#Something You Get Off - Base About Dandruff

[yanderenightmare]

who's the worst bnha yandere? in your opinion

Shigaraki Tomura x darling

TW: NSFW, noncon/dubcon, f!reader, Shiggy being gross

fem reader

It’s easily Tomura.

Tomura because he doesn’t care about the most basic of human needs. 

Forgets to feed you. And when he does – it’s always some half-eaten burger, sub or burrito. He doesn’t give two shit if you’re vegan or vegetarian. Shit – he doesn’t even care if you’re allergic. If you don’t want it, you can starve.

Doesn’t give you clothes. He rarely bothers getting himself new clothes, do you think he’s gonna do you any better? No. Wear his dandruff-riddled, old-sweat-seeped hoodie – or wear nothing.

Something else you miss is proper housing – even if it’s just a room with a bed and a toilet. You’ve learned that even that is too much to ask for.

You never stay in the same place for long – needing to switch bases regularly in order to remain low. Never anything he’ll have to pay for, of course – a pick of the litter abandoned office buildings, hotels, and empty homes. 

If you’re lucky enough to find a place with running water, you stay longer. If not, you’ll have to make do for a couple of days – worst case was a little over a week. You still shudder thinking about it. 

He’ll keep you in any room he can lock from the outside – only sometimes blessing you with an actual mattress and not some old moldy sofa or a thin blanket on cold floors.

One time, you stayed in some old mansion one of the league members had found. You suspect they killed whoever lived there before – seeing as the entire house was properly furnished and clean when you all infested the place. 

Not that you got to explore much – Tomura kept you locked in the master bedroom on the third floor – the one where you most definitely would have broken both legs if you tried escaping through the window.

It had been one of the nicer places. One with working hot water and clothes for you to change into – albeit shamefully, sending prayer and thanks to the owner who was no doubt dead and rotting. You were even able to find a stockpile of fresh towels and linens you changed after a week had gone by.

But as the weeks turned to more weeks, they’d all run out – and you began hoping you’d move on to the next place soon. Even with the risk of it being someplace cold and dusty, it would still be a fresher slate.

The nice mansion had gone bad after a month or so – you’d lost track of time. 

Thankfully, you’d been able to air out the dank smell of armpit, ass, and feet – and were allowed to take a shower whenever you weren’t handcuffed to the bed – often able to lure Tomura to join you if only for the sake of washing the stench of decay, dandruff and dickcheese off him. 

But even so, Tomura isn't the most hygienic type. Managing keeping him halfway decent was troubling enough. 

It’s way tougher to keep the room tidy with Tomura’s ill habits of keeping half-eaten food lying around – empty cup noodles and other street junk, beer bottles, and sour energy drinks – along with bloody piles of worn-out clothes, dirty holey underwear, and soggy condoms.

You were driven to the point of disgust that you’d asked him whether he could do you the simple favor of finding and bringing you the house cleaning supplies so you could wash the place yourself.

Oh… how funny he’d found that little comment... 

“Too filthy in ‘ere for yah, is it? Too gross for the pretty princess?”

It hadn’t been the first time he’d made you lick the floor. Face down, ass up – with his bare foot placed heavy and clammy against your teary cheek – two of his fingers stuffing your cunt, and the other two inside your ass – while he sits at the edge of the bed, spitefully stroking his hard dick to the degrading view.

“Tch – such a filthy bitch, and you complain about the scenery?” He sneers – pumping both your holes. “Didn’t know I was fuckin’ such a spoiled cunt.”

You cry at the crass stretch his digits make – but you know better than to fight him when he’s pissed. You only regret forgetting how it’s never been a good idea for you to do much of anything other than nod your head and smile pliantly – open your mouth wide for his tongue, spit, cock, and cum or otherwise keep it shut.

Per request, you keep it open wide, tongue out on the hardwood floor – tasting the grouts of lint and dirt and God knows what – stale and salty on your tastebuds. Or maybe it was the tears gushing from your eyes – soaking your face where you sobbed.

“Tch – shut up.” A hand replaces the foot on your face – dragging you up with a fist in your hair. Pulling his fingers from your holes with a sloppy shlick – before promptly pushing all four digits inside your mouth. “If you wanna clean somethin’ – you can start with this slutty mess.”

You gag at the threat as he shoves all but his thumb down your throat – wiping off your slick, then giving your face a mean slap with the same, now spit-coated, hand – before pulling you up from the floor by your hair and ushering you onto his lap to straddle him.

He wipes the rest of your drool off on his erect cock – standing proudly with a thick flow of creamy pre leaking from his slit.

He doesn’t waste much time before lining up with your puffy pussy-lipped hole and making you sink down on him.

You croak at him going in raw – always feeling extra violated without the thin rubber protecting you from catching his germs as he pushes all his veiny girth inside you until giving your womb a cummy kiss. 

“What’s the problem, slut? Don’t like riding dirty dick?” He huffs, starting to rut against you in no clean tempo. He snickers at your grimace, still holding your hair in a tight pull as he angles your face to his to kiss your tight-lined lips – feeling you cringe even more. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you clean it after I fill this and the other hole up with filth.”

You whimper at the dark promise – and he wipes his tongue across your sorry expression from chin to temple.

“I’ll do you up nice and nasty – so you won’t feel so out of place anymore~”

[sneakyfordethklok]

Murderface Headcanons

Appearance, backstory, and other related hcs for my favorite stinky scrimblo.

He's 5'11", surprisingly tall. He's about a quarter of an inch short of 6 feet. Though, honestly he would look taller if he wasn't around Skwisgaar and Nathan all the time.

He's quite heavy, over 200 lbs. However, despite his physique, there's an surprising strength to him, especially in his arms. He worked outside for most of his life before joining Dethklok, and he retains some of that muscle to this day. However, he lacks the stamina and determination to ever really defend himself, and can't fight worth a damn.

He's around 28 years old.

He deals with eczema, specifically atopic dermatitis. He is unfortunately very bad about genuinely taking care of it, even though he has creams for it. He's just very stubborn.

How I draw his hair is more closely inspired by Geezer Butler, the bassist of Black Sabbath, whom Murderface is based off of. Dense dark brown curls, but Murderface as usual takes poor care of himself. His hair is dry, his scalp oily and rife with dandruff, and he rarely brushes it. As a result, its quite matted and frizzy, with lots of dead ends and uncontrolled curls.

Speaking of taking poor care of himself... He's a bit stinky.

Seriously. He doesn't shower enough. And rarely wears cologne or deodorant. Though, rather than necessarily being a gross slob, it comes from him never being taught to look after himself as a child. He was quite neglected, and so he never even was taught how to properly wash his hair or himself.

He grew up in the deep south, but his parents were living in Jersey before their demise. His grandparents' house is a simple one-story property, with white siding and a green roof. The windows were always covered with thick blinds, and the porch had a ramp up the three steps for Stella and Thunderbolt. An ancient porch swing that didn't exactly look safe anymore sat on their porch for as long as he could remember.

Stella and Thunderbolt Murderface were terrible hoarders. Really, the whole house was a maze of trash and rot. The second you stepped inside, you could smell the piss and shit from Stella's yappy little dogs that William always despised. How much of a fire hazard and generally unsafe environment it was influenced his interest in fire safety as an adult.

His grandparents abused and neglected him frequently. Murderface was never given affection, positive reinforcement, encouragement of any kind really, and not an ounce of acceptance or interest in who he was. It was always expected that he do whatever they say without question.. else his grandfather would get The Belt.

Murderface lived in the basement of the home, which was surprisingly one of the least cluttered parts of the house. He had his own bathroom and living area down there, on top of his room, and he spent most of his youth in that cellar. He picked up his first guitar, acoustic, at age 13, and bought a bass at 15. He's been playing ever since.

His internalized homophobia was heavily fueled by his abusive upbringing, and generally unaccepting environment. Murderface knew there was something different about him, but he always overcompensated for his bisexuality by fixating on perving on women. His childhood room's walls and ceilings were plastered with cut outs from nudie mags and the Victoria Secret and Sear's catalogues by the time he was 15.

He was a chronic bedwetter until he was almost 10 years old, and the ridicule and beatings as punishment didn't exactly help him improve. Part of his fixation on urinating in inappropriate places may be fueled by this trauma.. not to mention the cause of the bedwetting itself stemmed from the abuse he suffered at their hands to begin with.

He joined Dethklok a few months after he turned 18, and was almost 19 when Toki joined af 16. They've been close friends since Toki joined, being the two youngest members of the band. Despite their arguing, it's a beneficial relationship.

Personally, I like to think the band is in a big polycule, but Murderface and Toki (Warface) is one of my main pairings.

NSFW BELOW THIS

LAST WARNING

His main kinks are BDSM, degradation, humiliation, impact-play, pet-play, bondage, edging, masochism, and body worship.

He can get overly excited from the smallest things. Just a gentle touch on his arm, looking at him a certain way— it all gets him going. He's big on physical touch, though he would never admit it, and not only desires affection but gives it constantly. He caresses, touches, and kisses at any chance given. In general, he's very needy. Especially during sex, he wants all of your attention and affection and gets very upset when he's denied.

Mostly the submissive type, but he can get in a mood sometimes where he just needs to fuck. And he can be very aggressive about it. Because he's likely much bigger than most partners he'd have, he can overpower easily and be pretty rough if he's in the mood for it. Spanking, choking, hitting, biting, etc are all on the table with him.

When he's in a subby mood (which is usually), he's a total brat until he's pushed to the edge. Defiant, snarky, and mouthy. He'll disobey orders, talk back, and generally be a disobedient slut. That is, until he's edged, teased, and overstimulated enough. He'll go from complaining to begging pretty damn quickly.

When it comes to his downstairs... William is excessively hairy everywhere, but especially in his pubic area. There's a thick nest of hair above the base of his dick, so dark brown its almost black. He's about 6 or so inches in length, but he has a pretty.. well, girthy one for lack of a better word. It has to be big enough to play bass with, after all.

Yea. He has calluses. On his cock. Its Murderface idk what you expected.

He won't admit it, but he loves being on bottom with male partners.

[nightfang22]

Patrick's Princess Chapter Three

A/N:Thank you so so much to everyone who's been enjoying this little series of mine!I will admit it's a bit self indulgent.I wanted to write something for the more uncommon age regressors I've met.I am well aware that not everyone age regresses and not everyone understands it so I understand if this fic is not for you.That is absolutely fine!While there will be sexual content in this series at some point in time it will absolutely NOT be during a regressed period for the reader character as I'm not comfortable with that kind of thing at all.Also in reference to the specific autistic behaviors I've written for this reader,they are based upon my own personal autistic experiences so it's good to keep in mind that while not all autistic people experience these traits,I do and there are plenty of others who do.They are completely valid and if you don't like this sort of thing just scroll away!Thank you for reading this note and I hope you continue to enjoy the series even though it's been on a serious hiatus for a good long while!Enjoy!

Warnings:Patrick is a warning on his own,fire,autistic meltdowns,slight atypical stockholm syndrome

Pairing:Patrick Hockstetter x autistic!little!Reader

Word Count:1.1k

 I could smell the soft scent of mint and Jolt Cola on his breath as it fanned across my cheek. His hand brushed through my (h/l)(h/c) hair as the other pulled me closer to him by my waist. "All mine~", he whispered into my hair as he inhaled my scent. I felt this funny bubbly feeling in the pit of my stomach and I felt shocks go through my spine when he shifted me in his lap. We lay up against a tree as the sun set. We had spent the entire day at that little tree in the woods and I had never felt so safe in my life. Even though my brother was most certainly going to be pissed that I ditched and I was probably going to be grounded for the rest of eternity, at that moment I didn't particularly care. I had come back out of my littlespace a good while ago but I could find myself able to leave his arms. I was curled up, straddling Patrick's lap as he held me there pulling me closer every so often as though we could get any more humanly close. I could feel the rough denim of his jeans on my thighs and the soft cotton of his t-shirt in my fingertips as I clutch it for dear life. Patrick had previously taken off his flannel and wrapped it around me, muttering something about my outfit 'drawing too much attention'. I was too deeply engrossed in this bubbly feeling to understand or analyze so I just let him. I liked the feeling of the heavy flannel fabric on my shoulders and the musky smell of his cologne too much to oppose. I simply curled closer into him, resting my head between his shoulder and his jawline. I mindlessly kissed his neck as I ran a hand through his hair. It was a tad greasy but otherwise very soft and smelled of dandruff shampoo. I mindlessly lay kisses across his neck and jawline from where my head rested on his shoulder. I felt his fingertips dig into my skin a little then as he entangled his hand in my hair and gave it a small tug. Not too rough, just enough to grab my attention and make me look at him. His eyes were an electrifying pale blue. Like someone tried to paint the color but had no true concept of what it was really supposed to look like so it just came out to a very silvery periwinkle. "What do you think you're doin', doll?" His words finally drew my line of sight away from his eyes and to his lips instead. They were curved in this beautifully mischievous grin. Almost like a predatory raptor looking at its next meal. The next tug that came on my hair was much more harsh, forcing my line of sight back to his eyes. This time, however, I seemed to have sobered from this intoxicating feeling and come back to earth. Wherever I was before, I'm not quite sure now. I looked around at my surroundings and glanced at my watch. I jumped up out of Patrick's lap and made a beeline for my bike. It's almost 7! (B/n) is going to kill me! I searched my pockets and my bag over and over again, hoping I hadn't lost my keys. I spin around on my heels when I hear keys jingling behind me only to see Patrick shaking them in his hand with his other in his back pocket. "Thought you were gonna get away that easy, princess? You should know better," he paused coming right up in my ear, "than to run away from Daddy." There was this gravel to his voice on the last word. Almost animal like.

I bit down on my bottom lip,feeling anxiety control my gut now.I was in a new place with absolute no idea where I was or how to get home from here. I know I really should've been panicking much more than I was,screaming for help,something.Anything.But I just couldn't find it in myself to want to leave.In my mind I knew that there would be consequences to all of this later.But that's just when they'd come.Later.And right now,all I wanted was to be right where I was.Somewhere in the middle of an unfamiliar forest with Patrick.I liked the way he made me feel and I loved the way he talked to me.Like I was the best thing he'd ever seen but also like I didn't have a brain at the same time.I wasn't even really sure how that was possible but he pulled it off so well that I couldn't find it in myself to care really.I looked up at him with a shy look on my face,my cheeks tinged a soft pink.I nodded,my voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes,Sir.I'm sorry."

The smirk on his face was downright sinful as his eyes roved up and down my frame,drinking me in with his eyes.He placed his finger under my chin and tilted my head up to look up at him.I had never really realized just how much taller he was than me until now.And fuck was he tall.I kept my eyes focused on the spot between his.I couldn't bear making complete eye contact with him right now.Not with as overwhelmed as I was.The smirk on his face slowly turned into a cheshire grin.Malicious and intriguing at the same time.

"You're good at taking orders.I like that."

An odd feeling swelled in my chest.Pride,maybe?Whatever it was,I liked it.A lot.I felt a small smile grace my features as I nodded. "Only for the right people." My voice was a ghost of a whisper.His hand traveled quickly from my chin to my throat,squeezing it.Almost like a warning. "Only for me,got it?" My eyes were wide.They felt like they were going to pop out of my skull but I couldn't find it in myself to disagree with him.There was something about him that just made me want to listen,to obey.I nodded but he squeezed harder. "Yes what?" I took a shallow breath as I looked up at him. "Yes,Sir." MY voice was shaky and strangled with his hand around my neck but I was strangely okay with it. He released my throat and I took a gasping breath in,finding that I missed the pressure of his hands.My skin felt itchy and crawly without it.In that moment I had decided,against my better judgement maybe but I would do anything to keep Patrick's hands on me.

[bassettmemes]

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS. ↳ quotes from the love hypothesis by ali hazelwood. some quotes have been edited for clarity or usability.

"carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man."

"i'm going to kill you."

"i wish you could see yourself the way i see you."

"i'm starting to wonder if this is what being in love is. being okay with ripping yourself to shreds, so the other person can stay whole."

"you can fall in love. someone will catch you."

"i'll come find you, and i'll take care of you."

"did you... did you just kiss me?"

"expiration dates are for the weak."

"i think about you before falling asleep. then i dream of you."

"it's fine. more material for my title ix complaint."

"this might be inappropriate, but, you are really extraordinary."

"i know it’s scary, being vulnerable, but you can allow yourself to care."

"everyone likes tall, broody, sullen hunks with genius iqs."

"a good kiss will do that: make a girl forget herself for a while."

"i liked you when i didn’t know you, and now that i do know you, it’s only gotten worse."

"you could stay mad, and we could go to your lab and throw test tubes full of toxic reagents at each other until the pain of third-degree burns overrides your shitty mood? sounds like fun, no?"

"my heart may be broken, but my brain is doing just fine."

"i'm fine. i mean, i wish i were dead, but aside from that..."

"i've never been surer of anything. except maybe cell theory."

"hypothesis: the more i mention an attachment in an email, the less likely i will be to actually include said attachment."

"are they deporting you back to canada because we've been sharing a netflix password?"

"tell them we didn't know it was a federal crime."

"i think that somewhere along the way i forgot that i was something. i forgot myself."

"academia takes a lot from you and gives back a little."

"not having a life came in handy sometimes."

"i do reserve the right to comment on your abysmal taste in men."

"pumpkin spice is satan’s dandruff, harbinger of the apocalypse, and it tastes like ass—not in the good way."

"hypothesis: if i fall in love, things will invariably end poorly."

"you just had to go and make me fall for you."

"a heart will break even more easily than the weakest of hydrogen bonds."

"there will only be one bed. it doesn't matter what it says; it's always one bed."

"i must say, the line between excellent career choice and critical life screwup is getting a bit blurry."

"you probably don’t like ice cream anyway, because you don’t enjoy anything that’s good in life."

"i have access to your google calendar, asshole. you're not busy. if you don't want to hang out with me, you can just be honest."

"to be fair, i don't like people in general."

"how much do you hate this, on a scale from one to ‘correlation equals causation’?"

"hypothesis: any rumor regarding my love life will spread with a speed that is directly proportional to my desire to keep said rumor a secret."

"approximately two out of three fake-dating situations will eventually involve room-sharing; 50 percent of room-sharing situations will be further complicated by the presence of only one bed."

"i'm never going to get used to the fact that professors are real people and have first names."

"that’s the thing with science. we’re drilled to believe that false positives are bad, but false negatives are just as terrifying."

"maybe so many years alone has warped me in some fundamental way."

"did this fortune cookie just throw shade at me?"

"based on the available information and the data hitherto collected, my hypothesis is that the farther away i stay from love, the better off I will be."

"i had financially rich, but emotionally poor, parents."

"talking on the phone is the hardest, most stressful thing in the world."

"no. i don't want to fake break-up."

[aeon-borealis]

I'm trying to get back into fic-writing. There's an idea dump for "One Word: Revenge" sitting in my drafts and I'm really hoping to get that one started before October 31.

My latest attempt at writing anything AleHeather is based on an ask I got awhile ago about Heather cheering up Alejandro. Honestly, I want the full fic done before answering it. For some context, Alejandro and Heather are in their late twenties and living together.

Here's what I have so far:

At the beginning of the week, Alejandro had been as clean-cut, attentive, and affectionate as ever. He enjoyed doing small things like opening the door when Heather took off for work, breakfast in bed, covering her shoulders with his cardigan if she dozed off in the armchair. But as the week wore on, it was a miracle if he peeled himself out of bed before noon. It started with his shirts slowly covering up more skin. He’d progressed from shirt collars with four buttons undone to a food-stained tank top.

His hair was up more often and there were more flyaways and dandruff than the day before. Oatmeal with peach slices or berries was switched out for bowls of Heather’s Cheerios. He’d even grabbed the cheat day chocolate corn flakes. He hated chocolate. Yet the man that gave Blue Apron meal kits a run for their money was scraping the sides of a bowl with cocoa-drenched milk and soggy scraps of cereal stubbornly clinging to the ceramic.

Heather scrunched her brow. She wasn’t good at this. Out of everybody she knew and gave a shit about, Alejandro was one of only two people she could have intimate conversations with. And usually, he took the initiative and started said difficult conversations when they needed to. Something was fucked enough that he wasn’t willing to launch that attempt; either that, or he didn’t have the energy? Heather was wondering if he might be depressed?

She wouldn’t be surprised. She definitely was, but by her therapist’s definition, they were both high-functioning. No...the horrible honest truth was that she was stubbornly brute-forcing her way through trauma while Alejandro had immediately sought out meds, therapy, and approaching his issues with a fine-toothed comb. The man knew how to play the long game even when it seemed like life was fucking him extra hard.

“Alejandro….?” Her throat felt like it was full of extra thick tar.

“Hrmmm…” When he looked up, it was hard to not just stare at the deep eye bags and extra forehead wrinkles.

“Are you okay?”

Alejandro looked at her for a long few seconds, blinked, and groaned. He ran his fingers through hair at the base of his neck as he shook his head. “No.”

At that, she waited. She met his eyes and when it became excruciating to keep looking into that goose egg green, she moved her gaze between his thick brows. Despite herself, she felt the impulse to chase down a pair of tweezers and start plucking at the more unkempt hairs. How many small things did he do that she was only now becoming painfully aware of? The list was growing longer and becoming a weight pressing down on her shoulders.

“Ah….” She rolled her hand in what she hoped was a “go on…” gesture.

“I answered your question. I’m not okay.”

“Yeah…?”

He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his pathetic cereal scraps.

“Alejandro….” Heather used a stern tone of voice.

He looked at her briefly, lips drawn into an intense scowl. For a moment, he was winding up to say something from how his shoulders moved and brows carved into his face. Just as quickly, he turned back away. Shoulders slumped. The spoon stopped picking at the bowl. Then he turned again but Heather saw this utterly defeated look cross his face before it was just his back.

Frustrated, she picked up her bowl, scooped up his bowl and walked past him into the kitchen. Her heart ached as she looked at him again in the other room. While he was only a few steps away, the distance felt like miles from the Arctic breeze wafting off of him.

Everything about his closed-up posture screamed “fuck off.” Heather was way too familiar with people turning their backs to her or pretending she was invisible. Every instinct was itching to stomp over, grab Alejandro’s shoulder, spin him around, and scream in his face. Scream until her face turned bright red.

Instead, she sighed heavily and quickly sped out of the room.

----

“It’s been awhile! I’m happy to hear from you, Heather.”

Heather wished she had an old cord phone instead of a glorified Star Trek brick so she had something to fidget with right now.

“How are-?” There was a loud scream and several giggles in the background. Carlos shushed and spoke softly to a small babbling child before he returned and cleared his throat. “Sorry. I’m in the middle of babysitting my niece. Athena’s taking over in a few minutes, so bear with me.”

“I can’t wait for your own little gremlins!” Heather started pulling at the rubberband around her wrist. She didn’t pick at her nails for years, but then she met Alejandro’s brother’s fiance Athena. She was a ball of anxious energy with a high-pitched voice; the kind of person Heather judged harshly, the kind of person she would have demolished on Total Drama. Instead, they bonded over Athena’s huge stash of glitter pens and somehow, Heather found the older sister she never knew she wanted. It was Athena’s fault that Heather was back to fighting that terrible nail-picking habit she thought she’d conquered at age nine.

“They’ll be visiting Aunty Heather often,” Carlos chuckled. “So, what’s up?”

“How do I put this?” Heather groaned. “Alejandro’s pretty much shut down. He’s letting himself go. Like, not doing his hair and wearing sweats all the time. It’s...kinda how you described happened after World Tour?”

Carlos hissed and took a long breath.

“Make sure World of Warcraft isn’t installed on his computer…”

“He only has Zelda games and some DDR like stuff.”

[starseedfxofficial]

The Secret Behind the "Head and Shoulders" in EUR/JPY: A Ninja's Guide to Precision Trading Ever feel like trading Forex is as confusing as reading ancient runes? Especially when the chart is playing mind games with you? Well, if you've ever spotted the "Head and Shoulders" pattern on the EUR/JPY chart and thought, "Okay, what's next?", you're not alone. Stick around, because we're diving into the world of Forex magic, where I'll show you how to master this pattern and make the most out of the euro to yen. Buckle up, it's about to get enlightening (and maybe a little funny). The "Head and Shoulders" Pattern: More Than a Shampoo Commercial Let's start by demystifying the elusive "Head and Shoulders" pattern. No, it's not the secret formula to dandruff-free trading. In technical analysis, the "Head and Shoulders" is like a cryptic treasure map that, when deciphered correctly, can lead you to some seriously golden trading opportunities. Picture it: a peak (the left shoulder), a higher peak (the head), and a final peak (the right shoulder), all sitting neatly on a neckline. Sounds simple, right? It is—once you know what you're looking for. In the EUR/JPY market, the "Head and Shoulders" is often seen as a reversal signal, which means it usually indicates that the trend is about to go downhill—or uphill, depending on your perspective. Just like that time you bought a pair of crocs on sale, only to realize you weren’t, in fact, cool enough to pull them off. But hey, at least you learned something about impulsive choices, right? The Right Time to Strike (Or Not) The EUR/JPY currency pair is like the plot of a James Bond movie: full of surprises and intrigue. Traders often make the mistake of jumping into a trade the moment they spot the pattern. But here's a ninja-level secret: patience. Don't let the appearance of a head and shoulders trick you into immediate action. The key here is confirmation. The real magic happens when the price breaks the neckline. Think of the neckline as that moment in a cooking show when the chef finally says, "Now, you can start plating." Until that moment, you're just preparing. You want to wait for that price to break—it’s the signal that things are about to get spicy. Risk Management: "Head and Shoulders" Meet the Stop-Loss You know that heart-sinking feeling when you press "sell" instead of "buy"? Yeah, we’ve all been there. That’s why risk management is a cornerstone when trading the "Head and Shoulders" on EUR/JPY. Here’s an analogy: imagine wearing a life jacket while trying out cliff diving. You still want to take the plunge, but you also want a way to stay afloat if the cliff was a tad higher than expected. For the head and shoulders pattern, placing your stop-loss just above the right shoulder is like securing that life jacket. If the price suddenly decides to rally up, you won’t be left swimming in regret. Instead, you’ll live to trade another day—hopefully smarter, and definitely with more jokes to share. Why Most Traders Get It Wrong There’s a popular myth that every time you see the head and shoulders, you should rush to open a short position. This couldn't be further from the truth. The "Head and Shoulders" is a pattern with as much nuance as a Shakespearean play—context matters. It’s about understanding the full story, not just the climax. If the preceding trend isn’t established enough or you’re trading this pattern on a low timeframe (hello, 1-minute chart warriors), then what you see might be no more than market noise. It’s like confusing a background extra in a movie for the protagonist—easy to do if you aren’t paying attention to the bigger picture. A Lesser-Known Strategy for EUR/JPY: Combining Momentum Indicators Here’s where things get a bit spicy. Many traders look at the head and shoulders and make their decision based purely on that visual cue. But what if you took things a step further? Enter the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicators. Combining these with the head and shoulders pattern can be a true game-changer. For example, if the head and shoulders is about to complete and the RSI is hovering near the overbought territory, that’s a pretty strong signal that the reversal is legitimate. It’s like the market giving you a wink-wink, nudge-nudge that this thing is really happening. And when MACD crosses over as well, it's essentially the market throwing confetti at you, saying, "Go for it, my friend!" The Hidden Pattern Within the Pattern This one's for my chart-watching nerds (you know who you are). There's something called the "Inverse Head and Shoulders" that traders often overlook. This pattern is essentially the same but inverted and often appears at the end of a downtrend. With EUR/JPY, this reversal pattern can be your chance to catch a bullish opportunity when everyone else is caught in a web of doubt. One ninja tactic? Look for volume. When the right shoulder forms with increasing volume, it’s like someone just gave your trade a personal endorsement. The EUR/JPY is not always the most predictable pair, but volume can offer that extra level of confidence to help you stand out. Why Humor Matters in Forex (Yes, Really) Now, you might be wondering, why all this humor in a Forex article? Trading can be a high-stress activity, and the head and shoulders is, for all intents and purposes, a reminder that even charts have quirks—peaks, flaws, and imperfections. Just like us. A light-hearted approach can remind you that it's not about perfection, but about learning, adapting, and maybe even laughing at your mistakes. After all, it's a lot easier to move on from a loss if you imagine it as just buying a pair of those crocs… again. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated Read the full article

[digitalsanshta]

Having beautiful, healthy hair is something everyone desires, but maintaining it can be a challenge with today’s hectic lifestyle. Pollution, stress, and the use of chemical-based products often leave hair damaged, dry, and lifeless. This is where VLCC’s Hair Spa Treatment comes to the rescue. Known for its scientifically backed and nature-inspired wellness solutions, VLCC has earned a reputation as a trusted name in beauty and wellness. Their specialized hair spa treatments offer a rejuvenating experience that can transform your hair health, leaving you with smooth, shiny, and nourished tresses.

In this blog, we'll explore how VLCC Hair Spa treatments work, their benefits, and why they are the go-to solution for maintaining healthy, luscious hair.

What is VLCC Hair Spa?

The VLCC Hair Spa is an intensive hair care treatment designed to nourish and repair hair from root to tip. It involves a series of steps including deep cleansing, conditioning, massaging, and applying nourishing masks. Each session is customized based on the specific needs of your hair type, whether it's dry, frizzy, oily, or damaged due to chemical treatments like coloring and straightening.

The goal of the hair spa is not just to make your hair look good but to treat the underlying issues causing hair problems such as dandruff, excessive hair fall, and scalp infections.

The Process of VLCC Hair Spa Treatment

At VLCC, each hair spa session is meticulously designed to ensure that your hair gets the nourishment it deserves. The steps generally include:

Hair & Scalp Analysis: The treatment starts with a detailed consultation where a hair expert assesses your hair and scalp condition. Whether you're struggling with dandruff, hair fall, or split ends, VLCC professionals will curate a treatment plan tailored to your needs.

Deep Cleansing Shampoo: To begin the process, a mild shampoo is used to clean your scalp and hair thoroughly, removing excess oil, dirt, and product build-up. This step ensures that the scalp is clean and ready to absorb the nourishing treatments that follow.

Conditioning & Mask Application: After washing, a nourishing hair mask or conditioner is applied to replenish moisture and add essential nutrients to your hair. The type of mask varies based on your hair needs, whether it is for hydration, smoothness, or damage repair.

Relaxing Massage: One of the most relaxing aspects of the VLCC Hair Spa is the soothing head massage that follows the mask application. The massage improves blood circulation to the scalp, enhancing the absorption of nutrients and encouraging hair growth. The rhythmic movements also help alleviate stress and relax your mind.

Steam Therapy: To maximize the benefits of the treatment, steam is applied to the hair for about 10-15 minutes. The heat allows the hair cuticles to open up, enabling deeper penetration of the mask into the hair shaft. This ensures that the hair is nourished from within.

Rinse & Blow Dry: After the steaming session, the mask is rinsed off, and the hair is blow-dried to reveal visibly softer, shinier, and more manageable locks.

Why Choose VLCC Hair Spa?

1. Customized Care

VLCC understands that everyone’s hair is different, which is why their treatments are customized to meet your unique needs. Whether you have frizzy hair, damaged locks, or a dry scalp, VLCC has a solution tailored for you.

2. High-Quality Products

The products used in VLCC Hair Spa treatments are formulated with natural extracts and cutting-edge technology. Infused with essential oils, proteins, and vitamins, these products work to rejuvenate hair from root to tip, without causing any side effects.

3. Experienced Professionals

At VLCC, you’re in good hands. Their trained experts possess years of experience in hair care and wellness. They will ensure that you get the best treatment possible, offering valuable tips to maintain the health of your hair long after the session is over.

4. Stress Relief

A VLCC Hair Spa treatment isn’t just about rejuvenating your hair—it’s also about relaxing your mind. The soothing scalp massage helps reduce stress levels and improves your overall sense of well-being, making each session a holistic experience.

5. Improved Hair Health

Regular hair spa treatments can significantly improve the texture and strength of your hair. Whether you are suffering from hair fall, dryness, or dullness, VLCC's hair spa treatments promise long-lasting results. The deep conditioning process ensures that your hair becomes softer, shinier, and healthier with every visit.

Benefits of VLCC Hair Spa

Here’s why opting for a VLCC Hair Spa can do wonders for your hair:

Repairs Hair Damage: The hair spa treatment is excellent for repairing damaged hair, whether it’s due to chemical treatments or environmental factors.

Enhances Hair Texture: With regular sessions, you’ll notice an improvement in hair texture. Hair becomes smooth, shiny, and more manageable.

Promotes Hair Growth: The treatment stimulates blood circulation in the scalp, which in turn promotes healthier hair growth.

Controls Hair Fall: By nourishing the scalp and strengthening the hair roots, hair spa treatments help to reduce hair fall over time.

Treats Scalp Conditions: Whether you have dandruff, a dry scalp, or excessive oil production, VLCC's personalized hair spa treatments can help restore scalp health.

Post-Treatment Care

After your VLCC Hair Spa treatment, maintaining the health of your hair is important. Here are some post-care tips:

Use a Mild Shampoo: Avoid using shampoos with harsh chemicals. Opt for a sulfate-free shampoo to retain the moisture in your hair.

Condition Regularly: Use a conditioner after every wash to keep your hair hydrated and frizz-free.

Limit Heat Styling: Avoid excessive use of heat styling tools such as straighteners and curlers, which can damage your hair.

Conclusion

If you're looking to rejuvenate your hair and treat it to some much-needed care, the VLCC Hair Spa is a perfect solution. With its blend of cutting-edge techniques, natural products, and a relaxing experience, VLCC ensures that your hair gets the love and nourishment it deserves. Regular sessions can leave you with visibly healthier, stronger, and shinier hair, boosting not just your appearance but also your confidence.

[updatemensalon]

How to use the both natural and chemical hair coloring dye?

NATURAL HAIR DYE

   Hair coloring or hair dyeing  is the practice of changing the hair color. The main reason for the hair coloring is cover the gray or white hair , to alter the hair original color into dye color. 

 Reffer to our customer

   In our salon we suggest our customer to prefer natural based hair dye  contain plant  based ingredients  rather than harsher, chemical free dye.

Benefits of  natural hair dye

  The natural based hair dyes includes some important  ingredients  such as Henna leaf, Indigo powder, Amla powder,  Bhringraj powder ,  Curry leaves this ingredients are naturally produced colors as alternatives to avoid the chemical product to  using the natural dye .

  The using of natural hair dye it is safe for hair and skin good for our body because we added the natural based ingredients in the hair dye.

Benefits of ingredients

Henna leaf: 

   Henna leaf is centuries-old way to color hair without abrasive dye. Henna leaves change color into red-orange,but there are henna dye shade in a spectrum of colors.

   Though ingredients such as indigo have been added to get these colors, it's still natural hair color. 

  Henna leaves is the safest option as it is all natural hair dye ingredients. 

Indigo powder:

   Indigo powder are regular use can help treat baldness and restore hair volume. Apply organic indigo powder help to eliminate excess grime out  of the scalp.

   Additionally , indigo powder prevents the scalp from too oily ,to dry, or scaly, which usually contributes to dandruff formation.

Amla powder:

   Amla is natural gives the darkens up the colors of natural dyes. when added with henna, amla helps darken up its color.

  Amla is acts  as the property of anti-dandruff, antibacterial and antifungal property.

  Amla  powder helps keep dandruff ,scalp flakes,and itchiness at bay. 

Bhringraj powder:

  Bhringraj powder will naturally enhance dark hair color making hair darker because of the naturally black dye content found in the bhringraj.

  Bhringraj function in the hair miraculously on its problem like hair fall, dandruff, premature graying hair and also strengthen hair.

  They are even more beneficial content in the bhringraj for hair because it is rich in nutrients like iron vitamin E, magnesium, polypeptides and vitamin D.

 Thing to know  about  men hair color

  Men's hair coloring can help you redefine yourself. whether you'd like to cover up a few gray strands or shake up with a bold new, hue choosing the right  men's hair  color for yourself is key to crafting your perfect look.

Permanent  men's hair color :

  Permanent hair color is probably the most commonly sought after hair coloring service.

  Every piece of  your hair has a protective outer layer called "cuticle".

  In order to change the color of you have to get past the cuticle and manipulate that inner layer that has the pigment.

  Hair color treatments start by using ammonia to raise to pH level. after the color is applied, it's locked in with a through rinse of water.

Temporary men's hair color:

  The temporary hair color can be be good choices for the looking to just try something new without a huge commitment.

  Temporary hair coloring a much simple process for a very short time. instead of using ammonia to lift cuticle and color the inside of your hair temporary.Hair color actually sticks to the cuticle  instead.

Know your color :

 This important of choosing hair color is related to skin tone and coloring are clues, but a good colorist can help you pull off a variety of snades.

  Fair skin tone you should refer the hair color is golden blonde and cool blonde are good options.

  Dark skin tone you should refer the hair color is generally ashy, cool brown ,chestnut and chocolate tones work well on dark skin.

Men's hair color trends and ideas:

  Highlights and Lowlights  can be great, hair color lighting just starting out with coloring the easiest men's hair color treatment to maintain and they can  add depth  and dimension to hair that might otherwise look flat. kinds highlights in hair coloring  have dark brown hair. 

Communicating with your hair stylist:

  Communication with our stylist tell your opinion about the hair coloring suggestion to our stylist about your hair coloring.

Timing your appointment:

  Consult with our stylist for appointment the frequency of your return-visits will depend on how much and what kind of hair you dyed.

Protect your hair color:

  Protect your hair color is one  of the best things you can do is use a shampoo and conditioner made for color treated hair. you will want to switch to a system containing a shampoo, conditioner and hair mask formulated for colored hair.

Maintenance:

  Hair maintenance is very important while it's a  little possible after coloring you will wash your hair with only lukewarm water  something to do maintain your colored hair. 

[shit-posts-and-fanfictions]

Tics I think Toby Rogers has

Coming from someone who has tics, I wish it would be represented more that Toby has Tourettes. I never get to read anything where he actually tics, or if he does, its simply *tics* which serves no clue to what he did at a l l

So uhhhhh

~enjoy~

~×~×~×~×~

On calm days

I know he does the bras d'honneur often.

Probably almost took his arm off with his ax doing it once ^

He'll pat his chest or whistle and then flip you off

Patting, with the verbal comment "pat pat pat pat-"

Could be his thigh, another persons shoulder, a table or counter, armrest ^

Might chatter his teeth sometimes

Wiggly fingers. That's it. Just wiggly fingers

Bites himself a lot- which I think is canon

Jerks his shoulders up and head back

Sometimes happens while he's repeating what someone else said ^

(I did something like that once, I was at the store and a little girl was playing with a truck and went "beep beep!" So I jerked my head back, shoulders up, arms to chest, and went "Beep beep!" Really loud. Left the store after that. 😓)

He repeats things under his breath a lot, mostly short phrases based on what he's heard or if something is stuck in his head.

So he will sit there and go "bugs bugs bugs bugs bugs" after hearing someone complain about a bug infestation

Sorry people, but he will grope and go "honk honk" a pillow, blanket, someone's face, breast, thigh, or rear. Also on the list of hated tics

Rolls eyes

No he's not annoyed or being a shit, they just be rollin'

Flashing. Sometimes he just grabs the bottom of his shirt and jerks it up, and that's on the list of most hated tics

On his bad days/tic attacks

Clenches his throat and can't breathe for a moment

Hits his chest or his head full force (wouldn't be surprised if he's given himself a black eye during one of these episodes )

(I've seen a friend who has this one) will violently shake back and forth, banging his head against the wall, seat, or knocking himself over. Looks like a seizure if he's laying down

Grippy hands, which would be fine if he wasn't digging his nails into his palms or strangling people

If your close enough he might reach out and strangle you before jerking back and letting go

Screaming. Just this painful wail of a scream. Buries his head in his pillow to muffle it, poor bean

If he's holding something, throwing it. Over his shoulder, into his face, against his head.

Has broken dishes ^

Has also hit people with food ^

So sitting in a school cafeteria when he was younger was hard for him because someone was bound to get a chocolate milk carton to the head. Choccy milk shower.

Verbal tics

Whistling

Repeating

"Pat pat pat-"

Chattering

"Whore"

"Look! Surprise!"

"I'll fuckin kill ya"

"Oh look, its a cunt"

"puussyyyy-"

"Shwing"

Gagging like he's gonna vomit

Screaming

"Can I have a water?"

"I'm awake"

"I sware I'm awake"

"Dandruff raaiiiinnn" as he proceeds to lean forward and scratch his head like he's shaking all the dandruff from his hair

Sighs a lot, annoys sigh, dramatic sigh, sad sigh, just sighing. a lot. Probably the least noticeable tic

When he's sleeping, split between by himself or cuddling someone

Tics while he's out arent as severe and don't happen hardly ever when he's out, but they do happen

Swats at his nose like there's a fly

Chattering his teeth

Jerks his arms forward and grabby hands.

Grabs whatever is closest and either yeets that shit or holds it, and you are not escaping if he grabs ahold of you ^

Very quietly whispers "shwing" under his breath

Sits up like he's awake and then flops to the side

Has thrown you a few times

Head butts to your shoulder or chest

Grabby and suffocate

Flops over you into your lap

Doesn't know he says "shwing"

Don't tell him he says "shwing"

Will ask for water, but he is sleeping so don't bother getting one.

Even if he says he's awake

He's not

He would get it himself before ever bugging you about it

Tics are less active if he lays on his stomach

Tics are also less active for some people during actives, so during missions when he's really focused he's less likely to do most of these, though there are his moments

So yea

That's my list on tics I think toby has

Might update if I think of more since tics do come and go with the person.

Like if I think of any he lost from his childhood or so

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | Liu Headcanons | Toby Headcanons

Tips for writing about a character with Tourettes

[pipipinyyy]

Explaining why I have added every song in my entire and very long Niragi playlist because I can and because over analyzing him is my passion (I usually update it from time to time but I'll do it with the current songs)

Completely self indulgent post, but I decided to share to feed my fellow Niragi stans (*˙︶˙*)☆*°

This is entirely based on my view of the songs and how I interpret them while thinking about Niragi. I'm aware that most of them have entirely different meanings, this is just for fun :) (Also sorry if my explanations don't make much sense, English is not my first language and I might make mistakes when trying to put my feelings and thoughts into words)

This may contain manga/s2 spoilers

Hayloft-Mother Mother: Vibes

Criminal-Britney Spears: The whole song describes him ("he is a sucker with a gun") and the fandom's obsession ("mama I'm in love with a criminal")

Daddy Issues-The Neighborhood: I feel like he would act like this, using the most vulnerable spots to pick on someone ("cry little girl, nobody does it like you do")

Psycho-Jin Dogg, OVER KILL: Vibes

Riot-Hollywood Undead: He'd definitely start a riot like he did in the 10 of hearts, burning and destroying anything that crosses his path

Bitches-Mindless Self Indulgence: He most likely thinks he's a total fuckboy and popular with girls since he can get almost anything he wants out of scarying people

Baby's on Fire-Die Antwoord: Vibes

Insane in the Brain-Cypress Hill: This man is being consumed by his own way of protecting himself

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing-Set It Off: Based on how he feels towards the people who hurt him in the past ("Listen, mark my words, one day, you will pay" "You've always been a huge piece of shit, if I could kill you, I would" "Karma is gonna come collect your debt")

Death no more-IC3PEAK: Vibes

Gasoline-I Prevail: Sort of similar to Riot, ("So burn it all down, burn it all down, I don't give a fuck")

Toxic-Britney Spears: The whole fandom knows how much of a piece of shit this dude can be, but we still find ourselves liking/enjoying his character (to an extent), a toxic addiction

Nice Guy-GRLwood: As much as I love this man, he'd use the "I'm a nice guy c'mon" card just to fuck. If he wants to, he'll get it, if he doesn't, he'll most likely get mad

Dernière danse-Indila: Vibes

TRRST-IC3PEAK: Mostly vibes, I kinda see this song as how he felt the first time he killed someone on purpose inside the borderlands ("mama they say I'm a terrorist, I did nothing wrong but I got on the blacklist")

Saint Bernard-Lincoln: Vibes

Nowhere To Run-Stegosaurus Rex: Being with him at the Beach would either be ignoring each other completely or a game of tag, no inbetween. If this man wants to kill you, he'll get his fun time out of it as well ("You're gonna die, I'm gonna kill you")

The House of Wolves-Bring Me The Horizon: Based on how he sees life after being consumed by his current mental state ("Show me a sign, show me a reason to give a solitary fuck about your god damn beliefs" "What you call faith, I call a sorry excuse")

Smells Blood-Kensuke Ushio: Vibes

SIU-Maretu: Similar to Daddy Issues, don't expect this man to be a therapist. If he sees anyone crying or panicking in or outside a game, he'd most likely tell them to suck it up, just like this song.

Judgement-Kensuke Ushio: Vibes

MONSTER ENERGY GUN!-KevinKempt: Vibes + He for sure has an energy drink addiction, specially pre-borderlands

HURT-1 800 PAIN: Vibes

Fear Is The Mind Killer-Zheani: Vibes

I Bet on Losing Dogs: Based on how I know Niragi is toxic, and most likely unsaveable of his deteriorating mental state, but I still have him as my biggest comfort character ("I bet on losing dogs, I know they're losing and I'll pay for my place")

Emo Boy-Ayesha Erotica: He's been in an emo phase (and maybe still is), the lyrics are pretty self explanatory, they describe us Niragi simps perfecrly ("come on fuck me emo boy")

Crybaby-Destroy Boys: Vibes

The Fox's Wedding-MASA Works DESIGEN: Vibes

You're a useless child-Kikuo: We don't know much about his past, but judging by the unstoppable bullying he's suffered, his parents didn't care about him, or were straight up absent. He's been insulted by pretty much everyone in his past to the point of believing it and telling those things to himself ("You're a useless child, the most useless child in this world" "Drool in snot, dandruff, shit and piss" "I'm a useless child" "Nobody will save me" "I'm a lonely kid")

Take A Slice-Glass Animals: Vibes

Fighting With The Melody-Jimmy Urine: Vibes

Comics-Caravan Palace: Vibes

Rhinestone Eyes-Gorillaz: Vibes

Butch 4 Butch-Rio Romero: Mostly vibes, sort of how I think the most "peacefull" moments in a relationship with him would feel like, kind of bittersweet feeling

Suki Suki Daisuki-Jun Togawa: Yandere Niragi. If he's interested in someone, he'd go through an obsessive phase, most likely forcing the other person to "love" him. This man is so confused about the feeling of love that he's unable to tell when he loves someone or when he's obsessed with them due to his lack of attention ("Like you, like you, I love you. Say you love me or I'll kill you")

:(-The Garden: Vibes

Kitty City-Cyriak Harris: Vibes

Blood-My Chemical Romance: If Niragi went to a therapist, he'd act like this song, with his signature cocky and sarcastic personality (at least before he gets better) ("I can't control myself because I don't know how" "They can fix me proper with a bit of luck" "I'm the kind of human wreckage that you love")

A Mask of My Own Face-Lemon Demon: He feels like he needs to protect himself or else he will get hurt inside the borderlands by others again. He uses another personality, a completely ruthless one, even if he doesn't like it and hates himself for it, he doesn't see another way to deal with his fear, allowing his "new self" to consume himself. ("I'd wear that mask of my own face" "I look into my eyeholes and what do I see? A handsome motherfucker motherfucking looking back at me")

I'm a Murderer-Freddie Dredd: Mostly vibes ("I'm a motherfucking murderer")

'Cause I'm a Liar-Mcki Robyns-P: He would lie just for fun even in serious situations. If he needs to manipulate someone to survive, he'll do it his way, after all, he doesn't care anymore, he just seeks for excitement. ("Without emotion, without devotion. It's much easier to fake something happy")

I Disagree-Poppy: I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I feel like this is how he sees and feels the world and those around him, feeling misunderstood and going his own way ("If only all of you could see the world I see, then maybe everyone could live in harmony")

Personal Jesus-Mindless Self Indulgence: He has a superiority complex, that's for sure. I don't think he sees himself as a god, but I see him joking about it

Rainbow Factory-GLAZE, WoodenToaster: Vibes

Frontier Psychiatrist-The Avalanches: I kinda see this as Aguni taking the role of Niragi's "father figure" inside the borderlands, realizing he's turning insane and is unable to control him ("That boy needs therapy")

Hate it. Hate it. "JIGAHIDAI!"-WADATAKEAKI Kurage P: Jealousy. I can see it either in a pre-borderland situation where he hates the popular students in school, or inside the borderlands hating both Chishiya and Arisu. Jealousy takes over him constructing a big ego, causing himself to develop his superiority complex ("You see, I hate that popular girl!" "Does she think I don't notice? How she looks at me as if I'm trash" "I want to be praised" "I'm different from you all, I have my own ego! I'm not a side character" "I have zero common sense. I'm special")

Villain-Stella Jang: He knows damn well he's a villain, that's his goal after all, but what if someone took his point of view? wouldn't the villains be all of those who hurted him in the first place? ("We all pretend to be the heroes on the good side, but what if we are the villains on the other")

Violent-carolesdaughter: This is how I view an argument inside a relationship with Niragi. He's used to violence, to cause fear, and getting what he wants, so being in a healthy relationship would require a lot of patience and strenght. While he's getting better and suppressing those violent actions, there will be times where he accidentally uses violence or threatens the other person unintentionally, mostly hurting himself and his partner psychologically. The lyrics change between both points of view ("Don't make me get violent, I want my ring back baby that's a diamond" "She knows I'm a wreck" "I gave you all my trust and I told you just don't break it")

Hey Bunny-Baby Bugs: Based on how I think it would feel to partner up with him inside the borderlands and catching feelings for him while knowing the huge mess he is ("Hey bunny, what's with those evil eyes?" "Hey bunny, what the hell is wrong with us?" "Hey bunny, what if I loose you too? If I become the monster, together we can always be blue")

Kokoronashi-majiko: I'm pretty sure Niragi isn't able to see himself as someone able to love, even if he doesn't want to be alone (just like when he confesses this feeling while fighting with Chishiya and Arisu). If someone truly loved him and was willing to not letting him go, it would hurt. He can't see himself as someone who can love or be loved, so he can't accept the love he's seeking for in case that turns him "weaker" making his true self confront with the protective mean personality he's created. He could learn how to accept it, so he might want the other person to stay in the end, but it wouldn't be easy for him to accept it ("It's awful, I'd rather you destroy my body, tear it to sheds, do as you please" "No matter how much I'm loved by you, my heart is just one" "I don't know this, don't leave me alone")

Nightmare Parade-FAKE TYPE.: Vibes

Slipping Through My Fingers-Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried: Niragi seeing himself loosing his young, gentle and caring personality due to his fear, being unable to control what's happening inside, nostalgia and sadness kicking in ("The feeling that I'm loosing her forever" "That funny little girl" "Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture and save it from the funny tricks of time")

Kuroneko No Tango-Pink Martini, The Von Trapps: Vibes

YKWIM?-Yot Club: Him confroting his feelings of loneliness when he's left alone with his thoughts ("It feels like I care too much when I'm alone, oh no")

Romantic Lover-Eyedress: Just appreciating his physical appearance ("She's a killer, I love her features")

Wrecking Ball-Mother Mother: Based on how he sees himself as someone who needs to destroy everything in a way or another in order to be powerful + the fun he has with it ("Call me a reckless wrecking ball" "Let's break it just because we can")

Edge-Rezz: Vibes

Freaks-Surf Curse: Again, confronting feelings when loving someone, but not in such a painful as Kokoronashi ("I need a place to stay where I can cover up my face" "Don't cry, I'm just a freak")

Little Bit-Lykke Li: Vibes

6up 5oh Cop-Out (Pro/Con)-Will Wood and the Tapeworms: Vibes

PHONKY TOWN-PlayaPhonk: Vibes

I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE-Måneskin: Freaky time. He would absolutely love this song, definitely his type of thing ("You could be the beauty and I could be the monster" "I wanna touch your body so fucking electric" "I wanna make you hungry, then I wanna feed you")

#BrooklynBloodPop!-SyKo: Vibes

A Cold Freezin' Night-The Books: Vibes

A Pearl-Mitski: My most favorite song to associate with Niragi. Represents his evolution as a character. Creating an scenario where he is loved by someone,he rejects it at first, acting tough ("I don't want your touch") and then proceeds to explain why ("It's just that I fell in love with a war, nobody told me it ended" "it left a pearl in my hand and I roll it around every night just to watch it glow") the war being the borderlands and his new personality, he loved it, but nobody drew a line and it's getting out of hand. The pearl is the feeling of power, the one he has to remember when feeling weak just to feel something. At the end of the song it changes to ("Sorry I can't take your touch"), realizing that he wants love, but he's not able to take it or else he'll become the Niragi from the past

Problematic-Bo Burnham: Him acknowledging his problematic actions but not wanting to apologize because he doesn't feel the need to. He knows he's done bad things but he is going to laugh at it and be a sarcastic mf about it

First Love/Late Spring-Mitski: Similar to Kokoronashi, he wouldn't be able to accept love and how it makes him feel. He would think that he prefers for everyone to hate him and be lonely instead of sacrificing his tougher side. Also talks about how he's grown way too quickly for him to understand feelings properly ("So please hurry leave me, I can't breathe, please don't say you love me" "One word from you and I would jump out of this ledge I'm on baby" "I was so young when I behaved 25, yet now I find I've grown into a tough child"

The Other Side Of Paradise-Glass Animals: Vibes

Bodybag-Chloe Moriondo: How I feel about liking his character, confronting feelings basically ("Don't know if I hate you or if I wanna date you" "I don't wanna like you, I just wanna tie you up, then keep you in a cage and watch you sleep for ages"

Get Into It (Yuh)-Doja Cat: Vibes

Psycho Killer-2005 Remaster- Talking Heads: Vibes

HOT DEMON B!TCHES NEAR U!!!-CORPSE, Night Lovell: Vibes

INFERNO-Sub Urban, Bella Poarch: Again, another song that describes him pretty well ("Baby I'm the reason why hell's so hot" "Terribly like terrible, she's a villain" "Think I'm getting butterflies but it's really something telling me to run away")

Bad Morning-Omori: Vibes

Trouble Brewing: Vibes

Dueles Tan Bien-Bruses: Another song about my confronting feelings with this man ("You know what? You taste better than alcohol to me. You know that and you've got control" "Because you hurt, and you hurt so good that I don't know what to do")

And that's it!! This took me the whole day to write but it makes me very happy to be able to share it :)

I've you've read the entire thing, hope you enjoyed the character analysis! ლ(◞‿◟ლ)

[heli0s-writes]

Fuckin’ Legit

Pairings: Reader x Bucky Barnes Summary: Follow up to Fuckin’ Teamwork, based off this ask. A/N: More silly shenanigans. Dumbass reader :) 2.1k words

Bag of Tricks Masterlist

Bucky watches from a distance as you hurl through the air and land right heel-first on the training dummy, knocking its head off and making it bounce off the floor with enough force to lodge itself into the ceiling. The room of SHIELD recruits clap and cheer, and when the dummy’s head flops back down you kick it like a hacky-sack at Maria Hill.

“Great demonstration,” Hill catches the head and tucks it under her arm. “Are you interested in teaching a course in hand-to-hand combat with a focus on aerial recovery? Legitimately?”

“Only if you promise not to fall in love with me.” You send a wink at her and then, as soon as you see Bucky’s bewildered face through the other side of the glass, you leap after him. He’s convinced you’re dumber than a bag of rocks, but you’re not deterred by it—especially not after Maria Hill’s validation. Puffing your chest, you skip forward, “Hey, Buck! I’m legit!”

Immediately, you trip and face plant into the nearest surface. The room collectively hisses in discomfort.

“I take that back.” Maria hurriedly ushers the recruits out before they can witness anything else.

Bucky slips through the door and roughly yanks you up by your elbow, wincing when your nose reveals a line of blood dripping into your mouth. “Legit, my ass. Come on. Stark called for us.”

-

The air in the conference room is stagnant and overwrought with a million unsaid—unscreamed—expressions. Tony pivots on his lifted heels, finger jabbing toward the big screen where a dark and grainy image is projected.

“Care to explain this? Friday pulled it from a broadcast coming from the cell.” He narrows his eyes at you as you slump down into the swivel chair until only the top of your head shows. “How about you?” Tony gestures to Bucky.

Tony has a laser pointer in his other hand, and he shines the red spotlight on the picture where Bucky’s knees are bent and planted to the ground. The dot trails over his thigh and then over the smaller frame beneath him.

You’re there, arched upward into his torso, legs hooked around his tapered waist, heels digging into his spine. Four of his thick flesh fingers are shoved inside your mouth, pulling your cheek open, and the dim light catches a sliver of your wet tongue. His other forearm is pushed onto your sternum, holding you down.

It looks bad.

It looks like Bucky is dry humping the daylights out of you in an abandoned Hydra facility.

Sam erupts into a screeching laugh when he finally pieces it together, pitching forward until he’s flattened against the wood table. “Ho-Homygod--- This is the best day of my life. Is this the cyanide incident?”

Bucky is red from head to toe.

Natasha rolls her eyes and slides away from the table. “Tony, she ate two cyanide capsules. Barnes was wrestling them out of her mouth.”

Tony stiffens for a moment as he ponders the truth behind her statement. Then, he quirks his head like an owl, flares his nostrils, and stoops beneath the table to find you resembling a boneless pile of flesh.

“Everyone is dismissed.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. “I wish I could fire you.”

A quiet whimper escapes your lips, the most pathetic noise to ever come from a human being. “But…” You whine pathetically, “I’m legit.”

-

A few nights later, you find yourself sneaking through yet another dusty old hideout. Surprise, surprise, Hydra is bad with maintenance and loves asbestos.

Steve made you an outline of all your tasks on his mission, written in all caps, folded neatly, and shoved it into your back pocket before departure. You skimmed over it on the plane before crumbling it up. The first bullet point had glared: NO CANDY.

Tightass.

You easily clear the wing and dispatch your status to Sam who is waiting patiently in the jet, fingers on the console. Bucky is patrolling the perimeter and you are taking the east side while Redwing zooms through the west.

There have been trip wires (newbie shit) and also surprisingly advanced attempts at entrapment so far (motion sensors, temperature regulated alarms). They’ve all been expertly pulled apart and rewired and you are taking a short break fucking around in the hallway, peering at dusty paintings of – some old dead bald guys. You take a picture of one and send it to Tony, labelled it’s like looking into the future.

Chortling, you continue down the corridor aimlessly until you hear a creak.

The knife in your hand is blade-first and coming down hard on the body sneaking up until— “Oh Barnes!” You cry happily, tucking it back into the strap on your wrist. “Good. You’re here! There’s only one more room—I’ve been crushing it.”

Literally two seconds after you say that, you turn the corner and run face-first into the door. Bucky pauses as if he doesn’t quite register what just happened before slowly reaching forward and gently applying pressure to the handle.

It’s written all over his face: you’re an idiot. You are seriously lacking some brain cells.

He leads the way carefully, swatting cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and taking stock of each corner, rifle pointed forward and alert. Behind him, your boots thump noisily against the floor and a chair is tipped over when your arm crashes into it.

Bucky spins on his heels and catches the chair before it can fall on top of what looks like a very obviously placed … box.

It’s a box.

A giant red box is on the floor, outlined with a square of white tape. Two abnormally unsoiled items in a room made almost entirely out of forty-year old dandruff. Your hands are already on both sides of it before Bucky can knock you out of the way.

“Don’t!” He screams because fucking anything could be under there!

A wild animal! A toxic chemical! A bomb! Snakes, for fuck’s sake! His eyes widen at the fading shadow cast on the floor as you lift the top away. Then, his heart stops beating.

It’s a slice of cake. And a cup of tea. A single slice of vanilla sheet cake neatly decorated with a blush-pink rose and two perfectly piped green leaves. The faint smell of jasmine wafts into the air.

Bucky barrels into you before you get the chance to lick your lips.

“Wilson!” He calls into the comm as you push his face away with an offended yelp, “They’re in the east side—set a trap for us! Get over here and bring your stupid bird too! I swear to God—NO! DO NOT!”

 -

In the hovering Quinjet, Sam Wilson leaps to his feet and swoops out of the cabin, wings folded as he dives. “Come again?!” He taps on the comm wedged inside his left ear, “Barnes!?”

“-- fuck-- gonna—fucking--- stop BITING ME!”

A furious row of explosions blare in Sam’s ear as he banks a sharp left and lands on two feet, tearing his way inside the facility, checking on his wrist all the while. Redwing’s camera is glitching, but he can make out flashes of gunfire and what looks like at least five bodies, not including his two teammates. Bursts of white erupt on the screen and Sam’s heart picks up a tremendous pace before he kicks the door down, pistols out and aimed.

A silence smothers the room before grunting and screaming erupts again over Sam’s shout of, “What is going on in here?!”

-

“And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the exact moment I came upon my fellow Avengers,” Sam pauses, waving his hand with a bow at the image projected on the conference room screen.

Friday pulled another image from the broadcast before Sam shot out all the cameras in the facility.

It seems that the previous video of you eating cyanide had been intercepted through a bounced signal from the original recording’s output and those on the other end decided you were enough of a proper imbecile to be tricked by something as simple as a slice of cake.

They weren’t wrong.

Tony’s laser is in Sam’s hand and he points the dot in flashes five times, “Dead dudes. Check.” The dot moves on, landing on two splayed out legs before it runs up the side of Bucky’s body pressed to the concrete. “Barnes. Check.” Bucky shuts his eyes and slams his head into the table. “And… here we have this.”

Sam points to you, bottom lip clenched tightly between your teeth as you lurch forward, one hand outstretched and smeared with frosting while the other holds your torso barely an inch from the ground, paying no mind to the two elbows digging into your stomach. Sam points again to where your crotch is pushed right into Bucky’s face.

“Jesus Christ.” Steve mutters, flushing red, “I wrote you directions for a reason…”  

“Excuse me,” You huff, “Cake is not candy.”

“Really?!” Bucky snaps, “That’s the hill you’re going to die on!? You ran into the door! You knocked over a chair! You looked at the one thing that did not belong in the room and you picked it up even after I told you not to!”

Steve jumps back into the grilling, “And if you would have read the rest of the list—NO FOOD AT ALL was number two!”

“Oh yeah!?” You’re near hysterical now, shrieking at the top of your lungs. Stupid men ganging up on you. “What was number three? No fun!? I’m Captain America and I’m such a tightass--”

Bucky cuts you off, throwing his hands up into the air, “Number three was get the blueprints!”

“Oh.”

The room falls silent as you tuck your hand into the pocket of your pants. “Why didn’t you just say so? I nabbed ‘em as soon as I got in there. Marked off the locations of all the cameras and security alarms—not like that matters since Wilson shot them and I disarmed the rest in the east wing. Also, there were corridors and secret entryways not in the file. It’s on here now.”

Carelessly, you chuck the flash drive from your pocket at Steve and it smacks him in the chest. Sam crosses his arms and cocks his head at you, “Shit. Didn’t know you were all that.”

You frolic to the door, “See ya later!”

Three men watch on in shocked silence as you prance down the hallway, banking a sharp right towards your room. Steve stares from Sam to Bucky and then to the flash drive in his hand.

Sam clucks, “You know what… All things considered… the girl is legit.”

-

He calls your name, bangs on the door with a hard fist and when it cracks open, you peek your head out with tired eyes. “Sup, buttercup?”

“Why are you like this? The cyanide? The cake? You had the flash drive the whole time!”

You shrug off what sounds like an accusation, “I dunno. I’m good at my job.” Bucky crosses his arms. “Barnes!” You scold with a growing grin, “I’m legit! I just… you know. Why put all the pressure on myself when you’re around?”

You snort a little, scratch your tummy underneath an oversized shirt absently, and shrug your shoulders repeatedly like you’re dancing. Bucky narrows his eyes. “Are you telling me you’re an idiot because of me?”

“Yeah, Buck. I know you’ll take care of me.”

He freezes. Feels a sudden swell of heat rush from his chest to the top of his head. Bucky opens his mouth to retort, but nothing comes out. He closes it. You give him a sleepy grin, leaning on the door and swinging it wide, faltering against the knob with a yelp.

Swiftly, and true to his character, Bucky catches you with one arm.

Hanging from his hold, body twisted around, you look up into his blue eyes. They’re strangely tender, dancing over your face with an inquisitive glimmer.

The moment shatters when Bucky’s gaze stops at your neckline. “Is that—" he frowns, “Is your shirt on backwards?”

You nod. “Uh huh. Inside out too.”

His eyes slip shut. With a sigh, he drops you flat on your back and turns around. “You’re an idiot. I hate you.”

Down the hallway as he stomps off, cursing the moment the thought you were cute or something… he hears your voice calling.

“I’m an idiot— but I’m legit, right? And I’m your idiot, right? Bucky? Bucky!”

Bucky holds back a grin. Flicks you off behind his back. Legit or not, he would never give you the satisfaction of knowing.

-

perm taglist @whothehellisbucky​ @serpentbaby​ @badassbaker​ @alagalaska​ @cake-writes​ @crist1216​ @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ @infinity-saga​ @jamesbarnesthighs​ @pinknerdpanda​ @xoxabs88xox​ @imsoft-barnes​ @momc95​ @typicalangel​ @wretchedgoddess​ @readeity​ @iwannasail​

[fictropes]

Ok but what if you wrote a 2009 Dan letter 👀👀

you have caught me still in the letter writing headspace, so.. as a treat. i said dan will use textspeak in letter form due to being a lazy boy. 

Phiiiiiiiiiil,

was that enough i’s? I wanted 2 like capture the actual me saying ur name irl lmao xD. (omfg... that is hard to actually write .. no more emoticons on paper). just imagine i’m there and i’m shouting ur name cos I want u to come upstairs like 5 minutes ago and kiss me already... did u know I miss you? is it obvious yet?

the like second i left ur house I felt all upset and stuff, like my arm was ripping off and getting stuck in your door trying to keep me there lmfao. it wanted to stay behind :( it got super extendy and clung onto ur house until i forced it away. ugh i am making no sense, i have phil based brain rot. 

do you think i could get a pigeon 2 deliver this? i think ud be well excited if  a bird flew into your window. sadly tho i am not the one with the weird animal powers, maybe u can get an owl to send me a letter back. not that u have to.. not that i will check the post every day just incase... or anything :3. (i just want somethign something to add to my secret box of u). 

i hope ur having a good xmas! which brings me on 2 the whole reason for this letter. tho i am SURE you already noticed the thing in the parcel, this letter is probs an afterthought that u will read in like 5 day when u stop being distracted by the shiny thing. I know we technically already did the whole gift thign thing but i saw this an though of u so..... here you go :). it’s like not a lot but hopefully it will make u think of me, and not hot men on surfboards.... just remember i’m like top 10/10 at blowing you ;). 

i miss that too..not to write u a literal porno lmfao but yeh... i might keep thinking about how you felt and what u made me feel and all that jazz. ugh whatever shutup brain stop making urself feel sad AND horny.. 

letters make me feel like i’m in a movie.. there is totally big dramatic music playing right now, we actually are a romantic movie and there’s nothing wecan do about it :). guess u will just have to also do a big gesture likeeeee come see me as soon as u can but ideally when it’s snowing so we can make out whilst snowflakes land on us,.. and it will be snowflakes, not like a bad case of dandruff xD (that was called 4 .. and slightly better than the first). 

I can’t stop writing now, i’m like phil needs to know all the words the crawl into my ears and into my stupid brain, i’m basically running out of paper tho cos apparently we are a no paper household. i guess i’ll just have to text u all the other stuff.. and maybe a photo.. or something. 

to sum it up - i miss you so much, i got you another present, you don’t have 2 write back but think of my sad little face stood at the front door everyday...

this whole letter ordeal kinda made me want to attach a locket of my hair but thought probs 2 much. tho if u are interested in wearing a piece of me every just let me know.. :3. 

Love

Dan (that boy who doesn’t have abs but makes up 4 it in having a  massive mouth)

P.S see you sooooooon, though soon is never soon enough. x

P.P.S tell ur family i said hi!!!!!! and merry christmas :). 

[jeongcake]

Scratch Away The Pain || T. Shigaraki

pairing: Shigaraki. x Reader

content: excoriation disorder!reader, angst, neutral

warnings: excoriation disorder, mentions of blood

word count: 1.09k

➜ summary/prompt: based on a post by @shiggi-trash​!

a/n: this is old and discontinued. i will not link the other parts here.

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━┅━━┅━━━┅ஓ๑♡๑ஓ┅━━━┅━━┅━

Recently, the League was under more pressure than usual, and it was putting stress on everyone.

As Shigaraki explained the heist he was sending some of the members on, your hand subconsciously trailed up to your scalp, finding some dandruff to pick and pull at. An odd sense of relief washed over you, calming your nerves only a bit though.

As he continued to to speak about the plan, his eyes caught sight of your other hand beginning to claw at your neck, you getting more anxious about this missions specific risks and stakes. The hand in your hair finding a scab, picking it open, allowing more crimson liquid to stain your crusted, bloodied mop. It wasn't long before you had your fingers clawing from your neck to your shoulders back and forth, opening your sensitive, scarred epidermis, slowly starting to travel to your face.

"Dabi, Toga and Twice, you three go, it's your mission. Dabi's in charge," he couldn't exactly judge your behavior though, as he'd been needing the flesh on his own neck mercilessly, reopening flesh wounds that had barely healed. "Y/N stays back."

One of your hands froze in its spot, while the other searched for more dried skin to pick. Damn oily hair, always drying out your skin.

"Wait, w-why? I can handle it, boss. Or do you think I'm going to screw it up?" You itched, scratching harshly at the thought of being kicked out. It was amazing the build up of blood under your nails hadn't bothered you, or how you still couldn't tell what you were doing.

Giving the trio a signal to leave, Tomura turned to you, a raspy hum 'no' and head shake dismissing your original conclusions.

You stood confused, wondering why he held you back, keeping in place as you indulged in a seemingly one side staring contest, as his face was hidden by 'father'.

Getting frustrated with your self harming behavior, he cringed as a bit of your face had been attacked by your nails and started bleeding, and drove a deep scrape along his neck, drawing the same thick plasma as you had.

Your eyes caught sight and instinctively, you reached out to grab his arms and stop their activities.

"Careful, you're bleeding!" You gasp, pulling his unexpectedly compliant wrist down, tracing one hand over his wound.

Shocked, and flustered, he barked, "What do you think you're doing?"

Snapping back to reality, you retracted your arms and backed away, "I'm sorry boss, I forgot where I was."

Your said 'Boss' groaned loudly when he saw you tangle into your oily mess of hair, a snarl on his lips. Getting over his original embarrassment, he growled out a 'whatever' and sauntered over to the bar and popping down, mumbling for Kurogiri to get him some drink you couldn't hear.

Sitting a seat over from him, you asked for a glass of water with a shot of something you gave Kurogiri freedom in choosing, you needed a nice surprise in your life.

"Thank you, Sir," you smiled, but quickly stopped, feeling your dried out face and lips crack a bit. Looking at your reflective glass, and Furrowing your eyebrows in a disgusted manner. You were covered in scars, scratches and drops of blood were everywhere, you were disgusting.

Shigaraki, who'd been giving you a side gaze, frowned. Why did you make that face at your reflection? Going for a sip of his drink, he removed 'father' from his face and began to down his beverage, asking for another inaudibly, it was a wonder how Kurogiri understood.

"Careful Boss, you don't want to get drunk and pass out while the team's gone," he pursed his lips, giving you a quick glare, muttering something you couldn't make out.

"I'll do what I want, Scarface," you were shocked. He was in no position to make fun of your scars.

Growling, you stood up and marched over to him, snatching his drink of the counter before he could, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Now give me my drink," His voice was cold and soaked in venom, his voice having any and every cruel intention present.

Thinking of some smart remark, you stopped yourself, placing the drink in his four fingers and lazily trudging off, probably to your room.

Feeling a scowl plant itself on his lips, he glared at the door you'd left through, only coming back to reality when Kurogiri began speaking.

"That wasn't nice of you, Tomura."

"We'll villains aren't exactly nice," he hissed, taking a sip of his drink and slamming it onto the counter. "She shouldn't mess with me the way she does, I'm her boss, leader. She has no respect like the rest of the brats!"

The warp gate nodded, taking your glass from your seat and washing it, "Yes, but Y/N was only looking out for you, she didn't mean any harm."

"Shut up, she was just trying to get under my skin. I bet she's has mouthing me to herself right now," of course you were, everyone was always saying bad things about him behind his back. You were no different, especially being a 'friend' of Dabi.

"Whatever you say, but she didn't look to have any I'll intent."

In your room, you sulked about your appearance, tracing the dips and crevices you created yourself. You couldn't really blame shigaraki. He was handsome even with his scars. But you, you looked like a half-baked Frankenstein's monster job. Your dull, e/c eyes and matted h/c hair. You were just an ugly duckling who never turned into a Swan, instead a crippled Co dor or turkey, or anything with skin as raw as yours.

"Maybe, I can get over this for good," you mumbled softly, cleaning under your nails and grabbing your skin cream.

It was cold, and felt irritating on your flesh, but this needed to be done. Then you could at least be an average looking member.

Tomura on the other hand, was scuffing at himself more than ever. What was this overbearing feeling in his chest. Why didn't he feel good about making you upset? Usually, he felt nothing about what he'd done-if not fantastic and prideful-but now, he felt horrible. He shouldn't have called you something he hated being referred to as himself, but you had to have deserved it-right?

"Damn Y/N, who does she think she is?" He growled loudly, only calming when the relief of scratching kicked in and he started dosing off.

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[watchdogg]

A Guide: Raw Feeding for Dogs

Don’t have time to make BARF? Not sold on it? If you want to know what dry foods are best check this out.

What’s on the menu? BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food). This recipe is based off of Dr. Ian Billinghurst’s own recipe provided in his book Give Your Dog a Bone. Great read, would recommend.

However, there are a couple ingredients he discusses which have been recently proven as poor dietry choices for dogs. For example, he speaks of the inclusion of milk and garlic which have been discovered, through scientific study, to make dogs quite ill. Therefore the recipe I have written below excludes any ingredients I have found research on that are detrimental to your dog’s health.

BARF is essentially everything you would find in a grain-free dry dog food, but fresh!

BARF = 50% green mix + 50% meat (30% mince + 20% offal)!

DAILY INTAKE = 60% BARF + 40% meaty bone

I DO NOT APPROVE of the Canine Ancestral Diet or Prey Model diet, which is 80% meat. I have a seperate blog post discussing why (click here to find out more)!

EVERYTHING YOU MAKE MUST BE BLENDED TOGETHER INTO A CONSOLIDATED MUSH! Your dog has to eat everything, you must not give it the choice to pick certain things out of their bowl, it all has to go in their tummy! This is how we get to deficiencies!

I will post a seperate description of my exact routine, and how I measure out everything my girl needs as an example so you have something to compare to.

DISCLAIMER: If your vet has told you that your pet MUST eat a prescription diet due to health condition/allergy, please listen to them. Every health issue has causes and triggers, there are many, and I cannot possibly cover all of them in this post. Does this mean there aren't raw options for dogs with health issues or allegeries? No. There certainly are. For example, if your dog is allergic to wheat they can go on a wheat-free dry food OR BARF. But I cannot be responsible for your failings in proper research. SO, this means that if you have a dog with congenital issues, like kidney problems, please research into what that means before going against a prescription dry or wet food diet.

Appropriate vegetables include:

- Silver beet

- Bok choy

- Celery

- Carrots

- Sugar beet

Appropriate fruits include:

- Apples

- Oranges

- Blueberries

- Pears

REMINDER: you absolutely MUST vitamise fruits and vegetables. Your dog does not have molars like that of a horse for example, they cannot grind fibre, they use their molars for snapping large food items into smaller chunks. Herbivores chew for a reason. Plant cells are surrounded by a cellulose, and most guts do not have the enzymes required to dissolve cell walls, hence chewing. DOGS ALSO CANNOT DIGEST CELLULOSE, and they do not have the mechanics required to break down plant matter into a digestible form. I learned the function of teeth during my studies into paleontology, where dental analysis is vital. (1)

SUPPLEMENTS: TO BE BLENDED INTO YOUR BARF MIX 

the listed supplements contain the vitamins and omegas your dog needs to thrive. These vitamins already naturally exist in the vegatables and meats listed. HOWEVER, if your dog is not eating some kind of fish every day for example, then they need to be digesting at least flaxseed oil to make up for this. This is just one example. It is important to fill in any possible gaps, and these supplements make sure there aren’t any ;)

If you are feeding your dog fish oil you MUST also feed vitamin E oil, the dog’s body will use up stores of Vitamin E to process fish oil which oxidises very easily! If you are using one of the below supplements, you do not need to use fish oil. If you are using a supplement like megaderm or Omega blend, follow the directions on the bottle! So, this means don’t go adding it when you are making BARF, add upon feeding it to your dog.

SUPPLEMENTS INCLUDE:

- Megaderm (CONTAINS: vitamin B7, B6, A, E, omega 6&3) dosage instructions on bottle (can be bought on PetCircle)

OR

- Vets All Natural Omega Blend (CONTAINS: flaxseed oil (omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids), shark liver oil (omega-3 and vitamin A), sunflower oil (omega-6) and wheat germ oil (omega-3)) (can be bought on PetCircle)

OR

- just straight flaxseed oil (human-grade is the same stuff) 2 or 3 desert spoons

OTHER SUPPLEMENTS:

- Kelp powder (2-3 tsp) (contains: 60 different minerals and vitamins and 21 amino acids)

- Green tripe (contains: probiotics, essential fatty acids and digestive enzymes)

- Sardines (great for coat health)

- Tongue (fatty, good for active dogs)

- Green lipped muscle (aimed towards joint health, good for large breeds)

- Liver (contains vitamin A, B vitamins, iron, copper, zinc, essential fatty acids) 2 tblsp per day is recommended amount for medium dogs (I buy a pack of chicken livers (500g) and chuck it into the barf mix. This works out to be 17g perday)

DO NOT OVER FEED FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTATION, keep to the recommended dose! Large quantities can cause Seborrhea oleosa (bad dandruff). It is possible to have too much of a good thing.

It is really important you do not overdose on any supplement. For example, glucosamine is great for old joints but it is also rated a top poison for dogs because of its potential for overdosing. (2)

WHAT MEAT AND ORGANS ARE BEST?

MEAT SHOULD NOT BE COOKED when fed to dogs. This decreases protein digestability and destroys essential amino acids such as lysine and methionine. That being said, meat is NOT a complete food, it is deficient in a lot of vitamins dogs need! So veggies are still a must.

Mince is great, but if you can find mince with ground bone included that would be even better. If you are living in Melbourne, The Saltiest Dog (in Thornbury) is a great store to visit to purchase such a thing. Try to stay away from ‘pet meats’, like those sold in Woolworths or Coles. They contain harmful preservatives (3). The cleaner/more human grade the better. Research into local raw food stores around you and ask about the meat they get in/what if any preservatives are in their meat.

Kangaroo is an environmentally friendly choice! They do not rely on the production of grain to survive, and they are indigenous to the land (their feet don’t compact soil and turn it infertile). It is the most humane way of harvesting red meat if you think about their lives up until the point of death.

The leaner the meat the better! Kangaroo is very lean! Turkey is another great option, but if you are afraid of salmonella, stay away from poultry. Variability of protein is not as important as what parts of the body you are feeding your dog. They need muscle, bone, and offal (tongue, heart, liver, etc.)!

I generally go by: 30% mince+bone & 20% offal.

BONES:

NEVER FEED COOKED BONES! They will splinter and cause internal injury.

Is it dangerous to feed raw bones? NO!

It is imperitive in the BARF diet that your dog is getting some kind of whole bone to eat EVERY DAY. But don’t be silly about it, think about your dog’s size. If you have a mini poodle, you should be giving it chicken necks, not beef weight bearing bones. The bones you give should be soft enough so that they don’t chip your dog’s teeth. This also means NO weight bearing bones till the dog is over 6 months old.

I have talked to customers at Petbarn who just happen to have silly dogs who won’t chew bones at all, and instead swallow them whole. If this is the case, please stick to turkey/duck/chicken necks. These are harder to choke on beause the bones are so tiny. Once again, if you fear potential bacteria or worm risks, freeze your meat before feeding (this will kill a lot of what you are scared of). DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG FROZEN BONES, they will chip a tooth.

Bones act like fibre. They help everything move along in their intestines. They also contain vitamins and proteins they need. You can learn more about bone benefits in Dr. Ian Billinghurst’s book Give Your Dog a Bone.

I give my dogs a bone of some description every morning. Generally, it is a chicken carcass and once a week they get a roo rib or beef vertebrae (you can buy a bag of 'broth bones' from Woolworths which are great) to really get their teeth into.

It is really important that your dog is chewing on something every day. Whether it be a bone or a Kong/dental toy. It is imperitive for mental and dental health. The action of chewing for a dog is the equivelant of a human doing a sudoku or crossword.

HOW MUCH TO FEED:

This model is based off of the Raw&Fresh model which you can find on their website (https://rawandfresh.com.au/collections/treats), this also happens to be where I buy my bones from.

Essentially, you pick whether to feed 2-5% based on your dogs age and activity level. For example, senior dogs need to be eating more protein and fat because they lose muscle mass faster. A dog who has a high activity level needs more energy and a dog who is overweight should be fed less.

Generally, they should be getting 2-3%.

Whatever you decide on, this should be split into two meals. You'll find that two meals per day reduces their scavenging behaviour. I tend to feed the bone proportion in the morning and the patty mix at night.

The key to feeding your dog a raw diet is to WATCH. Watch your dog's weight. It is as simple as that. Watch how they put on weight, if they are becoming too skinny or overweight. Watch and adjust accordingly.

KEEP THIS FORUMLA IN MIND:

BARF = 50% green mix + 50% meat (30% mince + 20% offal)!

DAILY INTAKE = 60% BARF + 40% meaty bone

FEEDING LARGE BREEDS:

- BARF = time and money. Sometimes it can be unrealistic when you have a large breed.

- It can be a lot preparing a batch of food for a large breed, which can potentially be up to 2kg per day depending on how big the dog is. Ideally you would want to be making a batch that lasts the month, which we can individually pack and freeze. But with larger breeds that can get difficult when you are busy or you have a tiny freezer.

- Luckily their daily intake is not 100% BARF

- My GSD, Juni, requires 600g per day as a 30kg dog with a medium activity level. That means I'd need to make 18kg of BARF to last her a month. Yikes.

- I have found two ways around this:

- First of all, 600g is her daily intake, which means a bit of that (around 250g) can be meaty bone.

- I also cut some of her food with Ziwi Peak. This is an air-dried (NOT BAKED) dog food. Once the bone has been eaten, that leaves ~350g left to go.

- Her weight requires 350g of Ziwi Peak per day according to their feeding guide. Therefore, she gets 150g of Ziwi Peak and 150g of BARF

- I increase her BARF intake depending on the bone she gets

- The end result is I only have to make 4.6kg for the month if my life is turning out to be hectic and busy. Not to mention freezer space being an issue.

- When I find I have more time, this increases to 9kg and I don't need to feed Ziwi Peak at all.

1. You can learn more about dental function in mammals here:Smith, Kathleen, Wall, Christine. (2005). Ingestion in Mammals. In Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (Vol. 10, pp. 272-277). John Wiley Sons, Ltd. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Ingestion-in-Mammals-Wall-Smith/596099f8125d6ee16f40c858fe144613a225ae14

2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42594946_Accidental_overdosage_of_ joint_supplements_in_dogs

Nobles IJ, Khan S. Multiorgan dysfunction syndrome secondary to joint supplement overdosage in a dog. Can Vet J. 2015;56(4):361-364. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4357907/

3. https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/are-preservatives-in-pet-food-products-a-concern/

[kyberphilosopher]

Seven: Chapter One

Chapter One

Humans, I’ve observed, are often concerned with their appearance. It is because I was designed to integrate peacefully with them that I am where I am now.

          I trace the back of my right hand over my smooth, plastic skin, right against my cheek. My soft brown hair is pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of my neck, with bangs parted down the middle falling to my jaw. My skin is pale, my eyes a bright shade of green. If you look closely enough, you can see little yellow circles around my pupils. My eyebrows are brown and softly arched, and next to the one on the right is an led-light in the shape of a circle.

          When it turns green, it indicates that I am confirming something. Yellow means I am analyzing or active in some way. Red symbolizes danger or some kind of alertness. White, which I have on me now, means nothing. It shows that I am calm.

          My face is well put together, but not too much. When Androids were first released, reports were made that people felt uncomfortable because the Androids were too perfect. Too symmetrical. There were allegedly a string of men who became disloyal to their partners in favor of the metal beings. Androids were recalled and modified to look more human- more realistic and uneven. After that, Androids that were considered more symmetrical were sent to sex clubs.

          And so, my face is not perfect. My face is adequate, a more regular sight. I know I must be based off some human in the world, as the human mind is incapable of thinking of an entirely new face. If I ever met them, I wonder if it would feel like meeting my creator or identical twin.

          I straighten out my jacket, given to me by the company that designed me: Icarus. Icarus is actually from Japan, the first country that actually successfully created functioning Androids. The United States used it’s political ties to the country to coerce them into sharing the secret to creating such intelligent machines. Soon enough, an Android plant was created in Minneapolis. The plant made maids that become so popular, other states began constructing plants as well. Then the sex clubs came. Then secretaries. Then every state had at least four factories.

          I make sure I look professional enough to make a good impression on what will be my coworkers. I’ve been assigned to partner someone named Detective Everhart. From what I’ve researched on him, he is 54 years old, and very accomplished. When working with Androids in the past, there has been a record of Everhart being courteous to them. It’s a rarity, as far as I’ve observed.

          With one final look of myself in the mirror, I step away and turn to the door. A human walks in right then, a female with glasses and red hair pinned back by the name of Ellie Grint. She looks me up and down before her eyes land on my led. Then she scoffs as if I’ve disgusted her and chooses a stall. Ellie even slams the door so I am sure of her disapproval.  

          I turn the door handle to the police lobby. Rain hits the great glass windows sharply, matched with gray skies. I politely scoot myself past people in rows of chairs to get a better look of the outside. I can see the Space Needle from here, and I begin to analyze the weather.

          Weather: 100% chance of rain. 0% chance of snow. 30% chance of sun. 44% chance of winds.

     Temperature: 61 degrees Fahrenheit.  16.1111 degrees Celsius.

     The longer I stare at the rain outside and listen to it’s pitter patter, the more I feel my shoulders soften in my jacket. I guess I like this weather. It makes me feel especially warm and dry for being inside.

          After 41 seconds, I turn away and face the front desk. Long and made of metal and wood, three uniformed officers sit at computers, sipping coffee, attending to citizens. I position myself patiently behind a couple I identify as Carl Stacy and Mary Higgins. There arms wrapped tight around each other, they finish speaking to the Officer and move along to the right. I watch their backs, curious about why so many couples are so insistent on the constant touching. I know humans have warm skin, especially when alive, but why do they consider it so intimate to hold each other? If I were to be held, it would lead to problems with my work, as I wouldn’t be able to properly move.

          I step forward to the desk. The Officer- Blaise Shovelman, is concentrated on his computer. With his head down, I can’t get a more intensive read on his face, but I can analyze his hair enough to see lots of dandruff.

          I wait patiently, my hands clasped behind my back again. It feels natural to do, and I’ve seen humans do it before. Officer Shovelman can feel eyes on him- perhaps eyes that aren’t human, and raises his head to meet me. His lips are parted slightly in confusion, orbs locked onto my led.

          “Hello,” I greet calmly. “I’m looking for Detective Lucas Everhart.” Officer Shovelman stares at me blankly. “I have authorization,” I say.

          “Ah… Detective Everhart is unavailable at the moment.”

          “Then I would like to speak with Captain Armitage Ericson.”

          Officer Shovelman is still stunned. I can see his heartrate has increased. Have I done something to upset him? If so, I may need to report to Adelicia about this incident. “Oh… yes- yes of course,” he stutters. His fingers type something into the keyboard choppily. Beside him, the two other officers have stopped their activities to also stare at me.

          I bring my right hand up slowly as a kind of soft wave to acknowledge them. The blonde’s name is Quinn Blackwell. The other one with the slim eyes and black hair is Tom Ho-Kim.

          “Ah, Captain Ericson has an appointment with an Android at eleven thirty.”

          “Yes,” I nod. “That would be me.”

          “Oh…” Officer Shovelman points to the right, where a glass sliding door awaits. “Just that way.”

          “Thank you,” I say. I turn to the right, pretending not to know about six eyes all trained on me in disbelief.

          Past the glass door, the floor turns to grey and blue tiles. Glass separates the desks, and almost ever divider has some photos or information taped to it. To the immediate left of me, up a quick flight of stairs is a room of glass. This is supposed to be Captain Ericson’s office. It must be frustrating and strange to have people be able to see you work. Though, I suppose the rows of detectives desks must create the same feeling.

          “Excuse me,” I say to someone walking by. “I’m looking for Detective Everhart’s Desk.”

          The man (Joseph Blake) sneers at me and bumps my shoulder has he continues on. I still myself before stumbling too much, calculating his weight must be close to 200 pounds for him to push me so hard with such little effort.

          I regain my step, straighten my jacket again and brush off my button-up shirt underneath. I continue onward, deciding against walking into the bullpin. Instead, I turn up the stairs and knock softly on the Captain’s glass door. “Come in,” I see him say, focused on writing something down on his desk.

          I pull the door open and step inside, quick to analyze the room.

Name: Armitage Ericson

Date of Birth: April 11th, 1974- Age 67

Height: 6’0

Weight: 285 lbs

Race: African-American

Birthplace: Seattle, Washington

Occupation: Commanding Officer, Police Captain at Seattle Police Department

Family: Kayden Ericson, Husband (Age 59), Aaron Ericson, Son (Age 12), Sarah Ericson, Daughter (Age 9)

Finding Related Articles… Articles Found. Searching ‘Ericson, Armitage’…

          “Hello,” I say. I detect a sharp increase in Captain Ericson’s heartrate and he jumps to look at me. “My name is Aleksandra. I’m the Android sent by Iapetus. Serial Number 742 943 189-7. I believe you were contacted by Mrs. Adelicia?”

          “Jesus,” he mutters. I detect traces off coffee against his thick black mustache. “I thought it was a joke.”

          I cock my head slowly, thinking of all the possible things to say. “I assure you, Mrs. Adelicia has very little sense of humor.”

          “Yes,” Captain Ericson says slowly. “Yes, that’s true. Take a seat miss…”

          “Aleksandra,” I repeat politely. I make my way to a chair in front of his glass desk, sitting up straight and formally as my program suggests.

          “Is that… a biblical name?” Captain Ericson asks dryly, his hands moving slightly.

          “Yes,” I nod. “It means ‘one who saves the warriors’.”

          “Of course,” Captain Ericson swallows. “Well, you were assigned to work with Detective Everhart, weren’t you?”

          “Yes. I am looking forward to working with him.”

          “See, that’s going to be difficult,” the captain sighs, looking down at his fumbling fingers. “Lucas was pronounced dead this morning. There was a shootout with Androids yesterday.”

          I know my led is turning yellow as I absorb the information. Accessing the public records of the nearest hospital, I search through hundreds of reports before finding the one I’m searching for. Yes, Detective Everhart died at 6:14 am, due to internal bleeding during surgery to remove bullets. He left behind a second wife, no children.

          “I see,” I say, not really knowing what else to respond with. My led turns green, then goes back to white.

          Captain Ericson continues to fiddle with his thumbs, leaning back in his chair as a way to show authority. I’m unsure why he feels the need to do that. Androids are strictly forbidden from having any jobs of power. I am not here to undermine him. In fact, all the articles I just read about him tell me that he’s done many things deserving of respect. He’s won a medal of valor for his work with a drug task force from the year 2035, and been praised in the local papers for commanding respect among his fellow officers.

          “How about you join in on our meeting?” Captain Ericson offers. “All our officers and detectives should be here by then.”

          My led goes yellow as I determine the probability of that. “Yes,” I settle upon. “That should work.” I stand up, shaking the Captain’s hand. “Thank you, sir.”

          “Ah… yes. Dismissed.”

          I nod and turn on my heel, leaving his office and walking down the steps. From the corner of the room, I can see three people glaring at me and snickering. One is a uniformed officer- Mindy Cho. The other are Detectives Clarence Frost and Michael Corlecio. I knew that many humans were uncomfortable in the presence of Androids, but I guess I still wasn’t expecting all this really. The sneers, the glares, the pushes. Still, one of my core purposes is to accommodate humans. My best option is to continue to be polite to them. It’s not as if I was programmed to exactly care how the humans see me anyway, so long as it doesn’t interfere with my main mission.

          I look away from the group, ignoring them. My eyes meet the door to the precincts bathroom, down a hallway beside some plants. I put my foot forward and start over there, messing with my cuffs on my jacket. Once I enter the bathroom, I note a collection of stains on the floor and pick a stall in the middle to sit in.

          Androids don’t need to use the bathroom. We don’t need to eat. The only thing we need to drink is Binary Blood- a silver, thick liquid that acts as blood for Androids. It’s essentially melted metal, working to reconstruct parts we may be missing and solidify itself. When that is not needed, it works to pump throughout what is basically our veins. That is one of the many things that differs Androids from humans- we do not bleed the same color. One could even technically argue that Androids do not truly bleed.

          With the highly unsanitary toilet seat down, I sit on it. Then I close my eyes. When I open them, I am back in the white room where I first began.

          “You really must learn how to do this correctly,” says a low voice. I turn around, meeting Adelicia’s stern face. Today, her blond hair is pulled backwards into a very tight and professional bun. Her normal fitted pearl necklace sits along her neck, matched with a pale yellow pantsuit and skirt.

          “Yes,” I say. “I will keep that in mind.” My hands clasp behind my back yet again, a pastime of mine, it seems. “Detective Everhart is no longer alive,” I tell her. “He passed away of gunshot wounds early this morning.”

          “Yes,” Adelicia says gravelly. “With one of the Exceptions. What is to happen with you now?”

          “Captain Ericson suggested I stay here for today’s meeting. I expect I will be reassigned to a new partner.”

          I wonder about who it could be. One of the snickering ones from the corner? How would I possibly be able to complete my mission with them constantly getting in my way? It would not look good for me to ask for a different partner then, because I would appear unreasonable and catty to the humans. I can see their faces twisting into one of disapproval now.

          Adelicia’s eyes narrow at me, her thin lips pulled into a stern frown. Almost like she’s disgusted. “Report back to me when you’ve received your new instructions.”

          Before I can see, “yes, Adelicia”, I’m back in the bathroom stall. This isn’t the first time she’s kicked me out of her program. I don’t know how I feel about it, exactly. It makes an unsettling whir happen in my abdominal biocomponents.

          I run a diagnosis. All systems appear operational. With something equivalent to a sigh, I push myself up off the seat and out of the stall, brushing past a woman who stares at me in shock.

          “I didn’t know Androids had to use the bathroom…” she squeaks, her eyes wide.

          I cock my head to the side. “I wasn’t using the bathroom.” Then I move past her, leaving the woman silent and stunned for some unknown reason.

[bluepenguinstories]

Happiness Overload Chapter Sixty

Finally: cotton candy. Held in my hands, stacked high, almost a mile wide. Or maybe like a foot long. Or some odd centimeters (but not the even ones). Such sweet, cottony candy.

“There’s something bittersweet about finality, isn’t there?” I asked the guy at the cafeteria who gave me the cotton candy.

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” he grunted.

I shrugged and told him, “yeah, me either. I mean, it’s bittersweet when things come to an end no matter the outcome. But when it comes to cotton candy, it’s just sweet. That’s why I love it. That, and fruit snacks. Say, which would be better: fruit snack flavored cotton candy or cotton candy flavored fruit snacks?”

“Cotton candy isn’t a fruit. It’s just sugar.”

“Oh yeah. What would you call sugar, anyway? It’s a crop, right? So, is sugar a vegetable? Or a seasoning? Could sugar be considered a spice? But then again, spices are bitter and sugar is sweet.”

“I don’t have time for philosophy. I make food and serve it.”

“That’s fair!” I snapped my fingers. “For me, I can’t even be sad even if I wanted to. My whole cotton candy journey was a long and arduous one. It must have taken the length of two characters’ arcs just to find the cafeteria. Can you believe that?”

He groaned. Jeez, tough crowd. I took a bite out of my cotton candy and the taste was so good that more cotton candy formed from out of the space where I took my bite. As long as eating cotton candy made me happy, I’d get an unlimited amount of cotton candy, which was guaranteed to be unlimited, because being full only made me happy when I felt like being full, and I never got upset stomachs, because it has the word ‘upset’ in it and being upset didn’t make for a happy Blanc.

“Say, what makes you happy?” I asked the cotton candy maker, who I was sure made other food, but everything else paled in comparison to cotton candy. Well, cotton candy paled in comparison to fruit snacks. It’s all relative.

“Making food,” [insert guttural adjective here] the cafeteria worker.

“Great!” I waved finger guns at him. “Then that’s all you’ll be doing for the rest of your life! Hope you at least get a chance to eat what you make, but I don’t make the rules!”

“Yeah,” his face crinkled into a smile. “MAKING FOOD MAKES ME HAPPY!” He bellowed.

I took a bow.

“You’ll do great. I probably won’t see you again. I gotta meet up with a couple of friends, though there’s no telling how long that will take. Then some things will happen. Probably. Happy things I’m sure, because those are the kind of things I like to happen!”

I skipped off, cotton candy in hand, in search of Velvet and Coriander. As much as I wanted to cross their names off of my happiness list (which I never really conjured up, it was more of a mental list. Sure, I could have, but I wasn’t a big fan of work, and writing things down on a piece of paper was just too much work for this human-shaped happiness), something told me that they weren’t quite out of the woods. I put my finger (not the index finger, the happy one (obviously, the pinkie)) on my chin and got to thinking.

“Now, that whole artist thing sure created an ethical dilemma. One that I don’t want to boggle my mind with, but I’m going to have to figure this out one way or another.”

I had to think of that artist. Dr. Katsushika. She didn’t go by that name, at least not often, but that’s what it was. Or that’s what it would be if she went by that name. To be honest, I would have felt bad for Velvet, and doubly bad for Coriander. Sure, there were folks like that in The Flashbulb. Many more than those two faced, but there was only so much time in the void, even if time in the void didn’t quite exist. But I didn’t feel bad for them, because feeling bad wouldn’t have made me feel good. But that would have made me feel bad, if I could feel bad.

All that said, Dr. Katsushika didn’t quite make me feel good either. Retract that. Dr. Katsushika would have made me feel bad, if I could feel bad about anything. She wasn’t what I’d call someone who made others happy. Even if she liked that word almost as much as I did. When it came down to it, she was the ethical dilemma: if dying didn’t make her happy, but it put Coriander at peace, was that OK? On one hand, it was probably better if she had died, but on the other hand...happiness comes first.

“I knew it! I fuckin’ knew it! You can’t make everyone happy!” I stamped my foot. Then my left hand formed a mouth. Y’know, like a hand puppet.

“SURE YOU CAN! BOTH PARTIES DON’T HAVE TO BE HAPPY RIGHT AWAY!” My left hand told me. On the other hand...cotton candy.

Ah, yes. My Left Hand was right. It was all clear now that the pieces would soon come together. I just had to disregard any sort of ethical dilemma, disregard logical conclusions, and let things run their course. That course being a corrected one.

Hey! Would it come off as a surprise to say that I’ve had a hand in everything this whole time? Specifically, My Left Hand. More specifically, Euphy! Maybe a better question was: would it ruin the impact of everything that’s transpired? Hmm...probably. But it wasn’t like it was anything major, really. Euphy’s hands were long and could find their way anywhere. That said, most of my friends’ actions were their own and for the most part, I was hands-off. The best explanation I could give was that I tossed around a few metaphorical breadcrumbs here and there.

So with that out of the way, let’s just say that a few more breadcrumbs were about to snow down like dandruff.

Tick-tock, knick-knack, knock-knock.

Those were the sound effects made once my little bug found the correct door (and no, they were not behind door number three, but game shows really were the pinnacle of television). Of course, neither of them answered. All the better. As far as I figured, neither of them wanted to see me. Especially not the spice rack. Which, given what I put her through, was understandable.

All the same, thanks to all my spare time locked away from all the other Flashbulb employees, I once learned the fine art of lockpicking. Not to say that I could have just broken free of my enclosure any time I wanted to, but I sure was glad I learned the craft all the same. If not, I might not have gotten into their room.

Like a thief in the night (not that there was any sense of day or night in our headquarters), I slipped into their room. To my surprise, they both must have been heavy sleepers. There they were, hand in hand, holding each other close. Like still life models. It brought forth the urge to chuckle, something I had to surprise in order not to get caught. Even asleep, they continued to be an inspiration.

Oh. There would be questions.

“How did you survive? Didn’t I slam you into the floor and kill you?” The outraged, or horrified Coriander (the art formerly known as Mavis) would ask me.

I would smirk all smug, close my eyes, with my index finger (a very smart and astute finger, the one finger who puts the most work into every craft) pointed up, and then tell her:

“Simple: I created an android of myself to pull the strings while I watched in a hidden space. You really should have paid better attention. Not that it would have done you much good, as I had packs of blood stored up in the android set to spill out upon a fall. It’s true: I really do think of everything!”

She would probably yell and/or scream, “I HATE YOU,” and I wouldn’t know what to say to that. I had no smug remark. As far as I was concerned, she had every right to hate me, to wish me dead. Hell, I’d wager that she’d try to kill me all over again.

But alas, I was alive, and I’ve had my fill of both of them. I’ve painted so many paintings, and sent one of my little flies (microscopic robots) to scout out the area and find them for me. All in the span of time that they spent lovemaking. Yes, I knew about that too. But rest assured, I had my fly leave the room as soon as it went in. Say what you will about me, but I respected others’ privacy.

Case in point, I slipped underneath the bed. I was in no rush and the cold, metal floor was really quite comfortable. Those two also had all the time in the world. The problem was that their world didn’t have much time left. That was A-Okay, though. Because I told them I would help them and damn it, I meant it!

It wasn’t like I woke up between a rock and a hard place. In fact, the bed I was on was quite soft, and Coriander’s back was also quite soft. But even still, I felt like I was between an unstoppable force and an unmovable object; the unstoppable force being the comfort of being on a bed, and the unmovable object being my cute girlfriend who was currently asleep on top of me.

Well, if my time awake was time wasted, so be it. I couldn’t be any more satisfied knowing that I held in my arms both the one I loved, and the one who loved me. There was still a world to save, somewhere out there, with however much time it had left, but let’s face it: I was too tired. So I smiled as I stroked her back, then turned my head to fall asleep once more.

Whether sleep was for the weak or I was weak without sleep, one thing was clear: I didn’t get enough of it. Then again, how could I even tell? Trick question, I couldn’t. It was all a wild-ass guess based on how tired I still was. I was so tired that when I lifted my head, I didn’t have the strength to get up all the way, so I lowered my head back down onto Velvet’s chest. Big mistake that was. As soon as I did so, I felt a wet spot on my cheek and for a hazy moment, I thought nothing of it. Until I did. And started to freak out.

“Oh no! That’s drool! I drooled on her boob! She’s always saying I do that and I always say that I don’t do that but I just did! What am I supposed to do?” My words spilled out in a panic. Spilled out like drool. Ew. No. Stop.

I stared down. She was still asleep. I poked her cheek for good measure. Nothing.

“Okay. Good. I can use this to my advantage,” I mumbled. I could get a tissue from the bathroom. Wipe her boob down. Wait. What if that woke her up? Well shit, too late to consider that, I was already up and out of bed.

Ugh. What if she wakes up and notices and points it out and I wouldn’t have anything in my defense! I’d be caught drool handed. Ew. At least I’ll wash my hands.

I got into the bathroom and washed my hands. To my surprise, there was a stack of folded clothes on the counter right next to the sink.

“Was this here before?” I muttered. Well, I was too tired to think about it too hard. Maybe if I was less tired, I could have asked questions like, “is this an automatic feature of The Flashbulb’s technology?” or “was this here this whole time and I just didn’t notice?” and of course, the most important question would have been, “did someone sneak in here?”

But no. Call it stupidity, tiredness, or a lapse in logic, because I just took the clothes and put them on. They fit quite well. Not too tight, not too baggy. Really, if there was any complaint, it was how generic they looked. Plain white shirt and pants. Nothing much else to say. I wasn’t even sure why describing them at all was worth mentioning.

Once I left the room, clothed and cloth in hand, I froze in place. Lucidity took hold and all the thoughts I should have had weighed down on me as I stood face to face with the one I thought I had killed. The same one who put me through such torture.

“You…” I forced the words out. My blood was boiling, but I just couldn’t bring myself to move. “You can’t be here…” I was about to say, “...you aren’t real. You’re not here.” But the rest of my words didn’t come. I closed my eyes.

“Surprise! Bet you thought you’ve seen the last of me!” Her words rang through. No, there was no mistake: it was her.

I opened my eyes and looked around for something to use as a weapon. Not that it would have done me much good. I should have just kicked her face in and whaled on her, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Worse yet, I started to tremble where I stood.

“Really, this wasn’t how I expected our meeting to go down. I wanted to wait until both of you were awake, but maaaan, that Velvet is one heavy sleeper! You’re welcome for the clothes, by the way. Did you know that I’m quite the seamstress? Quite the tailor? It’s true! Just one of the many art forms I’ve learned throughout the years!”

I growled. That was all I could bring myself to do. I wanted to lose all control and beat her to a bloody pulp. I should have been allowed that after all that was done to me. She shouldn’t have been alive, she should have been dead. All the pain, everything she caused, and there she stood, without so much as a scratch.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Came a voice beside me. Hoarse and droned, but unmistakably Velvet’s. I looked over and when she saw who was there, she too got on the defensive.

“You! How...how did you get in here? For that matter, how are you alive?” Her voice changed to that of more serious and harsh in tone.

“Finally!” Dr. Popsicle grinned. “I’ve been waiting for someone to ask that! It’s simple, really, I –” The mad artist never got the chance to finish. Velvet shut her down quick.

“You know what? I really don’t care. It doesn’t matter how you’re still alive, but I won’t forgive you for what you’ve done to me or my girlfriend. So I’ll make sure to kill you this time.”

“Your girlfriend? Oh, congrats! You made it official!” Popsigirl chuckled. I managed to break free of whatever mental restraints were placed on my physical being. I began to charge at her and gave her a swift kick in the shin.

She seethed, but even in pain, managed to keep a smile. “Right...I deserve that,” she winced.

“Velvet!” I yelled. “Grab something to throw at her! No mercy!”

She gave me a nod in response and felt around, then grabbed a knife. Blessed. I continued the beat down as I shoved the artist to the floor and began to kick her repeatedly.

“I’ll kill you!” I yelled. After a few kicks, sure to at least bruise up her sides, she put a hand up in the air.

“Wait! Wait!”

I didn’t want to wait. How dare she tell me that?!

“You guys can kill me if you want, but you might want to think it over!”

“What?!” I stopped for whatever reason.

“OK. So. Imagine: you kill me, I’m on the floor. My body rots. The smell gets real bad. Either someone notices my body, ups the security and finds out who killed me, or, let’s say hypothetically, you manage to defeat the whole Flashbulb, which I can’t imagine you guys doing without my help. You’ll probably have to kill many others along the way, too, of course. All of those bodies, that smell, it all tends to add up. If you’re going to be stuck here for the rest of your lives, is that really what you want to walk around smelling all the time?”

Such drivel. As if she really believed she could weasel her way out with some loose logic that anyone could poke a hole into.

“Of course,” she went on. “You could dispose of the bodies. The question is, where and how.”

“Enough,” Velvet interrupted once again. “First off, what is this wet spot on my chest?”

Really? You’re really going to focus on that when we have more important things to worry about? Even still, I guess it would be bad on my part if I told her it was drool.

“It’s probably sweat. We were going at it pretty rough,” I told her.

“Ah, that makes sense,” Velvet replied, and I was saved.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t watch!” Popsigirl chimed in, much to my disgust.

“Second off!” Velvet hushed the intruder. Although I suppose as a whole, Velvet and I were the intruders. “Bold of you to assume I have a problem with the stench of death. Sure, I’d probably vomit every time I passed by a dead body, but I’d rather make that sacrifice than know someone like you would still be around to hurt the one I love.”

“Oof. Well, you raise a find argument. Some sacrifices may be necessary, after all. Gee, I’m getting a kick out of discussing these things with you! We could have some really creative debates!”

“Screw that,” Velvet spat. “It’s bold of you to even be in our presence right now!”

“That it is!” The art fanatic proclaimed. “And you two have every right to hate me.”

“Good, because we do,” I found my voice once more. Velvet nodded along.

“But even if that’s the case, I’d like to make it up to you guys. The way I see it, neither of you have much time left before your version of Earth is kaput. And if you just flail around the headquarters randomly, you’re never going to save anything. Hard truths, y’know?”

“Here’s a hard truth: you can’t make it up to us. I can only speak for myself, but even if it takes longer, even if I fail, I don’t want to stoop so low as to accept help from someone like you. Besides, you’ve already claimed to want to help us before, and I remember all too well how that went.”

Both of us were on the same page, but I started to feel a little mixed about it all. The whole reason I wanted to get to the headquarters was to exact revenge on the ones who made me who I was. Yes, I knew that the world was ending, but that wasn’t my main reason. But I knew there were better reasons to defeat them besides revenge, which Velvet had those better reasons, and yet she was willing to sacrifice them for my sake. Not only did I not deserve that, but if we had a chance…

No. I knew better than to think about that. The one in front of us was the one who had traumatized me, used both Velvet and I for her amusement. We had no reason to trust that someone like that could help us, and even if she could, I didn’t want to be in her presence. It hurt so much just to stand there. Worse, I was wearing clothes that she had made for me. Total red flags right there.

“I...I feel sick,” I said at last. “I’m going back into the bathroom.”

“What about dealing with the other person in the room?” Velvet pleaded.

Really, what about it?

“I trust you to make a decision,” I replied.

“But I don’t want to make a decision without you!” She called for me, but I already closed the door. I sounded so bitter even though I knew I wasn’t mad at Velvet. I just didn’t know what else to do. So I locked myself in until I felt safe enough to come back out.

Gee, things were going to be harder than I thought. Well, according to the ancient art of boxing, “sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches.” So that’s just what I did: I reached into my shirt and pulled out a pile of clothes. Voila! I threw them at Velvet and got into my most Serious Person impression.

“Put these on. You’re not modeling for one of my drawings, and besides, you two don’t wanna be running around the headquarters naked,” I commanded.

“I bet you have it rigged so the clothes have some kind of mind control or body control thing, or it’s got some explosives attached, or there’s tracking devices, or –”

“All good ideas,” I stopped Velvet from listing other things. “See? Even now you give me such good ideas! But no: they’re just clothes.”

She eyed me, but gave in all the same. As she did so, I decided to sit on the floor. Not to worry, it wasn’t to better enjoy the view, I just figured the floor was a good place to be. Once she was all dressed, I got back to business.

“Now, I don’t doubt your guys’ resilience, you two displayed it quite well back there,” I chuckled. “But as I said, you can’t just run around and hope for the best. That’s even worse than how others have tried to overthrow us in the past, and their organized efforts didn’t pan out well. Do you know why?”

She said nothing, but continued to glare.

“It’s because everyone could see them coming, so just as the groups were prepared, so too was the company. Which meant they could hire all the guards, janitors, death squads, you name it. Traps and gadgets, weaponry beyond your comprehension. No offense, of course, but the only thing you two got going for you is that no one sees you as a threat. Sure, you had guards after you, and they saw you as intruders, but after you fell down and into my domain, everyone just walked on and figured I killed you guys.”

Still no response. Well, I had more to say, so good.

“But really, it’s a matter of time. The more it seems you have a chance of winning, the less of a chance you actually have. I mean, you don’t think there’s cameras in this room? And listening devices? You’re lucky I’ve disabled them, but still, there’s bound to be other cases where such things weren’t disabled, and you two were caught sneaking in a room or two. Hmm?”

“I get that evil monologues are what you guys are good at, but can you just get to your point?” At last! Velvet spoke! Hurrah!

“What you guys need to do is simple: just run up to the front of the ship, say that it’s been taken over, and do so before your guys’ world is destroyed. Easy enough, right?” I may have skipped a few steps in my head, but she did want me to get to the point, so really, that was on her.

“How did you get to that conclusion?” Velvet sounded baffled as all heck, which was baffling to me, to be baffled at all.

“Because I’ll take care of the rest! See, once you get up to the ship, either they don’t take you seriously at all, or they see you as an actual threat, and if it’s the latter, they’re going to want to throw everything at you. But if they can’t get a signal to contact any guards or anything, they won’t have anything to throw at you. Meanwhile, I’ll be organizing various Flashbulb members to revolt and we’ll open up portals and kick the guards into those. It’s really funny that we had a Morale Department seeing as worker morale here isn’t very high.”

“I see. And the guards won’t overpower the workers because…? I doubt the ones in front care all that much about killing their own in order to maintain power.”

“Ah! Yes! Power! See? That’s something I didn’t think about! Aren’t I glad I have you around?”

She growled. Sheesh, I expected that from the other one, not the velvety person.

“The Flashbulb’s hierarchy goes as follows: the workers, the scientists in the departments, and then the Grandmaster Flash. Everyone answers to Grandmaster Flash, except I’ll let you in on a little secret: there is no Grandmaster Flash. There never has been a Grandmaster Flash.”

“So what? It’s a conspiracy within an organization shrouded in conspiracy theories?”

I snapped my fingers. “Bingo! But also, it’s not the wisest of decisions! See, it was born from a rumor spread by those at the front of the headquarters. Apparently they got together and wanted to get out of work, so told the other departments something like, ‘Grandmaster Flash says I don’t have to do anything.’ At first, the others must have been confused, but as the rumor spread, the ones at the front cleared up the manner by saying, ‘Grandmaster Flash is secretive and makes all of the decisions. Maybe if one of your departments is really good, you will be recognized and one of you will become the next Grandmaster Flash.’ But yeah, it’s a con to keep everyone working hard and to allow the ones at the front to do whatever they want!”

Her eyes widened. Good. She was catching on.

“So basically, if we want to defeat them, we just gotta get them to admit that there’s no leader?”

...Swing and a miss. I rolled on the floor.

“No, silly! Instead, just say ‘we’ve taken out your leader’ or something. That will make them take you guys a little more seriously. And then, when they call for backup and nothing comes, bingo! You’ll have them pissing their pants and I’ll be laughing at them from afar!”

“That still sounds really far-fetched and way too convenient. And besides, how can we even trust you to follow through on your end and do all those things?”

“Good point! You can’t trust me! For all you know, I could rat you guys out and watch your downfall! That’s the poetic nature of all this! Such revolutions like this really are a work of art!”

Velvet shook her head. “This doesn’t sound good, no matter how hard you explain. The fact that you’re even alive…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I sighed. “You want me rolling in my grave instead of on the floor, which, there are no graves here, so why would I be?”

“You did all those things, unrepentant –”

“What can I say? An artist should never apologize for their art.”

“Good,” Velvet crossed her arms. “Because here’s another hard truth: I will never forgive you. No one is obligated to forgive you for the things that you’ve done to them and the sooner you learn that, the easier life will be.”

“Duly noted. But don’t you worry! You don’t have to actively work with me or anything. Just run to the front and say that you’re overthrowing the whole organization, and I’ll do the rest.”

“You say that, but…”

“...Or...you two can run around naked and get killed a horrible death and fail miserably in your mission. Choice is yours, really.”

“I don’t want to do this. If I do, it will feel like I’ve gone against Coriander. If I can find another way, with her, I will.”

As she said that, the one and only spice girl (in the void. Not to discount the infinite amount of spice girls out there across an infinite amount of universes. Also not to discount the infinite amount of Spice Girls, either. I was particularly fond of the version of them where they put out an EDM Folk Death Metal album. Truly ahead of their time) stepped out of the bathroom.

“Let’s just do it, Velvet,” Coriander announced in a dull and lifeless tone. “If there’s more of a chance with this, I’d rather go with it.”

I put my hand on my chest and smiled. So it seems I was forgiven after all! Good! Even though when I looked over at Coriander, her face looked like it was filled with hate and sadness, but I’d take what I could get.

“Now!” I took one good look at the both of them. “Before you two start running off, perhaps you’d like to know how much time you have left.”

“Don’t we have plenty of time, though?” Velvet objected. “Seeing as time doesn’t flow the same here, plus all those time travel devices. I think we’re allowed to take our time, given all that.”

“You’re going to apply logic to a sci-fi setting? What’s wrong with you?” I countered. “I’m sure you can understand how things work if you think about it for more than a few seconds.”

Velvet groaned, Coriander grunted. They must have understood once I said that: time still flowed down on their version on Earth, and maybe even at a faster rate than in here.

“For all you know, your Earth could already be destroyed,” I added. “And you can turn back time, that would just make an alternate Earth, which means there would already be a Velvet occupying there, and…”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Velvet grit her teeth.

“So in order to figure out how things are going down there, I’ll send my little bug to see if there’s anyone I can talk to! That way I can confirm that there’s at least some people still alive, and that they can tell me what the situation’s like!”

I put a little earbud in my ear, then sent one of my little bugs out from my pocket and watched as it warped away, using a built in fragment of a time cube, and waited until it found someone. After a little while, I heard the bug beep. That was my cue.

“Hey! Is anyone still alive on this planet?!” I yelled, as I had no idea how loud I should have been.

“Oh, just little old me,” a voice on the other end came up. I just about jumped for joy! There was life! And with a pleasant voice like that person’s (a soothing mix of baritone, treble, and alto), it seemed like my two muses were in luck.

“Hi there! Yes! This little thing I sent down was one of my art projects! Good to see it was a success!” My heart was racing so fast I could have entered it in a horse race, except hearts weren’t horses. Not unless you did some genetic experimentation, but that was neither here nor there.

“If only I got to hear this conversation from your memories,” he crooned. It really got me thinking: did he know who I was already? Well, I didn’t even know if the voice was a ‘he’, but I just figured such a disembodied voice being a ‘he’ would have been a nice thought, and then I started thinking about how I might have gone about drawing that. Oh, but I was getting distracted once again.

“Then I could see who you are and what your motive was. I could even taste you, just a little,” ‘he’ continued. While some may have found that to be just a bit creepy, I imagined ‘he’ must have thought of me to be a mix of paints.

“Yes! That would be so artistic! Maybe it could mix together at once like a collage!” My excitement might have been showing a little too much. Restraint, too, was an art.

“Where did you send this little bug down from?” ‘He’ asked, which seemed obvious enough to me where I sent it from. Maybe obvious to ‘him’ as well, if ‘he’ called my art project a ‘little bug.’

“I think you know already!” I replied, still with as much cheer as before. Restraint never was my strong suit.

There was a pause before either of us said anything else, so maybe I should have just cut to the chase.

“Are you really the only one left?” I asked. “How’s the situation on Earth?”

The voice on the other end came in once more:

“There were many booties a clappin’,” spoken in a sing-song voice. “But yes, I may be the only one left. There might be a few others. Not sure. Probably won’t last long, though. I’d give it...what? A few more months? A year? Then everything, so happy it could all die.”

“Oh, that sounds so beautiful!” I would’ve been this person’s biggest fan had I been down on that version of Earth and in that specific period in time. “Say it again!”

“It does, doesn’t it?” My next source of inspiration agreed.

“But! And this is a big but!” I had to get myself back on track, else I’d be in awe the entire conversation.

“...You cannot lie?”

“I can’t! One of the greatest artistic achievements! Aha! I am among a true scholar! Oh! But I didn’t go on! See, I’ve got a couple of muses with me who would like to possibly save Earth. Think there’s any way they can do that?”

“Let’s say I could pull a few strings. Buy some time.”

“Great!”

“But, and this is a big booty, I can only delay it for so long. If your pals can’t do anything soon, then I’m afraid my hands are tied.”

“Sounds good! I’ll let them know! They’ll be so excited! Hold on just a sec!”

I put my hand over my ear and said to Velvet and Coriander.

“So someone on Earth says you’ve got time, and could even buy you guys some more time! Isn’t that great!?”

Whether they were excited or my imagination was telling them that they were, I was excited enough just to tell them the good news. Then I uncovered my hand and spoke once more to the jolly fellow.

“Hey! Hey! I’m still here, are you?”

“Indeed, good friend. I have a feeling you and I would get along quite well. Which means I would probably not get along with you at all. But if only I could have found out.” Gee, what a friendly person. Like a star-crossed friend that I never would have met, because if there was anywhere on Earth I’d have wanted to go, it would have been back in Japan, with my father.

“That’s okay! There’s artistic merit in mystery! Leaves some for the imagination!” I assured the good-natured spirit.

“Well, before you depart, I just want to ask a favor of you.”

“Sure!”

“If you could give me an audience, that would be great. I think I’m done being in the shadows. It’s gotten quite boring. So, I would like it if I could speak with others.”

I thought about it. I could already do quite a bit with disabling communications, so opening up a line of communication didn’t seem too hard, either.

“Not a problem!” I assured ‘him’.

‘He’ laughed hysterics. “It’s good to know I had your permission, given I already had the ability to do so.”

“Oh, you sly devil!”

Then, without so much as a good-bye (although I’ve had worse phone conversations), my little bug left and within a few moments, had returned to me.

With that out of the way, I took the earbud out and grinned.

“So basically, you’re already pretty close to the front of the headquarters! I suggest you get going, because it’s hard to tell how long you guys have even after all that! All I can tell you is that there is still hope!”

Velvet and Coriander looked at each other, put on their shoes, then were about to get going. But before Velvet left the room, she turned to me.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I just started thinking that even though art has been my life ever since I was a child, if I have to hurt others to make art, then maybe I should find a different path.”

“That’s good, but that still doesn’t absolve anything you’ve done,” she spoke in a low tone.

“I wouldn’t count on it!” I grinned.

“Maybe the right question I should be asking is this: just who were you before you joined The Flashbulb?”

I shrugged once again. I wasn’t good at being concise, but I’d try.

“Also an artist. Someone’s daughter. Something like that. Hey, I have a favor to ask you and you don’t have to accept, but I just thought of it!”

“Yes?”

“If you ever figure out who I was on Earth, please don’t think of the other versions of me as evil. My actions are my own.”

Velvet nodded. I wasn’t sure if that was her agreeing to my favor or not, but both Velvet and Coriander left at that, without so much as another word. I looked out the door and watched the two run off, then I went back in. It was time for me to do what I did best.