"I will eat the flesh and drink the blood of my Saviour and I will live forever."
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
Mello is referring to the Catholic Communion. Catholics believe in transubstantiation. The wine and wafer, which they consume during Communion, is actually the blood and flesh of Jesus Christ. Catholics also believe in the survival of death.
"'I will rape you with my mouth and you will enjoy it.'"
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
This is a quotation from Stephen King's 'Danse Macabre'. It describes the sexual undercurrent of vampirism.
"'The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness.'"
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
Mello is quoting from chapter 16 of 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker.
"'You are but mortal, Sir. Time is now to be dreaded - since once he put that mark upon your throat.'"
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
Mello is paraphrasing from chapter 23 of 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker. The original quotation is: "you are but mortal woman. Time is now to be dreaded - since once he put that mark upon your throat."
"You shudder at my touch and well you should."
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
'I Shudder at Your Touch' is an anthology of short stories, which combine sex and classic horror genres, edited by Michele Slung.
'No man knows till he experiences it, what it is like to feel his own life-blood drawn away into the man he loves.'
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
Mello is para-phrasing from chapter 10 of 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker. The original quotation is: "No man knows till he experiences it, what it is like to feel his own life-blood drawn away into the woman he loves."
I, on my part, give up the certainty of eternal rest and go out into the dark
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
Mello is quoting from chapter 25 of 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker.
Then he stood, grinning wildly, like some latter-day vampiric Pan.
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
The Greek god, Pan, oversees mountain wilds. He is often depicted with an over-sized, erect phallus, and there are many stories describing his sexual prowess, including him seducing the moon goddess, Selene. His primary targets though were shepherds and young woman.
Pan was also responsible for inspiring sudden deep fear. The word 'panic' means to be thus afflicted by Pan.
Mello's slow smirk loomed in the half-light above. "'I will kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan.'" He leaned, supporting Matt with an arm, as he bent the Spaniard backwards. From this unsteady perch, Matt was kissed, hard and passionately; the taste of iron passing back and forth between them. Mello drew back an inch or two and hissed. "'Ah! I have kissed thy mouth, Iokanaan, I have kissed thy mouth. There was a bitter taste on thy lips. Was it the taste of blood? Nay; but perchance it was the taste of love. They say that love hath a bitter taste. But what matter? What matter? I have kissed thy mouth.'"
...
'I am athirst for thy beauty; I am hungry for thy body; and neither wine nor apples can appease my desire. What shall I do now,
Iokanaan?'" The blond laughed, extending a finger to draw patterns in the blood on Matt's chest, dripping more of his own to join the
palette. "'I was chaste, and thou didst fill my veins with fire.'"
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
Mello is quoting from 'Salome' by Oscar Wilde.
"'You must thank your own worth for what I grew to be, for the demon lurked under the angel in me.'"
Mello, The Blooding - For Spoiled-Kitten
Mello is quoting from the poem, 'Angel or Demon', by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. The last stanza reads:
The world makes grave errors in judging these things,
Great good and great evil are born in one breast.
Love horns us and hoofs us - or gives us our wings,
And the best could be worst, as the worst could be best.
You must thank your own worth for what I grew to be,
For the demon lurked under the angel in me.
"No." Matt reloaded Super Mario. "Mine's fine just as it is."
Matt, For A-Pseudonym
SuperMario is the eponymous hero in a series of games by Nintendo.
"Damn! That reminds me, I need to get my 'Wuthering Heights' essay back. I disputed some of the marking."
Mello, For A-Pseudonym
'Wuthering Heights' is a novel by Emily Bronte.
"Can you..." Mello paused, his shoulders doing this little shimmy thing, like he was Marilyn Monroe or something, "do my
back please?"
Matt, For GuiltyOne
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, often typecast in the 'blonde bimbo' or 'sexy' role.
"At least your child will be born into a good world. This man from the CY, I believe him. The decisions they are making now
are good for Yugoslavia and that is good for Croatia."
Mirta, December 13th 1989
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia (CY) was the only political party and governed the entire country. In December 1989, the CY announced that it would do all it could to retain the republic of Yugoslavia, in the face of Serbian nationalism and the disgruntlement of the other Yugoslav countries. Slovenia and Croatia were especially vocal in their unhappiness at Serbian policies.
"Bah!" Her Mama, whose views had been formed under Tito, had been screaming a running diatribe against the dangers of
nationalism for months. "It will end in war. This Milosevic is dangerous. He wants a Greater Serbia and he already has half of the
country. He will come for us next. You mark my words."
Zlata Janakovac, December 13th 1989
Josip Broz Tito was the president of Yugoslavia from 1953-1980. His policy was a bespoke brand of Communism, which became known as Titoism. His view was that a fractured Yugoslavia could not compete in the wider world, as each individual country would be too small. Only as a federation was Yugoslavia strong.
Slobodan Miloševic was the president of Serbia from 1989-1997 and the president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997-2000. In 1989, Miloševic had de facto control (politically, militarily or with undue influence) over Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Vojvodina. The ideology of Greater Serbia had been around for centuries. The boundaries of its map involved taking over all of the 1989 Yugoslavia, except for Slovenia and the most western part of Croatia.
"No, Mama." Mirta shook her head, emphatically. "The Americans have said that they won't interfere. Croatia will become a republic
and it will be peaceful. The Americans, they see it like George Washington. They support our independence. They won't
interfere."
Mirta, December 13th 1989
In 1989, the American President George Bush promised, via his diplomats, that the US would not intervene with any plans for succession from Yugoslavia, by any of its states. This gave heart to Slovenia and Croatia and may have been instrumental in their final decisions to succede. The belief was that, without American involvement, there would be no war in the Balkans.
The elderly woman muttered enigmatically, 'there was that Dutch sailor'.
Suzana Janakovac, December 13th 1989
I read on a forum that 'a friend of a friend' in contact with someone working on the Death Note anime had heard that Mello was supposed to be Dutch. As evidence goes, it's a tenuous link, but I thought I'd imply some Dutch blood anyway.
His great-aunt Mare shuffled into Ana's place, kissing the distraught, little face. "Welcome, Miho. May God protect you."
Mare, December 13th 1989
Some of the names in this story were shout-outs. Silvija is Spoiled-kitten; Mare is Maru-Light; and Ana is Andariel. Mare is referring to the Christian God. This line becomes slightly more sinister if you consider the kami that Maru-Light would have been bestowing on the baby Mihael Keehl.
There was some twisted logic that linked Mirta with both Melissa and Marissa, but I'm buggered if I can reconstruct it now.
Inside, the redhead was half-lying on his settee, playing on his DS, while simultaneously watching 'My Own Private Idaho'
again. River Phoenix was nervously telling Keanu Reeves, 'I love you and you don't pay me.' Mello glared over the back of the settee.
"You are a fucking arsehole!" On the television, Keanu replied, 'Mike...', but Matt barely looked up from his game. "You are such an
incomparable idiot, I don't know why I even bother to speak to you." 'I really wanna kiss you, man.' River interupted.
Mello, TY for 1000 Hits
'My Own Private Idaho' is a film about rent boys. River Phoenix plays Mike and Keanu Reeves is Scott. Mike falls in love with Scott, but Scott has his own ambitions and pursues them instead.
"Let's hack Chocolate and Video Games."
...
"I bet the Vatican never prohibited the hacking of MangaBullet clubs. Or the Bible. Or Watari. Though Eddz Walsh might have
views on the subject. It being copyrighted to him and all."
Matt, TY for 5000 Hits
Chocolate and Video Games is a Mello and Matt community on MangaBullet. All MangaBullet design is copyrighted to Eddz Walsh and this was my way of getting that attribution into the body of the story.
Mello's quick mind was already racing through the context. He had had a rude awakening of his own, upon his first Christmas
here, as a five year old. Firstly, nothing at all had happened on December 6th, when Sveti Nikola usually brought a present. Mello had
polished his boots and left them out on the windowsill, but they were empty in the morning. Then December 25th had been
celebrated very differently. Mello thought he knew who Sion Corn was. It was Djed Božicnjak. He smirked. "Century believes in Santa
Claus!"
Mello, Christmas Eve 2002
In Croatia, children leave out polished boots on December 6th and Sveti Nikola leaves small presents or sweets inside them overnight. On December 24th, Djed Božicnjak brings even more presents and leaves them out for the children to find. Christmas Day, December 25th, is reserved as a holy mass, where Catholic Croatians pray and reflect upon the life of Jesus Christ.
In Wales, Christmas Eve is traditionally a day for taffy-making. Sion Corn arrives overnight leaving presents for the children to find on Christmas morning.
In England and America, Santa Claus is the figure who leaves presents for the children to find on Christmas Day morning.
"Ok." Matt pulled him along an aisle. "Look! A Mushroom 1Up lamp! And Mario running curtains!"
Matt, Christmas Eve 2002
1Up mushrooms provide extra lives to players of Nintendo's SuperMario.
He picked up a book entitled 'Lara Croft: The Art of Virtual Seduction' and was flicking through it when Patricia loomed up
beside him.
Matt, Christmas Eve 2002
Lara Croft is the main character in the Tomb Raider series of games by Eidos Interactive. The book 'Lara Croft: The Art of Virtual Seduction' is by Mark Cohen. It examines the appeal of Lara Croft as more than simply a game character, but as a 'role model, industry spokesperson, actress and seductress'.
"I've heard you sing lots. You sing along to the theme song for Pokémon and other stuff. You only sing when you think no-
one is listening or you're so carried away that you forget to be yourself. You have a nice voice."
Mello, Christmas Eve 2002
Pokémon is a franchise created by Nintendo, primarily as a series of games, but latterly branching out into films and television shows.
It startled Mello when his friend hissed in explanation, "Kumamon hit me with an ice blast and I lost a life. I bet I should have jumped over that."
...
"Yes I will. There are bound to be cheats that I've missed and ways to fix it so you're playing ex-Agunimon. I'll find them
tomorrow."
Matt, Christmas Eve 2002
Matt is playing 'Digimon Battle Spirit 2', which was developed by Dimps and published by Bandai. Agunimon and Kumamon are both characters within the game.
Century nodded and held one up. "It says, 'Annwyl Century, Nadolig llawen, cariad Sion Corn'." He quickly looked. "They all
do! He found me!"
Century, Christmas Day 2002
The note translates into English as, 'Dear Century, Merry Christmas, love Sion Corn'.
It was a Christmas song! It was on the CD! And they sang, "You're a bum, you're a punk, you're an old slut on junk." Then a
couple of bars later, "You scumbug, you maggot, you cheap, lousy faggot, merry Christmas, your arse, I pray God it's our last." It
quickly became their favourite Christmas song ever.
Mello, Salvo, Jonny and Mairoo, Christmas Day 2002
The song is 'Fairy Tale of New York' by The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl.
Then Fenian spoke fiercely, "They might as go chasing after moonbeams or light a penny candle from a star."
Fenian, Christmas Day 2002
'Fairy Tale of New York' namechecks the song 'Galway Bay'. Fenian is quoting lyrics from that song. He is from the area and the lyrics are about the English trying to suppress Irish culture and language.
"I had planned to perform a few stanzas from 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'"
Mello, Christmas Day 2002
'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' is an epic poem by Lord Byron.
Protests on the streets of Southern France, political instability throughout the rest and Amnesty International questioning us about the use of torture.
Leveque's clerk, February 1st 1993
Amnesty International monitors human rights abuses, mobilising millions of activists across the world to pressurise governments into stopping torturing and killing people. I'm one of those activists.
He sat against the back wall and pretended that Big Bird was here too. Big Bird taught him numbers and words, then sang songs inside his head. It stopped him feeling so scared.
Milo, February 1st 1993
Big Bird is a character from the children's television programme, 'Barrio Sesamo'.