#but i know the grand canyon trip tomorrow will fix me

[hyah-through-hyrule]

The big hole in Arizona will fix me

[marginalgloss]

I turn 35 tomorrow. How better to celebrate that than with some notes on the handful of video games I have managed to finish over the last ten months. In no particular order:

Judgment (PS4)

Something I think about often is that there aren’t many games which are set in the real world. By this I man the world in which we live today. You can travel through ancient Egypt or take a trip through the stars in the far future, but it’s relatively rare to be shown a glimpse of something familiar. Hence the unexpected popularity of the new release of Microsoft Flight Simulator, which lets you fly over a virtual representation of your front porch, as well as the Grand Canyon, and so on.

I found something like the same appeal in Judgment, a game which took me longer than anything else listed here to finish — seven or eight months, on and off. Like the Yakuza games to which it is a cousin, it’s set in Kamurocho, a fictional district of a real-world Tokyo; unlike other open-world games, it renders a space of perhaps half a square mile in intense detail. I spent a long time in this game wandering around slowly in first-person view, looking at menus and in the windows of shops and restaurants. The attention to detail is unlike everything I have ever seen, from the style of an air conditioning unit to the range of Japanese whiskies on sale in a cosy backstreet bar. And this was a thing of value at a time when the thought of going anywhere else at all, let alone abroad, seemed like it was going to be very difficult for a very long time.

It’s a game of at least three discrete parts. One of them is a fairly cold-blooded police procedural/buddy cop story: you play an ex-lawyer turned private eye investigating a series of grisly murders that, inevitably, link back to your own murky past. In another part you run around the town getting into hilarious martial arts escapades, battering lowlifes with bicycles and street furniture. In another, you can while away your hours playing meticulous mini-games that include darts, baseball, poker, Mahjong and Shogi — and that’s before we even get to the video game arcades.

All these parts are really quite fun, and if you want to focus on one to the exclusion of the others, the game is totally fine with that. The sudden tonal shifts brought about by these crazy and abrupt shifts in format are, I think, essentially unique to video games. But the scope of Judgment is a thing all its own. As a crafted spectacle of escapist fiction it’s comprehensive, and in its own way utterly definitive.  

Mafia: Definitive Edition (PS4)

I was amazed when I found out they were doing a complete remake of Mafia, a game I must have finished at least three or four times in the years after its release back in 2002. Games from this era don’t often receive the same treatment as something like Resident Evil, where players might be distracted by the controls and low-poly graphics of the original. 

A quality remake makes it easier for all kinds of reasons to appreciate what was going on there. (Not least because they have a lot of new games in the same series to sell.) But in the early 00s PC games like this one had started to get really big and ambitious, and had (mostly) fixed issues with controls; so there’s a hell of a lot more stuff going on in Mafia than in most games of that era. It was also a very hard game, with all kinds of eccentricities that most big titles don’t attempt today. Really I have no idea how this remake got made at all. 

But I was so fond of the original I had to play it. The obvious: it looks fantastic, and the orchestral soundtrack is warm and evocative. The story is basic, but for the era it seemed epic, and it’s still an entertaining spectacle. The original game got the balance of cinematic cutscenes, driving and action right the first time, even while Rockstar were still struggling to break out of the pastiche-led GTA III and Vice City. 

They have made it easier. You’re still reliant on a handful of medical boxes in each level for healing, but you get a small amount of regenerating health as well. You no longer have to struggle to keep your AI companions alive. Most of the cars are still heavy and sluggish, but I feel like they’re not quite as slow as they once were. They’ve changed some missions, and made some systems a little more comfortable — with sneaking and combat indicators and so on — but there aren’t any really significant additions.

The end result of all this is that it plays less like an awkward 3D game from 2002, and more like a standard third-person shooter from the PS3/360 era. Next to virtually any other game in a similar genre from today, it feels a bit lacking. There’s no skill tree, no XP, no levelling-up, no crafting, no side-missions, no unusual weapons or equipment, no alternative routes through the game. And often all of that stuff is tedious to the extreme in new titles, but here, you really feel the absence of anything noteworthy in the way of systems. 

My options might have been more limited in 2002 but back then the shooting and driving felt unique and fun enough that I could spend endless hours just romping around in Free Ride mode. Here, it felt flat by comparison; it felt not much different to Mafia III, which I couldn’t finish because of how baggy it felt and how poorly it played, in spite of it having one of the most interesting settings of any game in recent years. But games have come a long way in twenty years.    

Hypnospace Outlaw (Nintendo Switch)

If this game is basically a single joke worked until it almost snaps then it is worked extremely well. 

It seems to set itself up for an obvious riff on the way in which elements of the web which used to be considered obnoxious malware (intrusive popups and so on) have since become commonplace, and sometimes indispensable, parts of the online browsing experience. But it doesn’t really do that, and I think that’s because it’s a game which ends up becoming a little too fascinated by its own lore. 

The extra science fiction patina over everything is that technically this isn’t the internet but a sort of psychic metaverse delivered over via a mid-90s technology involving a direct-to-brain headset link. I don’t know that this adds very much to the game, since the early days of the internet were strange enough without actually threatening to melt the brains of its users. 

(This goes back to what I said about Judgment - I sometimes wonder if it feels easier to make a game within a complete fiction like this, rather than simply placing it in the context of the nascent internet as it really was. Because this way you don’t have to worry too much about authenticity or realism; this way the game can be as outlandish as it needs to be.) 

But, you know. It’s a fun conceit. A clever little world to romp around in for a while. 

Horace (Nintendo Switch)

I don’t know quite where to begin with describing this. One of the oddest, most idiosyncratic games I’ve played in recent years. 

As I understand it this platformer is basically the creation of two people, and took about six years to make. You start out thinking this is going to be a relatively straightforward retro run-and-jump game — and for a while, it is — but then the cutscenes start coming. And they keep coming. You do a lot of watching relative to playing in this game, but it’s forgivable because they are deeply, endearingly odd. 

It’s probably one of the most British games I’ve ever played in terms of the density and quality of its cultural references. And that goes for playing as well as watching; there’s a dream sequence which plays out like Space Harrier and driving sequences that play out like Outrun. There are references to everything from 2001 to the My Dinner with Abed episode of Community. And it never leans into any of it with a ‘remember that?’ knowing nod — it’s all just happening in the background, littered like so much cultural detritus. 

A lot of it feels like something that’s laser-targeted to appeal to a certain kind of gamer in their mid-40s. And, not being quite there myself, a lot of it passed me by. Horace is not especially interested in a mass appeal — it’s not interested in explaining itself, and it doesn’t care if you don’t like the sudden shifts in tone between heartfelt sincerity and straight-faced silliness. But as a work of singular creativity and ambition it’s simply a joyous riot. 

Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)

I stopped playing this after perhaps twelve or fifteen hours. There is a lot to like about it; it still looks stunning on the PS4 Pro; Aloy is endearing; the world is beautiful to plod around. But other parts of it seem downright quaint. It isn’t really sure whether it should be a RPG or an action game. And I’m surprised I’ve never heard anyone else mention the game’s peculiar dedication to maintaining a shot/reverse shot style throughout dialogue sequences, which is never more than tedious and stagey.

The combat isn’t particularly fun. Once discovered most enemies simply become enraged and blunder towards you, in some way or another; your job is to evade them, ensnare them or otherwise trip them up, then either pummel them into submission or chip away at their armour till they become weak enough to fall. I know enemy AI hasn’t come on in leaps and bounds in recent years but it’s not enough to dress up your enemies as robot dinosaurs and then expect a player to feel impressed when they feel like the simplest kind of enrageable automata. Oh, and then you have to fight human enemies too, which feels like either an admission of failure or an insistence that a game of this scale couldn’t happen without including some level of human murder. 

I don’t have a great deal more to say about it. It’s interesting to me that Death Stranding, which was built on the same Decima engine, kept the frantic and haphazard combat style from Horizon, but went to great lengths to actively discourage players from getting into fights at all. (It also fixed the other big flaw in Horizon — the flat, inflexible traversal system — and turned that into the centrepiece of the game.) 

Disco Elysium (PS4)

In 2019 I played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons. I’m talking about the actual tabletop roleplaying game, not any kind of video game equivalent. For week after week a group of us from work got together and sort of figured it out, and eventually developed not one but two sprawling campaigns of the never-ending sort. We continued for a while throughout the 2020 lockdown, holding our sessions online via Roll20, but it was never quite the same. After a while, as our life circumstances changed further, it sort of just petered out.

I mention all this because Disco Elysium is quite clearly based around the concept of a computerised tabletop roleplaying game (aka CRPG). My experience of that genre is limited to the likes of Baldurs Gate, the first Pillars of Eternity and the old Fallout games, so I was expecting to have to contend with combat and inventory management. What I wasn’t expecting was to be confronted with the best novel I’ve read this year.

To clarify: I have not read many other novels this year, by my standards. But, declarations of relative quality aside, what I really mean is that this game is, clearly and self-consciously, a literary artefact above all. It is written in the style of one of those monolithic nineteenth century novels that cuts a tranche through a society, a whole world — you could show it to any novelist from at least the past hundred years and they would understand pretty well what is going on. It is also wordy in every sense of that term: there’s a lot of reading to do, and the text is prolix in the extreme. 

You could argue it’s less a game than a very large and fairly sophisticated piece of interactive fiction. The most game-like aspects of it are not especially interesting. It has some of the stats and the dice-rolling from table-top roleplaying games, but this doesn’t sit comfortably with the overtly literary style elsewhere. Health and morale points mostly become meaningless when you can instantly heal at any time and easily stockpile the equivalent of health potions. And late on in the game, when you find yourself frantically changing clothes in order to increase your chances of passing some tricky dice roll, the systems behind the game start to feel somewhat disposable. 

Disco Elysium is, I think, a game that is basically indifferent to its own status as a game. Nothing about it exists to complement its technological limitations, and nor is it especially interested in the type of unique possibilities that are only available in games. You couldn’t experience Quake or Civilisation or the latest FIFA in any other format; but a version of Disco Elysium could have existed on more or less any home computer in about the last thirty years. And, if we were to lose the elegant art and beautiful score, and add an incredibly capable human DM, it could certainly be played out as an old-fashioned tabletop game not a million miles from Dungeons and Dragons.

All of the above is one of the overriding thoughts I have about this game. But it doesn’t come close to explaining what it is that makes Disco Elysium great.

[ceilingfan5]

Ballet au/road trip au for taakitz??

thanks again to @desiree-harding-fic for the ballet

part one

Funny thing...turns out Kravitz the Ballet Robot has feelings. It’s a hell of a job, and it would overwhelm anyone, but Taako gets the pressure of being the lead, not to mention the mental and physical strain of it all, double digit hours a day, six days a week. Kravitz has a hard time talking about it as they walk to Taako’s shitty car, but Taako gets the gist--he’s headed to breakdown city, population growing.

“Don’t you have friends you could talk to about this?” Taako asks. Kravitz is unbearably silent. “Yikes. Okay, shit. Damn, no wonder you’re falling apart. What, uh, what set you off tonight?” 

“I stepped on my ankle wrong and I thought my career was going to be over.” 

“That’d, uh, yeah, that’d do it.” They’re still sitting in the parking lot, Taako struggling not to yawn, Kravitz struggling not to cry. Taako’s plied him with fast food napkins he’d stashed in the console and he’s feeling pretty damn vindicated that he’s stolen so many over the years. He looks at Kravitz’s sad puppydog face and sighs. “Fuck, dude, can you take a day? Hang out, sleep, do some hobbies or whatever?”

“I couldn’t!” 

“Literally why not?”

“Taako, you know why not. They need me. I can’t let them down. It’s so competitive. And if I take a day, someone could replace me for good.” As he lists reasons, Taako watches Kravitz’s shoulders go up and up and up until Kravitz looks so tense and awkward he’s afraid his spine is gonna snap. 

“Listen, like, not that that isn’t a valid fear, or whatever, but if you explode on stage and all of your squishy bits end up in ballerina hair, you’re gonna be replaced too. You gotta take a mental health day, man, or one is going to take you out.” He puts his hands on Kravitz’s shoulder and forces them down, and Kravitz, though it’s quite clearly a strain, obediently relaxes them. “Call in and sleep most of tomorrow. Say you’re sick.”

“I just- Taako, I can’t!” His shoulders pop back up like a kid holding a beachball under water until it smacks him in the face. 

“Can you go back in there right now, genius?”

“I- I- Well-” Kravitz’s eyes kind of glaze over like he’s seen the creature that lives behind the Denny’s, and Taako shakes his head. “You’re a mess, dude. You’re going to take a break. In fact, let’s both take a break. Let’s...” Taako tappity-taps a drum solo on the steering wheel, sucking air in through his teeth. “Let’s go...on a road trip.”

“What???” Kravitz looks at him like he’s suggested they stab each other in the parking lot for fun and profit. “We couldn’t possibly--” 

“I mean, I find people can do all kinds of dumb bullshit with enough confidence.” A grin is slowly taking over Taako’s face. “Don’t you ever drive home and ache to turn the wrong way and just keep driving? Let’s fucking go.”

“Right now?” Kravitz’s voice keeps getting higher and higher. “You want us to leave town right NOW??” “Yeah, right now, why not! We have our duffels, got a change of clothes, I have a full tank of gas. Let’s get the hell out of dodge.” 

Kravitz sits in the passenger seat, more stunned than if he’d taken a cast-iron pan to the skull bones. 

“Could we...do that?”

“Yeah! I mean, I have money, you have money, we can get toothbrushes at whatever hotel we stop at. What’s stopping us?”

“My mom,” Kravitz answers honestly. Taako shrugs. 

“My sister will kill me and her husband will hide my limb body, but fuck ‘em, right? They don’t get it.”

“How could she! She quit! She left us!” Us, he says. Taako forgot that Kravitz and Lup used to be dance partners. He’s starting to buy into Kravitz’s storm of emotions, and the wind is whipping shit around in his brain.

“Yeah! Fuck her, honestly! Like, I love her, but fuck her for leaving! Fuck her dumb science career! Nothing’s been the same without her! This- Kravitz, this job is so fucking hard? And for what? Like, what are we getting out of it, besides all of our goddamn joints disintegrating?”  

“We could just...drive...We could, Taako, we could QUIT, we could just leave and not come back! We- who needs me? I’m- I’m getting out of that place, I can’t go back- We can just drive and drive and drive and not look back!!“ 

“We’re gonna. You and me, we’re getting out of here. To hell with the consequences, right?” Taako starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot before Kravitz can do any more objecting. Kravitz watches the company building get smaller and smaller in the mirrors, tongue tied, until they leave the city, and then a little smile begins to grow on his face, and then it starts to bloom, until he’s laughing, a little hysterical and a lot relieved. Taako joins in, and suddenly it’s loud and wild and dangerous and they’re united in this bizarre breakdown, tied together and shoving themselves off the cliff. 

“We’re doing it,” he whispers, face pressed to the window. “We’re really doing it! Where- Taako, where are we even going??” His eyes are blown and wide, the euphoria smacking him in the face so hard his nose might start to bleed.

“Away,” Taako says. “As far away as we can get. I’m not stopping  for the night until we have to get gas. You, me, we’re setting out into that wild blue yonder, and we’re, Kravitz, we’re gonna get so many ugly souvenir t-shirts. I swear this to you.”

“Thank you, Taako. Honestly. I...I don’t get why you’re doing this to me. I kind of thought you hated me? I think a lot of people hate me at the company. I don’t- I don’t know how to fix it, I- It’s so hard-” Kravitz’s eyes swim again, and Taako punches him in the side. 

“So what if I do? An opportunity like this doesn’t present itself very often. A genius like me has to take them as they come, even if they’re with uptight assholes who dance like angels.”

“I don’t know whether to be offended or not.” 

“Be thankful, stupid. I’m taking you to, uh, to...Hm.” He scans the next road sign. “How about the Grand Canyon?” 

“The- Are you serious?” 

“Yeah, I’m fucking serious. We’re gonna go on a relaxing tour of American horseshit. We’re gonna see the ocean. And I’m serious about those ugly t-shirts.” He laughs again, sharp and piercing, and it almost hurts his throat. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care a bit. So what if they never come back? It’s fine. Things are fine! Everything is going to be fine. And if it’s not fine, oh well!

“Lead the way,” Kravitz mumbles, mystified and still smiling, somehow. “I’m leaving...” His voice is soft, but the words are heavy with feeling. “Take that!” 

Taako turns on the radio so they don’t have to keep talking, because if he has to listen to Kravitz cry anymore, he’s going to gain some sympathy for the motherfucker, and he simply cannot allow that. This is a platonic work trip. There will be no liking involved. Never in a million years.

[crystalstar8]

Knights of the Night (Epilogue)

Epilogue

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5, ch 6, ch 7, ch 8, ch 9, ch 10, ch 11, ch 12, ch 13, ch 14, ch 15, ch 16, ch 17, ch 18, ch 19, ch 20, ch 21, ch 22, ch 23, epilogue 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 1,587

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France, human trafficking

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @mozy-j  @daechwitad-2​ @zobadak​ @fallenstar-7​​​

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing...

                 Catalina took one last glance around her room before heading downstairs. She heard Jimin’s voice, which put a wide smile on her face. Him and Taehyung were back on time, which meant they’d be able to come with everyone that afternoon.

               She ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time, before landing in the foyer. Taehyung and Jimin were taking their shoes off and setting their bags down, chatting with Hoseok and Namjoon. Catalina threw her arms around Jimin and asked him, “How was your trip?”

               He pulled away and smiled wide, his eyes disappearing. “It was incredible. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

               “I can’t wait,” Catalina said, smiling just as wide.

               “We were gonna go to the beach later,” said Hoseok. “Do you want to go with us?”

               “Sure! I think we’ll mostly just relax, though,” said Taehyung.

               “Here, I’ll help you unpack so you can get yourselves settled before we go,” Hoseok said, following them back out the car. Catalina left the foyer and went into the kitchen. The kitchen was beautiful, so different from when she first came into this house. They had it remodeled, actually, they had a lot of the house remodeled. Everything was a bit more modern, but their antiques were mostly still around. Even Yoongi redid his bedroom, saying he didn’t want to sleep in a rat’s nest anymore. He made an incredible amount of money on the antiques in that room, the museums practically begging him to part with them.

               The light was on in the kitchen when Catalina entered, which meant Jungkook was in there. Sure enough, he was standing in front of the fridge, staring into its contents with bleary eyes. His hair was a floof on top of his head and his pajamas were rumpled. Catalina came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. She laid her head on his back and listened to the steady rhythm of his heart, something she’s become so very familiar with.

               “What will you have for breakfast?” she asked. He grunted in response, shifting some containers around on the shelf. He finally chose a container of leftovers and cracked the lid to sniff it. He sniffed it three times before deciding it was edible and dumping it on a plate. While it was heating up, he turned and opened his arms, letting Catalina settle into him.

               “Are you gonna surf today?” he asked.

               “You asked me that yesterday,” Catalina said with a giggle.

               “And you said no yesterday!” he said. She could feel his laughter in his chest where her head was resting.

               “Maybe,” she said. “I heard the teaching process is very hands on.”

               He chuckled and said, “Where did you hear that?”

               “Hm, I don’t remember,” she said. The microwave beeped and Jungkook let Catalina go so he could grab his food. She pulled a blood bag out of the fridge and sat down with him at the dining table, sipping at her drink while he ate.

               “What are you guys doing up so early?”

               Yoongi wandered into the kitchen with messy hair and tired eyes.

               “It’s beach day!” Jungkook said, much more awake now that he was eating. “You’re coming, right?”

               “No.”

               “Yoongi, you don’t have to swim or surf or anything,” said Catalina. “You can just sleep on the beach. Or drink wine on the beach. You need the fresh air, you’ve been at your piano for days. Plus, I think everyone would really like to spend some time with you.”

               “When are you going?” he asked.

               “We’re heading out around eleven,” said Catalina.

               “Oh. I’ll think about it,” Yoongi said. “Are Taehyung and Jimin back yet?”

               “Yes, they just walked in a little while ago,” said Catalina.

               “Good,” he said. “I’m glad their flight wasn’t delayed.”

               With that, he left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

               During the drive to the beach, Catalina made sure to sit in the back of the Jeep with Jimin.

               “So, tell me about the trip,” she said, a giddy smile on her face.

               “Ah, it was perfect!” said Jimin. “I’ve never been to Arizona before so I didn’t really know what to expect about the weather or anything. It really is very dry there. The heat is like heat from an oven. And the places we saw were so beautiful. We camped in the Grand Canyon and… it was insane. The Grand Canyon is insane. Everything was so incredible. And at night, you could see the stars perfectly. When we camped in Death Valley, there was absolutely no light pollution for miles so the sky was amazing. We saw the Milky Way.”

               “Oh wow,” Catalina sighed.

               “You and Jungkook should go next summer,” said Jimin. “You’d love it.”

               “Yeah, I would do that,” said Catalina. “That sounds like a lot of fun. We need to make up for our last trip.”

               They sat in silence for a while before Jimin said, “I can’t believe we’re going to France in two weeks.”

               “I know!” said Catalina. “I can’t believe it! This is something I’ve been waiting for my entire life and I’ll finally be able to do it!”

               “Is your solo ready?” Jimin asked.

               “I mean, as ready as it’ll ever be,” said Catalina. “You know how it is.”

Her and Jimin had both taken the winter semester off to recover from their transformations and to get used to their new bodies. Catalina used that time to choreograph a solo worthy of an audition in France. By now, the beginning of summer, she had perfected it as much as she could.

“I’m going to the studio to practice it tomorrow,” said Catalina. “You should come with me. You can help, or just watch. You haven’t seen it finished yet.”

“What time? I’m babysitting tomorrow,” said Jimin.

“Oh right! You’re doing that every Tuesday now, aren’t you?” said Catalina.

Jimin nodded and said, “Yep, Caleb’s sister has dance on Tuesdays, so I’ll just be there for a few hours.”

“Are you still gonna do that when classes start? You’re signing up for classes in the fall, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I don’t want to fall behind any more than I am,” said Jimin.

“Me too,” said Catalina. Then she smiled and grabbed Hoseok’s shoulder over the driver’s seat. “And you’re starting classes with us too, aren’t you?”

He laughed and said, “I sure am!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weather was perfect, and according to Jungkook, the water was ideal for beginner’s surfing. They got set up on a relatively empty patch of the beach. The family closest to them had a few kids, who were building a sandcastle near the water. It was Monday, so thankfully there weren’t too many other people there. Yoongi laid out a beach blanket and immediately laid down, covering his face with his sun hat. He was almost completely covered, with long sleeves and long pants. Catalina figured he was trying to protect his pasty white skin.

               Jimmy K settled down beside Yoongi with a thick book. Catalina had assumed he would be surfing with them that day; he seemed like the type to surf. Jimin and Taehyung lathered themselves in sunscreen and took their spots near the cooler, relaxing and watching the fun just like they promised. After shedding her shorts and tank top to reveal her new white bikini, Catalina lathered herself in sunscreen, since she could already feel herself burning. Then she grabbed her board and met the others down by the water.

At some point, the family next to them left and they were left to themselves on their private stretch of beach.

Catalina, Namjoon, and Hoseok kept their eyes on Jungkook and Jin, who were teaching them the basics of how to surf. They all had boards, rented ones for the newbies, and Catalina was excited to get out on the water. With every glance at the ocean behind her, she felt nervousness twist in her stomach. She had to keep reminding herself that she wouldn’t drown and she wouldn’t get hurt. Her body was stronger than it used to be, which was something she still hadn’t completely gotten used to.

                They were standing on their boards, Jin showing them how to position their feet. Jungkook went to each of them, giving them pointers or fixing their positions. He stepped onto Catalina’s board behind her and nudged her right foot forward a bit, hands on her bare waist.

               “Just keep your knees bent and your legs spread a bit more,” he said. His bare chest was pressed up against her back.

               “…And if you guys fall off, just let the current roll you until it’s settled, then come up,” Jin was saying. “But you guys won’t drown anyway, so no harm.”

               “Right, no harm,” Jungkook said, his hand sliding down to her butt.

She giggled and turned around to face him.

“Did Hoseok get this treatment when you helped him?” she asked with a wide smile on her face.

“He would probably like that,” Jungkook said with a laugh. “But this is only reserved for my favorite students.”

“Ooh, so Namjoon got this too,” Catalina said, winding her arms over his bare shoulders. He threw his head back and laughed. This was her favorite song. The sounds of his laughter, the waves hitting the beach, The seagulls calling overhead, his heart beating in his chest.

Catalina leaned up to press her lips against his, the board wobbling in the sand beneath their feet.

She never wanted this song to end.

[stranger-lex]

Commencement PT1

(name subject to change when i find one i like better)

Summary: Valerie Cortez discovers her and her family are moving to Hawkins, Indiana due to financial struggles. This means she must leave her best friends, Liv, Corey, and most importantly, Billy behind in Santa Cruz, California.

~~~

They don’t tell you how good you have it until you’re about to lose it. And I did. I lost it all. Within a few months, the life I had created for myself was gone. The life my parents had created for us was gone. The foreclosure seemed to come out of nowhere. I’m sure my parents saw it coming, but I never heard about our financial problems. Not until it was too late. The summer of 1982, my parents gave me the heads up.

“We can’t stay here, Val,” they told me, regret clear in their voices. “We talked to your Aunt Claudia. She said she’ll take us in until we’re back on our feet.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means…” my mom looked at my dad, the sadness in her eyes unmistakable.

“It means we’re moving to Hawkins.” my dad sighed, running his hand over his face.

“What? No. We can’t move. I can’t move. All of my friends are here!”

“Sweetheart… I’m so sorry. I wish there was something we could do, but we just… We can’t afford to stay here.”

The words rang in my head over and over again. I was angry. Of course I was angry. But what could I do? I knew my parents wanted to stay as badly as I did. If it were up to any of us, we would be staying in Santa Cruz.

“All of my friends” consisted of a total of three people I would miss dearly, and a few people I saw at school. It wasn’t like I was leaving an entire fleet behind, but that didn’t make leaving the three behind any easier.

Liv was away with her parents and little sister, visiting family they had in New York. I tracked down the number to the house, calling that evening when I knew they’d be in.

“Hello?” Mrs. Pace answered the phone.

“Hi, Mrs. Pace, it’s Valerie. Can I please speak with Liv?”

“Oh, Valerie, hi! Of course you can, she’s just gotten out of the shower. Liv, it’s for you.”

A shuffling was heard as the phone was passed, and then, “Hello?”

“Hi,” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “How’s New York?”

“Oh, it’s amazing! My cousins have gotten so big, they’re both walking now! Next week we’re supposed to go into Manhattan and see all the sights. I’ve never been before, I’m really excited.”

“That’s amazing,” I smiled, and meant it. “It sounds like a great trip.”

“Yeah! It’s incredible, you’d love the east coast. Once I’m out here, you guys will have to make a trip out to visit me.”

“College is a long ways away.”

“Yeah, but come on. We’re starting high school this year, and I’ve wanted to go to NYU since… forever.” She laughed. “So once I’m out here, you guys’ll have to come visit.”

“Yeah… that’s about to get a bit easier for me.”

Liv gasped. “Don’t tell me. You’re finally considering Georgetown? I knew it! It’ll still be a trip, but at least we’ll be able to see each other more than if you stay on the west coast. I know you’re really looking into Oregon, but―”

“No, Liv, listen. I… My parents just told me some pretty big news. I’m moving.”

“Where to? I know they’ve talked about moving to Los Altos for a while. That’ll be a rough drive to school every day but hey, you do what you gotta do.”

“No, not to Los Altos. To Hawkins. With my Aunt Claudia.”

Liv went silent. “Hawkins... Indiana?” She asked quietly, barely above a whisper.

“Yes. Soon, too. I just… I don’t know if we’ll be here when you get back. I wanted to tell you why.”

There was a pause. I knew there would be a pause. How were we supposed to continue on after that? It wasn’t even a real goodbye. It was an explanation, and nothing else. But with her in New York, there was no way to give her a real goodbye.

“Do they know?” She asked, breaking the silence. I didn’t need to ask who she was talking about.

“No. Not yet. Corey leaves for Arizona on Thursday. I’m going to his house tomorrow to tell him.”

“Right, his cousin’s wedding… Have you told Billy?”

My heart skipped a beat. “Billy will be… harder. I’m going to tell him after I tell Corey.”

Another pause. “How is Billy?”

“Not great. His dad’s getting worse. He’s stayed at my house a few times since you left. Sometimes he’ll come over with bruises on his arms or shaking with rage. I want to help him but he doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“Have you told your parents?”

“Not in so many words. Like I said, he shows up with bruises sometimes. He’s not the fighting type, you know him. I don’t think they’re gullible enough to believe his whole ‘I ran into a door’ act, but it’s hard to help someone who won’t accept it.”

“Or who won’t ask for it.”

“Exactly. I don’t know what to do. Since his mom left he seems so… closed off, you know?”

“It’s almost been three years. Maybe with the anniversary coming up, things are getting worse?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I hate seeing him hurt.”

“I know, I do too. I’m glad you’re there for him, even if Corey and I had to leave for a bit.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t know what else to say.

Liv sighed, then sniffled. “I guess we really will have to plan visits out here.”

“Indiana isn’t as far as New York.”

She laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.” I heard a muffled voice on her end, and then, “Hey, my mom’s right. I should probably get some rest. Thank you for calling. I promise I’ll call soon and do my best to be home before you leave.” A pause. “When do you leave?”

“I don’t know yet. Soon. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Okay, thanks, Val. I’ll see you soon.” She sounded hopeful. “I love you. Good luck with Corey and Billy.”

“I love you too. Thanks. Goodnight, tell your family I say hi.”

“I will. Sleep well.”

~~~

Corey was in his room, packing his bags when I found him. His mother had let me in, giving me a warm smile as she told me he was upstairs. I thanked her, going up the stairs and knocking on his open door. He turned around, grinning as he turned down his music and hugged me.

“Valerie! I’m so glad to see you before I leave!” He bobbed his head along to the beat, the song unfamiliar to me. “I’m so excited for Arizona. My mom said after the wedding we’re going to spend, like, two weeks there! We’re going to the Grand Canyon and I really want to visit Area 51―”

“Isn’t that in Nevada?”

Corey’s face fell. “Oh. Maybe.” His smile returned. “Close enough, right? It’s not like aliens only ever visit one place, that would be crazy!”

I laughed. Corey’s easy-going nature always made me feel better. “You’re right.”

“Are you guys going anywhere this summer? I know there was a bit of a will we, won’t we to visit Portland, have your parents made up their minds? Or are you staying here all summer?”

“Yeah… about that.” I sat on Corey’s bed, looking at my feet. “I have some news.”

Corey turned off his music, giving me a concerned look as he sat down next to me. “What’s wrong?”

“Yesterday,” I took a deep breath. “Yesterday my parents told me that we’re moving.”

He looked at me with wide eyes, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

I felt my bottom lip begin to tremble and water flood my eyes. I blinked them away, trying to laugh. “Yeah, I’m… I’m―”

“Val.” Corey said, and I broke. I began to cry, wiping my face repeatedly as if it would stop the tears from flowing.

“It’s not fair,” I cried. “I know it’s not their fault, but it’s not fair. I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here, with you and Liv and Billy. I don’t want to move to Hawkins.”

Corey moved closer to me, wrapping both arms around me. He let me cry for a few minutes before asking, “Have you told the others?”

“I told Liv,” I said, my voice hitching. “I’m going to tell Billy tomorrow. I didn’t want to tell you all at once. I thought it would make it easier. Now, I wish Liv was here so I could have herded you all up and told you in one sitting.”

“I’m sorry.” Corey said, because there was nothing else to say. We sat together in silence, Corey hugging me and me wiping my face every so once in awhile. Finally, he said, “We’ll make trips out there. Me, Billy, Liv, we’ll come see you. It’ll do us good to get out of Santa Cruz.”

“You’re getting out of here tomorrow,” I reminded him, trying to laugh.

“Yeah, well. Somebody needs to make sure Billy stays focused on school. A few visits to you, he’ll whip right into shape. And it’ll do him some good to be away from his dad.”

I nodded, following Corey’s eyes as he looked towards a pile of blankets and a pillow in the corner of his room. “He was here last night?” I asked.

Corey nodded. “His dad was drunk. He got in another fight with that woman he’s been seeing. Billy got out of there before anything too bad could happen, but… he was really upset. See if you can talk to him. He was pretty upset about it, but he didn’t tell me too much. Maybe he’ll talk to you.”

I nodded, though I doubted it. “Yeah, maybe. I’ll try.”

Corey looked around his room. “Hawkins, Indiana. Man. That’s pretty far.”

“I know.”

“Are you excited?”

“No. I mean, I’m excited to see my Aunt Claudia, and Dustin. But I don’t want to move there. I don’t want to leave Santa Cruz.”

“Valerie, I’m sorry.”

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and then his mom was at the door. “Are you staying for dinner, Valerie?”

“No, thank you. I should be getting home.”

“Are you sure? It’s no trouble at all. I’d be happy to fix you a plate.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you, but I really should be getting home.”

“Alright. Next time, then.” She returned my smile.

I did my best to ignore the burning in my chest. “Yeah. Next time.”

~~~

By the time I got home, it was dark. I had taken the long way home, wanting to figure out what to tell Billy when I saw him the following day. We were a group, the four of us: Liv, Corey, Billy, and I spent most of our time together. But with Billy, it was different. I met him first. We grew up together. He was my best friend.

Things changed for him when his dad started dating Susan. He became cold. Not only cold, he became… mean. Suddenly, whenever he was mad at Billy, he would hit him. Billy tried to cover it up, but we knew the truth. It changed Billy. He was starting to become cold, too.

But not with me. With the group, sometimes he was distance, but with me, he could be himself. He still didn’t talk much about his dad, but I knew enough. Recently, his dad had asked Susan and her daughter Maxine to move in with them. Billy wasn’t happy about it―he didn’t like how his dad had changed because of Susan. He didn’t get along with Maxine, and he resented her because his dad never even raised his voice at her.

“She’s a brat,” Billy would often say. “Susan gives her everything she wants, and me? I’m black and blue for coming home past curfew.”

I pulled my bike into my driveway, still not knowing how I would tell Billy I was moving. I locked up my bike next to the fence, too in my head to notice his bike parked on the street in front of my house, laying on its side. I locked my bike and began to make my way to my front door, multiple scenarios playing out in my head on how the conversation with Billy would go.

“Val.” I barely heard my name being called. I continued up the driveway until I heard it called again, louder this time, but still weak. “Val!”

I snapped my head up, turning to see Billy, standing next to his bike. We were a short distance away, but I could see his busted lip and bruised cheek. “Billy,” I sighed, my chest aching to see his face so beat up.

“Can I stay here tonight?”

[ajholdsamb]

Cruisin’ on the King’s Highway

My second day started with our last delicious breakfast at Le Grand Amman. Then after condensing our 5 separate bags to 3 (now we have room for souvenirs...maybe a giant rug?!?) we were ready to get started with our first driving day. Jordan is a relatively small country and it can be traveled across quickly. However there is not obvious public transportation if you want to go to more than just the main spots. Since I’m with a geoarchaeologist who likes to pause when there are great road cuts or take his time with the archaeology, it made sense for us to rent a car. AJ has driven in lots of foreign countries, and knew it’d be okay out of the main city. However we were a little nervous about getting out of Amman since there are no lanes, no pedestrian crossways, people park wherever, and speed limits are just a suggestion. However, after a brief mix up where we thought our car rental company no longer existed we calmly made it out of the city and our journey began!

Our first stop was Karak, a castle built by the Franks during the crusades. Saladin tried to take it over several times, and his newphew was eventually successful. AJ let me know that during one of the sieges a wedding was taking place inside the castle and Saladin was such a gentlemen that he was like “no y’all do your thing” and just aimed his trebuchets to the other non wedding parts of the castle. Neat! I’d much prefer to be the guards on wedding duty rather than the guards responsible for taking down Saladin. Side note- sieges must either be more chill than I thought or people back then just had much stronger nerves. I go into fight or flight mode if someone honks at me, I can’t imagine getting married while UNDER SIEGE. Anyways, this was a very cool stop! The complex is ginormous and there are tons of labyrinth like passages ways for you to explore. It was my favorite crusader castle ever. That is until we got to the next stop.

After a quick lunch, we were off on the King’s Highway. This road follows an ancient trade route once used by Moses and monitored by Nabatean tribes. It is crazy pretty! This alone was worth renting a car. Dramatic mountains and wadis with nothing but a few goats dotting the landscape.

Our next stop was on top of one of these dramatic peaks- our second crusader castle of Shobak. We had the castle almost to ourselves and it was the perfect mix of reconstruction and untouched ruins. Some places like to “fix” ruins to help tourists imagine what the site used to be like but this is done with varying degrees of success. Kind of like plastic surgery. There’s something magical about seeing what a place looks like after hundreds of years of existing, wearing its age proudly. Shobak was in such a remote location and had panoramic views from its steep perch that it was wonderful spot from which to admire the Jordanian country side, but it would’ve been hell to try to attack. Once the people at Castle Shobak were able to hold out under siege for 18 months. They had a good defensive position but also they had a secret passage way to the river so they could get water. The guide book said we could travel along this passage way so I spent the first half of the trip encouraging AJ to find it. However once he found it, we were only walking a long for a minute before I realized secret passage ways are dark/terrifying and this is how all the scary movies start. Once we reached a roadblock, I booked it out of there so fast that it could almost be believed I had the walking speed of a tall athletic person. AJ is going to be able to tease me for months.

Back on the King’s Highway we came into Wadi Musa, the landscape of Petra. IT IS CRAZY! As AJ was said “it’s unlike any landscape I’ve ever seen. & trust me I’ve seen a lot of landscapes.” He made fun of me for running out of the secret tunnel so I may tease him for that slightly pretentious statement ;P. It looks like we are in Mars, with canyon walls that looks like stacks of pink, orange and purple balls. We did a brief stop at little Petra (reductive Nabatean sculptures! So much archaeology carved into the walls!) and then it was off to our next hotel to rest up for PETRA TOMORROW (*airhorn siren*)!! Many people travel to Jordan just to visit this wonder of the world. We’ll report back after our visit!

With love,

AJ (scaredy cat) & AJ (seen a lot of landscapes)

[lalast0ne]

Vegas, Baby!

Wilder

Yo Layla! *I check the time on my watch and call out as I head to the door.* You have 10 minutes to get your sexy ass packed. Wheels up in 20.

Layla

*I look at the bedside table and grumble. I should have finished packing last night but I was convinced I’d have enough time to do it this morning, after all it was just a few days away ~ an error in my part. I carefully fold another dress and place it in my case then add a couple more bikinis for good measure. Looking to my right my heart drops when I see all the shoes I’ve not yet decided on.* I’ll be down in a minute!! *i yell down to you as I pull a coin from my pants pocket and start flipping*

Wilder

*I check my watch again, growling low as I continue to wait. I hear my wife cussing and tossing things.....most likely heels, around the bedroom. Hurricane Layla will be cleaning up once we are back from our trip.* WOMAN! 4 minutes or I’m leaving without you.

Layla

Like hell you are, Steele! *I appear at the top of the stairs with a suitcase that full to capacity and far to large but I’m a woman and I like variety. I give an angelic smile and motion for you to come to the top of the stair* can you come help me please? It’s heavy ..

Wilder

*Eyes your suitcase and then my duffle bag at my feet, crossing the living room and up the stairs to where you stand. I lean down so we are nose to nose, growling.* How long are we going for? A month?

Layla

*I give you my most angelic grin and press my lips to yours, laughing* You know I like to be prepared for every practical situation that could arise and I like to have choices *Lowing my hand to your ass, I give it a little pat* Now, stop asking questions .. because you’re going to make us late.

Wilder

*I growl against your lips, deepening our kiss and pick up your suitcase, heading back down the stairs while you still stand there.* Now whose going to make us late. *I smirk and go outside, loading our bags into the car.*

Layla

*I check my bag one final time, ensuring we have everything, take one last look around the empty house and make my way out the door after you. We’ve not been away in so long and although we have the Maldives coming up, this impromptu trip to Vegas was exactly what both of us needed. A chance to escape,

even if just for a few days, and have some adult fun. I slip into the car and check my watch and then grin at you* One minute to spare... damn I’m good.

Wilder

I think your watch is wrong. *Laughs, showing you my watch and the time.* You are 5 minutes late. Looks like time out for you before you get to experience Vegas. *I start the engine, pulling away from the house, driving the streets of BlackSoul on the way to the airport.* Do you think Vegas and I will cooperate? I’m not sure it can handle my attitude.

Layla

Time out to think of even more ways I can sin in Sin City *I wiggle my eyebrows and sit back in my seat as we head to the airport, my hand on your leg and a smile on my face as I listen to you speak* It’ll be touch and go, for sure, but I’m hopeful you’ll get along just fine .. as long as we can avoid trouble *I raise an eyebrow when your eyes shoot in my direction, a devilish look on your face* although trouble always seems to find us.

Wilder

*Reaches down and rests my hand on top of yours, squeezing your fingers.* I can’t be blamed for my need to explore the other side of places. The ones people can’t see. The dark side is always fun to play with. It just happens trouble can be found there.

Layla

*My smile never falters even when you admit that finding trouble is likely even though it’s not on our itinerary.* Never a dull day with you, Wilder Steele. *I look down at our hands, the sunlight catching the diamond on my finger, then look back to your face.* We’ve got a lot to pack in to this trip .. so, I’m sorry to say Mr Steele, that the only trouble you’ll potentially be getting into is me.

Wilder

Now Mrs. Steele, that is the best kind of trouble for me to get into. *Smirks and pulls the car into the small airport where our plane is ready for takeoff. I lean over, wrap my hand around the back of your neck and pull your lips to mine.* I’m not responsible for the other trouble that comes from Sin City or being Wilder Steele.

Layla

I believe you, hundreds wouldn’t *I bite down on your lower lip, dragging it thru my teeth and purr, reluctant to leave the car, but then I remember there is a bedroom area on the plane. I release my belt and climb from the car when you drop your hold on my neck. My smile remains fixed in place, and I try to keep my mind focused,  as all the staff welcome us. Our bags are taken from the car and loaded onto the plane.* how long is the flight expected to be? *My hand finds yours and I fall into step beside you while you discuss the flight details with the pilot, who checks his clipboard then looks up at me* “It’s expected to be about 5hours and 23minutes, Mrs Steele.” 

*i jog up the stairs as I speak,* Perfect!Enough time for ... sleep.

Wilder

Sleep my ass. You passed out early last night. Those favorite movies of yours. *I stare at your sexy ass as you jog up the stairs in your heels, joining you after a few more minutes talking to the pilot. My eyes take in the cabin, inspecting everything myself before I take my seat beside you and glance out the window.* Now tell me Little Ball of Fire, what is in that mind of yours for what all we are doing in Vegas?

Layla

*From the comfort of my seat, I pour two glasses of champagne while watching you as you walk around the cabin, checking everything is in its rightful place. I hand you the glass when you take the seat beside then produce my phone an bring up the itinerary I’d put together last night.* Tonight we have dinner booked by the Bellagio Fountains, tomorrow we’re going to see the Grand Canyon, the night after we’re going to see a Cirque du Soleil and dinner booked in a restaurant in the Venetian. We need to go shopping in Caesars Palace .. because it’d be rude not to. I want to get Pancakes in Serendipity because they’re supposed to be the best. You can take me up the Stratosphere.. *I smirk at you* That is not an euphemism. That’s just a few things I have down for us.

Wilder

*I go to take a drink of my champagne as you rattle off a full itinerary and even found time to include shopping. Before you can finish the list, I take your phone from you and toss it on an empty chair.* And here I thought you knew me Fire. *My booming laugh fills the cabin.* We are not following a set schedule jam packed. I want to relax in Sin City. Maybe gamble. Maybe something risqué. Not shopping and pancakes. Don’t give me those eyes! *Smirks* Find us some trouble to get in or you know I will.

Layla

*I pout as you discard my list of things to do.* I don’t need to find us trouble, baby *Sips my drink, my eyebrow raised* Trouble has a way of finding you .. you’re like a magnet for it *I place my drink down on the tray and climb into your lap, grinning, my fingers teasing your beard* I’m sure we’ll be able to find plenty of more appealing, and extremely Sinful, things to fill our time.

Wilder

You found me. *I wrap my arms around your waist, biting across your shoulder.* I will make you a deal. We can see that show, have your fancy dinners and pancakes. I don’t need to see a huge hole in the ground. If you are good.....which we know you will not be, you can shop.

Layla

*My chest presses against yours and I drape my arms around your shoulders* You’re the biggest kind of trouble I’m ever going to land myself in but I wouldn’t change that for the world *my lips twitch at the corners as you concede* I think that sounds like a good deal .. but what exactly do you get in return? *I pull back slightly and raise an eyebrow at you*

Wilder

*I laugh and drag my thumb across your raised eyebrow.* Time with my wife is all I need. And I want to check out this pawn shop they have close to the city. *Hears the pilot announce we are soon to takeoff, I return you to your seat and buckle you in tight.* Plus there is this ranch, a little on the shady side. I thought we could investigate.

Layla

*I settle back in my seat and reach for my champagne once more, nodding my head in agreement until you mention the ranch* Investigate? Now we’re getting to it *I ponder for a moment and shrug my shoulders* You know .. I think I left my detective outfit at home *I take another gulp of drink and laugh softly* but if I can pick some up somewhere .. then I’d say you’ve got yourself a deal, baby.

Wilder

Is that your loophole for shopping? *Our plane becomes airborne and once we can move, I lift you from your seat and carry you towards the bedroom.* I think we need to have negotiations.....

[the-revisionist]

Hi! Just to say, I LOVE your fics! Could you possibly write Things you said on New Year's Eve for Caroline and Gillian? If that's not a good one, then literally any of them will do I'm sure you'll write it perfectly! Thank you

Anon, hope you’re still reading…thank you for kind words and the prompt! Sorry this took longer than anticipated! 

This is a companion piece to “Completely Undressed and Mostly Sober in the South of France.”  @farminglesbian had suggested a continuation of that in some way and since she controls the Lesbian Empire on the European Continent in an Unspecified Rural Location Where They Are Inclined to Wear Lederhosen I must obey or I may never be allowed in Europe ever again.  

This story is a bit of an exercise in style. For dialogue I did not use traditional quote marks. So, you know, it might work, it might not, it’s OK and you can say so, I’m a big girl and I have a lot of wine at the ready, but please don’t be a twat about it. 

This one is post-series 4. 

faithful misrepresentations

i. it’s time to get the brioches

At 5 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, she apologizes for not shaving her legs.

The morning, blue and black with jagged frost etched across a darkened windowpane, rests at the edge of Caroline’s mind. It’s so terrifyingly early that she doesn’t really want to know the time but cracks open a reluctant eye anyway; the bedroom’s digital clock coolly burns a 5:05 on the inside of her eyelids, the blunt serifs morph into an SOS and she thinks, good God, I am awake at 5 in the morning, this is what I get for sleeping with a farmer. Because Gillian stirs warm and restless against her, driven by the undeniable rhythm of blood that always has her racing against the sunrise and who, because she is apparently the master of not only the unwanted spontaneous confession but also the truly baffling nonsequitur, opts not to say good morning but rather randomly and needlessly apologizes for not shaving her legs before this, their trip to France.

Blind as a kitten, Caroline reaches for her and, half-asleep through a tangle of warm limbs, hones in on her calf; the soft hair tickles, the solid muscle undulates, the raspy glory of skin warms Caroline’s palm. There is a scar on this calf, invisible in the dark but vivid in her mind as a distinct but delicate comet tracing a pale horizon. It was, Gillian told her, caused by a jutting, broken spoke on a wheelbarrow.

That’s when I learned not to do farm work while wearing shorts, she had said.  

Caroline replies to the apology by mumbling don’t mind into a pillow; sleepiness translates it into dun mime. She’s cresting the wave back into sleep when she realizes that Gillian is not moving, not rising out of bed with a stretch and a groan and a curse word. Which is odd, because Gillian likes routine. Every morning they’ve been here she’s up before the sun, making herself tea, reading for a bit, and then walking a mile to the village to fetch brioches from a baker amusedly tolerant of an Englishwoman who flirts with her grown son and insists on conversing in rusty French. By the time she returns the brioches are stone cold but she revives them in the oven, makes coffee, and wakes up Caroline by cannonballing onto the bed like a kid on holiday. Winter clings to her skin and clothes but her morning kiss is persistent and sweet and like waking into a warm, summery daydream and not a chilly old French farmhouse lacking proper heat.

She forces herself into a higher level of coherence, clears her throat, firms up a question: You’re not getting up?

Not yet, comes the reply.  

In the dark she aims badly for Gillian’s forehead and gently smashes her palm against a nose.

Are you sick?

No. It’s just—we don’t have much time left. Here, I mean. Want to enjoy it.

They return home the day after tomorrow.

By staying in bed as long as possible, Gillian adds as needless clarification.

Under two blankets and a comforter movement is heavy and surreal, a sluggishly sensual underwater ballet. The blankets move as Gillian slides on top of her, exposing Caroline’s shoulder to a rousing chill, which is briefly warmed by Gillian’s mouth before moving along the inlet of the collarbone toward her breast. She spreads her legs, Gillian settles in between them and presses into her, and even though it’s all so new between them—so wonderfully new, she thinks, as Gillian traces the inside of her thigh—she identifies the variance in tempos and moods better now and knows this time will be slow and sweet and hopefully she won’t bang her skull against the quasi-antique headboard again.

You’re giving up brioches for me?

Nah. I’ll get ’em later. Just delaying gratification, as it were.

So—how delayed is gratification when all you’re doing is merely sublimating it with another pleasure?

Even though they can barely see one another in the porous dark, a bluish outline of morning light traces the contours of Gillian’s face and hair and Caroline can see a hitch of expression, a shift of lines as she smiles.

Shut up, you, she says.

ii. continental beauty

For one horrible aching moment—while wiping down a quartz countertop aged to such an extent that it looks as if it’s survived a hundred years of everyday bacchanals, and this is why housework is dangerous and housewives go mad, she thinks, it sets the mind loose to dwell on so much of life’s chaotic cruelty—Caroline realizes that she never had this opportunity with Kate, that is, a long romantic getaway and not just a mucky weekend at a nearby hotel. Even on that modest level she fucked it up nearly beyond repair. Even on vacation with her husband of eighteen years always she felt—she knew—she was a fraud, nothing but a character in one of his novels. Maybe it’s a sign; maybe it means something. Here in this farmhouse in the Rhone Valley hundreds of miles away from home, she waits for the shoe to fall into a dreaded Grand Canyon of unspecified anxiety.

They spent months not talking about what they needed to talk about. It was easy enough to blame a host of things for this: demanding work schedules involving obstreperous students and sheep, parenting thickheaded boys, coparenting a toddler with a knobhead whose taste in women was obviously on the decline, a bountiful supply of excellent wine from a beautiful young woman who simply would not go away, and complete, sheer cowardice. Acceptance of the status quo has always come easily to Caroline, particularly in this instance because she was getting good wine and properly laid on a regular basis—thus her mother’s interrogations and condemnations, her secretary’s prurient questions (“You have it off with Brokeback Shepherd yet?”), and generally everyone’s bewilderment and clumsy emotional tap-dancing around the subject were all easily ignored.

Then last month, during one of those boisterous family dinners where, as was not uncommon, Gillian looked at her in an indescribably aching way—followed by a self-chastising frown, slight shake of the head, and a protective hunch of her shoulders that seemingly closed off any possibility of rapprochement—Gary announced to all present that renovations to his vacation home in France were finally complete. During this interminable period he had gone from referring to the house as a chateau to deeming it a money pit. It was actually an eighteenth-century stone farmhouse, its interior now as rustically authentic as one envisioned by a nouveau riche entrepreneur from Yorkshire, and Caroline twitchingly recalled Gillian’s proposal earlier in the spring—that they would go there for a few days during the summer and work shit out. But summer ripened and withered away and the promise, representing everything that was seemingly lost between them, lingered bitterly.

After dinner Caroline stood in the doorway of Gillian’s kitchen observing their motley, contented family—Raff playing Legos with Calamity and Flora, Lawrence attempting to show his grandfather and Gary how to play Halo Wars 2 on an Xbox, and Celia, post-two glasses of wine, going on about the life of the theater to the clearly bored yet admirably patient Ellie. She felt Gillian’s presence at her side—churning and restless as a spoon stirring a pot, staring at her feet, then a lamp, then her son, and finally fixing that burning gaze of hers on the woman next to her while the back of her hand glided over Caroline’s knuckles, thus causing the latter to force out a surprising hybrid of a squeak and a gasp.

Let’s—let’s do it, she said. Come with me to France.

Five minutes later they were purchasing plane tickets on the mobile.

Five days into this trip she has learned many things about Gillian: she slavishly embraces routine whenever possible, she likes brioches, she’s reading Middlemarch for the third time now but Caroline cannot imagine why because she herself has never made it past page 50, she’s capable of lingering over a cup of tea and not gulping it down because she’s not running late or has a hundred things to do in a day, she thinks MI6 was involved in Princess Diana’s death, she’s takes no firm side in the great over vs. under toilet roll debate—don’t people have anything better to do than argue about toilet paper? she had said—

—and she is an admirer of great beauty because now she barrels through the door after tromping around the countryside for an hour and breathlessly announces, I’m in love.

Caroline imagines herself unseeded by either the baker’s handsome son or the buxom young woman who works the vineyard nearby, the latter spotted the other day during a wine-tasting tour and whose sumptuous cleavage was the focus of surreptitious glances from Gillian. After half a lifetime of stealthily admiring the physical beauty of women, Caroline knows these covert maneuvers when she sees them. Alas, all she has to counter these continental beauties are certain oral skills and her talent for making a certain orange-ginger biscuit that Gillian loves and who knows, perhaps that will save the day, perhaps even as sun perpetually sets on the English empire all that truly matters is cunnilingus, tea, and biscuits.

I’m confident of your ability to attract, she wants to tell Gillian. But not my ability to hold you.

But while hanging up her coat Gillian starts rambling about a ram, a sheep with a fancy French name. She saw him posing on a hillside, broodingly apart from the herd, a Heathcliff among sheep. His markings and coloring exquisite, his horns symmetrical, his poise exceptional—

Before Gillian can declare herself high priestess of this mythic creature’s cult, Caroline—dimly aware of the unseemliness of jealousy over a sheep—interrupts rudely: What’s it called again? A rum-ball merino?

Gillian rolls her eyes. Rambouillet, she says. She grabs a cup for tea. A Rambouillet merino.

Ripe for plucking, the word hangs in the air and Caroline ravenously seeks its source in a kiss. She holds Gillian’s lower lip gently between her teeth, tongue running the plush length of it, tasting salt and mystery because, frankly, women have always been unfathomable to her.  Sweetly, wonderfully unfathomable. She starts to unbutton Gillian’s thick, lined plaid shirt—only to discover, underneath, a second plaid shirt thin and soft with age. At which she breaks off the kiss and bursts into laughter.

Jesus Christ, you’re like a flannel onion. Layers and layers.

It’s cold, in case you haven’t noticed, Gillian says—also laughing—as she sits the empty cup on the counter.

I’m trying to warm you up, Caroline replies as she sets in on the second flannel layer. In case you haven’t noticed.

Tossing her arms around Caroline’s neck and pulling her into another kiss, another embrace, Gillian says, I’ve noticed.

She doesn’t feel too distressed about fucking Gary’s sister on Gary’s distressed leather couch—burnished leather, she thinks he called it and the color was Churchill cigar—because there is an old blanket on it and as they fall onto it she doesn’t care about much at the moment except the wonderments and sensations of skin and taste, wondering if Gillian has ever called anyone else baby, Caroline can’t quite imagine that she has and would like to reserve that titular honor as her very own, wondering when the last time someone went down on her properly because her reaction and sheer enjoyment of it make Caroline feel like Aphrodite incarnate coming down from on high and she has to cling to Gillian as if she’s riding a rollercoaster by the skin of her teeth.

Afterward she’s sprawled on the couch wrapped in the comforter Gillian dragged out the bedroom, staring at the crisscross of the ceiling’s dark wood roof beams and with her head pillowed on Gillian’s bare thigh. With one flannel shirt back on, Gillian sits cross-legged while drinking one of Gary’s very pricey local Syrahs and pretending to read Middlemarch, pretending because she’s humming, which she usually does while absorbed in the comforting repetition of a task like washing dishes or mending a shirt or soothing a baby and in this instance the task at hand seems to be slowly, rhythmically running her fingers through Caroline’s hair. I like your—your hair, she had said the other day, shy and stammering and nervous after they made love, as if the gentle offering of a compliment would somehow be virulently rejected, and while Caroline loved the sweet awkwardness of it she hated the man who made Gillian terrified of revealing the slightest vulnerability.

She stares at the shadowed, foreboding ceiling beams, thinks that Gary should have picked a wood of a lighter color because the dark beams make her think of crucifixions.

Say it again, she says to Gillian.

What?

The name of the sheep.

Rambouillet.

Oh, she sighs, that’s lovely.

Unexpectedly Gillian drags her finger, damp and dribbling Syrah, across Caroline’s lips, as if soothing an infant with a taste of milk. You’re really weird, she says.

I’m not the one in love with a sheep, Caroline replies.

iii. the search for intelligent ovine life in the Rhone Valley

The afternoon winter sun, useless and pale, emanates as much heat as the moon. They are out in search of the great Rambouillet merino. Gillian insists she needs to get a better photo of the sheep so she can submit it to something called “Google sheep view” and Caroline, who is perfectly fine with not knowing what the hell that is, is nonetheless curious to know what the fuss is about and accompanies her. Leading the mission, Gillian stalks the dirt backroad that runs behind Gary’s farmhouse with her usual dogged, determined pace. She’s been in a bit of a mood since lunchtime and Caroline knows enough to let her be until she’s ready to talk; it’s likely, though, that she dreads the thought of returning home to the questions, the judgments, the expectations that will be laid at their feet.

She trails behind. Outside of the Yorkshire countryside she has navigated most of her life, her sense of direction is rubbish and she hasn’t a clue where they really are. She sighs and burrows deeper into her scarf. It’s the coldest day of the trip thus far. The stiff, expensive boots she purchased for the trip are pinching her toes and the too-high arches dig into her soles. In the distance she sees the vineyard that they visited days ago, the spherical red caps of the buildings distinct against the pale sky, and has a wince-inducing guilty thought about Olga.

Shortly after committing to this journey, she officially ended it with Olga. It was not so much a breakup as an act of disengagement; some days she actually convinces herself of this. Regardless it required some semblance of fortitude to finally override the guilt-ridden, passive-aggressive lust that propelled the relationship on her part. Olga took it well. She also took a case of an amazing Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley that she had initially gifted to Caroline and now presumably would bestow upon another boozy, middle-aged lesbian—or, more likely, her ex—both nonetheless worthy of her considerable charm and refined palate, while leaving Caroline to the tender mercies of a sheep farmer overfond of cheap Lambrusco.

She stops for a moment to look at red roofs jutting into milk-white clouds and dwell in the newness of everything—place and memory, time and love—while accepting the sense of loss that perpetually nips at her heels. Snow flurries waltz to the ground.

Then she notices that up ahead on the road Gillian has stopped and turned around. Head tilted, she critically eyes Caroline as she would a lagging, miscreant ewe—as if to say, come along now.

Grimacing, Caroline takes long strides to catch up. She apologizes on arrival, insincerity muffled through the cashmere scarf.

Gillian carries a long, sturdy branch found earlier on the road. Alternately she’s been using it as a walking stick and brandishing it as a weapon, whacking at husked, brittle weeds lining the road, sadistically poking at stones. Idly she whips it around her body while frowning at Caroline.

What were ya doing back there? she asks.

Contemplating life’s mysteries. Appreciating the sublimity of nature. Oh, and staring at your ass. Not necessarily in that order.

Bashful at the compliment, Gillian lowers her head and grins. Then, wryly: So you weren’t stopping ’cause those boots are hurting you?

Not a bit, Caroline lies.

You’re limping, she says, and then nods in the direction of the winery. D’ya think they send out Saint Bernards with little wine flasks to rescue snotty English bitches who don’t wear proper footwear whilst they wander about the countryside?

That would be marvelous.

Gillian points up ahead at a copse of trees. The gesture is so startling and beautiful and confident that Caroline wants to seize her hand—ungloved, snowflake caught and melting on her thumbnail—and kiss it.

Right up there, she says, past those trees, is a shortcut through the wood to the vineyard. If you can make it, we could walk there. Couple glasses might revive you for the walk home.

And if it doesn’t?

Reckon I’ll have to drag you back somehow.

Cavewoman.

Nah. I’m not that strong, Gillian says with a roll of her shoulders, but I’ll give it a go.

Au contraire.

That’s the first bit of French out of your mouth since we got here.

You’ve been doing well enough for both of us, Caroline says, so why bother? She leans into Gillian, quietly pleased at the arm that automatically wraps around her waist. Then she presses her face into the crown of Gillian’s hair, kisses it, and says, I’ve always believed—she begins shakily, pauses clumsily—always known—you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.

Gillian pulls back and stares at her, unsure if what she’s saying is an obvious revelation or a faithful misrepresentation of the brutal facts that comprise her life. She thinks that Gillian usually skews toward the latter as a default viewpoint, and realizes it may take a lifetime for her to sort it, to undo it. If ever. What surprises Caroline is not this but the belief, settling into her bones and countering her own misguided self-assessments, that she is finally brave enough to be fully present in Gillian’s life.  

On the walk home, both of them tipsy and tired, they see the Rambouillet merino ambling across an open field into the setting sun. And he is beautiful.

[nathannewlandbct-blog]

Working on the Glacier DLC Expansion Pack 1 Ultimate Collectors GOTY Edition

Week 9 is the first week of development sprint 3 and the first week back from the “uni break”. I got a bit creative with the landscape, solved a worrying bug or two, and added more assets.

Monday

Today was our first day back from our self imposed mini break or extended long weekend. It was also the beginning of sprint 3 of our production pipeline. Everyone was well rested and ready and reading to go (aside from one ill member). We talked about what we did in the weekend which included Nathan and his experience at GDC and my games that I played and took inspiration from. Also things like general things like where people went and such.

Xav had a new idea. Based on feedback from the GDM we wanted to make the space around the initial cave a shear cliff face that the player would not want to climb. Zav’s idea is to have a huge glacier in our landscape, potentially serving as the cave itself. This is a great idea and I started implementing it. However, adding a glacier means moving the environment from a central north island bush to a South island landscape. This means repainting the entire thing and rethinking entirely what flora I have, how much and where it goes. Lots of work for me.

Mark is working on modeling a hut. Should be finished end of today or first half tomorrow.

I think Kavita is now working on glacier art.

  Tuesday

Today I used a couple BSP brushes to block out where a glacier might go near spawn. This is on the cold version I made yesterday. I then added a metal to it that was white with a blue emissive. This looked better than expected. I then put a crevasse down the middle and a temp player sized block for scale reference. It was then I realized how huge this ice block is. I then gave it a nice looking texture with macro variation and a variety of texture maps.

I will show this to the team (and Aldo) and ask them weather then want to pursue this, go back to the original project or find a compromise somehow. My vote will be to go back to the original project but take cool screenshots of this project for promotional purposes. This would mean we still need someone to model rock face static meshes. This will probably be me. At the very least I proved I could do it. A thought I just love. In saying that though it needs work to look good.

  Wednesday

Nathan has finally cracked how to build our project. He's had to jump through so many hoops to get it working. I'll record specifics when I get them.

Mark finished the shed model but had issues unwrapping it so much we had to get the modeler from Aldo's team to help who really knows what he's doing with blender.

Xav painted it in Substance Painter and I will figure out how to import it tomorrow.

Kavita wants to move into modeling tasks. I didn't have a specific job to give her at the time and might have to follow this up tomorrow.

Garian made a night ambience track. It's dark and grand sounding. I think it could be good.

I had a bit of trouble finding the most up to date project among all my duplicate testing and debugging versions. The current one has been renamed kowhai 0_4.

 Thursday

I implemented the steel shack and everyone was impressed with how good it looked including me. I now have Kavita working on a more advanced shack that she drew from her concept art.

I went to a small presentation run by our lecturer Stefan about his recent trip to Germany and the VR research he did there. It was very interesting and I'm glad I went. It did however leave me away from my team for another hour after I hadn't been in all morning. (they didn't see most of this though because they were on a apparently tortuous field trip this morning). When I got back however I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mark had made a drinking bottle canteen and it was being painted by Xav and Nathan has been doing some interesting and useful research into the effects of hypothermia.

I moved one of my trees into a file folder higher up in an attempt to fix some save errors and subsequently broke all my foliage. At the moment I am repainting it all and will drop the landscape between the two lakes in an attempt to make more of a canyon that funnels the player more effectively. In this canyon I will put a path up to the hut.

We plan to make a broken boat by the dock in the first lake. This is where the player will find the fire kit and will hopefully use it to warm up after they go through the water.

 Friday

Mark, Kavita and I were in today. I played with the foliage, saved and went to have lunch or something. When I came back UE4 couldn't load my map. I went through the backup folder to find the most recent version of my map and was able to successfully load and work from that. I renamed that 0_4_2. The foliage is in in a logical manner and the groove cut in the landscape been the two lakes. I put the metal shed on the hill upper hut location and also by the first lake. Mark made a longer pier that I implemented also. I will surround it with foliage so much so that it hides the shed from the ridge and is seen when the player comes out of the lake. Mark also programmed a teleportation function that will make testing different areas of the map during play much easier.

I played the latest Just Dance game. I'm not very good but I think I have potential. I might get a dance game for my Xbox one Kinect. :P

Just kidding about the DLC. For now...

@aldovisini, @markyeoh, @ncyrocks, @vintagexvr, @kavitacreativetech, @garianleighton-anderson

[bigbendtexas]

Tuesday April 11

  We arrived in Del Rio, Texas, late afternoon and set up camp. Our friends from Germany were coming the next day so we just hung around the camp on Wednesday not knowing when they would get there. In retrospect we should have gone into Del Rio and looked around, although there's not much to see in Del Rio.  As it was, I fixed the ramp for the motor scooter and then cleaned up the RV and visited with people. Our friends got in late afternoon and got the campsite right next to us. We had dinner together and retired about 9 o'clock for the next day. Early the next morning, our friend Susi knocked on our door and said there was a flash flood warning and should we be worried? Their German cell phone sent them an alert and we didn't get an alert because my phone still thinks it's in Tulsa. We checked the weather on TV and found out there was severe storms about 40 miles west of us. It drizzled and rained until about 10 o'clock in the morning then the flash flood warning was over at 10:15. We broke camp and headed west toward Big Bend country. We were stopped at a customs and immigration checkpoint just for grins, but had no problems. The border guard said that all the roads north of US 90 were blocked because of the floods. We had no problems driving and stopped at a state park to see some ancient cave drawings but access to the drawings was closed because of the rains. We did pay to look around the headquarters and the exhibits but then the electricity went off when the generator ran out of gas. Oh well, it just wasn't meant to be. Then we continued west and stopped at Judge Roy Bean's courthouse and homestead. It was an interesting exhibit and I'll upload some pictures explaining some of it later. We never made it to Big Bend on Wednesday. We stopped in Marathon, Texas, 50 miles from the park headquarters for the night. We got two camp sites side by side and barbecued hamburgers for us and Susi and Heinz did brats and a steak. While we were having cocktails an RV with free beer rolled in. Literally free beer. A couple from Charleston, South Carolina, had painted the logo from a brewery in Charleston all over the RV and the brewery gave them 50 cases of beer to give away as they drove across country. You know I was the first one to go over and ask him if the beer was really available. We had a nice talk with him and I sampled one of their IPA lagers and Elizabeth tried a wheat beer. After dinner we gathered with four other couples who were traveling together along with our neighbors to drink some wine and beer and talk. They were from Galveston and Elizabeth asked if they knew her childhood friend, Patricia Gray, their state representative and, of course, they did.  We found out one lady lived only 3 blocks away from Patty.  A lady and her husband Frank were very interesting and on the second guess from where she was from I got it right. She's Persian. It was an eclectic group and we had a great conversation all around before heading off to bed around 10. We didn't notice the railroad tracks across from the campground when we checked in. As we're getting ready for bed, a mile-long train went by and blew its whistle for at least 45 seconds. I guessed three more trains would come during the night and Elizabeth guessed four. I was right and she slept through all the trains. I have a recording of one of them.

  Friday April 14, 2017

   As I said, Elizabeth's slept through the trains in the night. We had a nice walk before we headed out to the Big Bend National Park. It is 50 miles to the park headquarters, but was a nice drive through a lot of desolate country. We decided to go to one side of the park called the Rio Grande Village where we decided to walk up a canyon along the Rio Grande to see its beginnings at a really small opening in the canyon. While we were debating the subject we met another couple from Germany and they remembered seeing our friend’s camper in a campground in San Antonio. We had a nice talk about that and we all went on the 1.4 mile round trip on the Rio Grande. Heinz and I finished a trip together because it was very hot and Elizabeth and Susi decided to wait for us. There were handicraft items posted along the trail with a little jar to deposit your money in if you wanted to buy anything. The Mexicans had walked across or taken a boat across the river to deposit the items and they pick up the money later in the day if anyone buys anything. They were always across the river watching to see if anyone took anything without paying. Very interesting enterprise and neither the US or Mexican government seem to mind. We drove out of the park on the western side to find a campground because all the campgrounds in the park were fully booked. Tomorrow starts a first-come first-served proposition for a campsite in the park. It's really not worth it because the campsites are mostly primitive and the ones that have facilities only have vault toilets. We found a suitable campground just outside the boundaries and will drive in tomorrow to see the parts of the park we couldn't see today. We have to stay on paved roads with the RVs and take short hikes to points of interest. I heard about one today we will take tomorrow where you could actually wade across the Rio Grande touch the walls of the canyon and rush back to America. Sounds interesting and we will probably do it before we leave the park and find a place to stay so we can play golf in this area. We're trying to get a reservation at the McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis for Tuesday night to look through the big telescope. After dinner tonight we had a small Desert Storm with some rain and after the rain there was a beautiful lightning display and storm east of us inside Big Bend. We will take our time tomorrow and try to play some golf on Sunday before heading to Marfa for a glider plane flight for me. I will try to upload pictures in the next 48 hours. Wi-Fi is not so fast and I have to compress the pictures before I upload them.

[fatgirlonabicycle]

Road Magic

I’ve been in the USA for about a month now and have just under two months left before I head back to the UK.

There have been some wonderful bits, some difficult bits, and some disconcerting through to downright terrifying moments. Overall, I have met many interested, kind and thoughtful people who have really helped me get through and made this trip much less lonely.

In no particular order, here are some of the many instances of kindness that I’ve encountered in the last few weeks:

John, fellow Brit who was on the same flight to Austin and staying at the same hostel, who walked to an Amazon Locker with me to collect my maps and then had a few beers with, making my first evening in the USA more successful and convivial that I could have hoped.

Fanny, the excitable French taxi driver who got me from the airport to the hostel while telling me all the truck drivers secrets.

Everyone at Bicycle Sports Shop Austin who dealt with me delivering them a mechanical curve ball with absolute grace and whose hard work meant that I headed off on my tour on schedule with a fully functioning bicycle.

The member of staff at the Dairy Queen in Johnson City who gave me a massive ice cream for free. Literal manna from heaven on a hot and difficult second day of cycling.

The friendly old boy I met at the municipal campsite in Fredericksburg who told me it was headwind all the way West. I resented the information… but he was kinda right.

The friendly old boy I met riding into Brackettville who told me that it wasn’t headwind all the way West. I appreciated the information… but he was kinda wrong.

Antonio for buying me a beer in the Camp Wood biker bar. 

The snowbirds of Fort Clark, Brackettville, for inviting me to their Valentine's Day chili cook off. A halfway proper dinner was most appreciated.

Jeanie and Coco, who I met in Seminole Canyon, introduced a different pace to my tour and reminded me that I don’t just have to slog long my planned route day after day. We enjoyed some excellent fireside meals and conversations, and they gave me a lift into Big Bend. If it wasn’t for Jeanie I wouldn’t have visited Big Bend, nor hiked to the Hot Springs and paddled in the Rio Grande. I hope to catch up with them in California before I head back to the UK.

Brandy and Ray who saw me riding into Sanderson after a tough 80 mile day and greeted me with a cold beer and a good chat.

Mike O’Connor, the rancher who insisted on giving me a lift to the next town when he saw me struggling up hill into the driving wind and rain between Sanderson and Marathon.

Maria, my Polish RV mum. She insisted on giving me breakfast on the morning I left Seminole Canyon, gave me a hug and told me “You need a hug everyday.” Bumping into her (twice!) in Big Bend, she came through on her declaration and gave me much needed hugs.

Freddy, a young guy who lives in his car, who used the hostel in Austin once a week to cook a good dinner and have a proper wash and sleep. He kindly invited me to eat a great meal with him and pointed out that the American coins I had brought with me were actually Euros.

Joe Pat Hennon, who I met standing round the fire in the Marathon Motel, and insisted on giving me one of his CDs. (Nevermind I’m on a cycle tour and didn’t know when I’d next be near a CD player. We ended up listening to it in Alpine.)

Lisa, the beautiful Park Ranger at Big Bend National Park, who told me *exactly* where the hills were in the next 30 miles out towards Terlingua and recommended La Kiva for a beer and burger.

The folk at La Kiva, Terlingua,  - especially Dena and Deniro who adopted me and showed me round the ghost town, as well as how to handle the packs of desert dogs - for letting me camp out the back of the bar. I really liked Terlingua, though it's goat head thorns have killed my sleeping mat.

The classic Texan gentleman, complete with cowboy hat, who, remembering me from a previous campground and meeting me again at La Kiva, insisted on buying me a beer.

Chelsea and Sara who let me hitch a lift to Alpine from Terlingua, saving me a gruelling 80 miles of windy desert riding. Who would have thought strapping a bike to a car roof would be such a hilarious challenge.

Betsy in Alpine, as well as Shea and Lyndsey, who let me not only stay with them for a restful long weekend, but let me be part of their cool girl gang. Especially Lyndsey who drove us to the amazing Balmorhea spring - after getting over my trepidation at the overly friendly fish, this is the best swim I’ve had in the US - and for getting me to El Paso the next day.

Kirsty and Erin in El Paso for a good night’s sleep. I’m looking forward to coming back to see them in a few days.

Lisa in Las Cruces who has helped me so much I’m not sure where to begin. Lisa is an amazingly generous and chilled out host, if you are riding the Souther Tier you must send her a message via Warm Showers.

Pilar, who I have decided may actually be a saint. On Wednesday I was attacked by a bunch of farm dogs just outside Hatch. Pilar was the first person to stop and she quickly figured out what to do (call her boss to take me into town in his truck) and prayed for me. And of course her boss, Zane, who turned up so quickly and was the picture of practical concern and helpfulness.

Bill, the retired motorcycle mechanic I met at Percha Dam Campground, who took the time to true my wheel which was wildly out of tension. When the dogs attacked me, they managed to somehow rip a rear pannier from its rack, wedging it between the wheel and rear triangle. I rode to the campground, desperate to continue the tour, but quickly realised my wheel was borked beyond my capability to fix. My first plan was to see if anyone was going to a town with a bike shop, and Bill was the first person I asked.

Eric - another cycle tourist who is staying with Lisa - who borrowed a car and came to get me when I realised I was more shaken and upset by the dog attack that I first wanted to admit, and got me back to Las Cruces.

People like to share horror stories and make fateful predictions. In the same bar that I was bought a beer by Antonio (a young guy of Mexican descent), a woman told me that I was likely to be kidnapped by Mexicans and sold into sex slavery for daring to go so close to the border alone. I’ve been told to get a gun or a man or a whole new plan. There are cartels and rattlesnakes to fear.

The dog attack was terrifying and upsetting, and has caused me to change my plans for the next few weeks. But what I will remember is that when the thing that I’ve openly said I was most fearful about did happen, both strangers and new friends stepped up to help.

There is much I still need to beware of and be careful of on this cycle tour. Being alone in a different country is not a time to be naive. But I honestly believe - half through airy fairy hopefulness and half through actual experience - that people are good and if you need it, they will help you.

This is something Steve, former self confessed hobo and seriously canny cycle tourist I met staying in Las Cruces, calls Road Magic.

I’m removing a few hundred miles of New Mexico and Arizona from my itinerary. Tomorrow I’m heading back to El Paso and then on to the West Coast via train. My plans have changed so much in the last month that I’m uncertain what the next two will hold.But I’m confident that I will encounter enough kindness and Road Magic to outweigh the challenges and difficulties.

The best place to keep up with where I am and what I am up to is Twitter and Instagram.

[letsimportanttreecollection-blog]

Car Insurance, including APR?

"Car Insurance, including APR?

So, im looking for car insurance and I found the cheapest one for me. 'A deposit of 70.00 payable by credit or debit card followed by 10 monthly instalments by Direct Debit of 55.90. Total payable is 629.00 including APR of 29.6%.' What does it mean including APR of 29.6% That I will have to pay an extra 29.6%. Its my 3rd year driving and I've never seen this before.

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

RELATED QUESTIONS: 

Does it cost more to insure a car with no airbags?

I was thinking of buying a 1986 mustang gt, which has no airbags, would that affect the cost? I was going to put aftermarket Sparco front seats with 4 point safety harnesses in for safety, also would that decrease the insurance rate since I'd be making it safer? Or is it just dependent on car, age, etc.""

Lawyer or insurance broker?

Lawyer - job offer, 35 000 as a trainee, but 6/7 months in advance doing course for it earning nothing...so pro rated less - after 2 years goes up to 70 000. It involves researching, managing documents, photocopying, proof-reading, filing in and submitting forms and paperwork, dealing with clients, managing their expectations. 9:30-8pm job. Insurance broker for a very big firm - job offer, 30 000 straight away pretty much, will go to about 50 000 after two years. Involves speaking to people over the phone negotiating risk on insurance products pertaining to companies, war, politics etc. Liasing with underwriters. Trying to get the best deal for clients. Less intellectual, more numerical, more oral than written communication. 9-7 job.""

Shipping insurance? ?

I am selling my ipod on ebay. It will probably sell around $175-$200. I want to offer shipping insurance. How much should I say it is? Is there an actual percent?

What insurance group?

I'm interested in the Mazda RX8 but would like to know the insurance group without having to go for a quote. I'm not looking at a specific car just love the cars and am interested.

How much do insurance rates go up after a minor claim?

Someone backed into my bumper, and I'm wondering if I should make a claim for it. I don't mind a $10-20 dollar increase, but anything more & I'd rather just pay for it myself.""

Would insurance cost me more if I bought a used VW beetle with a convertible top versus a hardtop?

Thanks!

Do we qualify for medicaid?

Medicare for me & my boyfriend.? My boyfriend and I have an apartment of our own. I'm 19(next week), and he's 20(in August). I'm working at an insurance company, and I make about $1500/monthly. He's currently unemployed (he's looking for a job). I pay rent, all the bills, car insurance, and all the other little things. So i'm broke at the end of the month. He has a cyst in his chest (we're assuming). He went for a check up about a year ago, and the doc said it was a cyst. It's been getting bigger and worse, so we want to get it fixed. Since he lives with me, and I make enough for the both of us, will he qualify for medicaid? I WILL NOT be able to afford all the medical bills! Will both of us qualify? How will this be done? They will ask for paycheck stubs and rent papers and everything...right? We are also both in college, we applied for a Pell Grant this semester. If that helps any. And where do I go to apply for medicaid? Can i do it on the phone or something and avoid the 5 hr wait? Please answer ALL of my questions! Thanks!""

Where can I find public actuary data for car insurance?

where can I find public actuary data for car insurance. i need that to develop models

Which insurance company offers the cheapest car insurance for new and young drivers?

Which insurance company offers the cheapest car insurance for new and young drivers?

Insurance quote questions?

I'm doing a math assignment and I need a few questions answered: 1) What happens to the insurance quote if you increase the Liability Limit to $2,000,000 from 1,000,000? 2) If there are two or more minor offences, by how much does the quote increase? 3) Does the number of kilometers change the quote? 4) If you have completed a drivers training course, does it lower your quote compared to a quote where no course was taken? 5) Does theft protection lower your quote? By how much?""

What car would be cheaper for insurance?

I am about to be 16 and I live in nebraska in a small town I was thinking of getting a 2005 camaro or a 2000 or 2003 corvette what car would be cheaper for car insurance and if I get a truck would you recomand a ford f250 or ford f350 and how much would insurance be monthly for the ford trucks and if you have any sports cars you would recomand to get then tell me it and insurance on it monthly

New driver - cheapest insurance?

Like thousands of other parents I'm looking for a cheap first car for my 17 year old daughter for when she passes her driving test. We're not in a position to buy her a brand new car, and she's happy to have an older one anyway (she has roughly 2k to spend), but the concern is the insurance! There are plenty of websites with new car insurance groupings, but can anyone please advise me of older small cars which are in the lowest insurance groups.""

Cheap Car Insurance for my first car?

My dad owns it but hes giving it to me technically he wants me to pay insurance and I want something cheap, the majority of insurances say im underage to be reliable for it. I'm 17, is there a cheap insurance for my little chevorlate cavalier car?""

How much does insurance cost and hoe much does licencse/registration cost?

plz hurry and answer

Car Insurance for 18 Year Old Girl? :P?

I am wondering how much my insurance will be once I have gotten my full license. I would be getting it for 6 months only and on my mother's car. I live in Ireland and am 18 years old. Any help would be great :) Thanks :D

Does marital status affect my auto insurance premium?

Does marital status affect my auto insurance premium?

Would my car insurance rates go up if I switch?

I'm insured with geico but I've found a better deal with esurance. I can't afford to pay both. I want to cancel with geico and start over with esurance before the geico policy cancels. If I did this would esurance charge me a higher rate? I know it will effect my credit negatively.

How do companies determine car insurance fees?

im trying to build a database insurance system for cars only and i wanna know how to calculate different types of insurance fees for this category and if there are certain terms and policies i should consider

Need to find cheap but good minibus insurance. Can anyone help?

Need to find cheap but good minibus insurance. Can anyone help?

Car insurance question?

If I where to go for my license tomorrow would i have to get car insurance right away? I don't plan on driving until i get a job so could i just have the license just so i can get a co op job with my school then get insurance. Thank you

Car insurance help needed?

For reasons I do not want to discuss here, my car has not had auto insurance on it for about a year, it has not been driven only set in my garage. I am trying to get insurance on it again so I can drive it again, but because I put I have not had insurance for a year the monthly payment is not manageable, if I put that my last policy ended a week ago and get a policy online will I need to show proof of this or is there another way to get insurance and not have to pay such high premiums?""

Do you have to declare cancelled motorbike insurance when applying for car insurance?

My motorbike insurance was cancelled as my NCB was over 2 years old (they required it to be within 2 years) and I couldn't provide it. They cancelled the policy. Do you have to declare this on car insurance policies?

Auto insurance for a job?

I got offered a full time job delivering for dominos. I need to know what to do about my insurace. My boss told me to raise my minimums and thats it but my mom has been yelling at me about special insurance i HAVE to get blah blah. So what do i really have to do? My insurance now on my suv is 120 a month but the quote from progressive is 5700 a year for commercial do i really have to triple my insurance for this...

How can I get additional health insurance for my kids?

i work for a hospital and i have excellent 90/10 insurance. but with both of my kids seeing specialists i cant afford a $30 copay x2 . i am paying $60 just to take them to the doctor. can i get a secondary health insurance that will help cover some of the copays?

Car Insurance Cost Estimate (UK)?

Iam 21 and 22 this year, i want to know an estimate car insurance cost for any car for a new driver, note i have passed my driving test a few years ago should be around 18, but i didnt really need a car back then. if Sum1 knows roughly how much i should be paying for car insurance please post here. i dont mind having the lowest benefits etc... just want a cheapest price estimate.""

Car Insurance, including APR?

So, im looking for car insurance and I found the cheapest one for me. 'A deposit of 70.00 payable by credit or debit card followed by 10 monthly instalments by Direct Debit of 55.90. Total payable is 629.00 including APR of 29.6%.' What does it mean including APR of 29.6% That I will have to pay an extra 29.6%. Its my 3rd year driving and I've never seen this before.

Does federal violation notice of violation affect my insurance and DMV history?

I live in California and I received a Federal violation notice during a trip to grand canyon and it was because I passed a stop sign ( it is stated as unsafe operation in my ticket). Within the instructions on the ticket it says if you plead guilty and pay the fine, we may or we may not report it to the DMV. Does anyone know if this ticket is going to be counted as a point and affect my car insurance? It seems too complicated and costly to go to court in this case and I paying the fine seems the only practical way!""

Affordable dentists near killeen tx?

I have an abcessed tooth and I'm in alot of pain. I don't have insurance and just want to get it pulled. Need to find an affordable dentist who won't charge me an arm and a leg. Please help!

Do I need insurance to drive with an instruction permit?

I am 19 years old in California. I tried looking at the CA DMV website, but it does not specify anywhere whether I need insurance in order to drive with an instruction permit...""

My car is registered in wisconsin how can I get insurance in california?

My mother bought me a car in wisconsin and i live in california, but the car is still registered in her name in WI. how do i get insurance coverage without having to register the car in my name? is it possible?""

Woud my car insurance go up?

i got into a car accident the beginning of september this year. i had a car that was in my dads name and also the insurance was in his name as well. i never payed for anything or signed anything in my name. i accidentally ran a red light and hit the car that was making a left. it wasnt that bad as it sounds. but my dad decided it wasnt worth it and place the car as a right-off. sooooo anyways. i never got a ticket. i am planning on buying a car in january. would my insurance go up? could i get away with not such a high monthly insurance? i mean really everything was in my fathers name and i recieved no ticket. btw. i live in fl

Why do insurance companys ask how much you paid for your car?

When they don't want to pay that amount out ! Although you pay that premium.

What is the cheapest auto insurance I can get full coverage on a BMW 2004 325I?

What is the cheapest auto insurance I can get full coverage on a BMW 2004 325I?

""Forgot to renew my car insurance, is my no claims bonus affected?

My insurance was due on 15th October but because km away at uni and the car is at home I completely forgot to renew it until today. If I decide to renew it now are there any consequences for paying it late? I would declare sorn but I don't know how it works and When I go home for christmas I do want to be able to drive. I've got 3 years no claims and my insurance has gone down a lot since I started to drive so will I lose it?

What is the cheapest car insurance?

What is the cheapest car insurance?

""I am a 19 year old male, what is the cheapest car insurance?""

I am a 19 year old male, what is the cheapest car insurance?""

What does your car insurance company do for you?

If you are not at fault in an accident, what will your insurance company do in order to get your car fixed? How much help will they give you, or are we supposed to settle everything, make the calls etc. with the other carriers insurance. I was hit from behind while I was stopped at a yield sign. The other drivers fault ( a no-brainer). Yet I am getting different information from my agent, the other drivers agent, and even the auto-repair shop !!! Any feedback will help greatly.""

A realistic way for a full time college student to make money.?

This student is a 20 unit UCLA Law major who needs money but can't even work a part-time job. Without inculding college debt, this student needs 1.5k every month(rent, car, gas, food, insurance, utilities). A part-time min-wage job is not an option due to class load and $400-$500 isn't worth negitive effects on performance. Thus, I'm asking for out of the box ideas. No get a job at McDonalds or Spend less money . Those have already been thought of and done.""

In case of an accident where someone in a motorcycle is badly hurt will liability insurance cover?

Say there is an accident involving a motorcycle and a car. The person in the motorcycle is badly injured how much will liability insurance cover? The insurance would be from the person responsalbe for the accident this case the person in the car. Would there be a big difference if you have full cover isurance?

""How much should my car insurance be, is there a downpayment?""

I am 16 and i am a boy :) I have good grades but not quite a 3.0 My car is a really old Toyota tercel, Its a v4. I would be going under my moms plan. Thanks :)""

Is Aetna Health Insurance any good?

I am healthy, but if something happens I want to be sure I am covered. Have you had any good or bad experience with this company. I currently have Humana, and they don't want to pay for a minor office visit, so I am changing. Anything you could offer would be great. Thanks.""

Suggest me best insurance child plan in india for newborn?

i have newborn baby.

What is the average total cost of learning to drive and a car or suitable respect when your 17?

Including everything like learning, insurance, the test, the car and so on.. I just turned 16 so I was thinking of starting to save up A car that is not embarrassing to be seen in yet isn't to expensive because your only 17:P Thanks if you answer oh and I'm male""

What does it cost to get registration and tag for a 1992 thunderbird? also insurance a month?

i am 18 years old and this is my first car...

Where can i get cheap car insurance?

uk

Best place for car insurance? (uk)?

I passed my driving test a couple of days ago and i need to insure my car. I realise the insurance is going to be 'through the roof', but can anybody reccomend places worth trying where i might get the best quote? thankoooooou""

Car Insurance vs.Health Insurance?

I was in a car accident a few months ago. I was at fault 100%, so my insurance company paid for the property damage but the amount for bodily damage is set too high by their attorney.Does n't health insurance contribute to an extent for the injuries and medical bills etc. or is it the 100% responsibility of the car insurance company to pay for the whole amount that is medical bills etc. incurred by the individuals and their health insurance combined?""

How much does health care insurance cost in America?

Im planning on moving to America with my 2 children to live with my boyfriend, can anyone tell me how much health insurance costs?""

What car can i get as a 18 year old which wont kill me on insurance?

please help all the quotes i been getting are well above 5 grand , also if you got any tips or ideas on how to lower my insurance quotes that would be greatful""

How can i get my car out of the police pound when i havn't had a chance to get insurance?

just got the car and the log book was sent off and put in my name which took a few days but now having trouble getting insurance on an impounded car please help the police are saying it needs different insurance from releasing it from the pound

Car insurance Help for a 17 year old?

OK i'm not a troll to start off with i'm just have good bit of money, anyways i i'm 17 and i live in Ireland i have 7.500 euros to spent on my first car and car insurance anyways this is the car i want http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Celica/1.8-VVTI/201203206625052/advert?channel=CARS so do u know a car insurance that would insure me and i can go up to 15.000 euros if need to""

Car Insurance, including APR?

So, im looking for car insurance and I found the cheapest one for me. 'A deposit of 70.00 payable by credit or debit card followed by 10 monthly instalments by Direct Debit of 55.90. Total payable is 629.00 including APR of 29.6%.' What does it mean including APR of 29.6% That I will have to pay an extra 29.6%. Its my 3rd year driving and I've never seen this before.

Need auto insurance...please help for insurance agents?

My auto insurance will not be renewed due to a very bad judgment on my part (I own my mistakes) My car was stolen when I loaned it to my ex-boyfriend' in Mexico.....I freaked out and 'lied' about where the car was stolen from. The car was found by my ex-boyfriend a few days later and I notified my insurance; I told them the truth what happened owing to my lie and I dropped the clam. They are not renewing my insurance stating that I am 'high risk' My question is this....will I be able to get other insurance? I have NO tickets, accidents, no claims, no bad driver record anything. I am STILL covered now and seeking other insurance, does the new insurance have access to what the old insurance said? Again, I have coverage until the end of Jan. '09, and nothing else wrong EVER although I know what I did was very wrong.....I just freaked out. Please help....thanks""

Young driver insurance?

what is the best car insurance for young drivers

How much would insurance cost for a VW Polo 1.9 ...?

My sister just asked me how much insurance would be for a 17 year old new driver in a VW Polo 1.9 I don't want to go signing up to insurance companies so they can ring me every day trying to sell me rubbish so I'm wondering if anyone just happens to know. Thanks in advance.

Where can i get the cheapest car insurance?

i live in virginia

Now that health insurance companies must give a rebate to companies for group plans?

that don't completely utilize coverage, according to an obscure audit formula, will those insured under the group plan feel guilty if they have to use it and it affects everyone in the plan's annual rebate check? And how will insurance companies make up for this loss?""

When buying life insurance what is the best affordable option?

I am 37 with 2 kids I currently have term life on me for 250,000.00 and 100,000.00 on each of the kids. Now there are tons of different life insurances out here is one really better than the other? I currently have it thru met life does it really matter?""

Can an insurance quote lower you credit score?

I am looking to buy a car soon ... but I am a new driver and I know my insurance will be hight ... I am planning to go insurance company to insurance company to get quotes. Does that lower my credit score?

I got car insurance and it allows me to drive other peoples cars on my insurance?

if i were to buy another car, 2nd car will i be able to drive that without registering to any insruance company? i wont be selling my 1st car, it will still have the insruance, and the insruance it has allows me to drive other cars, but im not sure if the other cars also need insurance from a company""

Will my parents car insurance go up if they co sign for me?

I have my own car and need car insurance but I need my parents to co sign for me. I'm getting a different insurance company from what my parents have on a different everything. Will them co signing for my insurance affect their insurance with anything? Like will their insurance go up because they co sign for me? Or if I get a ticket or in a wreck will it raise their insurance costs? We live in the USA.

Car Insurance Down Payment?

I just purchased a car insurance plan and there was a down payment necessary which was about double the plans monthly cost, it totaled about 270 total and the plan is 130 a month. I was wondering if the down payment I paid would go toward next months payment as well so I wouldn't have to pay for that month or would i eventually get my down payment back? Thanks in advance.""

About how much is high point auto insurance a month?

Well, I just recently got my license and I wanted to buy a car, but my mom said that it's a bad idea and one of the reasons is because of how expensive insurance is. My friend told me her insurance- high point- is only 60 dollars a month. I'm not sure if that's true, because that sounds really really cheap. Does anyone have this or know approximately how much this auto insurance would be a month?""

Why is car insurance so high?

the guy who made young drivers insurance so High should be dragged out in public and shot in front of his family!

Car insurance questions!?!!? HELP! accident!?

Hey, three weeks ago, I got into a car accident and rear ended someone in the front with suv. I had a honda, and the insurance company declared it totaled and they are going to pay around 9k for the car. Since it was rear-end accident, insurance company held me for 100% at fault. The suv had broken/dented bumper and lower part of trunk lid dented (No broken lights or anything). I would say around few thousand dollars worth of damage. There were 3 people in the car and at the time they said they are all ok, and drove off. No police report was filed. When I called at night to get one of the guy's birthday, he said all three went to emergency, and had whiplash pain in neck area (which is understandable from rear-end accident). I had full coverage so I know my insurance comp. would pay their bills. The thing I am scared about is what if they sue me? I am from low-class family and a full time student on loans so I have no money or even a job. If they do, how much can they sue me for?""

Any 1 want life insurance or mediclaim?

v r giving best service with lower price...

Can 16 year old get public liability insurance?

Im 16 and hoping to get some public liability insurance as I'm planning to be working in beauty (waxing,nails,ect) with my cousin.""

How much was your auto insurance at 18 year olds?

How much was your auto insurance at 18 year olds?

Roommate Fell Off My Roof Will Homeowner Insurance Pay?

I asked roommate to put waterproof plastic on roof over-hang. He fell off roof and broke collar bone. We took him to ER. When he came home he needed more care then we could give him. He went to his cousins assisted-living hospital. He has Medicare and Medi-Cal, California. Will my homeowners insurance cover his unpaid bills? Can he sue for pain and suffering? Will insurance cancel my policy? He was been roommate for 3 years.""

Whats the best car insurance?

I am an at risk drive at age 19 driving a 2005 toyota sequoia that hasn't been paid off yet i have one at fault accident ( i hit a car in a parking lot with nobody in it) and i have two speeding tickets now i need full coverage because im still making payments but I would like to know what to go with because so far all my quotes are really expensive! please help me out guys i cant afford 300 dollar car insurance!

What are the books that insurance companies use?

What are books that are full of the variations of ways that people have died, that insurance companies use to produce statistics called or labelled as genre.""

How much should I charge for tutoring?

I'm a senior in high school with over a 4.0 weighted average, and I'm thinking about doing some tutoring work for money, since no local businesses are hiring and I need to start paying car insurance soon, since I'll be driving. I'm wondering what to charge per session, and how long a session should last. I've figured out that I can tutor any subject for levels K-8, along with HS level Biology and Chemistry. Alternatively, for levels K-6, I'm willing to offer general homework help. I have some experience - I tutored someone who was failing two to four hours per week last year in HS Chemistry, and she ended up passing the course, including her NYS Regents Exam, which many people failed. From what I've seen, tutors around here make anywhere from $10 to $40, at my level of education. Is $10-15 unreasonable for a general homework help session? How does $20 sound for levels 7&8 math, or HS subjects? Is this too much? Too little? Could I make it work?""

Does my teenager need to be added to my insurance policy BEFORE he receives his driver's license?

Three of my friends didn't add their kids until they actually had their licenses, and the driving school said that technically they are covered by the parent's insurance while driving with just a permit. When I called AAA, they said I needed to add him. If I don't have to add him to the policy until he's actually a licensed driver and save the enormous $$$ it'll cost, I'd prefer to wait.""

What are the penalties for driving someone else's car that does not have insurance?

Long story short, my friend was driving his friend's car when he crashed into someone. Not a big accident, but the car's owner had no car insurance. They have to go to court and they, including the police have do not know who was at fault. Anyone know what are the penalties of crashing someone else's car that doesn't have insurance? Would most of the blame be placed on the owner? This was in colorado, in case laws differ state from state.""

Car Insurance HELP......?

Well Im 19 yo. and I want to buy a car in England. But insurance is the main problem!!! I have International Driver License and Im looking cars like Crossfire, BMW M1 etc. but secondhand ones. Which insurance company will be the best for me??? Btw Im university student.""

What is the best life insurance for seniors?

age 53, will retire in 2010 - federal employee""

Can we also get free car insurance? Obamacare?

we are very poor,,, and quality for free health care with this new plan that tax payers are so nice to pay for,,, can tax payers also pay for my car insurance?""

Car Insurance, including APR?

So, im looking for car insurance and I found the cheapest one for me. 'A deposit of 70.00 payable by credit or debit card followed by 10 monthly instalments by Direct Debit of 55.90. Total payable is 629.00 including APR of 29.6%.' What does it mean including APR of 29.6% That I will have to pay an extra 29.6%. Its my 3rd year driving and I've never seen this before.

How much would insurance cost me?

Hi im 16 and an about a week im going to get my car the honda s2000. my parents wanted me to look around for insurance under there name? you guys know any cheap insurance companys? and how much do u think it would cost me a month?

How much does insurance cost for a 21 year old male?

I wanna get a car soon and i want a 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and i was just wondering if anybody knows an estimate on how much insurance would be. I will be making payments on the car if that helps

Insurance premium after an accident?

So I was in an accident last week. It was a minor fender bender and was my first accident in the 9 years of driving I've had. I got a ticket for careless driving from the cop and I only did a small dent in the other car's bumper. My car however took a decent amount of damage and is currently being fixed. They said it is going to cost $2050 to repair my car and $440 for the others persons but I just have to pay my $500 deductible. What I'm wondering is how much should I expect my insurance to go up from this? I currently pay around $900 a year and use progressive insurance.

What vehicles have the lowest insurance rates for teenage drivers.?

What vehicles have the lowest insurance rates for teenage drivers.?

""Can someone advise car insurance, selling car?""

I am due to sell my car soon, which I will be advertising but obviously as I need to keep it on the road whilst advertising I need to insure it. I have received an annual quote from my usual insurance company however do not want to pay for a whole year as this would not make sense should I see the car in a couple of months etc. Would it be possible to pay monthly via my insurance company and reduce the added extras such as a hire car and legal expenses etc seeing as the car won't be in use? And does anyone know if I can cancel the policy straight away once the car is sold and I have confirmation I am no longer the registered keeper? I have never sold a car before so am a little in the dark so far as insurance goes on a car you are not really using. Thanks""

How good is military insurance(Tri-Care) for maternity care?

My husband is in the military. I've never used the insurance, but I will need it now that I'm 6.5 weeks pregnant. How's the coverage?""

Should I be put on my moms car insurance?

should I be put under my mothers insurance, or should i take care of my car insurance my self? Im 18""

How much can i spend on a car with the money i make?

im 17 years old and i have a job that pays $8.30 an hour and i work about 16 hrs per week, and i also tutor afterschool, for $20 dollars an hour, for 6 hours, so i make about $240 a week, and im planning to get a car, but i dont know what car i could afford. how much money can i spend in a car if i have monthly car payments?, oh yea plus insurance. thanks""

Car insurance comparison websites - aaaaaaarrggghhh!!!?

why so many adverts for these price comparison websites. sonn we will have a comparison website, for comparison websites. is this just me or does this piss everyone off in a big way""

Who knows a cheap health insurances?

Please does anyone know of a better and affordable health insurances, I am expecting so I really need to have insurance otherwise I can't afford the bills.""

How much will car insurance pay for my accident?

I live in Logan, Utah and I was stopped at a red light when a car rear ended me going about 35 to 40 mph. I got whiplash and my neck, back and shoulder's have been hurting since. I also have headache's. The insurance company that will be paying for my injuries is allstate and they said they won't pay for excessive bills. How can I tell which bills they will count as reasonable and which bills aren't. I don't want to end up paying for anything, but I need to go see someone. Will they pay for chiropractors? massages? going to the doctor? I just don't know. I am also wondering how much money they will pay me once I settle. I'm not able to go to work because I'm a hairstylist and I can't hold my arm's up very long. I already tried to go to work, but I just couldn't do it so i came home early. Please Help! This is my first accident and I don't know what to do""

What level of car insurance should I get?

The difference in my car insurance quote from the bare minimum ($356.50) to second or third in each category ($1,422.90) is over a thousand dollars. This is for a 6-month quote. I'm a very safe driver and have never been in an accident that is my fault. Someone rear-ended me once but there was only damage to his car. Should I risk going with bare minimum coverage? What do other people out there do? What level of insurance do you guys have?""

Car Insurance question?

I got a ticket 3 years ago. I just got one recently around February. My car insurance will get renewed around August. When they renew my insurance and they estimate the new amount for my car insurance, will they find out about my recent ticket? I know the past one from 3 years ago will get dropped off since car insurance companies dont count tickets from 3 years ago, but will the one that I had from this year get counted into the new estimate this year?""

Im in the UK - how much more will I pay on car insurance?

I took out a 945 insurance on my VW golf with tesco. I claimed one 500 for a scrape against the wall of my drive. How much do you think the insurance will be on renewal ? Jon

How much will my car insurance be when I get this car?

well i am 19 years old and I am finna purchase a 2003 blue mustang convertable?

On an estimate how much does car insurance cost?

On an estimate how much does car insurance cost?

What Cheap car insurance do you use?

What car insurance do you use?

Who has the cheapest car insurance?

...

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?""

Difference between a deductible and co-insurance?

I am shopping for individual health insurance and I do not understand the difference between these terms. Also, if a plan has a $1000 deductible does that apply to the entire 12 month term of the plan or every single time I receive health care services? And what about co-insurance?""

Are there any groups you can join that offers group health insurance?

Or some insurance co that does not ask for a ten year history?

Did I get a good quote for my car insurance?

I am 28 years old and recently passed my driving test. My full UK driving license is 4 months old and I got car insurance with my uncle for 43 a month including 7 years no claim bonus, 506 a year. Is that a good deal?""

Getting health insurance?

I am a 38 yr old female amd my partner of 17 yrs is a 45 yr old male.my job does not provide health insurance and my partner is self employed.We live in washington state.A few yrs ago we applied for basic health insurance and they wanted my last income tax statement witch I do not have.We need insurance badly my partner has asthma and needs medicine and we both need physicals.Is there any insurance companies that will give health insurance without wanting income tax returns.or proof of income.We need a health insurance provider who will give insurance like getting car insurance just pay a monthly fee no questions asked.Is there health insurance companies like that.

Am I covered under my parents car insurance?

I got my License yesterday and I want to drive my parents car, am I covered by their car insurance? I am 16 Years old.....""

My GF just renewed her car insurance and has to pay an extra 55 a year for 3 years because...?

In June last year some halfwit drove into the back of her while she was stationary at a junction, no claim was made as an accident management firm was used to claim the money back from the halfwit, it was a no fault accident on the GF's part, she also had full no claims bonus at the time. So will every company charge her this premium or is it just her insurance company? This is so unfair!""

Car Insurance, including APR?

So, im looking for car insurance and I found the cheapest one for me. 'A deposit of 70.00 payable by credit or debit card followed by 10 monthly instalments by Direct Debit of 55.90. Total payable is 629.00 including APR of 29.6%.' What does it mean including APR of 29.6% That I will have to pay an extra 29.6%. Its my 3rd year driving and I've never seen this before.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-much-can-i-offer-pay-claimant-car-insurance-claim-sharie-noena"

[underthestars0]

May 22, 2017

Alright so here's the truth. It's not even that I didn't want to write of that I forgot. It's actually kind of a mix of a lot of things. If I'm being honest, my coming back home wasn't the easier. I had to get back into work right away and I got pretty sick. Plus, my computer was sent away while I was away to get fixed but it still ain't back. I have access to my parents' computer but I forgot that I didn't have my Tumblr password on it so I couldn't write on there and so here I am now updating you from my phone even if I hate it. I also just uploaded the rest of my post of throughout the trip. Should satisfy you for a while. Now let's take it back to our last day in Vegas which was spent at the strip. We got there by bus in late morning and just spent our entire day there. It wasn't the most beautiful place I've ever been to but it wasn't ugly either. We spent that time visiting and also doing the Avengers STATION activity for which we'd had free coupons with our grand canyon activity. That part was nice. It was fun to go around and look at Marvel facts for basically nothing. The rest of the afternoon was long though and passed by slower. We took the bus back to the hostel, picked up our stuff and got a uber to the airport. The wait at the airport was long and air Canada didn't organized but we got through and got to the plane. The flight went well. We slept through it all since it was almost midnight when we left. It was 7am when we landed here in canada, 4am for our bodies and minds. After passing customs and picking up our luggage, my friend's parents were waiting for us. They drove me all the way home chatting with us on our way here. Once back home, I ate the delicious breakfast my mother had gotten me and then showered, cleaned up my clothes and slept until lunch time. For lunch, my mother got me some poutine which I had been craving on the trip. For the afternoon aftwerward, I slept again. We then ate supper without my brother who was at work and I got ready because I was going out. It wasn't because I wanted to because all I wanted was to sleep but friends I hadn't seen in 3 weeks and who were leaving yesterday for 4 weeks wanted to see us and so we went. We first got ice cream and then went to the pub. At 10pm, I left and came back right into my bed. I was glad I went but glad I was back into the comfort of my own bed. Saturday was work. I was doing 9am until 6pm and it went well. It was quite busy so it passed by fast and I was with a nice staff. I also wasn't too sick yet. In the evening, one of my best friend came over to see me and see my pictures and stuff. It was relax but overly nice. We are pizza with my parents and basically hung around the living room all evening. It was so great to catch up. Sunday was pretty similar to Saturday except that I was more sick by then and also doing 10am until 5pm. Since it was a smaller shift, it passed by even after. I was once again happy to be with the staff I was with. For the evening, well we ate this huge supper with my family and I read a lot. I had this book I started out that day at noon and had to finish before tomorrow. So I read a lot and it was nice to get back to something that I love doing so much. Today was work once again with the worst of my sickness. I got through the day because I was with my friend and because it wasn't overly busy. It did pass by and I was quite glad to see some people I hadn't seen in a very long time. Coming back home tonight at 6pm, I read for a while and then ate supper with the family once again. I then joined my dad on a tractor trip in the fields and finally finished Everything Everything. I'm seeing the movie tomorrow hence why I had to finish it so quickly. I really enjoyed it, mostly the way it was written. So light yet so powerful. I ended my evening in the living room with my parents and now bed it definitly calling. No work tomorrow so I plan on sleeping in and hopefully finally get better. To be honest, this wasn't the come back to Canada I had wished for but getting back to a routine does feel good. I have to admit to do think about the trip a lot but I know it wasn't my last one so I try not to be too nostalgic already. Afterall, it's only been a few days since I've been back. Until next time, L