Sunday, December 31, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p26

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 326, chapter 326

Rolf's Kingdom
2026

Anezka stood starring at her hands, palms up right as she cried.   "Get a grip princess." Shayne commented as she surveyed the little shelter. "It's not that bad."

"He'll come for me and when he does, you'll both die a painful death." the raven haired girl nearly spat the sentence between tears.

"Who? Bacchus? oh my god!" Shayne shook her head, the octopus tentacles smashing her shoulders as she did, her violet eyes becoming slits.

"When he learns of our escape, of how you two fiends kidnapped..."

"Kidnapped you? Are you nuts?" she crossed her arms in disgust pacing now around the room.

"He loves me!" Anezka slammed her palms into her chest, leaning a little towards the other female.

"Loves you? You're really that naive? He knows already, sugar lips. He knows because he let us go! He's a god princess, a god! Nothing happens without his knowledge. If he wanted to keep us he would have. We would never have gotten out of the place. What makes you think he'd come looking for you anyway huh? Cause you're shacking him? Huh, sharing his bed once a week. You're one of a hundred girly. And when did your lover pull you from the ranks? Not long ago was it?"

"I've been with him for over a decade." the raven haired female said still teary as she raised her chin in defiance. Daring Shayne to counter her.

"Suspicious timing on that don't you think? Bacchus suddenly taking an interest in you. Ever wonder why?"  Shayne moved then to lean her shoulders against the door of the little shed. Blocking the other female with her body.

"He loves me."

"Lie to yourself all you want, but don't you dare try to play me for a fool. Bacchus chose you for one reason and one reason only. To mess with Nosferatu."

"Don't speak her name to me. She ruined my life by bringing me here." Anezka's voice began to lose it's grip on the fear, on the panic as pure bitterness took over.

"She saved you! Stupidest thing she ever did I'd say, but what the hell do I know?" Shayne let her arms slap against her thighs. "You were bait honey. That's all you ever were. Bacchus took you for collateral and then dangled you like a worm on a hook. I know that, and I'm sure she knows that too. Just don't understand why you don't see it?"

"You're lying!" she began to move around the small shed as well now, not focusing on anything but the far window.

"Fine suit yourself." Shayne tossed herself from the door turning to open it. "If you think you can survive on your own while you wait for your precious lover-boy to come get you, then be my guest. But understand that you little girl are nothing more to him then wasted space. A space that Nosferatu herself filled."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Anezka's voice became a hard note.

"It means, that while you've been playing house with Bacchus, Nosferatu has sacrificed herself for your brothers. Getting them out of the Queen's prison. Saving Rolf from Odin's wrath. She saved you! She's the whole reason you're alive right now and not dead in some gutter. The only reason your brothers, all of them, are alive."  the female's violet eyes turned blue as her emotions got the better of her. She slammed the door closed. "She recognized you the second she spotted you. Do you think that was a fluke? Huh? The first day you get tossed back into the main ranks, were she'd be in a position to spot you. Or how she'd know who you were even? It's because she's got a link to your bloodline. Shared a soul even with Rolf. You don't deserve to be here. You don't deserve any of them."

"My brother? That's suppose to make me trust you? Because you mention him, I'm suppose to believe anything you say?" she shoved her way to the door about to open it. Turning Anezka let out a scream. She was frozen in fear, eyes wide as the large caramel coloured wolf snarled at her. It's head down, eyes glowing amber-grey, his muzzle dripping.  Snorting the beast lowered his front stretching out his paws, the sounds of bones cracking. It only took Reuben two minutes to shift back to his human form. Leaving him standing on the outside of the doorway covered in sweat, his long dark hair matted to his skull, falling and dripping against his nose.  Nodding, he took one step into the shed the magick mist swirling around his perfect body leaving a pair of black pants and boots in it's wake.  Shayne stood with her head tilted to the side in awe, never having seen anyone actually shift before. Anezka fainted.

"Wasn't expecting that." Reuben remarked fixing his hair.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Everyone sees things their own way, not always with the whole picture either.)

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Themed Day Thursdays 3

movie:  Teen Wolf
starring: Michael J. Fox, Jerry Levine
genre: Comedy,
year: 1985
format: DVD

plot: When high student Scott, finds out he comes from a family of werewolves, he has to learn how to balance this new side of himself, with how his neighbourhood now views him.

The first fifteen minutes, is basically how each piece of the first transformation is handled. The lead character has what at first appears as a wave of the flu during a high school basketball game, then when getting dressed he finds the first string of dog hair, and his sense of smell becomes heightened. From there, his sense of hearing is exposed as being overly sensitive when a kid begins playing with a dog whistle. As the night progresses, so does his nails, ears and fangs. After his first full transformation, which happens to be the night of the full moon, he learns that his dad is also a werewolf.  After loosing his emotions and exposing his lycanthropy in public, his best friend Stiles decides to manipulate the situation to his advantage and turns him into a local celebrity. But before long, Scott learns people no longer see him for him, they only see the wolf.

This movie is a metaphor for puberty, self acceptance and how fame can strip you of yourself.

Our lead character is sort of caught between a rock and a hard place, given he's only popular when he's in wolf mode, but he himself doesn't necessarily want to be trapped in that image. He embraces it in the beginning, because of the attention it brings him from the girl he's been crushing on, while ignoring the one woman who likes him no matter how he looks. When he discovers he's only being used by his crush for his status, he begins to retreat away from his wolf side.
This also leads to a confrontation with the ex-boyfriend of his crush. Although Scott is able to keep from hurting him, he does lash out physically in what could have been a serious situation. That in itself scares Scott into not wanting to let his lycanthropy be his main personality trait.

Here is a story about someone who never really viewed themselves as an outsider, until everyone around them starts to treat them differently because of one emotional outburst. Once the neighbourhood sees our lead character for the first time as the wolf, it starts a chain reaction that branches out in all sides. Some people love the new side of him, some don't. In fact, one of his long time friends, becomes down right scared of him. This escalates the lead's sense of isolation, making him react less like Scott, and more like the celebrity people think he is. A scene that expresses this the best is when the drama teacher fires him when he refuses to perform in wolf mode.

There is a deeper bias of fear going on here too, with the sub-plot of his principal not trusting him simply because of a former rivalry the principal had with his father. It's that idea that some people never get past their own anxieties to see what you might have to offer.

As much as I've always loved this movie, I always thought it was a shame it didn't go deeper into the heart of the characters. Granted, this is an 80's teen comedy, and those rarely got past the one note stereotypes, relying more on the gags.

That's about it for now, I'll be back with another round next week.
314 Days till Hallowe'en 2018

Sunday, December 17, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p25

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 325, chapter 325

Rolf's Kingdom
2026

He sat with his feet up on a tree stump, a cap down over his eyes, a well worn bit of licorice root between his teeth. His hair brushed his collar in shades of chestnut and silver, the short beard completely silver. Squinting up at the late day sun, he grunted to himself as he got up from the chair and stretched before moving slowly around the edge of his property.  They were late. At lest four hours if not more. Dax was always, if nothing else, exact with his timing, and everything pointed to the fact they were late.  He waited, listening to the emptiness of the trees, counting in his head as he managed to grab another canvas bag from the small wood shed, filling it with bottled water, dried fruits, cheese and bread. "You're late. Missed dinner." he said as the figures approached from the edge of the woods. Rolling up his sleeves, he bent grabbing up the second canvas bag.

"You knew we were coming?" Reuben asked as he led the three females exhausted up the mountain trails. They had been climbing for half the day, the efforts beyond showing for Shayne and Anezka.  Shayne was now doubled over, her hands on her knees breathing hard, while Anezka was near tears staring at her scraped and bruised hands. Our heroine was drenched in sweat, but after all the time she'd spent in the Carpathian mountains with Vlad, she'd gotten used to such a climb.


"Yeah, four hours ago." he commented tossing the canvas bags at the feet of Shayne and Anezka. "You two, can't be here. Nothing personal. I just can't risk having you two here during the full moon." he hitched his thumb over his left shoulder. "You keep traveling north for another few hours, and you'll find a small shelter." Dax turned looking Reuben and Nosferatu over from head to toe, his one hand now at his hip. "You two are fine." he gestured towards them then the cabin, before turning again pointing north farther into the mountains. "I'm serious now get!" his voice rose to a violent level as he kicked dirt towards the two females.  Shayne glared at him as she bent grabbing up the bags, swinging one over her shoulder, while holding the other out towards Anezka. When the raven haired female didn't move to take it, didn't acknowledge the situation, Shayne grabbed her by the elbow dragging her in the direction Dax had pointed.

"How did you know we were coming?" Reuben asked combing his fingers through his hair pulling it back into one of his trademark too smooth to be human ponytails. "You a witch or just a seer?"

"Whichever one keeps you from ripping my throat out." Dax replied shrugging. He turned towards the cabin opening the door. "You coming or what?"

"Why turn them away but not me?" our heroine asked following him into the cabin.  Dax reached for the lantern nearest the door moving it closer to the fireplace to the right of them. He moved silently then towards a shelf filled with scrolls and maps, scratching his temple as he laid one after another flat on the kitchen table.

"Stupid question. Isn't it obvious?" he pointed towards them both. "Your mate." he replied.

"Uh, my mate is who I'm trying to get back to."

"No, your other mate is who you're trying to get back to." he leaned over balancing on one leg, the other out like dancer as he grabbed a small leather pouch off another bookshelf. Untying the cord from it, he tossed the contents across the nearest map. Our heroine moved closer to see the runes spread out in a half fan pattern. "There are legends about you. Prophecies. Were you aware of that?"   Our heroine shook her head no. Dax grunted nodding before pointing to a few of the runes that landed near the edge of the table. "Two blooded. A creature that walks the line between worlds. Not dead not alive, but favoured by both. Able to journey between the worlds without fear." he picked up one of the runes that had landed upside down. "The destroyer who builds."

"Okay, I understand how that sounds like Nos here a bit. The fact she has traveled through portals and is a banshee. But the rest?" Reuben remarked as he inched closer to the female, his arms crossed over his muscular chest, his shoulder touching the back of her neck as he leaned in sniffing her hair.

"You." Dax replied picking up another of the runes holding it up for them to see before dropping it down on top of the map again, then taking another placing it on top of that; the pile getting larger. "A vampiric creature who gave birth. You, joined the werewolves and Vlad's army. You, who created a new pack in a realm without the level of magick really needed to even have lycans."  Dax answered as he leaned both hands on the tabletop, slowly putting our heroine in mind of a panther gracefully moving, stretching itself out; his knuckles exposed as his powerful fingers were tucked into his palms. The light from the lanterns flickered across his eyes, exposing a flash of deep amber-maroon. So Dax wasn't just a seer or even a witch, he was a Familiar.

"I didn't...create a pack." our heroine whispered.  Dax grunted nodding again.

"Yes you did. You brought together those humans...what were their names? Ruthven, Seward, Quentin and Zeddy? And that seer, Landin. The detective, Arthur who was turned into a lycanthrope, by your mate Edric who you woke up shall we say, and of course Vlad. A pack every step of the way." He pointed then towards Reuben. "Other mate. Course that other mate isn't the pack Alpha."   Reuben shifted then uncomfortably as he grabbed a chair perching on the back of it, his feet firmly on the seat. Hunching over the dark haired male wolf draped his wrists over his knees.

"Neither am I." Reuben spoke as if he were chewing something mindlessly. "Dagan was...is the pack alpha."

"How could he be when he's not here? Huh? Answer me that." Dax continued as he pulled himself up to a standing position again, his eyes never leaving Reuben. "Dagan, is off in some other realm of reality all by his lonesome. Yet, you're the one here, holding it all together. Deny it all you want, but you sir are indeed the alpha in these parts. King of the kingdom while the real king is mentally trapped in his own nightmares. Parent to her spawn." he nodded again towards our heroine. "Doesn't everyone come to you with their problems? The people of the kingdom? The other lycanthropes in the area? Aren't you the one who day in and day out maintain the upkeep of the castle and peace between the neighbouring packs? You're alpha through and through."

"So what just because he's the alpha you are saying he's automatically my mate?"

"No, I'm saying he's your mate because he claimed you before."

"Only because of the full moon ritual." our heroine said bitterly.

"The first time. But..." Dax picked up another of the runes adding it to the pile. "When you two went through the portal to the past, he was your mate for a brief time as well."

"I've heard enough, I'm going for a run." Reuben snarled as he moved from them, the door swinging before either had a chance to argue.  Our heroine turned her attention back to Dax.

"He wasn't the last male that claimed me though during that part of my life. Reuben's claim on me was severed when the kid was born. He came back here, and Jacob claimed me."

"And you killed him yes yes. Terrible. But, haven't you wondered why your other current mate Edric was able to claim you without shacking you? Huh? He did it with just a smear of his blood. Or why he became a hybrid when you turned him and not just a shapeshifter or just a banshee? Or why when Edric turned Arthur; Arthur didn't become a hybrid; just a werewolf? Or for that matter why Arthur is part of the Oaken bloodline and not Frankenstein?"

"Edric is...you're saying he was Jacob?" her voice became a harsh whisper as tears began to cloud her eyes.

"In another life and reality yes."

"And Reuben? How does all that lead to Roo being my mate now? Here?"

"Weren't you listening?" he tossed a rune at her watching it bounce off her stomach back to the table to spin before landing at the foot of the little rune pile. "He was the last one from this reality to have claimed you that's still here. All the other mates you've managed to have, are on the other side of the portal. And that in itself is mind boggling. When a werewolf mates, it's for life. But you somehow keep picking ones that die on you. How rude."


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. So if Edric isn't the pack alpha in the modern reality, who might it be?)

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Theme Day Thursday p2

movie: Twilight 2 New Moon
starring: Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart
genre: Drama
year; 2009
format: DVD

plot: Bella begins having visions of herself aged, with Edward still young. This causes her to go through a big bought of insecurity about her relationship and life. She then spends her birthday with Edward's family, and once again the reminders hit hard that she is human, while they are not. She starts to beg Edward to turn her, but he refuses, and instead breaks up with her and moves away from town. Bella can not seem to accept this, running away to the one place she feels connected the most to Edward; the woods on the edge of town. Her unconscious body is then found by one of the locals. We see her spend the next few months in a horrible depression, isolating herself from everyone, and suffering from night terrors. In a moment of pure desperation, she puts herself in a highly dangerous situation, activating a psychic link to Edward. She then becomes addicted to this psychic link, and continues to become more and more reckless. These leads her to rebuilding her relationship with Jacob. After witnessing some of the guys cliff diving at the rez, she learns from Jacob that members of the community have become divided. Meanwhile, the school is a buzz with talks of what everyone is calling a bear attack not far from the edge of town, as she plans a group "date" in which she invites Jacob along. Once there, Jacob is overcome by jealousy, which causes him to act out and threaten one of Bella's male friends. We then see Jacob join "the pack".  While this is happening, a second group of vampires move into the area having learned that Edward's family no longer live there. With the entire pack now having gone through their full transformation, they expose themselves and hunt down the second tribe of vamps. Bella has yet another vision of both Edward and Jacob facing off against each other. This forces her to confront members of the community, unaware they are werewolves. One pack member takes it too personally and tries to attack Bella, just as Jacob comes to her rescue. She confesses to Jacob that she is the reason the second tribe of vamps are hanging around, and therefore the reason the lycantrhope had been triggered in the entire pack. Once again, Bella puts herself in danger on purpose in order to have once more psychic link with Edward. Only this time, believing she's dead, Edward plans his own suicide. Alice then arrives in town to inform Bella of this, and takes her half way across the planet to save Edward. When they return, Jacob and Edward do in fact have a verbal confrontation, forcing Bella to finally choose between them.


I've talked about this film a few times over the years. One of the things being that the werewolves in this are more interesting than the vampires. That pretty much goes for the entire franchise in my mind. The werewolves characters are just more developed than the vampires.

The meat of this story is the relationship between Bella and Jacob, and how they are both keeping parts of themselves locked away from the other. Even though they both desperately want to connect. The barrier between them is loyalty. Loyalty to what Bella has made herself believe is the perfect relationship; and loyalty to family. In this case, both Jacob and Bella. As Bella has wormed her way into the Cullens lives. Both are in turn keeping themselves locked away from their own self.
Jacob has only partly accepted his own nature to this point. As if denying it will make it less so. Bella, has done the same thing with the fact she knows a "perfect" relationship doesn't exist.  There is a scene where Bella is on a dirt bike, has a small accident; and lets her guard down for a brief few seconds when she tells Jacob she's attracted to him. She quickly retracts her response down playing it.  You almost get the impression she's punishing herself for realizing there could be someone else for her.

Another big theme here is moving on. The very fact the vampire aspect of the story is based on Romeo and Juliet and how extreme the characters react when faced with difficulty, shows they aren't as mature as they think.  Here, we have Edward an immortal vampire over a hundred years old, who acts like the perpetual teenager he's suppose to be hiding as; as well as Bella who is a couple of years older than Jacob, both acting like drama queens. While Jacob, who's life really has transformed into something unwelcome and unrecognizable to him, is handling it with more grace and maturity.
For Jacob, conformity has to happen. There is no other option at first glance. But, as the story progresses, we see him stand up for himself defying his "pack" when he not only tells Bella the truth, but decides to protect her. He's forced to choose between his family or his own desires.

This is one story where the hero does not win, does not get the girl and does not die in the process. He still has to get up in the morning, face the people who hurt him the most, and he does it. I think that's why this is the most interesting of the sequels.

The subplot of lycanthropy is a perfect metaphor for growing up and dealing with the unexpected. The duality that lurks within us all and how we deal with it.

Okay folks, I'm going to keep it short and end it here. Don't forget, this is part of my Hallowe'en project and that puts us at 321 Days till Hallowe'en 2018

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Theme Day Thursdays

Spudguns! I mentioned the other day that I had a new segment for you guys coming this week. And this would be it. Theme Day Thursdays.  Basically, every Thursday for the next few months ( leading up to October) I'm going to cover movies in the same genre (this is part of my Hallowe'en project I was talking about) So December, I thought I'd dive into the werewolf genre.

Movie: Skin Walkers
Starring: Jason Behr, Elias Koteas,
Year: 2006
Genre: Action, Thriller
Format: DVD

plot:  When the signs of a centuries old prophecy begin to take place, two packs of lycanthropes, one wild, one domestic, begin fighting over the life of a boy. Unknown to him, he's the key to the survival of all werewolves. For thirteen years, his uncle and his family have kept him hidden from the rest of the packs, only to be located as the week leading up to the boy's thirteenth birthday. As the boy has begun having nightmares, caused by the blood moon. One of the astrological signs found in the prophecy. The two pack leaders, Jonas and Caleb, begin a turf war of sorts for the boy as Jonas's pack flee the area with the boy in tow, and Caleb's pack hot on their trail. It's soon revealed that Caleb is Jonas's younger brother and the father of the boy; whom everyone thought was dead for the last twelve years.


This opens with another pack of werewolves, whom we do not see again through the film. I always got the impression this was meant to be either a series of movies, or pilot for a tv show.

From there, it becomes a brother vs brother storyline, which could have gotten so much deeper than it did, but instead got jammed up when it falls into a mindless shoot 'em story.   And that is my big complaint about this movie. You have a great baseline with an ancient prophecy, a lost love, two brothers who have extremely different belief systems, and a rich folklore to dive into, but instead it just goes for the typical mindlessness.

That aside, I actually love this movie. It's easily one of my favourite werewolf films, simply because of the baseline idea. Add to that the impressive list of Canadian talent in this Elias Koteas, Kim Coates, Tom Jackson and Shawn Roberts, and you've got something you want to sink your teeth into. Wendy Crewson has a brief role at the beginning as the leader of the first pack we see, whom you keep expecting to pop back in, but never does. This is what leads me to thinking this was designed to create sequels/tv show.

There is a moment in the story, where you see the boy's mother get clawed by one of the pack, and the idea is planted that she's going to turn, but it never happens. You're left wondering if that's because of the hero moment the boy brings, or if that's because she wasn't born a lycan? This is never explained, which if it had been given a sequel would have been an interesting next step in the story.
I think so much more could have been done with the expansion of the pack member's characters.

And I have to say, I love the nod to the "wolfman" with the characters' last name being Talbot. 

And I get to play my favourite game : how many cast members have done vampire movies?   Elias Koteas went on to play the detective in the 2010 film Let Me In,  Kim Coates has played a vampire in an episode of Dracula the Series in 1990, Red Blooded American Girl (1990)  Innocent Blood (1992) and was in Rufus (2012)  Natassia Malthe played a vampire in the 2005 film Bloodsuckers, Bloodryane 2 Deliverance (2007) Bloodrayne 3 the Third Reich (2011) Rhona Mita played a vampire in 2009 in Underworld 3 Rise of the Lycans,  and Jason Behr did an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997.


Well, that's about it for now. I'll be back next Thursday, but in the meantime, don't forget to check out the rest of the Hallowe'en project on my facebook page

328 Days till Hallowe'en 2018. 

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Coffee Talk Dec 3rd 2017

Spudguns! How is everybody doing this overcast day? (I've always wondered how many answer without really thinking cause we spend our lives online?)

Well, it's a Sunday, in case you haven't been listening to a calendar...listening to the calendar; not a difficult thing to do, I mean, they do still make paper calendars by the thousands and it does make a swooshing noise when you flip the pages and a cluck-clank when you drop them, and even a swear word or two when it slides under the desk and you have to hunt for it.
It's also December 3rd; which makes it the anniversary of the blog. Just in case you didn't notice the little...okay not so little countdown list on the sidebar there cause it's gotten fatter each year most likely soaking up all the butter from the recipes.

So I decided not to follow pattern with trying another movie a day countdown. Which, I think I talked about back last one of these? This Year 7 of the Blog will be another Random kitchen drawer of jars. Just a big potluck of cheesy goodness.

The Nosferatu Adventures will continue to be every second Sunday. (next two on Dec 17th and 31st)
and I've got a new post series planned for Thursdays. (starting this week Dec 7th)
And of course, continuing with the recipes inspired by; posts.

Now on to new business...

New business.  I've got a weird all encompassing themed project for this blogging year. Which, if you haven't been to my Facebook page (here)   You might not realize I've already started. It's Hallowe'en based and  a bit on the silly side, but then again we need that in our lives to keep us balanced and fresh. Okay it's a lot on the silly side, but that's what you come to me for.
That part of things include, a daily Hallowe'en countdown, movie trivia,(Saturdays) movie quotes (Wednesdays) as well as a new post segment on Mondays that will be starting tomorrow on my other blog. (if I get it finished in time, I'll let you know).  So the Facebook page will be "Hallowe'en central" this year.

I'll be back later in the week.

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p24

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 324, chapter 324

Out of Time

5 years ago...

Arthur trudged up the stairs, tired, sore, and feeling like he couldn't make it another day.  Only he knew he would. He knew he'd get up in the morning, get ready for work, and sit at his desk pouring over the case files. Pouting. He knew he'd be pouting just as he knew he'd get a headache from eye strain from the paper work he had to do. Just as he knew he'd have a kink in his shoulders and upper back for two days straight from sitting at his desk, going over all the paper work. No time to grieve. In fact, better the soreness from the mountains of files in his office than thinking about how his ex fiancee was now married to someone else. Detective Holmwood had no one but himself to blame on that factor. He'd known when he'd taken that last case that he'd chosen his career over his relationship. Only, he'd thought he'd have more time. More time to try to fix it when it when south. Only, this time, she didn't let him. This time, was the one that broke the camel's back. And it wasn't like he hadn't seen the signs there in front of his nose. They were quite clear.  She's stopped waiting up for him, stopped planning weekends together, stopped texting and calling just to see how his day was going. Then when she stopped talking about the wedding plans all together, he'd known she'd moved on already in her mind. It really shouldn't have been that much of a shock, of a leap to the conclusion that she'd been having an affair the last five months they had been together. And now, she was off living her life with someone who wasn't him.  Slugging out of his jacket, the sandy-blonde blue eyed detective let out a sigh of defeat as he made his way to the kitchen.

This case was going to be the death of him, he was sure of it. The brutality of it left Arthur felling drained just from looking at the crime scene photos. He opened a beer taking a long gulp, not tasting it as it slid down his throat. Mindlessly he wiped the corners of his mouth, another sigh of exhaustion escaping his pale lips. Rubbing his thumbs over his eyes, he sniffed. Maybe he should have just moved back to London?

"I shacking hate that wallpaper." he mumbled to himself as he stared at the red panels in the kitchen. His ex had picked it out. She had gone on about how it reminded her of boldness and triumph. To the detective, it just reminded him of bad xmas wrapping paper. Leaning over the stove, he started to pick at a small seam in the wallpaper. He spent the next three hours removing it piece by piece, till all that was left was snatches of exposed wall. His fingertips sticky from the glue, and covered in tiny paper cuts. The phone rang, causing him to hang his chin to his chest, his hands on his hips. He knew without even having to answer it that it was the police station. No one else would dare call him at 1:30 am. Sniffing back a laugh, he entertained the idea of just not answering it. Of just letting it ring and ring and ring till they hung up. But he knew they'd only give him five minutes before calling again.  "Yeah." he all but yelled into the receiver. Grabbing a pen, he jotted down an address on one of the larger pieces of ruined wallpaper. "I'll be there in fifteen." he hung up the phone, having to remove the receiver again untangling himself from the cord, before slamming it back down once more.  He should never have come home. Arthur thought to himself as he headed back out of the apartment and down the hallway. He should have gone to the bar and gotten so hammered that he'd of been no use if anyone at the station had found him.  But he hadn't. He'd gone back to his apartment after shift like always, made a box of  cheese noodles and had eaten it while standing at the stove, destroying his walls.

The detective arrived at the crime scene, replacing his tie with one hand, while using his teeth to secure the rubber gloves on his free one.

"What we got?" he asked trying to suppress a yawn.

"Animal attack." the officer on duty said gesturing towards the area. Detective Holmwood side stepped the yellowy-orange tape marking off the edge of the alley. "Don't see why they called homicide in on this? We've already put a call out to the animal control."   Arthur grunted as he hitched up his pants squatting down to get a closer look at the victim. There were two large claw like gouges running through the face and neck. The right eye missing, and the shoulder like hamburger.

"They called me in because no animals are missing from the zoo." he replied matter of factly as he carefully moved the victim's head to examine for any other marks. What he didn't say was that he'd already seen another victim mauled like this across town. That was nearly a month before, there was no way it could be a wild animal when it was spaced so far apart. Any animal that might have escaped from the zoo, or from a private owner would have moved on by now. This was more likely someone staging their victim afterwards to look like an animal attack, to throw them off the trail. He had to suppress yet another yawn. Getting back to a standing position, he asked who had called it in? The other officer pointed to a guy standing at the opposite end of the alley near the back doors of a club.  Detective Holmwood walked over to where the witness was, wishing he hadn't had the second beer. "I understand you found the victim?"

"Yes. When I left the club." he gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. The guy was a little bit shorter than the detective, with brown eyes and dark hair. He was dressed like he belonged in an 80's hair band video; in tight jeans, a black silk shirt and leather jacket that was weighed down with studs and chains. There was a guitar case at his feet. "Just after 12:30 right after the band was done."

"And you didn't see anyone else?"

"No. No one." the witness remarked shaking his head.  After another ten minutes of questions, Detective Holmwood let him go on his way; before he himself entered the club to question the few remaining customers and the bartender. If the detective had just waited a few more seconds, he would have not believed his own eyes and blamed it on the beers he'd had with dinner, or just the pure exhaustion he was feeling. But he'd gone safely into the overheated bar; missing the spectacle as the witness seemed to absorb the guitar case into himself, his hair becoming shorter spiked, his clothes morphing from the spikes and chains on the jacket to a smooth leather, the silk shirt dissolving into a grey t-shirt, the jeans becoming just a little better fitted as his thighs became more muscular. Would have seen the magick mist swarming around like a grey cloud of steam, just as it too absorbed back into the guy's very flesh, his jawline becoming a little squared. All before Loki shimmered into thin air.

But Detective Arthur Holmwood saw none of that. He was left completely unaware that his world had just been ripped apart, like the body of his victim had.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Everything and everyone is connected. Nothing is out of tune)

Friday, December 1, 2017

December FoodnFlix 2017

Spudguns! It's that time once again, where I head to the kitchen and come up with something for the Food n'Flix group. This month's selection was the 1995 Clueless, and it is being hosted by Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen.

Plot: Cher is the most popular girl at her school, and has decided to play matchmaker for her friends. When she fails to set up her friends Tai and Elton, she learns Elton is refusing  the match because in his mind, Tai isn't popular enough. Cher then moves onward, helping two of her teachers get together, while hoping to catch the eye of the new guy in school Christian. When that also falls apart on her, she is faced with the realization that she's in love with someone else, and ends up in a jealous situation as Tai also falls for the same guy.

So I've actually talked about this a few times over the years; notable when I did my All Jane Austen series few years ago.  Yes, for those who don't know, Clueless is a remake of Jane Austen's Emma. And, I have to say one of the better ones.

Some of the notable elements from Emma that are used are : the wardrobe. We see empress high waists, large hats, corset cut tops, feathers on cuffs and collars.  The Mr. Martin character. In the original story, he's a farmer; here he's the hapless stoner who "farms pot".  The Frank Churchill character, who in the original story has a secret fiancee. Here, his morphed into Christian, and is made into a gay man, removing any elements of being "the bad guy" when his flirtation turns out to be not so plainly upfront.   The Elton character is basically the same. He's all about status and finding a rich girlfriend. Josh, is the Mr. Knightley character. Tai of course being the Harriet character.

Because the Cher character is wealthy (as Emma is in the original story) she's allowed the luxury of not needing to worry about finding a husband herself, and therefore able to play matchmaker for her friends, as well as the charity work she does eventually end up doing. 

Notes: iced coffee, milkshakes, cherries, juice, carrots, oranges, alcohol, bread, bagels, ricecakes, cereal, water, chips, cranberries(mentioned) toast(mentioned) mayo, asparagus, cake, chicken, rice, fish(picture) turtle(picture) sandwiches, pasta salad, pop, chocolate bars, milk, muffins, yogurt, coffee, tea, MacDonalds (mentioned) granola (mentioned) broccoli, cauliflower, apples, burgers, pizza, Snapple (mentioned) turkey bacon (mentioned) popcorn, m & ms (mentioned) licorice (mentioned) celery, cookies, potato, meat loaf, beets, pie, green salad, peanuts, twinkies, grapes, garlic, onions, bananas, mangoes, lunch-meat, mints, candy canes, punch, ice, nachos, pretzels, dip, limes, breadsticks, pasta, chocolates, clams (mentioned) fries, cheesies, hard candy, pickles, crackers, olives, canned tomatoes, oysters, frogs legs in a box, capers, kimchi, escargot, mustard, canned fruit cocktail, canned chickpeas, jam, hot dogs, tart (mentioned)


I made tea. Yeah, tea. There is a scene where Cher is making tea for her dad, and goes to the window pulling a fresh citrus fruit off the tree and adds it to the cup. Throughout the film, there are comments about pampering yourself, being decadent and relaxing. I don't know what says relaxing more than a cup of tea.  We also see the teachers having a cup of coffee together when Cher is matchmaking for them.

I decided to pull from some of the "mentioned" candy/snacks as much as the idea that its a remake of a Jane Austen, and tea scenes are a common element in JA. 

I started by crushing up some candy canes. Then added the Earl Grey, in loose leaf.

In the film, they mention M&M's, as well as we see chocolates in general. I decided to go with Smarties, as the coating is a bit on the sweeter side than M&M's.

I harvested some dried papaya and coconut from the trail mix. Crushed everything, mixing it all together.

I decided that tea time needed some cookies to go with it, so I made a quick basic sugar cookie with some of the crushed candy cane.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
3 Tablespoons butter soften
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk or water
mix well,

form into a large ball, and pop into refrigerator for 45 minutes, then roll out to desired thickness, sprinkle in crushed candy cane, roll out once more and if desired, use cookie cutters.

Bake for 12 minutes depending on your oven at 400degrees

But back to the main thing, the tea.

Here, once I had it crushed and mixed, I simply placed it into a filter, and added the hot water. I let it steep for about 3 minutes.





I found that the dried papaya and coconut, lent to a natural enough sweetness, that I did not need to add any extra sugar.

There was just enough mint from the candy canes so that it was not overpowering, and the chocolate undertones blended perfectly with the Earl Grey.

That's about all I have to offer this time around, but don't forget to join us in 2018 for more dinner and movie ideas. January kicks off with the movie Wreck-It-Ralph, and is being hosted by Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures. 

Sunday, November 19, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p23

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 323, chapter 323

Out of Time

Edric breathed in sharply as he rolled to one side before springing back to his feet, his back already healing from where he'd hit the stone floor. The theme music engulfed him as he turned snarling over his shoulder, the limp mohawk flaying from his forehead in slow motion as the once light mist became a heavy dense fog. He felt like a superstar as he raised his left hand to brush the dust from his right shoulder, winking at the shadowy figure.  The hybrid barely had to look at his hand, to know that there was a sword there suddenly, as he raised his arm pointing towards his enemy. Taking a step forward, Edric slashed the air and smog in front of him, the blood splattering across his face as Dagan's skull rolled across the floor to land at the feet of Ruthven. The dark haired human screamed as he threw his hands up in the air turning and running out the back door of the building, a cigar in each hand.

"Behind you!" Seward's voice was warning him in a warped slow motion of it's own, as Edric turned to face his next threat. Vlad stood there his face painted white with black exaggerated eye make-up, just as Edric raised his other hand, a large wooden stake at the ready. With one swift shove, he impaled yet another foe, as he smiled watching Vlad drop to his knees, the ends of his costumed cape up over his face, the smog encompassing them all.

Coughing, Edric threw himself across the room to where our heroine was. He landed centimeters next to her, his white shirt bellowing out as he did as if he was gliding on air. The large bubble that was holding her prisoner gleamed as he pierced it with both the sword and the stake, watching it shatter like candy glass to the floor, the sound of windchimes suddenly overpowering his theme music that seemed to vibrate from the very core of the walls.  Dropping his weapons, Edric caught our heroine with one movement before she could fall. Her dress the colour of pale lavender as it seemed to float as with a life all it's own.

"Oh Edric!" she sighed as she fainted in his strong arms, one hand to her forehead. "I thought I'd be stuck in that bubble forever!"  He lifted her as if she were nothing leaning in for a kiss, as she brought her hand up between their lips, interrupting it.  Edric closed his blue eyes drawing his eyebrows together in puzzlement as he felt the slap across first his face, then his shoulder. Our heroine's voice fading into the distance, only to be replaced by Seward's.

"Dude. Buddy. Edric wake up."   The sandy-blonde hybrid snorted as he opened his eyes, bringing his hands up to cover them from the harsh glare of the sun. He watched the shadows of pink from between his fingers as Seward continued to open the blinds, allowing the afternoon sunlight to puddle around the bed and spotlight the human from behind.  "I let you sleep as long as I could, but we've got to get back to working on this."  he said holding up something flat in his hand.

"It's hopeless." the hybrid mumbled as he covered his elbow over his face, hiding his eyes, wanting to return to his dream. "There's nothing for us to do until Nosferatu gets back."

"Lest she's coming back. I told you she would." the dark haired human continued to stand in the middle of the bedroom.

"Actually, we don't know that she is." Edric huffed as he rolled out of the large bed. He had stretched out in the master bedroom, unwilling to allow Vlad or Arthur the chance to desecrate the memory of his friend's grandfather.  Though, he hated to admit, he was doing just that himself by sleeping in his bed. "She said she'd try to get back to us. There was no guarantee." he shook his head. "No guarantee." he stammered on the sentence.

"You are such a buzzkill." Seward replied shaking his head in disbelief. "Granted, anything can go wrong, but so much could go right too."

"Uh, evil covens, angry gods, and my mate is missing. How can anything go right?" Edric sighed in frustration.

"I haven't quite figured that part out yet, but I'm not giving up." Seward said as he stomped across the room waving the pieces of note paper as he did. "And technically she's not missing anymore. She's just off in another realm of reality with the members of her former pack." he said as he disappeared down the hallway.

"Rub it in some more I don't think you added enough salt to that wound."


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Let's face it, everyone wants to be someone's hero)

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Food'n Flix Nov 2017

Spudguns! it's that time of the month again where I tell you about the group's movie selection and what it inspired me to do.  This month's Foodn'Flix selection was the 1987 film Planes Trains and Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and John Candy. and it was hosted by Amy over at Amy's Cooking Adventures. 

Plot: When an advertising executive is late because of a meeting, his travel plans for the holidays become messed up. By missing a single cab, he gets thrown on this wild road trip with a complete stranger who sells shower curtains. The two of them use any and all means necessary to find a way home for the long weekend. Along the way, they discover what "home" really means.

Okay, so this was a tv edit.  I have to admit, even though I've seen this a few times over the last 30 years and everyone around me likes it, it's never been a favourite. (sister loves it, parents loved it, two ex boyfriends loved it.) So paying attention to the food in it was an interesting adventure for me. And as much as I love movies by both Steve Martin and Canadian icon John Candy, the two of them as a duo just never gelled for me personally.

Notes: "bacon" (Kevin Bacon is in the opening scene) "candy" (John Candy stars) hot dogs, milk, pasta with meatballs, apples, beer, oranges, coffee, pop, life savers, tea, slurppee, pigs, cracker jacks, cereal, toast, pie, grapefruit, hashbrowns, turkey, syrup, jam, English muffins, strawberries, ketchup, mustard, pizza, pancakes, cookies, steak, salad, milkshake, fries, burgers, chocolate, ambrosia salad, cranberries, rolls, melon, alcohol, chips, stuffing, cheese.

As Canadian Thanksgiving was back in early October, I was not in any mood to do a Thanksgiving dinner. My original idea was to make candied bacon; but once again, being vegetarian, that was not practical. I've always been intrigued with the fact cranberry sauce seems to be a massive thing in other areas, but not in the area I live. So I knew I wanted to make something with cranberries. What I ended up with, was a cranberry figgy duff and sauce.  This is a boiled pudding done in a draw string bag.

Ingredients

half a loaf of stale bread
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 c flour
splash of orange juice
a plain white draw string bag or something similar.

Soak the bread in water for about 45 minutes, squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible.

Add the rest of the ingredients, mix together,

spoon into the pudding bag, and boil for about 2 hours.





sauce

1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c orange juice
Tablespoon butter
Tablespoon and a half of brown sugar
2 teaspoon cornstarch

simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick.


What I love about this is that it can be served as a side dish; in which case you would forgo the sweet sauce and serve it with a brown gravy instead. But here I chose to serve it as a dessert with the sweeter cranberry sauce.

That's about all I've got for you today, but don't forget, the group will be back next month with another movie selection. Next month, we're watching Clueless and it's being hosted by Heather over at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p22

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 322, chapter 322

Rolf's Kingdom
2026

"Finn tells me we need to visit the hermit dude near the mountains." our heroine said too casually to Reuben. She stood in the doorway of his bedroom, waiting to see if he was going to invite her in. The dark haired lycanthrope said nothing as he looked up at her from the floor where he was doing crunches; naked except for a pair of shorts. Carefully, the female banshee stepped over the threshold. Closing the door behind her, she sat down on Reuben's bed, listening to the sharp sounds of his breathing as he continued. "So, tell me about the new boyfriend?"

"What makes you think I have a new boyfriend?" he asked as he stopped, letting the magick mist circle his chest, leaving a black t-shirt in it's wake. He combed his fingers through first his long hair then over his beard as he crouched on his heels before pouncing onto the bed, sitting cross-legged beside her. Our heroine grabbed his wrist sniffing.

"Cause I can smell him everywhere." she lowered her face to gaze at him from under her eyelashes teasingly. "He's here, and here, and here." her nose trailed up the male's arm over his muscular shoulder to his neck. "Here you are." she giggled lifting Reuben's arm sniffing his armpit. Her tongue darted out for a brief second across his skin. "You're happy. I can't remember you ever really being happy."

"And I plan on staying that way, which is why I'm not telling you anything about him." the wolf said nodding to himself.  Our heroine made a grunting sound once again teasingly, before poking at her friend's shoulder.

"He's not part of the castle staff. His scent is only in here and very very faint in the hallway here outside your door." she poked his arm again, as Reuben twitched."Why can I touch you? The magickal mating barrier should have had us both knocked out cold."

"I'm not sure I want to know." Reuben remarked letting out a huff, his cheeks puffing slightly as he did.

"Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that we're leaving the castle. This should put enough distance between us and you furballs before the full moon."

"Why you so worried? You've got a mate, makes you immune." Reuben said pulling his dark hair back into his too smooth to be human ponytail.

"Too much could go horribly wrong." she gestured towards the door. "Has the oldest..."

"Damen."

"Has the oldest come into his wolfiness yet? " she asked looking at the now reclining male as he leaned back on his elbows. He shook his head no. "You really want a full moon ritual triggering his werewolf side? I mean the kid's what eight..."

"Eleven. Your son is eleven."

"Not my son. He's Loki's son. I was just the doorway he shoved his way through."  it was her turn to let out a huff of frustration, as she turned looking out the window. "Let's not forget that Rolf might not realize...if he's as out of it as you guys say he is..."  Reuben sat up like a bolt of lightening as he got her meaning. "He hasn't seen Anezka in decades. He thinks she's living her life as a human."

"This whole mess he's in is because he bartered with a god to save his sister the heartbreak of being a werewolf." Reuben's voice dropped to nearly inaudible.

"And I wouldn't suffer anyone with Maxwell." our heroine said dismissingly.

"Good point." he nodded towards her. "You know where you're going?" he stood towering over her.

"To the hermit dude in the mountains." she said with a snarky tone. "I was going to ask Harker to go with us."

"He'll never survive the climb. I'll come."

"Uh...what part of we don't want to be caught near any male werewolves during the full moon did you not understand?"

"It'll be fine. And if I get too paws on, you have permission to break my neck. It will at lest give you a few hours safety."

"Or you know I can just drug you with fairy dust."

"Even better." the dark haired male said guiding her out the bedroom door.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Every good story needs a hermit dude in the mountains)

Thursday, November 2, 2017

october FoodnFlix round Up

Spudguns! October is over, and it's time for the round up for Food n'Flix. I got to host this last round, and my selection was the 2016 remake of Ghostbusters.  (announcement here)

First was Debbie at Eliots Eats with her smoked baloney
It was inspired by the scene where Patty mentions "it smells like regrets and fried bologna"
Then Camilla over at Culinary Adventures with Camilla made two cocktails with her Slimmer Slippers   This was inspired by the beloved character of Slimer.

Next up, fried rice from Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures  She was inspired by all the Chinese food seen throughout the film.


From there we have Kelley at Simply Inspired with a rice crispy treat pizza  Their inspiration came from not just the remake, but the franchise, as the logo went into their design.


Amber from Reviews Chews and How To's gave us a Slimmer Pistachio Salad  She pulled her inspiration from a combo of marshmallows and the ever present ectoplasm, that at times becomes a character all it's own.

Deb at Kahakai Kitchen made us a vegan wonton soup  Her inspiration came straight from the line "a reasonable wonton to broth ratio", as it's a running gag throughout the film that no matter how often the gang order in, the order is never right. 

Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm gave us a Hot and Sour Soup    Once again, the running soup gag became the inspiration for the meal. 


Ali at Fix Me a Little Lunch made Ecto Eclairs  The slime, once again became the center of attention and inspired her to make these lovely green temptations.  


Caroline over at Caroline Makes, gave us a S-lime and Coconut cake  Getting into the Hallowe'en spirit, she was inspired by Slimer as well.

Heather at All Roads Lead To The Kitchen gave us a Hot and Sour Soup  She was inspired by the character of Kevin, so pretty yet so unaware he's in over his head; his fishtank, and the once again running soup gag.  
And  I gave you my vegetarian Heavy Metal Hot Dog casserole. I was inspired by the heavy metal concert, and the many references of hot dogs.


Don't forget you can join in every month, and November's selection is Planes Trains and Automobiles, and being hosted by Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures. 

Till next time...

Monday, October 30, 2017

Coffee talk October 30th 2017

Spudguns! How are you all today? Just thought I'd take a small break from writing the next few installments of The Nosferatu Adventures. Small coffin...er coffee break, on this lovely overcast +2C day here where I am, on the day before Hallowe'en.

Yes, I know few of you have been looking for my usual Hallowe'en week posts; and I know I said back few months ago I was already working on them. But, time and resources got the better of me, and they're just not finished. Which is why I didn't have anything to offer this year. Boo, I suck I know; not treats for me.  However, it got me thinking about how we tackle the holiday. This was reinforced by a comic thingie I saw yesterday on facebook, that had Cinderella's fairy god mother telling her that at midnight her life gets turned into a pumpkin and xmas takes over.  I found myself nodding and then grumbling about the fact xmas stuff has been in stores here since before Thanksgiving. (Canadian Thanksgiving is early October for those outside of Canada)  And then sort of mumbling about how for some of us Hallowe'en is everyday.

This is also the point in the season where I decide if I'm going to attempt another round of the one movie a day for the year challenge, or just go with a random blogging year. As this blog's anniversary is only a couple weeks away.   Given the first year of the challenge was successful but the other few attempts have not been, I decided not to attempt another movie a day this year.

With that said, I'll be back on Nov 2nd with the Food n'Flix round-up.  Submission deadline is tonight Monday October 30th2017.

This coming Sunday, I should have the next installment of The Nosferatu Adventures up. 

Till then...Happy Hallowe'en!

Sunday, October 22, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p21

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 321, chapter 321

2026
Rolf's Kingdom

"Can we talk? I think we need to talk? Don't you feel we should talk?" Maxwell said as he gestured between himself and our heroine. He stood at the end of the hallway, waiting for her. Sighing under her breath, the banshee moved down the hallway past him. "Hey! Don't walk away from me." the older shapeshifter said reaching for her arm. He felt the back of his head crack before everything went black, as he slammed into the wall, the magick barrier throwing him across the floor like an echoed nuclear blast.

"Huh. Interesting." our heroine said to herself as she glanced at Reuben out of the corner of her eye. He was standing once again in Harker's bedroom making sounds of disgust as he bent picking up the discarded trenchcoat.

"What's interesting is that you've been here all of twenty minutes and already you've left a path of destruction. What's next, a bloody trail of entrails across the castle floor?" Harker commented from the next doorway. Our heroine's face softened as she let her gaze caress the younger Frankenstein male.  She hesitated on her toes wanting desperately to hug him but unsure if he'd be tossed into oblivion too? The 45 year old pirate reached out gingerly to embrace her, fully certain that the fact he was still human would be his safe guard.  He was wrong. A few centimeters from her, he felt the push of the invisible barrier, his arms hovering there blending with the awkwardness of their attraction to each other after all these years. "I understand you're not with my brother anymore." he whispered clearing his throat.

"I'm not."

"Is Dagan alright? I haven't heard from him in months."  Harker's voice was as soft as a breeze.  Our heroine shook her head blinking, before shrugging; Harker's hands still an inch away from her.

"I would suppose he is. I didn't hang with him much before Bacchus kidnapped me." the auburn haired female dropped her own voice to match his before running her fingers through the air, not quite on the edges of Harker's hair. Age had caught up to him in little ways. The laugh lines around his eyes deeper, permanent. The once thick dark hair now a new texture that was softer, and nearly all salt and pepper. There would have been no room for the grey streaks the Frankenstein curse leaves at the temples had there been the opportunity to give them.

"What?" he asked bending at the knees to stare into her hazel eyes.

"If only I'd met you first."

"Well, if you had, you wouldn't have become a banshee."  the human gave Nosferatu a weak smile before bringing his hand back up to his own chin. "You can't tell me you would have changed that part of things for the world?"

"No. You're right there." she agreed.  Harker closed his eyes bringing his hand up to his forehead, wincing in pain.

"I'll be right there." his voice was solid but calm.

"Be right where?" our heroine asked confused.   Tilting his head then to the side, Harker's brown eyes were puzzled as he gestured towards the hallway.

"Um Damen just called out to me. You didn't hear that?"

"No." the banshee replied as she turned to follow him. "Does he do that often?"

"It's how he communicates. Both the boys actually. Damen at lest writes, William refuses to do anything normal." they continued down the hallway towards the main throne room. There they were greeted by a few of the people from the village. Damen was standing by the desk in the corner of the room, William sitting on the floor near the throne playing with a stack of cars and toys.

"Sir." the farmer stepped closer to them, his hands nervously held tight to his stomach. "I'm sorry to trouble you, but we feel the king needs to know what's going on." the human bowed his head nearly ashamed of himself. "The fields were raided again sir."

"Raided? Raided how?"  Harker asked moving towards the man, slapping his hand on the guy's shoulder. "Anything left?"

"They burned half the fields. There was nothing we could do, they came in the middle of the night." the man was on the edge of tears, his voice in a panic.

"We'll take care of it." he guided the man towards the doorway, stopping at the desk opening up one  of the drawers to expose a locked box. Nodding towards the man, he fished out a handful of loose coins handing them to him. "In the meantime, you'll need to be able to purchase new seeding."  The farmer thanked Harker his hands shaking as he took the gold coins. 

"You handled that well. You're good at this." our heroine commented as she crossed her arms under her chest, giving her boobs a boost.

"It's been happening off and on for the last year. We managed to cut them off on the west, but we're nearly defenseless from the docks."

"You were a pirate for years. You're telling me that the waterline is your weakness?"

"I'm telling you that because I was a pirate for years. There is nothing we can do on that defense."

"How did you handle the raiders from the west?" our heroine asked moving once again closer to him, dropping her voice instinctively.

"Well..." Harker shrugged pointing towards Reuben who was now entering the room. "He ate them."  they turned to look at the dark haired wolf as he strode into the center of the room.

"What? It's the only time I'm allowed to hunt anymore." he hooked a thumb in the direction of the kids.

"Understood." our heroine said nodding.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Ask yourself was Nosferatu unable to hear the kids telepathically because they didn't want her to or because she didn't want to?)
 

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

October 2017 FnF Randomness

Spudguns!  This would be my offering for this month's Food n'Flix, of which I'm hosting.  In case you forgot; I picked the remake of Ghostbusters. (here is my announcement )


I've talked about this movie in year 5 of the blog when it first came out, but the run down goes like this... (and made a Slimmer Soup inspired by the first two films {here})

Plot:  After Prof Abby Yates, learns that a book she'd co-written years before; that she thought had been destroyed ends up online for sale, she tracks down her former best friend Dr. Erin Gilbert in order to ask her to stop selling it. While there, Abby gets roped into joining Erin and her coworker Jillian Holtzmann as they investigate a local haunting. This leads to them being invited by Patty, a subway worker, into also investigating what she believes is a ghost, that has started to terrorize people on the subway system. Before long, the foursome are in need of a new office, a new secretary and new ride; as they begin to clean up the city's latest mess. The gang discover that a crazed fanboy, Rowan, a janitor for a local hotel; has been studying the same source material they have. Only, he's out to use the knowledge to open a portal between the living and the dead.

One of the things about this film I really dug, was that 90% of the effects were done practically in-camera. All the slime we see through out was actually cooked up in the props kitchen, the one scene at the opening which has a character is running up stairs that break away; which was done with pullies; a comical scene near the end of the film with the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man who has the ghostbusters trapped was done with them against glass. It's good to know that movies are starting to return to the "old ways" more and more. 

Notes: Chinese food, wonton soup, carrots, potato chips, toast (mentioned), cotton candy (mentioned), hard candy (seen on desk) beer, coffee, shrimp, water chestnuts, hot dogs, sugar, Vienna sausages (mentioned) pizza, pop, goat (mentioned) chicken (mentioned) salad, bologna (mentioned) sandwiches, wine, sushi, mustard, ketchup, fries, popcorn, hot pretzels, marshmallows, twinkie (sign in street) rum (sign in street) ice cream (mentioned), potatoes (mentioned) tomatoes (mentioned) steak, nachos, fruit plate, flap jacks (mentioned) walnuts (mentioned end credits)

One of my favourite lines in the film comes from Patty when they are at the heavy metal concert hunting the demon ghost. She shakes her head saying that the music is making the creature angry and "To Play Something Gentle!".  I decided to combine that line with the fact we see hot dogs a couple of times in the film, along with Patty mentioning that she has a cousin who will "work for Vienna Sausages", and of course one of the earlier scenes in the film when Holtzmann is eating potato chips during their first hunt.

I decided to make a "Heavy Metal Hot Dog Casserole"



Ingredients:

half a package of pasta
1 can cheddar soup
4 Yves veggie dogs
onion chopped
chopped green pepper
half a package of shredded cheese (I used a nacho blend)
1/2 bag of nacho cheese flavoured chips






Boil your pasta one minute underdone, drain MOST of the liquid leaving about a tablespoon,

transfer to your casserole dish,

add the soup to your pasta and mix well


Cook your hot dogs to package instructions (in this case boiled for 3 minutes), then chop up into smaller pieces,

Layer hot dogs and green peppers and onions on top of pasta


Crumble nacho chips over top,


Add shredded cheese

Bake for 20 minutes at 250 degrees or until cheese has melted


This is the part where you say "oh my god! She actually made a casserole!!!!"  Yeah, I know I know, they have been few and far between.

I decided to go with the nacho flavour theme here, because veggie dogs are known for having zero taste to them. (unless you use a spicy veggie sausage) So I thought, instead of trying to "doctor up the dog" I'd just take the easier route, and pick a flavour profile that I know would work.  No guess work needed, just nacho cheese all around. And other than salting the pasta water, there is NO extra salt/pepper, as I find canned soups no matter what the flavour, to be very salt.


Don't forget to check back in a few weeks (I think I said the 2nd of November) to find out what the rest of the gang were inspired to make when I post the round up.  And also, if you want to join in with us next month, the selection will be Planes Trains and Automobiles  and hosted by Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures 

Monday, October 9, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p20

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 320, chapter 320

2026 Rolf's Kingdom

Our heroine crossed the room looking in Finn's closet, moving hangers left and right before turning and marching out. Her nose in the air she took two deep sniffs, nodding to herself as she continued on down the hallway, Reuben tight behind her. The dark haired male lycanthrope raised his eyebrows in question when he found them standing at Harker's door, our heroine rummaging through his drawers.

"Only took over a decade, but I finally got into Harker's pants." the female banshee said smiling wide. "No, not finding the funny? Tough room." she sighed expressing mock disappointment. "What's the matter there Roo? You look like you've got the weight of a thousand worlds on your shoulders." she continued to mess up the neatly folded clothes until she found a shirt that would fit. Removing the trenchcoat, she slithered into it.

"It sort of is." Reuben remarked shrugging. "Looking after the boys, running this kingdom and the Darkest Forest. It's difficult to say the lest. Not too mention, having to take care of Rolf. I would like my friend back now, thank you." he ran his hand over his beard before gesturing towards her. "Take your soul back."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." she replied screwing up her nose as she tried to move past him. Reuben grabbed a hold of her elbow causing her to look down at his perfectly formed hand as he dug into her pale flesh. "Interesting." she hissed the word more to herself than to him.

"What do you mean not going to happen?"

"I need to get back to my life. Where a big evil danger is threatening everyone. I got rid of my soul so that I could fight it. To be able to do what needed to be done without anything holding me back. I got interrupted when Bacchus decided to rip me from my neighbourhood and relocate me into his band of not so marry men." she felt the pressure begin to loosen on her arm, but Reuben still held on. "Besides, if you really wanted my soul out of Rolf, then just call Loki to fix it."

"Loki abandoned us, two years ago." he scoffed letting go of her, practically tossing her aside. Turning on his heels, the dark haired wolf made a sound of disgust.

"Abandoned? Two years ago?" she echoed the words her former pack member had just spoken as if they were a new language to her.

"Yeah, right when you dumped your soul into Rolf." Reuben said over his shoulder at her, his right hand now at his forehead as he continued to move around the small bedroom.

"Right." our heroine let out a sigh as she closed her eyes, tilting her head back just an inch. "Time moves differently here." licking her lips she raised her own arm letting it drop to her thigh. "When I did that, Bacchus showed up really angry and told Edric and myself that Loki had gone to Odin and was trying to get it sorted out." the female banshee moved again into the interior of the room closer to her friend. "That was barely a few months ago in my timeline." reaching her hand out, she touched Reuben's shoulder. "That doesn't sound like Loki. I mean, yeah he's a god, and he's done some crappy things over the years, but abandoning us was never one of it. He always, always came when we summons him; even when he demanded a heavy price tag, he always showed up."

"Well, he hasn't." Reuben shook his head as he moved from her once again, the idea of her touching him inflamed his anger towards the situation. "There has been nothing from him. Not even any of those psychotic dreams he used to like to drop into our minds. Those crazy hidden message visions he loved so much."

"Great, now we're really shacked." Nosferatu sighed as she turned again towards the door.  "Well, one crisis at a time." her hand was on the doorknob. "I need to get Shayne out of the kingdom as quick as possible. And..." she hooked her thumb over her shoulder towards the still closed door. "The other one I guess...I'll have to take back with me." she closed her eyes again dropping her shoulders in defeat.

"Does that one have a name?"  Reuben swore he felt the question hanging in the air between them, not wanting to be answered. Turning to face her once again, the dark haired wolf crossed his arms over his muscular chest waiting. "What, you picked up a hitchhiker without getting their details?"  Our heroine shook her head, eyes wide as she crossed the length of the room again to lean in over Reuben's shoulder. She barely breathed the sentence; practically mouthing the words so that none of the other supernatural creatures in the castle would discover. "You did what?" he growled as he pulled away from her, his arms in the air.

"Shut up!" she hissed again. "I can't have Rolf knowing!"

"Then why did you bring her here?" he ran both hands over his face, fingers leaving little trails of blood that evaporated as soon as they appeared. "He's going to go ballistic!"

"He never needs to know alright!" she held up her hand palm forward. "You said yourself, he's not himself that he doesn't connect to anyone or anything anymore. We can be gone before he ever realizes anyone was even in the building."

"Good luck on that one."

The bedroom door suddenly opened and our heroine found herself falling forward her shoulder crashing into the solidness of Reuben's.  The massive creature whimpered as it sniffed her neck in rapid speed it's tongue darting out across her chin. Tombstone wagged his tail beyond happy to see his owner. The hellhound had grown to be as large as the werewolves themselves.

"Hey...nice to see you too. Down, off, off, Reuben do something." she pleaded.  The male snapped his fingers as the beast sat down, his front paws marching in place as he waited eagerly for some praise.

"Any other shockers up your sleeve?"

"She was Bacchus's girl." our heroine stated matter of factly.

"No! I did not just hear that!" Reuben moved around her, whistling for Tombstone to follow. The beast looked from one to the other giving a low grunt before obeying the werewolf.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Remember, these two didn't always have such a strained relationship)