I never been a fan of myspace style photos myself, however a few people said I should share this.

BUCKTEETH, AWAYYYYY!

Since my dad ended up giving me a disk with the rest of the Austria pictures, I thought it’d plonk a few of the better ones on here.

I thought I might as well plonk in the one of me pulling a face. Also that Napoleon swag.

(Also, IDK if you can tell but I REALLY like architecture.)

(My friend Emily told me about this writing challenge, 100+ words a day for a week.)

She has been told simple promises were easy to keep, not wishful half promises but actual things you actually wished to keep. Ever since she was young her mother and father had taught her to respect others, not to lie or hurt others with her words. At the time, the promised had seemed easy, in fact the easiest thing in the world. Back then, they were so young.

“I’ll love you always.” She had said to her and at the time it seemed that way. It was such a simple concept, a strong pull on her heart that told her it would be impossible to break such a promise. Now, though, she looked over the ruins of their once intertwined life, and she couldn’t help but weep. It was all her fault. Even many years later, the breaking of a child-made promise seemed like the most malicious betrayal.

(As ever, no typos were checked for.)

I got bored yesterday and decided to try out some writing. As I haven’t really done anything creative for a long while, it might be a rough. At this point I’m more used to writing essays than anything else, so bear with me:

The air was thick with dust and feathers, it was warm inside, too. The red light coming from the folded fabric giving a sense of being inside a body, and the sweaty smell of the place not helping to underplay the illusion. A skinny, dark haired serving girl sat in the corner, beating herbs into a mortar.

“A three hundred man cavern, heavily armoured.” O’Neil said, his head hang low into his chest in the hope of making himself appear smaller.

“Where?” Came the low grumble of a reply, Capitan Tondoro leaning back into the fluffed purple cushions resting under his frame; his heavy weight giving out a puff of goose feathers.

“About thirty miles from here. Coming along the Old Path.” O’Neil gripped his hat tightly in his palm as he awaited the reply, trying not to show his fear to his commander.

Capitan Tondoro nodded, rubbing his massive chin with his massive hands. He grunted as in a bear, clear sis mind was made.

As Tondoro reached down to his little ivory box a single bead of sweet ran along O’Neil’s burning head, like a droplet of cooling water across a burning kettle. O’Neil was taken aback as the small medallion was thrown his way, a trinket of Tondoro’s thanks. Obviously the information hadn’t been given to the Capitan too late, or wasn’t too unpleasant.

O’Neil nodded his thanks quietly and without turning his back stumbled out of the tent as soon as possible, breathing a sigh of relief as he exited its shaded, crimson insides. O’Neil peered down into his hands, rubbing his thumb along the shiny rim of silver, the heart of the small shape being ivory carved into the face of a snarling devil of some far-off land. Sticking it into his pocket with one hand, he swiped his rounded feather cap back onto his head with the other.

“Hey Cav!” Said a voice from the door of a less protruding tent, O’Neil’s name being called. He turned to see it was Mark Arbe, a follow footman. Nodding, he trample across the muddy ground, leaning against a wooden pole used to tie horses in place. “So, bad news, Cav?” Asked the fellow soldier, slightly anxious but optimistic.

O’Neil nodded. “Hundred men, heavily armoured. About three days away. What can we do? We’ve too many people to move away from them, and too little to out right attack them.”

Arbe shrugged and smiled a little, a happy expression always close to his lips. “What if they aren’t looking for us? Are they coming our way?”

“The Old Road, of course,” O’Neil said, “We’re only a little off the path. They’ll spot us. I don’t see why you think they WON’T be coming for us, after what we did.”

Arbe shrugged. “You’re not dead, so old Tondoro’s got an idea of what to do. I have a feeling we’ll be lead up to hill Da’barken and hide in the castle. You can be sure we’ll either die there, or cut them down and reap the benefits.”

“Well, either way, Mark, you better shine up your chain mail and keep your weapons sharp, we won’t be running from this one.” O’Neil said before walking on.

It rained the rest of the day and all night. O’Neil spent the time sitting in his units tent, making sure his weapons were as honed to a point as possible. He would have preferred to go to the ring for some sparing practice, but instead felt in the heavy rain of Spring he’d spent more time getting dirty than anything else. His short blade, halberd and even dagger was worked to a pin-tip, sharp enough to pierce through plate with enough force. Satisfied with his progress, he took a few swings with his weapons to familiarise himself with their weight. It had been a while since he’d be a real fight. Packing his things into the wooden chest at the end of his bed, he lay in the padded fabric of his sheets, unable to sleep. For hours and hours the rain poured on, giving the shared tent a muffled atmosphere. Eventually his eyes shut and he awoke to the light of early morning, most of his unit was already up by now though a few remained rest. The rain had stopped.

O’Neil rubbed his tired from the eyes and reached into his chest, pulling the first things that came to hand. A set of long, loose hose and a leather vest. Good clothes for fighting, especially since he anticipated the ground to still be a filthy slug. Grabbing his hat and leaving his weapons on the rack he set off through the field of tents, down to the bottom of the field. The blacksmiths, mess hall and fighting ring were all close, allowing soldiers to do the most important things they need to, train and fight. O’Neil saluted a few Officers on the way, and greeted fellow men more informally. He decided to pass on an early meal and instead went straight to the smith to grab a few blunted blades.

He picked up one of the long swords and stepped onto the field, quickly greeted by another solider named Dillon, young and eager to fight. O’Neil held the blade so the blade pointed to the sky, keeping the wooden pommel in his left palm while his right hand stayed close to the guard. Dillon thrust forward but O’Neil pushed his own blade down, using the flat of his blade to keep Dillon’s sword locked in place. Seeing an opening, O’Neil pushing his blade forward, pressed the rounded edge into Dillon’s shoulder.

“Wounded. Limb lost at the least.” O’Neil said coldly, the soldiers instinct kicking him.

Dillon retreated a few steps with a huff, taking a neutral stance, ready for the next round. The fight continued further, O’Neil easily wining the majority of the rounds between theme until the younger solider had enough, walking off to the mess hall in an annoyed march.

BAKING 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

Oh look children, it’s that time again. That wonderful time when Nicholas cracks his knuckles, opens a book (or Internet page) about cooking and starts to make something hopefully, but not necessarily ,delicious.

IN THIS EPISODE, we’re going to be focusing on Muffins.

Muffins, you may ask, aren’t they a bit easy and simple? A little boring? Well…Yes, they are really easy to make, but not boring if you know what you’re doing. Still, they were SO EASY compared to the Sweet Rolls, it blew my mind.

See, it’d been encouraged to bake again, as it’d got a few complements over my previous cinnamon-y treats. This time, it was more my mothers idea than mine, but that’s not REALLY important, is it?

For a start, it was fast, easy, and fun. I feel like a mother in a nice pink apron, with my hair all done up in a bun.

Oh, I think I should mention before I say anything else, it was blueberry AND blackberry muffins. And no, I didn’t plunk a few smart phones into the mix; I meant actual blackberries. Those delicious little sour, purpley fruit. One of my favourite berries, and a perfect mix with the more tart blueberries. Also, don’t forget your lemon zest, it really adds a kick you need to help the taste of the fruit stand out.

If any of you guys are planning to make blueberry muffins, it’d definitely suggest going out and getting a palate of blackberries. In fact, I would say the more the merrier. You could added other, like raspberries, to mix up the taste.

I have to say, I have been enjoying the final product, in fact more than my first cakes. Then again, blueberry is my favourite muffin. It’s a classic for a reason you know.

I would rate these a 7/10. We’ll see what happens next, huh? Maybe I’l make something less sweet next time.

I edited my blog posts if anyone cares, to pack them a bit more full of flavour.

I think they make for a much better read now. Like a meaty, literature sausage.

Also I feel like tagging is way too fun for its own good. I have no idea why. :D

HAR HAR HAR.

I did it! I created a tagged page. I feel like some kinda coding genius.

I am Neo, no lie. Time to hack reality yo, brb.

IN THIS EPISODE: NICHOLAS SHOWS US NOT HOW TO MAKE SWEET ROLLS

Tumblr Cooking or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Baking

Now, what was a lad to do? I wanted to bake, and I wanted to bake something NOW…Well then, but that doesn’t really mater. What kind of things crazy things drive the hungry mind, huh?

So I’ve been wanting to cook lately, (or in this case, bake) a skill I think would come help later in life. I flicked through tumblr, and was inspired by a nice little tumblr blog called Gourmet Gaming, in fact inspired so much, I decided to take a trip into the wonder world of baking.

I looked through the pages of delicious meals and thought…”Hmm, what had I played?” Of course, with the recent trend of gaming I thought I might as well TRY make something that’d still be lodged in the public (and my) mind.

So I picked Skyrim, what else? More Specifically: Sweet Rolls

And no, I won’t make any jokes about a bully beating you up in an alley for your delicious treat, instead I’ll show you the process in which I made these cakes, through the use of PICTURES.

I must say, after it all, things went rather…Messy. And in fact the end result looks a bit like something you’d find in the middle of the porno. I’m very tempted to not show the final cake to you. So if you want to look, it’s your appetite you could possible be losing.*

I went through the proces, sadly ending up making the cakes rather too cinnamon-y; however, I must say, they are RATHER filling. And not just in a bad way. The process was enjoyable, and like any kid (big or small) I loved licking the icing. The only problem is like all cooking, me and mum argued over everything. We’re not exactly the best team son and mother team, you won’t see us wining any awards.

The sauce you poured into the little hole went a little funny, too and we had to try to make it a second time. I found the icing easier to make, but in the end I ended up adding too much cream-cheese and it turned out rather tart.

A good start to the world of baking, maybe next time I’ll pick something a bit more…Easier. At least give me 5/10 for effort?

*Dyp100 can not be held legally accountable for lose of appetite or sickness

Nicholas in Cake Town

This is me standing infront of the Austrian Alps. Sorry if I look unimpresed, I’ve been told that’s my natural expression. Instead, let my hands do the talking.

Either way, having only recently returned. I have to say Austria was an amazing trip, and an amazing experience. As someone who lives in the middle of London with no real way to escape the city, I have to admit it’d never seen a mountain before then.

Sure, I’ve gone travelling. I’ve been to Ireland, France, Spain twice, Germany and now of course Austria, however it’d never seen an ACTUAL, REAL mountain until then.

It was an unreal experience, truely. Driving around them, you don’t even realise the scope of the things under your feet until you get off the stone, look up and see it’s staring you right in the face.

The trip itself was kinda insane. We started in Vienna, looking through the sights of the city, drinking delicious hot chocolate and eating lovely Viennese cakes. (What other reason do you need to go?) From there, we went to Salzburg (the place the Sound of Music was filmed) and this is where the photo was taken.

On a related note, I had a real nice apple strudel the town over…Saying that now, I REALLY want another. With ice cream and custard…ANYWAY, lets not go into that now. I mean who even wants pie when you could make apple strudel instead? Pfff.

I just thought it would be an interesting way to start, hopefully a string of comments about my trips and life.

I mean, I got a picture blog, a picture phone too. Why not use them?