I like that number, 2017. It start's with 20 which means it's in the early 2000s which to me is cool as it's the start of the millennium, meaning a fresh start, and ends in 17 which of course means it's the 17th year after 2000 but I like any number that ends in a 7 as 7 is cool and my lucky number. (As it would be for most but when your birthday has multiple 7s in it, I think I'm more lucky).

Enough of the crazy talk; I enjoyed 2017 I think. For me, personally it was the year of new beginnings and I think for a lot of people and things it is a new beginning too.

Although I started my apprenticeship back in November 2016 it was pretty late in the year and I only settled in fully (and was given the full time job) this year and I am thoroughly enjoying it! (Having more then a week off over the Christmas period has made me realised how bored I am and how much I want to get back into work in the new year).

This year was also the first year I've gone abroad without my family; visiting  Phoenixrage16 and  Lampshadeheadman in Canada and  Tmp999 in Estonia during June and December respectively. The first was incredibly nerve racking but I soon grew comfortable and didn't want to leave, but this set me up well for Estonia were I was more comfortable being abroad without parents.

So in 2017 I went to:
Dubrovnik (Croatia)
Alberta (Canada) - Holiday Drop picture, Furry Picture with Volcan & Korban, IRL Picture with Volcan & Korban
Sicily (Italy) - Holiday Drop picture
Tallinn (Estonia) - Holiday Drop picture, Furry Picture with Zaaset

And next year in 2018 I am going to:
Vancouver (Canada) - Holiday Drop picture
Singapore (Singapore) - Holiday Drop picture
And possibly somewhere else later in the Year but I don't know where yet.


2017 was also good in the sense that the Nintendo Switch came out, Sid Meier's Civilization VI filled out with the 6 DLCs after being released late 2016. I got a lot of new art, of which my favorite came at the end of the year as a Christmas present from  Phoenixrage16 of Avory in his uniform in front of the pre-release coloured North Sea Alliance logo from Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth Rising Tide: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/25843140/
But I do also hope to complete my own Civ6 game mod for my fursona as an alternative leader in game in 2018. Details and image can be found here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/25827749/

I also want to try and do more livestreams as well, if anyone wants to watch me play Civilization 6 on Twitch, especially with the first expansion pack coming out in just over a month.

But until then, I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
All the best for 2018!

-Avory



My Profiles:
Furaffinity: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/avianbritish/
Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/avianbritish
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/avianbritish

Civilization-Furs community:
Furaffinity: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/civilization-furs
Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/civilization-furs
Discord: https://discord.gg/xqxbDfV

I am not happy.

For those of you who don’t know; I was suspended from my FurAffinity.net account for 24 after receiving 2 strikes.
The first strike was for uploading 2 Sonic Forces Screenshots on the 13th of November featuring my Sonic Forces "Avatar" custom character on his own. I get notified that this breaches the AUP (Acceptable Upload Policy) and that I now have a strike on my account and that the two images have been removed. I thought this was a mistake and so I posted a journal about it here to question this action and why I thought it to be wrong. Now yesterday, 20th of November, at around 3pm GMT/UTC I was suspended from Fur Affinity, because I still had a Sonic Forces piece of Content on my account from November 9th. It was a peice of content from 4 days before the other 2 were posted, and for some reason was ignored by the mods when the other two were removed!

Now looking back on the orignal note I got it does state that "Content uploaded before administrative action was taken is not exempt from further administrative action." However I was waiting on a ticket to clarify that this content was unacceptable before I go deleting other images in my gallery that they deem unacceptable. However I never got a reply so I didn't do anything about it; because I do not see how this breaches their AUP.

4.1 Screenshots
Screenshots of applications, copyrighted content (movies, tv shows, etc), or websites are prohibited, unless showcasing new, original, user-created content (models, textures, etc). This rule does not apply to games with user created content (Garry's Mod, Second Life, Minecraft, IMVU, etc).

4.2 Content Creators
Content created via character or image generators is prohibited (such as Doll Divine).

So how come that none of my Grand Theft Auto Online screenshots were never called upon when I uploaded them? Why can I still see that people have uploaded GTAO screenshots onto FA?
Why can I use copyrighted character models in Garry's Mod and for it to be allowed? Why can I take a screenshot of Minecraft and not be told off? Why are these acceptations? Why can people post pictures of Sonic and other copyrighted characters doing lewd things and frankly disgusting things? If I owned a character and I intended for it to be clean and family friendly, I would hate for a huge group of people to go ruining the character's moral image, however I would be fine for people posting screenshots or pictures of my character in a setting that I created them in. So why am I allowed to post something SEGA hates and not allowed to post something SEGA prefers?!

I have one reason:
Bias.

The mods of FA just bias. They don't want to see Sonic Forces content on FA because it is too popular. FA wants to stop things from getting popular and flooding the place.

So what happens if, suddenly, out of no where, everyone started posting Minecraft or Garry's Mod screenshots because of some new amazing feature which appealed to a large portion of FA users?

I bet FA will remove them.

To the moderators of FurAffinity (seeing as you didn't read my support ticket):
When you have rules you stick to them.
When your rules are not clear you make them clear.
When people do things because your rules are not clear you then review and change those rules to make them clearer and answer questions raised by those who don't know if they are breaking the rules.

And when you notify someone that they have broken the rules and removed their content; to which you tell them that they can create a support ticket if you believe for it to be a mistake.
You do not penalise them again if they do believe for it to be a mistake and have created said support ticket which you have not yet replied to!

I work am the helpdesk manager and administrator for my organisation. It is my job to do exactly what your moderators are doing and I do it far f***ing better.
Your processes are disgusting and your customer service is disgraceful.

If this was a paid service or I had been donating then I would want my money back. But this website is free, so I should expect a shoddy service, shouldn't I?

You have one more chance, FA.
Muck it up again? I now have other sites I can turn to. DeviantArt, Inkbunny; I've even already got a SoFurry account set up because of the blackouts you had a while back so I WILL be going over there if something does go wrong again.

So don't screw around again because I will only have one choice:

I will be Leaving Fur Affinity.

So two of my Sonic Forces screenshots featuring my own customised "Avatar" character were taken down today and I received a note from "System Account" notifying me of this (both of these screenshots were mentioned in the same "note" subject field) however these were only the more recent pictures which featured only my Avatar character in a close up shot with very little of the background of the final scene form the game. For some reason my 1st screenshot post was not removed and was not commented on in the note making me question why it was ignored as I would believe it would have more reason to be removed due to the fact it contains the famously copyrighted character of Sonic the Hedgehog and two lesser know but still copyrighted robotic characters.

I, along with an overwhelmingly large majority of FurAffinity users, have never read the AUP (Acceptable Upload Policy) but the note I received made me aware of the section "4. Screenshots and 3D Models" which reads as follows:

4. Screenshots and 3D Models
(Prohibited Content)
4.1 Screenshots
Screenshots of applications, copyrighted content (movies, tv shows, etc), or websites are prohibited, unless showcasing new, original, user-created content (models, textures, etc). This rule does not apply to games with user created content (Garry's Mod, Second Life, Minecraft, IMVU, etc).

In other words...
We don't allow screenshots unless they're showing off something you created.

4.2 Content Creators
Content created via character or image generators is prohibited (such as Doll Divine).

In other words...
We do not allow submissions created using character creators.

Now of course after reading the first section you would believe that uploading screenshots that featured a piece of content that features something of your own creation (such as your Sonic Forces "Avatar") to be acceptable; as you have used your own content within the constraints of the software used. However this goes on to conflict with the 2nd part describing the prohibition of use of a character or image generator.

Now that last bit I seriously has a gripe with as an image generator can be absolutely anything. A Camera is an image generator, Adobe Photoshop is an image generator, my mind is an image generator. Please can we have a definite, written definition posted on somewhere on FurAffinity describing the exact context of an "Image Generator" as such a phrase does not exist in any formal dictionary I've encountered but according to the Oxford Dictionary the two words are as follows:
Image: "A representation of the external form of a person or thing in art."
Generator: "A person or thing that generates something."

So according to this, 4.2, absolutely nothing can be posted onto FA as everything is created by an "Image Generator" as everything is either created by a person or a "thing".

Going back to the idea of a "Character Generator", the same reasoning applies as I, a person, generated a character from my mind which therefore makes me a "Character Generator".

However I might be being very pedantic about the above; as I believe rules 4.1 and 4.2 only apply to Screenshots and 3D Models; but strangely it singles out specific user created content "Garry's Mod, Second Life, Minecraft, IMVU ect", however; how are these not "Character or Image generators"?

In Garry's Mod you specifically use content generated by companies who hold copyright over the material you use to create your own creations. The content you use it provided to you by the software you are using!

In Minecraft you specifically use the blocks and materials you gather or spawn in the world to create your own creations. Again, the content you use is provided to you by the software you are using!

Therefore; how is creating your own creation (your character) in a game which provides you with materials they have created within the same software allowed in some circumstances and not others?

I can arrange a load of characters or props in Garry's Mod and screenshot it and it will be fine. (example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20693563/ )

I can place a load of blocks in Minecraft and screenshot it and it will be fine. (example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14549200/ )

I cannot, however, perform an action or pose a character or my own creation in a game and then screenshot it because the character was originally deemed to have come from a "Character Generator", of which the actual generation of the character is not publicly showcased!
(these are the two image I've had taken down: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOT6tP_.....n_5w.jpg:large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOT6pDpVwAErSXY.jpg:large ) (truthfully; how can you tell that either of these were not recreated in Garry's Mod?)

Further more I do not see why there needs to be a restriction on screenshots from the game as legally Sega, Simplygon and the other producers of "Sonic Forces" have allowed me to publish their content original and freely by purely publishing their game on the Nintendo Switch with allows screenshots and video capture of their content to uploaded to Social Media and the web at not cost or any disclosure of terms and agreements.

In all of my pictures I disclose who created the content, who owns the featured content, and what my involvement in the creation of the content was to justify my own submission/posting of it publicly so as far as I'm concerned, I have done nothing wrong in publication this content; if anything it's indirectly helping advertise and boost the popularity of the Sonic Forces game.





For those of you wishing to find the first Sonic Forces screenshot I posted which for some reason has not been removed despite the other two (making me believe that there might be nothing wrong with this one), you can find it here with a heartwarming story about how I created my own Sonic-themed original character from scratch WITHOUT THE USE OF A CHARACTER GENERATOR 10 years go:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/25380175/

And to top that off; here are three pictures from Grand Theft Auto V/Online which feature a "Character Generator" but no one has warned me that these breach the AUP and therefore have also not been taken down:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16580613/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18715092/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18715112/

So, its almost been a year since I started my apprenticeship and it finishes at the end of this month.

I've feel like I have done a lot in my position and even back it up with the most points in my team, but that isn't without issues; I'm behind in my college work, lost expensive computer parts in a replaced PC, missed some reporting deadlines, missed my first meeting with the CEO and on multiple occasions opened my mouth and said things I shouldn't have whether it was an accident or for stupid reasons why I still do not understand why I wasn't suppose to say.

So far in this last month of my apprenticeship I have stupidly ignored a reminder to do a report which at the time I couldn't remember what it was for. A manager thought I had "an attitude" when they came to me for help but that definitely was not the case; a colleague of mine interrupted me a split second before I could say that I would help. And a higher manager made a meeting request with me one day I was not in (and everyone would have known that I was not in) for the same day or first thing the following day which I had no notice and didn’t know until she mentioned it to me the day after when I asked her if the tempory end-of-day job I was doing for her (Which I technically should not bd doing) was permanent and then she threw a fit! When I apologise to her the day after that if it was because of my tone or apparent 'attitude' she back-handedly "accepted my apology" and didn’t give me any apology for her own attitude or tantrum! (Now I see why her entire team got up and left leaving me to do one if their jobs temporarily until she got more staff!)

Either way the last issue with work is that I've yet to have confirmation that I have a job after my apprenticeship. My manager has told me that he wants me to stay and the rest of my team want me to stay too (whether they are lieing or not I can't tell) but everyone wants me to continue doing the college work for another year on a higher level which I have said that I do not want to do becuause it is pointless and I don't and will not learn anything as the college work I am doing right now just requires to "prove what I already know" which is easy but with the amount of coursework you have to type out for it is pointless; yes it makes me a tiny bit more employable but I want to actually learn and develop! Not right out essay after essay about the properties of a triangle and circle, how to sit up right in an office chair or why you shouldn't use a foam fire extinguisher on electronic equipment! So either way I am nervous about if I have a job or not next month and if so; will more college work be written into my contract or even (according to rumors) I get moved to the other team managed by tamtrum lady no one likes that I mentioned earlier!


So yeah... you are probably wondering why I chose this particular title for my journal tonight. Well I was already annoyed when I got home because all of the above and I believe no one at my job actually likes or appreciates me. So that coupled with my younger brother shouting at me for a ridiculous reason making me loose my temper causing me to thump my desk and scream into my pillow for over an hour, I was really pissed off.
So over dinner it was clearly evident, my dad kept asking why so I eventually explained it all, to which he said his usual speech that he says every time (not his exact words but has the same basis):

"Anywhere you work people are going to treat you like that, and its only going to get worse as you get older. You think it's bad now? You won't be able to stand what you will experience a few years down the line. You will always have to put up with it."

Thanks dad... thanks, that really cheared me up and didn’t make me think: "wow... if its this bad right now and its going to get even worse and never stop, then why do I continue to live and put up with it? I should just kill myself now and save me the pain he says that I cannot avoid at work and will not be able to avoid getting even worse it future! Thanks dad, that really helped me with my life choices!"

He then went on to say that I should treat those managers at work how they treat me, because that's what he does at his own place of work; but that doesn't help when he is indisposable and I on the other hand have my fate in their hands between now and the end of the month!

I hate knowing or even thinking that someone dislikes me... I'm very paranoid about that so if anything worse happens between now and my job offer interview (If I even get an offer to stay on) then I may just turn it down out of my woes of being disliked by everyone...







Although my dad may be a great marketer for one-way Swiss vacations my mum on the otherhand tried to cheer me up before depressing me futher saying how she wants to get out of her life-time job because it's really taking the piss now and it's definitely without a doubt going to get worse in the next month. So she asked if any jobs were going in my company... yay... its not like the last time we worked together was akward and tiresome at all...

...I don't feel like 20 years old.

Or at least I don’t like the numbering, I'm no longer a "-teen" and now a "-enty" ...you get the idea.

Either way, "yay! It's my 20th hatchday!" because 20 years ago I hatched from my little egg asa little pink wrinkly slimey featherless bird and slowly grew up to where I am now.

I've got nothing special planned today, as usal. I am going out tonight to see the Spiderman movie with colleagues at work but it is unrelated to my 20th.

I am finally on my way to Canada right now!
Just sitting down waiting for my gate to open ready for my first of three flights today.

I can't wait to finally be in the arms of two other furs and away from all of the worries and troubles at home both with family and the current terror worries from recent events.

I can't wait to unite with you,  PhoenixRage16 and  lampshadeheadman!

-Avory

Today is a great day is both British and Global politics; not because of the overall result, but people demonstrated and exercised their right to vote!

Despite the past attacks on the UK the British people went out of their way to elect their MPs (Ministers of Parliament) to represent their constituencies in the House of Commons (Government) showing their support for the freedoms representative democracy over autocracies of terrorism and the aristocracies of the European Union.

No matter who you voted for, or even if you 'spoilt' your ballot, you showed your support of true representative democracy by taking your time to say something about our government system. And I champion that!



If you are looking for unbiased results for domestic or international viewing then here are a few:
(Note: I believe the bellow results analysis are unbiased and are merely popular suggestions of reasons for the vote)

- Conservatives and the DUP: The party who called the election early 2017 looked to the people to the UK to assure government what stance they needed to take on Brexit (British departure from the European Union) and other internal matters for the next 5 years. The party lost a net total of 12 seats this election and did not have enough to form a government on their own. They were still the largest party after the election and with support from the Northern Irish party the DUP (Democratic Unionists Party - A party in Northern Ireland that support's Northern Ireland remaining the United Kingdom) they have formed a government.

- Labour and Young Voters: Despite conflicting ideas over their leader before the election Labour gained the most in this election, believed to have been due to a strong turnout from Young voters who are believed to have in majority voted for Labour.

- UKIP and Brexit: With the EU referendum won in favour of leaving the European Union last year, UKIP (Untied Kingdom Independence Party) called themselves the "guard dogs" of Brexit to make sure the government lived up to it's promise to leave the EU efficiently and truthfully. It is believed because of this victory it was understandable that most of the voters from this party left to return in majority to either Labour and Conservatives providing varying stances on Brexit but a Brexit nevertheless.

- SNP and Scotland: the SNP (Scottish National Party) are still the ruling party in Scotland still retaining approximately three out of five seats but lost the other two out of five to the three main "Unionist" parties (Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats) suggesting a swing in support for leaving the European Union (but still with some negotiable retention) and a decrease in support for Scottish Independence.

- Other main national parties: Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) all featured retention or minor gains in the amount of seats they own but all featured a drop in national support in terms of the number of votes.



I thank you all for reading and if you voted I thank you for voting.
If you post any comments please remain peaceful and understanding of my and other's suggestions and opinions.

-Avory

I have issues and faults which other people do not like whether they make me aware of it or not. And because of this 2017 will not be a year full of joy and optimism like I had hoped when going into this year, instead it is a year of change for the better. The year I stop being a 19 year old teenager and the year I become a 20 year old adult.

For starters I will stop airing my dirty laundry in public even if those that I would of talked about were left unnamed.

I will take care before deciding anything rash. I will make well thought through calculated decisions without impulse or misinformation.

I will try to prevent causing bad siluations instead of causing them and trying to disarm them later.

I will also try to have better financially.



On a side note I am still looking for 2 more players for my Elysium D&D (Details can be found on pictures in my gallery) and I am also looking for someone good with Modding/Coding and Sid Meier's Civilization VI to help me out with a Mod I am trying to put together. If you are intrested in either post on the D&D pictures or Note me.

EDITED AS OF 25/04/2017 TO INCLUDE THIS HEADER. THE REST OF THE DOCUMENT UNDER THE BELLOW PARAGRAPH HAS BEEN KEPT IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE FOR HISTORICAL REASONS.

It has not been a good start to 2017. A year I had hoped would be full of joy and optimism. But at least now one of ths biggest issues have now been layed to rest.
Myself and Foxhound1710 met a couple of years ago and were inseparable. We were great friends and more as shown by our galleries but slowly lost interest in each other over time.
Last month he had claimed that he had been blackmailed by an ex of mine. I assumed after a while that he was lying to me and assumed hostility posting the journal bellow. But now I am neutral in the matter and do not know anything about the blackmail incident or who caused it other then my knowledge of asking people if they had anything to do with it hoping someone would come clean.
Me and Foxhound1710 have now left on neutral ground agreeing that he and the artists can keep this picture uploaded to their galleries which for Foxhound1710 symbolises his grievance and end to our friendship. For me the image symbolises unrestand a need for change. I have issues and faults which other people do not like whether they make me aware of it or not. And because of this 2017 will not be a year full of joy and optimism, instead it is a year of change for the better. The year I stop being a 19 year old teenager and the year I become a 20 year old adult.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________



Some of you might be aware that I was investigating a claim that one of my friends had been blackmailed by another friend, threatening to post inappropriate images of them or their fursona in public circles to those who should not see them if they did not leave me as a friend.

Since then they have finally told me who this person was that they claimed blackmailed them which did not turn out to be a friend but instead an ex-boyfriend.

Now although we left each other on the wrong foot and because of previous events I understood why my ex-might of been trying to do this but it did not make sense in the grand scheme of things as they are perfectly publicly happy with another (which they were before and after they were with me but but not to this extent) so my ex would not be trying to 'get with me' again and most certainly would not be trying to 'attack me' in revenge by removing a friend of mine. I even contacted them asking if they did speak to the person being blackmailed and was only met with a block; of which if they did mean to get with me again then they would of said and actually acted upon that question.

So all in all I've come to the conclusion that this 'friend' of mine was lying all a long. Either for attention or in spite.

Even during the process of my investigation they were very accustomed to me saying "if I suspect any of my friends I also suspect you for lying" and was suggesting they should leave after all seemingly for me to pity them to come back.

However they have now removed themselves as a friend on my Steam account making me believe that they indeed were lying all along.




In conclusion to this I would like to state a few things about any form of relationship to me whether it be only an acquaintance to me, a friend or a potential lover:

- DO NOT lie to me about serious or criminal actions such as blackmail.

- DO NOT use rude or insensitive language in conversations or names such as "Sir London Roadkill" (referring to the late terrorist attack on the Houses of Parliament in London) (There is a time for jokes and conversations but sometimes it it completely inappropriate)

- I know I am not a perfect human being and can take criticism but DO NOT use it to attack me or use it as a basis to attack my Nationally or other relations.

- DO NOT use the language barrier or your own poor English understanding to justify attacking me vocally or using rude language.

- DO NOT expect me to be interested in topics you bring to the table and expect a full blown conversation 24hrs 7days a week because I may not wish to talk about them or do not know enough about the subject to voice an opinion.

- DO NOT force me or pester me to do thing that I do not want to do such as play games or get involved in certain activities I am not interested partaking in.

- I AM NOT interested in any online or long-distance romantic relationships.

- As of this point I AM NOT interested in any adult or sexual themes with anyone.

- DO NOT request any financial aid or gifts from me as I have given a lot away to 'friends' in the past and have not received a single penny, a thank you or anything back from almost all of them.

Since Oz (Australia) was introduced into Sid Meier's Civilization VI as DLC I've fallen in love with the Civilization but most of all their theme 'Waltzing Matilda' (although like all Civ6 themes there is a collage of different pieces of music but Waltzing Matilda is the foundation for Australia).

However it does make me look at England and the UK as a gloomy boring in the game especially with their own 'dreamy' theme of 'Scarborough Fair'.

But looking back on all of theme patriotic themes for England or the UK I feel clueless to which are upbeat and 'fun'.
The closest I can find is 'It's a long way to Tipperary' but it still sounds very week to others.

My favourite rendition of Waltzing Matilda (Australia): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qwK09P0soo

It's a long way to Tipperary (Alternative to England): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqoc2p3QvKM

Brejeiro (Brazil): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-Av_Yl25X0

Kalinka (Russia - my favorite melody of all time in Civ6 because of how diverse it can be): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8m2BYv02Nw

Does anyone else have any upbeat but proud national themes? (not necessarily anthems)

It is with great sorrow and regret that I bring the us that the comic 'Avory's Game of Civilization V' which I had organised back in early 2015, over one and a half years ago, has been cancelled and will not be returning indefinitely.

This comes about after numerous contributors ran into financial difficulty presently or in the past. A group discussion from this revealed that both contributors and the artist had lost interest in the project during it's production, some of which expressed that they had lost interest before the first page was even published. I remained the only one interested in the project.

One contribute even stated that " this was just money "thrown away" like a kickstarter ". I feel like a fraud because of this and are heartbroken.

Time was another issue; despite that before anyone joined up I clearly stated multiple times to everyone that the comic could take up to 300 pages (with the intention of lowering this in which the projected final amount is 200 pages total) I believe that because of the unanimous decision by everyone that that this fact has been overruled.

The quality of product was also a huge issue where the content, writing and artwork for the comic less then desirable and even questionable in a multitude of ways. I feel that I whole responsibility for this.

I am heartbroken, disgusted, a failure and deeply upset with the whole ordeal.
I will need to take a step back from all this and maybe this community to amend myself.
At the start of I knew none of the people in it but during this they became my friends; now I fear that they will now abandon me because of this and that they no longer have any financial ties or responsibility linked to me; I fear that they have become my enemy.

I am a mess right now; I've been under stress so much lately and now this. I really do not know what to do with myself. I kept calm last night to resolve the comic's abrupt ending but since then I've broken down and for one of the rare occurrences in tears. I don't think I can brand the name 'Avory' any more...

Hi to all of the very few people who read my journals!
I was wondering if anyone knew of any groups or good places to play Dungeons and Dragons or any other similar group roleplaying experiences.

I've always been interested and keen in getting involved in one but the only only one I've done I left because I ended up ruining everyone's immersion by playing character who breaks the fourth wall every so often (Some people enjoyed it while others did not).
Hour long turns, a purely combat scenario and a frequent member who miscomunicates, won't accept their own honest mistakes and then pursue to protest and discriminate lead to my growing annoyance and then outbreak with the Game Master put me off the activity, but did not quell my desire to play a proper game of Dungeons and Dragons with a more welcoming group, an adaptive and creative Game Master who allows for creativity and divergence leading to a more free flowing experience with interaction with social challenges and other aspects rather then a fight after a fight after a fight with nothing outside battles. (Not saying it don't want to fight, but I would like a balance rather then 90hrs of combat and only 1hr of walking around a market [Just to find sources about the next battle])

It's a shame really about that last one, i did enjoy the fights and were very good at the when I wasn't being moaned at or waiting an hour for my turn. I just hope I can find another group to enjoy the activity with.



And in other Sid Meier's Civilization VI news...
I am hosting a larger no-AI Roleplaying game of Civ6 with a bunch of friends this Friday due to start at 5pm GMT/UTC/WET (or later depending on availability of others), if you want to join in then get in touch before then and let me know of your availability!

"What is the purpose of life?" is one of the deepest and puzzling questions ever thought of since creatures became sentient.

I believe I have come to a conclusion of my own definition today.

Life is the opportunity to feel emotion. We live for satisfaction and dread discouragement.

We wade though sadness in hope to find joy at the end of the tunnel.

We treasure what joy we encounter despite the depressants we may hold.

Life is about asking yourself... "How do you feel?"

If the answer is positive you most likely enjoy life and want to continue it.

If the answer is negative then you are likely asking more... "Do you think all of this sorrow will be made up for in joy later on? Or do you believe there is no light? no hope? And Will be be easier to just... end it?"

I'm weighing up the answers right now...
I'm not a happy person. I don't find much joy. When I look at the world I see imperfections and no means of improving them. I see myself and I don't see a future I will enjoy.

The only question I am asking myself now is... Dispute the fact I cannot see a bright future; do I want to believe that there will be one whether that may be true or false?

Every year I go on holiday, recently I've been going abroad twice, once in Spring over half term and once in July at the start of the Summer holidays.
This year, 2016, I went to Croatia and Japan respectively and enjoyed them both greatly.
Croatia for is beautiful islands and environment combined with Venetian architecture and Austrian and Italian cuisine.
Japan was amazing; huge sprawling cities that run like clockwork, everyone was polite, the history and culture were beautiful and I had never felt safer in my life.

However before I even started my Japanese trip I was planning to travel to Canada; both to see the nation that I adored and my family would never want to travel to and also to visit my best friend,  phoenixrage16, who offered me to stay with him for the duration of my trip.

And after an interesting turn of events I've also been re-invited onto the next family holiday too, less then a month after, to Sicily, Italy.

I don't think I will be having a spring holiday in 2017 but I can't wait for my two summer holidays! Especially one in which I can finally hang out with my friend and just be myself for once.

If anyone's got any advice for either of these holidays in terms of sights to see or things to try then let me know!

-Avory

Or it is a impossibly huge coincidence...

Essentially a few years ago I started designing my own Pokémon games, including Pokémon, region, cities, characters, story, the lot. Be it, it wasn't all complete even all of those years after with multiple iterations and refinements but I did my very best.
However after my first or second iteration I found a yahoo question where someone asked how they can post their ideas to the Pokémon Company, someone responded claiming to be a representative from the company and posted their email suggesting that they can take the ideas and maybe pass them on for future games.

I sent him my PowerPoint presentation I had made for my games which included the Pokémon Orove and Oracion.
During this iteration these two Pokémon were rare bird pokemon which the flying type and then can be any other type. This secondary type changed depending on where the battle was currently taking place and came with a unique move called "sky blitz" which its type depended on the non-flying typing of Orove/Oracion. Both pokemon were white and were reminiscent of Lugia with the exception of coloured stripes which changed depending on the secondary type.

Fast forward a few years where I've done more refinement in which Oracion is a legendary pokemon along with Noicaro and Coranio, all of whom have type changing abilities with limitations now and Orove (along with Noicrow) just became general bird Pokémon that served as protectors to their legendary counterparts.

No either that "representative" took my early deigns and only recently opened them up, refined them into colourful versions and published them... or this is a huge coincidence where both pokemon are flying type and a random second type depending on it's location, Oricorio is coincidently similar to Oracion and Orove, have unique moves that change typing depending on the secondary typing and the generally small bird design alike to Orove.

I don't know whether it's a coincidence or not. I'm sure only that one guy knows the answer to that. But I feel both shocked and proud that I feel that I have contributed to the official Pokémon games.

And for those of you who don't question why "Nineteen" isn't "Onety-Nine" in English then you should know it's my 19th Hatchday! {#^v^#}
I would hand out chocolates to everyone to celebrate but unfortunately there aren't enough to share them equally among everyone (mainly because I've already eaten them all already).

Otherwise I've already got one result that I wanted for my hatchday (Occurred on June 23rd).
Unfortunately Firaxis Games haven't decided to give me Civ6 early for my hatchday { y v y }
But I am going on an unrelated Holiday to Japan for two weeks this month! So I can use that as a "present" seeing as literately the only thing I got was Chocolates.

I hope everyone has a 7th of July! (7/7)

On June 23rd 2016 the British people (51.9%) voted to leave the European Union.
I am over joyed at the result because it means we get to control our own country again but I am concerned for those who wished to stay. Ihope that through the negotiations we will be able to satisfy those who wished to stay.

Did you know that the UK had a referendum like this before?
The question was if we wanted to remain part of the EEC or leave the EEC, this came after concerns that the EEC will become more political; the people of Britain didn't want a political union with Europe and so the leaders of the remain side promised that Britain won't be part of a political union if it remained part of the EEC.
Months of campaigning did happen with the people on remain spreading fear about leaving claiming that the UK will suffer from leaving the EEC whilst the leave side promised hope and prosperity for leaving.
With very slim margins the vote was counted and the people of Britain decided to stay part of the EEC with faith that they won't be pulled into political union. Not long later the EEC was gained political powers and soon the European Union was formed. The British people were lied to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAfmE6cxcQU

This year the British people have been promised that the European Union will not take any more powers from the UK and that the EU will not form to create a single country, a "United States of Europe" super-nation; robbing European nations of their sovereignty.
People have dismissed that the EU will become a super-nation but plans were already put forward in 1946 and everything has slowly been added over time with a single currency, common boarder, national anthem, national flag, national parliament and national treasury. One of the final things to put into place is a national army and it's slowly been planned and may be put forward on June 14th, this Friday, the day after the UK's referendum.
But it's all good, right? The Prime Minster and everyone has said that we won't be part of that? Fool me once, well done. Fool me twice? I'm out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRPmXbksPgQ

The UK may suffer from leaving the EU but nothing can be rebuilt and the UK will recover quickly otherwise it will flourish; but for the sake of everyone in Europe, do you want a United States of Europe? One that is lead by corrupt leaders who will stop at nothing to secure it and rule it?

I hope the British people do not.
Vote Leave tomorrow on June 23rd for the sake of Sovereignty of all of Europe.

I genuinely am...
I honestly whole heartedly do not understand why anyone would want their home nation to be part of the European Union.
Yes it may be beneficial to the newer weaker nations like those in eastern Europe but for those of us in western and central Europe it is crippling.
Democracy is being robbed from the Britain and other nations; the ability to over throw government in the form of a vote no longer means anything when those we vote for are puppets for an even greater entity which is that of the EU which is forcing lots of once size fits all policies on Europe with no intention of helping it's citizens but only to rule Europe with an iron fist and to from one great big super state in which their leaders cannot be over thrown from.

I really don't understand why people want to stay. I really really don't understand why anyone is campaigning or claiming that they are going to vote to stay.
They simply do not understand how the EU works; how it has been operating for the past 15 years and more. The EU is corrupt and it cannot be clearer.

It is useless trying to draw sense from either side of the campaign here in the UK to decide whether we should remain or leave; but instead you should look at how the EU is run, who it is run by, what they have actually done and what they plan to do. Learn why they are hiding secrets, documents, statistics and other things they don't want you to see and it will be clear to you that you do not want to be run by it. In fact there is a huge document that will be released by the EU detailing many many bad things for Britain that the EU doesn't want us to know about and take into account when voting the the EU referendum; something that will easily turn everyone to the leave side within a moments notice. If we vote to remain in the EU and that gets published to everyone's 'surprise' I won't be laughing at them or telling them "I told you so", instead I will be genuinely considering joining the inevitable "49% group" (or which ever result) on the streets of London which will be demanding a revote.

If we leave, we may have a bad start, maybe not, but we can rebuild and sooner then you think Britain will be stronger outside the EU and then other European nations will rejoin us outside in democracy. If we stay in, the UK be damaged beyond repair and so would every other nation, riots will run a muck on the streets and civil war in all EU nations will break loose fighting for our Sovereignty and Democracy back.

I am scared of staying in the EU because I don't want Europe to die in a battle against false leaders. Bad things are coming if we stay and it amazes me that some people cannot see that. It frightens me so very much that my future could be part of the horrors of the EU that will be written down in history books as the "Great Mistake".

If Britain votes to remain in the EU on June 23rd then within the following year I will be looking to move somewhere else; Canada seems to be the best option in my mind.

So please do not vote in the EU referendum on June 23rd 2016 if you do not understand the EU. Do not vote for or against if you do not understand; do not vote at all. Instead learn which way you should vote by investigating the EU and then go and vote. The future of Europe, not just Britain, lies in that little tick you draw on the ballot paper.





Oh, and if we do stay in the EU and the document they will publish the following day is punishing for Britain (In which I will be too upset to say this) then I told you so.

It is infuriating how many lies have come out of the Remain campaign. Not to say there aren't porkies in the Leave campaign but there are more lies and scaremongering in the Remain campaign then there are Europeans on the continent.

Apparently World War 3 will be caused by us leaving the EU.
There WILL BE a civil war amongst European citizens and their governments if Britain among other nations do not get the opportunity to leave Europe. This is without a doubt. the European Union is corrupt and without it's citizens interests at heart and there are large groups of people in every country who will turn to the offence if further EU laws and integration is put into place against their will. A European Civil War is imminent and there is no way to stop it unless all nations leave the European Union.
In this day and age when we have NATO and the UN there will no longer be any more European-centred World Wars until their disolvement or Russia believes they have the upper hand over everyone else on the planet.

Immigration is not Racist
If if I invited people to my birthday party in which there was a banquet table with only 12 seats, food for 15 people and the room could fit an extra 15 people if standing how many people would I invite to my party?
Well including myself 12 people would be best, everyone gets a seat at the table and there is plenty of food to go around.
With 15 people 3 people will be left standing but then there is still enough food to go around.
With 30 only a few get a seat and you only get half of the amount of food.
With 50 people you cannot move in the room, there is hardly any food to go around and less then a quarter of the people get a seat.
This is what is happening to the UK at the moment. We only have a set number of houses available on this island to accommodate so many people we currently have a housing shortage; yet we are building new houses (like we could bring in some more chairs and tables to my party) but we are still limited to the amount of land (size of my room) and how quick we can resource and build those houses.
We only have so many services available at one time, our National Health Service is already stretched to the limit with people needing help, Police and Fire Departments are also stretching themselves thin and eventually there will be so over worked they would provide little coverage and service making you question why are they even there if they can't do anything? In my analogy I used food as an example of this which can be shown in a few ways; everyone gets a tiny bit of food which barely fills you which makes you wonder why you were even bothered given a small crumb in the first place but everyone got the same small crumb, or the first 15 people get good amounts and the rest get nothing, or the first few get a ok amount, as it goes down the line people get less and less to the point that the last person gets next to nothing. All of these show you that you can't offer services (or food) to too many people otherwise only a few will get it or in the case with Police and Fire Departments, only the people who live close will get a good service but the people who live far away don't get any coverage if even a little.
So going back to the subject of migration in the UK were are stretched to the limit with our housing, services and jobs and if anyone tells you otherwise then they are either clearly thick, don't want to accept they are wrong, don't want people to incorrectly label them racist or have the privilege of living in an area unaffected by majority of immigration.

The cost of living will increase
Do you want to know a fact? The cost of living is increasing every year we are in the EU. Why? Because we are letting more countries join which which means more money is being taken out of your British pocket to put into the hands of other nations. Now I'm all for developing undeveloped nations but I'm one for satisfying the needs of people as a whole before helping another. I believe that, like a doctor, you should give all of the attention you can to a person/patient to make sure all of their needs are covered before moving onto the the next. I do not believe you should spread out the attention among everyone equally otherwise you will only get a 5 seconds with the doctor before and diagnosis or help can be given and the same with the patients to follow.

I would carry on this journal with even more points but I am currently to fuming over accusations that Britain should not leave the EU.

I want for every European Nation to do well, but the EU is crippling everyone but the politicians who run it. Every EU country is completely 100% better off in the long run outside this disgusting anti-democracy which wishes to take culture, growth and prosperity away and turn it into cold hard money and regulation for big industry and the bureaucrats that run it.

VOTE LEAVE ON JUNE 23RD FOR A BETTER BRITAIN AND TO SHOW EUROPE A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL

Brexit isn't a step in the dark; it's a step in a blinding light of opportunity and prosperity for all.

Now I am not bailing on old FA, of-course not.
I don't see why anyone feels the need to do a dramatic "I'M LEAVING AND NEVER COMING BACK BECAUSE FA IS RUBBISH!" message because all it proves is that you are some sort of drama queen who wants the attention; a nice "I've moved elsewhere because of fear of future disruptions". There, that's better.

As far as I can tell the only things that the website cracker(s) (the professional term for you're informal "hacker") had access to is usernames, passwords, emails and details available publicly and privately on your accounts (due to the fact they had information to infiltrate your account).
Because of this; if you follow rule number 1 with passwords then you're other accounts should be fine because YOU WILL NOT USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS, even if the username or email are different.
Second of all, why would you save private or sensitive information you don't want others to see on a website that that does not require it? I'm not going to include anything bad on it; I've got my own diary for that which is both offline and physical.
So from all this; provided you are not either lazy or an idiot you would be been unaffected other then unable to look at porn for a few days - what a shame.

Otherwise here are the list of websites I am on:

Tapastic - My second most used art website, due to my comic.
Steam - I play a lot of games. I would prefer this to be strictly for those who wish to and will play with me, but this isn't entirely private.
Twitter - Don't really understand it, nor do I really use it, but I'm on there.
SoFurry - I have an account; not used it for anything yet.
Furry Network - Only just created the account; not sure where it will go.
Skype - My Skype username is AvianBritish, however I my Skype is somewhat private.

Alternatively you can just go to Google and search "AvianBritish", either the first link will be a post I made, or will lead to me (or it will try to correct your search and look for things to do with "Avian" and "British")

I've been wondering if anyone is interested in watching me play a game of Sid Meier's Civilization V: Brave New World on a Twitch Live-stream to either talk, add your own input into my decisions in the game.

Just an idea; because I would like to maybe try my hand at live-streaming either on my own or with others.

-Avi

Whist browsing YouTube I came across this video: and I think it's probably the most unbiased video describing and defining Furries and our community.
It's defiantly worth a watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDHx6Cisdg

Searching for a job here in the UK is difficult for many reasons I wont explain (no doubt someone in the comments will ask or say otherwise anyway)
But after the 6 months out of Education and only a Sunday job beside my name I've begun to consider options to be self-employed but struggle to find any skills that I can offer.

So alternatively I am now wondering if there are any jobs on the internet I could possibly do, seeing as I can't drive to work and even then it's best to ask around otherwise you don't get.
In asking this I might find the perfect job for me that I never knew existed or was open to me.

So if anyone has any suggestions or are an employer looking for new employees then please do let me know!

Avory

So, as of an hour ago, the victory has been taken and the game has ended, after 5 weeks, 30 hours, 500 turns and a countless amount of connection issues.

I'm not going to say who won or by which means but it was right down to the wire with little to 3 turns in it, now it's all down to me to take everyone's recording and complete the script for the comic. The comic will be published every week starting early November for the foreseeable future on Taptastic and here on FurAffinity on  civilization-furs.
If you want spoilers then the there has already been artwork of each player in the comic published but without any real context to prevent any real spoilers so you can keep guessing what happens!

That's all for now, any updates for the comic will be posted here or on  civilization-furs if you wish to keep up to date.

Best wishes,
Avory