Sunday, December 31, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p26

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 326, chapter 326

Rolf's Kingdom
2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"He loves me."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Themed Day Thursdays 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday, December 17, 2017

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p25

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 325, chapter 325

Rolf's Kingdom
2026

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"In another life and reality yes."

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

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


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

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Theme Day Thursday p2

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Theme Day Thursdays

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


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

328 Days till Hallowe'en 2018. 

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Coffee Talk Dec 3rd 2017

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

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

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

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

Now on to new business...

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

I'll be back later in the week.

The Nosferatu Adventures s12 p24

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 324, chapter 324

Out of Time

5 years ago...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"And you didn't see anyone else?"

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

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


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

Friday, December 1, 2017

December FoodnFlix 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Ingredients:

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

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

Bake for 12 minutes depending on your oven at 400degrees

But back to the main thing, the tea.

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





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

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

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