Coffee talk October 30th 2017

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

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

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

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

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

Till then...Happy Hallowe'en!

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p21

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 321, chapter 321

2026
Rolf's Kingdom

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

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

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

"I'm not."

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

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

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

"If only I'd met you first."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Understood." our heroine said nodding.


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

October 2017 FnF Randomness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Ingredients:

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






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

transfer to your casserole dish,

add the soup to your pasta and mix well

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

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

Crumble nacho chips over top,

Add shredded cheese

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

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

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

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

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p20

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 320, chapter 320

2026 Rolf's Kingdom

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

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

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

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

"What do you mean not going to happen?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Good luck on that one."

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

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

"Any other shockers up your sleeve?"

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

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


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

October Food n Flix Announcement

Spudguns! it's that time again, when I say guess what, I'm hosting Food in Flix this month. And, in the spirit of October season, I've selected the 2016 remake of Ghostbusters.

The rules are simple, watch the 2016 remake of Ghostbusters during the month of October 2017, and then head to your kitchen and cook or bake something it's inspired; then blog about it.
Your post must be current (October 2017), and must have a link to both this post and the FoodnFlix site.
Then, send an email to myself at "domesticanddamned@gmail.com", as well as cc-ing  Heather at "heather@foodnflixclub.com".   With the email header of "FoodnFlix Submission".  It must include your name, your blog's name, the link to the post, and a photo of your recipe. Or, you must give me permission to snag a photo from the blog post.
The deadline this month is  Monday October 30th 2017.  I'll be posting the round up for that on the 2nd November 2017.
You may also post your recipe on Instagram. IF you do so, it MUST include a short intro, the name of the recipe, #Foodnflix, and @ardethblood,

Ghostbusters is about four female paranormal investigators who find themselves in the middle of a city wide revenge plot; by one rogue inventor who has found a way to unleash the spirits of the dead on New York.  They've got one chance to stop the world from being sucked into oblivion.

Have fun, be inspired and watch out for the slime.