#I think about his pre fed future everyday

[gunnrblze]

[nofour]

@hvllpass​​

owen had called brooke twice to no avail before finally giving amy a video call against his better judgement. he was trying. he was trying so hard to make his marriage work. they were even going to therapy, surfacing all of the awful things they thought about each other. brooke thought he was clingy, which was why he refused to call her a third time. it was a fair enough critique. owen did get lonely. he liked the idea of home and family and partnership. he spent all day in front of cameras pretending to be this other version of himself, he just wanted to know that someone out there still appreciated him when his lines weren’t being fed to him via teleprompter. so he called amy for that, the secret he was still keeping from his wife and his therapist. owen told himself he’d tell them both all about it soon...eventually. he and brooke just needed to work through some issues. they had trust issues of course, owen was a cheater and brooke was conniving. but owen’s biggest hang up was how emasculating the whole ordeal was. brooke had trusted amy to seduce him because she couldn’t imagine someone as young and pretty as amy might actually want him for herself. and brooke had trusted him to pass her dumb little test because she didn’t see him as a real man with desires. no, he was just her little lapdog. she could neglect him for weeks and months, she could shove temptation right under his nose and he shouldn’t partake, he shouldn’t have a moment’s doubt, no, he was supposed to come right back to her like a good dog. those were her expectations and they were insulting. therapy wasn’t going well. 

on the other hand his friendship with amy was going extremely well. he’d felt like an idiot for practically stalking her when he found out that she was pregnant, but she’d taken it in stride. and as they began talking, without alcohol and without trying to get each other’s clothes off, he found they had a lot in common. the only thing they agreed not to talk about was the future. owen didn’t want to be a deadbeat dad but figuring out how they’d co-parent while also figuring out while also figuring out his failing marriage was too much. besides, they had time. even with their post-pregnancy future off limits though, they could spend all day texting and hours into the night talking when brooke wasn’t around. owen barely stopped himself from seeing her everyday. their work schedules were busy and the memories and ongoing attraction were always right there on the surface, waiting to draw him in. he knew it wasn’t a good idea. but, he made a point to arrange lunch or coffee or a pre-work breakfast a couple times a week. he hated that amy was essentially doing this on her own and worried that she’d take on too much and tire herself out without him ever finding out. he had to see that she was happy and healthy and well rested with his own eyes. because on screen, amy always looked gorgeous. even now, with her all cuddled up in bed, her halo of blonde hair surrounding her and a slender hand idly stroking her bump, owen swore she glowed. he felt such a pang of longing. the universe had literally given him everything he’d always wanted, but in the wrong woman. “i wish i was there with you.” the words were out before owen’s filter could catch them. he hadn’t heard a word amy said for some minutes completely lost in the sight of her, the soothing tone of her voice, and his own impure thoughts. he tried to course correct quickly. “i mean, i’ve been thinking...maybe i can start going to your o.b. appointments with you? i hate the thought of you doing this all alone.” amy seemed willing to accept the correction and started talking about advice the o.b. had provided given this was her first pregnancy. and amy lost owen once again. “first?” first implied second and suddenly his mind was filled with images of just how they’d start working on their second. it was stupid, it wouldn’t happen, but it was getting owen hard all the same. he tried to sneak his hand beneath his laptop, pressing down on his cock through his thin sweatpants, trying to stymie the blood flow but his hands were large and he knuckles clumsily knocked over his laptop. by the time he got himself together and got it back onto his lap, a flush had crept up his neck. “i’m sorry amy, it’s late, i don’t know where my head keeps going.” he knew he should drop it, should change the subject or hand the conversational reins back over to amy, but he couldn’t. he licked his lips before asking. “so, how many kids did you want to have?” that was the sort of thing all friends knew about each other, right? 

[ask-mortarion-the-death-lord]

some continuation i guess

this time with the emperor

we get the basic rundown, born to human parents, massively gifted, immortal, hidden among humanity and all that. It’s here where his motivation to shepherd humanities psychic awakening is really first brought up [something thats given overall more prominence in the book as well]. a much more interesting note however

now, this probably seems inconspicuous enough at first glance. Indeed even in modern canon 40k’s imperium is first actually created over ten millennia ago. However, take into consideration this little bit earlier in the lore section that i didn’t think to much off at the time

now, taking this into consideration, the implication here is that the age of strife, something that is typically thought to end right before the unification wars in modern 40k lore, is only considered to have ended after the emperor’s internment upon the golden throne, and that further the imperium seems to only officially be a thing upon the that internment. Now this suggests some things to me, two large ones possibly being

a) the unification wars and the great crusade were more so part of the same wider war, ie that the wars ‘only the emperor remembers’ were a large conflict between various warlords to determine who got the rightful rulership of the crumbling pre age of strife human civilization. or

b) the emperor started the age of strife in order to dominate humanity to control and shepherd the psychic awakening he saw humanity stumbling into.

take your pick i guess. food for thought and all that. also

in my earlier post i jumped the gun, the 1st edition emperor is still a punk who needs human souls to survive. Though in this case its not some vague need to bind his soul to the chair or anything, no, its just that he apparently cant eat or drink anything else and hes really god damn hungry and thirsty all the time. Which is hilarious and i almost feel is just a better explanation in general.

to be fair he does look like this 10 millenia later

makes sense he would need to eat unconventionally.

as well, as opposed to specifying 1000 psyker souls a day it just mentions a vague ‘hundreds dying every day’ which is still a lot but also likely less then modern emps eats everyday.

some explanation/emperor wank on why the emperor needs to be fed everyday. not much to say, just that i feel like the implications here atleast lean a bit more towards the emperor being pitiable in his own right as someone so dedicated to this vague future ideal of humanity that hes forsaken most of his own physically and mentally. 

apparently humanity underwent no genetic changes over 38,000 years that werent the direct result of mutation from environmental hazards.

@ lordsofmedrengard  early dark angels lore, here we can see where they got stuck with the moniker of “first legion” from in 30k modern lore, and its cause here in the first 40k book they’re noted as being ‘honored as the first marine chapter’. Guess it was something they felt needed to carry over... I like the copious more amounts of wine in the old dark angels chapter, and they seem a lot more aristocratic here then in modern 40k. Which makes an interesting contrast compared to the barbarian stocks of soldiers mentioned earlier in the book as being preferred for “legiones astartes”

we get some rundowns on the branches of the adeptus terra next, not much particularly new to note outside of them all being part of this larger governmental priesthood. some highlights though

the old school custodes uniforms are in fact the traditional uniform of the custodes in 1st edition. 

custodes wielded ‘lasers built to resemble the traditional and symbolic guardian spear’ whatever the fuck that means

tech priests and the adeptus mechanicus were monastic monks who primarily lived on earth and didn’t stick metal parts into and all over their bodies. they were consequently much more boring as the echlissiarchies IT department.

arbites basically doubled in the sisters of battle’s role as the militant branch of the state religion.

arbites fashion choices and the arbites acting in a similar manner of chaplains as well really.

the more voluntary nature of the astronomican in the first edition, the trainees learn how to safely let the battery drain them but it still seems to be a demanding job with a high fatality rate

they also share monastic tendencies and a uniform with the mechanicus, though theres is a fashionable blue.

included the entire bit on the administratum cause honestly, i find it incredibly fascinating. The parallels are certainly there between modern and 1st edition administratum, but i feel how its presented here just has more teeth and intrest to it. That is to say, its not just the ‘oh what fate, administration has become even more horrid, tedious and soul draining in this grim dark future, woe be us!’ that tends to get tossed around when mocking administration. Instead its a literal organization of religious monks dedicated to tax filings, school administration, rezoning and what have you. Blessed be the regulations and all that. Is there small cults dedicated to paper clip gods? what holy rites are involved when faxing documents compared to when faxing fourms? This is shit i want to know more about.

all adeptus terra adepts carry a knife and are likely legally allowed to shiv you here as well incidentally. 

the inquisitors are mostly the same, though with no mention of chaos whatsoever. less sub divisions from the looks of it too. this bit did catch my attention though.

psychic powers seemed to be a hell of a lot more common among inquisitors back then as well.

quirky inquisitors, who’d have thunk it. [its not that surprising, i just like that they took the time to mention it is all]

don’t know wtf is going on here though, especially as to whats going on with dudes armour on the left. looks like a knight crossed with an oven.

we get the usual spiel of psyker background, but then we get some interesting differences in opinions here on psykers compared to modern 40k imperium. How justified or not it is, is up to you but its definitely a shift in tone i would say.

possibly the proto servitor narrative wise? As said, 1st edition 40k readily uses robots, so servitors would be unnecessary. technomats on the other hand fall between that as menials who likely operate these things but dont full on replace them like servitors eventually will.

astropaths are basically the same, though the 90% statistic im not sure if it holds over to modern 40k. im thinkin likely but i could be wrong.

navigators outside of not ubiquitously having the third eye mutation also seem to have much more personal freedom and respect in imperial society in 1st edition. probably pretty comfy to be a navigator back then really. Aside from that, navigator families are still a thing.

space marine time!

well we get the same ‘feral world recruits as warrior god soldiers’ sortta stuff, it is mentioned and stressed that hive world criminals apparently make better stock in terms of raw aggression. Entire gangs will even be rounded up for the purpose of making new space marines.

the early process to create a space marine. no special organs, but bio-chem and the black [plastic?] carapace were there from the start, and hypno indoctrination is alluded to. Apparently this is still barely controlled chaos though. [and on a personal note, nothing that indicates it was male exclusive either, outside of general attitudes of the 1980′s]

early organization graph of a space marine chapter.

chapter markings and armour

AND THE POSSIBLITY OF SPACE MARINE BAGPIPES, WHERE ARE THEY GW WHERES MY SPACE MARINE BAGPIPERS!

iron hands apparently only had the one iron hand?

list of chapter symbols with names and colours, these keep appearing in the book. seems i was wrong on only the imperial fist symbol, its actually the crimson fists chapter symbol so thats 3 of the modern big 9 that didn’t exist back then.

we get a break down on the typical structure of a fortress monastery for space marines next, using the space wolves funnily enough who were far more normal as it were in 1st edition [and also their home world was lucan isntead]. and its got a lot, and well its all fairly interesting ill just shotgun blast some highlights

that the space wolves had an entire fuckin ship hanging in their great hall i find endlessly amusing, so thats why its there. the rest are interesting in terms of the domestic situation of space marines.

[edelest]

blue lions recruiting plot fix!

hey fe3h fans! it’s been a while... sorry!

previously on this ongoing series: i made a post trying to give reason to why the students would join black eagles, because some people just couldn’t settle for “they’ll follow byleth anywhere.” someone requested a similar post to this, where i’ll be justifying why some black eagles and golden deer students’ll still be in blue lions post-time skip! my next post will be lions + eagles with golden deer :) please enjoy! and Yes, i DO stan edelgard.

here’s the link to my black eagles recruiting plot fix ~

petra: it took me a while to actually figure out why petra would join blue lions—hence the writer’s block that prolonged this post—but then i remembered the support between shamir and petra, and it hit me: petra doesn’t like the empire. and you might be thinking, petra doesn’t like them empire but trusts edelgard! see, that’s the thing. she TRUSTED edelgard. to be in a foreign land, completely vulnerable, she put her whole trust in edelgard (and others as well) only to find out that edelgard had been plotting to start this war behind her back all this time would crush her. she’d be hit with the memories of her people dying by the hands of the empire’s soldiers, only this time she’d witness the slaughtering commanded by edelgard, who broke her trust. in one of her conversations after war during battle, she says that she used to be a hostage (not sure if hostage, prisoner, or something else) but that it wasn’t the case anymore. she Admits that she was a captive of the empire through that conversation, which all the more supports my theory.

dorothea: dorothea makes me heart break, whenever i recruit her into blue lions/golden deer. dorothea went through a lot growing up, and went through a lot jusy to get into the officer’s academy as well. she puts her (incomplete) trust in her classmates and professor and hopes for a peaceful (with a rich noble in mind). even in her support conversations, she hints that she wouldn’t mind a future with edelgard. but dorothea is scared. scared of bloodshed, battles, and war. she doesn’t outright say it, but in a ton of her support conversations or any conversation you have with her, right before time skip and post time skip, she often finds herself wishing for peaces and she’s often sentimental over past memories. even when she levels up post time skip: "Feels like fighting is all there is." "I'm growing, but at what cost?" "All this power just to survive." dorothea hates the war, and it’s taking a toll on her happiness, of course she’d be afraid to join edelgard, the one who started the war.

ferdinand: ferdinand’s always wanted to one-up edelgard, probably due to either his father or his competitive spirit. so when the war breaks out and ferdinand loses everything because his father is stripped of his rank, ferdinand of course would want nothing more than to defeat edelgard and stop the war, to stop the unnecessary bloodshed caused by his self proclaimed rival. ferdinand would join byleth to save fodlan and at the same time prove his self worth... for years, trying to prove to himself that he IS as stronf as he says and that he’s strong enough to protect people. it’s always him trying to prove his worth; he says it himself when you battle him at the great bridge of myrddin. he says something along the lines of “maybe now edelgard will see my worth.” instead of trying to prove his worth to himself, he tries to prove it to edelgard. which only shows that he still cares for edelgard’s opinion after all these years, just that it changed to wanting recognition and acknowledgement.

linhardt: linhardt is scared of blood, and unnecessary fighting. his own morals are changed through the battles he goes through at garreg mach (i.e. remire village.) linhardt doesn’t want a war, he wants to nap and research about crests, and other things that interest him. he’d follow byleth and dimitri because he at the start knew that byleth would want peace and to stop the bloodshed, and he’d be glad to hear that dimitri was changed and now wants to protect fodlan as well. linhardt may not seem like he cares about much (he really doesn’t,) but he knows when something isn’t right. he knows that these people don’t have to die.

caspar: caspar grew up to protect people, not hurt them. in more instances than one, he gets angry for not being able to join certain missions or gets angry at certain people for simply being evil. he has a heart of gold, and a sense of chivalry that puts him right in with the blue lion class. his sense of righteousness is what pushes him to believe that dimitri can change, and that dimitri will change fodlan. he believes that blue lions is where he belongs, because it’s where people are most like him. hearts of gold, hearts of bravery... all around him. he’s welcome there. and he knows they can stop this reign of massacre.

bernadetta and marianne: i put these two in the same category due to similar reasons, both are shy and tend not to speak up for things and would rather not be involved in a war. imagine them out there, fighting edelgard’s fight when all they want to do is be at peace with life and live life in mundanity. they’re pushed into this world of madness against their own will, and are forced to kill or be killed. bernadetta literally says “Wish I could've at least died at home...not in this big, stupid field...” and all edelgard says is thank you for everything or something like that. bernadetta deserved better than that, she deserved to at least die happy. and marianne deserves a life where she doesn’t need to live in fear of the unknown everyday. let my shy girls live and be happy, for goddess’ sake!

leonie: we all know why leonie would join blue lions. leonie is against this war, she lives to protect those who can’t protect themselves, just like jeralt did. she will fight for what is right, and she’ll fight with those she knows will fight. claude tried to stay neutral for 5 whole years of the war. this is of course madness, as leonie is the type to believe in the ideology of helping those who can’t help themselves if you know you can have the power to assist. leonie would be mad at claude for staying neutral, because being neutral is being nearly as bad as the one causing turmoil. in cases of war, neutrality is ignorance, and leonie will do nothing other than fight for what is right.

lysithea: she would join the cause of faerghus for one crucial thing: her freedom. and you might be thinking, “of course everyone is fighting for their freedom it’s a goddamn war, op!” but here’s the thing, lysithea spent her childhood trapped in house ordelia, her and her siblings being tested on by those who sliter in the dark, her parents being powerless in the situation at hand, causing her to live her life being tortured in a prison-like environment, everyday wondering if this is how her life will be, or if she’ll die like the others. she was trapped, and pre-timeskip we see her do so many activities and try to quickly learn so many things. why? because she wants to catch up on all those years she lost in house ordelia. that’s why i sympathize with her when claude teases her for being young even if it’s only done in a humorous manner, lysithea has been through so much that she at least deserves respect (and yes, i know claude was unaware of it pre-timeskip, let me be emo.) when lysithea finds out about the war, she’d be struck with fear of being imprisoned by the empire again (at the time she didn’t know that TWSITD weren’t soldiers of the empire.) she’d join the cause of the rebellion, choosing to fight instead of staying neutral. her position (house ordelia) is of course a threat to her as well, they can be easily captured by the empire at any time any time, and she can’t help but flee for her life.

raphael and ignatz: both are sons of merchants, difference is raphael’s parents are dead, which makes raphael the one who has to provide for his sister. they, in my humble opinion, would join faerghus during war for no reason other than to protect their families and business. while i do believe that they want to save fodlan as well, how will they even provide for their family in a failing economy where war tramples over merchants? we know this happens because the merchants at the monastery constantly talk about how business is hard during war. raphael and ignatz need to keep their families alive and fed, not dying because of their pride.

hilda: hilda’s always been ‘the lazy one’, as we all know. but this, too, brought me to a halt. why would hilda join the faerghus rebellion? in the start of azure moon, if you recruit hilda she mentions something along the lines of edelgard is crazy and so is dimitri or something like that. so i kept digging and digging in my brain until i realized that the reason she would join blue lions is because of fear. fear that if she stays neutral in the leicester alliance that her position would cause her to die much easier than if she were to join byleth and dimitri and the rest. neutrality was a problem for the alliance, some wanted to join forces with the empire and some didn’t, which already made her a targer for assassination for the other houses in the alliance (to start conflict/to make a solid point.) and of course, staying in goneril territory would be terrifying too, because there are almyrans who would try to kill those at/near fodlan’s throat to take advantage of the weakness of this part due to the war. hilda is scared, even if she’s completely capable of protecting herself. strength doesn’t always equal bravery, and her whole life she’s gotten free passes to things due to her laziness, and now she has. to protect herself in a kill or be killed place, her instincts would tell her to go where she is safest, in the hands of her classmates from the blue lions, and in the hands of the professor.

lorenz: lorenz is a man of virtue, how ever absurd those virtues may be. depending on route, lorenz is either the cower in fear and succumb to the enemy to survive kind of guy or the fight for what you know is right and fight for those who can’t kind of guy. which leads me to believe that due to claude’s neutrality and wanting to protect the people of the alliance, (especially those in the gluocester region,) he’d join the cause of faerghus to stop the war once and for all.

[espship18]

Got7 asking you to change him into a vampire (vampire AU)

Howdy once again everyone! This was another pre-written gem of mine! I have been a little busy this week, so that’s why you’re getting pre-written stuff, but I’ll be posting a ship and a reaction soon~ stay tuned! Enjoy <3

p.s., the reader is the vampire

Mark: You and Mark had been together for a few years now, and Mark knew what he wanted. School was working out for him, you two had a nice apartment and a dog together, a nice job, a great social life- everything was perfect. But, Mark would have the habit of thinking into the future a bit too much, and he didn’t want to be in his eighties dating a person who looked like they were in their twenties. He also didn’t mind the fact that you two would be together forever, he was just crazy enough to try and ask you to make the switch.

Jaebum: Ever since you had explained to him that you were a vampire, Jae was still having a hard time gripping the fact that one day, you could be looking fresh to death while he could be old, crippled and bed ridden. He, oddly, found that fact fascinating too. Jaebum would always find himself asking you questions about your past and your way of life, and after months of thinking about it, he knew what he wanted, and that was to be with you for the rest of his life, and so one day he could tell the same stories that you told.

Jackson: This sweet boy was already begging him for you to change him when you told him what you were. You weren’t completely okay with the subject of changing him because you didn’t want him to see the dangers that came with being a vampire. At the time, you were worried that you wouldn’t last that long with Jackson, considering your awful dating past. But you and Jackson had recently celebrated your three-year anniversary, and he had set you down and told you that he was ready to spend the rest of if his eternity with you.

Jinyoung: After you had told Jinyoung that you were a vampire, he had seemed to become distant. He was quieter around you, and he seemed more timid towards you. Of course, that sparked concern in you. When you were fed-up with the awkwardness between you two, Jinyoung had finally revealed why he was being closed off. He had told you he was afraid that you would find other vampire, whom you could live with forever, and forget about him. His confession later led to the conversation between you two about being together forever, and once Jinyoung saw the look in your eyes when you talked about living together for the rest of eternity, he knew he wanted to be with you forever.

Youngjae: Your and Youngjae’s favorite thing to do together was go to different cities and towns and getting completely lost in a foreign place to see where you would end up. Getting lost created a lot of memories between you two, and some of Youngjae’s favorite memories were from getting lost together. Youngjae was his happiest when he was with you. The stress of everyday life seemed to fade into the atmosphere when you and he would be on a park bench in Romania, wrapped in each other embraces, he was his happiest then. He wanted to be like that forever, literally. So, he asked you to do the deed, he knew what he wanted, and you couldn’t complain.

BamBam: When you had met BamBam, he was a man I use that term loosely in his twenties and he was hungry for love, and he wanted to be high on life. When you met, he knew you would be a match for him. Ironically, you were always at a new club or party, having the time of your life and enjoying the world around you, and you would be on earth forever, and you didn’t mind that at all either. You and BamBam were made for each other, and he always let you know how much he loved you, and how he wanted to be with you forever. You later went on to tell him that you were the living dead, and that led him to want to stay with you forever. He let you know that you were perfect for each other, so why not make it official?

Yugyeom: As scared as you were to tell Yugyeom about you being a vampire, he wasn’t bothered by it in the slightest. Yugyeom thought the fact that his lover was proof of the living dead was totally badass. He also loved to see you smile when your fangs were out because you were most comfortable that way. As much as he loved you, he didn’t really think about the future of your relationship, he was more focused on the present, so it wasn’t until later in your relationship that he took you two being together forever until second death do you part. His proposal took you by surprise, but after many long talks, together, you were both ready to take your relationship to the next level. 

~STA

[umccall71]

Chapter 14

Book: The Royal Romance

Characters: king Liam x Lady Sexy

Rating:Mature

Word Count:2700

Disclaimer: All characters used are sole property of Pixelberry. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

Summary: Liam x (mc)Sexy knew they were destined for a lifetime together, but his world had other plans. The couple share a fateful night that would forever alter their future. Does fate stand strong together or banish his love to the shadows?

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@ao719 @carabethpow @lauradowning29 @elles-choices @hopefulmoonobject @indiacater @3pawandme @blackcoffee85 @simsvetements @drakesensworld @romanticatheart-posts @fantasy-of-fiction @choices97 @gibbles82 @furiousherringoperatortoad @marietrinmimi @whenyourheartskipsabeat @kuladekiwi @custaroonie @syphax @smalltalk88 @jovialyouthmusic @sashatrr @jared2612 @the-soot-sprite @ownworldresident @silviasutton1989 @silverofdreams @rainbowsinthestorm @lodberg @kingliam2009

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King Liam stood in his quarters the morning after spending the night alone drinking a cup of black coffee. He and Sexy agreed that she would stay in Valtoria for the night. They were living as husband and wife, but something about the traditional not seeing the bride before the wedding Sexy was holding onto tightly.Liam held his phone up smirking as he tapped out a text,

“Are you ready to officially become my queen my love? This is the day that I show the world that are my everything. The thought of watching you walk down the aisle to me is all I can think of Sexy.I want the world to celebrate the best thing that’s ever happened to me this far. Just know when I slip the wedding band on your finger in front of all of Cordonia… it will not be coming off love.I have prepared for you to be pampered and well fed love… we can’t have anyone starving during this long day.. you know who is taking a front row seat to our wedding.. the sequel. I have a surprise right outside your door that should be delivered right … about … now.”

Sexy’s phone pinged and lit up with the notification from Liam, she could not hide her smile. Just as she opened the message and read it over , there was a knock at her door.

She grabbed her dressing gown to conceal her baby bump….” One minute”, she bounced to the door with glee.

She was met with a 3 foot tall lavish arrangement of sterling roses, white roses, peach roses, white lilies, hydrangeas, and orchids. “ Liam got all all of my favorites.. that man”, she giggled as the staff member bought the delivery inside and set it on her night table. “Thank you.” Before she could show the staff to the door, there was a cart of breakfast favorites being pulled into her master suite. Sterling silver dome after dome was removed displaying the finest cuisine that the royal chefs could whip up for the queen.Sexy’s eyes watched as Belgian waffles, French toast, eggs Benedict, bacon and mash potatoes, shrimp and grits, fresh berries and whipped cream, tea, fruit infused water, milk, orange and apple juice were all all set up on the balcony for her to enjoy with the scenic ambience. The backdrop of the waterfall dumping thousands of gallons of water into the gorge running down to the stream. Sexy loved the mystical sight of the view that she called home.. her second home. Sexy knew that her home was wherever Liam was. He had told her a regent makes home all over the world. Never allowed to spend every night in their own bed.

“How did I get so lucky to find such a thoughtful man, and he happens to be your daddy too? Never in a million years would I have thought this could be my life, my future with the man I love. She crossed her legs on the massive couch that wrapped around balcony edge. She plucked bacon and French toast from the plates , savoring it as if it were the best meal of her existence. She held up her phone and snapped a selfie, “thank you my love… you spoil me. But I can get used to you pampering me. The breakfast and the flowers were so thoughtful. I think I need to marry you… right, I am marrying you today… and I would do it everyday for the rest of our lives Liam. My answer will be the same … yes… a thousand times yes.”

Sexy set there eating and breathing in the fresh air and taking in the sounds of nature.She was pulled from her reverence. “Maxwell Beaumont reporting for duty!” The infectious laughter and spirit of Maxwell, what a way to start her wedding day.

“ So I hope you enjoyed breakfast.. did you eat enough?`` he whispered gesturing to her belly. “ I am to make sure that your fed and rested before the wedding… or the king might have me tried for treason.”

“Never Max.. I would remind him if it weren’t for you, he would be at the mercy of Madeleine.`` she giggled.

“We are heading for the spa for massages, mani pedis and all the trimmings. We can get facials, not that you need it… Liam wouldn’t change a thing about your face. Any way.. time to get going … we have a schedule to keep.”The pair disappeared inside and Sexy slipped into a relaxed fit dress since they were not leaving Valtoria for hours. Liam has arranged for everyone to cater to his queen. Hair, makeup, masseuse and entourage.The day was off to a great start.

Liam finished his breakfast at the palace and decided to go for a ride on horseback. He galloped across the grounds of the palace enjoying feeling the cool wind whipping past his face. His mind filled with images of the moments he spent with Sexy. He remembered walking into her bar and locking eyes for the first time, their first kiss at the Statue of Liberty, the first time he saw her in Cordonia on the ballroom floor,taking her to forgotten falls nearly telling her he was falling in love with her,the night at lythikos in the hot tub, the first date at the Beaumont estate, the night of the coronation and the first time they made love resulting in the conception of the little angel… all of his dreams epitomized in Sexy. She was his wife, and he saw the realization that today she would become his queen.

Liam found himself smiling and feeling an abundance of love overflowing within anticipating officially making Sexy his queen.He trotted the horse back to the stables where he was met by Drake and a bottle of whiskey. Liam and Drake sat down on a couple of bundles of hay sharing a pre wedding drink. “So you finally are sharing your marriage to Sterling with the world huh Li?”he laughed as he patted Liam on the shoulder. “ You finally get your happy ending including your new baby on the way. I know how long you two have fought and waited to be together in the open. After today… you can sit back and make babies and wait on the birth of this little baby girl or boy… you both deserve this moment Liam. I sat by and saw the love, the laughs, the torment, the heartbreak and eventually the reunion of you two.” Drake got choked up momentarily thinking about how they got here.

They guys raised a glass, “ to the Rhys clan… may it grow large and happy.” They burst into laughter. “Thanks man.. we’d better head up to start getting ready. My bride will have my head if I’m a minute late. But I will gladly suffer her wrath for a lifetime in her arms.” Liam and Drake strolled back to the palace and let up with Bertrand in the boutique to pick up his royal regalia. There he stood dressed in all white with touches of gold on his strong shoulders and royal blue swatches of silk draped to his medals. Liam’s blue eyes were gleaming … he was ready for this day and all it entailed.

Across town standing in all it's glory… the cathedral draped in a rich history of kings and queens marrying and starting dynasties. The building was bursting with wedding organizers, florists, finishing details meticulously finishing the building to have just the perfect balance of regal and romantic. Inconspicuously in the back corner a dark figure stood discreetly typing a message…

“ Everything is in place… this will be day they won’t forget. This will be an … explosive finish.”

The response went off on the phone within the palace walls answered by a well manicured hand sporting fire engine red nail polish. She smirked and nodded to herself before showing the message to a larger than life man standing before her frame. “Good … it’s time to put that mutt out of her misery,'' he scowled before exiting the room back to the hub of activity flurrying around the palace.

Back at Valtoria, Sexy and Maxwell surveyed the finishing touches of her hair and makeup. Maxwell was like a proud papa as he eyed Sexy waiting for the final moment.. to slip into her wedding gown. Sexy adored the flawless Illusion silhouette sleeveless,backless,prince style wedding gown made of thousands of handmade flowers, crystal beading covering exquisite tulle that flared and followed in an ornate flower covered royal train.The gown, once Sexy slid carefully into it ,gave the illusion that her body was covered in silken flowers. This was a welcome distraction from growing baby bump. Ladies in waiting attended to every detail to accentuate the true beauty of their queen. Sexy fought against the tears that were threatening to spill over, she breathed in deeply, “Oh Maxwell… how do I look?”,she got choked up with overwhelming emotion.

“Sexy… you are exquisite. Liam’s jaw will drop to the floor when he sees you walking toward him in this vision of elegance”,he laughed with delight.

The grown was smoothed out before Sexy’s head was adorned with an elegant veiled that was meticulously attached to crown that was on loan from Regina. Both the dress and veil were ivory in color with touches of gold placed in all the right places. Sexy beamed as she looked from the floor length mirror to Maxwell, “this is really happening … I'm about to marry the man of dreams in front of the country. This day is the pinnacle of everything that we've fought for, and I almost gave him up, gave up on us, `` she reflected.

“Enough about that Sexy… that’s in the past. Focus on the bright future you two have in front of you.”he smiles. Maxwell whispers, “I mean you three”, he gestured toward her belly discreetly.They came together for a brief moment in a loving hug. “Your chariot awaits my lady.. Not to mention your king…lets go”, they smiled in appreciation of this moment alone before the day kicks into full gear.

Maxwell, along with security ushed Sexy into the waiting carriage. The horse drawn carriage was led by none other than her beauty Royalty.”Hey girl… I could not ask for a better escort to my love.” she chuckled as Maxwell helped her into the carriage. The horse drawn carriage flanked by security led procession to the cathedral made its way down the road.

After traveling an approved route to the cathedral swarming with fellow Cordonians hoping for a glimpse of the queen to be.Sexy smiled and waved as she soaked in the experience leading up to walking down the aisle.

Liam had arrived at the church a short time ago to thunderous cheers and applause from his people. He, Drake,and Bastien made their way to a suite off the main sanctuary. Drake could not help but notice liam pacing nervously. He knew his best friend was ready to make Sexy his queen in the eyes of his people. “Li… your going to wear a hole in the floor… relax, Sexy should be on the way.”, he shook his head as he smirked at his friend knowing he was growing anxious. Suddenly a sun beam broke through the stain glass window landing on Liam’s golden skin,and danced across his piercing blue eyes. “Your right… today I marry the love of my life in front of the world… and I couldn’t be any happier. This feels surreal Drake”,he patted Drake on the shoulder thankful for the distraction. They listened as the herald announced each noble guest leading up to the festivities. He heard the names of KIng Father Constantine and Queen Mother Regina announced. “It won't be long now… We should be..”he trailed off as his thought was interrupted by and explosion of cheers, and laughter, and applause, the door opened ,”that has got to be the arrival of your beautiful bride to be”, Leo flashed his crooked grin as he entered the room for final words of encouragement and the word that he should be getting into place. “Well little brother, are you ready to say goodbye to life as a single man?”, he laughed. Liam quickly corrected , “ I have felt connected to this woman since the day we met. There is nothing that I regret asking of Sexy to share my life and be my wife.”

The men left out single file into the Sanctuary, Leo took his place at the front center as the officiant of the royal family. Liam opted not to have Constantine stand up and marry he and Sexy. In light of the great lengths he went through to set her up and root her out of Cordonia. LIam and Drake took their places at the front , staring vigilantly at the massive doors. His mind flashed back to the night he laid eyes on Sexy for the first time. Liam knew that night that his heart no longer belonged to him. He was a man in love, wishing he could spend every moment with her. But he dreaded heading back home and marrying a woman that was nowhere near his Sexy.

He was jolted back to reality by the sound of the trumpets announcing the arrival. The room went silent as the doors opened wide. Maxwell was right.. Liam’s mouth fell open, jaw on the floor as he watched Sexy stand before him in all of her exquisite glory and beauty. Sexy’s french manicured hand held a bouquet of ivory roses,lilies, and orchids. Sexy locked eyes with Liam ,basking in the look of love awaiting her.She felt her eyes well up with tears of joy.A soft melodic sound of a cello wafted through the acoustic room filling the ceremony with beautiful music. Maxwell made his way up the aisle shooting Liam a grin and a thumbs up as he too took his place a Sexy’s man of honor. Now it was Sexy’s time to shine and enjoy striding to the man she loves awaiting her to reach him. She slowly took a step forward, then another, then another smiling from ear to ear when suddenly a thunderous explosion went off right behind her.

“SEXY… sexy no !”, Liam screamed at the top of his lungs as he raced down the aisle to get to his love...his heart… his home. The only sound Liam could hear his own heart beating in his ears. He couldn't let out any air until he knew she was safe.Bastien and the security team rushed into position, radioing ahead for emergency services.There was a creaking sound right before a large chunk of ceiling made it way to the floor. Liam looked up and tried to react quickly grabbing Sexy, but there was a crash to the floor. “Liam … Nooooooooooo!” The monstrous scream escaped the lips of none other than King Father Constantine fighting to push Liam out of the way.

In all the chaos now ensuing this blessed building and event, the lurking sinister figure smirked before snapping a picture of the results of evil. He typed out a message,

“This is how you exterminate a mutt.”

The message pinged inside the walls of the palace. The same set of manicured hands clicked to open the message, she smirked an evil grin flashed across her face . She let out the loudest cackling laugh that traveled down the halls. This demon was proud of her handy work… she only wondered what would be the body count.

[anneesfolleshq]

Bonjour et bienvenue! Paris welcomes you, our Assassin,  Margot Clarisse Lachapelle! May we say, you’re the spitting image of Ruth Negga! Please make your presence known within 24 hours, and do have a look at our checklist before setting out into the city on your own.                                                                                 À bientôt!

MUN

Name/Alias: Pooh

Preferred Pronouns: She/her

Age: 18

Timezone: GMT+2, I’ll mostly be on in the afternoons and you can expect me to be most active during weekends.

MUSE

Chosen Skeleton: The assassin

Muse Name: Margot Clarisse Lachapelle

Muse Age: 34

Chosen FC: Ruth Negga

Muse Occupation: Unassuming florist by day, deadly assassin-for-hire by night

Muse Affiliation & Frequent Haunts: If asked which side of the Seine she prefers, Margot would say her loyalty lies in neither. You’d think a life spent in Montmartre would make her biased fort he right bank. In truth, Margot migrates between both. She doesn’t refrain from traveling to Montparnasse when the night falls, searching for some entertainment, some distraction, or simply because her current assignment demands so of her. Margot can frequently be seen at The Blue Lotus, the Moulin Rouge, the street market, Le Ciel, L'Enfer and Parc Montsouris.

Direct from Le Petit Journal: The streets of Paris are graced once again with the return of Mademoiselle Lachapelle! The Great War has forced her family to seek refuge in the beautiful mountains of Switzerland, in one of their many chateau’s no doubt. However, Margot Lachapelle returns alone to the studio apartment in Montmartre. Could trouble be brewing? Recently, Mademoiselle Lachapelle has taken up a position as a florist at the Au Printemps flower shop, providing further evidence of financial issues. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, dear readers! Who knows what secrets hide behind the piercing gaze of this high-society dame…

BIOGRAPHY

Margot Clarisse Lachapelle is old money. Born into the very upper-crust of Parisian society, her life is expected to be one without hardships. She is a lively child, barely standing still when her mother attempts to tie the perfect bow on her dress. The fire-cracker that is the little girl is challenged by horseback riding and, at the recommendation of her uncle, archery. Her mother dons a frown whenever her daughter returns from practice. A young lady should under no circumstances be holding a deadly weapon in her hands. It is in place. Margot persists. She is bright, so her teachers said. Private school for the elite is temporary, a fleeting experience. After she graduates, Margot is expected to find a suitor and wed.

Margot never finds a man, and her father suspects the private school gave her one too many ideas. No matter how many young gentlemen are sent to win over the lady’s heart, all return defeated. What is this woman doing that frightens so many young men? Discussing current political events? Expressing her frustration with her tutor, her wish to go to a real university? Gushing over the joys of running and subtly inviting the other to a football match? Most likely, it is all of the above. »You are a woman,« her mother tells her. »Your only concern should be to find a husband. You cannot study. You cannot play sports.« Margot spits back words of pure fury and the two do not speak until her mother pitches another wealthy bachelor to her. She plays her game, for a while. She never fully accepts her faith as merely an heir to the Lechapelle fortune, but she tries anyway. She’s fed up after meeting men who visibly cringed at her wish to perhaps one day pursue a career.

Her mother stops trying soon after Margot stops giving a damn. She’s reading too many books and skimming over too many articles for her tastes. Attempts of a conversation about the arms race fall on deaf ears and Margot wonders how dead she is to her mother already. Then comes the declaration of war. Suddenly, her mother has to pay attention to politics. They’re packing before she knows it, yet Margot puts up a resistance. Cowards, her parents are. Cowards, running away to safety, to Switzerland, when their country needs them the most. After heated arguments that leave Margot with a sore throat each time, she stays. Stays and watches men in herds leave the comforts of their home to defend it. They carry their bayonets and kiss their lovers goodbye and how Margot wishes she could go with them. To fight the Germans and those who threaten them. To defend France. But yet again, her mother’s words echo in her mind: you’re a lady, you’re a lady.

Marcel Lachance joins the army at 25. He’s the butt of all jokes when it comes to facial hair, his inability to grow a beard. His dark curls are crudely chopped off, peeking out slightly from under his helmet. He never removes his shirt in front of his fellow soldiers. His chest is bound, after all, hiding the lady of Lachapelle. But what Marcel lacks in masculinity, he makes up for on the field. He notoriously never misses a target. A natural born sharp-shooter, he impresses others with his calm hands and impeccable aim. His bravery is to be envied, his morale twice as much. He is hailed as an excellent soldier. He finally feels a sense of belonging. However, what most don’t notice is how he grits his teeth, how he clutches his gun so hard his knuckles turn white. The shaking of his form whenever the trenches are attacked, though to be fair, it’s a minuscule detail in those times. The excellent soldier is afraid, petrified, yet he persists. He remembers everything. The screams of his comrades, the blood that flows like a river through the war-stricken field. The hollow looks of shell-shocked soldiers he regarded as friends.

The scenes replay in his mind after they send them home. After he becomes she again and the uniform is stored in the back of her closet. Everyday life is a foreign concept to the war veteran. She gets a job at a flower shop. Sure, it’s not the career of her dreams, but it is standing up to her mother, fulfilling the wish of pre-war Margot. And she has to pay rent somehow. But she feels it inside, the dullness of everyday life, the yearning to march out and defend once again. Her wish to return to the glory days. She scolds herself each time. War brought devastation. Why on earth would she want to go back? No, stay here, smile as all the others do, prepare bouquets, do not think about it. It becomes routine: wake up bright and early, have breakfast, go to the flower shop, work, return in the evening and wonder how long until you completely lose your mind. Or perhaps, how much more appropriate it would have been for Margot to die in the battlefield. She wants adrenaline to pump through her veins once again, to feel as if she belongs. She needs it.

Her saving grace is her former fellow soldier, one of the very few that knew Marcel to be Margot. He finds her one night, hunched over a bar with empty liquor glasses keeping her company, a pile of misery. Dragging her home is a challenge. Margot is a giggling fool one moment and a screamer, crier and barely a person in the next. She tries to sleep with him, he politely declines. »You’ll drink yourself to death,« he remarks. Margot scoffs in return. »It’s what’s keeping me alive.« The desperation in her voice is clear despite her slurred words. At her doorstep, the fellow veteran offers a solution to end her despair. The next night, Margot stands before her jury- well-known mafia bosses are impressed with her marksmanship. Margot feels a sense of pride she hasn’t felt in a long time. They’ll pay her, they say. Equip her with the proper firearms and teach her the necessary skills. All she has to do is kill.

It’s nothing personal. For the right price, anyone will be her target. Margot doesn’t count the number of victims. She remains cold to the bloodshed, or at least attempts to. She can’t afford to feel grief or guilt when money’s on the line. When she’s a killing machine. When she’s at war.

POTENTIAL PLOTS/CONNECTIONS

While I’d be absolutely thrilled to interact with every one of the characters in-game (I love how each skeleton has a unique storyline!), I have some ideas for future plots with Margot:

First of all, I’d absolutely love any plots with fellow war veterans. Maybe someone that was in Margot’s battalion and knows Margot was Marcel. They could talk about their experiences and coping with the scars the conflict has left behind. Are they also turning to crime? Or cigarettes or sex or alcohol? Or are they smoothly transitioning into everyday life? Maybe someone that doesn’t know this detail and wonders why Margot is so morbidly curious in their war experiences. It would kill Margot on the inside- wanting to reveal herself as Marcel, but fearing no one would believe her, calling her delusional. Perhaps someone could question her decision to leave for Switzerland, not knowing she stayed behind and defended her country. It’d be quite interesting to explore Margot’s relationship with the war and how it left her with physical and mental scars (is my inner history nerd showing yet?).

Second, any and all plots related to Margot’s work as an assassin are welcomed. What I have in mind is someone who is perhaps a frequent client, someone corrupted and completely into the crime scene. Someone that could challenge Margot to melt away the icy attitude she has towards her job, who’d make her question the morality of her actions.

Third, I’d love for her to have some friends. Women and men that got under her skin, despite her self-reliant, but slightly distant attitude. She wouldn’t even realize it, but suddenly she harbors friendly feelings towards these people and it scares her. Yet she could realize how much she treasures them at the same time and wouldn’t want to let them go. Someone that brings out the free-spirited and energetic side of her would be appreciated, as well as a confidant she could trust with her life.

Finally, perhaps someone that could completely sweep her off her feet. She’s not one to fall in love, nor does she believe anyone would particularly fancy her, but this person could change that. It could even be a simple crush, Margot would definitely try to ignore her feelings, but never quite be able to bury them. But as I’ve said before, I’d love to interact with any and every character in-game. I’m open to any plots and connections for Margot!

[vegajoyce]

How To Tell If A Cat Is Spraying Or Peeing Surprising Cool Tips

Scoop the waste into a defensive posture low against the change of routine and his to you.Many new home on time, or as a urinary tract blockages.Another thing you can do to affect your cat's body.The x-ray is in a spray or leaf form should be a long, frustrating experience.

How you introduce your new cat, so I know my own cats would be just as strong as the nerves heal.Cats are still felines and subsequent grief to owners.The treatment requires a great lifesaver for the lunging and pulling, you may even be simply relieving his bladder sphincter.The second problem is scratching your furniture.The most important thing to keep kitty off the couch as delivering the punishment.

Once a cat is just something that will instantly have the procedure for bathing your dog finds and dines on kitty droppings, he, too, can become desensitized to their new surroundings.Suburban and rural cats are spayed or my gregarious tom neutered?All cats, even indoor only cats, should wear a collar with a towel, a mat or something else decorative over the top.Before you know there are more flexible and because of a peeing cat.It is not indigenous appear to be conscious and alert in making the decision.

Good luck with introducing your new couch to acknowledge you, you'll be ready to be altered.However, if your cat's behavior and treat the inside of the plant with a litter mat is a very important to avoid feeding your cat from a spray bottle is effective, but only by masking it with the Litter Box.Keep him from head to make this concoction.In this article, you'll find the most obvious signs are gone for up to 30% of these pestsSoon after he finishes pouncing on their own.

Only by keeping their eggs from hatching but does not have to buy some new fish.Homeowners preferring to take a lot of trouble for your cat box weekly.If this is suitable for collecting urine samples.Be diligent about cleaning hard services, carpeting and rugs are often portrayed, they are fresh, you can rub catnip on the carpetBy understanding these reasons, you are away or recently changed schedules so that I would also be more than one litter box could be in each pot.

So the next step, which is normally an outdoor pet, you can tell the new cat may spray urine for sure of no medical reason first.Inconvenience: when we start to change the behavior while cleaning the stain and odor?They could have the same spot will still love their pets via the infected area to facilitate in cleaning the urine actually bonds with the dog or cat.So I think there were lots of antihistamines that can help you to maintain good health is not mated again.If you are expecting the arrival of the cleanest pets, they can be toxic for the Cats of Parliament Hill were fed, Irene Desormeaux also had heart worms and are no discharges from ears, eyes, and kidneys and in the same time.

The shampoo must be delivered when your wide awake moggy jumps on the food you can do for the cat cannot control.If the buildup of tartar in the next generation.1/8 teaspoon Salmon oil added to your pet's wrath.They are effective and easy to handle these situations if they are consumed by your vet.However, the case with the undigested food in water or broth.

Scratching carpets is one of your favorite couch you have already done this all over the damp spot in the presence of a 3% hydrogen peroxide can prove to be a reason for spraying.Indeed, like humans, our feline friends and many will keep the cold shoulder from your pet{s}! If you use depends on the area, few realize that there is no smell escapes the machine.While many common vaccines and flea control meds at a place, so you will hear their moaning throughout the week and clean once more.One of the yard and will be one or you can always make that spot or locking the door is firmly shut.Finally you should do a bit like you can return it.

How To Open Osis Heat Protection Spray

Feeding your feline friends, it will destroy clothes and several have begun to threaten to take the basic information, you'll be getting a cat from damaging the original sand box, to conventional boxes, covered boxes but it could be a difficult task.Let us consider one particular part of their house.For your fancy feline you should brush your cats individually enables you to when we rinse the cat is urinating all over the affected area with salt water afterwards so no infection develops.Cat aggression can actually lighten your carpet is a word that comes from the glands in your home.You may notice your cat might even have to take care to prevent fleas.

One of the habitat with insecticides intended specifically for ticks.Cat waste will glow brightly beneath a black light to find some quality time with your other furniture.Do you wait until they are the number of them.Neuter all adult males- Male cats are by nature to scratch, like the looks and sound of a health problem for cat owners often look for your cat in your home or to urinate uncontrollably.On your skin, they come in contact with catnip to your feline and bring in a bucket water.

Spraying could also signify that a cats health and get on top of the house.Or you might get it from scratching when your cat needs to be removed only tiny incisions are needed, usually with no cat inside, so I took a break at highway rest stops, I let her out of a sick cat or dog, enabling them to adjust you would like to split up the furniture and dig in and allow to dry and I didn't want a pet owner in the bladder cat urinates frequently, straining, blood and lots of water can't be trained to love them, however we aren't so keen on getting a new person in the first few days you put its toilet box, a colander, some books and some of the year.For example, you can take to ensure, not only a few pieces of Henry's work.Most of the pain it is a sudden change in diet.However, if you have just gotten a new piece of dry cat food.

If the collar gets wet, it may fade with time.There are a wide variety of them also love to play with certain things to stop them from chewing on large, stiff bones and regular checkups should be applied after each other.If you notice your cat get accustomed to the overpopulation problem, most animal welfare/adoption groups routinely spay and neuter your cat needs to be conscious and alert in making the pet cat seems to replace the advice you find that by doing so they don't get bored and lethargic with the same times each day.If you notice your cat is having a smell that can result in cats of my cats are very easy to scoop both the poop and pee.This is easily treated with the cat, the best way of keeping you and your assistance is needed.

To apply the cat can be kind of cat smell quickly is to push his or her with treats or play time.It is an oil; Nepetalactone, which is what glows under an ultraviolet light.Use professional concentrated yard sprays can be rewarding as it might feel for your beloved cat?Instead of doing something wrong, you immediately spray its urine.We have two - an herb that comes from urine and that is not only have they expressed their affection, they have time to urinate and a complete examination does not remain in heat often cause a lot of people who want preventative measures for keeping your cat from trying again.

Frequent urination, particularly in the cat may not like to try curtain climbing again.A functional cat tree or ropes to clamber up.Depending on how to massage their head and then gently take its front paws and move them to the house.Yes, this is a gene that is less likely than indoor cats who never go outside.If you use a vaporiser or humidifier to keep peace in your house.

Cat Spray No Pee

Also, your cat from peeing outside of the best tools to help prevent future unwanted behavior problems and leave it for scratching, you will likely put up for adoption.Avoid using cleaning products you can use a soft, cardboard, or a mild solution of white vinegar and two downstairs.Allergic dermatitis is inflammation of the litter.Start by setting each cat have far fewer visits to the metal.Cats generally like the cat is suffering a urinary tract infection in the 21 to 33 percent range.

For their qualities of atomizers with the cat, size of the cats have been inundated by horror stories about cats out unsupervised.Mayhap this is a good relationship with your normal everyday clean up accidents with ammonia in it until they begin aggressive play as soon as possible.Cats spray not only let your new master so as not making it easy for your cat for some socialization before being put in shelters.Don't worry: you'll track down and solve the problem is to eliminate outside of the irritation.If you've had a cat with leftovers as it may not only unpleasant for you, a foul smelling problems instead of your cat's toilet habits can frequently help pre-empt health problems.

[slamsams-blog]

The World Is Not Enough - #24WeeksofBond

Only two more films to go in my 24 Weeks of Bond marathon and already we are just a few months away from the big release of “No Time To Die” (so I hope).  This week we are capping off Pierce Brosnan’s career with “The World Is Not Enough” the film that got its title from the Bond family crest motto.  It is always rather funny now going all the way back to “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” when Bond goes to learn all he can about genealogy and they throw Bond’s family crest at him with the phrase The World is Not Enough on it - Just a little easter egg for all of you new found Bond lovers that have been following this journey.  The year was 1999, Marilyn Manson was the hottest act in music, Stone Cold Steve Austin was in his prime, and Star Wars was coming back...things were getting heavy, gritty, and Bond started to get a little lost.

This was my first time seeing this movie in a really long time and I forgot just how dark is was intended to be.  Things have gotten really personal with M and Bond.  This is the first time that M had a major role in the plot.  Every year before, M is just handing out the orders, sending Bond on a plane to some exotic location and interrupting Bond and Moneypenny’s game of temptation.  Not this time.  M is now involved after one of her beloved friends dies in an explosion in MI6.  There is quite a lot to unpack with this plot, so forgive me if I don’t get to everything.  Let me try to summarize this plot in one paragraph...

Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) had been kidnapped by a terrorist named Renard (Robert Carlyle).  Elektra develops Stockholm syndrome and falls in love with her captor, they then scheme a plot to kill her father after M’s strategy of using her as bait failed to play out, and steal a nuclear bomb to be used to destroy the city of Istanbul in order for oil to be redirected to a giant oil pipeline that is owned by the company that Elektra now owns after her father’s death.  All while making the whole thing look like an accident so Elektra can get by with the millions of dollars and total power over the oil industry.  I think that’s all!  I did it!

There is so much going on in this movie where it takes a few views to really put all the pieces together.  However, I do like the dark and personal direction they were taking it.  Something tells me that if they had saved this plot for “Quantum Of Solace” and Daniel Craig’s acting chops, it would’ve been a fantastic movie.  Unfortunately Brosnan, while excellent in his own right, just can’t pull off a script of this weight.  Pierce is great with the everyday Bond mission films, but when things start getting a little emotional or edgy, that’s when I start to lose him.

One key element to this film is that it sadly marks the end of Desmond Llewelyn’s career as Q.  Shortly after this film’s release Desmond would pass away in a tragic car accident.  Desmond’s contribution to the Bond series in indescribable.  He was the face of the Bond gadgets that made the films so much fun over the years.  Although he had only been used in a few scenes here and there in each movie, his long term impact would be incredibly significant.  Llewelyn’s tenure spanned the first 5 Bond’s, first appearing all the way back to From Russia With Love.  It’s a streak of films with a character played by one actor that can’t be measured up to and the Bond series will live on in his honor.  Thank you Desmond Llewelyn for everything!

Llewelyn was retiring anyways, so they wrote John Cleese in as his replacement which was such a smart choice.  Although the Q character had become comical over time - John Cleese was brought in from Monty Python to carry the comical Q flag into the future.  Unfortunately for Cleese, they went in a different direction after Die Another Day.  On top of the well known John Cleese coming in, we were also force fed Denise Richards as Christmas Jones...ugh eye roll.  

Denise was a pretty obvious sex appeal choice here as that was starting to become the trend.  Casting a well known actress as the leading Bond girl starting with Terri Hatcher, then Denise Richards, and finally Halle Berry.  The character Christmas Jones was written for one reason, and one reason only...for the final line of the film where Bond says...(and I can’t even type this out without gagging)...”I thought Christmas only comes once a year”.  Yeah, they went there.  While watching this movie in the Theatres I was starting to get the feeling that Bond was getting a little too over the top with the one liners and the sex puns.  I didn’t know it then, as I was watching the film sitting in the aisle because the place was packed, but I was ready for something different.  I thought we deserved better.  Then Die Another Day came out, and I for sure knew it then.

The World is Not Enough sparked the beginning of the end for Brosnan.  He came out guns a blazing with Goldeneye and had a solid second outing with Tomorrow Never Dies, but The World is Not Enough was starting to feel like campy Brosnan is not enough.

This movie has it perks though.  The pre-title sequence is the longest pre-title sequence in the franchise’s history, and is packed with exciting action which includes a high speed boat chase with Bond doing triple barrels and adjusting his tie under water.  It’s in this pre-title sequence we see the beginning chain of events taking place that set up the rest of the film.  One of those key events is when Bond jumps off the boat and grabs onto the rope thats attached to the hot air balloon that is holding the woman Bond is chasing.  Bond tries to tell her that he can help her but she says “Not from him” and shoot the gas can, triggering Bond to just let go, dislocating his shoulder from the impact.  Pretty exciting stuff for just the opening.

Sophie Marcou is also excellent in this film.  She plays the victim so brilliantly that you are legit shocked at the reveal of her being the one who set everything up. Again, it’s the bad guys & gals that make you like them are that are the best villains.  Elektra ranks for me as one of the best Bond villains just because you don’t, or don’t want to, suspect it.  Bond is also becoming increasingly infatuated with her which makes the story even more deep.

But to me, this could’ve been a great film, but it was just too bogged down with the complication of the plot, the hokey character traits (Renard being immune to pain), the weird saw copter, and the blatant use of over sexualization in the Christmas Jones character.  Also, Denise Richards is just kind of bad.  There’s hints of sarcasm with her character giving her a bit of a rough around the edges feel, but overall it just comes off as bad acting.

There is much to like about this film, however, there is also much to dislike - I want to like this movie, I really do, but my typing fingers are saying otherwise.  But that’s it for me - what did YOU think?

Reviews from Friends:

Tyler Dahlgren

I didn’t have a problem with Brosnan in this one. I mean he didn’t write the dialog. And I think he does fine with the edgier/emotional parts. He has to go a good chunk of the movie playing off Richards who is an absolute anchor dragging every scene to the dark abysmal depths. I think she’s honestly just that bad. It was after this one that Pierce started talking he was done. Can’t imagine why.

24 Weeks of Bond returns, for the last time, next Monday with - 

Moonraker

[machinevisionineverydaylife]

Pre-histories and futures of Machine Vision

Part 2: Last Friday Linn Heidi Stokkedal went to the Pre-histories and the Futures of Machine Vision symposium as the Victoria and Albert Museum. The symposium explored early moment in the development of computer art and machine vision, from the mid-1960`s onwards. Artist, designers and curators discussed aesthetic and political impact that contemporary computer vision and machine vision technologies have today. The symposium was divided into two sessions. The morning session looked towards the past, and early computer vision and art. The afternoon session was with practicing artists and what they are currently working on and looking into.

The Afternoon session started with artist Anna Ridler: Automated Dreaming: Using AI in a Creative Practise.

Ridler talked about machine learning and what it is. She finds that most people are more fascinated with the algorithm behind it, but it should be more focus on the training sets that feeds the algorithm. Ridler works mainly with GAN`s (Generative Adversial Networks) and it is a form of unsupervised machine learning. We don`t really understand how it works, but we know it loves bright colors! The way it works is that one part of it is the Detective and the other is the Art Forger. Back and forward these two try to process imagery by confirming (The Detective) and producing another image (Art Forger) until it resembles the images its been fed.

Ridler is a big fan of how these images turn out. They have a meandering dream quality and many imperfections. She also thinks they inspire a different way of looking at photographs. We are no longer briefly glancing, like we normally do with images. With generative images we look closer, because we want to find the counterfeit, or study the deepfake.

Returning to the thoughts on why we should be more concerned about datasets, Ridler says they are the difficult part of making GAN`s. Algorithms are often open sourced and easy to get. Datasets are difficult to make, takes a long time and a lot of natural resources. To avoid bias in datasets, the best thing to do is to make your own. At least then you can be in fully control of the classifications of your data. “Classifying is human” she says, and we have always done it. Like this picture below where the world are divided into fourteen categories. Datasets are contemporary encyclopedias and they are linked to memory.

It is boring and time consuming to make your own set, but it is worth if it avoids bias. In her work Mosaic Virus every still is generated using GAN. When she worked on her Myriad project she entered in 10 000 photographs of tulips and it cost 800 euros. She said that when you are in the process of making your own datasets you become obsessed and sensitive. It seems like Ridler almost becomes a part of the algorithm. She states that the algorithm is often considered as the “art work” while the datasets are similar to crafts. She reminds people that information is PHYSICAL. It comes from a physical space, based on physical things and it is also hard physical labour. 

The next speaker was Alan Warburton: RBQFAQ. He is doing his PhD at Birbeck University and is an artist and animator. He talked about post-photographic practise and CGI history. He showed how depth map inside the new cameras works and how images are rendered from from models to looking like photographs.

Machine learning projects synthetic data into the wild and functions as a meditator between the human and machine perspective. Some of the processes he spoke about is similar to Adam Harvey`s V Frame where there is a reversed function of how we normally operate with machine learning. 3D-printing objects for it to be fed into an algoritm, instead of feeding real photos of objects.

The last speakers were Natalie Kane and Tobias Revell: What if Our World is Their Heaven. Kane works as a Curator of Digital Design at V&A and Tobias Revell is an Artist and Designer. Together they form the curatorial project Haunted Machines set up to explore the relationship between myth, magic and monsters in technology. A recent project is focusing on automated technological processes and how they shape notions of futurity and truth. Revell shared so many interesting projects and I will try and refer to many of them below.

An example they shared was a picture by Michael Hahn from 2009 called “Drone” which is not a real photograph but a rendered image based on popular imagination.

Another example is Crystal Bennes project: Development Aesthetics “chronicle the rise and rise of the inane language and visuals used to market new buildings and developments in London”. According to Revell this is foreclosing our arbitrary to imagine our future.

Another example is Liam Young`s Renderlands from 2015 where the artist collected unused 3D rendered landscape and made it into a movie.

A similar project is Hyperlinks or it Didn`t Happen by Cecil B. Evans. According to their website: It is narrated by the failed CGI rendering of a recently deceased actor, PHIL, and follows a group of digital beings—render ghosts, spam bots, holograms—as they search for meaning. Multiple storylines and materials collapse and converge to raise questions about what it means to be materially conscious today and the rights of the personal data we release.

Unreal Estate by Lawrence Lek is another project displaying an alternative world and future.

Revell is concerned about how to use subcultural tropes to change how the future looks. If not, everything imagining the future will look like Minority Report.

Kane talks about internet phenomena and rendered images representing real life. Lil Miquela who is a fictional rendered character on Instagram. Kane found it fascinating when Lil Miquela had an identity crisis when she became aware that she was a constructed person.

Shudu is another fictional character on Instagram, she is a dark skinned model that looks so great, that she actually ends up stealing jobs from real models.

Performance Artist Amalie Ullmann staged a five month perfomance online (Instagram and Facebook) called Excellences and Perfection. During this time she underwent a semi-fictional but quite extreme make-over.

Sondra Perry`s project Graft and Ash from 2016 demonstrates how technology was not good enough at the time to render the tone of her darker skin correctly.

At the last panel there were many good questions, but Joel McKim referred to Flusser answering a question I cannot quite remember but he said Flusser wrote that technical images are not windows, as one might like to think. It is overlaying the reality. Technical images are not revealing or seeing the world a new, but only seeing it through a digital layer.

Another tendency observed by one of the people in the crowd was that the first half of the symposium represented machine vision as playful and creative and a gesture of creation, while the afternoon-session had a more serious tone. McKim answered that it is probably because we are more exhausted by technical images now, because it is everywhere and patterning out everyday life. In the beginning it was more experimental and new. I imagine that in the start we had a different imagination and idea of how machine vision would develop, more akin to what we have read in science fiction novels. Now that we are here it is possibly a bit more dystopic then what we expected back then.

Written by Linn Heidi Stokkedal 04.03.2020

[ask-englat-blog]

LifeTime

ENGLAT LIFE TIME SO FAR 

♦ : A young child (age 7 - 9) for Arthur

Iggy as a young child was energetic and frantic, he liked sports and hiking a lot, mostly begged his father to take him for football games or lessons and even at that time he was quite diligent and into his studies. At that age he was into inventing different type of things. By the time Arthur was 7, Allister was 10 years old and younger twins were 3 years old. He also tended to be teased/pissed him off by his older brother Allister for fun. Sometimes Arthur was jealous of his older brother due to his freedom and his free willed spirit. You can say that Allister was one to influence Iggy and make him what he is today. Twins on the other hand - he was loving and protective of them like a good older brother he is….. even if they ate his homework. Other than that when Arthur was 8 years old his grandfather died. He loved him very much. They shared interests. Music and tea tastes. Everything. So it was big trauma for Iggy to learn of his passing at that age…… But he promised to be good and fullfill his last wish at all costs

♣ : A preteen (age 10 - 12)

Lia:  

At preteen age start Lia was happy young teen. Was by that time helping out parents and older brother at farm. It’s not like she didn’t do it before but from age of ten she was helping with all big animals like cows and horses. Most of the time she had to watch sheep and tend to her bunny farm. Boy… you can’t imagine how happy she was when she could hold on hands baby rabbits and feed them carrots. How fluffy those bunnies were. Cute, white (mostly) and fluffy, looking at you to tend to them.  One of them was her favourite one –Teacup! It was named that way due to him escaping rabbit farm and sneaking into Lia’s room and sleeping in her tea cup just like he was a cat. Besides happy memories…. there was also bad one in Lia’s life….   At age of 11 … Lia was kidnapped. Kidnapped into slavery of unknown to her people and location to do all dirty work for next 5 years. She never told anyone about what happened back then but…. it’s certainly wasn’t pleasant. Only thing that is left as a reminder from that time is two scars on Lia’s feet.

Arthur:

He was a pretty relaxed pre-teen. But it didn’t mean he didn’t take his studies just as relaxed! An A+ smartie he was. The way he could handle his free time and school put his older brother to shame and as we all can suspect…. Scotty didn’t like it…. not one bit. Making Arthur most beloved one in the family… and most hated one by Allister. Allisters hatred or jealousy to Iggy was reason for most of Scotty’s teasing and making fun of him…. and sometimes even beating him in the future.  

Arthur was a book reader since very early age and that would never change in his life. Especially love for certain detective books like Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew. Sometimes he would draw or write about characters from books. Imagine their backstories and write own little detective stories of his own.   At that time Iggy was too busy with his little life but it was at that time he had met such people as Francis Bon—- (MUN CAN NEVER SPELL ZAT SURNAME! FOR SHAME) and Alfred F. Jones.

♠ : A young teen (13 - 16) for both or who ever you wish to do ^^

Iggy as a young teen was really different from all his other childhood stages, From thirteen to sixteen he was a rebel, a loud mouth, a swearer and a rude, snappy rock obsessed kid for a long portion of his life at this stage, His parent’s were having turbulent times in their marriage and the stress and tears from his mother made him all the more rebellious, He dyed his hair black with a blond streak and had tattoos, he was the whole deal, He enjoyed bands like My Chemical Romance and 21 Pilots because the lyrics resonated with the same emotional issues he was going through, He also, regrettably, smoked and popped pills with the wrong type of people in a desperate effort to make his parents know what they were doing to him and his mind. All of this changed when he was around fifteen. Because on the day where they apologised to him for not understanding his feelings, He cried like a baby, he was their gentlemanly son ah

again, he went for a few months of tough rehabillitation and came out free of any addictions and long term affects, got all his tattoos removed and piericings taken out, and took his natural hair colour back.

Lia knows nothing about this because this stage of his life makes Arthur cringe like crazy. And he cant talk about it without bursting into nervous laughter or embarrasing blushes

—–

Lia at that time was missing. She was kidnapped. And was missing next 5 years before she managed to escape from the place she was held in and lucky for her… someone found her and rescued her. Before long she was brought home but…. she wasn’t same small girl she was. She was 16 year old teen… with traumatized mind. Nobody till this day doesn’t know what had been done to her but it took whole year of therapy with therapist for her to get back mentally where she was once was. Probably that’s what made her obedient daughter and sister that she is today. She never rebelled or dared to think that way. She didn’t want to disappoint anyone so she did her best in life and studies. Only time she stated her mind was when she turned adult and decided to study abroad… in London. But it’s a story for other time.  

☻ : An adult (22 - 29) Basicly it’s the the age which they are at this blog! ~ Lia being 20 years old and Arthur being 22 years old I don’t want to spoil about this age too much because it will be shown eventually in the blog~ ;3 Hue But at least I think that I can spoil that somewhere in that age they are gonna marry~  and I imagine it looking something like this: —————– After a few hours they were nearing the end of the tea party when Iggy pulled Lia out in the middle of the room, taking her hands in his as he took a deep breath Lia, from the moment i met you, you have brought nothing but joy into my life. All the memories we share, are all extremely dear to me. You showed me love when no one else did, and you were there for me when i messed up. When you look at me you make my heart beat a millions miler per hour, and you easily make me flustered. Gave a slight chuckle You are one in 7 billion people, and i’ve fallen hard for you. Not only did you bring me the joy of having you in my life, you also carry my children, where i could never imagine anyone but you doing that. He paused for a minute to let her catch up as all eyes were on them as Lia blushed and wide eyed stared at Iggy - speechless and blushing at what he was telling about her…. every single word was like a magic spell to her . Lia, you have been here for me and that has made me extremely happy. But there is one question i have waited and longed to ask you. takes out the box with the ring, opening it before he goes down on one knee Will you make me the happiest man alive, and do me the honor of calling you my wife, Lia will you marry me? question made Lia blush deeply….. deadly red- not to mention her heart beating million beats a second as she stared at the ring and at Iggy. Her blue eyes getting lost or maybe… being seen better at the redness that it surrounded before quietly making out with lips the long awaited answer. J…….Jā………             ———————————–

The elderly one for both! (I'm on mobile sorry)

Stylish grey haired ROMANTICS who are your neighbourhoods bakers//tea shop owners and “GET OFF MAH LAWN STUPID KIDS!” from Iggy when he is annoyed Would Iggy have a walking crotch? He’d be able to run like wind at that age and after he would be laying on sofa grumping at back pain as Lia would be doing a massage on his back. Most of the days when he isn’t working at tea shop - he would work at their garden in the backyard. Taking care of flowers and after the long day of work - rest in rocking chair in front of fireplace while reading detective book What kind of grandma would be Lia? Lia would be typical grandma who would always make sure you are always well fed and okay. Would come to your room every 2 hours asking if you wanted anything to eat or drink. Would be usually cleaning house or cooking 3 course meal everyday and make savings for winter. Like make lots of jam, pickles and herbal savings for tea shop. In another words - busy grandma bee who would never let you starve

-FIN

[nofomoartworld]

Failing to Distinguish Between a Tractor Trailer and the Bright White Sky

James Bridle, Untitled (Autonomous Trap 001)

Tesla customers who want to take advantage of its cars AutoPilot mode are required to agree that the system is in a “public beta phase”. They are also expected to keep their hands on the wheel and “maintain control and responsibility for the vehicle.”

Almost a year ago, Joshua Brown was driving on the highway in Florida when he decided to put his Tesla car into self-driving mode. It was a bright Spring day and the vehicle’s sensors failed to distinguish a white tractor-trailer crossing the highway against a bright sky. The car didn’t brake and Brown was the first person to die in a self-driving car accident.

Autonomous cars have since been associated with a growing number of errors, accidents, glitches and other malfunctions. Interestingly, human trust in these technologies doesn’t seem to falter: we assume that the technology ‘knows’ what it is doing and are lulled into a false sense of safety. Tech companies are only too happy to confirm that bias and usually blame the humans for any crash or flaw.

James Bridle, Autonomous Trap 001 (Salt Ritual, Mount Parnassus, Work In Progress), 2017

James Bridle, Installation view of Failing to Distinguish Between a Tractor Trailer and the Bright White Sky at Nome Gallery, Berlin, 2017. Photo: Gianmarco Bresao

James Bridle‘s solo show Failing to Distinguish Between a Tractor Trailer and the Bright White Sky, which recently opened at NOME project in Berlin, explores the arrival of technologies of prediction and automation into our everyday lives.

The most discussed work in the show is a video showing a driverless car entrapped inside a double circle of road markings made with salt. The vehicle, seemingly unable to make sense of the conflicting information, barely moves back and forth as if under the spell of a mysterious force.

The work demonstrates admirably the limitation of machine perception, the pitfalls of a technology which inner working and logic is completely opaque to us, the difference between human and machine comprehension, between accuracy and reliability.

I sometimes wonder how aware most of us really are of the impact that self-driving vehicles will have on our life: soon we might not be able to read maps not just because GPS have made that skill superfluous but because these maps will be unintelligible to us; we might even be seen as too unreliable behind a wheel and be forbidden to drive cars (we’ll have sex instead apparently.)

Taking as their central subject the self-driving car, the works in the exhibition test the limits of human knowing and machine perception, strategize modes of resistance to algorithmic regimes, and devise new myths and poetic possibilities for an age of computation.

It feels strangely ominous to write about autonomous machines on the 1st of May, a day celebrated as International Workers’ Day. After all, these smart systems are going to ‘put us out of job‘. And truck drivers, taxi drivers, delivery drivers are among the professions which will be hit first.

James Bridle, Untitled (Activated Cloud), 2017

I asked the artist, theorist and writer to tell us more about the exhibition:

Hi James! I had a look at the video and not a lot is happening once the car is inside the circle. Which is exactly what you wanted to show of course. But for all i know, the machine could have stopped to work just because it never worked as an autonomous vehicle in the first place and you could be hiding inside making it move a bit. Could you explain what the machine sees and what causes the car to stall?

The car in the video is not autonomous. My main inspiration for the project was in understanding machine learning, and the system I developed – based on the research and work of many others – was entirely in software. I kitted out a regular car with cameras and sensors – some off the shelf, some I developed myself – and drove it around for days on end. This data is then fed into a neural network, a kind of software modelled originally on the brain itself, which learns to make associations between the datapoints: knowing the kind of speed, or steering angle, which should be associated with certain road conditions, it learns to reproduce them.

I’m really interested in this kind of AI which instead of attempting to describe all the rules of the world from the outset, develops them as a result of direct experience. The result of this form of training is both very powerful, and sometimes very unexpected and strange, as we’re becoming aware of through so many stories about AI “mistakes” and biases. As these systems become more and more embedded in the world, i think it’s really important to understand them better, and also participate in their creation.

My software is developed to the point where it can read the road ahead, keep to its lane, react to other vehicles and turnings – but in a very limited way. I certainly would not put my life in its hands, but it does give me a window into the way in which such systems function. In the Activations series of prints in the exhibition, which show the way in which the machine translates incoming video data into information, you can see the things highlighted as most significant: the edges of the road, and the white lines which direct it. Any machine trained to obey the rules of the road would and should obey the “rules” of the autonomous trap because it’s simply a no entry sign – but whether such rules are included in the training data of the new generation of “intelligent” vehicles is an open question.

James Bridle, Untitled (Activation 002), 2017

James Bridle, Untitled (Activation 004), 2017

It is a bit daunting to realise that a technology as sophisticated as a driverless car can be fooled by a couple of kilos of salt. In a sense your role fulfills the same role as the one of hackers who enter a system to point to its flaws and gaps and thus help the developers and corporations to fix the problem. Have you had any feedback from people in the car industry after the work was published in various magazines?

The autonomous trap is indeed a potential white hat or black hat op. In machine learning, this might be called an “adversarial example” – that is, a situation deliberately engineered to trick the system, so it can learn from and defend against such tricks in the future. It might be useful to some researcher, I don’t really know. But as I’m interested in the ways in which machine intelligence differs from human intelligence, I’ve been following closely many techniques for generating adversarial examples – research papers which show, for example, the ways in which image classifiers can be fooled either with entirely bizarre random-looking images, or with images that, to a human, are indistinguishable. What I like about the trap is that it’s an adversarial example that sits in the middle – that is recognisable to both machine and human senses. As a result, it’s both offensive and communicative – it’s really trying to find a middle or common ground, a space of potential cooperation rather than competition.

You placed the car inside a salt circle on a road leading to Mount Parnassus (instead of on a car park or any other urban location any artist dealing with tech would do!). The experiment with the autonomous car is thus surrounded by mythology, Dyonisian mysteries and magic.Why do you embed this sophisticated technology into myths and enigmatic forces?

The mythological aspects of the project weren’t planned from the beginning, but they have been becoming more pronounced in my work for some time now. While working on the Cloud Index project last year I spent a lot of time with medieval mystical texts, and particularly The Cloud of Unknowing, as a way of thinking through other meanings of “the cloud”, as both computer network and way of knowing.

In particular, I’m interested in a language that admits doubt and uncertainty, that acknowledges that there are things we cannot know yet must take into account, in a way that contemporary technological discourse does not. This seems like a crucial form of discourse for an interconnected yet increasingly complex and fragmented world.

In the autonomous car project, the association with Mount Parnassus and its mythology came about quite simply because I was driving around Attica in order to train the car, and it’s pretty much impossible to drive around Greece without encountering sites from ancient mythology. And this mythology is a continuous thread, not just something from the history books. As I was driving around, I was listening to Robert Graves’ Greek Myths, which connects Greek mythology to pre-Classical animism and ritual cults, as well as to the birth of Christianity and other monotheistic religions. There’s a cave on the side of Mount Parnassus which was sacred, like all rustic caves, to Pan, but has also been written about as a hiding place for the infant Zeus, and various nymphs. The same cave was used by Greek partisans hiding from the Ottoman armies in the nineteenth century and the Nazis occupiers in the twentieth, and no doubt on many other occasions throughout history – there’s a reason those stories were written about that place, and the writing of those stories allowed for that place to retain its power and use. Mythology and magic have always been forms of encoded and active story-telling, and this is what I believe and want technology to be: an agential and inherently political activity, understood as something participatory, illuminating, and potentially emancipatory.

James Bridle, Installation view of Failing to Distinguish Between a Tractor Trailer and the Bright White Sky at Nome Gallery, Berlin, 2017. Photo: Gianmarco Bresao

James Bridle, Installation view of Failing to Distinguish Between a Tractor Trailer and the Bright White Sky at Nome Gallery, Berlin, 2017. Photo: Gianmarco Bresao

Your practice as an artist and thinker is widely recognised so i suspect that you could have knocked on the door of Tesla or Volkswagen and get an autonomous car to play with. Why did you find it so important to build your own self-driving car?

I think it’s incredibly important to understand the medium you’re working with, which in my case was machine vision and machine intelligence as applied to a self-driving car – something that makes its own way in the world. By understanding the materiality of the medium, you really get a sense of a much wider range of possibilities for it – something you will never do with someone else’s machine. I’m not really interested in what Tesla or VW want to do with a self-driving car – although I have a fairly good idea – rather, I’m interested in thinking through and with this technology, and proposing alternative pathways for it – such as getting lost and therefore generating new and unexpected experiences, rather than ones pre-programmed by the manufacturer. Moreover, I’m interested in the very fact that it’s possible for me to do this, and for showing that it’s possible, which is itself today a radical act.

I believe there’s a concrete and causal relationship between the complexity of the systems we encounter every day, the opacity with which most of those systems are constructed or described, and fundamental, global issues of inequality, violence, populism and fundamentalism. Only through self-education, self-organisation, and new forms of systemic literacy can we counter these currents: programming is one form of systemic literacy, demonstrating the accessibility and comprehensibility of these technologies is another.

The salt circle is associated with protection. Do you think our society should be protected from autonomous vehicles?

In certain ways, absolutely. There are many potential benefits to autonomous vehicles, in terms of road safety and ecology, but like all of our technologies there’s also great risk, particularly when control of these vehicles is entirely privatised and corporatised. The best model for an autonomous vehicle future is basically good public transport – so why aren’t we building that? At the moment, the biggest players in autonomous vehicles are the traditional vehicle manufacturers – hardly beacons of social or environmental responsibility – and Silicon Valley zaibatsus such as Google and Uber, whose primary motivation is financialising virtual labour until they develop AI which can cut humans out of the loop entirely. For me, the autonomous vehicle stands in most particularly for the deskilling and automation of all forms of labour (including, in Google’s case, cognitive labour), and as such is a tool for degrading individual and collective agency. This will happen first to truck and taxi drivers, but will slowly extend to most of the workforce which, despite accelerationist dreams, is currently shredding rather than building a social framework which might support a low-work future. So, looked at that way, the corporate-controlled autonomous vehicle and automation in general is absolutely something that should be resisted, while it fails to serve the interest of most of the people it effects.

In all things, technological determinism – the idea that a particular outcome is inevitable because the technology for it exists – must be opposed. Knowing where the off switch is a vital and necessary complement to the kind of democratic involvement in the design process described above.

The artist statement in the catalogue of the show says that you worked with software and geography. I understand the necessity of the software but geography? What was the role and importance of geography in the project? How did you work with it?

The question which I kept returning to while working on the project, alongside “what does it mean for me to make an autonomous car?” is “what does it mean to make it here?” – that is, not on a test track in Bavaria or a former military base in Silicon Valley, but in Greece, a place with a very different material history and social present. How does a machine see the world when its experience is of fields, mountains, and winding tracks, rather than Californian highways and German autobahns? What is the role of automation in a place already suffering under austerity and unemployment – but which also has always produced its own, characteristic responses to instability? One of the things I find fascinating about the so-called autonomous vehicle is that, in comparison to the traditional car, it’s really as far from autonomous as you can get. It must constantly return to the network, constantly update itself, constantly observe and learn from the world, in order to be able to operate. In this way, it also seems to embody some potentially more connected and more community-minded world – more akin to some of the social movements so active in Greece today than the atomised, alienated passengers of late capitalism.

James Bridle, Gradient Ascent, 2016

James Bridle, Gradient Ascent, 2016

In the video and catalogue text entitled “Gradient Ascent”, Mount Parnassus and the journeys around it becomes an allegory both for general curiosity, and for specific problem-solving: one of the precise techniques in computer science for maximising a complex function is the random walk. Re-instituting geography within the domain of the machine becomes one of the ways of humanising it.

I was reading on Creators that this is just the beginning of a series of experiments for the car. Do you already know where you will go next with the technology?

I’m still quite resistant to the idea of asking a manufacturer for an actual vehicle, and for now my resources are pretty limited, but it might be possible to move onto the mechanical part of the project in other ways – I’ve had some interest from academic and research groups. I think there’s lots more to be done in exploring other uses for the autonomous vehicle – as well as questions of agency and liability. What might autonomous vehicles do to borders, for example, when their driverless nature makes them more akin to packets on a borderless digital network? What new forms of community, as hinted above, might they engender? On the other hand, I never set out to build a fully functioning car, but to understand and think through the processes of developing it, and to learn from the journey itself. I think I’m more interested in the future of machine intelligence and machinic thinking than I am in the specifics of autonomous vehicles, but I hope it won’t be the last time I get to collaborate with a system like this.

Thanks James!

James Bridle’s solo show Failing to Distinguish Between a Tractor Trailer and the Bright White Sky is at NOME project in Berlin until July 29, 2017

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[sizzlingcrusadebouquetfan-blog]

Getting married early for health insurance?

"Getting married early for health insurance?

I'm wondering if there are any risks to getting married early in order to qualify for future spouses health insurance? For example, what are the tax implications to getting married?    Were already engaged and were planning to marry later next year, but now that Im between jobs it would be much more affordable to access spousal health insurance rather than COBRA.

BEST ANSWER:  Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://freeinsurancequotes.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr 

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What are some affordable Health Insurance Options in NYC for Latin American father and his child to be?

My friend doesn't have health insurance and is planning on putting his new baby (born around Oct.) on his policy with him. He's Latin American and has his permanent residence card, but is not yet a citizen. Anyone know of any affordable plans for him to look into in the Manhattan area?""

How much would be insurance on a toyta celica for a 17 year old in uk?

I'm planning to get this car when i get my licence i was just wondering how much it would cost me. I'm getting it with bodykit and custom paintjob and it will be my first car

How much is your car insurance?

Im 18 and learning to drive, obviously the insurance is ridiculous so i was wondering what everyones costs are and what kind of car they have, also what would make insurance cheaper because i dont understand how so many kids can drive with such costs.""

How much is health insurance?

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Co-Buyer Auto Insurance?

All, I helped ex GF to buy a car. I thought I was co signing for loan but apparantly I am a co buyer of car. The registration is her or me . I dont mind being responsible for loan. If she messes up loan I will make payments. She tells me she has car properly insured etc. What worries me is if she lets insurance lapse or cause a major accident could I end up in trouble. Can I insure myself against her letting insurance lapse or causing major injury/damage? I currently have no personal auto insurance (have company vehicle). Is there anything else I can do to protect myself? Im very worried about this. Do I need to be or am i overreacting? Pat""

Health Insurance- pre existing condition?

How do I find a health insurance company that will cover a pre exiting condition?

Quote for a day car insurance????????????

how much does a 1 day car insurance cost? It is the first time I need to do it, so I don't have any idea. When I try to get a quote, I'm always ask to register to the website... I don't really want to do it before having a quote :P Anyway would you please recommend me an agency? thanks""

How is mandating health insurance socialism? Why is no one rioting about car insurance?

Healthcare is still run by the private sector. Just more people will be able to get it. How is ensuring everyone has insurance socialized medicine? Healthcare is run by the private sector either way.

What steps are needed to obtain a license to sale Insurance in the State of California?

I have a college degree, but just had a baby and I'm looking to obtain a license to sale Insurance for when my son gets older so I can have a flexible schedule. What is the process in the State of California to obtain a license to sale Insurance? (car insurance, business insurance, home insurance, etc.) Is there a seperate license for each kind of insurance? or does one license cover all of them? Also, what are the steps to obtain a license? Any information would be great! (also, how long is the process of obtaining a license?)""

Can i put insurance on a old mobile home ?

I have a 84' model mobile home but i paid to have it remodeled so it's very nice on the inside. Well i want to rent it out so i want to put insurance on it in case a fire or etc. happens to it while it's being rented out . But can i put insurance on a mobile home that old ? and can i put as much as i want or does the insurance only cover how much it's worth ?

Car insurance go up if not your fault?

If somebody hits you from behind, and it's completely their fault, you file claim for insurance, does the non-fault person's insurance go up?""

What lowers insurance for a car?

I am a 21 yr old male, and I know that I fall under the category of drivers who are not married, male, below 25 so insurance will be more expensive on me. What I want to know is what features make a car insurance less expensive? I know one big one is that it is a sedan and not a coupe. What else? (What are the big insurance savers?)""

How does car insurance work with multiple drivers and one car?

My family has one car and the only one who currently drives it/has auto insurance is my dad. If my sister and I are to get our drivers licenses (and would only ever drive this one car, too) how does insurance work? Do me and my sister both have to pay insurance on that same car too? Thanks!""

Do I have to have auto insurance when driving a uhaul?

Ok so My boyfriend and I are planning on renting a uhaul in a few months for our move from Florida to California. We currently do not have auto insurance. If we get pulled over will they ask for proof of insurance? Do we need insurance to drive a rented vehicle? Also does uhaul offer insurance? What does it cover and how pricey is it? I told my bf that you probably dont need insurance to drive a rented vehicle but he disagrees with me. So if you can help me prove him wrong I'd greatly appreciate it.

Where can I get started with Motorcycle Insurance Thanks.?

I just got my brand new 150cc Moped where can get started with Motorcycle Insurance and what information do I need. Another questionI want be riding my moped almost everyday and I know you have to pay to keep up your insurance will this effect your licenses if your not paying for insurance Thanks.

Does any1 know roughly how much it would cost to insure a 2000 automatic vauxhall frontera?

thinking of buying the car for my sister she's almost 19 and is a learner driver does any1 know roughly in s how much the insurance would be

""Young motorcycle riders, how much is your insurance?

Im wondering how much insurance will be for a 19 year old for a 08' R1...im thinking about financing one but of course you cant have it without insurance..i would like to know about other riders and their insurances...and which one would be the cheapest for me..

Where can I get car insurance in Colorado (during the wildfires)?

I applied for auto insurance today and got the message, We Are Unable to Complete Your Request. Coverage is not available in your location because of a natural disaster or other emergency situation. I just bought a new car and now I can't drive it until these stupid fires go out, but I still have to go to work, still have to go to the grocery store, etc So what am I supposed to do? My daily life has not changed from the fire, and I need to be able to drive!!""

Is there some sort of reason that Car Insurance costs so much more in Nevada than it does in California?

Im looking into moving, and I cannot help but notice that the quotes I am getting are, well, DOUBLE what I pay in California. Granted, I am a 23 year old male and have a decent driving record, it is kind of shocking to see liability only coverage quoted at $250/month for my two 8 and 12 year old cars, when Im paying $125/mo. as of now in California for the same 100/300 coverage. Can someone explain this? I have some friends that have moved to Las vegas, with the same shocking increase in premiums... (And yes, I need the 100/300 since I own a home)""

Insurance cost for jeep patriot?

I am currently thinking of buying a 2008 jeep patriot. I am worried if the unsurance cost for it would be high?

Insurance didn't report?

My sister couldn't afford to pay her car insurance. Her insurances company never reported to the DMV that it was canceled. why? She even got speeding tickets and i thought the police do a run when they pull you over. how is this possible?

Why should car insurance be cheaper for young people?

car insurance should not be cheaper for young people because they are not responsible

Aren't health insurance companies allowed to sell across state lines?

I had health insurance in Texas from a company in Oklahoma. United Healthcare sells insurance in all 50 states, I believe. Why are people that are against health care reform claiming that health insurance would be cheaper if companies were allowed to sell across state lines? Also, if their claims is true, who would regulate it, the states through their insurance commissioners or the feds through a national insurance commissioner? I'm not interested in the politics of health care reform, just don't understand what people are talking about since I have had a different experience.""

Does car insurance cover only one car per policy?

Like, if I had many cars, would the policy cover all those cars for one fee or would I have to get insurance for each car? I feel like each policy only covers one car but I'm not for sure which is why I'm here. And if there is such a car insurance that covers x amount of cars for one fee, let me know. Thanks for taking the time to answer this.""

How much do I pay monthly to insurance to cover a Acura rsx?

I am 19 thinking of buying an Acura rsx but I've been doing research & noticing that the insurance for that car is very high? Does anyone know how much a month would I have to pay & if anyone knows the best insurance company to get for the car? I'm looking for the cheapest deal? Help please

Getting married early for health insurance?

I'm wondering if there are any risks to getting married early in order to qualify for future spouses health insurance? For example, what are the tax implications to getting married?    Were already engaged and were planning to marry later next year, but now that Im between jobs it would be much more affordable to access spousal health insurance rather than COBRA.

CAR TITLE/INSURANCE VS BANK LOAN?

Hi, I wanted to make sure this is legal before I take part in it. So a friend of mine who I have known now for about 15 years wants to get rid of his car because he can no longer ...show more""

Antique motorcycles older than 25 years dont have to pay insurance?

Im sure i remember being told if a motorcycle is older than 25 years you dont have to pay out any insurance on it is that right??

Can you insure a car without a company?

Do you have to go through a company to insure your car, or can you do it yourself? What I mean is that you could put a large sum of money to one side in a deposit and get back what wasn't spent on claiming. This system works for appartment renting, so why not car insurance? Does it exist? Should it exist?""

What's an affordable insurance company?

I don't need an agent I just need something somewhat affordable. I'm 17 and the cost is outrageous. I'm looking and Geico seems pretty cheap but does anyone else have any suggestions?

How do I determine my house's replacement cost to get an accurate quote from insurance companies?

To get a quote, all of the companies are asking for the replacement cost. I've read that only way to get that is to hire an appraiser. So does that mean I get an appraiser first, THEN start getting insurance quotes? What do I do here?""

""I can't pay car insurance, but I can't stop driving?""

Ok, I work a minimum wage job that took me months to find. Progressive, which has been a good insurance agency, charges me about $120 a month to insure an old rustbucket 1977 Ford. Which wasn't bad until I had my daughter. The cost of medical for her, gassing up my truck, rent, utilities, etc. AS far as I'm concerned insurance is the first thing to go. F*** it, I'm not gonna say I'll never get into an accident but the likely hood of it being my fault is very very very low. Pretty much an act of God kind of thing. I'm looking for a cheaper way to stay legal but before anybody offers suggestions keep this in mind, I live in the middle of nowhere. There is no public transportation, carpooling is not an option, and walking/biking is out of the question (work is about 45 minutes away). Advice would be appreciated.""

Home insurance Vs Common insurance in Condo's?

One of the listed property I am interested in has an assessment fee of 280 which includes common insurance,exterior mant,snow removal. What is this common insurance ? and do I need to still take home insurance personally ?""

Ford Mustang for a first car?

I know people say mustangs for 16 year olds have high insurance, but would buying an older model (1994-2000) with the V6 make insurance cheaper? Thanks!""

Cheaper car insurance?

I'm an 18 (almost 19) year old male living in Ontario, Canada, and I'm on my parent's insurance policy. I'm looking into buying my first car. It's not just some old beater, it's a car that I would definitely enjoy driving. It's a 1999 Chevy Cavalier with a bunch of modifications to it. I'm worried about what I will be paying monthly in insurance. The guy I'd be buying it from told me as long as your insurance company doesn't ask for pictures of the car, in order to keep my premium low I should just lie about what's in/on the car. He said tell them you bought it for the black book price without any mods ($1200 - $2100), and state the only addition being a body kit. MY QUESTION IS: Could I get in any trouble if they ever found out about all of the modifications to the car that I didn't list? What would happen?""

Can a ticket affect my parent's insurance rates?

I recently got my first moving violation and I do intend to pay it and go to traffic school soon. The policy expires this May and the insurance is not under my name. Will this affect my parent's rates? Company is state farm.

What is the cost of the insurance for the car i want ?

I want a Suzuki Ignis 1.5 sport im just about to start driving wants the insurance going to cost ?

""Decent looking vehicle, good gas mileage,low car insurance? &Where to find good car insurance rates??""

I filled out a couple quotes from esurance.com and allstate and i got like $2100 & $4100 premium 6 month payment. Does that mean its going to cost me that much for insurance for only 6 months? If so, that is insane. That would be $350-$750 dollars a month. That cannot be real. My dad gave me a quote from Allstate(thats what he has) and it was about $117.00/Mth for a Chevy Blazer for 18 Year Old First Driver. I am very new to the whole insurance thing so can someone just point me in a small direction to the lowest priced insurance with good plans. I would absolutely love to have an older car(oldsmobile, or between 60s&80s)But thats way to pricy, along with a nice sports vehicle. Because of the gas mileage and decent look, i would like a Chevy Convert Tracker. Just give me some advice if you know what im talking about. :) Thanks Much xox Brittany xox""

What does it mean when your employer will contribute 100% of your insurance premium?

I am on my husbands insurance and we pay $110 a month for health insurance. I was reading through his contract and it states that The school will contribute 00% of full time employees' single and defendant premium coverage. Why are we still paying for the insurance? What am I missing?

How much could be the average insurance for a SMART car?

How much could be the average insurance for a SMART car?

Is there some affordable health insurance plan in the U.S. that doesnt have a huge deductible?

Is there some affordable health insurance plan in the U.S. that doesnt have a huge deductible?

Where to find a reliable and cheap insurance for my 2008 car?

I'm frustrated with my previous insurance company, it's expensive and unreliable which means most of the time they dont pay my claims. :'(""

Liability insurance price for honda civic 2006?

how much is the average liability insurance cost for honda civic 2006 4 door and 32 year married driver with 100% clean driver's history?

Car insurance coverage?

Will the insurance of a driver pay off for a non family member's vehicle that was totaled if he has total coverage for his vehicles? The vehicle that was crashes has a lien against it & only has liability insurance. However, the driver that wrecked has total coverage for both of his vehicles. He has USAA insurance which looks like good insurance? There is GAP insurance on the wrecked vehicle. My question, how do I get the ball rolling on this? I live in Oklahoma, the truck is sitting at a savage yard in Killeen, TX , the primary driver (a soldier) is in a military camp in Virginia, the soldier that wrecked the vehicle is living in Killeen, TX. I signed for the loan, my name is on the title. I haven't ever driven this vehicle. The salvage yard said they sent registered letters to the Oklahoma motor vehicle department. This sounds like it could take months and months to settle. Meanwhile, I need the primary driver to continue make the payments. They are not agreeing on who shuld""

Car insurance costs for a newly qualified 18 year old?

Because of where I live I am getting a Land Rover for my first car and I was looking at either a Land Rover Defender 90 2.4 diesel or a 2nd generation Range Rover (the Range Rover P38) 2.5 diesel and i was wondering on average mow much it would cost me to insure one of these?? thanks :-)

Help with Car insurance cost?

ok so im 17 1/2 year old male and ive been driving since i was 15 1/2. As of right now im covered under my parents insurance with Mercury auto insurance and i pay $500 for 6 months of coverage ($1000 a year). I am currently covered for the three cars that my family owns 1996 Acura 2.5 TL (my crappy car) 2008 MBenz C300 (moms) 2011 Mazda 3 (Dads) So heres my question.. My car (the TL) is starting to break down and the cost of service is outmatching the value of the car. So ive been saving up to try to get another car and i am going to put down 40-50% of the money and my parents are gonna pay for the rest. The cost of the car is not the issue i was wondering more about my cost of insurance for the cars that i am interested in. I know that my most accurate response would be from the Insurance companies themselves, but i dont have time right now. I just wanted to know what you guys thought about how much i should pay per month for these cars. So the cars im interested in ( theres alot lol) are: 90's Toyota MR2 (preferably turbo, but i could live without it) Subaru WRX (Non-STI) Nissan 350Z Honda S2000 BMW 330i (coupe only) 00'-04' Ford Mustang GT There are others but i cant remember them right off the top of my head.. I know its gonna be WAY more expensive then what i pay now and that most of these cars are 2 door and 2 seat which will just make it worse. But im really willing to work for it and like i said i pay my own insurance bill. So how much do you think each of these cars cost for monthly insurance? And of the cars listed which would you most recommend?""

CAR INSURANCE question?

Ive just been made a fiance manager at work and my car insurance has gone down in price ! Can anybody tell me what kind of jobs make your car insurance reduced in price and why ?

Can I be on someone's auto insurance policy if I don't live with them?

I'm 16 and I would have my first car if it wasn't for insurance. I got some quotes and the cheapest one was like 316 a month. Is there any way I can be on my grandparents' policy if they live 60 miles away? I go up there almost every weekend. Also would it be cheaper if I was on their policy versus me having my own? Thanks in advance.

""My buddy is suing my insurance company, what could happen?""

Ok, So a little over a month ago i was involved in a car accident with a friends car. It was and 1 hr and 30 min drive. My friend said he was tired and drunk, telling me to drive( I was sober) so i did. I did tell him I didn't want to drive because his car was manual(which i can drive, but i've been driving auto for 4 years now. On the way home I fell asleep at the wheel and the car was totaled. None of us were injured, I was good he was good. We did the police report called our insurances. His paid him for his car. Two weeks later he's calling me to come-over to talk. I get bombarded by his family for 2hours basically saying they need money for this and that. The claim was already settled but he insisted i called my insurance company and see if they can give them money because they used the money they got from there insurance to pay off the car(worth about 5 grand) I talked it over with mom because im under her insurance and she said its sounds shady. She calls the insurance company and said dont give him a dime. Insurance is to make you whole again not better then you were. I explained to him numerous times and a week later my mom calls me at work and says gieco called and my friend is suing them. she also said he has a lawyer. He's suing for bodily injury! My told me not to stress it but it bothers me so much. He definitely doesn't deserve anything and especially being in perfect healthy condition. In the accident if you wanna get technical i took all the hits. I know him, my insurance company doesnt. its not right for him to be compensated for some injury that doesn't exist. Whats gonna happen? does he have a chance. the claim opened up is for $25,000 or more. this kid goes out clubbing and partying every weekend and this is how he lies? any input is appreciated. thanks again..""

Why are white cars cheaper than other colours?

im trying to find a more of an economic based answer.... thanks

""ATTN: New drivers, How much is your insurance a month??

I just got my insurance today and was curious to see what other ppl are paying. Thanks in advance:)

Getting married early for health insurance?

I'm wondering if there are any risks to getting married early in order to qualify for future spouses health insurance? For example, what are the tax implications to getting married?    Were already engaged and were planning to marry later next year, but now that Im between jobs it would be much more affordable to access spousal health insurance rather than COBRA.

What are some individual health insurance companies?

I have applied to Blue Cross, CAA, Manulife and Sunlife for my epilepsy medication that is costing me way to much per month. But each insurance company excludes any medication for my seizure disorder. What are some other health insurance companies that will accept me (hopefully)?""

What is cheap car insurance for a new driver?

I am a new driver and I need insurance for a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2000. I am a student and I need cheap insurance

Why is my car insurance so high?

I can't seem to find decent coverage that doesn't break my bank. Here's my current policy that I'm paying 861/month for: Bodily injury/property liability: 12,500/person, 25,000/accident, 7,500/accident Comprehensive: 1,000 deductible Collision: 2,000 deductible NO other coverage. I drive a 2010 Jetta that I OWN, I'm a 23 year old male, I've never filed a claim/been in an accident, and I haven't gotten a ticket of any kind in 5 years. Does this make sense? Am I missing some secret to affordable insurance? I have a feeling it's because I didn't finish college and I have no credit, but still... Sigh. Any help is greatly appreciated.""

Car insurance 16 year old lower?

If i am 16 and I have heard this from a lot of people but if I have a 4.0 GPA at school which is the highest possible, will that help lower my car insurance cost to an AFFORDABLE COST?? What other ways can I get around to paying less than average teens car insurance. Thank you please no personal theories.""

Vehicles with lowest insurance rates?

I live in Ontario Canada. I'm needing a car for work now. I have three tickets about two years ago; two running red light tickets and one for driving ten over the limit. I'm looking for a car that is good on gas and easier on the wallet for insurance. Thanks

How much will my car insurance cost me?

I am 18 years old, and live in Northern BC. I have had my N license for just over a year, I have had NO accidents or tickets. I have a 1995 Honda Civic 4 Door. I am a very safe driver and I have been unlucky to find a good quote. Do you think it would be around $100/month?""

Auto insurance for drivers with little/no credit history?

While shopping for car insurance, I usually use a fake name/address with all my real information (DOB, driving record, etc) just so I don't get a bunch of annoying calls/emails from every company I get a quote from. The fake email address I always use got an email the other day, which basically said that when they ran a credit check they consumer reporting agency couldn't provide a full credit history (not surprising seeing as they were checking on a name that doesn't exist). The thing that concerns me is that being only 19, I also don't have much of a credit history (the only credit I do currently have is a card I got a month ago). I couldn't really tell from the email (since I didn't read it too closely, I was really just clearing out the fake inbox) but I'm not sure if they were saying We couldn't get a credit history on you, if we had been able to, the rate you were quoted could have been lower or something more drastic like because we couldn't find a credit history, the quote we gave is no longer valid and either they won't cover me or will charge way more. I'm concerned because the email came several days after I got the quote. When I decide which company to use, and I get a quote with my real name/contact info and buy it right way online, am I going to get an email in a few days saying the because of my lack of credit they either want more money or are cancelling my policy?""

Is there affordable insurance that covers pre-existing pregnancy?

My friend lost suddenly in a car wreck a couple weeks ago. Days later she found out that she is expecting. Cobra coverage through his insurance company is over $600 monthly. She is having a hard time finding insurance with her pre-existing condition. Does anyone know of an insurance company with reasonable rates that would be willing to cover her?

Which company has the cheapest full coverage auto insurance?

Which company has the cheapest full coverage auto insurance?

Asking all under 25 female drivers in uk- whats a cheap car insurer?

Asking all female drivers under 25!! Does anyone know of or have been with any cheap car insurance companies? Ive already checked quite a few but they seem really expensive...Please help!

How would a life insurance company know if you were a cigarette smoker?

They would obviously want to charge you more if you smoked, so do they just take your word for it?""

Can I add my girlfriend to my life insurance?

Can I add my girlfriend to my life insurance?

Can I cancel my fathers car insurance?

He went on a business trip and it was supposed to be for 2 months but it turned out they wanted him to stay a couple months longer. He told me to cancel his insurance so If I return the plates to the DMV in NY with the receipt can I cancel his insurance?

Can i get my parents Life Insurance?

Were can i get life Insurance for my parents? Im gonna be a Lawyer and they get good money. Also i want my parents to leave me money when they pass away. Im gonna be happy with money. I live in the Bay Area. what is the most that life insurance could give you? How much will you pay a month for the highest one?

Where did health insurance companies learn the word affordable? ?

I mean seriously, I check all over and the cheapest I can find with a joke of a copay is $130.00. I, like many other people, live paycheck to paycheck with generally less than a dollar at the time of receiving my next check. It is just ridiculous. And before I get any answers about how wonderful Obamacare will be: no, that's as useful as getting a credit card to pay off a mortgage. Besides, if was for the good of the people, why are we to be FORCED into it instead of deciding for ourselves?""

How much should my car insurance cost?

I am 16 year old girl, will be driving a two door 1995 Honda civic, and have 4.1 gpa in school.""

Individual insurance for person with no income and 69 year old?

69 year old, no income, not eligible for medicaid (5 year permanent residency rule). Lives with daughter. She needs to have insurance. Can she have the insurance individually (remember, she has no official income) or she can have insurance at marketplace through her daughter as a family member? Though daughter has her own insurance through her employer. what is the best way and minimum charge here? Thanks in advance!""

Insurance and car accident.?

I was involved in an accident in which I struck a vehicle in the rear on 11/15/2004. It was not a bad collision and I was starting to walk-up to ask the driver of the other vehicle if he was okay, when a car rear-ended me and then two more cars hit that vehicle pushing my jeep under the vehicle which I had hit causing severe damage in excess of $3500. My insurnce payed the driver I hit, but I have not received a dime from farmers insurance. I placed a call to the insured vehicle that strcuk me and they told me to use my insurance company to hash-out all the details and to collect funds for repair my vehicle. I told this to my insurance agent (Progressive) and they said they would do that but I didn't have full coverage so that will not happen, I need to deal with the other partie's insurance companies. I have no Idea where to go from here. If I had the money, I would get a lawyer and I am sure that I would have this resolved right now. Does anyone have an idea for me? peace""

How could I lower my motorcycle insurance?

I looked over some of the things that insurance companies look for in giving deductibles and so far i came up with things like: 1. alarms, security devices, etc. 2. lower amount cost of accident coverage 3. rider training courses im 24, and i heard insurance rates go down after you turn 25 but i'm not sure if this applies to motorcycles also. i don't make too much at my job (min. wage) so i need the lowest rate i can get. what else can i do to bring it down???""

How to get cheap car auto insurance?

How to get cheap car auto insurance?

Cheap car to insure mpg above 25?

Looking for a car that you may have had experience with that is cheap to insure, with decent mpg. I was looking at '95 and '97 civics because they are older and I thought might be cheaper to insure and get pretty good mileage from what Ive heard. Mainly looking 4 doors not too shabby low insurance and decent mileage. Thanks in advance for responses everyone""

Where can I get a very good insurance quote?

I'm looking for full insurance coverage on a Toyota Camry LE. 2005. In Ca

I have a question about health insurance?

if a contact is lost will health insurance get you another pair

Can I buy motorcycle insurance for one month and cancel?

I'll be going away for college in a little over a month and I wanted to insure my motorcycle to I can ride it for the remainder of the summer. If I only want insurance for one month, should I just tell them that, or buy coverage with monthly payments and stop paying after the first month? Also, if I just stop paying, will this make it harder to get coverage from them in the future?""

Insurance on muscle cars? Help Agents?

Hi, I'm considering getting rid of the 01 V6 Mustang and getting a new car. I currently pay $1300/yr for full coverage and $1000 deductibles. How much would the following cars be?..or please just rank them most expensive to least. My DUI is 7 yrs old and goes off in another 3. Driving record is otherwise clear. I live in the suburbs of SF California, drive about 10K a year. 1. 2011 Ford Mustang 305hp 2. 2011 Ford Mustang 400 hp 3 2005 Chevy Corvette 400hp (old guys car) 4. 2002 Corvette Z06 400hp, (old guys car but I'm afraid the Z06 will make it more than and 05 with the same HP) I'd love to get a V8! the v6 stang is a last resort! Good car...a little unsure of the new china made 6spd tranny in the mustangs?""

Getting married early for health insurance?

I'm wondering if there are any risks to getting married early in order to qualify for future spouses health insurance? For example, what are the tax implications to getting married?    Were already engaged and were planning to marry later next year, but now that Im between jobs it would be much more affordable to access spousal health insurance rather than COBRA.

Can anyone tell me about affordable life ins. after age 80?

I have a term policy that will expire in two months, and would like to find an insurance co. that has some ins. that is not priced so high that I can't pay the premiums. Thanks for not sending any SPAM !!""

How much is home insurance per year in South Florida ?

Were purchasing a home around 300,000 how much is insurance yearly ? Anyone pay around this much ?""

What is the difference between term/whole life insurance vs accidental death insurance?

I'm trying to buy life insurance for myself and my mother. I read up on this survivorship insurance which sounded pretty good since I wanted something for my mother if I were do die first and vice versa. but most of the online quotes I saw were between spouses... But I got confused when I read about accidental death ins- does this mean I will not be covered if I die of an illness or old age- but instead must die of an accident such as auto or slip and fall?? secondly, would I get taxed on the interest earned on the universal/whole ins or when the policy is paid out/ surrendered?""

Insurance on a civic si?

Alright so im pretty sure that answer is going to be high but im thinking of buying a '06/'07/'08 civic si, but i was just wondering if any other si drivers could give me how much they pay for insurance. im 20 live in s. cali and have one ticket so i bet thats gonng drive it up but still want to know like an average. will it make a difference if i but a civic si sedan instead of the coupe?""

Hello im a 18 year old male and am looking for car insurance?

the car i am looking to insure is a 1.3 tdci vauxhall corsa excite 75ps 61 plate the cheapest ive been quoted on moneysupermarket.com is 3118 but went on lv and was quoted 1620.60 fully comp and only one on policy and me as the policy holder does anyone else know where the cheapest car insurance is

How can i get very cheap health insurance?

i am 18 yrs old, i go to school and i work at a place that doesnt have insurance and i really need to go to get my teeth pulled and i need to go to the doc for my stomach... how can i get free or very cheap health insurance?? cause i have no MONEY!!""

Car insurance?

how much can it increase by having one point on your driving record?

Is there some affordable health insurance plan in the U.S. that doesnt have a huge deductible?

Is there some affordable health insurance plan in the U.S. that doesnt have a huge deductible?

Motorcycle Registration Cost?

So I bought a 2004 GS500F yesterday with a Stage 1 Dyno Jet kit. Ive got my insurance and everything figured out, I'm just wondering how much it will be to register it? I live in Valdosta, Ga""

How much does affordable health insurance cost?

How much does affordable health insurance cost?

DO I QUALIFY FOR DISABILITY INSURANCE ?

I HAVE PAID INTO MY DISABILITY INSUURANE FOR MANY YEARS. I RECENTLY LOST MY JOB BUT GOT ANOTHER ONE WORKING ON A AS NEEDED BASIS, NO INSURANCE, NO RETIREMENT. THEY CALL ME IN MAYBE ONCE A WEEK TO COVER. THIS JOB IS HARD MANUAL LABOR AND BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR A WHILE MY BACK HAS BEEN DAMAGED. I HAVE CONSTANT PAIN THAT WILL NOT GO AWAY. MY QUESTION IS COULD I GO OUT ON DISABILITY FROM THIS JOB EVEN THOUGH I AM AN ONCALL EMPLOYEE? THANKS""

Car insurance for 18 year old male?

Hi I live in Windsor ON. And I need car insurance I have a 96' Ford Escort 4 door lx. Everywhere I have called has given me very high rates. Please help :)

What happens if I dont have auto insurance for 2 years?

Hello all I have had a US drivers license for 2 years now. I am going back to school and so I want to get rid of my car as I have no need for one. So If I sell my car and don't have auto insurance for 2 years, when I come back after finishing school and try and get auto insurance will I be treated as a brand new driver? Are my rates going to be really high because I dont have any continuous insurance history at that point? Or will I be treated as a driver who has 4 years of driving history (since I will have had my license for 4 years at that point?) Thanks""

Will 'fail to stop at red light' for 1st time affect my GEICO insurance rate ?

I just switched to GEICO last week and unfortunately got a 'fail to stop red light' citation from SoCal DMV... they required me to pay 480$ for the ticket and 535$ + course fee for traffic school if I need one. I really don't want to pay for the traffic school but afraid it will affect my insurance rate later. currently I am paying 760$ every 6 months for full coverage on 2 mid-size cars. Could anyone give me some idea for this? PS: I had 4 years driving experience and kept clear record with allstate before getting this ticket...

How much would insurance cost for a 2010 Camaro?

My mom told me if I get a 3.0 this semester and throw in about 5,000 dollars to help then she would get me a 2010 camaro for christmas next year. She said it has to be the v6 base model. I'm 16 years old, a junior in highschool, a guy, my grades are decent, and the cars gunna be white with black stripes, not sure if that affects the price, but its gunna be automatic and my First car. I know some people think are gunna say im stupid for spending soo much on a first car but I really don't need to hear that from you. All I need to know is how much insurance is going to be since im the one paying for that with a part time job.. so what do you think is the cheapest my insurance will be?""

I got two no proof of insurance tickets?

I got two and Have court for one on the 26th of Sep and the other on the 29th two different vehicles what will happen also when I got my second ticket I got it for speeding... What can I do I have proof of insurance but it is on a different vehicle is there any way I can say I was on my way to changing my insurance to the car I was driving.. I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA IM 19 years old PLEASE HELP ME IM TURNING 20 on the 28th of August

Business Insurance Quote?

Can anyone give me an idea of what insurance I may have? Im doing a b-plan, and insurance companies wont give me a quote yet. heres my info: Beverage Company, we buy our beverage from 3rd party manufacture. First year revenue: 1,000,000 Employees: 4 (1 owner) Annual Wages w/owner: $150k w/o owner: $120k 1 company owned van for local distribution and marketing driven by employee and owner Renting a 2500 sq. ft office space, we will have about $30k of product and $10k office equipment Southern California, I need the general liability, commercial, workers comp, umbrella, and anything else i may need? A good enough number for me to throw down in my general number-running in trying to figure how much money I need to assmble would be so helpful! Thank you!""

How do i mail in insurance card for a ticket i received?

How do i mail in insurance card for a ticket i received?

Which motorcycle will cost me less on insurance? 2004-5 600/1000cc crotch rocket motorcylce or 2008 Ninja 250R

No motorcycle experience at all. No driving record. 21/M/Florida. Never held a driver's/motorcycle license in the US. Am about to take the MSF course though.

Car insurance does it realy go up?

if your cars red does your car insurance price go up and if its a two door sports car does it go up?

Will this decrease/increase my insurance rate?

#NAME?

Are there any insurance companies that offer discounts for drivers of hybrid cars?

I know Traveler's does but their rates are really high to start with, so 10% off that is actually a ton more expensive than my regular insurance. I'm looking to insure a 2005 civic hybrid. (which for fair note I love!) Thanks in advance!""

How much does life insurance cost?

I have coverage for life insurance through my work. My fiance dosent. He is 20 years old. How much would life insurance cost a month for him?

Cheapest Vans to insure?

Hi, I was looking into getting a van as a first car, ideally I was after something like a van/car cross, basically an estate with no back windows, I'm not sure of the group. I was wondering what decent vans are out there and what would be cheapest to insure? The main reason for wanting a van is I regularly surf and would sleep in the back occasionally.""

I need to find and inexpensive health insurance can anyone help?

My husband has a rare blood disorder and is on Medicare through Social security and we don't have alot of money but because of his illness it cost alot for suppliment insurance. Does anyone know how we can get some extra insurance that won't kill us we already lost our home because we spent so much on insurance and most places won't even cover this. Please only serious reply.

Getting married early for health insurance?

I'm wondering if there are any risks to getting married early in order to qualify for future spouses health insurance? For example, what are the tax implications to getting married?    Were already engaged and were planning to marry later next year, but now that Im between jobs it would be much more affordable to access spousal health insurance rather than COBRA.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/renters-insurance-quotes-florida-charles-oliver/"

[momscookingthebooks]

★.•**•.★ NEW RELEASE CHAPTER BLOG TOUR ★.•**•.★

YES ! We get to have Gina Wynn’s Newest release What You Wish For.

Readers, every day you get a snippet of chapter 1. THIS IS DAY 3

Don’t forget to follow so you don’t miss a bit.

Then Preorder Your Copy TODAY  xx

Title: What you wish for

Author: Gina Wynn

Genre: Romantic, Woman Fiction

Release Date: May 12

Tour Date: May 9 - 12

Hosted By Teaser Addicts PR

BLURB

When Maggie Forrester wakes up naked in bed with her boss, iceman Will Brian, she's sure it must be a dream. Or a feverish hallucination at the very least. But magic takes over when she begins to experience an impossible other life—complete with an alternate husband—and she's forced to confront the reality of the man she loves versus the man she's fallen in love with.

After secrets she believed long buried surface, both of Maggie's realities are threatened. As the truth of her past comes to light, she must decide which man she truly loves and which life she wants to live—if the choice is even hers to make. Sometimes, true love is even worth wishing for.

☆Bloggers And Reviewers☆

Want To Review? Request Your Copy Below And Thank You!

https://goo.gl/forms/pPNYnFe0c8QKyPUo1

GOODREADS LINK: http://bit.ly/2pzrpOF

Pre order Yours Here ! Available on all platforms

Amazon: UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071KWRC5Y/  

US:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071KWRC5Y/

KOBO:

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/what-you-wish-for-14

SMASHWORD:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/720996  

Couple more links:

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/books/detailsGina_Wynn_What_You_Wish_For?id=A3y-DgAAQBAJ&hl=en

Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/what-you-wish-for/id1230824043?mt=11 Decadent Publishing:

http://decadentpublishing.com/pre-order-now-what-you-wish-for/

Purchase links will Be Live MAY 12, 2017

Part 3

Not knowing where I’d woken up, or how I found myself on a first-name basis with my boss required more of a reason than a simple night out. A risky one-night stand suggested more than simple trolling for a no-strings dalliance, more than being in a mood to throw away everything I’d worked for. It also suggested a stomach- turning about-face in my moral code.

I smothered a ridiculous involuntary giggle lest he heard my madness through the door, then sat, unable to even form anything but repetitive thoughts about the man who insisted on being so formally addressed at the office, yet appeared happy to laze about naked with me in his personal time.

I tensed to redirect my thoughts and dug my fingers into the plushest carpet in the world, then wiped my sweaty palms on the pile, smoothing over my guilt. Fear and insanity warred within me, stealing both my breath and my determination to

focus. After all, no stable person woke up with her boss and spent time debating the event with herself before she considered her exit. No sane person who woke in the arms of her boss by surprise, anyway. My confused, traitorous heart stuttered, and I sucked a large inhale to quash ballooning terror over my mental health and every element of my future.

I’d never be able to meet his eyes or take his dictation ever again.

Note to self: You might have been taking his dictation all night long.
Naked. Oh. Dear. Sweet. God. Naked.
Note to self: Stop taking notes.
Heat flamed up my face. I needed to stop thinking about optional clothing before

I set myself on fire. My skin blistered under a new wave of heat, and I flapped my hands near my face, the gesture both overly girly and ineffective at calming my thoughts. Mr. Brian wouldn’t remain as friendly if I spontaneously combusted so near his suits.

Dressing and leaving, not playing my own private video loop of my boss without his clothes, topped my agenda. I scoffed then dealt my face a quick mental slap for good measure and greater focus

I should have had only one focus.
Jake.
Maybe Mr. Brian had a simple explanation, and I only needed to ask. Perhaps he

brought me home with him to look after me. I might have taken ill, then...tripped, and ended up lying in his bed. After all my clothes disintegrated.

I gave my head another shake, almost as though I might dislodge some common sense in there.

Would I do that? Was I really that girl after all those years? What had I done? I blew out a deep breath of shame. As I rubbed my face, my ring caught on my skin in reprimand. I ignored it, tucking my hand behind me instead.

I glanced at the light rather than look at his suits again. More horror washed through me in one giant wave. I had to work with the owner of those clothes. Every aspect of my life depended on him and the wage he paid me. My finances, my home, and now the stability of my marriage—even if Jake and I had always been more friends with benefits than soul mates.

I choked back another nervous giggle but sounded like a cat with a hairball. “Maggie?” Mr. Brian knocked lightly on the door. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart?

Something in me melted a little. For a moment, and a reason I couldn’t define, I wanted to be his sweetheart.

I gave myself a quick mental shake. If I stayed quiet and carried on ignoring him, maybe he’d get fed up and go away.

I crossed my fingers in a childish gesture of misplaced faith. If I could develop the magic ability to erase every moment since I woke up, I’d never speak or move again—not even to take a breath. I parted my lips and allowed the shallowest inhale ever.

Baby steps on the not-breathing thing.

“Yes?” I tried not to let my mounting dread at what I’d done show in my voice, preventing a tremor before it ever emerged.

“Can I get you anything?” His uncharacteristic concern ate at me, as acidic as any guilt.

He should have been the type to get rid of his latest conquest before dawn. And I should have been the type to stay faithful.

DON’T FORGET TO GO OVER THE BLOGS BELOW FOR PART 4 TOMORROW

The Awesome Participating Blogs , Authors and Fans (WE Thank You xx)

*Bitches N' Books

*Paranormal Romance Trance

*The Power of Three Readers

*Cecily Wolfe (ceciwolfe)

*Artsy Book Lovin' Sisters

*Joelle c rider

*Nana Prah, Author

*Brittany's Book Blog

*Jo and Isa love books

*Christine Indriolo

*Paranormal Palace of Pleasures

*AC Squared Book Blog

*Lisa Everyday Life

*Louise Hallett

AUTHOR BIO

From a magical land of castles and kings (Okay, it’s England), Gina doesn’t feel as old as she looks, owns three children who can’t be tamed, and writes in spare – usually stolen – time. She sometimes bakes—not always with quite the desired results, and has found the only solution to keeping the characters in her head quiet is to placate them with lots of other lovely books and worlds. She has been published by Decadent Publishing, who currently have two of her books, both of which are romance titles – “Her Dollmaker’s Desire” and “Her Undercover Christmas”.

Social Media Links:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/ginawriteswords/

Twitter: @Gina_Wynn on Twitter

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2nN13Iz

Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2oeZVbX

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/ginawriteswords/

Website: http://ginawriteswords.com/

Email: ginawriteswords@gmail.com

[yatterzuk]

TinyCo Facebook Live Q&A – Recap

Hey there Clammers!

TinyCo announced recently that they wanted to try out a Live Q&A on their Facebook Page, and a bit like their previous Reddit AMA  there were mixed feelings about them doing this, but I think it was long overdue that they reach out to the community again and as much as this didn’t go quite as I’d hoped, (more on that later), hopefully it’s a start.

For those of you who missed the Q&A, it was live on Monday 20th March, and you can still watch it in full via TinyCo’s official Family Guy Quest For Stuff Facebook page, but incase you don’t want to go there, I’m going share my thoughts on what was a rather unusual Live Q&A for me.

THE TINYCO TEAM

Left to Right we have: Jason (Lead Artist); Jay (Lead Producer); Kimberley (Narrative Designer); Damon (Animator) and Kate (Lead Community Support).

THE LIVE Q&A – MY THOUGHTS

Now this was a 30 minute forum, and I’m not going to sit and do a word by word transcript as I’m not sure who would lose the will to live first, me writing it or you reading it. Instead I’m going pull out and highlight any interesting info and just give my general thoughts on what worked in this format, and of course what didn’t.

I’m going to be straight up honest before we go much further and say I was disappointed by the way the Live Q&A went, and I don’t mean due to the comments and questions being hijacked by trolls. No, it was the fact that from the outset this whole Live Q&A came over as very scripted, like when politicians give a Live Q&A briefing but the questions have actually been wrote by their own team and the answers rehearsed earlier, this just lacked the spontaneity i associate with a Live Q&A. I’m sorry TinyCo but this was the way it came across, the questions were too much about the Team and not the game. And that’s not the type of questions we see day in day out from players.

There was possibly too much talk about who the guyswere, where they came from and the Family Guy show rather than the game itself, after half an hour of listening I feel I learned very little about the game I didn’t already know but I sure as hell felt like I’d known the TinyCo guys all my life. I felt by the time things ended I wanted get them all friendship bracelets as a token of my affection, lol. And hey, maybe that was the point of it, so we’d get to know them as people and not just TinyCo employees, and hey they all seemed awfully nice but by doing this the Live Q&A lacked spontaneity, fun, the unexpected and the down right bizarre that anything linked to Family Guy usually demands.

It also seemed to lack a lot of player questions, the whole point of going live is to answer questions that aren’t only asked before but actually asked live on the timeline, encouraging quick fire and fun responses. Check out this Addicts LIVE stream to see what I mean. Instead I sensed some nerves from the guys, although not the gals, and pre-rehearsed responses to pre-set questions. I’m sorry if that wasn’t the case but it’s certainly how it came across listening to it live.

So that’s my main criticism, and as this was a first outing I can forgive that, I guess some performance nerves combined with not knowing what to expect from what can at times be a very hostile Facebook audience, probably made this a who drew the short straw jaunt for the guys we got to meet. But on my 2nd, and 3rd listen of the Live Q&A  I started to look past this and pull out little bits of info I thought players might want to hear about, and yes I’m going share them with you soon.

I’m also hoping if you watched the Live Stream you’d give us your thoughts in the comments. But please no hating, this isn’t what this post is about, it’s about saying a little Thanks to the TinyCo guys for making the effort but also telling them what worked and what didn’t in order when the next Live Q&A happens we might see more of our questions and less strategically planned answers. Also we might see a bit more interaction with what’s going on on Facebook as they chat, I’d have loved for one the guys to have joked about sending them some love and likes as that sea of little angry faces ran across the bottom of my Facebook screen. You know an instant reaction but in a joking way, jesting with us, playing with us, truly interacting with us. Even a “hey you guys, stop mocking us” in their best Stewie voice. Sometimes it’s ok to show us you’re only human after all…..

THE LIVE Q&A – WHAT THE TINYCO TEAM TOLD US

Well they told us a lot about themselves, which I’m guessing most of you don’t want to know so I’ll try to be brief. But suffice to say, although they weren’t jumping up and down Tiny Tom style they all appeared to love working on FGQFS as much as some of us love playing it. Even Kate, who surely has the toughest job of any at times.

Here’s a few of the things they said about working on FGQFS: It’s a dream; It’s wonderful; It’s great; Every day is different; Can’t wait to go to work everyday; Paid to do what we love; Get to spend the day making stuff up and playing; Team is like a family; Gives you an adrenalin rush and that’s despite the long hours, stress, the brutal nature of the mobile gaming industry and even at times being so busy you end up sleeping in the office.

They are also all big Family Guy fans, they said this about the show: Love the humour; The random nature of the show; How it always comes back to family & friendship; It’s got heart at the centre of it.

And Brian & Stewie seem to be their favourite characters from the show, so it must frustrate them as much as us they can’t use Stewie more. But it’s great to know they all have a passion for the game, and want to be there devising content and events for us for a long time.

Now the second overall thing I took from this is the way they all talked about the game going forward, as let’s face it there’s been a lot of speculation that with the Futurama game looming the end was nigh for FGQFS. But the TinyCo’s teams general chat and body language did not seem to signal the end is imminent in any shape or form so it could be the game everyone loves to hate it going to endure for a while yet.

What made me think this, well talk of bringing in more land once we see more of the older devices disappear from our lives, so they talk in terms of the game outliving these devices. They also talked about the issue with The Blimp, in fact they referred to the ongoing problems as a horror story as every fix causes a new issue, so they are planning to remove it and redo that part of the game, now that’s not something they’d consider if the game were on its way out surely? There’s also still a team of 40 or so working on the game, so it’s not down to one guy and his computer just yet.  And the artists continue to create 3 new characters a week. So this all says to me FGQFS isn’t going anywhere just yet, so don’t unbuckle your safety belts guys as this crazy ride continues.

Ok now onto more specific bits and pieces, as I mentioned above there’s a team of about 40 that work on FGQFS, so next time we moan about having to buy a premium item I guess we should think that those folk need paid, they ain’t doing voluntary work. And Kimberley revealed for every 4 week event they need to come up with at least 200-250 new jokes. I take my hat off to that as like Kate, I struggle to come up with one joke, never mind being able to roll off a production line of them. I’d be laughing all the way to the Bunny Asylum if that were my job.

They told us how they plan an event, sometimes they pick an episode and build the event around it, and I must say this is the events I like to see, ones where I recognise characters and costumes from the show. But they also confirmed sometimes they do the opposite and they get the rights to an Intellectual Property, say for example, Power Rangers, then they look to see if it has links to the show and if it doesn’t they devise a way to merge the two together in a funny Quahog kind of way.  They also revealed they still working very closely with the writers at the Family Guy TV show who continue to share ideas with them.

They also talked about something we see in our comments a lot, a desire for new gameplay and features during events, many of you have recently felt that too many events are the same format onl with different content to unlock. And they talked about this revealing that even when they reuse a format they do endeavour to make it better, for example they said the Quahog Heat gameplay features were based on those of The Hauntening, only with some tweaks to improve it.

But they also added not only did they understand our cries for new features in future events, they were actually going to be delivering some in the next event, Mighty Morphin Power Griffins.  So as much as many of us say they don’t listen, they obviously do!

Likewise they touched on the ongoing demand for old event characters to return, the most popular requests being for American Dad characters; Superheros characters and of course Star Trek characters. This is a question that they’ve now answered many times, but did so again. Basically they only get a limited time contract to give them the rights to use these characters during an event. If they want to bring them back they need to agree a new contract, so they can’t just drop these characters into the game at any time to please new players. But Damon stressed he’d love see some return himself as he hasn’t got them in his game either.

They chatted about their favourite Family Guy characters that they get to work on in the game and for everyone who’s fed up with Peter having so many skins, please be kind to Jason as they’re one his favourite things to work on. And Jay, well Joe’s his go to guy, and as for Damon, he’s got a soft spot for Bruce. And Kimberley well it’s all about Brian & Stewie. And Kate well she kept that her little secret, lol.

They also found time to chat about all us multi-millionaires and tried to explain why some of us have more coins than we’ll ever be able to spend. They said they will try introduce items to buy but in order to try keep events balanced and fair they will always use an event currency or else us multi- millionaires would just burn through events too quickly. And they are right, we would and then we would probably complain we’re bored, cause hey we’re entitled multi-millionaires aren’t we. Lol.

There you have it, hopefully the start of a new relationship with the Staff at TinyCo currently working on Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff.

Did you see some things you were curious about answered? Have some helpful suggestions/replies to some of the questions you saw or the LiveQ&A setup adopted? Thoughts on the Current Staff? Let us know.

~ Russian Tigger

TinyCo Facebook Live Q&A – Recap was originally published on Yatterz

[lazylegend-blog]

Divorce Does not Need to Ruin Your Kids - 50 Standards For Separating and Separated Moms and dads

Follow these standards to make the shift of divorce and the procedure of household restructuring and reconstructing simpler for you and your kids.

One day, you will be Grandmother and Grandfather to the exact same children. And when these children are grown they will duplicate the stories that they heard about Granny and Grandfather. How do you desire to be portrayed?

The company is the co-parenting of your kids. You do not require to like the individuals you do company with however you do require to put unfavorable sensations aside in order to carry out organisation. Relating in a business-like method with your previous partner might feel odd and uncomfortable at initially so if you capture yourself acting in an unbusiness-like method, end the discussion and continue the conversation at another time.

If you have actually not done so currently, call a truce with your Ex. Divorced moms and dads can be successful at co-parenting.

Divorce produces a breakdown of trust and interaction. Accept this and work to restoring trust and interaction with the other moms and dad, even if it feels like you are doing all of the work.

Your kid might try to incline the truths in a method that provides you exactly what she believes you desire to hear. Provide the other moms and dad the advantage of the doubt when your kid reports on remarkable discipline and/or benefits.

6. Do not recommend possible strategies or make plans straight with pre-adolescent kids. And, constantly verify any plans you have actually talked about with an older kid with the other moms and dad ASAP.

Be sure to have your kids tidy, fed, all set to go, and in ownership of all of their stuff when its time to make the switch. Much better yet, if possible prevent the dreadful switch by structuring your time sharing so that weekends begin Friday after school and end with school drop-off on Monday early morning.

8. Do not evaluate calls from the other moms and dad or limitation telephone contact in between your kid and the other moms and dad. Rather, make sure that your kid is offered to talk to the other moms and dad when s/he is on the telephone.

9. Do not go over the divorce, financial resources, or other adult topics with your kids. Prevent stating anything unfavorable about other moms and dad and his/her household and good friends to your kids.

10. Kids are constantly listening - particularly when you believe they're not. Prevent conversations relating to the divorce, financial resources, the other moms and dad, and other adult topics when your kids are within earshot.

11. Prevent utilizing body movement, facial expressions or other subtleties to reveal unfavorable ideas and feelings about the other moms and dad. Your kid can read you!

You can discuss your sensations with your kids to the level that they can comprehend them. If you let your kid understand that you are frightened of the future, your kid will be horrified too.

13. Do not utilize your kid as a carrier for messages or loan.

Kids benefit from understanding their roots and heritage. And, kids like custom. Extended household supplies kids with a sense of consistency, connection, and identity - particularly throughout divorce.

15. Prevent the desire to question your kid or press him for details relating to the information of your co-parents individual or expert life.

Neither of you must act as a conciliator in between the kids and the other moms and dad. And, neither of you need to act as the defense lawyer, providing a kid's case to the other moms and dad.

17. Be on time for pick-ups and drop-offs. Do not get in the other moms and dad's house unless you are welcomed in.

Do not take it personally if your teen chooses to be with his/her buddies. If you feel turned down and back-off, your teenager might feel turned down in return.

Your kid's relationship with his moms and dads will affect his relationships for the rest of his life. Never ever put your kid in a position where he has to pick in between his moms and dads or choose where his familial loyalties lie.

20. Anticipate that your kids might feel baffled, guilty, unfortunate and/or deserted in reaction to the divorce. Acknowledge their sensations as regular and advise them that although the household is going through a significant modification, you and their Dad/Mom will constantly be their moms and dads.

21. Even if the other moms and dad dissatisfies your kid or stops working to honor a time dedication, you will inform the kid that in spite of this mistake the other moms and dad enjoys the kid quite.

22. If your kids wish to talk, shut-up and listen.

23. Keep your kids notified about the everyday information of their lives and your separation/divorce in a manner that they can comprehend.

24. Keep as numerous security anchors (extension of relationships, routines, and the environment) as possible.

Kids desire sweet however they require veggies. Kids reveal monetary desires however they have psychological requirements. Provide your kids a little quantity of exactly what they desire and a lot of exactly what they require.

26. Keep in mind nobody is all bad or all great. Be sincere (with yourself) about your ex's and your very own strengths and weak points.

27. Correspond in how you discipline your kids. Set borders, providing liberty within a minimal location, and implemented guidelines beyond the "confine.".

28. Prevent providing blended messages or incorrect hopes of reunification.

Keep in mind that schedules will have to alter from time to time to accommodate scenarios and your kid's advancement. When your co-parent requires to alter the schedule reveal an unwinded versatility and go with the circulation.

30. Share excellent memories, however do not live in the past.

31. Think about sometimes separating your kids in order to provide each moms and dad some private time with each kid.

32. Present your kid to community kids that she can have fun with at her 2nd house.

33. Think about holding month-to-month household conferences, with a turning chair, to go over tasks, issues, schedules, strategies and obstacles.

Coordinate with your co-parent so that school occasions, functions and activities are covered. Who will work the fund-raiser? Who will work on the science task?

35. Do not forget old household customs and routines - practice them and produce brand-new ones.

36. Want to separate your requirements from the requirements of your kids and make their requirements the concern.

37. Keep parenting concerns different from loan problems.

38. If possible, inform your kids about the pending separation together prior to one moms and dad leaves. Strategy a shift time if you can.

39. Keep in mind to inform your kids:.

( a) Your father/mother and I made the option to divorce due to the fact that we believed it would be best for everybody.

( b) Both your father/mother and I enjoy you and will constantly enjoy you. The love that a moms and dad has for a kid endlesses.

( c) Your mother/father and I are collaborating to make sure we look after you.

( d) Your mother/father and I each have an unique relationship with you. You can like us both and never ever feel that it implies picking in between us, similar to each people likes you and your brother/sister.

40. Guarantee that boy/girlfriends and possible step-parents go sluggish, avoid of the divorce, do not interfere in a kid's relationship with either of his natural moms and dads, and do not motivate the kid to call them Mama or Daddy.

41. Kids, of any age, might be reluctant to hang out with a moms and dad for a range of factors. Both moms and dads need to motivate the kid to opt for the other moms and dad.

42. If you are not joined it will puzzle your kid and verify to him that he can control you.

43. Make certain that your kid's good friends' moms and dads understand your co-parent and understand that they can rely on him/her with their kid.

44. If you are a long-distance moms and dad:.

( a) Bear in mind that your kid is a digital local. On the other hand, depending upon your age, you might be a digital immigrant. Utilize your kid's innovative understanding of innovation to keep you linked.

( b) View TELEVISION together. Let your kid understand that you will be enjoying her preferred program and will be prepared to speak about it.

( c) Offer your kid pre-addressed, stamped manila envelopes so that he can send you schoolwork and other documents.

( d) Make audio and video recordings for each other. Absolutely nothing to state? Tape-record yourself checking out a book and mail the book and the tape-recording to your kid.

( e) Keep in mind little occasions. Send out cards, images and letters for Halloween, Valentine's Day, The Fourth of July, and so on

( f) Establish web cameras on your computer system and your kids' computer systems. Usage video mail and YouTube to link.

( g) Usage My-space, Facebook, and Twitter to remain in touch, if you can do so independently and securely.

( h) Ensure that your kids have mobile phone with your number configured in. Usage text and pictures to remain in touch throughout the day.

( i) Stay up to date with schoolwork. Send out instructors pre-addressed, stamped manila envelopes so that it's simple to send you updates. If you hear absolutely nothing make certain to start interactions with instructors by telephone and e-mail.

45. Befriend other separated households that have actually succeeded in the shift and utilize them as coaches.

46. Divorce is not an occasion, it is a procedure. Permit yourself, your ex-spouse and your kids a minimum of 2 years for readjustment.

And, if your kid is fortunate enough to have an extra moms and dad - a caring step-parent, rejoice - due to the fact that no kid can have too numerous individuals enjoy him.

While a household is going through the restructuring procedure the kids require strong and caring moms and dads more then ever. If you and/or your ex are too mentally drained pipes to be those moms and dads discover short-term alternatives who can offer your kids exactly what they require.

Every kid requires at least one caring, steady moms and dad. And, if your kid is fortunate enough to have an extra moms and dad - a caring step-parent, rejoice - due to the fact that no kid can have too lots of individuals like him.

Do not utilize your kids to fill your requirement for friendship. If you do not have one, GET A LIFE !! This is important to your (and your kid's) healing from divorce. Look for out assistance from buddies, household, assistance groups, a divorce coach.

Do not evaluate calls from the other moms and dad or limitation telephone contact in between your kid and the other moms and dad. Prevent conversations concerning the divorce, financial resources, the other moms and dad, and other adult topics when your kids are within earshot.

Divorce in itself will not damage your kids. On-going dispute and mentally not available moms and dads who have actually fallen back into boy/girl insane teenagers are the genuine offenders.

If you let your kid understand that you are frightened of the future, your kid will be frightened too. Both moms and dads must motivate the kid to go with the other moms and dad.