Mikka's Modding Project!

[freespace2dotcom]

I thought I'd love the new simcity after seeing the videos but I will never play a game that requires me to be online all the time. That's another company trying to get everyone into the Cloud. I want no part of that. Spore was only barely tolerable. I own a copy that I bought yet I have to use a "Crack" on it because of the blasted DRM. I refuse to abide by "activation rules" and all that %@#!~

 

Ah, in 20 years I see myself hoarding old hard drives and hosting a local copy of my favorite websites on some darknet somewhere. By then I suspect that the internet as we know it today will be no more.

[MadHatt]

Or get shares in GOG. Go with that, freespace. Less space intrusive.

 

In another note, you guys hear that Larian put its games on GOG? Awesome.

 

As for what happened to Maxis, Leoshi, the same thing that happens to everything EA touches. I'm talking about it like it's a Prototype virus, but do you guys know any franchise or title that EA hasn't milked to its death? I stopped for a few minutes to consider it and didn't come up with anything.

 

Mikka, read this interview if you got the time. MCA talks about the KotOR ending, which is interesting to see. He also talks about his newer games and older ones. I would personally love another Alpha Protocol...I adored the last one. Played through it four or five times. Not even for the role-playing, just for the awesome characters and plot. It does feel like you're the big bad spy.

 

We should get a list of available liquor to give our kids. And hey, if Antonio doesn't drink beer, he can always go with ale.

And Cuàn is not-Irish, so I expect the drink he would like best is lots.

 

One way for Cat to appreciate what she has is ...if she doesn't have it anymore: kidnapped, ran off, lost or trapped. She'd probably look for him right? Would she try to save him?

 

What I'd like to see...it really depends on Y2 and what adventures we can have at home and what would be appropriate. They should gravitate towards like-minded characters if the PC doesn't draw them into a clique. How would they respond towards the college rivalry since this is going to be a focus? Would they argue amongst themselves for the colleges?

[Leoshi]

Ah MadHatt. I would hug you if not for the fact that hugging a Fire Wolf pup is a bad idea.

 

And Legate?

 

Fine. SOME of the music wouldn't be out of place in Scheherazade! Also, all of you who wrote the stories in Scheherazade are totally mad! In a good way!

[Legate of Mineta]

Hahaha, that we are, that we are.

[Mikka]

I will reply to all of this on Sunday. I'm deep in the 'oh my god project why are you being so difficult towards me' stage right now and probably should not be pausing to look at forums even though forums are fun and answering questions and discussing things is more interesting then fighting with my characters.

 

Stupid characters.

 

Um, but yeah. Sunday! I'll be here.

 

Sims 1 music in Scheherazade... I don't know, I can kind of see it. Too bad I don't have Sims 1 loaded on my computer- I'd try playing Scheherazade with it running in the background to see if it fits. Heheh.

[Mikka]

Project is done! Barely in time- I think I had three more hours?- but it's done. That's me, procrastinating till the deadline like it was what I was born to do. Yee-hah, or something like that.

 

There are still ants in my kitchen. They sprayed, and that was like, Monday, and there are still ants in my kitchen. Mom has a theory that the ant trap they gave us is so good that it's attracting every colony within a two mile radias, as hundreds of ants have piled up and yet they are STILL COMING. I am so sick of not being able to cook. I want to cook! I like cooking! I want real food!

 

Also, I went out to eat today. My entree was seven dollars. My desert was ten dollars. What was up with that? Oh, well. It was six macaroons. Delicious macaroons. Didn't have the amount it was on the menu, though, or I probably wouldn't have paid that much for them.

 

Friendship, huh?

 

Els!

 

Miya: "Ugh, she's so bossy. She thinks she knows better then me! I've been all around the world, been adventuring since I was a baby, have experienced all sorts of things... what does she know? As far as I can tell, absolutely nothing. At least Cinzia is bossy with skill. Els is just bossy with nothing going for her. She's pretty easy to make fun of, though, so I don't let her bother me too much!"

 

Aaran: "...Do you not you think she seems a bit sad? Or is that just me? I would ask her, but... she is scary. All those defenses and anger. I cannot really approach her. She just yells at me all the time."

 

Louise: "Her? One of those words I'm not supposed to say here at school. Or she'll just tattle on me again. But she is one, don't doubt that."

 

Antonio: "She looks for weaknesses. Don't give her any, and she usually just goes off with a catty remark or two. She's like all bullies, really- show you're better then them, and they just shy away because they'd rather deal with the insecure and weak."

 

Cat: "She's MEAN! Mean, mean, mean! I can appreciate someone trying to bring manners to this school, but she goes too far and does it all the wrong ways! She's never heard of leading by example. I tried to show her the merits of it, but all she did is insult me! She's just really rude. Something must be wrong with her."

 

Cuàn: "Tolerable, once you're out of ear range. Within it, very annoying."

 

Grainne!

 

Miya: "Oh, she's great! I like her. She's a storyteller, too. Sometimes her stories are true, sometimes they're false, but I don't really see much point in quibbling about which is what. I like to spread her stories when I can. Sometimes they make people angry, but I think they should be happy she's featuring them. Sometimes she tells stories about me, too, which is always fun. She told everyone I really am a princess- which is true, of course. Everyone said she was lying, but I knew she was telling the truth."

 

Aaran: "Whenever I collapsed at the beginning of the year, she would tell everyone I 'like, totally died' and everyone would come to visit me in the Infirmary. She does not do that anymore, so no one visits me these days. It's lonely. I think she might be the person who spread the rumor that if you look in Tepte's eyes on a cloudless night you will not live to see your next birthday. If so, I am grateful to her, as that has allowed me to get away from bullies numerous times... and it is sort of funny, too. Mostly, though, she ignores me like everyone else. I ignore her in return. It's a neutral relationship."

 

Louise: "Yet another person clogging up this academy with stupidity and childishness rather then actually doing something useful with her life. She's a pathetic person who has nothing going for her. What are her skills? Her good points? Only being able to parrot gossip will get her nowhere in life. I hate girls like her."

 

Antonio: "Well, she's in Aranaz, so she's better then six/sevenths of this school automatically... I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Maybe. Grainne, huh. I think I'm one of the few guys in school who is actually fond of her. She's a useful source for what's going on. I don't like it when she makes me a target for her rumors, but I suppose that's the price you have to pay for knowing what's going on with everyone else."

 

Cat: "It's sort of... a complicated relationship. I'm... I'm not in to rumors and gossip and stuff, really! But, well, sometimes she knows the most interesting things. So I listen to her. But sometimes those interesting things turn out to be lies. So I embarrass myself by believing them. So then I don't listen to her. But then I miss something important going on, and then I start listening to her again..."

 

Cuàn: "On. My. List."

 

Jere!

 

Miya: "He's always fun to watch. He makes a fool out of himself often, but he's very good at doing that! It's almost to be admired."

 

Aaran: "Are his jokes that bad? I do not talk to him, so I am unaware of what sort of jokes they are... oh, but I think his rabbit has magical powers. Have you ever heard it talk? You should really hear it talk. There is something brilliantly wrong about it."

 

Louise: "...Another stupid boy. I don't pay this one any more attention then the rest of them."

 

Antonio: "Aw, he occasionally gets out some good ones. He's not bad, for Durand. He's easy to talk to and always friendly. You have to appreciate that, in this school with so many people closed up or all defensive."

 

Cat: "I don't mind his jokes! I wish he would be more serious on occasion, but he always manages to lighten the mood. He's nice. It's easy to be friends with someone like him. I wish more people would take his example, actually."

 

Cuàn: "Once again, annoying when in ear shot, tolerable when out of it."

 

 

That's actually sort of fun and easy character building. Huh.

 

I know all the bad things about EA. I believe EA is a bad company most of the times and should be ashamed of itself. But... Sim City. You get to build your own city! And there are sims in it! And it has to be awesome. I mean, I've heard good reviews. I've heard bugginess, too, but I've heard good reviews. I'll just... wait for someone to come out with their version of the Awesome Mod for it. No matter what DRM there is, there will always be people modding games these days.

 

What are Larian games? Don't think I'm familiar with them.

 

I read that interview. Some good questions were asked, though I knew much of the information already. Honestly, I'm not a huge Obsidian fan (I generally find their work pretty average), but I'm a huge fan of Chris Avellone. I've mentioned it before, but Planescape: Torment is my favorite game of all time. I don't care how old that game is, I will replay it till the ends of the earth... well, at least the end of my life. Best game ever. Oddly, I didn't care much for Alpha Protocal. I thought the combat system sucked, and that pulled me away from the story, and I kept running in to bugs (that's one reason I have a problem with Obsidian... I keep running in to bugginess in their game's to the point that they're almost as bad as Bethesda to me). Also... I had difficulty with the fact that I was forced to play a guy. A game has to be really good- like, Torment good- for me to be okay with being forced to play a male. Which is odd, because if I have the choice in games, I'll generally play a male happily to see what changes in his story or just for a change of pace. But if I'm forced with no option to play a female character, I end up resenting the game.

 

I blame Mario. Somehow.

 

Well, I asked the Legate about tequila. Someday, we'll have to ask him all the alcohol questions. I really do wonder what the drinking age of Mineta is. In my head, I've sort of been thinking "They probably don't have one, but most bars are not going to serve a kid without a parent anyway- especially if that kid is wearing an Academagia uniform, because drunk kids are bad ideas and drunk kid mages are even worse ones", but that's just my imaginary headcanon. I don't know how close it is to true. I should ask about that.

 

Hm... I think Cat would try to save her ferret, but she'd be more like, "Woo, look at my opportunity to be a hero!" then "Oh no, my familiar has been captured!". It isn't a really good bond, at least on her part. Maybe her year two or three adventure should be about connecting with her familiar. Am I allowed to plan that far ahead?

 

Yeah, I've already decided who everyone is friends with, in a way (well, Cuàn is still giving me trouble... he's not sure who he wants to be friends with ("Why is everyone in Mordivus so weird?", he wants to know)). I'll try to keep mentioning those bonds in year two and trying to work them in to the writing. Thanks.

 

As for collage rivalries... Antonio and Cat are so in, and would gladly argue forever about the merits of Aranaz vs Durand if you let them (Antonio would probably win, because a) I'm biased and He's generally better at making thought out arguments then she is). Antonio treats it more as a friendly- if serious- rivalry then Cat does. Cat generally believes that all students in Aranaz are sneakweasels and out to make the lives of poor innocent Durand students miserable, and doesn't like when that worldview is challenged too much.

 

Miya is totally up for "Rah, Godina! Down, Avila!" if you nudge her, but she's usually too absorbed with other things to care too much. Still, she does care about collage rivalry and honestly believes Godina is the best collage in the world. Aaran has more issues with his collage, and I can't imagine him arguing too much if Miya started going over the points of Godina bestness around him (actually, he'd probably just walk away bemused). He'll compete for the collage, sure, but asking him to try and prove Avila is the bestest is asking a bit too much of him, he personally feels. But maybe that will change in year two. If it'll help him fit in better, he's certainly willing to pretend to care.

 

Cuàn is sort of indifferent to collage rivalries, but would go along with it as he tends to prefer to go with the flow rather then making a dam when possible. I can't imagine him arguing about the merits of his collage to anyone, though. He tends to find his own collage a bit weird- he often feels like the only sane person there. Louise... well, play a Vernin student and see her event for her opinion on collage rivalry. Or just go with "she doesn't give a damn". That works too.

 

Louise, why do you hate everything and everyone. ;_; YOU WILL NOT BE POPULAR WITH THE AUDIENCE.

[MadHatt]

..Where did you eat? And how good was it? In the Istanbul airport, a beer is ten dollars. Not a particularly large beer. That's as bad as six macaroons.

 

Larian is only one of the best RPG making companies. It's debatable whether you consider Divine Divinity amazing or not. It is.

They have two games coming up: Original Sin with very interesting combat and Dragon Commander which has dragons with jetpacks. The dialogues are always incredibly fun. In their last game, Dragon Knight Saga, you could turn into a dragon and fly around and fight stuff. It's one of my favourite games.

 

There hasn't been an Obsi game I haven't enjoyed even as I screamed around in frustration. I didn't try the combat system much. I was a sneak. I managed not to kill a single person outside of the bosses. It was a fun run.

How on earth did you finish Witcher then? And don't say you didn't. Both the games were great.

 

...Poor Mario.

 

I think I asked the drinkie question once. The headcannon is right. I pulled up the quote.

 

My vote is 100% for a Quaffing Skill, but I don't think you'll see that appear until Year 4 or 5. There is no legal drinking age at this period in history, although drunken students learning magic is such a dangerous idea that the Academagia provides magically cleansed water as your only drink.

 

No answer for bars and taverns but I imagine the uniform ruins that opportunity.

 

I like Cuàn. I'll definitely get him in a clique at some point. Have you noticed that the boys are calmer and a bit less strange than the girls? Although I imagine anyone would look pretty normal in that bunch.

[Mikka]

It was a tiny little Vietnamese joint. Very crowded, but doing good business. I had egg noodles with homemade pork baloney and a bunch of salad-y stuff (cucumbers, bean sprouts, scallions) for my entree, which wasn't bad. The macaroons were better, but... still. Ten dollars for six little cookies.

 

Ten dollars for a single beer is pretty bad, too. Unless it was a really good beer, I guess... but even at craft microbreweries I've been too, their beers are usually around six at most. Geez. But airport food is usually ridiculously priced. Though there's a small one not too far from where I live that has a crab resturaunt where you can get a craft of wine for around seven dollars. That's pretty nice.

 

Am now trying to fight the ants with bay leaves, as cinnamon and vinegar has not worked (well, the vinegar kills them if you spray them with it, but more keep coming). I feel like I'm going through every ant remedy that exists, and nothing is working. I swear they're coming in from the cracks in the walls.

 

Oh, Divine Divinity! I played that, a long time ago- almost so long ago that I don't really remember much about the game, but I remember enjoying it. I haven't played the squeals, though. You say they're good? I might have to try them... but I'd want to find my copy of Divine Divinity and play it again first, to refresh myself with the world.

 

I just found part of the point of Alpha Protocol to be smooth, awesome, spy combat... and... it wasn't. It was very iffy. Some fights were totally bogus, too. But people on the interview page already were arguing about that in the comments, so I'm not going to get in to it. I'll just say I wasn't too impressed with the game.

 

No, seriously, I actually haven't played the Witcher or it's squeal. I know they're said to be good, but I don't know if they're Torment-level good and honestly, I really don't care much for the protagonist. Also, I found the sex cards thing really sort of juvenile. It's clear that the publisher isn't trying to market their game for people like me, so I see no reason to give them my money when there are so many games that are marketed to female gamers as well. I'll probably play them once they go on deep discount, which every game does eventually.

 

Aha, hurray for headcanon being right for once (more likely, I read that answer forever ago and just internalized it, but whatever). I swear there's a part in the game where it remarks the cafeteria serves milk or juice, though... I just can't remember which event/adventure it's in.

 

I keep thinking that Aaran, from his long experience in Mineta's slums, knows a few places that will serve alcohol to kids, but he always ends up getting mugged or beaten up when he tries to get back there so he doesn't really bother. It's something that probably could make him more popular if word got out about it, though.

 

I'm not really sure if my boys are so much more normal then my girls so much as it is Cuàn as an individual is much saner then all of them put together and thus throws off the balance hugely. I mean, out of the six of them, I'd argue that Aaran is probably the strangest of all, and Miya purposely goes out of her way to seem strange. But I do get what you mean. I think the guys are crazy in quiet ways, while the girls are crazy in louder ways. Actually, the girls are just louder period. I didn't really try to do that, but that's just how things ended up.

 

I'm going to try and do some heavy work on Cat and Cuàn this week. I still have project to do, but it looks like I have a very light workload of actual work stuff, so I should be able to do some fiddling with them. I think I want to change Cuàn's classes again. I keep going back and forth with what classes he would take.

 

So, here's a question I should probably be asking in the other thread, but I'm posting here instead. Does Morv need any help in the Merit Competition?

 

I deliberately designed Louise to have no interest in collage merit what-so-ever, as Vernin is always the winner in my games (...unless I'm playing Morv or Aranaz) and I didn't feel it needed any help. However, Morv is always a very close second, and I know in some people's games, they're always the ones who come first.

 

Cuàn's interest in collage merit competitions has yet to be decided by me. He could care about them, or he could not give a damn. Either would fit his personality fine.

 

So...

 

A) Should he have Better the Collage as a goal and have the usual student chance of trying to gain merit?

Should he not have Better the Collage as goal, but still have a small (5 or 10 percent, perhaps) chance of trying to compete for merit on one of his tables?

C) Should he not compete for merit at all, as Morvidus already is OP in that department?

 

This is really a balance question, honestly. But I'm stuck on the answer to it, and would appreciate opinions.

[Legate of Mineta]

"I haven't played the squeals, though."

[Mikka]

Hee! I always have trouble with that word. Whoops.

[MadHatt]

I love Vietnamese food. But ten dollars still sounds like a lot for dessert. Were they ..large cookies? Special recipe? Extra-cookie like?

 

It wasn't that good a beer. Seeing as Turkey is muslim, there isn't much variety and it's somewhat hard to find/buy. If you go there, you want coffee - absolutely amazing no matter what Aunt Evelyn says - or raki to drink (all the food is great). This was just...you know...beer. And a piece of cake elsewhere - same airport - was six dollars and something. I have no idea why it cost so much now that I think of it...

 

I want to visit that airport now...

 

Ants with...

My mother used to use hairspray on bugs. Or alcohol. I don't know what works on ants...At this point, I'd start waving white flags and work out a truce. Or have the exterminator do it.

 

Beyond Divinity - the first sequel - was interesting, story wise. Loads of lore and some cool facts Combat was ...not so great. Dragon Knight Saga was nice due to dragon turning. And it's on the Oblivion engine, but it's very very hard to tell. I liked it.

 

I ignored the Witcher portrait mechanic. Outside of that, it was a very nice game. Most people complained about combat, I was too busy staring at the gorgeous animations. Witcher 2 was more about politics with some realistic consequences. I'd recommend them. I think the combat actually sucks in this one but there are some nice additions. And the art style...stunning.

 

Hmm...well does Cuan like his college? He doesn't seem like the type to care, I think. I'd go with B simply because even those who don't care would want some benefits, but he shouldn't go out of his way. So if he's free or has nothing better to do, he could have the option.

[Mikka]

No, they weren't paticularly large cookies. They were actually pretty small cookies. They were, however, very good cookies. They didn't just use standard butter cream for the filling... they used flavored cream. So like, the Vietnemese coffee cookie actually had real caffeine in it, apparently. And they were good flavors... I had a pandan one, which was interesting. But it's still too much. I'm stingy with money, I must admit, but... ten dollars for six small cookies? It's sort of ridiculous. Even if they were quite good. Well, I guess I can call it my treat for the week.

 

I'd love to go to Turkey. The closest I've got is going to the Morocco pavelion in Disney World's Epcot. ;_; Which is pretty far away. They serve Moroccan coffee there, though, and it's pretty good. Honestly, though, I'm more of a tea drinker then a coffee drinker. Oh, but I like Thai coffee a lot- the kind with the condensed milk? That's yummy.

 

The exterminator failed at getting the ants to leave. I can no longer trust outsiders. ;_; I just... I have tried every folk remedy and every ant trap I could find. Hundred have died. They leave giant dead piles on my counters. Yet more come. I just can't get rid of them, and it's starting to really get on my nerves. I can't cook, so I haven't had good healthy food in like three weeks now, just crap instant stuff. It's like collage living all over again. I like ramen, but I'm at the point where I never want to see it again. But I shall never fold to a truce, not while they are living in my kitchen arghhhhhhhh.

 

I'll see about buying Beyond Divinity and the Dragon Knight Saga when I have some spare money. They do sound fun. I'm going to keep avoiding the Witcher until it goes really cheap, though.

 

Cuàn's exact words on his college would probably be something like, "It may not be the best college in the school, but it's the most suitable college for me." He wanted to study Zoology and Revision, thus Morv works out well for him. But actually going forth and trying to prove that the college is the best... I don't know. B does seem like the best option, but I'll wait to see if anyone else has an opinion before going with it.

 

Spent the early day playing Pokemon. Will try to spend the evening working on New Students. Anything anyone particularly wants to see in the other thread? Writing samples, right?

[Mikka]

...I just ran in to a sudden wall of having no idea whatsoever what Cuàn would name his clique. Absolutely no freakin' idea. And I thought Aaran was hard...

[MadHatt]

Something...suitably stoic and short, I'd guess. I always run into a wall on what to name cliques. One of the reasons I rarely make one.

 

Turkey is great to visit. Great people, interesting sites, nice food. They also have a thing for cats. You can find them everywhere. No dogs though.

 

Well, you can always buy spiders and unleash the dogs of war!! That might end up with you having a spider problem though. Is that worse or better for you?

 

What classes do they want to take? And what is their favorite? What else would they like to take besides those?

 

I always have trouble picking classes. I spent hours pouring on the mod tools about what adventures I'd like to take, then try to settle things in character, then back to the mod tools again. I really can't wait to have more than six classes.

[Mikka]

I think I'm going with 'The Pack'. It's nice! It's simple! It relates to wolves! What more can you ask for? ...I usually end up naming mine over dramatic stuff. Or related to the collage I'm in, as I do one collage cliques a lot... until someone comes from another collage and crashes it, anyway. That always seems to happen. I don't know. All my Avila cliques end up being Avila's Angels, for some reason. Does the world of Academagia even have angels? Probably not, as it doesn't seem to have devils, but whatever. My character apparently has a lot of imagination.

 

I'd love to go to Turkey, seriously. First stops on my traveling world tour that I will do once I'm a famous author (...yeah, I wish) will be Japan and Ireland, though. Those are the destinations I've always wanted to go. And as I usually travel with my mother for companionship, then probably Australia, as that's where she's wanted to go her whole life. ...There's a photoblog somewhere on the internet that focuses on the cats of Turkey. I used to read it and aww over the pictures of the pretty cats with the beautiful scenery.

 

I can deal with spiders slightly better then I deal with ants, but I'm not sure I'd want spiders in my kitchen, either. Isn't there an option to have no insects in my kitchen (or my bathroom, or my bedroom) ever? ;_; ...We think the ant supply is slowly dwindling, though. The colonies are running out of ants to send, maybe. There's a lesser number crawling around then before.

 

Cat takes Athletics, Botany, Enchant, Incantation, Negation and Rhetoric. All of them were taken by choice, so she's happy with her selection. She wouldn't have minded taking Revision, for it's healing ability, or Dialect for it's ability to help her build the arguments she uses in Rhetoric, but even she would be forced to admit that at the moment, six classes are her limit. See, even though she lectures people for talking in class, she spends a lot of her class periods listening (not talking! so it doesn't count as hypocrisy, you see?) to the latest gossip and passing notes. She does okay in her classes, if not spectacularly. Athletics is probably her favorite, but Enchant is up there- somewhat oddly, Enchant is her worst class. She finds it very interesting, though.

 

Cuàn takes Astrology, Dialectic, Grammar, Music, Revision and Zoology. Grammar and Dialectic were assigned to him by whoever first interviewed him who was somewhat disturbed by his terseness and tendency to leave pronouns out of sentences. He tolerates them, anyway. The only class he has issues with is Music, actually- he took it because he likes playing the fiddle (it's a fiddle! not a violin! Katja plays the violin!), not because he cares about Notation or anything, and certainly not because he wanted to learn how to play the lute. He does well in his classes, though, even though three of them are primed from bad attributes, because he studies a lot and he's programmed to try and get extra credit. He'd like to have taken Negation, too, but he didn't have much choice. Zoology is predictably his favorite course, followed by Revision.

 

I used to have difficulty choosing classes, until I started roleplaying more. Now I create an ideal character and choose what *they* would choose rather then what I personally would like. Except for sometimes when I'm doing a powergamey deal. Then I go Mordivus and choose classes that have adventures associated with them. I wish there was an adventure for each class... then I could be even more powergamey and just go for the classes that have an attribute boost at the end of the study tree.

 

I want more then six classes, too, but I wonder how it's going to be done. Do we only get the Advanced Course option if we were taking the course associated with it first? Like, will we only be able to learn Orthangraphy (spelled totally wrong) if we took Calligraphy in first year? Or Potions if we took Enchant in first year? Or if we have a high enough Calligraphy/Brew, can we take those classes anyway? ...Legattteeee, I wannna know~!

[Legate of Mineta]

Well, Advanced Classes are based on Prerequisite, but some are based on Year. Potions, I believe, is one of those.

 

You will have the opportunity to take more than 6 Classes, but you'll need excellent grades and recommendations from Professors. That said, it really fills up your time, so if you plan on taking more than 6 bear that in mind.

[MadHatt]

Meaning that more than 6 classes would take over the normal two slots? Every day? Because grades, prerequisites and Professors can be in the bag, but the time...especially for someone with high glory and five clubs not to mention a full clique...

 

Oi...our students will need therapy.

 

I don't know about angels, but it has demons?...Who knows? I have a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen currently. I plan on adding rules like "only monocles allowed".

 

Been to Dublin. Those were the craziest four days of my life...the day after I'd gotten there, there were news of a gangster or something going around with an AK, then the church near the place my hotel was got robbed of the heart of a saint, then...I don't remember exactly what happened, but it again had something to do with the Mafia. I know that this sort of thing happens rarely but I somehow stumbled into 3 events all at once even though I haven't seen a thing. My family was both terrified and mocking me. To this date, I think that those events were my fault. Can't explain it otherwise. When I went to London, there were riots, so it's not really a singular event. I won't even mention the local trips...

 

Never been to Japan, but I do want to go. I blame the really interesting culture. Australia...I had a mate there, and the locations are amazing. The deadly insects are not..

Turkey is very cool to visit. I've been going for a while and it's only gotten better. I can't even explain how nice the people are. Yes, you can get lost in the Grand Bazaar and seeing the sea and going on a cruise there..it's just wonderful. There's interesting jewelry, knick knacks, decorations...there's just everything. I strongly encourage a visit.

 

So the ants are retreating? Good. Although honestly, at this point, if I were you, I'd just burn the kitchen. Worthy sacrifice. Teach them the meaning of fear.

 

My difficulty in choosing classes is more because of the fact that adventures are a BIG part of the playthrough. And I think of what adventures would suit the character instead of what classes, especially since a first year wouldn't really know what he'd like to study or how it the class goes. I studied Robotics and I thought it was awesome until somewhere around the third lesson. Then it all went boring. There went my dreams of building a transformer. So it's pretty common to think you were going to study something and ended up doing something else.

[Mikka]

Three slots for more classes... that extra slot would be really hard to give up, though. You'd have to only adventure on weekends and only study on weekends, and that's hard. I'd miss adventuring. But I really want to take extra classes... I wish I knew what more of them are. And yeah, there's of course clubs, too.

 

I wonder what extra classes and clubs my kids will take. Agh, I want year two!

 

So, progress on Cuàn and Cat is going good. I hope to finish their abilities today, and then I'm done with the main programming. All that's left is writing. That probably won't be done this coming week- project comes first- but with some luck, it should probably be done the week after that. I was hoping to get it done sooner in the month, but I suppose as long as it's April, it's okay. Right? Hopefully right.

 

Ugh, I need to figure out what sort of duel they'd demand. Well, Cat would demand a Gentleman's Duel, of course, but I have no idea what Cuàn would.

 

The Academagia universe seems to have daemons (AD&D yugoloths?), but it doesn't have any concept or hell or the devil or anything, from what I'm grasped. So I don't think it has demons or devils exactly... the only place it pops up is an air daemon in the modtools, and the figure you run in to the greed adventure who seems to be a stand in for the devil... but that adventure doesn't seem to be taking itself seriously. So I don't know. When I asked, the Legate said Dragons stood in for the Devil in the common people's eyes. Which I suppose means Antonio and Louise, who both have a tendency to cuss at a moments notice, probably talk about dragon's a lot.

 

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen... if I ever did an all-male clique, I might do something like that. I tend to get guys and gals in my cliques, though. I've never tried doing an all of one gender one... hm. That might be something for next time. I could do a Mean Girls clique and have Joana, Louise, Prudence, Flore, and Els (and there's probably a few I'm missing) and we could take the school. Completely take it.

 

I'm envious of your travels! I'd love to go to Dublin and London and Turkey.... I tend to be cursed when traveling, myself... whenever we travel, a school shooting seems to happen somewhere in the US (occasionally, it's another tragedy- tsunami's are common, too- but it's usually a school shooting). ;_; It's gotten to the point where we've seriously discussed not traveling anymore, but we love traveling too much to stop. It's... kind of creepy, though. And sad.

 

So like, if something bad happens this May, I'm probably to blame.

 

I think if I burned the kitchen, I'd have the apartment people all over me. It's somewhat of a tempting thought, though. Ants won't behave? BURN THEM WITH FIRE. IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE SURE. As soon as they're all gone, I'm cleaning every surface in the kitchen with vinegar. Then I'll clean it again with water and soap. Then I'll probably clean it with vinegar again, just to be sure. Makes the kitchen smell awful, but the ants don't like it.

 

I usually end up taking Music in game, because you get three adventures from it. Three! No other class comes close. Of course, one of those adventures you need to do early in game (before Music gets too high) and the other adventure requires a high Violin skill, which you won't pick up usually in Music class, but I love violins (author appeal is sort of the reason why Cuàn plays one rather then say, the lyre) so I often improve my skill with that anyway. On the other hand, Calligraphy class only has that single step Pop Quiz adventure, and while choosing the Passion exit to that is always hilarious, it's... I don't know. Not adventury enough. And things like Arithmetic and I think Grammar have no adventures at all...

 

If I ever get done with these new students and then the play's the thing adventure, maybe I'll try writing an adventure for like, Geometry. Of course, considering math is my worst skill, that might be a bit difficult.

[MadHatt]

Yes, it's already hard going to class for two whole slots, I can't imagine going for three. And all the club adventures and ..urgh, I want Year Two as well.

 

Writing is usually the fun part so enjoy it. You have enough time. Cuàn would demand something practical. Maybe in his favour.

 

I suppose that, with Gates, you could summon all sorts of things, angels included. If not angels, then benevolent beings that help others. If we were to take the D&D thing, daevas might be the closest thing. Then again, clique names hardly have an impact. Waiting for Year Two myself. I can't wait to see what the cliques do influence.

 

I like to travel. I do it either with work or personal interest but I like to go someplace different at least once a year. This year I've been meaning to go to Croatia (Dubrovnik is gorgeous) or Vienna (there's a lot to visit), but I haven't decided yet. Honestly, I'd love to visit the States. I've been meaning to see New Orleans during Mardi Gras (I've been to Venice during the Carnival but I doubt it's all that similar) and I want to see New York but it's quite far away and there's a lot to see in the meanwhile. I think all travels are cursed in some form, though yours do sound bad. It's just...seeing everything and experiencing nothing but what the city has to offer that is addicting. Not having to worry about anything but what you can visit, just relax and walk around, noticing the history and art ... it's a beautiful thing.

 

Urgh...vinegar. Well at least the ants should be gone. Again, good luck with it. Fire would be a sure bet, but if the apartment people protest...

Though, mind, it is a worthy cause...

 

I take Zoology a lot. Many interesting adventures. Revision also has many adventures. I wish Incantation had as many. It's my favourite class. Math definitely doesn't have enough. Poor math, always neglected.

 

So, I spent most of today picking wines...I got a Blue Nun... disappointed that the wine was white not really blue. Nice bottle, good wine, though not really worth it. I also got some dry reds and a pinkish red. The people at the store were giving me worried looks. And a box. I got a large box to put them in so that they wouldn't break. They don't give boxes to anyone, so I'm starting to worry...

Great wines though. Got a couple of PA wines. Drank one. I like it. Spending the evening drinking and reading. Will have to save some bottles for Easter. My family celebrates both the Catholic and Orthodox one so it's always good to be prepared, although this weekend might bring another alcohol shopping spree. I'm bad with money...I think but at least there's always something around to entertain me. What's the best wine you've ever bought?

[Mikka]

I wonder how many clubs you can join. Or will clubs take a third slot, but like on a certain day? So you could be in Student Council on the third day of the week, and I don't know, Acting Club on the fourth day of the week, but you couldn't be part of the Dueling club, because that also meets on the fourth day of the week... or will it just be like an adventure and an ability of 'Go to (certain club)' on your list? More questions to go ask in the questions thread, though I suppose it may be too soon to get answers. We still have months to go till year two...

 

Cuàn would probably go for something common, as I doubt he has much knowledge of dueling... maybe Sevart Honor? It's Initiative Challenged First, which is always good. I don't know. I'm looking forward to the writing and kind of dwadling on the abilities. Cuàn's clique ability at first try had a really severe drawback, and I realized after thinking about that I personally never would take him in my clique because of it, and if I wasn't going to take him, it was unlikely that anyone else would take him for sure.

 

I just found around twelve events I started for the other four but never finished in a hidden document that has nothing to do with Academagia (it has to do with the Exalted roleplaying game). They involve a weird range of Aaran trying to brew tea in the potions lab, Antonio trying to sneak out of the infirmary, Miya trying to set a stage on fire, and Louise attacking your student with a hairbrush. Some of them are close to being done, too- they only have like one exit not filled out or the like. I may have to try and finish those after I finish Cuàn and Cat and see if the Academagia Team would like them.

 

Hm... gates allows you to connect to other worlds, doesn't it? Then you really could summon yugoloths. That might be too close to infringing on copywrite, though. Or would it count as a parody? Ooo, or summon a modron! Nordom! Now, suddenly, I want to study gates. I never study gates seriously, but maybe my next student will.

 

Travel is awesome. I just went to San Diego last year, and what a gorgeous city with gorgeous weather, awesome museums, delicious food, and... well, everything. I sort of decided if I ever get to retire, I want to live in San Diego because of it. We actually stayed in Coronado (which is this really ritzy little resort town- we got a hotel with a major discount due to renovations), and it was beautiful, too. It seemed like something out of a dream, though- everyone riding their bikes with beautiful dresses on and the like. I kept thinking 'this is like a movie set! People don't really do this in real life!', but, apparently, I was wrong.

 

New York is wonderful. Come visit Philadelphia, if you ever head up that way... it's not too much further south. Philly has some areas of the city that are a bit dodgey, unfortunately (then again, so does New York), but it also has beautiful areas, and a lot of great museums and historical stuff. Oh, and the foody culture is pretty good. (I like yummy food, so I pay a lot of attention to that.) I'd love to go to New Oreleans, too, but I just haven't made it down there.

 

Oh, and if you come to the states, don't forget lovely Canada. Bunch of beautiful cities and pretty little towns up there. I did a cruise that does the Northeastern states and then parts of Canada in the fall, and of course all the trees are changing and it's gorgeous and it's a fun little romp. Did a full historical walk around Boston and then hung around in the market oooing and awwing over stuff.

 

Yeah, I don't think they'd let me renew my lease if I set the apartment on fire, and that would be bad. So vinegar washing it is. That stuff really makes the floors shine, surprisingly.

 

I want a Rhetoric adventure, myself. I like the idea of Rhetoric, and would love to see an adventure for that (I usually play high charm characters, and end up taking Rhetoric to round out my magic studies). All in all, I just think there should be multiple adventures for each class. THat's a lot of adventures for the Academagia Team to be writing, and I understand that, but... class adventures are fun! I like them.

 

Ah, a wine day. Those are the best days. Hm... best wine I ever bought. I'm not sure what the answer to that through my whole life could be, but I'll tell you that recently, it was this little Maryland wine called Marisa. It wasn't a Beaujolais, it was a blend, but it tasted a lot like a beaujolais and that's what we drank it as. Cost? 11$. It was easily as good as some 50$ wines I've had. And it just came from this tiny local (well, one state away local) winery that doesn't even import out of state that has movie nights every week and makes good homemade pizza to go with their wines. It was an amazing buy. As soon as gas prices go down, I'm heading back to Maryland and buying a few bottles of it.

 

They gave us boxes, too- three of the big case boxes. They apparently had extra that they couldn't get rid of. Currently, they're stacked up in my bedroom as a minature wine shelf. With the wine, my bedroom is now really crowded, but I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Glad to hear you liked the PA wine! Do you know which vineyard it came from? I wonder if I've ever heard of it.

[MadHatt]

I can't wait for Y2. I'll probably fake illness just to spend some extra days playing it and making the PERFECT character for it. Some with Gates, others with clubs, glory, adventures...so much to do, so little time.

You could summon yugoloths...but would you want to? Nordrom sounds like a better idea.

 

I really can't wait to see and play through the mod. It does sound interesting. And the more events the better.

 

I would really like to visit everything you've mentioned. There's just so much I want to see there. There's quite a lot to see everywhere. I usually get so many blisters or aches when going someplace solely to visit, that I can hardly move for a week after coming home.

I still need to decide where to go this year.

Oh, another location you should definitely visit. Barcelona. You haven't lived until you've seen the Sagrada Familia or the Gaudi park. Honestly the whole place is amazing. Of course, when I went I also checked out the football stadium, but that's secondary (unless you're a Barça fan). Sagrada Familia. It's a must. I could actually recommend at least ten or twenty Must Visit's but if I get started on it, I'd probably never finish with the impressions and odd happenings. For example, I have seen the Taj Mahal and while India is interesting...I don't think I'd go back there. Funny thing..a friend got chased by a cow in New Delhi. I had no idea that happened.

 

The wine was Allegheny Cellars. A Riesling. I also have a Heritage Wine Cellars one, but I haven't opened it yet. I've been looking around for more PA wines but I can only find Californians. Luckily some friends do end up around the States a lot and can bring bottles with them, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to try one.

Hm..and now I want to try Maryland wines.

Best wine I've had was Italian. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. It's a really pleasant red, generally sold at a bargain price. It's gotten to a point where I only want to go to Italy for the wines.

[Mikka]

I'm going to definitely delay my work so I can play Year 2 when it comes out. Of course, like year one, it'll probably just get more awesome (and more bug free) as months pass, but I don't think I'm going to be able to resist playing it right away. I think for my first game, I'll play a completely new year two student just to see how they measure up, and then after that play-through, I'll start doing my imports. Ooo, and I'll have to do my roleplays again, too... those are always fun.

 

Hey, summon a yugoloth, and let it loose on your enemies. That's probably the sort of thing that would get you suspended though (if the gates use didn't already). Yugoloths are mean. Good at the whole corruption thing, but terribly mean. Nordom, on the other hand, would be cute and adorable and vaguely steampunky with his spirit crossbows. He'd be my students best friend. Screw cliques, I'll make BFF's with the creatures I summon! Hm, speaking of summons, I wonder if the creature you summon at the gates school will come back to bite you later besides the +1 stress deal. I don't think I've ever actually gone through with it because of the bonus emotions you get for having stress 0-2, but one day I'll try it.

 

Well, hopefully you'll see the mod (if not in mod form) soon. I plan on keeping writing events for the students for as long as they'll let me, and I hope the Academagia Team will write some events for them, because I'd love to see what they do with the characters. I hope Cuàn and Cat can get included as official content. I don't mind doing them as a mod each year, but it'll cause people who play with them to have to wait till I release the mod for year two and so on.

...I really want to finish the Aaran brewing tea in the potions lab event, because seriously, I have no idea why he would be doing that. Why did I start writing that event? I don't remember, and that amuses me. Maybe he's trying to suck up to Professor Badcrumble?

 

Oh, I do the same thing! My feet start killing me when I'm on vacation and I get these huge blisters all over my feet, but it's so worth it. I can't do 'laze around vacations'- like, I'm horrible to go to the beach with. I can spend maybe one day lazing around on the beach, and then I'm like, "OKAY. Time to go to every outlet! Explore the boardwalk and go in every shop and on every ride! Play five games of mini-golf! NO MORE SITTING AROUND!" Thankfully, my mother is the same way- I guess I got it for her. So we go active vacations.

 

This May, we're going to Disney World. Flower and Garden festival happening, and it's for her birthday. I know I'm an adult, but I like Disney World. Fun rides, surprisingly good food (if you know where to go and are willing to dish out some money), and just a general feeling of safety and happiness. It makes me feel uncynical for once, even though the Walt Disney corporation is one of the most cynical ones in the world, I think.

 

I would love to go to Spain! That would probably be the fourth stop on my world tour. I'm actually putting away money slowly in hopes of saving up enough to go on a Mediterranean Cruise. They tend to go to Spain, France, Italy, and sometimes Greece, which while it wouldn't be the same as actually going to each country and staying there for a week, it would allow me to at least see them and do it on my budget.

 

India is a place I'd like to go, but Japan and China come first when I think of wanting to visit Asia. What made you not want to go back? (Also, a cow? That's really odd. Heh.)

 

Aw, boo, I've never actually heard of those two wineries. Oh well! I hope they're good. If PA's laws weren't so horrible, I'd ship you a bottle or two (er, if you gave me your address), but shipping wine out of PA runs in to all sorts of regulations and creeper laws that make doing so nearly impossible. Hopefully the state will get out of the wine business and we can have normal laws like 99% of the other states.

 

New York and Maryland make good wines along with PA, but New York and PA have a slight tendency towards whites due to our soil. Doesn't mean that they're aren't some good reds, just rarer. Maryland tends to do better reds on a more consistent basis. If you go looking for New York wines, try to get wines from the Fingerlake Region. Besides California Wine Country, that's the 'best' wine area in the States. It's perfect wine growing area, and there are tons upon tons of wineries nestled beautifully among the lakes. It makes for a very fun vacation, actually... enjoy the lakes and the mountains while going to winery after winery tasting things and buying wine. Gets expensive quick, though.

 

I like Italian reds a lot... well, the few we can get here in PA. Don't think I've heard of that one in particular, though.

 

Mmm, wine... Mom bought a new car, which in my way of thinking, sort of means I got a new car. I think I need wine to celebrate this.

[MadHatt]

I had a character for whom the clique was: the muffin, talking evil book, familiar and a salamander. And forced them all into tea parties. ...Man, to be a fly on that wall.

 

I can't wait for you to finish the events then. Show more teasers maybe?

 

A whole toenail once turned blue and threatened to fall off while on vacation. I left at around 8 in the morning and came back at midnight. I can't laze around either, it just feels like a waste. I barely plan food, just go inside a shop, get a sandwich or a donut or whatever looks edible and keep moving. Sightseeing, exploring, shopping!

 

Aw, Disney World. I wanna go. Take a ride for me, will ya? Or some cotton candy. That is definitely on my list. It's not like the one in France is better.

 

Go on that cruise. Seriously. All four countries are amazing to see, especially by ship. Depending on where you go and how, you could see some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It would be worth it.

 

Yes a cow! And no could actually do much, seeing as cows are sacred. There were also some pigs running around.

I made a trip to McDonalds just to see the menu. Not surprisingly, all chicken or 'McVeggie'/'McSpicy'. I didn't have the heart to try those. Not after that much Indian food. India is beautiful if taken apart from the people, poverty and genuine discrepancy between the classes. The ancient part of it was worth all the trouble I've been to, even if there were 50 degrees C outside and a girl got sick. Amazing food if you like that type, great shopping, some friendly locals, bartering was fun. There are some hidden gems there for sure.

 

But well...I went there for work and had this great building, beautiful, all glass, AC everywhere and it was surrounded by a dump. There are no traffic laws, besides that. Drivers communicate by honking. It's chaotic and not exactly what you would expect. And the malaria pills made me sick. I'd recommend someone a visit at least once...because the feel of the city is unique. But going as someone who wasn't treated as a tourist and went almost everywhere, I can say that it depressed me. It could have been culture shock, yes, India is supposedly good at that, but I'm still not particularly eager to go again. I also hate heat...which is a slightly more petty reason not to go.

 

The wine was good. I'll open the next one soon. Any choices of wineries you'd recommend? I did read the laws and had them described to me in detail by a mate. What is with them anyway? Considering a great choice of wines, you'd think they'd be allowed to ship away.

 

Oh, I might just try those. I'd probably need to order them or look for someone who might own them because, seriously, all Californian. And while I like the wine, I like tasting different sorts often. What Italian reds are there?

 

I opened a bottle just because Sunday. End of the week and all. Monday I have to open one because hey, Monday. I hate Mondays.

[Mikka]

Those would be the best tea party ever. Yeah, talking evil dragon book tends to come along on most of my kid's adventures, too. I imagine it tends to scare the freak out of my clique members. "Hi, it's me and Diva! Don't mind us. We're just plotting the doom of the world today. Teehee!"

 

I want to do some Cat and Cuàn teasers, but I haven't really written anything substantial for them yet. I've been doing Project, which has... sort of turned in to an IB tribute, actually. I think I can get away with it, and it should be fun. We'll see how that goes. I'm going to try and write Cat and Cuàn's duels tonight, though, just because I think I can afford a small break. This week is iffy, because of Project, but next week at least I'll try some spoilers for those two. If I get them done, then I might write a few events for the others and spoil them either here or in that thread. I don't know where is appropriate anymore. Argh, but I do have that adventure I want to write...

 

Owch for your toenail! I don't think that's ever happened to me, though I did once get such bad blisters we had to see a doctor who sentenced me to bedrest, basically, on vacation. Bedrest on vacation. Sucked! I plan food, usually. I go around and choose fancy high scoring restaurants with food common to the region... I see going around and eating out at fancy places (or local dives- whatever works) sort of one of the highlights of vacationing. I love just exploring and seeing stuff, though. Asking the locals where they eat and then heading there for a try.

 

I'll go on a few rides for ya, promise. Cotton candy really isn't that good at Disney World, though... you want stuff like the silly Mickey Bars and the dole whip floats (pineapple soft serve in pineapple juice, sometimes with rum) and and and... oh, I could talk about food at Disney World forever. Epcot is lovely, with it's pavilions for the different countries and relatively authentic foods from the regions. As I don't exactly live in a town known for it's wide range of foods (we have five million 'Asian Fusion' restaurants, one Ethiopian restaurant, one Spanish restaurant, and the rest American or TexMex (I don't count something like the Olive Garden as Italian- it's American pasta and pizza riffing on Italian themes at best)) that's the only place I've ever even gotten to like, try French food. I'd have to go to Philly if I wanted it otherwise, and Philly is like, an hour and a half and horrible driving. Do the public transport there, seriously.

 

Ooo, yeah. India sounds like it would be huge culture shock for me, too. I still want to go, but I can understand what you're saying. I hadn't even thought about the malaria pills... my stomach does not take most pills well. Icky. But I'd still love to see all the historical sites... argh.

 

Royal Rabbit Vineyards in Maryland is good, same with Boordy Vineyards. Um... here in PA, Tamanend Winery is the local place who also does wine I'm really fond of. They make sweets and drys, red and whites, but their 'we are different' thing is they make agave wine. You know, like tequila, only they make it wine style. They have one that's lime that tastes like margarita, a peach one for spring, and sometimes they make an orange one. They also have Azul, their fortified dessert wine made with agave. We also like Adams County Winery, I think it's called Armstrong Vineyards, and Allergo Vineyards or Winery or whatever it is has a great Vidal. I'm missing quite a few, but those just came to mind off hand. Oh, Reids Orchid and Vineyard does great fruit wines, and then great reds. White's are kind of hit and miss. In general, we don't like everything by all of those guys, but their hits are real hits.

 

I don't know why PA's laws suck so much. It's just a weird state, where the state controls the liquor business, not individual stores. So all liquor stores and beer distributors are state owned, and then the only other places allowed to sell alcohol is wineries and distilleries and the like (I think bars are allowed to sell six packs of beer, but I could be wrong). Restaurants have to get liquor licenses to sell alcohol, and there aren't many per individual township, so most places are BYOB (bring your own beer(/wine, whatever)) rather then having bars or alcohol of their own. There's been a growing movement of people trying to get the state to get out of the regulating business and allow us to have normal laws like other states, but the state is of course making money out of this, and states don't like stopping making money.

 

If you think the laws of shipping out are bad, though, the laws of shipping in are worse. All those great California wines? They can't be shipped in to PA. Almost any website you look at that sells liquor will note that shipping in to PA is impossible. Only state licensed wineries can ship in to state and then it needs to be shipped to a state liquor store for you to pick it up- it can't be shipped to your home. It is actually technically illegal to go over the boarder to Maryland, buy wine at a vineyard, then take it back to PA to consume (I think it counts as 'smuggling'). In practice, no policeman in the world is going to cite you for that unless you've been absolute idiot and jerk to them (and then you probably deserve it), but it is 'technically' illegal because it doesn't go through state stores and those wineries are not licensed. Bringing back, say, rum from Nassau or whatever is illegal too (though I've never heard of a plane actually following through and confiscating your liquor if you fly in to PA with it, it is one of the reasons we fly in to Maryland). The laws are ridiculous. I could write essays about why the laws are ridiculous.

 

Italian wines... I'd have to check my liquor store's catalog, to tell you the truth. They're aren't that many. I'll tell you which Italian wines I try to when I go to the wine bar in fake-Italy down in Epcot this May, though.

 

I'm drinking a local white tonight, but I might open up a sweet wine after dinner. We have a lot of sweet wines, and are trying to get through them. They make good after dinner sippers, as they convince me to just drink them instead of going for the chocolate truffles. :3

[MadHatt]

I swear Diavesque is right up there as my favourite character besides the Captain. I imagine he suffers horribly in my character's hands.

 

Don't rush them, then despite my excitement. Which is worse to antagonize, Cat or Cuàn?

 

My toenail was fine...after some time. I get so worked up that generally nothing matters, whether it is that my feet hurt, I'm hungry or it's raining. The only times I plan food is when I really want to see a certain place. Like say, the Sherlock Holmes pub. I'm a massive Sherlock Holmes fan. If you get there, try the coffee, not the sandwiches.

 

Awww that sounds delicious...I seriously have to go there sometime. Although the idea of giant rodents seen in person terrify me. That never moving grin....*shudder*

Never eaten faux Italian. Just...Italian. French food is great. They know their pastries. I wanted to lock myself up in the pastry shop and eat it all. I wanted to own them all. Bites out of them are little pieces of heaven that melt and drip into your stomach to fill your life with happiness.

I need to try Ethiopian. Any good?

 

Yeah, malaria pills hit us all pretty bad. Like I said, visiting in India is amazing. The locations are some of the most interesting in the world. Just be sure to get a local guide. Both to drive (you will never drive like an Indian...just...no words...) and because women generally need a male guide. This was thoroughly discussed with the people I went with. It's not ideal, but recommended for various issues. And you'll need someone to barter for you to get good prices.

 

Will look for that type of wine then. I do have friends who go to the states, maybe they'll be luckier. I also have very silly friends who would run off with crates of the stuff shouting "Come and get me, copper!"

The whole laws just sound ...odd. Was it supposed to help with something? Did PA drink that much (or bootleg?)

 

I opened a dry red today. Austrian, which mostly does whites, but the reds are good. A Zweigelt if you know it. I'm indulging while packing (I hate packing) because I have to go to Istanbul tomorrow morning. Where it's raining. And cold. I'll probably be back by midnight, though.

And I now crave truffles...