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?)