Night Bleeds November

The Oxford Canadian Dictionary 's definition of vampire : a ghost or reanimated corpse supposed to leave its grave at night to suck the blood of the living,
their definition of a zombie: a corpse said to be revived by witchcraft, a dull or exceedingly tired person,
the definition of a revenant : a visible ghost or animated corpse believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living, a zombie.
 
movie: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)  starring Kenneth Branagh and Robert De Niro.
plot: When an explorer finds his ship trapped in ice at the northest point of the then known world, he is startled to discover a man half frozen. When he takes him aboard, he learns the man's history.  Victor Frankenstein having lost his mother in childbirth when she had his younger brother, becomes obsessed with the idea of cheating death at all costs. He begins studying the works of both modern medicine and the known occult philosophies. He hides himself away in his lab, at first reanimating dead tissue in small animals, but eventually moving on to the idea of reanimating the recently dead. (this comes after yet another lost love one) His single minded obsession leads way to him becoming sick, and taken away from the university by his best friend and his step-sister; Elizabeth. Unknown to them, Victor had been successful in creating a new lifeform, which he's run in fear from. We then see the world through the eyes of the creature, as he learns to survive on his own while having to hide his injuries. Before long, the creature demands that Victor create a mate for him, and swears that he will not rest until either he is allowed to have what Victor has or takes it all away from Victor in rage. When Victor tries to outsmart the creature by secretly marrying Elizabeth, the creature retaliates by killing Elizabeth. He then demands that Elizabeth be used to create his own mate. Succeeding in this against his will, Victor claims the newly reanimated Elizabeth for his own, but she understands what has happened to her and kills herself. The two men are then left running from each other in a battle of wills.

I have to say, one of my favourite scenes has always been the creature's revenge when he rips the heart out of Elizabeth.  Another is when Clerval introduces himself in the street after the lecture, complimenting the coat and Victor says "I am not mad". There is just something so perfect in the comedic timing between the two.  Is it wrong to admit that Clerval is one of my favourite characters in the movie version?  He's the perfect combination of silly sidekick and serious conscience. ("Dear diary why does no one understand me? P.S. I am not mad!") 
You also have the stairs scene, where Victor is carrying the dead Elizabeth up this winding staricase in this blood red robe (a toss to the fact they used the same set from Dracula) It puts you in mind of some demonic-angel ascending from hell.  This is his big F-U to everyone, throwing all logic and ethics out the window by brazenly admitting to what he's been doing. No longer even trying to hid the fact he's been messing around with stuff he maybe shouldn't have.

Besides wanting the trenchcoat he wears in the beginning (and later worn by the creature) I always wanted the journal Victor keeps. There is something about the idea of a book of all knowlegdgefullness...

Here is a man who is caught between the knowledge he's gathered of the occult and the modern Christian concepts of God. His desperation leads to first his faith in extending life, then to his obsession of "gathering the raw materials" to prove it can be done. He bucks the limits of the then modern medicine when he knowingly says that to grant pain free/death free life was a risk worth any consequence.

It's interesting that they set the movie during the time of a plague, given that vampires were often "blamed" for many of the plagues that happened.  The use of birthing fluid and electricity is brilliantly used here to help "kickstart" the reanimation. Electricity, although connected to the Frankenstein movies, was never really touched upon in the book. (there is one scene in the book where Victor is transfixed by a thunder storm and a dead tree)
We see how Victor's single minded obsession also leads to his illness and depression. He's fallen to his own madness and half wasted away. (visually putting you in mind of a vampire) 

Right off, I'm having issues with the photo and I have no clue how to flip it in the post here so yeah it's sideways...

Book: After the death of his mother, Victor Frankenstein, goes off to university where he quickly becomes obsessed with the idea of the "natural sciences". After devoting nearly four years of his life to the study of what some would consider metaphysics, he begins to question the reality of heaven, hell, lifeforce and creation. Consumed with the idea of a stronger man created not from the natural connection of sexual relationships, but from the idea of expanding on the evolution of what is already, he begins to reanimate life into dead tissue. When faced with his creation, the truth of what he has done, of what human nature is capable of, he flees in fear. When his best friend Clerval arrives at the university, he finds Victor near death from illness and exhaustion. The evidence of Victor's addictions long since disappeared. When they decide to take a trip back home, to visit the family, they learn that Victor's youngest brother has been murdered, and their adopted sister Justine is accused of the crime, Victor knows without a doubt that his creature has done this for revenge. Meeting with the creature on a remote mountain top, the creature asks one thing of Victor, to end his suffering and create a female for him. When Victor refuses, the creature begins to kill off each of the family members till there is no one left to protect.

It's been a few years since I last read this, and I have to admit I had completely forgotten about the side story midway regarding the "French family and the Arabian wife", that the creature tells.  It shows a lot about the types of stories that were popular at the time of the author's writing (such as 1001 Nights,  where the anthology style was becoming popular. Where you would have one storyteller giving you different tales)

Frankenstein is a story of obsession, vice, fear, faith, disillusion, and ego.  While the character of Frankenstein sets out to explore the inner world of humankind, the character of the creature sets out by no fault of his own to discover the outer world. Each as lost and disgusted by what they find. 

I always saw the relationship between the two leads as that of a sire bond. There is actually a scene in the book where Victor refers to the creature as his own vampire, when he realizes that the creature is trying to destroy everything he loves. The story refers to them as Father-Son, God-Adam, God-Satan,  style relationships. But, in it's own way, it's as if we are looking at a split personality, one of innocence gone wrong. Each is left struggling with their need for family and a place to fit, neither finding it. That is, until it's too late. It isn't till faced with their own deaths, that each seems to realize how much they are devoted to the other.

The level of manipulation going on between the two, is much like that of Dracula and Renfield, or even Dracula and Harker. The creature puts the worst fears into Victor, knowing his threats are the only thing holding any sway over him. The only difference here is that the creature doesn't do what he does out of ego, he does it out of grief.  There are moments in the story, where Victor has lost all reason, all hope. He's emotionally and physically weak, drained having put all his time, effort, energy into either making the creature or running from his fear of the creature. This is one of the biggest examples of the classic folklore vampiric relationship. The totally absorption of self into the ego of another. (there is also the nod to the fact the creature mostly only moves around by night)

Besides the fact the story deals with having a god-complex, the metaphors for loneliness and self-destruction are two of the most common we see in vampire stories. The two main characters, Victor and his creature, are both dealing with an extreme level of isolation. Neither being able to accept fully that they invited it themselves. Victor by his obsession to recreate life and the creature by his obsession to fit in.


Okay, so I'm going to shut up now and point you to Heather's blog All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, so you can see what she has to offer on the topic.

Next month, we're rounding out the year with Dracula both the book and the 1992 movie version Bram Stoker's Dracula. But I'll be back later in the week with the official post on that.

Night Bleeds October Continued

Okay, so this is the very overly long awaited second part of last month's book/movie club. Sorry guys, I really had no idea how long the book was when I added it.

Salem's Lot  by Stephen King:  plot - Ben returns to his childhood hometown in order to write a book based on some tragic events that happened when he was younger. That, and to get over some long held fears about the place. His arrival is tainted by the deaths of a few local kids, as well as the untimely arrival of a pair of strange business men. The town soon begins to express their fear and distrust with good reason. One of the high school teachers, Matt; befriends Ben, as does the young local doctor, Jimmy. The three find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery, which quickly elevates, when they realize they are in fact dealing with a group of vampires. Ben's new girlfriend Susan, and one of the children in town Mark, have witnessed the horrors newly plaguing the town, and agree to help the others fight off the vampires before the whole town becomes infected. Armed with only their fear and some folklore, they turn to the only priest who still believes in the supernatural, Father Callahan; to help them defeat the vampires.

I have to say, for me this book didn't even get interesting until around page 550. You're more than half way into the book before there are any vampires. The first half is literally just setting up the cannon fodder. Normally, I can get lost in a King book with ease, hanging off of every word, but this book was like trying to walk through mud for the first half. After reading the details of how the young teenaged mother beats her newborn, you're routing for the vampires to kill her brutally and slow.

I did, however love the fact the house is as much a vampire as the vampires are. The house itself weighs down on the town, it's every shadowy presence stretching over the town for decades causing hearts to skip a beat and grown men to sweat buckets at the mention of it. The fact that as each character finds themselves on the doorstep of the place, they feel the literal weight of the building baring down on their chests. And I did like the metaphor of towns that no longer thrive as undead pockets filled with revenants, unnoticed by "the actual living" as they drive through. The metaphor of ghost towns plays a prominent role in the story.

Dracula is referenced a lot as well, comparing the group -Ben, Matt, Jimmy, Callahan, Susan and Mark to Harker, Van Helsing, Seward, Holmwood, Mina/Lucy, - as well as Barlow and Straker to Dracula and Renfield.   The depiction of Barlow is also extremely like Vlad Tepes, which is contrary to the movie version I remember seeing as a kid (in which he looks more like Count Orlock from Nosferatu)

So for me, the first half of the book which picks apart the sleepy town and plays with the fears of a satanic cult, was not interesting. But I understand why it's used. This story was originally written when the whole cult paranoia was spreading rapidly through the news.


As you might remember the other half of the combo was the 1985 movie Fright Night.  The reason I picked this as a combo and not going for the obvious of the book and one of the tv movie adaptions was simply because I had a difficult time locating a dvd copy of it.  But, if you got around to watching the movie Fright Night, and reading Salem's Lot, then you will see the similarities.
You've got a guy who obsessed by terror stories, becomes fixated on the neighbour's house believing there is a vampire living there. His girlfriend becomes a victim being turned. you've got the young sidekick (Evil Ed in the movie; Mark in the book) who is the horror genre expert. You've got the older father figure type (Peter Vincent in the movie, Matt the school teacher in the book) who is acting as the Van Helsing character and therefore the backbone of the team (this in the book is actually split between first Matt then later Callahan) and of course the house. Both the movie Fright Night and the book Salem's Lot, center around the neighbour's house as much as it does the vampires.   Given the fact the book came out a decade before the movie, you can't help but suspect the film was influenced as much by it as it was the old Hammer films of the 60's.

Okay, this is where I am ending the chat on this for now.  I will be back later in the day with the November Night Bleeds combo which is Frankenstein and the 1994 movie version Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

The Nosferatu Adventures s11 p17

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 291, chapter 291

Out of Time...

Bacchus sighed as he walked around the small room in the occult shop. The sound of the snoring shapeshifter grinding on his every nerve. Snarling, the god was tempted to knock over one of the statues from the shelf just to hear it crash. Rolling his eyes, he decided against it, instead pacing around in the slowest motion his body would allow, as to not frighten the others. Quentin was set to arrive with orders to collect the other spellbook. That's what the sandy haired god was waiting for. He watched as the little hellhound bounded down the stairs like the puppy he was, his curiosity causing the little furball to sniff everything in his path. Yelping, he came skidding to a stop in front of the sofa where Dagan was snoring.  "I don't expect he'll be awake anytime soon." the god spoke to the creature scooping him up in his arms. "Vlad had to restrain him earlier. In order to get him back here. And Rufus doused him with some sleeping potion." the little pup whimpered as he turned to sniff Bacchus's face.


Meanwhile...

Edric lay on the hotel bed, empty blood bags scattered around him. Burping, the hybrid sighed as he flipped through the channels once more. "I'm bored."

"We still have a couple hours till sunrise. You can handle it." our heroine said, her back turned to him as she flipped through the large spellbook. Her ears twitched as she heard her fledgling beginning to hold back a giggle. "Don't say it."  she looked at his reflection in the window. Watched as the male rolled over the edge of the bed tossing the used blood bags into one of the empty plastic grocery bags, before leaning on his elbow.

"I get it more than you realize. You're tired of being treated like some championship belt. Everyone's greasy little paws clinging onto you like you're their only chance at stardom. I understand, I do." he laid back down with a grunt. "I dealt with that my whole life too. That was until you turned me." he let his left arm drag over the edge of the bed, running his knuckles back and forth on the rug. "Only difference is you didn't become the title shot until after you were turned." his voice lowered to a whisper. "I envy you for that. In a way." the sandy-blonde male was off the bed standing behind his sire without a sound. "You at lest got to have a normal life before you became the championship belt." he nodded to his own reflection in the window; his arms suddenly around our heroine's waist.

"We've been over this a million times. Soulless equals no longer the title belt." her shoulders stiffened as she got defensive.  The male hybrid shrugged, reaching one hand around her grabbing the large spellbook and sitting back down on the bed.

"A spell for keeping moths out of the garden, a spell for turning your enemies into slaves..." he flipped the pages noisily. "Right next to a recipe for chocolate cake and lemon basil cookies."  Nosferatu glared at him as she opened a bottle of pop. "What?" Edric continued to flip the pages letting out a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a sigh of disgust. "Like I said, I'm bored." he pulled his right hand away. "It bit me." he said watching the drops evaporate.

"That's what you get for rough handling it. Paper cuts."

"No, I mean it bit me, Not just a paper cut." he held out his hand towards her. There was no denying there did seem to be a red spot on the tips of his two fingers that looked a lot like fang marks. "Explain that to me." he pouted.

"Yeah dude, I can't." she replied taking the book back placing it on the small table again. She watched the male's reflection once more, as he flopped back on the bed, his right knee moving from side to side. "You hungry? We can order something." she turned back around to face him.

"This time of night? Everything's closed man." he sighed reaching out once again for the tv remote. He turned on the weather channel seeing the little icon for the sun, the time stamp beside it reading 6:48am. Glancing at the bedside clock, Edric let out another sigh as the digital lights flashed 3:15am. He hadn't transformed in over two hours. Scratching at his stomach, the hybrid sat back up his blue eyes wide. "You think it's safe yet?" he asked all seriousness to his tone. "I mean, maybe we should call them?"

"And what? Ask if Matilda was brutally shacked by a crazed wolf?" our heroine crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself.  Edric tilted his head to the side processing the sentence.

"You mean...that..." he brought his hands up crossing them first at the wrists then uncrossing them, his fingers flexing in question. "Oh.Oh!" he blushed.

"It's not a pleasant experience trust me."

"Were...were any of the times you were claimed..." his voice trailed off as he continued to blush. Our heroine sat down on the bed, nearest the headboard but keeping a few feet between them. "...was it..."

"Less than brutal?" she let out a sigh of her own. "Couple." she tucked her feet under her, curling up with emotional exhaustion.

"Well by now he has to have claimed her? And we won't have to worry about the ritual any more." Edric said yawning. Stretching back out on the bed beside his sire, the male allowed himself the luxury of believing everything was going to be okay. "So let me ask you something." he tucked one arm behind his skull closing his eyes. "If it had been the other way around. If you and Matilda had been the ones effected by the ritual...who would you have gone and claimed?"

"Fishing for compliments so beneath you." she moved a little closer to his shoulder tempted to rest her face on it, but held back instead fluffing up the pillow.

"I know." he tapped his other hand against her thigh. "Answer. Come on. Truth or dare."

"I wouldn't have had much of a choice once the full moon kicked in. The guys have described it as sort of blacking out but not really. You have no control over yourself yet it's like watching from a dream. You know it's happening, yet you can't do anything to stop it. I guess it would have been you?"

"You guess?" his voice raised in a pinch.

"You would have been the closest supernatural male. Plus the sire bond..." she trailed off. Our heroine turned over onto her side, tracing her fingertip over Edric's throat. He swallowed, the pulse point in his neck beating rapidly. The tint spread then from his cheeks up into his ears and down his neck causing goosebumps. "You know, for a male, you blush a lot."

"Well the bloods got to go somewhere." he bit the corner of his mouth.

"Oh my god."

"Shhh." he let a half grunt escape his throat. "Not so loud, Loki might show up." he squeezed her thigh before yawning again. "With your soul." he grinned wide. "Second thought, maybe that's a good idea. Huh? Then I could claim you..." he growled playfully.

She sat half way up on her hip, clearing her throat. "Your hand does not belong there."

"Yes it does. Besides, that's a lot of thigh, plenty of real estate." He winked at her from over his shoulder. The phone started to ring, causing Edric to practically steamroll over our heroine so he could answer it first. "Yeah?" he mouthed the words It's Seward. Our heroine nodded pointing to her ears.

"Banshee hearing." she sighed half listening to the hollow voice on the other end, half admiring Edric's shoulder, wanting desperately to rip a chunk out of his smooth flesh.

"Are you sure? Okay just keep calm, we...we can't for another two hours at lest. Sunrise...drug him. Go ahead and just stab him full of whatever you've got...I don't know! Then hit him with a lamp. Figure it out!" he hung up swearing. The male hybrid let himself fall diagonally across her as he howled in frustration. "Well we're going to have a pack after all. Don't say it!" he spat, more angry with himself than anything. The sandy-blonde male swore again, slamming his fist into the headboard causing it to dent. "I didn't bite him I swear." he moved to a kneeling position balancing himself at the edge of her hip; before jumping from the bed in a blur. "If you had just let me take you for my mate, now...now we've got enough for a pack and Dagan is going to be alpha" he paced back and forth feeling like the hotel room was choking him.

"Ugh! You don't want it trust me." our heroine said as she got from the bed, "It's like being Prime Minister, everyone thinks they want the job, but in the end it's a really rough gig." she mindlessly said as she grabbed the room key. "I'll be back in ten minutes, just chill out for a few."

"Where are you going?" Edric demanded his eyes having flashed to the amber-grey of the wolf.

"The laundromat few doors down. I am going to see if I can find something to wear." she gestured to the sweater and shirt she was barely wearing.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Edric making lemon and basil cookies, naked, wearing only a pair of glasses and an apron that has the Canadian flag on it...)

Food n Flix November 2016

This month's selection for Food n Flix is the 2015 movie  Burnt, and its being hosted by Caroline Makes

I've talked about this movie before on here (last year this time) but here's a brief reminder  : Bradley Cooper plays Adam Jones, a once famous chef who'd managed to gain two Michelin Stars before his addictions forced him out of the business. Now, sober he begins to form his plans to not only get back to his career, but to earn that third star. He manages to charm old friends, new coworkers and everyone in between with his stubbornness and his recipes, but old habits tend to die hard.

Notes:  burgers, fries, oysters, cake, eggs, tomato, bacon, mushrooms, coffee, prunes, seared tuna, wine, pasta, bread, strawberries, rum, chopped sage, vodka, bourbon, milkshakes, street foods, pulled pork, chicken, BBQ, falafel, lamb, shrimp, mussels, mackerel, ricotta, duck eggs, escargot, quail, peas, zucchini, micro-greens, lobster, scallops, pizza, monk-fish, soup, oranges, egg rolls, limes, ribs, beef, eggplant, cauliflower, sprouts, risotto, halibut, pork, cheese, potato, peppercorns, butter, celery, brussel sprouts, truffle, sole, salad, sea bass, garlic, cayenne pepper, omelette, pigeon, sweet breads, oatmeal, pop, fennel, carrots

Okay, so my two favourite scenes in this were the one where he's in the Burger King defending the fast food industry, and when the sous chef is making her daughter fish for breakfast over and over until she gets it right. I wanted to make a seafood dish, but I just couldn't convince anyone to let me cook it for them, and me being vegetarian, well there went that idea. (halibut with a white sauce and a side salad of red peppers, onions and blood orange was one idea, another was a breaded fish sandwich with mozzarella stick-fries)

What I ended up going with was a vegetarian dish that was a lot less fancy, but very comforting. Scalloped Potatoes. Yes, I finally got around to making a casserole for FnF. I thought this blended the ideas of my two favourite scenes just enough. The idea of comfort food (the burger scene) with this could be fancy (the fish scene)

Ingredients:

three large potatoes, half an onion, half a liter of milk, 1 cup flour, 3 Tablespoons butter, salt and pepper

peel and slice the potatoes into rounds, as well as the onion

Layering everything - potatoes, onions, bit of the butter, flour, salt and pepper- do this about 4 times (roughly depending on how deep your dish)  until you are nearly at the top of the dish,

Pour milk over the layers, till it almost reaches the top

bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes -depending on your oven


Okay, so I have to admit, since I was making this for someone else, I had salt in it, if I had been cooking this just for myself at home, I would have left out the salt completely and doubled up the black pepper.

One of the reasons I always liked scalloped potatoes, was because it looked like it took all day to make, when it was a simple quick dish. So for me, it's always been elevated comfort food.


Next month, our fearless leader Heather from All Roads Lead To The Kitchen, is hosting and her pick is Krampus.

The Nosferatu Adventures s11 p16

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 290, chapter 290

Out of Time...
The Van Helsing Boys

Landin ran his hand through his bleached blonde hair, chewing on a piece of gum. His blue eyes searching the crowded lobby of the police station, his ears buzzing with the constant ringing of phones. The full moon really did bring out the strange in people. His younger cousin was already talking to the nearest officer, informing him that they were looking for Arthur. The officer pointed towards the back room, telling them they could wait there. Seward all but skipped back to where Landin was, a look of pure delight in his eyes.

"He's in with a reporter. But we can wait for him in the back. You okay?" Seward asked. Landin nodded shrugging.

"I've got that feeling again." he shook his head. "I'm cool. I'm cool. Just if I seem like I might faint or something, at lest don't let me fall on my nose okay?"

"Always jealous that you got grandma's perfect nose." Seward grinned wide at him, tossing his head back slightly causing his mass of wild curls to bounce. "Ah cool. There he is."   The two started moving in unison towards the older male, neither sure just what to say.  "So you want to break the silence first?"

"With what? Hi I know we only met once, but your ex-girlfriend is a bloodsucking fiend but not to worry about her, it's her shapeshifting ex that wants to kill you."

"Works for me." Seward cleared his throat grabbing Arthur's hand. "Hi. Hi."

"Can I help you?" Detective Holmwood looked at them through very tired eyes.  Seward tilted his head to the side grabbing his cell phone. Snapping a shot he texted it off quickly before turning back around, already reaching into his backpack for something.

"Nosferatu asked us to stop by. She's worried..."

"She's worried that you were..." Landin butted in but quickly lost any train of thought he had, puffing out his cheeks with a deep sigh.

"Her ex boyfriend is sort of on a ripper tonight, she asked us to stop by on our way home just to see if you were okay. Make sure you hadn't had any dealing with him tonight." Seward commented as he grabbed a blood pressure cuff. "Mind if I?" he gestured to Arthur's arm not waiting for the other man to approve.

"The guy who was in here the other day?" Arthur asked his eyes suddenly half closed. He was so exhausted the last few hours, that he just let Seward have his examination.

"That would be Edric, her new...uhbbb...friend. No, we mean Dagan." Landin replied.  He noticed the detective rubbed at his jaw a few times in the minute and a half they'd been talking to him. "Forget to shave this morning?"

"What? I must have. Been so tired the last twenty-four hours, I barely remember my own name." Arthur's voice dropped a notch and became muffled as he yawned.

"I'm going to call Quentin and tell him to swing by here. I think we might need some of the bagged bl ...uh...cocktail sauce." Seward said nodding his head smiling closed lipped. "You're just looking a little peckish, and I think it might be a bit of a virus...flu! But, we've been dealing with this with Nosferatu the last few days so..."

"Cocktail sauce? For the flu?" Arthur asked rubbing his jaw again.

"Really amazing...cocktail sauce." Seward smiled again nodding. "Vitamin B12. Great for the iron." he started to dial.

"What happened there?" Landin asked noticing for the first time the red marks on Arthur's hands.

"Rash. Allergic to something I suppose." he started flexing and unflexing his hand as if never having seen it before. "Sort of appeared yesterday after I was on a case."

"Something to do with chemicals? Cause those sort of look like burns." the bleached blonde said elbowing his younger cousin. "Want to take a shot of those."

"It was just really weird. One second I was fine, brought a guy into custody, and then this happened." he held up his hands towards them, noticing how his normally manicured nails were suddenly longer. "I must be more tried than I thought, I swear I just trimmed those?"

"Again, I ask were there chemicals at the crime scene?" Landin asked not completely sure he should touch the detective's hands, but wanting to examine the glass like nails.

"No." the older male sighed crossing his arms. "I don't know? Might have been. Just remember cuffing him and then this burning sensation..."  Seward looked up at him from under his hair.

"Your jaw...that from the other day when Edric was here? When he took me home?" Landin asked.

"Yeah." Arthur responded not looking at them but somewhere between the two males. "When he threw me into the cabinets."

"Okay. New plan. You're taking the rest of the night off and coming with us. I have a feeling Nosferatu is going to want to know about this." Seward remarked.  Landin held up his finger gesturing for Arthur to give them a second, as he grabbed his cousin by the shoulders guiding him away a few feet.

"If you're implying what I think you're implying, we can't let him anywhere near Nosferatu. Not tonight."

"Oh shack!" Seward's eyes went wide. "What do we do?"

"Take him back to our place I guess? That's far enough away from both the hotel and the occult shop." Landin replied as he started to walk back towards the detective. The bleached blonde male's gaze fell upon a set of handcuffs sitting on the edge of one of the desks. Clearing his throat he scooped them up as he continued on. Carefully, he brushed them against the detective's arm expecting to see it burn. Only, nothing happened. "Um...huh." he turned nearly smashing into Seward. "We've got a problem."

"You mean more than the one staring us in the face right now; with the fact Detective Holmwood is about to become the latest member of the furry faces are us fan club? Because I don't think that anything else you have to tell me right now, could be more of a problem?" Seward replied.

"The handcuffs did nothing. I touched them to him and nothing." Landin said holding up the set still in his hand.

"That's because handcuffs are not made of silver. Of course they had nothing to do with the burns on his hands. Werewolves react to silver. And those my friend are not made of silver. They are made of stainless steel."

"Okay smarty pants, then what the hell caused the burns?" Landin asked, the handcuffs clanking in his grip.

"Yeah I have no idea. Like seriously. What in this day and age is still made of silver?"

Groaning, Landin rubbed the heel of his palm against his eyes shrugging. "I don't know. Jewellery? Maybe?"   Seward leaned over his cousin's shoulder asking Arthur if he could remember touching any jewellery at the scene?  The detective stood there for a long moment, just staring off still, before mumbling something neither could hear. Scratching at his temple, Seward asked him again.

"There was a ...thing..." Arthur gestured towards his neck, the nails gleaming in the lights. "...a trinket. Coin."

"A coin? Old coins were made of silver, but that would mean the thing was priceless. Ohhh." Seward made a face as a realization came over him. "Was it a robbery? Did you arrest him for robbing someone?"

"Museum." 


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Bet you didn't see that coming...)

year 5 day 179

movie: Sausage Party
starring: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill
genre: Comedy,
year:2016
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: When a grocery store full of food items discover that their lives are build on a lie, they begin to break the rules of their packages in order to find the truth.

So I had mixed emotions about this film. When I first saw the trailer last summer for it, I was looking forward to it. It looked really funny.  I watched this the other night on rental, and I don't remember laughing more than once. If it wasn't for the fact I had paid for the rental, I would have turned it off. I did not find it funny.  This is basically one continuous penis joke after another, which normally I find penis jokes hilarious, but it got old quick.
But, with that said, it lingers in your mind. Sure, it's "packaged" as a "fresh idea"; which it is but not in the way it was expressed in the previews. As I said, it lingered in my mind a bit. This is a real slap in the face social commentary on religion, politics and sexual identity. Which, were this a live action film would never have made it to the cinemas. It's too over the top at times, but that is almost what is needed to make the points.

You've got a set of characters here from the typical hot dogs, buns, a bagel, bottle of alcohol, twinkies, to the people who buy them. Then there is the big bad, who is a douche. No, I'm not being sarcastic, the villain in this is a cartoon feminine hygiene product that has one thing on his mind. To get up in there. That, and "kill the sausage." Which you can take anyway you want.
I sort of walked away from this film disgusted at first, then as it rolled around a bit in my brain, sort of got why the humour was as blunt as it was.  I really could have done without the poop or the big sex orgy, that was both a bit much for even me. The talking condom was funny, that was the one real joke I laughed out loud at.

There is a speech one of the characters makes in the film about how they knew the truth of what happens to the food when it leaves the store, but created a happier myth for the others, and how they are disappointed by the way their harmless story has become twisted. I think that sort of summed up everything in one sentence, as being the core of the movie. The opening scene has all the products in the store singing in praise of their "gods" in hopes of being picked that day. Which, rapidly snowballs into each section of the store's "neighbourhood" declaring themselves better than the rest of the products.

what did I learn? Would I sit through this again, honestly I'm not sure?

Nov Night Bleeds Announcement

Spudguns! this would be the monthly announcement for the all vamp movie/book combo; Night Bleeds.  And you might notice that I haven't taken the "red highlight" off of last month's. That is because, as stated in my "unfinished homework" from last month; November is a choice.

Combo:  November's original book is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and the 1994 movie version Mary Shelley's Frankenstein starring Robert De Niro.

Or...if you; like myself did not make it through last month's book and would like to;  can do Salem's Lot (book) and the 1985 movie Fright Night.

Rules: Read the book, watch the movie, blog about your thoughts and if you were inspired by both or either of them, to cook/bake/craft something, then add it to your post.  You must have a blog to join in, and link back to either this post or the Night Bleeds page.

Deadline: Sunday Nov 27th 2016

I stated because I did not do my research before adding the Stephen King book to the list, and was unaware it was as long as it was, that's why I'm giving the choice of continuing October's selection or actually proceeding with November's. I will be doing both much to my own horror.

The Nosferatu Adventures s11 p15

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 289, chapter 289

Out of Time...

Edric rested his skull on the edge of the tub, the water steaming. He had no idea how much energy the transformations would take out of him, and he couldn't even transform into a wolf completely. It had been over an hour already, with Edric having transformed twice, and both times needing to feed. They wouldn't know if the plan worked completely till they talked to Matilda. Without enough lycanthropes for a pack, they were in the dark as to whether Dagan had stopped the full moon ritual by claiming Matilda as his mate? Edric had not felt anything to indicate it had happened.  Letting out a deep breath, the hybrid started mumbling to himself.  His sire appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, leaning on the door frame her arms crossed, smiling at him. Sniffing, Edric opened his eyes to look at her. "What?"

"You're quoting the bathtub scene from Fear and Loathing. Cute." she remarked.

"Yes ma'am, I am." he sniffed again this time reaching his hand out for her.

"I'm not getting anywhere near you right now. I think we might actually be able to get through this tonight with only the feeding part. I called Quentin, he's going to bring a few more blood bags cause we need something fresh. Smile, you dodged a bullet." she remarked the cuff of Seward's sweater once again at her nose. It was literally the only thing keeping her head clear, keeping her from throwing herself at Edric. She'd have to remember to send the kid a fruit basket or something with a big thank you note for not having washed his sweater.  Growling, Edric got out of the tub removing the stopper, letting the water quickly down the drain.

"You're really selfish you know that?" he snarled pointing at her as he grabbed a towel, walking out of the hotel bathroom and into the main room.

"Just how am I selfish?" our heroine asked turning to follow him. The hybrid didn't answer her, just raised his hand as if tossing something into the air before grabbing the tv remote turning it on. He sat on the foot of the bed, flipping channels mindlessly, letting the hissing noise as each channel appeared for the half second, fill his ears. "How am I selfish?"

"Removing your soul." he refused to look at her as he continued to flip through the channels again not finding anything of interest. Turning the tv off, Edric tossed the remote down on the side table. "Not trusting me enough to follow through with my plan. Why do you keep ripping it down?" he stood facing her again. "We were equals!" he gestured between them. "For the first time ever in my life, I had someone who was dealing with the same crap I was. Who knew just what I had to live with. And then you had to go and screw it up! Removing your soul, removing the part of you that made you a shapeshifter. You left me without the chance to become a pack alpha, without a chance to claim a mate, you left me incomplete!" he growled in frustration tossing his head back, his blue eyes turning once again to the amber-grey of the wolf. "You...left me! Alone! Through all this now, I'm going to be alone!" he moved around the small room, his hands on his hips, his jaw clenched. "What is it exactly that you don't like about me? What is it that is keeping you from being with me?" his right hand hovered between them very near her throat. "You made yourself the most important person in my life by turning me. Siring me to you for all eternity. Yet, you refuse to take that responsibility." he shook his head. "Why?"

"You think I don't want you? It's all I can do to keep my distance." she said her own hand suddenly balance with his. "Every nerve in my body is screaming at me to throw you on the bed. You forget, the sire bond is shacking with my brains too."

"Then why are you fighting me on this? It's a good plan. Brilliant if you ask me." the sandy-blonde male said smirking, his hands fiddling then with the edge of the towel still wrapped around his waist.

"I never said it wasn't. I just said you'll hate us both if it back fires." she let out a sound of exhaustion. Turning, our heroine sat down on the bed, both hands in her short spiked hair.

"How could it back fire?"

"Bacchus did say Loki was trying to get my soul back. What if he does? What if he does before I can figure out the spell to trap The Seer? Or worse what if he replaces my soul while..." she waved her hand towards him, the cuff of Seward's sweater falling over the tips of her fingers.

"So when all is said and done, you are afraid to be my mate?" Edric sat down beside her on the bed, staring off towards the window. "Way to make a guy feel crappy about himself." he flopped back on the bed, his hands over his face.

"Why are you acting like some horny teenager anyways?"

"Everyone keeps drilling it into my skull that the next chick I shack will be the one I'm stuck with for the rest of eternity." he sat back up, scratched at the back of his neck. "Right now, this is the loophole in the contract. Unless you're hiding another soulless female somewhere..."

"Wow. Wow." our heroine stood back up, moving towards the bathroom locking the door. Edric sat there in the little room flipping back and forth between anger and disgust when his ears began to twitch. Sniffing deeply, the male hybrid got up, magick misting himself a pair of jeans and letting his eyes return to their human blue, before opening the hotel door.  Landin was standing there in the hallway, just about to knock, carrying two large grocery bags in his other hand. Sighing, Edric sidestepped gesturing for the bleached blonde to enter.

"Dude!"  Seward said a few feet behind them as he raced down the hallway, a large backpack in tow. "Have you seen the parking lot?" the younger male was practically jumping up and down with giddiness. "Massive claw marks on the outside of the building. Right there" he pointed to the nearest exit. "And I'm pretty sure whatever it was, ate like three large birds, cause there are black feathers everywhere." he crossed to the table opening up the backpack, pulling out the large book. "I was told to bring this." he said starting to flip through it.  A pale slim hand slammed the book shut on him, our heroine standing there suddenly. She had moved so fast, no one, not even the fledgling had heard or seen her return from the bathroom.

"That's not for you." she said grabbing up The Seer's grandmother's spellbook. "You bring the rest of it ?" the dark haired male nodded as he reached into the backpack again, handing over the photocopies and notes from his own grandfather. "Quentin said he'd be over in awhile with the other book. He and Ruthven went to the occult shop to get it from Matilda."

"Why is all this so important anyways?" Landin asked as he chewed on a straw. He was fighting a slight blush as he was overly aware of Edric's presence in the room. It wasn't helping that the empath was picking up on the already existing sexual tension that seemed to have been layered in the air before they arrived.

"Somewhere in all this, is the puzzle piece to beating The Seer. I hope." our heroine replied  Edric cleared his throat holding the door open still.

"You two should go. I'm not really safe to be around tonight." it was all the male could do not to grab both the humans ripping their throats out. The sound of their hearts beating was forcing him to sweat. Licking his lips, Edric cleared his throat again sniffing, moving past them locking himself this time in the bathroom.

"Yeah. You should go. And be careful getting back. The thing that made those claw marks, was Dagan. He might still be in wolf form?"

"Huh?" Seward gave a nervous giggle. "We'll text you in the daylight. Come on, maybe we should go hang out with that cop at the police station where it's heavily guarded and no monsters can get in."

Our heroine froze, her mind rolling at a million miles a second. "Oh god! Arthur! You have to go there for me, make sure detective Holmwood is okay alright! Please,  Dagan might not...in wolf form he might....I didn't even think..."  she was pushing both Van Helsing boys out of the hotel room door, shoving them violently into the hallway. "Now!"


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?)

Food n Flix October (Hallowe'en Week 6)

Spudguns! it's been a few months since I last joined in the group, and I couldn't think of a spiffier way to cap off Hallowe'en Week this year then doing a little treat based on a movie of tricks.  The Food'n'Flix selection this month is Beetlejuice, and it's being hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.

plot:  When a couple are killed in an accident, the find themselves stuck in their old house as ghosts with a new family. After many attempts to rid themselves and what they consider to still be their home, of the unconventional modern family, they hire a so called expert to help. The self proclaimed bio-exorcist offers them not only a free possession with every expulsion, but his help comes at a price. He wants to be able to keep his human form, and not be confined to the afterlife. Soon, the ghostly couple find that they have more than just the uber modern family to get rid of.

I do believe I've chatted about this movie back in year one of the blog. (I know I did, I'm just too lazy to search for the post)

Notes:  milk(the model truck) juice, wine, bread, garlic, coffee (mentioned) beer, chicken (wall decoration) apples, rum and bananas (the song) bottled water, Chinese food (Cantonese actually I think is what they said?) pop, tea, soy sauce, cow, chocolate bar, onions, lettuce, turnip, chives, tomato, radicchio, herbs, artichoke, green peppers, salad dressing, jam, spices, oil, ginger, fruit, peas (mentioned) Italian food (mentioned) shrimp cocktails with sauce, lemons, limes, ice, olives, martinis. 

I would love to say I had this great out of the box idea for this, but that would be a lie. It sort of stumped me, (I think that I've hit a food creative wall lately)   One of my favourite scenes actually has nothing to do with the main cast, but with the sidekick Otho during the ending of the seance; where he's stripped of his dark cool looking suit and ends up in the powder blue nightmare 70's one. And I desperately was trying to come up with something for it. Sadly, my creative food writers block got bigger.

But, as I was staring at the screen giving myself an ego attack, I thought about the blood red wedding dress Lydia gets "stuffed" into against her will. And I had it! So simple it hurts, but I made a really easy Stuffed Red Pepper.

I started with a basic mushroom fried rice.

Cooked the rice, added some chopped mushrooms, green onion, and a fried egg.
Mixed it together with a splash of oil and pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and a splash of hot sauce.

I then gutted the pepper, stuffing it with the mixture and baking it for 20 minutes at 300degrees.

Sadly, I don't have a spiffy cute name for it (my creativity is suffering)  Don't forget to join in next month when the movie de jour will be Burnt, which is being hosted by Caroline at Caroline Makes. 

Hallowe'en Week p5 (night bleeds)

So this is day 5 of the blog's Hallowe'en week, and it happens to be the monthly vampire book/movie club day.  And I have a confession to make...I did not finish reading the book. I know, I'm the host to book club, but I failed to do my own homework before hand, and did not realize the book is 700 pages long. When I added it to the list, I thought it was one of Stephen King's shorter novellas.  So I ran out of time, and never finished the book half of the combo this month.

I did however, get around to Fright Night, and decided to give you a "what that movie inspired me to do" dish to soften the blow of no book half... The combo was suppose to be that of the neighbourhood being taken over by a vampire and no one believing the one person who knew.

What I am going to do, since I never officially listed anything for next month's combo, I'm going to extend this month's into next, and offer the choice of doing the originally planned combo of the book Frankenstein, and the 1994 movie version Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.( starring Kenneth Branagh and Robert De Niro)  So if you want to join in next month's Night Bleeds, it's a choice of Fright Night/Salem's Lot  or Frankenstein.   And since I've only got myself to blame for not finishing my homework...I'll be covering both.

Fright Night (1985):  Charlie Brewster is obsessed with vampires. When he spots the new neighbours moving a coffin in next door, he becomes obsessed with proving there is a vampire living there. When he goes to the police, telling them about the murdered prostitutes last being seen at the neighbour's, no one believes him. Turning to his local hero, a late night horror host Peter Vincent, Charlie finds himself in a battle for not just his own soul, but that of those closest to him.

The key elements in this movie are belief, respect, loyalty, courage, desperation and obsession.  This is probably the best bridge between the way horror movies had been and the direction they turned in the late 80's going forward. The vampire movies started to turn from the point of view of the hunters to that of the vampires, not too mention, the vampires went from being the village terrors to becoming slick, sexy, desirable ideals. The scenes with the character of Peter Vincent, do play out more like the classic vampire movies, with him having to prove that the vampire is indeed a supernatural creature. As well, as fighting off the Renfield character of Evil Ed. The apartment Peter Vincent (classic combo name of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing) is decorated to remind you of the old Hammer style films, as there were always garlic and crosses prominent throughout the "old inns, churches, castles".  The big theme in those old style films, was always having to save the soul of the virginal girls, which in itself was a metaphor for losing your virginity and becoming "an adult". We see this played out in the character of Amy. When the movie opens, we see her ready to give herself to Charlie, who's distracted by his "childish obsession" with vampires as he sees the neighbours move in with a coffin. Amy, later in the infamously cool dance club scene, is in turn seduced by the older man, and turned into a vampire. The dance scene in itself is very erotic and more than suggestive to the idea that she has "lost her virginity" to him. When we next see her, she's dressed similar to the "brides" in most classic vampire movies, and it's once again Peter Vincent who raises a cross shying her away.
There's a great line midway in the film, where the vampire Jerry Dandrige tells Peter Vincent that in order for the cross to work on him, Vincent needs to have faith in it. Lending to the idea, that because of him being an actor, he's lost all faith in anything other than the material. This line is repeated later on near the end, when Vincent does in fact hold Jerry Dandrige back for a few moments with the cross. I have to point out, that both Evil Ed and Amy are easily affected by the simple sight of the cross, implying one of two things; either because they are fledglings and therefore weaker, the cross has a lot of power over them; or their own faith and belief in the image of the cross is what causes them to buckle. Suggesting highly that the power of suggestion is greater than the sword. (you can also argue on a third idea, that because Dandrige is such an old creature, the Christian god has no power over him as he predates Christianity/has other religious beliefs)
The opening scene, also shows us a thin line between obsession and desires or even that of basic needs. As Charlie is easily distracted by what's going on outside of his window, ignoring his girlfriend. Sex becomes less a need for him as he lets himself become engulfed with his obsessions. We also have a vampire movie playing in the background of the opening scene, with "Mr. Peter Vincent the Great Vampire Hunter" who is shown holding his stake backwards as he begins to kill a vamp. This again gives to the idea of not paying attention to your surroundings, and not paying attention to the situation at hand. It goes on to lend to the idea that your personal heroes are fallible. In the end of it all, the cowardly "movie hero" Peter Vincent, turns out to be the real hero of the plot, as he's the one who kills the vampires. He does this because he's left with no choice not because he's brave and strong. His desperation is foreshadowed when he takes the kid's money to help Charlie to begin with because he's beyond broke. And again this shows you how he's lost faith in anything that isn't of the material world.

I have a recipe...there is a bit more food than you would have first thought, mostly in the first half of the film. From casseroles, to burgers, chips, sloppy joes, fruit, beer, fries, pop, and a few drinks at the dance club.   Because we see the character of Jerry Dandrige eating apples more than a few times, I thought I'd make an Apple Brown Betty.

Slice up 3 to 6 large apples, placing them on the bottom of a pie dish, if you'd like you can add a light sprinkle of lemon juice to them to keep them from turning brown while you proceed,

Sprinkle both  2 teaspoons white sugar and cinnamon on them. You may add a pinch of nutmeg if you wish.

mix together 4 tablespoons butter, 2/3 cup of brown sugar and 8 tablespoons flour into a crumbled mixture, spreading over the top.
Bake roughly 45 minutes at 350degrees depending on your oven.

I know, so simple it hurts right?

I know my essay sort of blows this time around too. I've got bit more I want to say on Fright Night, which I will try to cover when I do the second part of this next month. I just didn't realize the book Salem's Lot was as long as it is, and just didn't allow myself enough time to get through it.

As I said, I'll extend this month's book club/movie combo to the end of November, and let anyone who wants to join in have a choice between it and Frankenstein. More on that later in the week with the official post.

Don't forget to check out Heather's offerings over on All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, this month, (here) she actually did the homework.

year 5 day 178 Hallowe'en Week p4

movie: Byzantium
starring: Gemma Arterton, Johnny Lee Miller
genre: Thriller, Crime
year: 2012
format: DVD

plot: When a young girl decides she's had enough of the life she's been living on the run with her prostitute mother, she finds herself admitting to her new boyfriend that she is in fact a 200 year old vampire, who's been running with her vampire mother from a group known as the Brotherhood.

Based on the stage play  The Vampire's Story

This started off as a brilliant movie. You've got two lonely women who are on the run from some horrible group of bad guys, the mother self absorbed Clara, with getting them a decent "trick" and the daughter  Eleanor gloomily fed up. Then we start getting into their back story, as they end up right where they had started 200 years before, in this sleepy little coastal town.  The mother pretends that she has no idea where they are, and that they have never been there before, while the daughter has a photographic memory, and details their lives before becoming vampires.

The idea here, is the mother was barely a teenager when she was first spotted by a military captain, who rapes her leaving her in a whorehouse saying he's given her- her future employment as a prostitute. She ends up pregnant as a teenager and hands her baby over to a convent. Few years later, dieing of consumption, Clara becomes a vampire. Secretly watching over her daughter, she's sent into a rage when she learns that the same man who raped her, has done the same to Eleanor, she kills him then turns her own daughter into a vampire as well. This puts them on the radar of the Brotherhood, a sect of all male vampires who's number one rule is that any female vampires may not sire another.

It's never officially stated, but you do get the impression that the captain is the girl's father; as the narration at one spot says "of all the harlots he created she was his favourite"  referring to the mother and through a few scenes, we learn that they had a mildly respectful relationship that lasted over a few years.

I found the ending to be a bit of a let down, as they end up picking different lives for themselves. This was done by the same director who did Interview with the Vampire, and there are moments when you can't help but think of the direct story between Lestat and Louis. Not too mention, with the captain Ruthven, and his best friend Darvell, has all the markings of the main characters from Dr. John Polidori's  Vampyre. (Ruthven is the main vampire in Polidori's legendary story)

what did I learn? This is a metaphor for what women have had to live through for the last few hundred years in order to gain their independence.

year 5 day 177 Hallowe'en Week p3

movie: Blade 2 Bloodhunt
starring: Wesley Snipes, Norman Reedus
genre: Action, Horror
year: 2002
format: DVD

plot: Blade has been hunting the vampires who kidnapped and turned his best friend and mentor, Whistler with the help of a new weapons expert named Scud. It takes them two years to find him, saving him just as a new threat appears on the scene. The pureblood vampires search the group out, needing their help to stop an new breed of vampire. One that not only feeds on their own, but turns them into Reapers. Reapers have a higher metabolism from normal vampires, and are unable to control their bloodlust, therefore having to feed every single day. When the group learn who's actually behind it all, a new level of trust sees the light of day.

Well, it's a sequel, so you know what that means...bigger bad guys, more explosions, and three times the blood.
This sort of became a trend in the last decade, the idea of vampires playing mad scientist or having a natural mutation. (Underworld, Daybreakers, Reign of Darkness, Red Blooded American Girl) And the whole thing of enemies working together against a bigger enemy.

This is pretty much a big shoot'em up film, with some witty banter between Snipes and Ron Pearlman, who plays the "leader" of the vampire soldiers called the Blood Pack. Most of the "rules" laid out in the first film regarding the houses is bypassed, in favour of just running around in the sewers shooting everything that moves. The timeframe this was shot leads you to see just where the goth subculture was really becoming used by mainstream television/movies as an blendable tool. From the costume design to the lighting, which in this case had a lot of earthy tones; compared to the first film which catered to stark neutrals (black, white, silver)  I get caught up in the look of this movie apposed to the plot every time I watch it.

I do like the idea that the vampires have to admit in this, they aren't the all infallible creatures they are hyped to be in the original. There is just something about stories where the scary creatures are scared of something.

what did I learn: Dude, how can you not love a guy who calls himself Scud?

Hallowe'en week 2016 p2

Day Two 

What that movie inspired me to do

I think I mentioned once back in year one when I covered Edward Scissorhands, that it was one of the lest interesting Johnny Depp films for me. I know, a lot of people are gasping and fainting from hearing me say that, but it's true. But, this movie has been plaguing me for the last few months. (it's been on tv a lot the last month) Too the point, I couldn't get the family bbq scene out of my head. I wanted to do a version of the ambrosia salad that is shown, but try as I might, and I've tried a few failed times, I just can't seem to get the vegan marshmallows to work.  So instead, I dug deep into the recipe box and decided to make a Vegetable Alfredo dish. The recipe originally called for chicken, but I used tofu instead.

I used extra firm tofu, drained and just broken up into smaller chunks, frying it in a pan with salt.  Yes, salt.(tofu has zero taste on it's own if you've never used it)  Turn it every few minutes, like you would if you were pan frying chicken, adding a bit of water when needed.

While that's cooking, you can made a simple Alfredo sauce with flour, butter, cheese, ground black pepper and milk.  I used almond milk and a bit of water.  The cheese was lactose free vegetarian gouda.

I went a head and chopped up half an onion, half a red pepper, 1 cup of cauliflower, 1/2 cup green beans, 1 cup broccoli.
Steam the cauliflower, beans and broccoli, then toss with the raw onion and red pepper. 

Cook desired amount of  fettuccine to package instructions, drain and toss with vegetables. Add the tofu tossing it as well, then pour the alfredo sauce into the mix. Make sure it coats everything.

This sort of reminded me of the hair-do, the character of Edward has, and the bits of red; the cuts he makes by accident all the time, as well as the green hinting at the gardening he does through out.  Not only is this a super easy recipe, you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand.
 

Of course I have a copy, it is a version of Frankenstein after all...

Hallowe'en week 2016

Spudguns! It is I, your heroine, and heroin, Ardeth Blood, aka Nosferatu, aka ...I'm too lazy to type out the whole gimmick. And this would be day one of the Hallowe'en week.  Please don't be too mad with me, but this week sort of turned into an epic fail.  The amount of  "what that movie inspired me to do" posts I had originally in mind, just didn't come together.  I can say there will be at lest two recipes this week, and a handful of movie reviews. And of course, next week we've got Night Bleeds so...Anyways, on with the show...

Day One

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do The Time Warp Again (2016)

By now, everyone and their dog's grandmother has seen the remake that aired on tv few days ago. And if you've read any of my stuff over the years, you know how much of a fan I am of the original. So of course, I was glued to the tv set the other night when it came on. But dude, I got to say, it blew dog backwards.

The costumes were amazing, and casting Laverne Cox as the lead Frank'n'Furter; brilliant.  And then the rest was all down hill.  So I'm old, and didn't recognize anyone of the main cast, which is fine as it was geared for a younger audience. I was sort of sad to see Tim Curry was just a bit player as the Criminologist/Narrator.  And I get that the songs were changed enough to fit the times as well as the actors singing abilities, but...I was just so disappointed by the overall of it.

I'm one of those rare people who actually likes the original for the movie not for the fan interaction. (I really hate the whole party thing of it) Okay, so I'm the only one on the planet who enjoys the original for being a cheesy 1970's movie based on Frankenstein and B-drive-in films of the 50's/60's.  I think one of the main things that made the original so worthy was that it played on the metaphors while poking fun at the way things were produced in those horror/sci-fi/musicals of the 40's/50's/60's.  This remake, just slapped it in your face without really getting it.
One thing I didn't understand about the way the remake was handled, they allowed some fairly gratuitous groping, while completely taking out the "hint" of the incestuous storyline between Riff-Raff and Magenta. Really? It's one line and a kiss; but by removing that a whole set of taboos were removed. Isn't that part of what made the original what it was? The hinted at undertones of taboos (the god-factor of creating a new species, the bisexuality of the characters, the incestuous relationships, the addiction of lust/drugs, the cult like mind control Frank'n'Furter has over everyone, cannibalism) was where the original pulled it's strongest punches, and sadly, where the remake fell off it's high heels.

The ending scene, where Riff-Raff and Magenta arrive "transformed" into their space suits, made me groan too, as seeing the token Bride of Frankenstein hair-do gone for a bunch of silver balls, just felt like another slap in the face. I felt as if the actual Frankenstein plot of a man creating life on his own out of the dead, was shoved under the sexual pride of it.

With all that said, I would like to see what they would have done with the sequel, Shock Treatment? That's something that might have worked better with an update for modern fans.

The Nosferatu Adventures s11 p14

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 288, chapter 288

Out of Time...

"So let me get this straight." Edric said as he tossed the room key down on the little table. "You're a Frankenstein, cause of Dagan having been your mate. A Blacksmith, because of Reuben claiming you. Frankenstein again, Oaken because of sharing a soul with Rolf, Blacksmith again, Oaken again because of one of the lycanthropes during the 1400's, a Dracula from marrying Vlad..." he shook his head in a double take his mouth forming a tight 'o '.  "No wonder you willing had your soul removed." he opened the little grocery bag they had with them, taking out a small box of cookies.  Our heroine moved across the hotel room, wrapped in a large sweater. The scent clung to her mind, informing the banshee it belonged to Seward. They had found it draped over the back seat of Ruthven's car. "I thought you said that taking a mate was for life?"

"It is. Dagan actually died once, actual death. That caused Reuben to claim me. But Loki brought him back from the dead. That sort of undid Reuben's claim on me the first time." our heroine remarked without any emotion in her voice. "Sun is setting. Are you sure this is what you want?"

The sandy-blonde male crunched on a mouthful of the chocolate cookies, brushing the crumbs off his hands before reaching for one of the pop bottles that was poking out of the grocery bag. Downing two large gulps, he nodded. "You make it sound like a death sentence."

"Trust me, come sunrise you will think it is." her voice dropped forcing the hybrid to strain his sensitive ears.

"I can't claim you." he stated firmly his hands now at his hips. "You've said it, Bacchus said it." he gestured towards the door. "So it should work. It should be just enough of a distraction to keep me from being effected by the full moon ritual."

"If the sire bond is strong enough. If not...then you will be pulled back across town. Where Dagan and Matilda are. And you really would have wasted your time." she paced slowly back through the room inspecting the bathroom. "Not too mention your dignity." she mumbled.

"How do we know that they haven't..."

"They haven't. The ritual literally gets cut off cold when an alpha has claimed a mate and leadership of the pack. You would feel it. Reuben described it as electric wires and heat coursing through him."

"Weren't you pack alpha once?"

"Only for a short time, but it was different for me, because it was when I was pregnant with Loki's first heir. He's the one who actually got the alpha position. The second I gave birth the power left me. I had to fight Jarl for it. But anyways..." she let out a deep sigh running her hands through her short spiked hair. Sitting down on the bed, our heroine pulled her hands deep into the sleeves of the sweater, her nose buried in the cuff. Focusing on Seward's scent, she tried not to think about what would happen if Edric's plan failed.  The bed bounced as the hybrid flopped down beside her, his legs crossed, hands behind his skull. Our heroine glared at him unable to keep from smiling. "You're actually acting like you're on vacation or something. Like you are enjoying yourself."

"I get to one up Dagan. Of course I'm enjoying myself!" he shrugged. The bedside phone started to ring suddenly. "Um." Edric made a popping sound with his mouth. "Did you tell anyone we're here?"

"How could I? We didn't know we were coming here till you literally swerved into the parking lot at warp speed."

"Answer it." he nodded towards the chunky black telephone. Leaning over the female picked up the heavy receiver just as Edric slapped her thigh.

"Hello...yes this is...no I wasn't...thank you." she hung up. "We've got a problem." she started to laugh. "Um...Dagan and Vlad are in the hotel lobby."

"What?" the hybrid was off the bed and out the room door before our heroine could reply. "No! No! You know what? No!" Edric said coming back down the hall towards her, grabbing the door about to close it, then turned around stomped back in grabbing the room key. "Lock it! Lock the shacking door and windows!" he pointed at her then towards the wall before grabbing his sire by the neck planting a rough kiss on her. There was no emotion in it, the action was nothing more than Edric marking his territory, as his scent and saliva were all over her.

"Great." she said to the now locked door. "They're going to fight and I'm going to lose them all." she leaned her shoulders against the heavy wooden door. "Widowed divorced and abandoned in one fail swoop."

The auburn haired male wolf was leaning over the check in counter, his nails tapping on the smooth surface as they waited. He'd magick misted himself a black t-shirt, which seemed even more painted on than it really was. His blue eyes sparkling in the low humming lights. Vlad stood beside him, his hands clasped behind his back as he studied the photos on the lobby wall. Storming towards them, Edric demanded to know what they were doing there?

"It's nap time. Matilda and Rufus are back at the occult shop waiting with a big batch of sleeping potion for us. So come on." Dagan replied hooking his thumb over his shoulder.  Edric snorted.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." he glared at the older wolf. "Either of you." he pointed then towards Vlad. "I don't trust you two. I go out there into the parking lot and you will knock me over the skull with a crowbar if I'm lucky. Rip out my throat or something. No."

"We didn't sniff you out for you to argue. We don't have much time. Let's go."

The hybrid ducked his chin, pressing his lips together as he realized they didn't know about Nosferatu having removed her soul. If they did, they wouldn't have wasted their time trying to find him and keep him from claiming her. Edric still had the upper hand in the situation. His plan could still work, if he could just get them to leave. There was no way he was going back with them, no way he was going to be anywhere near Matilda when the ritual kicked in. "I'm not leaving her. Not before the moon rises."

"May I remind you, she is still my wife." Vlad said under his breath.

"Not for the last six hundred years." Edric answered. "She's here with me. That right there should tell you both something."

The three males turned almost in unison as the air around them shifted. Our heroine was standing suddenly a few feet behind Edric. "He's right you know. I'm here with him." she replied her right hand on the wall. She didn't want to get too close to Dagan, didn't want the werewolf to smell her too closely. She would smell different to him in a half a heartbeat.

"I'm not bowing down to him!" Dagan spat the words pointing at Edric.

"I didn't say you had to." our heroine commented never once breaking eye contact with her own sire. The auburn haired male shoved his hand through his hair slicking it back before rotating his shoulder, cracking his neck as if about to fight. The female smiled to herself. "I didn't say he'd be becoming the alpha. I just said, he's my choice." she reached for Edric's arm, forcing the younger male to stumble back a step. "Leave. Both of you before it becomes...please just go home."  Edric moved down the hallway back to their room, walking backwards the whole way never taking his eyes off of the older wolf. Our heroine dragging him, trying to keep her own emotions under control. Edric let out a short breath as he locked the hotel room door, his back and shoulders pressed against it. The look on his face was somewhere between relief and annoyance. His eyes were cast down, his jaw clinched as he began to tap his one hand on his knee. Our heroine was centimeters from him, holding her breath.

"Sire bond or no, he still gets under your skin huh?"

"For what it's worth."

"Hey, look at me please. Hi right here." he cradled her chin forcing her to look him in the eye. "I'm not going anywhere." he said smiling, his blue eyes sparkling. "There's nowhere to go. The sire bond has seen to that. It doesn't matter if you're mated to..." the hybrid clutched his stomach grunting.

"Damn!" the female said her delicate hands cradling either side of his face. "It's started and there is no way they have gotten back to the occult shop. I'm sure they haven't even left the parking lot. Shack!" she watched in horror as her fledgling doubled over in pain, his eyes having turned the amber-grey of the wolf, his fangs having broken through. Thick dark ropes of saliva dripped from the edges of his mouth, his hands taloned claws. He whimpered, trying to form a sentence but a strangled scream came out instead. Biting down on her wrist she forced him to drink. Edric's eyes were wet with tears of pain and frustration as he gnawed roughly at her flesh. Pushing her from him, he fell to the floor, his body convulsing, his vocal cords refusing to let anything but wet slick guttural noises escape.  Nosferatu's senses were in overdrive as she heard the low growl of the other wolf outside the window. Dagan had turned fully and was stalking his prey. "Oh this is going to hurt."  our heroine said as she fell beside her fledgling, one knee pressing down nearly all her weight onto his chest, as she grabbed him by the hair. Ripping a chunk out of his throat, she let him bleed for a moment.  The convulsions stopped. Edric's limbs began to relax, as the male was able to breathe through the pain.
The sandy-blonde male lay on the floor both hands over his face as he tried to will himself back to human form. It was no good. He was stuck in his version of a transformation, his mind thinking of nothing but the blood coloured corners of his vision. His ears were ringing with the echos of the other wolf still prowling just outside their room window. His scent heavy in the air. Edric's nose burned. Burned with the scent of the other male, burned with the scent of his own blood as it began to coagulate under him. Burned with the scent of his sire, who's blood sat thick on his tongue. The hybrid saw his sire leaning over him again, her lips moving but he wasn't able to pick out the words. She was asking him to do something, only it seemed her voice was underwater. She grabbed him by the shoulders pressing her nails into his flesh, the nerves refusing to register the sensation. He nodded without realizing what he was agreeing to, still trying to focus on her voiceless lips.  His own once again finding the edge of her wrist as he felt the weight of her arm crashing into his teeth. Then the pain stopped. His ears stopped ringing, his senses all rushing back to him in the same heartbeat. Edric realized that Dagan had left the area, the full moon ritual pulling the other male away from them finally. He had avoided the confrontation that our heroine had feared for him.  Craning his neck, the male looked over his own chest towards his sire. She was still kneeling beside him, her arm smeared with blood and saliva. Moving from him she stepped over the confused fledgling, walking into the bathroom."I'm covered in dog drool. I'm taking a shower."

"That wasn't so evil." Edric said managing to make it to lean on his elbows, his breath still laboured. His eyes went wide and he forced himself up to his feet pushing past our heroine, barely making it to the bathroom. The male threw up twice before falling back to the floor.

"I think you need the shower more than I do." Nosferatu commented tossing the towel and soap at him.

"So that's it? That's what all the horrible fears have been about?"

"Sort of. I've never seen it end this easy. There is usually a lot more blood and fur and dead wolves. Also, first time I haven't been pinned to a tree by a naked werewolf. So can't say for sure. How do you feel? Like other than the vomiting? Any bolts of lightening driven through your spine, or your brains on fire?"  Edric whispered no as he scratched his ear. "Huh. Then I am guessing Dagan hasn't found Matilda yet?"


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. 2 out of 3 falls...)

The Nosferatu Adventures s11 p13

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 287, chapter 287

Out of Time...

"What?" Edric said screwing up his nose. He moved from our heroine, kneeling on the bed still wearing his jeans. "You're killing me here. You know that right? Like seriously."  his voice dropped to a hush.  He was across the room his one hand in his hair, as he began to pace around. Twenty minutes before, they had been standing outside Edric convincing our heroine that he had been waiting for someone like her. Fifteen minutes before they were kissing and laughing, the tension between them finally broken. Ten minutes before, they had locked the doors to the building and made sure they were completely alone. Now the hybrid found himself walking in circles in the warehouse, shaking his head his eyes the pure white of the banshee. He didn't believe it, couldn't believe what she'd just suggested. he looked at her still laying on the bed, wearing only the oversized t-shirt. Running his hands through his hair the sandy-blonde male caught the sun slide behind the edge of the roof. Another couple of hours and none of it would matter. He was quickly loosing his handle on the situation.

She sighed as she got up from the bed, walking across the length of the building grabbing the coffeemaker. "I mean, really. We're not exactly in high school here." she mumbled scratching at her naked thigh under the hem of the t-shirt.

He gestured to the bed scratching his own thigh, mimicking her without realizing it. No one had ever questioned his sincerity when he'd suggested wasting a few hours. Then again, the stakes had never been this high. Edric wasn't used to being turned down by anyone. The sandy-blonde male was used to being the center of attention, with people offering him whatever it took to be able to sleep with him. But his sire wasn't taking his word for granted.

She began to hunt for a clean coffee mug. "You figure all you have to do is say all the right things and..."

"It wasn't just talk! I honestly meant it!" his voice rose in frustration, saliva sticking to his lips as he began to feel his spine tighten, and a ticking sound echoing in his brain. It would be dusk before they knew it.

"Then I'm sure you will mean it in twelve hours. After the full moon is set and the sun is up again." our heroine managed to sound both uninterested and flirty at the same time.

"The sad part is, I actually will." he all but jumped in place like a spoiled teenager his temper getting the better of him. "But in the meantime..."

Clearing her throat the banshee gave up her search for a mug and crossed back to where he was standing. Raising her arm to him so that her wrist was just under his nose she shrugged. "In the meantime." Snarling the male grabbed her wrist ripping into it, his right arm around her waist, his hand on the small of her back as he drank; holding her in place. Pulling his teeth from her flesh, Edric threw his head back, his eyes clouded; the amber-grey of the wolf flashing for the briefest second before returning to the pure white of the banshee. Dragging our heroine towards the bed, he brought his own arm up to her lips. Biting down hard on his shoulder, the circuit continued. "Oh! You weren't completely lying, were you?" she said as she found herself pressed tight against him.

"You change your mind then?" he asked wiping the blood from the edge of her mouth, licking his thumb. Gasping for air as the anger began to subside, he sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her with him.

"Not for a second. Come on, you really think I'm going to buy that? Huh?" she was sitting half on his lap. "Please. Don't think I don't know that you've been plotting and scheming all afternoon." she wrapped her arms around his neck once again unable to tear herself from his stare. "I just don't get what you think it will accomplish? You know right now Dagan is staying with Matilda and Rufus. The second the full moon rises both yourself and him will be like rapid dogs. Both will make a b-line for her. And unless they sedate him..."

"You said yourself. There isn't enough lycanthropes here in this reality for a pack. So while Dagan is under the influence of the full moon with Matilda; I'll be here with you." he kissed her shoulder as the thin shirt she was wearing once again fell down exposing it. The taste of her blood still tingling on his tongue causing him to repeatedly lick his lips.

"What part of this do you not understand? You can't claim me. No soul. Which means, even if there were enough for a pack, you can not become alpha. Not like that. Dagan will have a better chance because he will have claimed her."  our heroine's eyes became slits as she saw the grin spreading into Edric's eyes. "He'll have claimed her. She'll be his mate. For the rest of their lives. Oh you rat bastard."  The male hybrid tossed his sire down pinning her to the bed.

"And if my theory is right. Even if I can't claim you, the sire bond should be strong enough to counteract the full moon. If we are already..."

"Shacking and feeding." she replied. The male raised an eyebrow at her. "What? That's your plan isn't it?"

"You put it so delicately. Now, if we are already..."

"Ahead of the thing getting something straight between us." our heroine said without any emotions.

"You are going to be like this all night aren't you? One big dirty joke after another." Edric shook his head his eyes closed, chin down. "Unbelievable."

"You started it. Besides, not even dusk yet." she was trailing her fingertips through the smattering of hair on his chest.

"What'ya doing there?" he couldn't hold the grin back as our heroine shrugged. Echoing her, Edric shrugged as well, a slight awkwardness slipped over him, as he realized he was about to lose control of the situation. "But it should work." it was a statement not a question as the male shifted position once again kneeling; this time one knee on either side of Nosferatu, hovering on her thighs. "If Dagan claims Matilda as his mate, then come next full moon, we're all safe. The full moon shouldn't effect any of us again. And without your soul, it's just us wasting a few hours. Right." he nodded answering himself. "But the sire bond will need to be strengthened. Which means..." he grabbed her left hand, chomping down again on the soft underbelly of her elbow, swallowing a few heavy mouthfuls of her blood before ripping his own arm open for her.

"You're going to hate yourself come sunrise." she whispered holding his arm away from her, watching the wound heal. The sandy-blonde male saw a sadness creep into his sire's hazel eyes.

"No I'm really not." he replied. "I've meant every word I've said to you. I'm more than cool with us. You were right when you said the sire bond trumps everything." he ducked his face half laughing. "There is really no point trying to fight it. If my options are giving in to it, or shacking a familiar who used to be a timber wolf, or taking a human mate and pretending to be something I'm not; then..." he shrugged again causing the bed to shake. "I'd rather be with you."

"You're right, you're not going to hate yourself, you're going to hate me come sunrise. But, lest you're not trying to dress it up and say it's anything other than it is." our heroine said grabbing Edric's wrist bringing it to her mouth. "Bottoms up."

"Besides." he groaned as he felt the rush of his own blood being drained from him. "It would be extremely awkward having claimed someone else, and having to live next door to you anyways. The sire bond doesn't give much wiggle room for moving off campus." he bent his face to the mattress, slamming his free hand into it, before gripping the edge. His mind was becoming sharper with every rotation of the blood sharing. His veins singing with the infusions of her blood. Edric's breathing became laboured as he rocked back, the pressure on his arm released.

"No, no it does not." she sniffed, the blood forcing her to close her eyes relaxing into the mindlessness of the moment. A delicious heat spreading down her spine as her mind filled with colourful bursts.  Our heroine then felt herself being lifted off the bed suddenly and shook.

"What the hell?" Edric's voice was pinched. "Did you just fall asleep on me?"  he was leaning over her, balancing on his one elbow.

"What?" she opened her eyes the rainbows fading behind her eyelids. "Not...not...no."

"What was I just saying then?" he jutted out his chin, his hand slapping his thigh. Our heroine squinted wondering exactly when the fledgling had gotten totally naked?

"You were talking about not hating yourself in the morning."

"Fifteen minutes ago. You did fall asleep on me." the hybrid magick misted a pair of shorts as he moved from the bed. It was his turn this time to wander towards the coffee maker, checking to see if there was any in the little filter. "Unbelievable." he swore to himself as he dragged his thumb across his eyes. "I've dealt with a lot of bad..." he gestured towards the bed. "but someone falling asleep on me..." he tossed the sentence over his shoulder not bothering to look at her. "I didn't realize I was such a bore." he continued on his little rant as he hit the on switch, waiting for the hot water to hit the little mountain of grinds. The scent of the fresh brewed coffee hit the air, tickling his very sensitive nose; allowing him to take a deep breath clearing some of the cobwebs. Edric could have stood there all night just breathing in the aroma of the coffee, his heightened senses reveling in it. It was a new guilty pleasure he'd never admit he'd gotten into since becoming a hybrid.

"Your blood was just so calming." our heroine's voice was sluggish as she rolled over onto her side. "Had a nice calming effect." she yawned.

"What, and Dagan's never did?" he bit his nails suddenly not wanting to hear the answer. Edric willed the banshee to say she never drank Dagan's blood like this, but he knew from her confession about the sire bond getting out of control that wasn't the case. A tight ball of jealousy sat in the hybrid's chest physically hurting. Pouring the now hot coffee, he carried his mug towards the bed again, sitting down beside her on the edge. Slapping the back of his knuckles on her leg, he waited for her to wake up again. "Answer me."

"I'm up."

"Dagan's blood. Did it cause you to need a nap?"

"No." she sighed looking at Edric through blurry eyes. "I mean, it calmed me down from the bloodlust, but...it didn't make me feel like this. Neither did Reuben's."

"Reuben? Hold on a second. You telling me Dagan, your sire, isn't the only one who you regularly shared ..." he gestured then towards her, tilting his neck to the side. "How?"

"We are banshees. We drink blood and there were no blood bags where my pack was. My pack were willing to let me fed off them. I've never kept that secret." she moved over a few centimeters for him to lay back down. The male hybrid cracked his neck turning from her for a moment, staring at the floor.

"So for you this really does mean nothing? It really is just shacking and feeding?" there was a hint of hurt to his voice that he hadn't expected himself.

"There is still time before the full moon rises. And as much as I hate to say it, Matilda is prettier than me."

Edric threw his coffee mug across the length of the warehouse watching it smash into pieces, the dark roasted liquid flying in an chaotic arch. "I don't shacking want Matilda!"

"See, I told you strengthening the sire bond was a bad idea." our heroine commented gesturing to the mess. "Makes you all crazy and possessive."

"That's it! I'm tired of this." he cast his eyes once more towards the window, noticing the shadows having changed again. Edric was rapidly losing time, as the full moon was getting closer every minute."We going to finish this or what?"

"Darling, we haven't even started this." she commented reaching for a blanket.The male ripped the quilt from her body, tossing it onto the floor. "I'm sort of cold there buddy."

"Yeah, well get over it! Cause it's nearly sundown and we don't just have that to worry about, we've wasted too much time already and Quentin and Ruthven will be back at some point."

"Oh hold your crickets! All you need is a three count. All any of them has needed to claim me in the past. Getting the pack alpha position and stopping the full moon ritual."

The male hybrid said nothing as he made a face, reacting as if he'd been slapped, blushing. He was about to stretch out on the bed beside her, when as if on cue, the door started to rattle the sound of Quentin's voice telling them to let them in.  "Damn it!" Edric turned sharply on his heels, heading towards the warehouse door. Opening it for his friends, the hybrid let out a deep sigh. "This is just messed up. Ridiculous." he said magick misting a pair of  jeans again, shoes and a long sleeved shirt he pointed at our heroine. "You seriously still with the plan?"  She sighed nodding. "Fine!" he crossed to the locked storage box, grabbing it in one hand before tossing the first article of clothing belonging to the female he spotted, at her.

"What's this for?" she asked tossing it back down on the edge of the bed. Edric swore as he scooped up first the blanket he'd tossed on the floor, then with his free hand lifted our heroine off the bed; wrapping the blanket around her and tossing her over his shoulder.

"We'll be back in the morning." he said taking two of the blood bags still in Ruthven's hands. "Be in a hotel."   He left the two humans in complete confusion as he stormed out of the building.  "I'm borrowing your car!" he screamed tossing Nosferatu into the backseat of Ruthven's car before roaring out of the parking area.

"Plan? Did he say plan?" Quentin asked.

"I think he did." Ruthven remarked in puzzlement.

"Plan? What plan?"


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Think someone's a little strung out?)