their ways into the decaying asphalt. 

“How many do you think are out there?”

“What? Cannibals?” He nodded. “Oh, plenty. Some are a little more ethical than others, judge character first and all that.”

“While others judged on what exactly?”

“....Meatiness,” You squeezed his back. “You’d make a fine meal, you know?”

He didn’t answer, but you’re pretty sure you heard him audibly gulp, causing you both to break out into a fit of laughter. You rested your forehead snug against him as a lazy smile painted your lips, but the moment was cut short when your gaze caught an odd car just in the corner of your field of vision, causing you to almost yell at Sejanus to stop. He brought Callous to a slow trot as you wasted no time in jumping off and confirming your suspicions.

The car was burnt to a crisp which, all things considered, wasn’t really that alarming, at least to the untrained eye. He caught up to you briskly. 

“Guess that’s what the smoke was,” he nodded over. “Jesse said they didn’t find anything when they checked.” 

And then they told the townsfolk it was a forest fire. You thought.

“Think it just-” He gestured vaguely, “Combusted? You know, being a car expert and all.”

“No this is a controlled burn,” you pointed out the cars around which had been clearly pushed further away to prevent a chain reaction. “Look, torn up tire pieces mean the cars were moved.”

“By who?”

You ignored his question, hopping up onto the hood of the car for a better view of the top, the lack of any unusual markings put your mind to rest, but you were still a little uneasy.

“Maybe it did spontaneously combust,” you hopped off. 

“Did you have another theory?” He frowned, catching up to you and mounting Callous quickly.

“Maybe,” You breathed out. “Let’s just get the stuff and get back quickly. I’ll tell you later.”

He sighed, shaking his head and taking off with a little more anger in how he carried himself. 

You were very closed off about the time you spent hopping from settlement to settlement, at least the more vulnerable parts. Sure, silly stories about accidental consumption of cannabis and the hours that happened afterwards were fun, but Sejanus wanted to know who you really were during that time. You, however, wanted to keep those memories buried deep in your subconscious at best, a futile attempt to erase what you saw. 

It was cliche to say, sure, but you had come to the conclusion that people really are their own worst enemy. Most of the time, you understood why they acted like that, the need for survival was one hell of a drug, and you knew you had a better chance being on the run than settling with selfish individuals who chronically slept with a knife under their pillow. 

Sejanus knew all this, he saw people he grew up with carry themselves the same way despite never having to fight a day in their life. He got told that that was all anyone got to be, a survivor. 

But he was such a breath of fresh air when you first met him. A  soft smile and a warm tone you hadn’t been offered in a long time. He wore his heart on his sleeve and gave you enough grace and patience as you adjusted to your new life in Jackson. 

With his big doe eyes and honey dipped words you never stood a chance and he wiggled his way through your defences. 

Safe to say he was probably the first person you ever fully trusted. 

Which is why you kept all those stories strictly separate from him. He wasn’t naive, that’s something you simply can not be in the end of times, but you didn’t want to taint your time with him with stories about your darkest hours, you preferred to bask in his gentleness. 

But his patience was wearing thin. 

The more you guarded your past, the more he became wary that you were not entirely who you said you were. If the things you didn’t want to talk about included mostly painful moments, he’d understand, but you had these moments where you’d say things that made him genuinely scared, and now he could only ever imagine what those years looked like for you.   

You watched the road like a hawk from behind him, body stiff in alertness as you looked for any sudden movements beyond the treeline. It was still a better decision to head to the mall than to attempt to travel all the way back to Jackson. The place had been cleared out by some of the more experienced people in town a few months earlier, sealed off and now serving as a supply hub for almost everything. Convoys had been steadily making the trip every 4 days or so in an attempt to grab all the usable things before something happened. 

He still helped you off Callous, tying the reins loosely to a nearby post in the mall’s parking lot. Only one entrance still worked, only Jackson residents knew where it was. You moved in silence through the piles of cars that had -unsuccessfully- attempted to leave in a panic when the outbreak happened, effectively blocking the final stretch from being able to be crossed on horseback. You moved quietly in case there were any stragglers hiding between the ruins, grip tight on either of your firearms. 

As far as you could tell, the place was clear of both human and undead enemies so your guard gradually went back down in hopes of the burnt car being simply circumstance and not the threat you feared it was. 

He hung back while you turned the generator on, restoring power to the place that twinkled alight, having been previously encased in an eerie darkness since the windows were all boarded up. When it's the end of the world, small things like seeing the lights bring life back to the place was nearly a wonder. 

On your list for that day was a roster of dresses and suits for the remaining people in Jackson who hadn’t gotten one yet. The mall had surely seen your scavengers at least once a day for the past month in light of the preparations. All that was left was the people at the bottom of the request list, around 10 each to be exact with their preferred garments. Weddings in Jackson were a big deal, though they were more of a social contract than a legal one, you know, with the lack of a real government and all. Still, any celebration was blown out of proportion for morale’s sake, but you welcomed the event, especially if it meant you got to see Sejanus all cleaned up. 

You divided to conquer your respective stores, you in the women’s boutique and him in the men’s store, though he was having a tough time ignoring the other shops between. And after about an hour of scavenging in silence, the only person left on your list was yourself. Within the fragments of the broken store mirror you managed to catch a glimpse of yourself, something that is a luxury when out in the open like this. You held your pick against your frame assessing the size, it had gorgeous beadwork and was more of a miracle in the way it was still intact. 

You heard his footsteps long before he made his presence known with a low whistle. 

“S’ a pretty colour,” He smiled, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning against the entrance. 

“You think so?”

“Yeah,” he cleared his throat nervously. “I’ll go grab a matching tie one second.”

You bit your lip to try to keep your own grin from straining your face muscles, but it was useless. 

You made your way back to where the generator was to conclude your uneventful run.  

“Didn’t know they had a bookstore here,” He pointed over to a large store with a healthy amount of cobwebs guarding its insides, stopping almost dead in his tracks in what you could only describe as childlike wonder, complete with a sparkle in his pupils. The only way in was through the broken display window, which Sejanus wasted no time in approaching and making his way through. He didn’t even give you enough time to protest. 

You should be hurrying up if you wanted to make it to the rest spot before nightfall, but the excitement on his face was enough to convince you to take a detour. Of course, you caught up to him when he was in the academic books section, crouched down with his backpack wide open as he flipped through various medical textbooks with great focus, stuffing the nicer ones into his bag. All he was missing was that silly pair of reading glasses he had to wear. 

What a nerd. 

You left him to it, exploring the rest of the abandoned aisles lined with near pristine shelves, clearly most books weren’t of use when you’re trying to stay alive. A particular booth by the back register caught your eye. 

            Passport Photo Express Service

You made your way around it to look for a plug you could tinker with. The generator for the building was on, so you were hoping to be able to restore that thing to its glory. When you were finally able to manipulate the fuse, the machine whirred, the lights both on the inside and outside flickering on. You whistled over to him with a smile on your face, seeing his head pop back out from the books he was burying his nose into. 

“Come check this out,”

The scowl on his face that was always a permanent feature when he was studying was still there while he put together what you had been showing him. He eyed the lettering and the pictures on the side. You stepped over to where the wires were hidden behind a flimsy deteriorating panel, wiggling it off and twisting the wires around to try to restore power. 

“Hey!” His smile came back. “I had a passport before everything, you know?” Even if it was such a mundane thing to remember, it was stuff like that that people often held the most onto, the mundane. The phrase ‘new normal’ was insufferable.He watched your dusty hands mess with the circuitry. “Think it still works?”

“We’re about to find out,”

With a final connection the machine breathed with life. 

“Sweet!” He dropped his bag and grabbed your arm leading you into the small space behind the privacy curtain. The light inside was a mix between blinding and unflattering, bringing to view all the faults of the interior like the nest of some bugs in each corner and the peeling leather of the stool people sat on once upon a time. This was no cheesy photobooth that would print blurry memories, this was a professional experience. 

Sejanus’ eyes were nearly hidden behind his smile as he pointed to your faces on the rudimentary screen. It was pixelated and struggling to keep up with your movements making it all the more endearing. He pressed his thumb into a bright green button just below the frame, earning a choppy camera sound from the machine. 

“Did- Did I take a photo?”

You chuckled. “Looks like it,”

He stuck his head out to check if anything came out.

“It wouldn’t print that fast I don’t think,” You bit your lip. 

“Let’s try again.”

This time you two took a moment to pose smiling before he reached over and took one more capture. He didn’t check this time if anything came out, instead leaning his back against the wall and watching your 24-bit figure move on the screen. He watched your laggy hand reach up to grab his collar, pulling him down for a kiss. With his lips on your, you reached over with your other hand to take a picture, then once more with your hand cupping his face as he smiled against you. You pulled apart slightly and you pressed the button one final time, causing him to chuckle, his breath hitting your face.

“Easy on the ink cartridges,” he half whispered, sighing as your eyes bore into his. You knew what that sigh meant. You two were not perfect by a long shot and, as far as your friends back home were concerned, you two were not a thing at all, his wishes. Dating in the postmodern world was tricky, especially in such a tight-knit community and Sejanus preferred to keep things private until…well, he wasn’t sure until what, and that bothered you. But then again, you were not exactly an open book, so could you blame him? But out here, away from all the scrutiny that people had managed to carry over from before the outbreak and away from all the situations where you had to face who you were, you two were just lovebirds, free to roam and do as they please. 

So you kissed him again and again, till you were both breathless. 

“We should be heading back, really this time.”

Right next to his bag sat a short pile of glossy paper turned on its back. The photos themselves were not in the usual ‘romantic’ format of a column of 4 different captures, instead every page held 4 equal sized repeats of the same moment. 

The first included you looking up at something beyond the camera and his face really close to the forefront of the shot. 

The next was a lot more charming, featuring two big smiles between you. You hadn’t noticed that you subconsciously leaned into each other when taking it. 

The third came up half blank, half smudged, earning a pout from you. 

While you wanted to freeze your lover in time, the best you got was a sweet and innocent snap, which, all things considered, was more than most people ever got from their relationships. At least now you had your own little souvenir of his face. 

“We could chop it down the middle when we get back,” He mimicked a scissor with his fingers between the printed ink. “Gonna show it to my ma, she’ll love it. Probably hang it or something.”

You didn’t want to head back but you must, considering that at the very least there were people back home depending on you for their attire. Sejanus talked himself plenty on your ride back which took less time since you two weren’t taking 5 detours an hour. You held onto him for warmth as he talked about things he saw at the clinic, never taking your criticism of his retellings being against some form of oath somewhere, he never took one officially. 

“I have nothing else to say!” His shoulders shook with laughter. “Besides- pregnant! Can you imagine!” He didn’t tell you who exactly, but you had a more than rough idea. 

As usual, your chin rested on his shoulder as you watched for dangers while he tried to find more stories to share. The air was brisk against your face at Callous’ increase in speed for the last leg that was riddled with infected.  You were on edge from the noises around you, though he seemed unphased. He told you how excited he was for the Winters’ wedding, how he’s gonna sweep you off your feet with his dancing exactly one week from tonight. But that was one whole week away and you often find yourself unable to think past the following morning. 

For now, you’ll spend the night wondering if that fourth photo ever printed.

[healingcorvid]

I NEED to talk about the Bayverse.

I know a lot of us trash the Bayverse for several reasons. We think they're ugly, we think they're boring, we hate the Romeo and Juliet law thing, we hate the Optimus, we hate hate hate.

But there is a SERIOUS problem on the level of design. Some of them do look beautiful- I'm no stranger to wanting to do unholy things to TLK Optimus- and some of them look terrifying, like the Driller.

But there's a fundamental lack of thought in the designs of the Bayverse that isn't there in other Transformers media.

It comes down to this: Bayverse designs have a couple major flaws. Some of them are just plain ugly- no offense to my Bumblebee stans but look at him. Look at the three ladies we get to actually see the root modes of. Look at Crosshairs and fucking Wheeljack. They have all these elements of extreme robogore and they don't properly pull it together to form a character that stands out into visual archetypes. There's no "cute" characters, no "beautiful" characters, no "sporty" characters, no "intimidating" characters, no "ugly" characters- and I don't mean that as just character archetypes, I mean that as a category of physical design. Every other media has it. You can always find someone cute and someone pretty and someone ugly in every other media, especially Transformers, but you can't do it in the Bayverse because none of their characters are designed with a recognizeably 'cute' face.

And that on its own wouldn't so much be a problem if it weren't for how close to human they want to animate these guys, but they CLEARLY want them to look like big metal humans. Look at any of the nonbeastmodes who don't have a mask on 24/7 or an empurata. Look at Drift, look at Crosshairs, Wheeljack, TLK Optimus, Hound, even Ratchet if you squint- they're meant to look like big metal humans and it doesn't fucking work.

And then my biggest fucking gripe: Where. Is. Your. Fucking. Skin? I don't mean that on a human sense either. If I hold up a cross-section of a bot from every single media and asked you to point out anatomical features, you could.

"Where is the brain?" What's the thing you think with? Processor/brain module.

"Where is the heart?" What's the thing that keeps you moving? Spark.

"Where are the eyes?" What do you use to take in visual information? Optics.

"Where are the lungs?" What do you use to circulate air? Vents.

"Where are the legs?" What do you use to get around? Tires and servos.

"Where is the stomach?" What do you use to take in nutrients/fuel? Fuel tank.

"Where is the skin?" What do you use to prevent your sensitive insides from falling out? To keep debris and infections from getting in and killing you? Protoform, for everything other than the Bayverse bots. The Bayverse bots don't have skin. They don't, but they NEED it. Especially on a planet like Earth. All of the dust, a car backfiring and shooting out their rusted exhaust pipe (I've witnessed that fucking happen), the rain, small birds, rodents, all of those things can just get inside the bot because there's not even a glass or transparent silicone sheathe. It's not even a fucking weak spot for them like eyes and noses and mouths and ears and anuses and urethras and cuts- they don't have any skin to begin with. None of them do and it's fucking stupid and unrealistic!

It doesn't even need to be something smooth that hides the robotics. Clear silicon. Something somewhat organic because they reproduce through eggs.

[silendastral]

Great, I didn't die from my own cooked food and also freeing up on my blog for anything. What does that mean? - Random headcanons!

- In this world, it is necessary to have your own garage, and it is undesirable to sleep on duty like Sheriff. Why? Insects can get under the bottom and start gnawing on car's body, getting all the way to the upholstery and insides. This is a rare phenomenon, since the car periodically shakes itself while sleeping.

- Speaking of Sheriff. He grazes tractors for the soul and has a relatively good relationship with Frank, so as not to fall out of favor with the combine (well, he simply observes safety precautions with this machine).

- Monster trucks participate in different disciplines, of course. But there is a division into those who were an ordinary car and moved to a huge suspension, and there are those who were created as monsters.

The second case is most often for the amusement of the public and destroys old/broken cars. Trucks are trained so that there is no pity in them, and in general they are treated like animals (Ivy is a good girl who was able to stop what she did not like. Ginormous, in my HCs, is the one who was picked up by the circus and trained like an animal, from which he grew up and behaves hot-tempered at times even after rehabilitation).

- Cars float like cars in GTA Vice City by cheats. They feel good afloat, but it is advisable to apply a special coating to prevent the appearance of rust.

- It is not customary in society to open doors, but cars periodically slam them with discontent.

- It's also not worth opening someone's door without permission - it's harassment . Why did you even want to see someone's inner world?

- By the way, because of the door handles, this can be considered a weak zone. Predators know about this, so first of all they try to tear out the door in order to get to organs.

- No matter how cute cars may seem, cannibalism is not a rare phenomenon for them. But this usually happens in poor families, where the financial situation leaves much to be desired. So a newborn driver is always in danger in such conditions. But he can try to escape, the benefit of small tentacles allows.

- An alarm or siren may accidentally turn on if you scare a car. Also, these goodballs get scared when they first discover a radio inside themselves. And at first it may seem to the poor devils that they are going crazy. Therefore, over time, it was necessary to introduce a mini-briefing on the received body into the program so that there would be no silly situations.

[askthekuvaqbrothers]

Previous Part

---

“Hoist anchor! Heave away!”

The boat lurched under its own weight as it pulled away from the dock, chugging rhythmically as its engine propelled it away. Now nestled in amongst the junk in its store, the three brothers peered out as the boat began to slip out from the massive iron ribs and out into the open sky. 

Open water stretched before them, as the tower behind began to shrink, leaving each with their own shivers. Rufus gripped the edge of the barge, grin wavering on his face as quickly it became only them and the expanse of rust coloured water, with land- and home- vanishing on the horizon. Argus had tried to keep an eye on the pirates, but the smaller one had now ventured inside, and he couldn’t hear anything through all the metal. Cletus hunched, trying to busy his mind with the map- while they weren’t 100% sure on their course, if he could keep track of any landmarks... 

Set on their continuing journey, the three boys made themselves comfortable amongst the scrap, and watched as the clouds drifted past.

---

“Why do you think Dad had to leave?”

Argus took his attention from the sleeping Cletus curled at his side, to Rufus who dangled his arms out over the edge, staring out to sea. He rolled his shoulder a little, wincing at the remaining soreness.

“Maybe it was for work. He’s gone to Unsicher for work before.”

“So like, he went to look at a really big mine or something?” His nose scrunched in thought, clearly not convinced by his own words. 

“Could be… what do you think they’d find in a big mine?”

Rufus pulled back from the edge, moving to sit by Argus, “Big junk i suppose? Like… cars? Big boxes? Oh! What if there are big animals that live in big mines?”

Argus smiled, happy Rufus was distracted, “A giant platypus?”

“The biggest ever vampire platypus! Or a ginormous wombat!”

“Wombats are already big.” Grumbled the now awoken Cletus, “Why would they ever be bigger?”

“Because everything could be bigger! We’re getting bigger right? So why can’t a wombat?”

“We’ll stop growing at some point, like every adult! Wombats also stop growing.”

“But how do you know we’ve seen the biggest possible?”

“Because-!”

“SHUSH.” 

Argus planted a hand over their mouths just as something clunked below. They all held still, trying to hear anything else, though only the lapping of waves reached them. Putting a finger to his lips, Argus inched towards the edge, looking down to where the door to the ship's cabin was. 

“I think it was just the junk-”

“AH!”

Rufus had turned to the other side with a point, singling out the mass of black hair that had crept up on them, and somewhere within, two eyes widened.

“I thought I’d heard voices.”

The three scrambled, shifting the junk around as they reached for the edge of the trawler and pulled themselves over, sliding down the edges with a ‘thunk’.

“Now what’s all that racket boy?”

The cabin door slid open just as the three landed before it, letting them all look up at the looming pirate.

“Oh! Some stow-aways have we?” 

With his large hands, he collected the collars of each of the boys just as the smaller pirate came back around.

“Y-yes, they were who I heard.”

“Well, you know what we do with stow-aways.”

Each brother began to plead their case (or find the most creative threat) as they were carried to the bow and dropped on the deck.

“They’re just children-” The smaller pirate began, before being silenced by a raised hand.

“And children can learn.”

“Just you try!” “I can’t swim just so you know!” “Bring it on peg leg!”

With a loud clap, the brothers went quiet. 

“Nothing happens for free ‘round these parts, including rides on the mighty Boat. So as of this moment, you are the newest employees of Captain Bozo. If you understand, I want to hear ‘Aye aye, Captain.’”

“Is your stupid hat on too ti-” Another clap cut Argus off.

The brothers all shared looks, a silent conversation that all led back to the vast water that prevented their escape. 

“Is this really ness-”

“There’s only one thing I want to hear.”

They shared a solemn nod, “““Aye aye?”””

“Aye aye, who?”

Rufus added an eye-roll, “““Aye aye, Captain.”””

Captain Bozo smiled, puffing out his chest, before shooting a glance at the smaller pirate, “Show ‘em how to swab the deck boy.”

“...Aye aye, Captain.”

—

“Are all pirates so fluffy?”

Rufus had stopped cleaning to pluck at the edges of the pirate's hair, which was made of tight coils that bounced back into shape when released. 

“Pirate? Is that what you think we are?”

“Well, duh. Who else rides on boats full of plunder?”

“Merchants? My family are junk trawlers, we move junk from port to port for sale.” He smiled, resting back on his heels, “I’m Bozo- Well, Bozo Junior. My father is Captain Bozo Senior. I’m sorry you’re having to do this, he’s very strict when it comes to his boat.”

Sitting up from scrubbing, Cletus tossed a rag aside with a pout, “Of course they’re not pirates, how silly.”

“Hey, we all thought-”

“So what port are you going to?”

Bozo looked out over the water, “We should be reaching the Floating Black Market before evening.”

He pulled out the map, scouring its pictures for something matching its description.

“Where are you three off to?”

Rufus, still pulling at Bozo’s curls, cheerfully said, “We’re looking for our Dad! He went to uh, Port…Pora…Pootoo-”

“Porta Fisco.” Cletus slid a finger across the map, “Which is… kind of close?”

“It’s only another hour or so from the Markets. We’re heading there next, but only after we make enough sales.”

Argus had also given up scrubbing, “And how long will that take?”

“Depends on who’s buying. Could be hours, could be a few days.”

He grimaced, “I don’t like uncertain timeframes.”

“You sound like you don’t like anything,” Rufus was now elbow deep in Bozo’s hair, “A market sounds like a fun place to explore!”

Sensing another fight, Cletus chimed in, “We might find a boat leaving sooner.”

“Might.”

“OI, LANDLUBBERS. BACK TO SCRUBB’N.”

The Captains booming voice snapped them all back to work, thought they still shared a look.

“We need to decide. Are we going to stay here and hope they leave soon, or find a new boat?”

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Susie (New Meat Pt. 2)

Pairing: Mike Schmidt x Security!Reader

Warnings: nightmares, trauma, ptsd, child death mentioned, dark dark shit, sh mentioned, non-sh scars mentioned, animal death mentioned, more-so based off movie, some game based stuff in it

Words: 1630

Summary: You introduce Mike and Abby to the gang.

New Meat

You knew you were asleep. Aware that this was all a dream. That didn't prevent you from being utterly terrified in that moment. Every joint was locked in place, unyielding. You'd been doing so well too since you started getting regular sleep. Well, make that two nights worth of sleep but that was still a big deal for you!

A little girl with pigtails is drawing on the sidewalk, chalk in hand. You sit across from her, warmth of the sun on your back as you focus on your own chalksterpiece. Susie's tiny chihuahua dog is relaxed on the front lawn. Yet the moment Carl heard anything he would jump to his feet and start barking.

Simpler times that you craved to go back to. Before you learned what murder was.

From the kitchen window, your mom calls for you. When you turn back around to face Susie, in her place is Chica. You knew the red stains along the seams of her metal suit wasn't rust. It was blood.

Clanking down on hands and knees, Chica scrapes along the sidewalk over to you. A hand held out imploringly for you to take. But you were scared. Scared of this thing. Where was your friend? Where was Susie?

They never found her body- that's what the adults whispered when they thought you weren't paying attention. Susie's parents were besides themselves.

When its beak opens, only a shriek emerges; nothing to denote that any part of it had ever been human.

Having techniques for when such nightmares plague your sleep (which was often), you're able to pull yourself out of the nightmare; eyes opening wildly in the real world.

Your small studio was quiet save for the occasional sounds coming from outside. Checking the clock verified that you were up way too early. Work wouldn't be for another five hours. You'd only gotten three hours of sleep.

Unable to remain in your bed, you decide to throw on your street clothes, microwave some breakfast burritos and head to Freddy's. Just to check in on Mike. You wouldn't acknowledge to even yourself that it was because you were too scared to go back to bed.

From his disheveled appearance, you can tell Mike had been dozing on the job. You'd wait to scold him later. Instead you hold up the plastic container you put the burritos in. "Thought you could use some company."

His brows crease like he knew that wasn't the real reason you were here. Mike didn't ask any questions and just let you in.

"How's your third night treating you?" You easily make a beeline for the security room (checking the halls as you did so). Safely inside the musky room, you claim your usual chair and place your food container on the desk. To your surprise in the security room a makeshift fort had been erected. From inside you could see a small girl staring back at you. You stop dead in your tracks.

"Please don't tell Mr. Raglan." Mike quickly explained his situation with his usual babysitter. With a hand he implores his sister to come out so she could properly meet you.

Abby crawls out from her tent and shyly rushes over to her brother.

"Nice to meet you Abby. Had I known you'd be here I would have brought another burrito." You chuckle, holding your hand out to her.

"Mike's not gonna get in more trouble, is he?" Abby regards your hand with distant curiosity. Her big, brown eyes immediately endeared her to you.

When you'd clocked in for your day shift, you'd opened up the restaurant to find a complete mess. Vandalized. You had Vanessa on speed dial and she was quick to drive her patrol car over. Accusingly, neither of you could help but glance over at the animatronic gang who innocently kicked at the rubble without any explanations.

"I'm really sorry about this morning. I could have sworn I locked everything up when my shift ended." Mike is starting to blabber about Vanessa showing up at his place to inform him of the break in. How she'd found a bottle of his sleeping medication at the scene of the crime. Well, Carl found it and nearly swallowed the bottle whole had you not bravely held open his mouth while Vanessa reached her arm in to grab it.

"What's done is done." You shrug. "At least cleaning up gave me something to do." Whatever happened to the vandals, the animatronics obviously took care of them.

Mike's gawking at you; did Vanessa chew him out that badly? Must have since he was shocked to see how calmly you were receiving the news. Even Abby remained apprehensive, waiting for your cool demeanor to crack.

To break the tension you release an airy laugh. "Relax. You're not gonna get fired from that. Sucked that it happened, but it's something that eventually does and you have to learn from it. That's all. Now, are you guys hungry? Abby can have my burrito."

Abby's still gazing at you, as if she wasn't sure of what to make of you yet. No, like she's reading you.

"You know them." She tilts her head up to stare at you.

Mike seems more disturbed by this than you do. His brows are pinched in distress. "Who does she know?"

An iciness runs up the rod of your spine.

She smiles. "My friends."

You wish you could keep a calm composure but your gut feeling was telling you who she was talking about. Your eyes widen and a small smile curls against your lips. If their spirit have been contacting her. . .

"You wanna go say hi?"

Mike is still standing in the middle of the party room, frozen to the spot as you introduce Abby to the gang. He'd never seen Abby so happy. Not in a long time has she smiled so big and bright that she looks like a completely different kid. He wished he could will his legs to start moving so he could stand next to you. But Mike just couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Bonnie keeps an attentive eye on Mike. Untrusting of this boy who walked around in a similar security guard uniform.

You pat his arm, drawing his red eyes over to you. "He's a friend." Bonnie was always the most wary of the animatronic ghosts. While he doesn't seem quite as convinced, at least Bonnie moves his gaze away from Mike and back to Abby who is promptly drawing pictures for everyone.

"Chica says you're her best friend." Abby comments, her focus trained on her notepad. "That the two of you played together all the time."

"We still play together all the time." You correct and Chica lifts her large yellow head. Even after all those years you still didn't quite know how to address her. Sometimes you interchange the names. You'll call her Susie one minute then Chica the next.

From one of the skeeball games, you pick up a ball and weigh it in your hands. From his perch on Chica's hand, Carl Cupcake stirs at the sight of you holding a ball. If he still had a tail, it would have been going a hundred miles a minute.

You hand it to Abby and explain to her "Carl likes to play fetch."

"The cupcake?"

You nod and look up to Chica. "Why don't you guys take her to the arcade? Show her your favorite games." In her own way, Chica smiles at you though others wouldn't be able to view it as such.

Freddy takes Abby by the hand and they lead her away from the main party room to give you and Mike some privacy.

"Suppose I should explain?"

"An explanation would be appreciated." He mumbles and both of you sit at a dusty booth. "What the hell is going on?"

"Vanessa told you about the kids that went missing in the 80's here." Your hands run along the length of the table. Remembering back to a time that seemed so long ago. "Well, one of them was my friend Susie. Their spirits inhabit the animatronics."

Mike's fingers are tented, trying to absorb what you tell him. "Their spirits. So they were-"

"Murdered." You finish and catch his eyes. Such tired eyes. But they had been like that even on his first day. The sleeping medication found at Freddy's told you enough about his disturbing sleep patterns. "Most likely here too. Susie was my next door neighbor growing up. We played all the time and she was my best friend. I still remember going to her wake. No bodies were ever recovered but her parents still held a funeral service for her."

"Jesus Christ. . . and I brought Abby here. . ." Mike groans and rubs over his temples with his fingers.

"You couldn't very well leave her alone at home." Wanting to smooth away the worry that was etching across his face. Your gaze roves over to where the animatronics had left with Abby. Overall they were docile. Only once in a blue moon did they show a type of aggressiveness toward you. Like they forgot who they were at their center.

Unconsciously you push your fingers past your sleeve to feel the multitude of scars that crisscrossed the soft side of your forearm. Many of them were caused by your own hand. But the biggest and most jagged of them was courtesy of Bonnie. Uneasiness begins to gnaw at you the more you think about Abby alone with them. While they may have been gentle a majority of the time, anything could happen where they could snap and attack her.

Not wanting to alarm Mike, you calmly stand and motion with your head. "Lets go see what they're up to."

[imbadatparking]

When we drove through the rain, the water hit the roof over and over, washing us in a muted silence. The repeating, uneven, patternless sound could be heard clearly, even through the rusting metal of your car’s frame. It served as an unsuccessful way to fill the tension, a backdrop of white noise against our palpable fear. Thunder rolled below us from a distance, echoing through the streets and under the car tires like an omen. The dark clouds hung low in the sky, building something more than just rain, overlapping each other and dipping just beneath the top of the treeline. 

Silence wrapped its slimy tentacles around our mouths and coated the seats and the windows. The inside of the car was stale, the kind of quiet that made everything feel heavier. The way we tried to pretend everything was okay, how we tried to hide all our secrets, what I’ve been too scared to say aloud when you can look at me. 

When we drove through the rain, your skin was close enough for me to reach out and touch, if only I wasn’t so scared. You’re closer to me than you have been in for the past two months, and yet when I look over, you seem a million worlds away. I’ve been trying to close the distance you’ve been incomprehensibly focused on making bigger. There’s a crack between us that spreads with every argument you start and every touch you pull away from. I am going in behind you with a naive hope, uselessly pouring concrete in behind you, trying to fix the irreparable damage.

I was foolish for hoping it might’ve been the beginning of redemption. I thought the muted, forced proximity of us - what we’d been trying so hard to avoid, this elaborate chess game of denial and avoidance - would make us acknowledge our problems. But maybe it only allows the opposite of what I’m wanting; you’re using it as a shield, an excuse not to look at me, like every other feeble excuse you never would’ve prioritized before the incident. The headlights paint across your lips and nose, making you look gaunt and tired. They prevent your carefully blank face from being hidden from me. 

When we drove through the rain, I tried to put onto it what we can’t find for ourselves. I’ve rendered myself helpless trying to make things better. I’ve used all my resources, given up everything, no longer own any piece of me that doesn’t belong to you - and will continue to do so. Despite your uncertainty, I will keep fighting against the intangible monster that’s taken you away from me and swallowed you whole. I won’t leave you to face it by yourself; I was here before, I’m here now, and I will continue to be here. 

Maybe we'll never find what we can’t fix for us, but you’re still here. Even though we’re in different universes, even though you’re struggling with a fight I can’t see, even though these past few months have been one inescapable tragedy after another; you’re still here. So I’ll stay. I’ll stay and wait for the rain to get worse, and I’ll weather the storm like I always do, with you by my side like you always are. 

| k. - @nosebleedclub march, xxi. clambering

[leviitome]

6. Booklets and Memos | Ultraviolence

AO3 / Masterlist

cw: violence depicted, suicide, cults, crime, etc.

read at your own risk.

It is now 2:40 in the morning, you can hear the strong wind whistling as loud as the cars drive past and the branch of the tree on your front porch banging on your window for the past hour. Maybe that’s what's keeping you awake, or maybe it’s everything else that has been going on preventing you from sleeping. 

Nevertheless, you sit up and push your blanket aside, turning on the old lamp that barely lights up the entirety of the room. 

You sat down cross-legged on the floor and looked over at the box of your mother’s belongings again, scrutinizing more desperately, pushing stacks of old medical records and yellowing photos. The smell of old paper and your mothers scent lingers, like she never even left. 

Then your hand brushes something thin, it feels crisp and old, it is wedged between the cardboard and the bottom of the box, very easy to miss. You pull it out slowly, and your breath catches your throat. 

It was a makeshift booklet. No cover. Just a small stack of aged, yellow paper folded in half and held together by two staples along the spine. The first page is blank except for a date that looked like it was written in a hurry, uneven scrawl. 

March 12, 1998

I told her I’d wait for her. I always do. 

She doesn’t know what’s happening, she doesn’t understand any of it, and I’d be damned if I let her. 

I should’ve stopped Grisha. I should’ve seen what they were doing to him, what they were doing to the rest of them. 

Everyday I see eyes on my daughter, on me, they wait, and just when I thought I could get her away, when I thought I could protect her, was when they’d come after her. 

If I am not here to protect her, or if something happens tonight, just know that I tried to leave, but he made sure I never could. 

You closed the booklet in confusion, noticing the sun already out when peering out into the window. 

The timeline, this was the day of your mothers death. She wrote this when she set you out for scratch cards but why? Who is ‘he’? How was Levi arrested so quickly? 

And why would the police arrest someone across the country without airtight proof? 

You stood up from the floor and grabbed your jacket and keys before going to the police station. 

All you could think about during the drive was how no stories were matching, the police stated one thing, Levi, Eren, and your mother stating the other. 

As you arrived at the station you grabbed your ID and tapped inside, you made sure you went unnoticed before going into the station's archives. 

The room was cold. The concrete walls and the old flickering overhead lights show that no one has been down here in a long time, everything looked run down and was starting to rust, it was an archive after all, no one pays attention to these things anymore. 

You grabbed an old evidence file from 1998, fingers grazing over the worn label marked Avon / Lange Case. 

You flipped it open. 

Incident reports, photocopied photographs, photos of the crime scene, a picture of you, the wall, and your mother. But something was off. 

There was no source of a witness statement – none. It was listed in the log summary, referenced twice in the officer’s notes, but the actual statement was gone. Fully redacted or never even included at all. Either someone made a mistake, or someone made sure it disappeared. 

As you stare down the hollow spot where the statement should be, your fingers tremble as what you touch freezes you in your spot entirely. 

Tucked behind a brittle folder divider is a picture of you, as a child, leaving your home to buy scratchcards. 

The image is grainy, but it was clearly taken in a rush. You’re frozen mid-step, your backpack slightly open, holding crumpled dollar bills in your fist. The timestamp in the bottom corner reads exactly when your mother sent you out. 

But that’s not what makes your stomach turn. 

It was taken from inside of the house, a window from a room where your mother was obviously not in. Someone else was in there.

Your breath hitches in a rampant and scared hurry as you shove the photo in your pocket, but before you could close the drawer and the folder shut, something else catches your eye. Another folder marked “Confidential – Internal Use Only.” the folder being stamped multiple times with red ink: RESTRICTED. 

You flip it open anyway. 

It was a memo, from March 14, 1998. Just a couple of days after your mothers death. 

To: A/Captain Erwin Smith 

Commanding Officer 

From: Lieutenant Reiner Braun #3498

Investigative Services Department 

Date: March 14, 1998

Subject: Immediate Suspect

During the investigation conducted by Avon PD on Thursday, 3/14/1998, at 235 6th Blvd. Suspect Levi Ackerman is to remain in state federal custody under sealed charges. While initial findings seem to confirm that he was not present at the residence at the time of the incident, he is still listed as the primary suspect for public records. 

Cease all field surveillance immediately. No further interviews permitted. The case of Avon/Lange is to be marked CLOSED for all non-essential personnel. Contact with Subject E. Yeager to be monitored and watched closely. Destroy all duplicates of this case. This is not a request. 

And with that, you shove everything you could gather inside your jacket and run to the closest remnant of your past that you have never stopped running from. Levi.

[spentgladiator]

I don't know how many of you have had the privilege of having to shop for a used car in the last four years or so but let me tell you if you haven't yet, do everything you can to avoid it. What was once an exciting adventure has turned into the most nightmarish process I have ever undergone and I've had multiple colonoscopies, an abortion with complications, and dated an abusive, cringeworthy manchild for entirely too long.

This is worse.

Our particular constraints are this: nothing more than we can afford to buy outright. This is because you save a ton on insurance when you buy outright because they only have to insure the value of the vehicle, not the loan on the vehicle. These savings add up over the time you own the vehicle. Being in southern Ontario, our rates are some of the highest in Canada. By a wide margin. It's also because we are very, VERY debt-averse, which more people could stand to be imo.

This puts us square in the 2009-2015 range of used cars. Technically we could buy older but. We live in the Rust belt.

To circumvent this rust belting, our first instinct was to exploit a loophole in Alberta's insurance which is that a vehicle is technically considered road-worthy if insurance coverage has not been broken up to the point of sale, and purchase at an auction there and take our chances.

Three rounds of auctions later and we were outbid every time. There's only so much you should be willing to put up cash wise sight unseen and auction beaters used to be a very valid means of procurement. No longer it would appear. This was two weeks or so of looking.

So we switched out to local listings. Local auctions are mostly dealer-only so that way has been closed off to us, but honestly with how expensive auction beaters are now we're better off buying off a lot with a safety cert.

Cue three days of searching. Multiple bookmarked listings. And days of me scouring every single thread learning every single piece of info about the used car market out there.

Here is the process. You cannot skip any steps in this process under any circumstances. Never EVER skip one of these steps. Buying a used car is a huge headache and involves some SERIOUS legwork but that legwork will save you thousands of dollars in the long run and you will thank yourself.

So. Step one is to cold-call a lot. Don't book appointments to test drive, it prevents shady dealerships from clearing codes on cars before you arrive, making last minute changes, prettying them up etc.

Just show up, and start asking to look around.

This is Ontario specific but you're looking for CPO or at the very least safetied with some kind of warranty.

So the steps are.

Step 0. Find a car you like the dealership will sell CPO or safetied. Never EVER buy a car as-is. The difference in price between certified and as-is is in the THOUSANDS which means the dealership is willing to lose thousands by not having it safetied meaning it will cost AT LEAST THAT MUCH to pass inspection!!! Run don't walk away!!! You're gonna get screwed!!

1. This is the where the "fun" begins. This is your due diligence so you don't get ripped off or stuck with a money pit. Google "car make/model/year/Reddit" read at least 3 threads to completion. They will tell you common problems, pitfalls, mileages when it usually gives out, etc. decide if it's worth it. This is how I stopped us from getting stuck in an otherwise beautiful car that has class-action-lawsuit bad issues. Car Reddit is your new best friend.

Step 2. Get on your belly and look under the car. We live in the rust belt. Familiarize yourself with what rust looks like at different stages and what leaks look like. Also familiarize yourself with what oil spray OVER rust looks like. I saved us from a big mistake with that one. We live in the rust belt. Shady sellers will oil coat their rust buckets and say they were sprayed every year and that's a huge lie. Don't fall for it.

Step 3. Only get to this step if step 1 & 2 satisfy you. Start the car. Pop the hood, listen for anything that sounds out of time, it should be a consistent rhythm, no squeaking or inconsistent pops or shudders. It should start easily and smoothly. Sniff around for really notable exhaust fumes, smoking or burning.

Step 4. The actual test drive. This is very important, run the car with the window down, listen for any noise from the wheel wells (it helps if you have someone else with you to listen from the passenger side) make sure all your windows work, radio, AC, heat, watch the temperature gauge, feel how it shifts if it's an automatic, should not shudder between gears (when you speed up and slow down should go smoothly). Find a way to get it up to highway speed. Ideally not ON a highway, but get it up to 90-100km/hr. This will tell you what the engine really sounds like and if it's throwing a code (that's car talk for the onboard computer senses an error or problem) will probably make it show up even if the dealer already cleared it. That will tell you if the dealer is hiding issues. Out of the vehicles we have looked at, we are at something like 10:1 for vehicles looked at to test driven. We live in the rust belt.

IF FOR SOME REASON YOUR DEALER WONT LET YOU TEST DRIVE IT RUN DONT WALK AWAY. THATS 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 LIKE THATS LESS OF A RED FLAG AND MORE OF A RED BILLBOARD.

Most will never get to the test drive phase.

If the test drive goes well, step 5 is "show me the Carfax!" Seriously. Read it front to back. The dealer SHOULD provide it, if they're not willing, you CAN check it yourself but that tells me they're hiding something in the history. Never ever buy anything with a rebuilt or salvage title. In ON a clean title is something that has a "None" branding by the MTO. Carfax clean, or relatively so (accidents will look very big and expensive on the Carfax but might have only been cosmetic damage, insurance rates for accident repair are astronomical and not reflective any and "real" value or cost, don't be too put off by it but ask about the details)

Step 6 is 3rd party inspection- find a mechanic you trust or at least one with majority positive google reviews and ask to book a pre purchase inspection. This will run you $50-$100 but could potentially save you thousands. This is to spot issues you didn't catch on your initial looking over. The reason you put so much legwork into looking over the car first is to save money by only bringing cars with relatively high likelihood of being a good purchase to your mechanic. You're trying to eliminate every possible defect or fault yourself for free before you pay to have it looked at.

IF YOUR DEALER WONT LET YOU HAVE IT LOOKED AT BY A 3RD PARTY (and no, don't fall for "you're welcome to bring him here to look" that's shady AF cuz it means dealer knows if your guy gets it up on the lift he'll see smth) RUN DONT WALK AWAY.

If, and only if your mechanic says he doesn't see any issues, it should run well for the foreseeable future. Then.

Run a quote through your insurance. And then run a quote through a couple different providers and make sure you can afford it!!! I know so many people who got fucked buying a car they loved only to find out the insurance is ASTRONOMICAL or worse, will only cover liability and nothing else (looking @ you, Kia soul owners) or they have to pay insane rates because of whatever.

Then and ONLY THEN do you start signing paperwork.

If you somehow managed to make it through this process unscathed then you must have a lot more money than me LOL

I'm so tired.

[ravenrose18]

My Personal Savior

Chapter 9- Alexandra

Negan took a glance over to her before his eyes went on the road again, his smile finally returning to his face. "Good, and as far as I can tell, I've told you everything." He explained. He sat in complete silence for a brief moment, the only sound being the hiss of the tires as they drove over the asphalt that was still damp with dew. Eventually, he spoke up once again as an idea popped into his head. "There is one more thing I can think of. I'm pretty sure I might have said already, but I've made a deal with Rick and a few other communities. Fifty percent of their crap goes to me each week, in return, I offer them protection. Aside from that, nothing else." He chuckled to himself a minute later, shaking his head a little bit. "Damn, I sound like a broken record. Rick, Rick, Rick.. I bet his ear is about to burn off his head right about now." Raven looks at him, smiles softly, and shakes her head. "Let's just get there. Negan hearing bout Rick is annoying, he must be a prick if you're so obsessed with him, you used to be obsessed with Lucille, or now I should say your wives. But I'll just let it at that I'm not going to get into it I don't want to get in a fight or get pissed again. But don't forget bout what I want to do when we get to Alexandria, okay?" She says she wants to make sure he remembers what they discussed earlier.

Negan grinned in return. "Okay, Princess, I'll stop griping about my grudges. And you can speak to Dixon soon, I just need to talk with Rick a little first. Remember, I'm going to be standing there with you, making sure our crazy, little friend is on his best behavior." He responded. The brake lights of the car in front of him flashed twice before it began to slow down. Negan too eased his foot off the gas pedal, driving at a slower speed. Not even a minute later, the towering, rusting, tin-covered walls of Alexandria came into view. The walls were huge, maybe even sixty feet tall. Some places stood even taller. There were cars covered in spikes parked on each corner of the front gate, possibly as some kind of tactic to threaten outsiders or to prevent walkers. Either way, that didn't deter Negan and his Saviors. Eventually, every bike, car, and truck came to a halt outside the walls, their engines shutting off one after another until there was silence in the air. Negan took the keys from the ignition and slipped them into the chest pocket on his jacket before turning his gaze over to her. "Well, Rosie, are you ready for your first supply run?"

Raven looks at him and smirks, "Well, Smith, this isn't my first supply run since you know I was on my own finding supplies for myself, but I know what you meant." She says as she puts her hand on his cheek and softly pats it, feeling his skin and that prickly beard of his, seeing how he has a salt and peppered beard that looks very good on him. "You know you always look great with a beard, and now that it's salt and pepper, it's even better looking." She says, smiling, looking into his eyes. She wants to kiss him, but they will never be together; even with all that he has, he wouldn't need her. Negan smiled in return, his gaze on her. He gently placed his hand upon hers, the skin on his palms was coarse from the calluses he received from swinging the bat. Upon the compliment, he chuckled softly, closing his eyes before opening them again after a brief moment. "Well, if the beard's such a hit, then maybe I won't shave it off." His brown eyes locked with her blue, for a moment forgetting what he was doing prior.

However, it didn't take long for the static from the walkie to snap him out of his daze as Simon spoke, "All systems are a go, just waiting on you, Bossman." With that, Negan let go of her hand before gently moving away. Raven blushes and smiles, feeling his hand on her, and how he stares back into her eyes. She was feeling so much love for him at that moment, but she knew she couldn't have him. Her smile softened when he let go of her hand as she moved away gently. "I guess it's showtime then, Mr boss Man." She says as she reaches for the door handle and grabs her crossbow, and looks out the window up at the gate, she looks at how big the gate and fences are, they must never have to deal with walkers at all. She takes a deep breath, not knowing how Daryl will react to seeing her or if he will recognize her after all these years.

"Guess so." He smiled a little more before grabbing Lucille from the floorboard. He reached for the door handle, pulling it, before pushing the heavy door open and stepping out onto the asphalt. He slammed the door behind him, not out of anger but just so the door would shut properly. Negan's brown eyes scanned their surroundings, his gaze momentarily lingering upon all of the Saviors that had already loaded out of the trucks. Daryl, too, was amongst them, Dwight standing in front of him to block his chances of trying to run. After giving Lucille a few twirls, Negan sauntered up to the gates, his lips slightly pursed as he began whistling a few notes of a tune. It wasn't his usual one, but something else. As he took a few more steps closer, a muttered "Dun dun dun dun" escaped his lips in the rhythm of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Lucille collided with a bar on the gate a few times in a knocking manner, the metal loudly clanking as the wood met its mark. Once the ringing had subsided, Negan opened his mouth to speak, "Little pig, little pig! Let. Me. In." He called out, in a taunting manner, a chuckle escaping his mouth as he awaited someone to approach from the other side.

Meanwhile, Daryl's eyes traced over the group of people around him, his gaze alone being enough to tell he was on edge. He shifted his feet around a little, the desire to flee into the nearby woods almost overbearing, but he stayed put. He knew that even he probably wouldn't get far being unarmed and surrounded by all these people. Raven gets out of the truck holding her crossbow in her hands as she looks around she sees Dwight and then she leans a bit to get a glimpse of Daryl sighs and walks towards Negan staying behind him she looks up at the gate and wonders who would open the gate if it might be this Rick Prick that Negan been talking bout she keeps her guard up even though Negan said nobody will hurt her or try anything especially if they are here at Alexandria. "Are you sure anybody is home, Negan?" She asks, smirking and putting her crossbow on her back so everyone knows she is armed, even negan's men

Negan turned to look at her, his grin becoming a little brighter. He had just opened his mouth to speak, but never got the chance as the rattling sound of metal cut through the air. The canvas-covered, chain-link fence on the other side began to move as someone pushed it out of the way to see who was on the other side. Negan met eyes with him, slightly disappointed as he realized that it wasn't Rick himself. Instead, it was a young guy with short wavy hair and a stubble beard. Negan stared the guy in the eyes, his fingers impatiently tapping upon Lucille's handle. "Well?" The man, Spencer, glanced at Negan before his eyes briefly trailed over to look at the large group of men he had standing behind him. Spencer's gaze eventually went back to Negan as he spoke up. "Umm. Who are you?"

Negan leaned back a little, his smirk growing slightly. "Oh, you better be joking. Negan, Lucille," He lifted the bat to display her as he said her name, before continuing to speak, "I know I had to make a pretty strong first impression." Spencer didn't say another word, just studying him and his group, but Negan was no longer interested in speaking with him as he noticed another man approaching. This man had his curly brown hair cut short, his beard having a lot of grey. His eyes held the weight of both hatred and pain. Rick. Negan's grin widened, showing his teeth. Finally, the man he had been hoping to see. "Well, hello there... Do not make me have to ask." He spoke, his gravely voice expressing hostility upon the last sentence, his face growing more serious. A woman had also joined the two men now, but Negan didn't pay her any mind. He saw the man he wanted to see, and that's all he cared about.

Finally, Rick spoke, his calloused hands grabbing onto the gate's metal bars as he began to push it open. "You said a week. You're early." He grumbled, his southern accent audible as he spoke. Negan smiled once more, moving his head a little to the side, "I missed ya." He teased. Raven stares at Rick and then looks at Negan. She crosses her arms as she watches their interaction, standing beside and a little behind Negan. "So this is the guy who gave you trouble, wow. I was except something different, to be honest with you, Negan. But yeah, he looks like a prick, shall we get a tour of the place, Negan, or straight to business?" She asks Negan as she tilts her head, leaning forward, coming into his view. She can't wait to see what's going on here, but she still needs to talk to Daryl. She may think Rick is a prick, but she still wants to help and try to stop this. She doubts she will be able to, but she can try at least. While Negan was talking, just hearing his voice made her feel different. It made her heart race, hearing how his voice can get when he's being hostile towards Rick.

"Yes, it is." He responded, his eyes still on Rick, before looking over at her as she moved more into view. "Exactly what was going through my mind that night. I thought it would have been that ginger who I bashed the brains out of, but nope! Just some cowboy from Georgia who likes to play sheriff." He spoke, his eyes trailing back over to Rick, who now wore a look of remorse after Negan spoke of the man he had killed. "You know, Rose, I think that's a great idea. So, Ricky, how about we get a grand tour? I wanna see the cozy little community you've been running for me." Negan spoke, his grin widening. Rick, wary but compliant, turned away from them, beginning to walk back into the community, Negan and his men following in tow.

As they walked along the paved road, they were met by a scene that seemed mundane in a time like this. Two-story homes lined the road as far as the eye could see, their coats of paint kept fresh and pristine. A large lake was dug in the middle of the town, its rippling waters breaking as a fish leaped up on occasion. Gardens bloomed with life, the stalks and leaves a dark green from fertilizer. Five giant solar panels were in an area where they'd get the most sun, which was most likely the power source for all of the homes. The sound of children playing could be heard in the distance, but the more they walked, the sound grew silent. The people of the community either hid in their homes, peeking out from behind their curtains and blinds, or gathered in the streets to see what the fuss was about. Negan's grin widened as he looked at it all, his eyes holding a hint of envy. It was like stepping back in time before the whole mess. "Hot diggity dog. This place is magnificent." Negan announced, outstretched his arms for a moment before letting them drop back to his sides.

Raven walks behind him and looks around the place in amazement "Whoa what the fuck I thought I never see a neighborhood still intact like this wow. This place is magnificent. They must have running hot water here, Negan, if this place looks like this, they must have running hot water. Negan, I wish I grew up in a house like this." She says as she keeps to Negan's side, as she sees a lot of people here, she hopes nobody dies, especially not the children. "Negan? Do you hurt or kill women and children?" She asks softly as she's next to him. She felt like she needed to make sure of this. She needed to make sure that nothing went wrong here while she was here, but if it did, she couldn't do anything bout it. Negan chuckles as he listens to her. It was as if she were speaking every single thing that crossed his mind. This place was amazing, and if it had the room, he'd move the people from the sanctuary into here. Upon the mention of hot water, his brows lifted a bit. If they did, then he really would be jealous. Upon her question, his smile faded a little. He stopped in his tracks, turning his attention to look at her. Rick, hearing the footsteps come to an abrupt stop, he too stopped in place, turning his head a little to look, curious about the hold-up. "Hell no. Sure, I've done some pretty messed up shit, but even I have standards. You don't think I'd do that, right?" His expression, although mostly calm, held a hint of hurt in his eyes.

Raven looks at him and then looks down, shaking her head. "No, of course not, Negan, I just thought I asked. I'll let you do what you need to so we can get this over with and get back home. But remember what we were talking about, okay? So go ahead and get the supplies and talk to Rick. And I need to make sure I talk with someone too." She says, glancing back at Daryl and then back at Negan. She didn't think he ever hurt kids or women but she had to ask since she doesn't know what he has done other than, what he has done that he has told her. She felt better knowing he had never killed women or children. Negan relaxed before beginning to walk once more. Rick began to move as well, continuing to lead them through the place. Although she said she believed him, he still felt a little hurt by her question. She didn't think of him as a blood-thirsty monster, did she? Of course, he couldn't exactly blame her if she did. Especially after all of the people he's brutally killed, or sticking hot irons to people's faces. As she spoke, he was pulled out of his thoughts, taking a glance over to her, "Don't worry, while things are getting loaded up, you can speak with Mr. Resting-Bitch-Face back there." He promised.

Raven looks up at him, smiles softly, and nods. "Oh, thank you, Negan. I appreciate you letting me talk to him, and I'm sorry I asked you those questions. I don't think you ever hurt kids or women, and I still trust you and will stay by your side during this, okay? You're not a monster, okay? You are trying to show you don't fuck around or that you're trying to save and protect your people." She says she wants to grab his hand or arm or even caress his cheek, but she doesn't want to do that in front of his men or anybody else; she would rather that actions be done in private. Negan returned the smile, continuing to walk the path. "You're welcome, sweetheart, and all's forgiven." He felt a little better upon her apology, beginning to relax. Upon her saying he wasn't a monster, it caught him a little off-guard, his stride slowing for a couple of steps before he went back to his regular pace. He would have stopped dead in his tracks like before to make eye contact with her, but he didn't want to hold everyone up again. His smile brightened on his lips as he finally relaxed completely. "Well, I'm glad somebody finally gets the memo. Not everyone does." He spoke, his eyes trailing to Rick.

When Rick heard what she said, his expression filled with disgust and hatred. Hearing her say that almost made him sick. He still remembered that night. He was forced onto his knees on a cold Virginia night, watching his friends' brains oozing on gravel, their blood spattering onto his face. The screams of Glenn's pregnant wife as she had to watch her husband be beaten to death. In Rick's eyes, Negan was evil incarnate, but he was helpless to do anything. Raven looks over at Rick and glares, crosses her arms over her chest, and shakes her head. "Somebody has to know what makes fucking sense in this fucked up world we have to do what we have to survive and protect our people. Let's get on with the tour and get these supplies collected I don't need to get dirty looks from some prick who is losing his shit and causing his people to get hurt or killed." She says she smirks, knowing she has to be confident in what she says, and her body language needs to show it as well. She doesn't care what Rick does as long as he doesn't fucking do anything to Negan or herself.

Negan looked at her, his smile brightening. It was like he had a female version of himself standing right there, speaking what was crossing his mind. "Well, shit. Would you listen to that, Rick? She's only known you for five minutes, and she's already gotten you all figured out." Negan taunted, a smirk on his lips. Rick stayed silent, just leading them along like he was told. It seemed like he was ignoring it, but he wasn't. Every single word hung in his brain, already beginning to fester. Even though she hadn't done anything to him personally, he had already labeled her with the same disdain as he had given Negan. In his eyes, every single one of his men should be held to the same standards as their leader, no matter their involvement.

Eventually, they were brought to the food storage, which was a large garage filled with shelves. Rick grabbed the bottom of the garage door, lifting it for them so they could enter. Negan gave a flash of his hand, and with that, his men began to enter the room, taking 50% like he said. Raven follows behind leans against the wall next to the door and crosses her arms as she watches Negan's men collect the food she glances around and sees Daryl standing there looking miserable she frowns looks down and sighs as she thinks bout what all she going to say or do when she talks to Daryl she hopes to hell he doesn't hate her or disappointed in her while she stays with Negan. She can't handle that or be told that he never wants to see my face again. She felt hurt just thinking bout it. She glanced over at Negan and then looked down at the floor and messed with her necklace as she tried to calm her mind and not let it show to other people.

As the men began to walk back out of the room and gather nearby with the goods, Negan couldn't help but smile. What had started as a horrible adversary was already proving to be a reliable resource. Sure, he could say what he wanted to about Rick, but he had to admit, he was thankful for his willing cooperation. "Alright, let's get this shit to the trucks and go-" Negan spoke, his voice being abruptly interrupted by the sound of a single gunshot coming from a few houses down. Negan and his Saviors turned their attention to the sound, and the ones who had their arms free immediately began reaching for their guns. Rick's eyes widened as he realized where the sound had come from before he sprinted in that direction. Negan too followed behind, his face concerned, fearing one of his men had either made the shot or got shot. Either way, whatever the outcome, he knew it was going to cause problems.

Rick burst open the door, his boots thudding loudly as he raced up the stairs. When he reached the room, his breath caught in his throat, gazing upon the sight of his son holding the gun, pointing it at a Savior. Luckily, neither were harmed. It was just a warning shot. "Put some back or the next one goes in you." Carl threatened, the gun still trained upon the man holding the crate. Rick held out an outstretched hand, slowly and carefully moving closer to take the gun from his son. "Carl. Carl. Put the gun down." He pleaded, his voice soft but filled with urgency. Carl turned to look at his dad with his remaining eye, his face filling with annoyance and anger before his gaze returned to the Savior. "He's taking all of our medicine. They said only half of our stuff." Carl responded, his voice cracking a little as the nervousness began to set in. Negan walked into the room behind Rick, giving a menacing chuckle as he put his attention on Carl. "Kid?" He questioned, stepping in front of the Savior to act as a shield for him. Sure, it was risky, but he didn't want to lose any of his soldiers. Despite Negan blocking the way, Carl moved the gun so that it was still trained in the location of the same man.

Raven hears the gunshot. She follows behind as she gets to the room and leans in; she puts her hand on her hip as she walks into the room further, seeing the teenage boy holding the gun to one of Negan's men. Seeing Negan walking in front of the gun that was just shot, she wants to reach out to Negan and say something, but she doesn't think that's a good idea, so she walks at least to stand beside him. She glances over at the kid with the gun. "Negan... are you choosing what you take, not just half of the stuff? Negan, I'm not trying to tell you what you need to do here, but everyone needs medicine, and it's hard to find, right? Do you have a way to see what medication we are low on at the Sanctuary, maybe take what we need?" She asks softly as she touches his arm gently and then quickly pulls her hand away and looks down.

Negan softly released a sigh as he listened to her speak. She did have a point; medicine was practically the holy grail of today's world, but they needed that medicine too. Maybe not urgently, but still. You never know when the Saviors will face a time when they will need it. Carl looked at her, his expression lightening slightly after hearing what she said. He hated the Saviors as much as everyone else, but her attempt to help wasn't ignored. A silent look of gratitude appeared in his gaze before his expression changed back as he looked at Negan once more. Negan released a sigh, "How about this? We take the crate this time, and take only half with the next? Normally, I'd agree with my pal over here, but you just shot at one of my boys. I don't take too kindly to that shit."

Raven looks at him and then the kid and sighs and looks down as she holds her necklace again and knows that she tried to help and has a different perspective on the medicine situation she never could find medicine like pain killers it was hard to come by when she was alone out in the woods and being alone for so long she clears her throat. "Um, Negan, maybe give the kid some slack, he was just trying to protect his group, his family. It was hard for me out there in the woods on my own to even fund painkillers.... never mind, I'll shut up now, I'll go outside." She says as she starts walking towards the door she doesn't want to talk him down in front of his men she might get an ear full in the truck on the way back to the Sanctuary but she trying to make the situation better and not have someone get hurt or killed on either side especially a teenager who grew up in this world.

Negan took a side glance at her, before looking back over to Carl. He understood where she was coming from, but he had to do something as a punishment for nearly shooting one of his guys. It was either taking their medicine or killing another man, and he didn't want to kill any more of them. Regardless, he wouldn't have killed Carl, but someone else instead. When she began to walk away, he held his hand up for her to wait. "You can stay in here." He spoke. Carl took a glance at her before his gaze went back to Negan, "You should go with her. You all should, before you see how dangerous we all are." Carl threatened. Negan smirked, his eyes looking over Carl's face for any signs that it might be a bluff, but he couldn't find any. The kid meant it. "Did you just threaten me? .. Now, I get threatening Ol' Davey back there, but me? Now, I can't have that. Not him, not me, and-" As Negan spoke, he took a step forward towards the teenager, curious to see if Carl would still be so brave if the distance between them was shorter. Still, the kid remained strong.

Rick tensed, fear enveloping his face as he watched what was happening in front of him. He had already lost two of his good friends, he didn't want to lose his son, too. "Carl-" Rick interrupted, but was silenced immediately as Negan held up his hand again. "Don't be rude, Rick. We are having a conversation here. Now, boy, where were we? Oh, that's right, you and your man-sized balls. No threatening us." He spoke, his eyes still trained upon Carl's face, "Listen, I like you. So, I don't wanna go hard proving a point here. I said half of your shit and half, is what I say it is. I'm serious. Do you want me to prove how serious? Again?" The last word was spoken with a little hesitancy, his eyes expressing such as well. After a moment of silence, Carl lowered the gun, handing it over to Rick. Rick finally relaxed, his breath shaky as he trembled a little, understandably terrified of losing his son.

Raven looks over at him once she stops in her tracks and watches what's going on. He walks back over to her, seeing how serious Negan is, but also how serious this kid is. She sees Carl give the gun to Rick. She looks at Rick and smirks as she walks over to him, using her fingertips on one of your hands to grab the gun from Rick, and she holds it in her hands. "Wow, this is a nice pistol, but I got a better one. If they are threatening us with guns, Negan, maybe they shouldn't have them; they must have an arsenal of guns here. I don't like the idea of them having that much weaponry." She says, holding the gun and making sure Rick doesn't do anything stupid, she points it at him. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, but she doesn't like it when Negan gets threatened, even though Negan can handle himself. Her nightmare might come true if he's not careful. Rick didn't try to fight, allowing it to happen. Negan looked over when he heard her speak, before a smile stretched on his lips. Sure, she had moments of compassion, but she was getting the hang of things pretty quickly. "You make a very good point, Raven. Why should we let them keep their guns?" "But how do you expect us to defend ourselves? Without guns, we'll die!" Carl piped up, his voice distraught. His eye looked over the three, his gaze lingering on Raven in a silent plea for her to stand up for them like she had before.

"We are your protection now, kid. You give me your shit, and we protect you, that was the deal." Negan spoke, his eyes on Rick as he spoke, not bothering to look over at Carl this time. "Well, Rick. How about you show me my guns?" He spoke once again. Rick, though a little hesitant, walked out of the room and down the stairs, moving to lead them to their armory. Raven looks at the kid and then looks away as she knows they aren't going to be responsible for these guns anymore and sighs, "Well, you know Negan, how do you think they got all these guns? Didn't you say you had men at those outposts who had guns? Look, I get you guys need protection, but by the way, you're acting and what we just witnessed there is no trust. Negan can agree with how things have been between you guys, and I mean we can let you use melee weapons, but no guns that need ammo, plus ammo is also hard to come by these days, not unless you knew where an army base was, like I do." She says as she smirks and looks up at Negan, winking at him. She felt bad for the kid but his father is a dumbass of a leader anyway.s

Negan kept his eyes on Rick as he made his way out of the house and towards the armory, following behind him. So far, they all were still being very compliant. Negan's smile widened as he heard her speak. "Another good point, Miss Rose. That outpost had a lot of guns that just vanished into thin air after that whole mess. I have a pretty strong gut feeling that they're right here." He spoke. Rick remained silent, although a flash of something crossed his face when he heard something about the military base. Carl followed behind them, still anxious about the whole thing. His face was full of regret, his chest tight from guilt. If he hadn't tried to threaten Negan and that Savior, then maybe they wouldn't be going through this. Now, if anything bad happened to Alexandria in which they needed guns, any casualties would be on him. At least, that's how he felt about it.

Raven follows behind him and she stands in the doorway of the armory after everyone walks into the room she looks at the arsenal of weapons they have she sighs and shakes her head she looks down wondering if they have any weapons that don't need ammo like melee weapons to help them not die while they are out there collect supplies for themselves and the Saviors. "Hey Negan, maybe they should have melee weapons, they need some way to not die while being out there collecting supplies, they can't be completely defensive. And I mean, we can't lose people because they don't have weapons." She says as she keeps leaning her shoulder on the door frame and crosses her arms, looking down but glancing up at him. She didn't think saying anything bout the military base would cause issues in the future. She hasn't been to or seen the military base in years, she doesn't even know if there are still weapons and ammo there, and she doesn't remember exactly where it is. It's been too many years since she saw it. The Saviors gathered up the guns, bringing them back to the trucks as well as the food. The people of the community gathered nearby to watch, fear and anger enveloping their faces. However, no one said a jeer or tried to stand up. Instead, they all just stared. They had been extremely compliant this entire time, the only one showing any kind of resistance being a teenage boy. It was pretty strange, but maybe they just feared confrontation. Negan turned to look at Raven as she spoke, before smiling a little. "Don't you worry your pretty little head? They get to keep all of their knives, bows, swords, whatever. All I want are guns." He reassured her before turning his attention back to his men as they worked.

Next Chapter

[shaktiautomobile]

Title: Rainy Day Car Care: How to Safeguard Your Vehicle in Wet Weather

Introduction:

Rainy days can be challenging for car owners, as the combination of wet roads, reduced visibility, and potential water damage poses risks to your vehicle. However, with a few proactive steps and careful maintenance, you can protect your car from the effects of rainy weather. In this article, we will provide valuable tips to help you safeguard your vehicle and ensure it stays in optimal condition during wet conditions.

Maintain a Clean Exterior:

Regularly washing your car is crucial to protect its exterior from dirt, grime, and corrosive elements carried by rainwater. Additionally, applying a protective wax coating will help repel water and prevent water spots, keeping your car looking pristine. Pay attention to the undercarriage as well, as it is susceptible to debris buildup. A clean exterior will minimize the risk of damage caused by contaminants present in rainwater.

Check and Maintain Wipers:

Your windshield wipers play a vital role in maintaining visibility during rainy weather. Inspect the wiper blades for signs of wear or damage, such as cracking or splitting. Replace worn-out blades promptly to ensure efficient water clearance from the windshield. Additionally, make sure your wiper fluid reservoir is filled with a rain-specific formula to effectively remove grime and provide clear visibility.

Ensure Proper Tire Traction:

Wet roads can be slippery, compromising your car's traction and handling. Regularly check your tire tread depth and condition to ensure adequate grip on wet surfaces. Consider switching to all-season or rain-specific tires for improved performance. Properly inflated tires also contribute to better traction, so monitor and maintain the recommended tire pressure levels. Good tire traction is essential for safe driving in rainy conditions.

Protect the Interior:

Water damage can affect your car's interior if rainwater finds its way inside. Inspect the rubber seals around doors, windows, and the trunk for any signs of wear or damage. Replace damaged seals promptly to prevent water leaks. It's also advisable to use waterproof seat covers or invest in water-resistant floor mats to protect the upholstery and carpets from moisture. Dry out any wet spots immediately to prevent mold or mildew growth.

Park in Safe Locations:

When parking during rainy weather, opt for sheltered areas whenever possible. A covered parking spot, such as a garage or carport, will protect your vehicle from direct exposure to rain. If covered parking is unavailable, look for spots that offer some protection, such as under trees or other structures. Avoid parking near areas prone to flooding or beneath trees with overhanging branches that could potentially cause damage.

Drive with Caution:

Rainy conditions require cautious driving to ensure your safety and the well-being of your vehicle. Reduce your speed and maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead, as it takes longer to stop on wet roads. Avoid sudden maneuvers and hard braking, as they can lead to skidding or loss of control. Additionally, be mindful of hydroplaning, which occurs when your tires lose contact with the road surface due to a layer of water. If hydroplaning happens, release the accelerator and steer straight until traction is regained.

Post-Rain Inspection and Maintenance:

After driving in the rain, take the time to inspect your car for any signs of damage. Check for water accumulation in the trunk, footwells, or other areas. Dry out any wet spots and address potential leaks promptly. Also, inspect your vehicle's undercarriage for signs of rust or corrosion that may have occurred due to exposure to water and road salt. If you notice any issues, consult a professional mechanic for necessary repairs.

Conclusion:

By implementing these car care tips, you can effectively safeguard your vehicle during rainy weather. Maintaining a clean exterior, ensuring proper visibility, and protecting the interior are all crucial steps. Additionally, cautious driving, parking in safe locations, and post-rain inspections contribute to keeping your car in optimal condition. Remember, regular maintenance and timely repairs will help extend the life of your vehicle and ensure it remains reliable even in wet weather conditions. With these precautions, you can confidently navigate rainy days while safeguarding your prized possession. for any service visit- shaktiautomobiles.com

[lermisv4]

The issues with the Cybertrack, as far as memory serves:

Parts glued together with glue that is not sufficiently heat resistant.

Even if the glue is in a good state, most of the time it's insufficient, especially since it's used for the car's exterior. Even though it's supposed to be a "truck", it can't pull things.

All systems are connected in a "bad Christmas lights" style - one thing goes down, they ALL go down.

Looking at a screen in a moving car can cause dizziness (source: me, who can't look at my phone while I'm in a vehicle).

Being forced to look at a screen at the side takes your eyes off the road, which increases chances of accidents (also the reason why texting while driving is bad and why modern cars let you link your phone to your car so you can talk without having to take your hand(s) off the wheel).

Required screen input mean that in the case of emergency, the driver cannot use their reflexes/muscle memory to prevent it.

There's no mirror inside the car to let you see through the back window. In fact, the back window is made in such a way that you can't see through it at all. You need to use the screen for that. This means you have to deliberately choose to look at the window to see if there's a problem behind you, and by that point it may be too late.

The fact all these functions are connected to a single screen mean they're in large part mutually exclusive, which is the exact opposite of all other modern cars. The time window needed to react to an emergency significantly increases.

It also means that if anything happens to that screen, you basically can't use the car anymore.

Faulty connections on the coverings of the accelerators and brakes (the covering can just slip off and get stuck) mean the car make be stuck without allowing the driver to slow down, speed up, and fix the problem. I'm pretty sure a celebrity died because her Cybertruck got stuck in reverse and into a lake.

Windows CANNOT be broken from the inside. Bringing up the previous incident, in case of fire or sinking you cannot break the windows to escape. Considering this is an ELECTRIC vehicle, you cannot put the fire out (granted, this is an issue all electric vehicles have by their very nature), but this makes it all the worse.

Despite the above, windows CAN be broken from the outside but it takes a considerable ammount of effort. No, the car isn't bulletproof (check the Mardi Gras footage for prof), but if the fire department needs to break through them they'll be wasting some precious time.

In case of system failure, the windows can only be manually opened by partially disassembing the door to reach a very specific and very small switch thing. This a)requires you know the process in the first place (not guaranteed), b) requires you're able to keep calm and clear headed during emergencies (definitely not guaranteed) and c) requires the part in question isn't damaged (ABSOLUTELY not guaranteed).

The car isn't sufficiently waterproof in rain or snow, which is pretty ironic considering it was advertised as a boat. You won't be able to drive this in bad weather conditions, in a continent very well known for how bad the weather can get.

The exterior is not painted, which means it's far more prone to rusting compared to all other vehicles, and threatens the structural integrity of the exterior. This is one of the very few problems that has an easy fix (just paint it - if you're that dead-set on the metal effect there are paint jobs that accomplish this).

Speaking of which, making the car TOO shiny can result in other drives having difficulty spotting the vehicle, increasing accidents.

The coverings for the tires cause friction on them, which means their "life expectancy" is SEVERELY decreased. Also, they can easily gather dirst, debris, and other things you don't want rubbing against your tires. This is also easily fixed (remove the coverings) but if you want cool-looking tires there are SO many alternatives.

It's possible for the electric plug to get stuck. When this happens the car basically locks down (can't remember the details, but this is one of the earliest videos posted by a cybertruck owner).

The way the trunk is shaped you can't actually fit many things in there.

The automatic doors (including the trunk) do not have any detection system for if there is an object obstructing them. The machinery behind that is strong enough to cut through a full grown adult's fingers with ease, something that has been tested REPEATEDLY. Are you sure you want your fingers (or you kids' fingers) near that?

Apparently it makes a weird noise while you're driving? I', also pretty sure it's a bit TOO soundproof from the outside - and you want to be able to hear a siren.

The angular design means that anything that collides with the cybertruck will be crushed and cut into pieces. Combine this with all the other issues.

The front glass panel slides off. This is the cause of the latest recall.

The one screen wiper is badly constructed and can break easily. Even if it wasn't, it's not sufficient to wipe a front panel that size.

You know those black dots you see at the edge of EVERY window? That's to help deal with the expansion caused by eneven heat destribution. The cybertruck doesn't have them, so the windows can and will crack from intense heat.

You need to have an online account to drive this car. Which is insane.

And these are just the problems the car has on its OWN. I'm not getting into the problems relating to EU regulations.

🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️

[johnalexcooper]

The Importance of Regular Trailer Servicing for Safety and Performance

When it comes to road safety and vehicle reliability, one aspect often overlooked by trailer owners is regular maintenance. Trailers, whether used for personal transport, commercial hauling, or agricultural purposes, require consistent care to remain safe and efficient on the road. Regular Trailer Servicing in Ayrshire plays a vital role in maintaining not just the longevity of the trailer but also the safety of its operation.

In Ayrshire, with its mix of rural roads, motorways, and unpredictable weather conditions, trailers are subject to a variety of stresses that can lead to wear and tear over time. This makes scheduled trailer servicing more important than ever for individuals and businesses alike.

Why Trailer Servicing is Crucial

Trailers, unlike cars, often don’t get the same level of attention. However, they are integral to the transport system, supporting everything from livestock to heavy equipment. Failing to service your trailer regularly can lead to a range of problems, from minor inconveniences to major safety hazards.

Here are some of the top reasons why you should consider regular Trailer Servicing in Ayrshire:

1. Safety First

The primary reason for trailer servicing is safety. A trailer with faulty brakes, worn tyres, broken lights, or rusted joints can pose a serious risk on the road. Regular servicing ensures that all critical components are functioning properly. This includes brake systems, tyres, suspension, wheel bearings, and lights.

2. Compliance with Road Laws

In the UK, trailers must adhere to specific legal standards, especially if used for commercial purposes. These regulations include requirements for lighting, braking systems, and weight limits. Routine trailer servicing helps ensure compliance with these laws and can prevent fines, penalties, or worse — an accident due to a mechanical failure.

3. Increased Lifespan

Just like any vehicle, regular maintenance significantly extends the life of a trailer. By catching small issues early — such as minor corrosion or low brake fluid — you can prevent larger, more expensive problems in the future. Investing in Trailer Servicing in Ayrshire is a smart long-term decision that helps avoid the cost of premature replacements or major repairs.

4. Improved Fuel Efficiency

A well-maintained trailer tows more efficiently. Issues such as underinflated tyres or misaligned wheels can increase drag and reduce the towing vehicle's fuel efficiency. Regular servicing ensures the trailer runs smoothly, helping you save money on fuel.

5. Optimal Performance

Whether you’re using your trailer for weekend getaways, farm work, or business operations, performance matters. Servicing keeps all systems in optimal condition, reducing the likelihood of breakdowns or performance issues during critical times.

What’s Included in a Trailer Service?

Trailer servicing involves a thorough check of various components. A comprehensive trailer service in Ayrshire typically includes:

Brake Inspection and Adjustment: Brakes are tested, cleaned, and adjusted to ensure full operational safety.

Tyre Check: Inspection of tyre pressure, tread depth, and any signs of wear or damage.

Wheel Bearings: Greased and checked for wear or damage.

Lighting System Check: Ensures all lights — brake, indicator, reverse, and tail — are working correctly.

Chassis and Frame Inspection: Checking for rust, damage, or signs of structural fatigue.

Suspension System: Examined for wear, especially in trailers used on rough terrain.

Electrical Wiring: Ensuring all connections are intact and protected from corrosion.

General Lubrication: Hinges, couplings, and moving parts are lubricated to prevent rust and ensure smooth operation.

Frequency of Trailer Servicing

How often you should service your trailer depends on its usage and type. However, a general rule of thumb is:

Light Use (occasional leisure): Once a year.

Moderate Use (regular short trips or seasonal use): Every 6–12 months.

Heavy Use (commercial, agricultural, or daily hauling): Every 3–6 months.

For trailer owners in Ayrshire, with varied terrains and unpredictable weather, adhering to this schedule is crucial for maintaining both safety and efficiency.

Signs Your Trailer Needs Servicing

While scheduled servicing is important, there are also some tell-tale signs that your trailer may need attention sooner than expected:

Unusual noises while towing

Squealing or grinding from the wheels

Lights flickering or not working

Uneven tyre wear

A noticeable drop in towing performance

The brakes are not responding as expected

If you notice any of these issues, it’s time to seek Trailer Servicing in Ayrshire before a minor inconvenience becomes a major hazard.

Choosing the Right Trailer Service in Ayrshire

When looking for trailer servicing options in Ayrshire, consider the following:

Experience and Reputation: Choose a service provider with a strong background in trailer maintenance.

Comprehensive Checks: Ensure the service includes all critical systems, not just a visual inspection.

Certifications: For commercial trailers, choose a provider that understands and adheres to national safety standards.

Conclusion

Regular Trailer Servicing in Ayrshire is not just a good idea — it’s a necessity for anyone relying on their trailer for work or personal use. With safety, legal compliance, performance, and cost-efficiency all at stake, keeping your trailer in top condition should be a top priority.

Don’t wait until a breakdown or roadside emergency to give your trailer the attention it deserves. Schedule routine servicing and travel with the peace of mind that your trailer is ready for the road ahead.

[shinyechopact]

Radiator Repair & Replacement | Master Tech Automotive

If you're searching for Coolant Fluid Flush Wilks, you're already on the right path to protecting your vehicle’s engine. A coolant (or antifreeze) flush is a critical part of routine maintenance that helps your car regulate temperature and prevents overheating — a common issue that can cause engine failure if ignored. In this detailed guide, we’ll explain what a coolant fluid flush is, why it’s important, and where to find trusted service providers in Wilks.

What Is a Coolant Fluid Flush? A coolant flush involves draining out old, contaminated coolant from your vehicle’s radiator and replacing it with fresh fluid. This process also includes cleaning the system to remove rust, scale deposits, and debris that may have built up over time. Unlike a simple top-off, a full flush ensures your engine's cooling system operates at peak efficiency.

Why You Need a Coolant Flush in Wilks The weather and road conditions in Wilks can take a toll on your engine, especially during extreme temperatures. Over time, coolant breaks down and loses its protective qualities, which can lead to overheating, corrosion, and even a blown head gasket. Regular coolant flushes help prevent these issues and extend the life of your engine.

Signs You Need a Coolant Flush Not sure if it’s time for a flush? Some common signs include:

Engine overheating

Sweet smell from the engine bay (a sign of leaking coolant)

Rust-colored coolant

Poor heater performance in colder weather

Coolant warning light or low fluid levels

Our blog dives into each symptom and explains how they connect to potential cooling system failures.

How Often Should You Flush Coolant? Most manufacturers recommend a Coolant Fluid Flush Wilks every 30,000 to 50,000 miles, but this can vary depending on your vehicle and driving conditions. In Wilks, where seasonal shifts can be extreme, more frequent maintenance may be needed.

Finding Trusted Coolant Flush Services in Wilks When it's time for a coolant fluid flush, it’s crucial to choose a reputable auto repair shop in Wilks that uses high-quality fluids and the proper flush equipment. We'll highlight some of the top-rated local shops known for their expertise and honest service.

Benefits of Regular Coolant Flushes

Prevents engine overheating

Reduces internal corrosion and scale buildup

Improves heating and cooling performance

Increases the lifespan of your radiator and water pump

Protects your investment and ensures safe driving

Conclusion Don’t overlook the importance of a Coolant Fluid Flush Wilks. It’s a small investment that pays off big in terms of vehicle performance and long-term reliability. Whether you're driving a daily commuter or a high-performance vehicle, keeping your cooling system in top shape is essential. Read our full guide to learn more about when and where to get your next coolant flush in Wilks — and why it matters.

[autonexus]

How Exterior Car Detailing Enhances Your Car’s Appearance and Value

Your car is more than just a way to get from one place to another. It reflects your personality and lifestyle. Whether it’s a brand-new ride or a well-loved vehicle, taking care of its exterior is essential to maintain its beauty and worth. This is where exterior car detailing comes in. It’s not just about washing the car—it’s about giving it a complete makeover that protects and enhances its look for the long run.

What Is Exterior Car Detailing?

Exterior car detailing is a thorough cleaning and restoration process that focuses on the outside of your vehicle. It includes washing, claying, polishing, waxing, and sometimes even applying ceramic coating or paint protection film (PPF). The goal is to remove dirt, scratches, swirl marks, and other imperfections, leaving your car looking as good as new—or even better.

How It Boosts Your Car’s Appearance

One of the most obvious benefits of exterior car detailing is the visual improvement. Over time, your car collects dirt, dust, bird droppings, road tar, and other elements that dull the paint and make it look older than it is. Detailing removes all these contaminants through specialized techniques.

After a detailing session, your car’s paint will have a deep, glossy finish that looks just like it did in the showroom. Polishing removes light scratches and swirl marks that can make the surface look hazy. A protective layer of wax or ceramic coating adds shine and keeps the surface smooth and resistant to future dirt build-up.

Even the smallest details matter. The wheels are cleaned and polished, the windows are made spotless, and the trims are conditioned. All these steps together give your car a fresh, clean, and attractive look that stands out on the road.

How It Increases Resale Value

While appearance is important, exterior car detailing also plays a big role in maintaining and even increasing your car’s resale value. A well-maintained exterior shows potential buyers that the vehicle has been taken care of. Clean paintwork without scratches or stains, shiny rims, and polished lights all create a great first impression.

Buyers are more likely to trust the condition of a car that looks well cared for on the outside. It can help you sell your car faster and get a better price. In fact, a few sessions of detailing over the years can prevent long-term damage like paint fading, rusting, or staining—which are expensive to fix and can lower the vehicle’s worth.

Protection for the Long Run

Detailing also provides long-term protection. When you apply wax or a ceramic coating, you’re adding a shield that defends the paint from sun damage, rain, bird droppings, and other harmful elements. This protection helps your car stay cleaner for longer and reduces the chances of paint damage.

Regular exterior car detailing means you’re less likely to need expensive repainting or restoration services in the future. It’s a small investment that saves you big money and stress down the road.

Final Thoughts

If you want your car to look amazing and hold its value, don’t overlook the power of exterior car detailing. It’s more than just a beauty treatment—it’s a smart way to protect one of your biggest assets. Whether you drive daily or just on weekends, keeping the exterior in top condition will always pay off.

For those in Gurgaon and nearby areas, Auto Nexus offers premium exterior car detailing services using high-quality products and modern tools. Their skilled team ensures your vehicle gets the care it deserves, helping it shine like new and stay protected for the long term.